A TOUR OF COSTA MAYA MEXICO

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And you thought I was done, huh. Nope, Costa Maya was a dream ya’ll. I wanted to quit my job, say bye bye to NC and move here. We were so exhausted from partying it up on the ship that we wanted to keep a low profile in Costa Maya and decided to do a really relaxing tour with with some friendly locals. He took us all around Costa Maya, then we stopped by the beach and hung out there for a few hours. Our tour guide told us about the history of Costa Maya, taught us a bit about the Mayan language and we shopped around the beach area and drank coconuts the rest of the day until it was time to board the ship to head to our next stop. If you’ve never island hopped before then it’s great to have a plan in place for your first session, so I thought I’d share a few things I do whilst island hopping (going from one island to the next).

1. EXCURSIONS
Charlie and I are adrenaline junkies and we enjoy scratching the surface of death when we can, LOL j/k, we just enjoy flying high and diving in beautiful island water. If your a first time cruiser, I highly suggests buying your excursions off the ship, it can come out cheaper and the locals can show you the spots no tourist really ever see. Some excursions we’ve done are cave viewings, tours, beach days, jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, party bus, city tours, hiking, biking, and dune buggies. Those are just a few things we like but there are so many others thing we haven’t tried yet. 

2. SHOPPING
Get your self a piece of the country to take home with you or buy a little something something for family and friends. I have a lot of keep sakes and every time I see them it just takes me back to my adventures in that country. Memories are forever guys. 

3. LEARN THE LANGUAGE
Well, I guess this is something you should do before you travel to another country. Charlie and I made an effort to brushen up on our Spanish before our visit and boy did it come in handy when it was time to shop around for souvenirs for family and friends. 

4. CHILL DAY
Have at least one day where you just chill out. You don’t want to exhaust yourself and be pooped when you get home only to go to work exhausted. You’re supposed to be relaxed after vacation, not tired and stressed. So take one day to just chill on the beach and enjoy doing absolutely nothing. 

5. TRY NEW FOODS
I can’t stress this enough. We are so use to being in routine that sometimes when we go other places we want to stick to our routine. Newsflash, that’s not the definition of vacation, get out, try new foods, even if it doesn’t sound good to you. This is part of immersing yourself in the culture and taking your taste buds for a crazy ride too. Be open minded and and always be respectful. 

Hope my list was helpful and picture visually pleasing. 

Were headed to Belize and Cozumel next. Talk with you guys soon. 

Sincerely, 

Deidra Marie

IN LIVING COLOR

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Last long weekend until May ya’ll; and I took advantage of it. Charlie and I had an impromptu trip to Carolina Beach this past weekend. I know what your thinking, why in the world would you go to a beach in this cold weather. Well, Charlie’s friend has an amazing condo right at the beach that she always lets us stay in and it’s great to just get away from the hustle and bustle of NC living and go to quieter places. One thing about Carolina beach is that in January, you basically have the beach to yourself because it’s off season. The first day was a warmer 50ish degrees so we walked around the empty town snapping pics and found this pretty fun colorful wall, if you follow me on Insta, you know why I’m playing with the strings on my hoodie, LOL. Anyway, we shopped some of the vintage and consignment shops around town and I must say I got really lucky and nabbed 3 vintage coats for $20.00. Charlie found nothing, LOL. Vintage men’s items are hard to come by. Smaller towns have the best vintage and thrifted finds so Charlie always takes me to one when were road tripping. I just spot them on the road, he passes them up, argues with me about how we are not going to make it to our destination on time, drives several more miles in silence as I sit pouting and then he eventually gives in, makes a u-turn and stops me by the shop. Sometimes he gets out the car, other times he just patiently waits in the car and I think he’s in the car praying I’m not maxing out our credit card, LOL. 

In any case, we really enjoyed our first day at the beach. I’ll post some beach pictures soon, but first, a few pics from our trip to Belize. 

Hope everyone had a great long MLK weekend. 

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie

SMOOTH SAILING

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The best part about cruising is that you never know who you’re going to meet. If you know me then you know I talk to just about any and everybody, but who would have thought I’d get approached by strangers first, it’s usually the other way around.  We spent two days at sea, which I can honestly say in the past has been way more than I can handle, but I guess when you keep yourself busy on the ship it’s not so bad. By the way, it’s very hard to be bored on a cruise ship, just saying.  My mission for a day at sea, to make sure this awesome vintage Tommy Hilfiger dress sold by one of my fav vintage Instagram shops, @brassbuttonsvelvetropes was featured on my blog. Only a few shots in and we were interrupted by a group of 20-somethings who had their fair share of drinks and were exiting the ship party. Well, one thing led to another and they became apart of the CCC family; my brief explanation for why they are on my blog, LOL. 

It all started with the question, “why are you taking pictures?” We spent a good hour just chatting about life, careers, whether to have kids or not, our pets, places we wanted to travel next, what we thought about Honduras and then one of the girls insisted I get some shots with Charlie. First official photoshoot we had that didn’t involve a tripod, LOL. And get this, the girl is a professional photographer in San Diego and travels all over the world to take pics. Crazy, I remember all of this but can’t remember their names, LOL. Yes, I said it, confession, I can’t remember none of their names, but it was good conversation and an even better photoshoot; one of the most fun photoshoots to date I’d say. We learned a lot about them. Apparently, their all best friends, all went to college together, got married and moved to different places all over the country, but decided to link up for a cruise after not seeing each other for over 8 years. Needless to say, our story is way less interesting; were just a boring couple with two cats who scrounged up a few pennies from some photography gigs and decided to escape the hustle and bustle of Raleigh living, LOL, way less interesting but the truth, nonetheless. The sun went down and we all went our separate ways, never saw them again for the remainder of the cruise. I love random meet ups like this, it’s a big world and I plan to see it all. 

Links to my outfit and accessories above.

Next stop, Belize and Costa Maya Mexico. Stay tuned.

Sincerely, 

Deidra Marie