sister-palooza part 1 (aka bits of my weekend)

my sisters and i live too far apart. that is a fact.

twinnie is in los angeles, big sis chardy is in naples, fla.,
and i'm stuck in between in nashville.

i know. not ideal.

so we decided to plan the ultimate sisters weekend in naples.

and man, oh man, it was fabulous.

so fabulous, in fact, i'm going to give it to you in parts.

i don't think you could handle it otherwise.

let's begin.

each day began with guilt-free espressos topped with skim milk and sweetened with stevia.

i'm completely spoiled now. addicted totally.

these are ridiculously good. you use a little pod of high intensity espresso - and they come in a jillion different kinds.

oh, and did i mention we grated scharffenberger chocolate on top? well, we did.

and i'm not sorry about that.

one of her foodie friends loaned us this machine. i absolutely have to buy one.

on day one we went to clam pass beach.

it's chardy's favorite place to take her boys, and it is phenomenal.

oh, and it's a habitat for these adorable endangered gopher tortoises. there were big ones hiding in their burrows, but this little baby came out to say hi.

the water is so blue, it looks like the caribbean.

for lunch we had some amazing coconut shrimp ...

and grouper salads. the seafood here is amazing.

each evening, locals and tourists alike gather to watch mother nature totally show off.

when the gorgeous sun finally disappears behind the horizon line, the goofy tourists clap.

i won't say if i clapped or not. but if i did, could you blame me?

beyond beautiful.

after the sunset, the clouds put on a show of their own.

i'm in love with naples, and it's only day one.

more to come tomorrow ...

part 2
part 3a
part 3b
part 4