Hey y'all! I'm Joy from the Sowell life and I'm so excited to be guest posting for sweet Lauren who I'm kinda jealous of right now. You see, she's got her toes in the water and her hiney in the sand, and I'm sure she's getting a nice little tan by now! But, while she's enjoying her girls beach trip I told her I would keep y'all company for a little while. And I maybe try to get some of y'all Ole Miss fans to convert to be Mississippi State fans. Hey, a girl can try, right?! #hailstate!!

Since Lauren is living it up at the beach, I thought I would give y'all some tips and tricks for your next beach getaway. And tell you about some of my favorite places to eat on the Gulf Coast, too. We went to the beach the last week of May, and I'm craving that salty beach smell all over again!

1) Pack Light — If you’re staying in a condo, remember they have washer and dryers so you can do a load of laundry half way through the week. We even wore most of our outfits twice since we were able to wash them. And since we weren’t eating at the same place every night, no one even knew the difference!

2) Bring Multiple Bathing Suits — This applies for adults and children alike. We headed down to the beach or pool every morning around 9:30, and would come back up for lunch. Who wants to stay in a wet bathing suit in a well air conditioned condo? Not me! So I would trade out for a dry bathing suit in the afternoon. And don’t worry if you fear people are going to see you in the same bathing suits all the time. Trust me, everyone else is doing the same thing!! And at night just wash them out and hang them up to dry and they’ll be good as new for the next day!

3) SUNSCREEN — Don’t forget the SUNSCREEN! No one wants skin cancer so do your part and lather up! My advice to all those whose sole purpose is to just get a tan… start out with SPF 50 or higher for the first day or two to get your skin use to the sun. Trust me, it’s different at the beach. Then once you see you aren’t burning you can back it down a bit. But please remember to still use at least SPF15 every day. Oh, and reapply often.

4) The Early Bird Gets The Worm — It’s true, the early bird does get the worm at the beach and the pool. Head out early to secure the best spots near the water, and the best lounge chairs near the entrance of the pool.

5) The Food, Oh The Food — Going out to eat at the beach is everyone’s favorite nightly adventure. But who wants to stand in long lines waiting to be seated? Not me! Which is why we would head up around 3:30 or 4 every afternoon to get ready for dinner. We were usually walking out the condo at 5 every night headed to our favorite eater of the night. Not only did we beat the crowd, but we got to pick our seats next to a window facing the water. And the best part is you’re back at the condo to take a walk on the beach while watching the sun set!

Now for some of my favorite places to eat!! 

Cotton's

If you're craving a delicious steak, this is one of the places I would highly suggest. We've eaten here every beach trip. It's a must for us. But, you'll want to get there early because it's a small place, but well worth the wait!! We all got the filet with a perfectly baked potato and salad. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Shipp's Harbor House

Without a doubt this was my favorite meal of our trip! To be honest, I cleaned every inch of my plate from the salad, to the main course even down to the dessert. Okay, the dessert didn't end up with a clean plate, but you'll understand why after you see the photo below. It was huge. We all had filets and they were cooked PERFECTLY! We each got a different sauce to top off our filet, and they all were a hit! The desserts... a must, too!

The Original Oyster House

A trip to the Original Oyster House is a stop that everyone must make at the beach. They have a wonderful salad bar, and the service is great. The Mr got Shrimp Au Gratin and it looked and smelled delicious. Of course it was so big that he couldn't eat it all. Definitely a must for your upcoming beach trip! And even if there's a wait... they have great shops beside it make the time go by fast!

                            

I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to pack our suitcases again and head south!! Until then, I'll just keep living through Lauren's instagram pictures!

If I didn't bore you to tears, and you want to find out more about the Sowell life... you can follow me at any of these social sites! Twitter // Facebook // Instagram // Bloglovin

I enjoyed invading your blog, Lauren! Hope your trip is full of relaxation and lots of sun!

                                                               




Joy- Thank you so much for guest blogging. I'm sad that I'm coming home from the beach but I'm thankful that I got to relax for a couple of days! 

and forget it about converting my sweet followers! :) #hottytoddy

If you've heard it once, you've heard it 1,000 times....

I hear that GFC is ENDING today!

Find me on bloglovin if you want to keep up with my Oh so exciting life! :)

Such a time as this.

Hope you'll follow along!

Guest Post // Rachel.

Hellooo sweet friends of Lauren. I'm so excited she asked me to come blog sit for her while she's on vacation!

I'm Rachel and I blog over at http://rachelsfrontrowseat.blogspot.com/

 I would love for you to stop by and say hey. I'm also participating in a pretty epic giveaway right now (think Keurig & Kindle!), so come check out the details.

If there's one thing we know and love about Lauren, it's that she's a major bargainista.

Allow me to present the evidence.

It's a complete battle of the wills when I walk into a thrift type shop because I would love to be able to save a ton of money and get a good deal, but I also want to have everything sitting in nice, neat, pretty rows with little outfits already paired for my fashion impaired self. This obviously doesn't bother Lauren. She will find the bargains and hunt them down. 

