Celebrating Year 33 In The Florida Keys With A Little Birthday Bump: Isla Bella Beach Resort

My birthday is always right around Blaises winter conference for work. So every year we try to make a little trip out of it. This year, the conference was in Orlando and we didn’t make any concrete plans- but I had been dreaming about The Florida Keys for the past month. However, I was also suffering from crazy morning sickness and wasn’t sure how fun a road trip of that span would be. And Blaise was not overly enthusiastic about driving 4 hours in the opposite direction when there are plenty of nice beaches on our route home. So we did the ole “play it by ear” routine we so often do. 

The day we were leaving Orlando, I found a last minute deal at a beautiful beach resort in Marathon, FL. I just entered my second trimester, was feeling less nauseas and ready to brave the drive. Blaise was not convinced. But after presenting my case which included: a killer deal, photos of the resort, the weather app, my birthday wish and a pregnant wife’s plea. We headed south. 

We stayed at Isla Bella Beach Resort and barely left the grounds. It was everything I wanted- multiple pools, a sandy beach and 76 degrees in early February. It was perfect for a pregnant mama who gets tired at 6pm, a 2 year old who is obsessed with exploring the outdoors, and a husband who needed to be dazzled. (P.S. He was and the whole time told me how “worth it” it was.) 

Every morning when we woke up, I would ask Ella if she wanted to go to the pool or the beach. “Let’s go watch the sunset!” Same reply. Every morning. At 9am. Started each day by melting my heart. It wasn’t easy to explain to her that we would definitely watch the sunset… in 8 hours. But fortunately, she was quickly distracted by the birds and lizards. 

On my actual birthday, we relaxed by the beach, played in the pool, watched the sunset, ate Italian at the resort’s oceanfront restaurant, and ended the night cuddled up watching The Bachelor. Sidenote: my birthday is sometimes on Super Bowl Sunday or The State of The Union address - neither of these am I particularly excited about. But this year, THE BACHELOR aired a special extra episode on my birthday - and it was on a WEDNESDAY! This was the moment I truly knew this was going to be MY YEAR!!

I would 110% recommend The Florida Keys if you have been thinking about going- and the Isla Bella Beach Resort was a literal dream. Gonna be hard to top this birthday! 

Cheers to year 33!