Last Beach Day

Today is our last full day on Anna Maria Island, FL. We have been here for two weeks. I have to say this is my favorite place in the US. 

We traveled to Longboat Key on Wednesday and  we were the only ones on the beach!

Longboat Key

Coquina Beach - my hubby took my photo without me realizing it.
Clearly I need to work on better posture while I sit & read!

While I will miss the beach, I am looking forward to going home. We have been home less than 3 weeks in the last 3 months. 

I am looking forward to opening the mail. Does everyone else look forward to this when they go away? My mailman will deliver it tomorrow and there is sure to be a pile of it to go through. 

I'm looking forward to my knee surgery which is less than 2 weeks away. I'm thankful to my doctor who called in pain medicine and another that called in sleeping pills.

I am looking forward to the autumn leaves that are sure to be on the trees soon. 

I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, in my own house. 

Anna Maria Island Photos - including dolphin & a shark!

I know I am going on & on about how much I love Anna Maria Island in Florida. But it is soooo true! Here are some photos from yesterday's beach day: 

We saw atleast three dolphin yesterday!

Today was a bit more cloudy. We set up and then saw a shark! I have seen sting ray, dolphin, manatee and fish at 'our' beach but never a shark. 

I kept hoping to see one and I finally did! He (she?) was small - probably only 4 or 5' but it still was very neat! I tried to get photos but it was hard since I didn't want to venture too far into the water. Ha. 

See the tiny dorsal fin? That is the shark.

Dolphin have a curved dorsal fin. See the photo just below? Also, dolphin swim up & down, coming in and out of the water in curves or arcs.

On the other hand, shark have a fairly straight dorsal fin. And they swim straight. So if you see their dorsal fin, it is coming straight up & down out of the water.

Ice Cream

Yesterday we went to get ice cream TWICE. Yup...we are on vacation. Anna Maria Island has some excellent ice cream shops. 

I have been doing an experiment. My stomach is sensitive to milk. I wanted to see if taking a Lactaid pill would allow me to eat ice cream.  

My ear, nose & throat doctor told me I had a sensitivity to milk casein (protein) and not the lactose. But this was years ago.

The first place we hit was on Armand Circle. Kilwin's has been making ice cream since the 1940's. I had previously been there and loved their sorbet.

I got a cup of 'fudge brownie' - their most chocolate-y chocolate. Yum! 

Then my hubby asked if I wanted to try a second ice cream shop. Ummmm....yes!

And so we went to the Holy Cow in Holmes Beach. I chose the 'salted caramel' and the hubby got chocolate. 

And it seems like the Lactaid pills did help my stomach a bit. I told my hubby that I may need to experiment some more to be sure. Ha.

Recent Ebay Sales - 8/24/13

The hubby & I drove down to Florida last week and brought all of my inventory. I have about 300 items in 11 Rubbermaid totes which are currently in the condo's dining room. 

I have found four thrifts in the area that turned out to be pretty good. I love some of my finds: a Gucci silk blouse, a Michael Hoban North Beach black leather dress, some Anthro. stuff and a bunch of plus-sized RL pieces with tags. 

Here are a few things that sold over the last week or so:

1. BCBG leggings, sold for $37 within two days of listing. 

2. Ann Taylor navy suit, sold for $35. 

3. Target plus-sized dress, sold for $26. I purchased a bunch of these from Target a few months ago and paid $8 for them. I'm down to just one now.

4. Ralph Lauren red sweater, sold for $22. 

5. Calvin Klein ivory dress, sold for $37. I purchased a bunch of these on clearance at Marshalls. Each was just $15. Most have sold for $35-$40. I believe I have one left.

6. Oscar de la Renta satin caftan, sold for $25. 

7. BCBG sweater coat, sold for $30. 

8. I had this dress in my store for ages with a lower price. It didn't sell and so I tried it as an auction. It sold with 12 bids and went for $22.50. 

9. Another Calvin Klein dress, sold for $40.

10. Ann Taylor floral skirt, sold for $21. 

11. Natori animal print caftan with a flaw, sold for $20. 

12. Coldwater Creek linen blend dress, sold for $25. 

13. New White House Black Market skirt, sold for $25. 

14. Soft Surroundings full skirt, sold for $42. 

15. J. Crew winter plaid skirt, sold for $22. 

16. Boston Proper pink floral skirt, sold for $24. 

17. Stuart Weitzman tan sandals, sold for $22. 

18. Bonnie Strauss modest denim dress, sold for $22. 

19. Calvin Klein gray knit sweater dress, sold for $22. 

20. Vintage butterfly print dress, sold for $23.50. 

21. Calvin Klein animal print dress, sold for $37. 

22. Anthropologie's "Charlie & Robin" brand sweater, sold for $50. 

23. Hot Cotton by Marc Ware linen dress, sold for $26. 

24. Talbots Woman jacquard jacket, sold for $35. 

25. Yet another Calvin Klein dress, sold for $37. 

Anna Maria Island, FL - More Photos

We have been here on Anna Maria Island for 5 days. And each day we wake up to the most gorgeous weather and one of the best beaches in the US.

Anna Maria Island is consistently beautiful. The water is warm - warm enough to walk right in without freaking out about the cold. The water is also super calm. No waves. Love that!

This is the 8th time we have come to AMI and we have had the best memories from those trips.

Here are a few photos I took today.

The water is so clear. We have seen dolphins and a manatee so far.

We were able to bring our beach tent & cart since we drove. This makes our beach day so much easier.

Anna Maria Island, FL