Shopaholic in Alabama

Happy Weekend and Happy Easter! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful time with family and friends. This weekend I am feeling especially grateful because my dear hubby is at home, and we are concentrating on spending quality time together. Today we are planning to attend a "Worship On The Water" service before driving over to Mobile to visit both of our parents and families. The service on the water is very casual, so I won't be dressing up today. This feels a little strange for me, even DH is wondering "what should I wear"? HA, feels weird to go to "church" on the sand.  Saturday we spent the day at the beach (after I went for my 4 miles, which I haven't been doing lately). The day was gorgeous and temperatures were in the low-mid 70's. I captured some pictures to share - hope you enjoy!  How are you spending this holiday weekend? Hope it's a great one! 

Source: bing.com via Lori on Pinterest Source: countrymusicfans.tumblr.com via Lori on Pinterest You all might remember - I have been looking forward to my three day weekend that started on Friday! And wouldn't you know it? As I write this post, it is pouring outside! We were planning to go boating today, and possibly do a little fishing as well, but so far it's not looking too good!  Source: Uploaded by user via Lori on Pinterest Source: jacklail.com via Lori on Pinterest Here's hoping the sun will peek out - if only just for a few hours! In the meantime, enjoy some images of our fabulous Alabama beaches. Hopefully I'll have "real" photos of my own to share again soon!  Source: google.com via Lori on Pinterest Enjoy your Saturday! 

Thank goodness! Tropical Storm Lee has finally left our area. Yesterday was a wild day of extremely high wind. It was so gross, I couldn't think about going on my 4 miles. If you tried to walk the beach, you were literally "sand-blasted" with wind and sand. The local authorities had to break out the heavy equipment to move sand from our roads.  One little leftover that Lee managed to bring to the surface? More fresh tarballs on our beach. Can you believe it? Those tarballs are an unfortunate result of the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill, from April 2010. See, all the oil wasn't cleaned up, just the oil that was pretty close to shore or actually reached the beach. The rest of it was broken up at the surface and subsequently sunk out in the Gulf. This operation was performed using a chemical called Corexit.   As of noon CT today, BP's cleanup crews have yet to arrive on our beaches and take care of this. We'll see... All of this makes me extremely con...

TGIF, Shopaholics! Hope your week has been wonderful - just a tad stressful around these parts, but looking for things to turn the corner very soon! :-) In exactly four weeks from tonight (that would be Friday, October 15 - to be exact!) - Bon Jovi is coming to the beach for a concert. One of my BFF's was lucky enough to score tickets while I was at the Bama-PSU game last Saturday; and I am thrilled to be going with her! I grew up listening to Bon Jovi - you know - the "old stuff". I rode around town with my girlfriends, in our sports cars, blaring "You Give Love A Bad Name" just as loud as it would go. Over the years, I have attended several of his concerts. I even managed to crack my tailbone at one of them in Mobile - many, many moons ago - while wearing ill-advised white cowboy boots. Don't judge - they were studded and paired with the shortest, tightest mini skirt I could wear out of the house. For the life of me, I can't remember the top I ha...

Happy Saturday everyone! The weekend is finally here - and I plan to spend today resting up for ..... drum roll please ..... the Jimmy Buffett concert on Sunday! I am thrilled to report I have tickets in hand, and will be watching Jimmy perform live from the beach here in Gulf Shores, AL. Several weeks ago, over a million people logged onto Ticketmaster in an attempt to score free tickets to the "Jimmy Buffett & Friends" concert, which was originally scheduled for July 1. The concert is Jimmy's gift back to this coast, where he grew up and lived a significant portion of his early years. His sister, Lucy Buffett, has a huge restaurant/bar "Lulu's" in Gulf Shores and he visits occasionally. The intent of the concert was to bring tourism back to the beach, which has suffered significantly in the wake of the oil spill. Enter Hurricane Alex, and the concert had to be rescheduled for July 11. When the tickets went on "sale" - they were gone in ...

Happy Saturday, my friends! The oil spill situation got a little bit worse here in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, AL yesterday. The thick, nasty, chocolate pudding looking stuff has arrived.  I knew it was big trouble when we received the following email from the condo owners association: Special Edition - Bad News about the Oil Spill Friday, June 11, 2010 DAY 53 of the Oil Spill We are very disappointed to report that suddenly, today, the beach has become covered with dark oil. The oil looks like old motor oil and has the faint smell of oil. The consistency of the oil goes from a liquid to globs. We had hoped that we would only have globs of oil which would stay on the surface of the sand instead of liquid oil which penetrates the sand. There are no birds or other animals in the water or on the beach. The oil droplets seem to be mixed into the top layer of the Gulf water and the oil extends as a dark mass as far as you can see in all directions. No doubt th...

Happy Monday everyone! Today I thought it would be fun to show you everything that we considered "essential" for yesterday's beach fun. Yes there was oil at the beach, but we stayed far away from it all. We didn't get in the water at all, as a "swimming advisory" was posted. What are your beach essentials? Do you use any of the same goodies? Am I the only one who puts an 85 on her face and an 8 on her body? HAHA. That new Hawaiian Tropic "Dry Oil" is fantastic! Additionally, the "Maui Babe" can be hard to find, but it's so worth it! Be sure to use sunscreen underneath on sensitive areas, or use alone in areas that are already VERY tan. (I like to use this on my feet). The Shiseido powder has been discontinued (booooooo) but you should be able to find everything else at Walgreens or CVS. Happy Sunning! p.s. My nose is still burnt - what's up with that!?!? Even the 85 Neutrogena or the 45 with zinc oxide doesn't work! An...

