In the Pink...Captiva Style

I just recently returned from a brief but wonderful visit to Captiva and Sanibel Islands...which is one of my very favorite places on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  On my drive along the coast to get to my hotel, I was taking in the gorgeous scenery of Blind Pass (the area that joins Sanibel and Captiva together) and as I rounded the bend....I caught glimpse of something interesting out of the corner of my eye.

My first thought was wondering what it was....and my second thought was PINK SATURDAY!  I spent some time asking a few people that I met - if they knew what it was.  I actually called Pam with I Love Shelling, figuring surely she would know what this is. I asked her .... Is it a sculpture?  It is symbols that are suppose to mean something? She had not seen it before and figured since she is in that area so often, it must be new.

So bound and determined - I went back to get a photo or two to share with all my Pink Saturday friends...and sure enough, I notice across the street, this amazing Pink House, with a sign in front that said "In the Pink".  I called Pam back and filled her in....so at least some of the mystery was solved...it must have been placed there by the owners of this magnificent house - who obviously love the color pink - as much as I do.  (Maybe even more if that is possible).

So in honor of Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound...here's In the Pink, Captiva style.

Have a fabulous Pink Saturday!

The Bubble Room....in a league of its own.

Do you ever have plans to go away for the weekend...and a big part of your plan is to actually make no plans? To enjoy whatever comes your way....and take it easy? Well that was the intention for my Sanibel weekend in August. 

I purposely chose to not schedule too much of anything for my husband and I.  All I really wanted to do was three things:  

1) Shelling on the beach 

2) Trip to Cayo Costa for what else - more shelling on the beach 

3) Dinner at the famous Bubble Room on Captiva Island  

The Shelling part: Mission Accomplished.  So with that, I figured our last night was the best option for a visit to The Bubble Room.  Well, as luck would have it - things didn't turn out that way as the wait was too long (they don't accept reservations) and I had to get up early the next morning....so we didn't get the chance to go (for dinner, that is). We went to the Old Captiva House instead - which was quite nice (and a favorite of Anne Morrow Lindbergh). It's kind of like an "old Florida' style restaurant. The food & service was great.  

I was determined that I wanted to share photos of this interesting little historic restaurant on Captiva Island...so I shot these early in the morning leaving the island.  

If you have been to The Bubble Room - I hope this brings back some great memories - and if you haven't - this is a must visit if you ever make a trip over to the Gulf Coast.

A vibrant rainbow of colors.....  

There's alot going on here...

A very pretty waiting area....

Apparently, the restaurant is so popular ...

it has it's own souvenir shop.

So I am hoping that this post help's my friends.... Laurie from Heaven's Walk and Debbie from the LakeHouse keep the excitement going on the countdown for their spring trip to Sanibel!!!

Imitation is the highest form of flattery......

Have you ever had an "all of sudden" out of nowhere thought - and wonder why you didn't think of it sooner?  Or in this case - all of a sudden remember seeing some else's fabulous idea and wonder why you didn't copy it sooner?

One of my favorite home accessories is this beautiful French Blue tray that I purchased from My Shabby Chateau's Etsy Shop.  I recently did a post (that you can read here) about this terrific shop and one of the photographs I featured was this lovely tray that I pretty much left empty - because I didn't want to cover the label inside.

See what I mean - this label is just so tres chic!  

So last week, when I was proofing the post about My Shabby Chateau - just as I hit the "Publish Post" button, it came to me, on exactly how to use this tray and still be able to admire the label I adore.

What's the saying..."Imitation is the highest form of flattery"?  Well, this is a perfect example.

One of my favorite blogs is Secret Garden Cottage.  Jo has such amazing decorating style and I love the look she has created in her home.  When I'm searching for ideas and inspiration, I spend time on her blog looking at the photos of her gorgeous home and garden.  She recently did a post on how she displayed her Sanibel seashells....and all I can say is, once again, as you can see from the photos below - she put together a lovely array that was creative and distinctive.

Beside the shell's, isn't this hutch just fabulous????

All of a sudden, voilà - my french blue tray combined with my 4 vintage milk bottles that I bought at a thrift shop and 1 Starbucks frappuccino bottle courtesy of Jo (that I'm quite certain will someday be a vintage piece) has now been transformed into a magnificent display of seashells. And I can still admire the beautiful label!!!

So thank you Jo, for showing me a new way to display my seashells...and for your fabulous style & creativity, as it now has a presence in my home.....

For now - its on the console in my family room - but I am thinking I may have to find a better spot...

Hope this inspires you to remember a fabulous idea you've seen on one of your favorite blogs....and bring it into your home! 

I'm linking this up to:
Show and Tell Friday with My Romantic Home
Weekend Wrap Up Party with Tatertots and Jello
Yard Salen Party with Debbiedoos
Saturday Nite Special with Funky Junk Interiors
Make it for Monday with Cottage Instincts

The Sanibel Stoop takes The Hulk out!

Ok - I couldn't resist posting this story...however, in doing so - I have exposed a side of me that I usually try to hide - which is, on occasion - I read TMZ.  Yes, I guess you could call that a guilty pleasure - that I don't broadcast, but in this case, I thought this story was so funny, I had to post it.  In reading TMZ this week, I saw a headline that said that The Hulk was rushed to the emergency room for back pain.  Normally, I would skip right over this...however, in my exuberance to get to the good stuff, I accidently clicked on the story which explained that The Hulk was in the hospital for severe back issues as a result of his constant stooping over while he was shelling. Yes, it said shelling, as in picking up seashells on the beach!! 

