Carnival Dream Day 4

Carnival Dream Day 4

Day 4 on the Carnival Dream was another port of call, and this time we stopped in Mahogany Bay which is located on the island of Roatan, Honduras. I was super excited and nervous all at the same time for this stop because we had booked a zip lining excursion combined with Gumbalimba Park with our friends we were cruising with. H had read about a lady on a Norwegian ship who fell to her death while on this same ziplining tour in February so he freaked himself out and me a little bit, but I still pushed for us to go because I knew it would be an amazing experience. So, he reluctantly agreed to go since the rest of us were all going. He was too cute, he barely touched his breakfast that morning, as I ate enough for the both of us not knowing when we'd have lunch, and I know I tend to get cranky when I'm really hungry. I was planning ahead!

When we woke up, I looked outside our balcony and saw a beautiful island with a little village of shops built up just for Carnival passengers. There was also a beach to the right of the bay that had a chairlift to take passengers to. The beach is also reachable by a short walk if you don't want to take the chairlifts over as they can sometimes break down, as I've read on Cruise Critic and then you're stuck up there until it's fixed. H and I got off the boat and made our way to meet up with our tour and our friends.

View from our room when docked


All suited up and ready to go 


Just like I thought, after the first run he did great and was ready for more! 



After zip lining which by the way was AMAZING and so exhilarating, we went on a tour through Gumbalimba Park where we saw lots of iguanas, birds, and monkeys. We also walked through a cave that taught us a lot about the history of the island including a pirate called Coxen. 

Crossing the bridge to the bird and monkey sanctuary





After re-boarding the ship, we got ready for dinner where we were once again stuffed with good food and entertained by our awesome waiters.


After dinner, the guys got cigars and we went out onto the deck and played a Apples to Apples and just enjoyed the beautiful night together.



Carnival Dream Day 3

Carnival Dream Day 3

Our 3rd day on the wonderful Carnival Dream was our 1st port of call which was Cozumel, Mexico. I had visited here before on a past cruise, but it was a new port to H and our friends. Even though I had been there a few years before, I didn't see anything I saw 3 years ago on the Carnival Liberty. Our ship docked at a completely different pier, and we went on a completely different excursion.

When we woke up and went out on to our balcony to enjoy our breakfast we saw that a Royal Caribbean ship was in port, and I got all excited because by the size of it I was pretty sure it was the Oasis of the Seas.. and it was!

Such a beautiful ship! I was really surprised that our ship wasn't dwarfed by how huge she is since ours was pretty big too, but not that big! Whoooo ee!

Welcome to Cozumel!




We booked the Playa Mia Beach Break which included open bar and use of the water trampolines and rafts

Not too shabby for a Monday 






After a fun day in Cozumel, we got ready for dinner and another show




Our waiters sang and danced for us again




Monday's towel animal was a cute little elephant

PSA: Kate Spade Sample Sale

PSA: Kate Spade Sample Sale

Kate Spade is having another sample sale that'll end on September 1st. If you see something you want, jump on it! Last time, I was thinking over my purchase and when I decided to place the order everything I wanted was sold out.




Carnival Dream Day 2

Carnival Dream Day 2

After a good first night's sleep we were up and ready for our first day at sea. We had room service deliver breakfast (always free on a cruise!) so we enjoyed some fresh pastries, jams, fruit, and coffee out on our balcony as we took in the beautiful sites of the bright blue Caribbean Sea and the ocean breeze. Amazingly perfect! After breakfast, we made our way up to the top deck to enjoy laying out in the sun, some tropical drinks, swimming in the pools, and going down the waterslides. Sometimes, waterslides on cruise ships are just "so-so" and kind of a let down, but not the ones on the Carnival Dream! They had a corkscrew slide and a slide called the "Drain Pipe". Both were really fast and a lot of fun.

Enjoying the view with a Miami Vice

My hair is a mess... I like to call this the "salt water wind blown" look :-P

Enjoying one of the hot tubs down on Deck 5 overlooking the water

All dressed up for the 1st formal night


We went to dinner and then all went to the show in the Encore Lounge and then the comedy show in the Burgandy Lounge. Both were great shows! Where else can you get dressed up and go to dinner and a show every night?