We've known this day was coming. We've been expecting it for over 40 days. But nothing prepares you for the reality of it...all images from Gulf Shores, AL. Sad to say, this is just the beginning. We've been told, this will last all summer. Some are predicting it will take until December (!!!!) to stop the flow of oil, and get the coast cleaned up. How did I deal with it? I'll tell you what I did yesterday, I ordered this Lilly dress (yes, I remember I'm not supposed to be shopping but that resolution is out the window!) Drank two of these Several of these too Had two helpings of this And then...I did what you would expect. I took a very long nap! :-) Fingers crossed that we get good news soon. Surely we're due for something!?!? Have a great Saturday everyone - we're going to try to squeeze in yet another beach day. Weather and oil permitting of course! Like I told DH, it appears we have allllllll summer to use the pool.

Happy Tuesday, Shopaholics! Yesterday I took the day "off" from blogging, after a weekend packed with Mother's Day activities! Hope you're all having a great start to the week! Living on (or even NEAR) the coast, we spend plenty of time and effort preparing for potential tropical weather or hurricanes. During hurricane season, we watch the news and weather updates with great interest and a bit of nervousness. We watch the water temperature, as hot water is extremely favorable for development of tropical weather. As nerve wracking as all this sounds, it's just a part of life on the coast. The other 350 or so days of the year, life is grand and immensely pleasant. Here's how it works - you watch a tropical system develop - generally around the Lesser Antilles, Bay of Campiche or south of Cuba. At that point, the system is about 5-7 days from the Northern Gulf Coast. And the good news, it's so early you have no idea where it will hit. You just "keep ...

Happy Tuesday, Shopaholics! Hope you're having a nice afternoon! BIG Congratulations to "Preppy from Bay" - the winner of our Caroline Grace Jewelry giveaway which I originally posted about HERE . Thank you to everyone who entered, and for reading my blog. A special thanks to Caroline Grace Jewelry for sponsoring such a generous giveaway! I'm certain our winner will be very, very excited to see this news! Preppy from Bay, please email me ( lori.driver@hotmail.com ) so I can put you in touch with CGJ! Remember, if you'd like to view all of CGJ's pretty pieces, check the Etsy store HERE . Additionally, I would like to thank ALL of the vendors who were so kind and generous to sponsor Shopaholic Giveaway Days to celebrate Mother's Day! I hope you all found some new goodies that you like, and it helped you to find a very special Mother's Day gift! All of the vendors were so excited about the interest they received as a result of the giveaways! Thanks to...

Happy Monday, my Shopaholic friends! Just wanted to tell you all "hello" from the Alabama Gulf Coast. I'm too bummed to blog (a real post!) today. Going to try to participate in a coastal cleanup this afternoon (if I feel like it after yet another marathon dental appointment). We're now planning for the oil spill that is making it's way towards my beautiful beach. Every piece of trash that's already on the beach now will have to be treated as "hazardous waste" after the oil arrives - so it's best to get everything cleaned up that we can now. I'm sure you are already tired of me talking about this spill and it's impact, but please understand - it almost feels silly for me to get on this blog and talk about a new dress, etc. when this is going on around me. Make no mistake, there's not much I love more than a new dress (especially of the Lilly Pulitzer variety!) but my heart is heavy and I'm not going to lie to you guys, I'm e...

Happy Friday, Shopaholics! I soooo wish I could say I am looking forward to the weekend, but at this point I'm filled with what can only be described as a growing sense of dread. It's no longer a question of "if" this oil spill makes it to our shores, but when. NOAA is now officially predicting Sunday for the Alabama Gulf Coast, and Saturday for Bumpkin on a Swing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Today we are heading to Dauphin Island, which is the barrier island you see on the above map (Alabama coast, west side of Mobile Bay).  I am also inserting a map below which Bumpkin put together a few days ago, with both of our locations marked. This will give you an idea about Gulf coast geography if you're not already familiar! I will likely be without internet access most of the weekend. Let's say this - Dauphin Island is a tad "remote". It's not "Gilligan's Island" (there are 2 gas stations and working telephones, even a few restaur...

Happy Wednesday, Shopaholics. When I started this blog, I made a promise to myself that a few topics were "off limits" and would not appear on my blog. The three topics are: politics, religion and sex. Naturally I have my opinions about these topics, but as my buddy over at Bumpkin on A Swing  says, "it ain't happening around here". However, I must share a huge concern with you all! You already know I'm a coastal girl - after all, I left the big cushy $$$ making job to return to my beloved Gulf Coast several years ago. I love everything about the coast - the beach, the boating, the tourism, the seafood industry, the wildlife. Last week, there was an "incident" in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm going to give you some information - and this comes directly from http://www.noaa.gov/ . This gives the background info, as well as what is currently being done to "control" the situation. Background:  The incident involves a deepwater drilling p...

Happy Tuesday, my Fashionistas friends! Hope you're having a great week so far! Our area is in full swing Spring Break mode, things are quite crazy as you can imagine! :-) Welcome to DAY EIGHT of Shopaholic Giveaway Days to celebrate Mother's Day!!! Today I'm very excited to introduce you to a local boutique here in Gulf Shores, AL. While I know many of my readers live in other wonderful areas of this great land, many of you (especially in the Southeast) vacation here in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, AL. You all need to know about "The Beach House Boutique", owned by my friend Robin Mills-Stapleton.  The Beach House Boutique 3800 Gulf Shores Pkwy #350 Gulf Shores, Al 36542 251-948-Shop The Beach House Boutique is such a fun place, it's my "go to" source for purchasing and trying on my favorite designer, Lilly Pulitzer. It's the only store locally that carries any Lilly. Addtionally, Robin has a wonderful selection of goodies for the ho...