According to TMZ, they spoke to The Hulkster -- who was hospitalized this week in Clearwater, FL -- they say The Hulk tells us he was picking up seashells this weekend with his girlfriend Jennifer ... and the constant bending over eventually got the better of him.

Well - that means.... I now love The Hulk.  What other 6'7" guy is gonna admit to the world that he had to go to the hospital from severe back pain as a result of spending the day picking up seashells.  NONE is what I say....so here's to The Hulk...who proves shelling is not just for chicks - and that there is such a thing as The Sanibel Stoop.

Hope you enjoy reading the story here....Hulk Hogan's Seashell Shock on TMZ.

The Hulkster in the hospital after one

 serious day of shelling this week.

Sanibel...A Shell-a-cious time

Linking up to Completely Coastal

Well - I had such a hard time selecting my favorite post of this year - to link up to Completely Coastal's "Everything Coastal" link party.  But I finally decided on this one - from August 2010.  So here goes....

What's the saying...a picture is worth a thousand words?  Well, I think in this case, it's best to let the photographs do most of the talking.  My husband I recently returned from an amazing weekend on Sanibel Island....which is just such a fabulous place, especially for a seashell fanatic like me.  


From the minute we arrived on the island, I was in heaven.  Everywhere I looked, the theme was seashells... from art galleries to restaurants to shops - I was like a kid in a candy store. 


Before we went, I did a little research on the island because I was really curious as to why so many seashells and sealife found their way there.  I have lived on the Florida coast most of my life and haven't seen any seashells...so I was curious as to why they showed up over on the Gulf Coast in such large quantities and not here in my own backyard.  Well now I know.

Sanibel Island is part of a large plateau that extends out into the Gulf of Mexico for miles and this plateau acts like a shelf for seashells to accumulate.  Due to the currents and tides, shells travel from all over the world which is why one of the best times for shelling, is after a major storm. When the tides pick up, the seashells move around and Sanibel's land configuration acts as a scoop to pick up all these lovely shells roaming around out there, and the tides deliver these lovelies right onto the beaches....for all of us to enjoy.  One of the best sites for Sanibel shelling is  I Love Shelling...check it out - its an awesome research for shelling and more...on Sanibel Island. 

 

This where we stayed on W. Gulf Drive.  Awesome location.

Our little beachfront cottage.  Very cute. 

The beach at the Island Inn.  Just gorgeous.

Sea turtle season.  A great blog to learn more

about the sea turtle nests on Sanibel is Sanibel Toots. 

It is a wonderful resource on everything

there is to love about Sanibel. 

One of the highlights of the weekend was booking a shelling excursion with Captain Mike Fuery to Cayo Costa

Island for the most amazing timeThe tour leaves out

of Tween Marina which in on the Captiva side...

but called Tween because Captain Mike

said that the marina was in-between Sanibel and Captiva.

 This is the restaurant that is at Tween Waters Inn. 

We ended up going back there for dinner

on Captain Mike's recommendation.  It was great.

Two of the cottages across the street from Tween Waters Inn. 

I loved this one cottage. It was so pretty.

Here's the marina.

Captain Mike's boat. The excursion is a maxmium of 4 people.

Here's the amazing view leaving the marina heading

towards Cayo Costa. And the rest of the photos are samples

 of the amazing shells I collected.  This beach was so beautiful.

It was deserted and is part of a protected national park. The shells were amazing, many of the larger ones were still alive so of course,

we spent a lot of time throwing them back in, hoping that they

would not washback up again.  My husband found a large shell,

about 10 inches long with what looked like a red large,

hairy tarantula peeking out of it.  It was a creatureous looking crab

and when I told Captain Mike about it,

he said that it could be at least 15 years old! 

We had placed it back in the ocean, hoping that it made it

back out to sea. 

The great part was there were a lot of shells, especially the ones I like

best - old vintagely looking shells.  I like the imperfect ones...that look like they have traveled far and wide.  The bad part was, I left my camera on the boat and it was too difficult to go back and get it!! 

The beach across the street from Tween Waters Inn.  The beauty is indescribable.

And one last lovely little pink beauty............

Today's view from the Gulf.....

Sanibel Island

"The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach........waiting for a gift from the sea.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sanibel Island – Heaven on Earth for a Shell Lover like me

I am so exited, I just absolutely can not contain myself.  I’m going to Sanibel for the weekend.  I’ve been planning to go for a couple years now – but for some reason or another, it hasn’t worked out.  Considering my seashell obsession…and obsession is being kind…its more like an addiction, I can’t believe I haven’t gone sooner – since it is only a 2 hour drive from where I live.

I’ve been doing some research on the best part of the island for shelling and I’ve learned that it depends on what kind of shells you want.  Well – of course, I want ALL KINDS…but I’ll start off with searching for the larger ones since I have a more than adequate supply of medium to small shells.  I picked the Blind Pass area as it seems one of the best for shelling… so I am hoping that was a good decision. 

My husband is going with me – which is a miracle unto itself, because it’s so hard to get him to go anywhere on the Gulf Coast…as he is a Florida Keys (on the Atlantic side) kind of guy. He (says) is going to help me collect shells – let’s see how that goes… he really doesn’t have much of a passion or interest in shells.  Although, he is really a good sport because he is basically surrounded by them at home.  

I hope to share my inspirations (and photo’s of my shell loot) when I return. Maybe I can create some of these awesome accessories for my home...as shown in Better Homes & Gardens  - Decorating with Seashells.