Rosemary Beach
MOOD: JOY. ALWAYS JOY
There’s a lot to be said of moving to not only a new city but a new state in your late 30s. A LOT. But let’s just start with a loss of community.
As most of you know, my family and I made a decision to move to Austin, Tx. in the early stages of the pandemic. He looked at me one day and said, I think it’s time for us to move and move to Austin. Without much thought, I immediately said yes, and we set a date of June 2021.
Four months later + a devastating hurricane that ravished our hometown of Lake Charles, La -- that move came 9 months earlier than expected.
Life has been a blur since August 25th. Even after moving life has continued to move at lightning speed and by the end of November, I hit a wall. Missing my community was a pang in my heart, if not weekly, almost daily.
There is just something to be said about grabbing a cup of coffee or drinks with your best girlfriends. In my opinion, there is nothing that can beat it.
By the time Christmas came, I was worn out and worn thin by everything and we were still not yet done with our traveling for the year. Before leaving for our Christmas trip to Seattle, Lee + the kids and I had our own special Christmas at home.
As the kids opened up gifts in a fury, Lee handed me a card. My eyebrow shot up-- 1. I repeatedly stated that I didn't want anything. 2. I was intrigued.
Inside, was one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received-- a printout of a reservation to my most favorite place on earth--Rosemary Beach and a double surprise with my two best girlfriends. I was rendered speechless and that’s no easy feat.
Trying to find a care. Didn’t find one.
Rosemary Beach is a very special place for me. 7 years ago, we stumbled upon this perfect oasis while on a vacation in PCB, We were so enthralled by the small and charming community that we decided to spend the day and rent bikes. As the day progressed from grabbing coffee, riding around, stuffing our faces at La Cocina, and swimming at the beach- little by little Rosemary had captured our hearts. It wasn’t until last summer that we could actually afford to come as a family and truly enjoy ourselves. So many memories were made and now, it’s officially our kid’s favorite place.
My favorite girls in my favorite place = Grateful.
When we were there this summer, Lee kept saying this would be a perfect girls trip for you and your friends. Little did I know, that trip was going to become a reality!
Finally, a few weeks ago my girlfriends and I made our way down to Rosemary Beach, which in their words was one of the best trips that they’ve ever taken. Lee and our realty company went out of their way to make sure that our check-in was seamless and if there is nothing that I value more, it’s incredible customer service.
As we checked in, the girls noticed that our favorite bottles of wine were chilling in the refrigerator with a note from all our husbands. (take note guys)
It was an invitation for us to truly unplug and enjoy ourselves. This made me both giddy and excited because I love nothing more than to share my favorite things with my favorite people!
Both of my girlfriends have extremely demanding careers that take can take a lot out of them professionally. Nothing made me happier than them being able to completely unwind and unplug.
These girls have seen me at my lowest and at my best. We are lifers.
After we unpacked, we got all dressed up and walked over to Pescado!
Pescado is one of the most gorgeous restaurants and dining experiences in Rosemary Beach IMO!
I actually hadn’t been to Pescado previously because all patrons must be 18+, so experiencing this for the first time with Tynia and Brandi was a treat. There’s something to be said about eating dinner rooftop with saltwater in the air and sea only a couple of hundred feet away from you. I recommend Pescado 10/10!
Our inaugural dinner was nothing short of impeccable from our meal to drinks.
If you are headed that way I recommend making reservations as soon as possible. I ordered the Arugula salad, Lamb Ragout Pasta and the Hang Five Cocktail is strongly recommended! (Brandi’s drink of choice)
The next morning, we all woke up in a weird space-- there was no one calling our names and asking for breakfast or had a request. We just sat and kept looking at each other and laughing.
More often than not, I get to travel with just Lee and me for our business, but it’s been a solid year due to COVID-19 since we’ve traveled ALONE. The silence was deafening, but also enjoyable!
After a walk to breakfast and back, we decided to do some shopping at Rosemary Trading Co. and several other boutiques but the absolute highlight of our day was all of us getting 60-minute massages back at the house!
On the ride down, Brandi made the suggestion that we get massages and facials. All she had to do was say the word and I was googling my heart out!
We ended up booking Lezlie’s Mobile Spa for three private massages in the comfort of our own cottage! Lezlie’s specializes in serving the 30A community and I think it’s an understatement to say that the massage was THE highlight of the trip! I’ll definitely be utilizing her services again!
The best for me was that I got to spend one on one time with both Brandi + Tynia as we rotated appointments for our massages! Tynia and I biked around Rosemary, taking in the real estate- mouths agape the whole time. There is something to be said about the homes there!
Brandi and I got to do one of her favorite pastimes- shopping. (shhh) Don’t tell anyone. We may have bought all the things from Disco 30A!
The thing that makes Rosemary so special is the feeling that you’ve entered into a different country without leaving the USA. It feels very much like Spain in my personal opinion and the quaintness of the community and the ability to walk everywhere is a definite win for me. I love the exclusivity of it, even though it’s becoming one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country right now.
From the cobblestoned streets to the grassy knolls where it seems that the whole town meets up to the white sand and Emerald waters --it really is magical! I could wax poetic about Rosemary Beach all day (LOL) so much so that one of my best friends spent her family vacation there a couple of weeks before us last summer and one of my big sisters is planning on spending her birthday there next month!
If you can, I recommend visiting and enjoying this beautiful Emerald Coast!
There is so much I can say about Rosemary and my own personal experience there. Below I’ve included names + links to all of my favorite places. Enjoy!
Rentals- Below are links to the last two homes we’ve booked
03. The Pearl Hotel (the only hotel in RB, it’s pretty amazing)
* a tidbit that one of my girlfriends who pretty much summers in 30A told me if you see a rental on VRBO or AIRBNB find out the property management co. and book through them- you’ll save hundreds in fees.
Bike Company(s) -because what is life in RB without bikes??
01. Peddlers 30A (we’ve rented here several times)
Breakfast
Charlies’ Donut Truck (it’s almost sacrilegious not to come here during a stay)
Crackings (Grayton Beach) The Lobster Gouda Grits!!!! We order 3 bowls of this magical potion in a bowl.
Lunch
Dinner
Coffee + Ice Cream Shops
Smallcakes Cupcakery + Creamery
Shopping
Rosemary Beach Trading Co. (where everyone gets the quintessential Rosemary Beach T-shirts)
*IMPORTANT NOTE* I exclusively wrote about Rosemary Beach in this article. For several reasons, but most importantly I have only ever stayed here. There are many amazing additions that I wanted to add, but I will be writing about 30A after our next stay in either Seaside or Santa Rosa, this summer.
Any questions- leave them in the comment section below or email me- Erica@lookseelove.co! I can’t wait to hear from you!