Diamond Fork Hot Springs

Kenneth and I adventured to Diamond Fork hot springs this weekend. It was an easy 5 mile roundtrip hike along a stream that led to this beautiful site! I've definitely adjusted to the Utah cold because I hiked this in shorts and I was in the 50's. Makes me laugh because when we first got here, I would stay bundled up in 68 degree weather haha. 

We have loved exploring Utah and all the beauty there is here!

xo, Lo

Link Love

Here's to gradually getting back into the blogging life. No grand recap but I just wanted to share a few of my favorite links. I've seen other people/bloggers do these posts before and I always love it so here goes mine!

1. Listened to THIS motivational talk today and while sometimes I feel like he throws out one too many cliche lines, I really did enjoy it and the message about turning your pain into something good!

2. Who else has been jamming to the new Taylor Swift song? When I first listened to it, I didn't like it at all. But it's really grown on me and now I find myself loving it! I also loved this article that broke down the entire music video and what I missed.

3. The image above is my current desktop background and I found it here. I typically have the same image for years at a time, but decided I want to try and switch it up more because it gives me a good refresh! She has a million different backgrounds and you might find yourself looking for hours lol.

4. Anyone love conspiracy theories? I recently learned about the Mandela Effect and my mind was blown. Especially about the Bernstein Bears conspiracy theory. I had to go dig up an old book because I honestly couldn't believe it!!

5. Miley Cyrus got a little too crazy for my liking but I feel like she's toned it down and I'm really enjoying her new stuff like this song.

6. Last night I watched a documentary about Princess Diana on Hulu and I just started another one that's on Netflix haha. It'll be 20 years since she passed away this week and I've grown very intrigued by it all. Including this article about some of the conspiracy theories surrounding her death. What do you think? I totally believe them!!

7. We've eaten out at a few new places around Atlanta lately and some of our favorites include this, this and THIS!

8. I got a facial done a few weeks ago because my skin has been awful. I learned that I have hormonal acne (around my chin & jaw) and so it doesn't really matter what I do on the outside of my skin. It matters more about the internal side. I started taking this because she recommended that it'll help balance me out and reduce my acne. She swore by it! I've been taking it for 2 weeks and I've noticed a difference. She also recommend this. So I'm going to try them out and give an update later if I notice a difference. Crossing my fingers it works! Anyone know of other products I should try?

9. I really want to read THIS. I've heard great reviews about it. I'm currently reading this. SO many people have recommend it and I've been reading it since February (yikes). It's been a little slow for me but maybe I just haven't sat down long enough to really enjoy it. So far this year I've also read this, this, this and this and I've enjoyed them all.

10. Anyone have any items on your list for Labor Day sales? I am in desperate need of a new vacuum and really want this one so I'm hoping there's a good sale for it! I love following this blogger for great deals. I follow her on instagram too and I obviously don't know her, but I feel like she's really down to earth and I love what she posts, especially when she shares her testimony.

Today is my brother-in-law, Jacom's birthday! He passed away 9 years ago this fall and I miss him lots. It's also my father-in-law's birthday! Happy Birthday to them both <3

Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!!

xo, Lo

Cruise || Day 6 - Cozumel, Mexico

Our last stop was Cozumel, Mexico! Kenneth & I have already visited Cozumel before, but we were still excited to go back! Last time we went, we rented mopeds and went around the island and explored so we decided to do the same thing. Renting mopeds are so cheap there. Once you get off the cruise port, walk into town a little bit and you'll find lots of people renting them. You can definitely bargain with them to get a cheaper deal! The further you walk from the cruise port, the cheaper the rental stations get. 

Kenneth & I went to this beach last time we were in Cozumel and loved it! Unfortunately, there was a storm a few days before we got there and the water right next to the shore was really gross. But the floor of the beach is covered in huge conch shells! You can see where people started picking them up and putting them on this wall. I've never seen anything like it. We were pretty bummed that the water was so gross so we didn't get in here.

^ Can you see Steven & Chloee behind us?

We would drive for a little bit, see a cool spot, get out, explore, then back to driving. It's the best way to see Cozumel in my opinion! 

The highlight of the day was finding this one beach again. This is probably our favorite beach in the entire world and I have no idea what it's called. There is a blue in the ocean that's unlike any other blue we've seen. The sand is so pretty and soft. And this beach has really fun waves to body surf in! But normally when a beach has big waves, the water isn't very clear because of the break in the sand. But by some mystery, the water is still so clear here! We can not figure out how it's like this. But the waves are SO fun and it's just pretty amazing. 

The entire trip Chloee and I were saying how we wanted to get 'fancy' drinks at one of our stops but we never got around to it. This was our last stop so we wanted to and we saw a little hut across the street from our beach. So the boys went over to check out what they had. But they came back empty handed and said they didn't have anything. 

Then about 10 minutes later these two locals come over with drinks and chips + guac and give it to us and Chloee and I were so confused like ummm no you have the wrong person haha this isn't for us. The boys were just being cute and surprised us and it was one good surprise! 

Such a perfect day with the best people!! 

xo

Cruise || Day 5 - Grand Cayman

Day 5 was the day I was most looking forward to... Grand Cayman & sting rays!!!

This has been on my bucket list for awhile and when we were looking at cruises, I wanted to go on one that went to Grand Cayman for this very reason. And guess what, it was even better than I thought!!

We separated from Steven & Chloee for this day because we wanted to do different excursions. So they went scuba diving (which I'll add, they said it was some of the prettiest scuba diving they've ever done!) and we did this with a plan to reunite later.

We took a boat out to this sand bar in the middle of the ocean where the sting rays are known to hang out. Again, we hate doing touristy things, but you don't really have any other options unless you know someone with a boat haha. You have the opportunity to let one of the guides give you one on one time with a sting ray, which I recommend. But it's kind of a struggle because there's one guide and a lot of people in your group. So everyone was excited, wanting a turn and watching you.

It's definitely worth it to wait around near a guide because it's a really cool experience! But after we got our turn, we wandered off on our own.

The sting rays swim all around you! They are not shy at all and it's so crazy. We would be standing there and they would swim in between our legs!

^ All those dark spots are sting rays!

It was nice to be away from the crowds and just swim with them by ourselves! Such a cool experience.

Since we already held them, we even decided to try on our own without the guides, which is totally doable!

^ We had no clue who this guy was, but he came over and helped us hold this sting ray.

I thought I would be a little nervous, but I actually felt so calm around them! Some of them have barbs and some don't. So you need to be cautious and aware, but they were so friendly! This was my favorite thing we did from our cruise. Seriously, it was such a cool experience!

After we swam with the sting rays we headed back to our cruise ship to grab a quick bite to eat. Steven & Chloee's tour went a little longer than ours so we figured we had some time. We managed to meet back up with them, which was pretty awesome because we didn't have phones to use. We had walkie talkie's and we used them to find each other again! The four of us took the bus to get to Seven Mile Beach. There are lots of taxi's waiting to drive you to the beach from the cruise port. But they definitely rip you off and it's better & cheaper to take the bus! It's not a far drive at all, maybe 15 minutes? 

We heard Seven Mile beach was something you had to see and I understand why! Out of all the beaches I've ever been to, this was the clearest water ever!! It seriously looked like someone poured a bottle of water into the ocean! 

There's not much to see as far as a reef or sea life. But it's just so stunning to swim in the crystal clear water! 

That night on the cruise ship we went to some hilarious shows, ate lots of desserts and partied at a silent disco! This was my favorite day from the cruise! 

xo