Honeymoon at Paradisus La Perla in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

by The Pike's Place

Playa Del Carmen along the coast of Mexico is a perfect honeymoon destination. A romantic beach location at an all-inclusive resort is on the top of the list for many newlyweds. Like many others, we chose the beach when it came time to plan our own dream honeymoon. There is something romantic about a beach destination and all inclusive is definitely the go-to choice for a carefree vacation. We picked Mexico for the direct flights, quality, and price. You can get a lot of bang for your buck in Mexico. Cancun is known more for partying and the beach. We headed an hour south to Playa Del Carmen and it did not disappoint. We stayed 7 nights at the Paradisus La Perla. I highly recommend this resort and here are my reasons why.

Paradisus La Perla Honeymoon

Playa Del Carmen is beautiful. The beach is gorgeous and the water is crystal blue. You likely cannot go wrong with a stay anywhere along this gorgeous coast. Paradisus La Perla was the perfect resort choice for us. It is an all-inclusive resort that is modern, adults-only, eco-friendly and absolutely beautiful. My husband couldn’t get over how good it smelled, literally the resort smells good. From the rooms to the restaurant’s everything was impeccably clean and maintained wonderfully. The food was simply amazing. It was not at all what we expected for all-inclusive food. We stayed in the Royal Service section and I cannot lie, the extra splurge was more than worth it. To have access to our own little VIP (more…)

Baked Honey Buffalo Chicken Tenders

by The Pike's Place

Spicy food is a slight obsession of mine. Whenever I eat out or even at home I’m always searching the menu for something with heat. Buffalo sauce tops the list of my favorites. I love wings, tenders, wraps, pizzas and anything else I can smother in the spicy sauce. My go to bar food are chicken tenders and while I love the spicy fried chicken, I do not love the amount of calories that comes with. Instead of going out to eat tonight for the glorious spicy hot fried tenders and having instant guilt and possibly a stomach ache from all the grease, I decided to take a stab at a healthier version at home.

My husband is from Michigan and on a trip back to visit his family we had Detroit style buffalo wings. There are many places around the states that serve this style of buffalo sauce and you likely has seen a similar version on a menu somewhere. It’s a tangier sweet and spicy (more…)

Disney Dapper Day Outfit – Minnie Mouse Inspired

by The Pike's Place

It was swell day that April afternoon when we went to Walt Disney World. Dapper Day is according to it’s creators website, “fashionable gatherings attended by over 30,000 well-dressed guests twice a year at the Disney Resorts in California, Florida, and France”. Most people and even avid Disney fans aren’t aware of Dapper Day. In my opinion, it’s is like stepping back in time at Disney. Where dapper men and women mix a Disney character and a time period and attend the parks all dolled up looking straight out of 1960 or whatever era they choose. This April I attended Dapper Day and finding the right outfit was a bit of a challenge. **This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking on those links we will be compensated. All opinions are our own**

My love of polka dots led me straight to creating my version of Minnie Mouse.

My first destination was *Mod Cloth. They have so many retro vintage look items. I wanted something 50s or 60s and after a little searching I found the perfect pink polka dot dress ON SALE. It had every element I was looking for. The petticoat I purchased t to go under it was also from Mod Cloth. I did order slightly off and messed up the delivery time and the sizing just little. (more…)

Beer Can Chicken

by The Pike's Place

Grilling is almost like a summer olympic sport in my house. Ever spring I anticipate dustin off our weber and get out the charcoal. When the weather is finally warm enough, there is nothing better than a summer night spent grilling on the patio. Beer can chicken is something I always wanted to make. Don’t wait! Make it immediately before summer is gone. It is the juiciest chicken in the world. I cannot wait to make it again.

We recently had family in town. Since moving, we had not explored one of the oldest farmers markets in the country. It is a short drive from our new house. We wandered around the market with the plan to get groceries to grill out for dinner. A farmers market is an experience in itself. You can find so many different types of fruits, veggies, meats, trinket and this market had chickens and bunnies.

After visiting booth after booth to see the different items and prices we came across a butcher that had fabulous prices on free range organic whole chickens. I felt (more…)

10 Tips for Planning a Destination Wedding

by The Pike's Place

Having just returned from our honeymoon in Mexico, I thought this would be the perfect time to post some tips for planning a destination wedding from my personal experience as a destination bride. I am not a wedding expert, but I can give some good tips from one former bride to a current one!

My husband and I got married December 2015 at a destination wedding in Breckenridge, CO. I will forever love our brilliant idea to get married in a beautiful white chapel with the background of a snowy wonderland and amazing winter sports. As much fun as a destination wedding is, planning any wedding is not usually as simple as picking a location and inviting your friends. Whatever you destination dreams are, you can make it happen. Here are my tips for planning your dream wedding.

1: Pick the location you both want and invite whoever you both want.

Some people will come and some people won’t come! It makes no difference if your wedding is in your backyard or in Tahiti. You might have a significantly smaller wedding if it is a destination, but the return RSVPs might surprise you. We had over 80 people attend our winter Colorado wedding (neither of us are from or have family from Colorado). When we sent the invitations out we weren’t sure if more than our immediate family would come. It turned out that a few of our immediate family couldn’t come and likely they wouldn’t have been able to come no matter where our wedding was. Moral of the story, have your wedding when and where you want it whether or not it works for anyone else and invite the people you want to be there.

2: You want to get married in 6 months or less and have a destination wedding?… don’t elope instead.

I understand your confusion. I just said have your wedding when and where you want, but here me out. Planning a wedding in 6 months can be a nightmare in itself, but it’s also really selfish for a destination wedding. If the majority of your guests live more than an hour away from where you wedding is and need to travel, hotels, etc give them at least 10 months notice. I mean (more…)

Honeymoon Tote Bag DIY

by The Pike's Place

A good tote bag is a summer essential. Something that can get wet, easy to carry and can hold all your pool, beach or lake items. For our honeymoon I needed a beach bag that I could use around the hotel to take towels, sunscreen, phones, books and such to the pool or beach. I found this canvas bag on Amazon for $6.00 and thought it was perfect to personalize with some iron-on vinyl. **This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, we will be compensated. We actually purchased and used all products endorsed and all opinions are our own.**

Items Needed

Cricut or Die cut machine
Font of your choice
12 x 20 Black Iron on Glitter Vinyl – I purchased from Expressions Vinyl
Cricut Tools
12 x 24 Cricut Cutting Mat
Iron
Surface to Iron On
Towels or heat barrier to protect surface and vinyl
Measuring Tape or ruler

Instructions:

This is a super simple Vinyl project that has no layering or special designs. If your tote is washable, you will need to pre-wash the bag (more…)

Month: August 2016

Paradisus La Perla Honeymoon

1: Pick the location you both want and invite whoever you both want.

2: You want to get married in 6 months or less and have a destination wedding?… don’t elope instead.

Items Needed