My Birthday 2011

I love birthdays!  Not just mine, I love everyone's birthdays because they are a time to spend with family and friends and celebrate all of the blessings that have come our way over the past year.  I feel especially blessed this year because God made a way for Rob, Joey and me to move back home to Chattanooga.  We love living here and we are so happy, happy, happy!!!  It has been such a luxury to be able to spend our birthdays this year with our family.  I'm sure that's not a big deal to everyone, but it is a huge deal to me! :)

On Monday I met my Dad and Ashley, who live in Atlanta, in Calhoun for dinner.  We had a great time!  On the Tuesday before my birthday we went out to dinner with my Mom and Jerry at Alleia.  It's downtown on Main Street and is part of the same group that owns St. Johns, Meeting Place, and Public House.  All of these restaurants are fabulous so I knew Alleia would not be different.  The atmosphere is unlike any other here in Chattanooga and the Italian food that they serve is unique and delicious.  This is the perfect place for a romantic date night or a celebration with family and friends!  Everything about it was perfect.  A++ rating!

On Thursday Rob, Joey and I left the scenic city for one of our other favorite places, Destin, Florida!  We LOVE the beach!  Even though it's not warm enough to sun bathe, this is a great time to take a trip to the shore.  The prices on condos are lower and even the restaurants have dinner specials in the off season.  It's not crowded like it is on spring break or a holiday weekend, so it makes for a very relaxing vacation.  When we went out to the beach yesterday afternoon to let Joey play, we practically had the whole beach to ourselves!  We ate dinner at one our regular restaurants we love, The Crab Trap and followed it up with dessert at The Donut Hole.

Here are some pictures of Joey playing on the beach!  He is so active and loves to play, especially someplace like the beach where there are all sorts of things to explore :)

I'll blog more about the rest of our trip later on, but for now I am going to enjoy the sunshine, the water, the breeze, the sand, my coffee, my sweet puppy, and my cute husband!  Now go and enjoy your weekend!! :)

xoxo,

Amber Lea