A week at the beach

Finally, I got to take some much-needed vacation time at the beach last week, and oh, did I ever enjoy it! After a busy summer at the office I was more than ready for some R&R, and my husband and I agreed this was one of the best, most relaxing weeks we've ever had! Thanks to some thoughtful friends, our base was a wonderful condo in Orange Beach, Ala., which placed us in a great area for visiting quite a few nearby coastal towns. Another advantage of going after Labor Day, of course, is that it's a little cooler and the crowds have died down a bit. Perfect!

One day, we drove over to another of our favorite coastal towns, Seaside, since a) we haven't visited in a couple of years and b) I am writing a mystery novel set there, so I needed to do some research. If you haven't been to this area, I highly recommend a visit to the Grayton Beach/Seaside/Seagrove Beach/Rosemary Beach area. Lovely, lovely, lovely! In Seaside, there's a sweet cottage-y feel to the homes, many of which evoke memories of Victorian neighborhoods of yesteryear. Many of the homes have signage telling you the names of the owners and where they are from. I liked the name of this one, Amazing Grace!

And isn't it appropriate to name a peach-colored home Freckles?

This home, Caribbean, earns its name.

And I very much loved the name of this one, Seaquel. I sure hope a writer lives there!

This home was either under construction or renovation, and I absolutely adored the rounded design of the first and second floor porches. Imagine how fun that would be to decorate!

We popped into the charming Seaside Chapel for a visit, and it's on my Bucket List to actually attend a service there one Sunday when I'm nearby.

At dinnertime, we headed to the rooftop of Bud & Alley's for some great seafood and even greater views.

As I browsed in the quaint shops that day, I thought I was going to leave the town tea-free, until I came across the yummiest smelling Citrus & Black Tea French soaps. Oh my goodness, the scent is just divine! Later in the week, I went to an antique mall or two (OK, technically it was a dozen, but who's counting?), and tomorrow if you're game I'll share some of my tea-related treasures!