Speaking of hunting bargains, have you been to Bargain Hunt? They're popping up all over the south, and I'm pretty exciting about my 1 measly deal I scored recently.

Why yes, I may have had a Vicki reaction when I first saw these Michael Kors boots for $25!!
Granted, it's been about 100 degrees every day around these parts, but I need something to look forward to in the winter. :)

We miss you Lauren and hope you're having a fab time!

Rachel, Thank you so much for being such a great friend and guest posting for me! I'm loving the beach and having a great time. So thankful for what thrifting has allowed me to do so far in life and I hope you find your love for it soon!

Relax.

Hello ladies!

I'm still soaking up the sun, laying out, and enjoying time with my family. 

Can I live here and NOT come back? 

please. say. yes.

I was thinking tonight about how God made EVERYTHING in this beautiful world and how he formed it all and put it exactly where he wanted it. I find that so interesting because God could have just made this world and not planned it intricately. Thank him that he loves details and loves to make his children wonder and thank him!

He's got the whole world in his hands!

p.s. if someone would like to guest post for me, email @ lauren_patton@hotmail.com

Guest Post// Cassie's Journey.

Hey y'all!

My name is Cassie and I blog over at 

The meaning behind my blog isn't that I'm trying NOT to be a blogger.

I firmly realize that I truly am a blogger and legit now -

since I had my first BLATE with your girl, Lauren this past weekend.

I chose that blog title because of my love life, hence the fact that I reallly don't have one.

I have been single for pretty much 25 years of my life, I'm 26 by the way.

And I just have some stories that will make you chuckle.

But enough about my non-existent love life....

My blog is all about LIFE: friends, family, and road trips to many places, but mostly:

Tupelo, New Orleans, and the MS Gulf Cost.

That one time I met the All American Rejects in New Orleans.

I seldom talk about my love for Mexican and Newks,

but it's there - trust me.

I also talk a lot about working out.

I am slowly making my way back down to my happiest weight when I was in college: 130.

I am currently in my "fat weight" from high school: 147.

Starting weight on left: 163 pounds.

Weight on right: 147 pounds

The one product that helps me the most is: 

Spark.

I honestly don't think I would be off Dr. Peppers (most days) without it.

So besides working out, working 40 hours a week in a cubicle and making sure almost all of my weekends are spent driving to see my college friends,

I pretty much read my bible and lotion my feet every night

before my bedtime of 9 o'clock, if I'm lucky.

Please stop by my blog and say hello!
Who knows - I may drive to meet you next! :)

Cassie- Thank you SO much for not only meeting me in person but for already helping me out with a guest post! You are the best! Your weight loss journey is inspiring and I can't wait to see you meet your goal weight!

// B.E.A.C.H. must haves.

You know those days you wake up and you just know it's going to be a great day? Yeah, that's me today because it's "let's go to the beach" day and I'm too excited. 

I have been looking forward to this trip for a while and a lot of planning and excitement has gone into this trip. Now.. I've packed and we are R.e.a.d.y.. What's some things that I've brought along with me, you ask?

one// Sunglasses- These are so important when you are on the beach and can't see anything because the sun is in your eyes. 

two// PFG Columbia Shirt- Mine isn't monogrammed but a {thrifted} one that I plan to use as a swimsuit cover up. We shall see how that goes.  

three// Beach Bag- Every girl needs a beach bag that is going to be easy to carry and is big enough to carry all the essentials that will be needed while on the beach.

Four// A good book- Anything with a love story and a little mischief will keep me reading! I love Emily Giffin books!

five// Suncreen- I love a good tan as much as the next girl but skin cancer runs in my family so I have to be protected too! 

six//Sand Spike Drink holder- this is one of my fun additions this year. I can't wait to test it out with a yummy Diet coke sitting in there. 

I've got a couple more items that I will share through Instagram.. My button is at the top of my page.. find me and share along in the adventure. 

What are some things that you can't live without on the beach?

// Weekend Shenanigans.

This weekend was the perfect blend of fun, family and relaxation.

I could not ask for more.

//one. Sweet Cassie and I got to meet on a blate (blog date).  It's always so funny to me that we just completely trust the other person and I've not been fooled yet. She was just as sweet in person as she is on the World wide web. I can't wait for her to come to Oxford for a football game!

//two.  The Patton cousins get together. Sam and Theresa got married about a month ago and my aunt and uncle had a celebration party for them. It was a fun time to catch up with them because they live in California and we typically only see them at Christmas!

So happy that they are happy.

**//credit: taken from Theresa's facebook. 

//three. Such a neat idea from the Groom's father, my uncle. He hung these moon lights up and they were multi-colored and beautiful in the sunlight and then at night, look how fun!?

We all were outside taking pictures and enjoying them.

//four. Love these moments with my babies at church. Yes, she's on the toilet but isn't she precious??