Happy Independence Day Weekend!

Still recovering from the 4th of July festivities?! I hope you were able to celebrate the special day with friends, food and fireworks! I thoroughly enjoyed a day off of work and celebrated by sleeping in an extra 3 glorious hours :)

My family’s Independence Day weekend included a healthy dose of sunshine on one of my favorite west coast beaches. Balboa, baby! I adore the ferris wheel, the Balboa ferry and the peninsula lined with (over-priced) cute condos. We spent a couple hours walking along the boardwalk and through the beach-y neighborhoods, shopping for our dream home.

I think I was the only girl on the boardwalk not wearing high-waisted shorts and a crop top. How on earth this trend continues to catch on while it makes your butt look unnaturally long is beyond me. #sundress4life ;)

Coffees next to the ferris wheel is Balboa beach tradition.

We started the beach day walking from one pier to the other. American flags were everywhere! Newport residents did not disappoint with the patriotism. After over an hour of walking (and sweating), we were ready to set up camp on the sand and do absolutely nothing.

This girl needed to add some sunlight back into my skin (and work on the eternal sports bra/spandex tan lines!)

I made one unhealthy mistake…..insufficient sunscreen. Damn, I’ve never had major sunburns. My SoCal skin usually welcomes the rays with an olive tone….but three years in the snowy mountains have turned my skin pale and I guess its reunion with the beach sun was a little too harsh! Aloe Vera is my BFF right now.

Unfortunately the beach is overwhelmingly crowded, especially on a holiday weekend. We pinicked lunch with some healthy sandwiches and fruit and decided to hop on a ferry to walk on the other side of the island.

Showering after a sandy sweaty day at the beach = best showers ever. To be clean again! And the night ended with a Pineapple Rum Slushie.

Tomorrow morning I set out for my Sunday Long Run! My favorite workout of the week :)

Due to a ridiculously busy schedule last week I had to postpone a few blog posts that I wanted to share but be ready for a pineapple-y recipe on the blog Monday morning!