The atrium area is one of the most beautiful parts of the ship

Everyone waves their napkins in the air as the waiters sing and dance for us






Carnival Dream Day 1

Carnival Dream Day 1

We just got back from our 7 night cruise on the Carnival Dream with another couple we're close to from back in CT. It stopped in Cozumel Mexico, Roatan Honduras, Belize City Belize, and Costa Maya Mexico. We had an AMAZING time! The Carnival Dream is their 2nd newest ship as the Magic is their newest and the Breeze will be released sometime next year. It's so big that when we docked next to the Oasis of the Seas in Cozumel it wasn't dwarfed by it like most other ships are. Deck 5 was one of our favorite spots with the hot tubs that hang over with a great view of the water and it was completely open air without another deck directly over it. The whole week was amazing from spending time with our friends we don't see that much anymore, to the ports of call, fun excursions, great food, awesome service from the cruise employees, and just overall much needed relaxation. It was a smooth trip up until the last night when the boat was rocking ridiculously from the after affects of Hurricane Irene as we came back up the coast of Florida to dock in Port Canaveral. But I'll go more into detail about that in the post for our last day on the ship.

I know some people think of Carnival as the discount cruiseline, and I've been on Royal Caribbean, but when they say that Carnival cruise line have the "Fun Ships" they mean it. There's always something going on, the waiters sing and dance for you every night at dinner, the cruise directors are awesome and always blending in with the passengers and having a ton of fun. I still want to check out Celebrity, but right now I'd have to admit that Carnival is my favorite cruise line.

Setting sail out of Port Canaveral past Cocoa Beach


Up on the top deck for the sail away party

It was very windy up there




The fellas

Our room on the Dream

All ready to go!

The ship's beautiful atrium

The view from our balcony... LOVED the hot tubs on the 5th floor overlooking the water




If having 2 shades is wrong then I don't want to be right

If having 2 shades is wrong then I don't want to be right

It's finally here! Our friends are flying down as I type this and we're super excited to pick them up from the airport and tomorrow we set sail!

I got my vacation pedicure the other day and chose OPI LA Paz-Itively Hot:

(googled photo)


Crappy cell phone pic

And last night I painted my own nails with my new Essie Fiji that I picked up at Target, which I promised I'd post pics of once I painted them myself. Please excuse the amature job and admire the pretty colors :-P


I love that the Fiji is much more opaque than Sugar Daddy and it's such a pretty pale pink. I know some think it looks odd when wearing such different colors on your hands and feet, but I love it and am super excited to rock it on our long awaited vacay.

Have a nice weekend ladies! I'll be back to report on our trip and give reviews of the ship and our stops. Happy Friday! :0)

Happy Birthday! Love, Sephora

Happy Birthday! Love, Sephora

My birthday is in 2 days... eek! But I don't want to turn 28 *insert pouty face*. Sigh... well there's nothing I can do about it, and I have to admit I'm at the best place in my life right now and wouldn't go back to my early or even mid-twenties for anything! I had a beautiful wedding last year and married the guy of my dreams, went on an amazing honeymoon, we fulfilled our dream of moving to FL, we built our new house, and now we've got our cruise coming up with 2 of our favs at the end of the week. So, I guess I'll stop the pity party of getting closer to 30.

Months ago I hinted to H that I wanted a pair of nude Louboutins for my upcoming birthday, but I retracted that since our cruise is so close to my birthday and told him I just wanted to get a few things at Sephora, but I wanted to pick them up myself so I can rack up more Beauty Insider points of course!

Happy Birthday to me! :0)

I picked up Lola by Marc Jacobs, Benefit's Eye Bright pencil, and some makeup brush cleaner that I desperately needed!

Not only do I love the scent, but I also love the bottle and beautiful top! 

I tried out the new Lola La by Marc Jacobs and honestly wasn't a fan and am sticking to my original love which is the original Lola :0)

I also picked up a new mascara and nail polish at Target for the cruise. I usually wear Maybelline's Falsies, but decided to try out Cover Girl's Lash Blast. 


I tried it this morning, and it's not as "goopy" as Maybelline's Falsies, but it also doesn't give my pitifully almost non-existent lashes much help like the Falsies do. So, I'll finish the bottle, but probably revert back to my purple tube that I have loved for a while.


I finally picked up a bottle of Essie's "Fiji" which is not only a shout out to H and I's honeymoon location last year, but a really pretty soft pink color that I wanted for our upcoming trip later this week. I'll post pics once I paint my nails!