st. augustine

Matthew and I set out on our MUCH anticipated anniversary trip last Thursday morning. We headed right down I-95 to St. Augustine Beach for a few days to relax, catch up with each other, and just enjoy some time together. and that we did. 

we had quite the music selection taking it back to our younger years. we rocked to counting crows, mariah carey, dave matthews, avril lavigne, caedmon's call. you get the picture. our younger years. i have always enjoyed belting out tunes with matthew. it's just something i really enjoy.

we checked into our hotel, got ready, and headed downtown. matthew had something planned for thursday night so i was excited. he kept making these mysterious phone calls before we left for the evening so i was curious to say the least. our first stop was here....

where i got to pick out my own oyster, watch as the "pearl lady" opened it up to find my pearl inside, and be really excited about what was to be found!

and apparently getting a black pearl is extremely rare. i was stoked to say the least! what a cool anniversary gift :) I got it set to put on a silver chain to have forever.

we had dinner at the raintree cafe and walked the beautiful brick streets of st. augustine all evening together. hand in hand. 

we spent our days with our toes in the sand, napping on the beach, reading on the beach, playing in the ocean, snacking, talking. it was a beautiful thing with no schedule, no responsibilities. exactly what we had hoped for!

all three evenings were spent downtown eating delicious food, taking in beautiful views, having much needed conversation, holding hands some more, shopping, taking our time doing whatever we wanted. have i mentioned it's exactly what we were hoping for?! because it was.

i so enjoyed spending time with this man. talking about our family, our ministry, our future. such an encouraging time. such a relaxing time. couldn't have asked for more!

(i just enjoyed this picture so i thought i would throw it in for the memories)