Anna Maria Island 2016

Happy Friday friends! My extended Fourth of July weekend was so wonderful in Anna Maria Island, a small island of Florida's west coast near Bradenton. I'm so thankful to have such an amazing family and framily to spend my days with, plus this island is absolutely beautiful! We arrived Saturday and first had lunch at this awesome burrito place then enjoyed some pool time and the first, and most gorgeous, sunset of the trip! 

This weekend was extra special because my brother Nick and sister in law Rachel joined us for a few days. We figured out this was Nick's first time on vacation with the whole family since he was a teenager and we had so much fun!

Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast at a greek place and were happily surprised to find cuban coffee on the menu haha! We spent the rest of the day at the beach just down the street from the house we rented. Later, we grilled some burgers for dinner and I tried out this awesome jalapeno popper corn salad which I modified a little by adding black beans and canned, fire roasted corn to make it easier!

 Of course, we headed back to the beach to watch the sun set over the pretty blue water and enjoy another one of God's amazing gifts! I also had a major mermaid moment in that sundress. Two of my favorite things about Anna Maria ended up being that you could walk to so many great places from where we stayed (the very north end of the island) and the pastel colored, beachy houses. Like hello, when do I move in?

{dress: Altar'd State, bikini: Victoria's Secret}

If you know me at all, you know fourth of July is my absolute favorite holiday so I'm so sad I got so few pictures from Monday! In the morning, we toted some beach chairs down to the main street on the north of the island, Pine Ave, to catch Anna Maria's Fourth of July parade! I actually thought it was very cute for such a small town parade, so many happy little faces :) We spent the rest of the day hanging by the pool and ventured to the beach later to catch the fireworks. Fireworks are definitely supposed to be illegal on the beach, but they completely surrounded us which was so pretty to see just after the sun had set!

Ah and then Tuesday, my last and most adventure filled day! Victoria and I woke up early in an attempt to avoid the crowds at one of the most popular spots on Anna Maria: The Donut Experiment. Our family friends had gone on their own Sunday morning and waited in line for an hour and a half for these puppies.We had much better luck however and our wait was probably only about 30 minutes, well worth it at such a cool place! I may do a post on places to eat in Anna Maria later on because I have about a million pictures of food from the weekend, but basically you get to design your own donuts here. They make the fresh cake donuts right in front of you, then you can choose from delicious frostings and toppings! I loved our maple bacon and chocolate coconut creations, as well as their house iced coffee.

Later, we headed to the beach and also enjoyed lunch at the Sandbar Restaurant. Very, very good! Please order the spinach dip for me, it was such cheesy fondue goodness! Also amazing seefood, I got the salmon, my sister got shrimp and scallops, and my friends got the grouper sandwich.

{hat: Brandy Melville}

Victoria and I left the beach a little early to look around some of the shops around Pine Ave. If you're looking for boutique shopping, I definitely recommend Shiny Fish Emporium, Pink&Navy, and The Island Cabana (hello Lilly goodness!!). 

{clutch: Lilly Pulitzer}

Sadly, after dinner back at the house I headed back to North Florida. I loved Anna Maria and can see myself coming back again and again! I have been to a few other islands on Florida's west coast before, but AMI was by far my favorite because of it's more relaxed and quiet feel. I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July as well, sending you some salty, sandy, and sunny vibes!