Isla Mujeres #tbt

This cold weather has gotten to me... BAD. 

I've been daydreaming about traveling somewhere far, far away... and possibly never coming back!

While daydreaming, I got to thinking of my last tropical vacation... FAR TOO LONG AGO... in Isla Mujeres. It was quite possibly the best vacation ever. I started and finished five books while we were there... that's a lot of beach time, a lot of relaxation, and a lot of words. :) I love words.

EVERYTHING about this trip was so gorgeous. We'd wake up in the morning and sit out on the porch with our feet in the pool and be surrounded by these gorgeous flowers. We'd then stroll down the street and buy huge mangoes or grapefruit or avocados from this beautiful little old woman who sold fresh produce on the side of the road. 

Here's Tina with a softball sized avocado. It was the best avocado any of us had ever had. 

Our days consisted of laying on the beach, oodles of photos, reading, strolling the streets of town (it's a pretty small island, so this didn't last too terribly long), playing in the waves, scuba diving, snorkeling, EATING, drinking cold coco-loco's, exploring the different beaches and waves and rocks, and hunting down cheap tequila! (Apparently there isn't any if you're a woman, but Tina's uncle was able to find quite a steal!)

Tina's my right-hand-woman when it comes to any and all things creative. I've lost count of how many photo shoots she's joined me on and they've turned out so much better than they would have without her thanks to her creative eye and driven nature to jump in and adjust things without being told to. She's seriously so wonderful. I wish I could tell you how much fun we have together and how crazy the creative juices get when conquer projects together.

Book #1.

Paradise, I tell ya.

One of my favorite things about traveling with other families is how they interact with each other. The Hackbart's are a true team. They're all always up for an adventure and ready to go at a moments notice, but they also know how to kick back and just enjoy the moment. 

It was tooooooo hot not to oblige when the cabana boys would offer us drinks... plus, look how pretty they are!
(Book #2.)

Sharkbait, OOH AH AH.

At night we usually made a habit of finding a good restaurant and enjoyed the local eats... and mango margaritas. When in Rome, right?

During one of our explorations, we came across this incredible building... Tina and I decided that we could easily run an interior design and photography company from it... maybe even a yoga studio! I wonder if it's still available...

What's not to love?! Corner lot, SO MANY WINDOWS, gorgeous everything, my favorite color...
AND IT'S LOCATED RIGHT IN DOWNTOWN PARADISE. 

There's not one thing that would give me reason not to go back.

This lil guy actually wasn't so little... he was the size of a small or medium dog! 

Washed up coconut.

Island of sunbathing iguanas.

¡Viva Mexico!

¡Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay!

my psychotherapist and her medication...

I won't go into detail, but it's been a bit of a rough summer. 

I probably haven't dealt with everything in the most excellent manner... but it's going to take a while to deal. This heart is a little messy and it's awfully loud, so if you've been one of the poor unfortunate souls who has caught the repercussions, I apologize and will apologize right now for your next encounter because I can guarantee it's not all out yet.

Part of the dealing process has been incredible friends, lots of margs, and ample amounts of dancing. In all honesty, it's taught me that even (and especially) in the hard times, there are life lessons to be learned, growth is a good thing, and people and communities' true character shine through - through this it's been incredible to see such gorgeous people step up to help out and support others.

Los Cabos has muy excelente margaritas - my psychotherapist prescribes these when I freak out...
she then advises hours of crazy dancing.
I generally oblige pretty easily... I like to think I'm her favorite client/patient.

 Los Cabos got to be pretty familiar with our woes as well... they were and always have been absolutely wonderful. Their friendly faces and genuine conversation always provides comfort and satisfaction on a night out! (Not to mention, they've got banana margaritas - REAL bananas! They're like smoothies... with tequila!)

Pump Haus didn't argue with fueling the madness when we requested Fruit Loops shots
to share with our new friends celebrating their engagement and birthdays.

Las Margaritas Cantina y Restarante

I've noticed that I have this tendency of forming habits and routines, I like to tell people I'm a free-spirit, but in all reality, I'm definitely a lot more routine than I'd like to admit... sometimes it's not so bad though. One of my routines is having a marg or two before line-dancing on Thursdays. :)

Las Margaritas makes it pretty painless too! It's extra fun though when you get to hang with the 'local celebrities'! This is a photo of the GEORGE ORIGINAL MARGARITA. Or, at least, it's a photo of the photo in the menu.

George is married to my momma's best friend. They're such an incredible couple, but more on that in a moment...

I've only ordered this marg one time... it knocked me off my feet!! It comes in a shaker and is honestly, more like 2 and a half margaritas. At least, that's how many times I filled my glass when I ordered it. The alcohol content might even be more than that. Regardless, it's too much for this lightweight!

On to how amazing Susan and George are. :) Here's a picture of us at Las Marg's: 

Like I said earlier, Susan is my momma's best friend and George is her wonderful other half. These two are CRAZY about each other. And they're nearly inseparable! They're such a great team though, they are regulars at Las Margaritas. They have a way of making people feel so special and validated, it's part of why they're so great. :) They have become part of the family at Las Margaritas either by housing some of their family or by making a point of meeting some of the extended family to those working there while they're off vacationing and exploring faraway places, like Mexico and the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

I could gush about these two for days, but I'll leave that to you. I suggest going to Las Margaritas and keeping an eye out for these two. I promise you'll be insta-friends, just tell them I sent you. :)

Moral of the story: 

1) great margs are found at Las Margaritas (and they're great for assisting in line-dancing)

2) Susan and George rock and are one of the coolest couples you'll ever meet

My most recent trip to Washington, I found this gem in Issaquah.
Apparently it's owned by a brother of the same family!