i was wrong.

27 isn't for the birds. It was the best birthday to date, thanks to my wonderful husband, family and sweet friends. Each played a significant role in making my day incredibly special. Thank you for the gifts, the cards, the phone calls, and the texts. I am blessed and feel very loved.

Isn't my mom-in-law the best? She dropped this off at the office before we headed out of town on Thursday. It's safe to say that we had enough goodies to last us all weekend at the beach.

This hand-carved bracelet made it's way into the goodie bag. I LOVE it and haven't taken it off of my wrist. Thanks again, Shug!

I would be lying if I said that being at the beach didn't help lift my birthday spirits. Friday morning I woke to my daily forehead kiss from the hubs and him telling me to sleep in and that he would be back shortly. When I came to, I headed downstairs and found a box of my favorite donuts on the counter ready and waiting to be eaten. 

John was kind enough to document his trip for me. Well, really, he was just taking pictures to send to family/friends to make them jealous and I so happened to come across them and asked if he would be kind enough to share them with me for the blog...What can I say? The truth hurts! HA. 

After a delightful breakfast, we took our first walk of 2012 on the beach. My, how it has changed from last year! We couldn't believe how recessed the ocean was! 

After our walk we decided to gear up for the day ahead of us = pour some bubbly! My birthday is a celebration, right?   

Cheers to 27!

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the pool, reading on the front porch, and driving around on the golf cart—a beach favorite. 

The chapel in Carillon. It's precious. 

Thursday night John chose the restaurant for dinner (The Red Bar...shocker!), so I got to choose the restaurant for dinner Friday night, my birthday night (naturally). I wanted to go somewhere we had never been and decided on V seagrove. BEST. FOOD. EVER. Not only was the food great, but the service was phenomenal. John and I were very impressed and cannot wait to go back. 

iPhone = blurry.

We took the party to Bud & Alley's after dinner and then home for...presents! What did John give me you ask? A dress, two tops, a cookie cake, and a delicious candle! I'm thankful for his generous heart :) 

Saturday was "Anniversary Celebration Day." We beached it all day and I loved it. The weather could not have been more perfect—sunny with a breeze. 

We took our typical walk on the beach, strolled around Carillon, but added a new fun tradition...paddle ball! SO fun. 

That evening we had reservations at the quaint Cafe Tango in Blue Mountain Beach. My sweet friend, Lacey, recommended it to us and it most definitely exceeded our expectations. YUM. 

I will go ahead and skip to Sunday evening, seeing that Sunday was spent doing the same as Friday and Saturday and because, clearly, the food was the main attraction of the trip. Man, we are fat kids. We decided to head to the other side of town, Panama City Beach (!), for an evening of fun. We ate an early dinner at The Back Porch—an oldie, but a goodie and then hopped across the street to the Pier to watch the sunset. It was stunning. The best part? Sharing that moment with John. It is a moment I will never forget!

Breathtaking.

 We walked around Pier Park for a bit, listened to some music at Tootsies, and got some icecream before heading to play...

PUTT PUTT!

This wasn't our first rodeo. It has become somewhat of a tradition for me and the hubs. Moral of the story: we played, I won, and now I get to go on a shopping-spree. I would also like to mention that I was mere inches away from getting a hole-in-one on the 18th hole. INCHES! For something that is seemingly impossible, that's talent.

When I woke up Monday morning I was slightly depressed since it was our last day at the beach. After packing and cleaning up we drove to Seaside for breakfast and one last stroll around the block. Because it was our real anniversary, we decided to splurge and start our feast off with beignets. I'm salivating right now thinking about them. 

The time came to say our goodbyes and hit the road. It was bittersweet.

I'm so thankful for my time at the beach with John celebrating my birthday and our first big milestone. It could not have been a more perfect weekend. Back to life, back to reality.