Christmas in Koh Samui, Thailand

It's been almost a month since Christmas, but here is our Christmas in Thailand recap!

After a twelve hour overnight train ride, a bus ride, and a ferry ride, we made it to our resort on the island of Koh Samui around noon on Christmas Eve. 

We checked into our incredibly beautiful resort and were upgraded to a private bungalow. 

For the afternoon, we decided to explore the resort, sit by the pool, and walk on the beach.

On Christmas Eve, we went to the Gala on the beach provided by the hotel. There was a buffet and live entertainment. The food was so good and the entertainment was better than we were expecting. We ate and laughed and danced to the music. It was the perfect Christmas eve. 

We started Christmas morning with the incredible breakfast buffet at our resort. The fresh fruit was the best part, other than the view. (Ignore Jake's face, he really was happy)

After breakfast, we claimed our spot by the beach/pool. Then, we got Thai messages in a bungalow on the beach. It was the best message I have ever had. They put you in all sorts of weird positions and even throw you over their back. I would have loved to have pictures of how funny we looked. It will probably be the best massage I will ever have, and only $10!

We spent the rest of the day reading by the pool, walking on the beach, drinking fruity drinks, and eating a lot. It was the perfect weather, not too hot. I did end up getting extremely sunburnt.

Our spot for the day(and all the days we were there)

On the beach in front of our resort was this little food stand with corn, egg rolls, shrimp, chicken, and fresh fruit. There was always a line and is smelled so good, so we had to try some. The food was awesome, especially the corn! Jake was hooked. 

My favorite was the pad thai lunch deal the resort brought to you at your beach chair. It was so good!

There were also vendors walking along the beach selling items. Jake got a fedora and I got a swimsuit from the sweetest lady. 

Most of the day we forgot it was Christmas. When you are used to cold, fires, and hot chocolate, the beach doesn't always feel so Christmasy. It was fun, though, and lots of people were in the Christmas spirit!

That night, we got dressed up and went to dinner at the Fisherman's market down the street. We walked around the market looking at the different booths and food stands and then relaxed in some of the cute cafes. It was a really fun night!

It was not a traditional Christmas, but it will be one we always remember. It was so fun to spend time together and to appreciate the opportunities we have been given. 

All of our days in Koh Samui kind of blended together because we did the exact same thing everyday. We ate breakfast at the buffet, laid out, walked on the beach, got messages, went to dinner, walked around the night market. We used the time to relax instead of sightseeing, and we were so glad we did. We would definitely go back to Koh Samui some day!

A long, jam-packed weekend

This weekend felt like it lasted forever, and I am certainly not complaining. Not only did Jake have Monday off, but he has today off as well! I wasn't around these blogging parts until this morning because we fit as much as we possibly could into those few short days. We have friends who just arrived on the island and we wanted to show them all the great things this place has to offer.

{friday}
Friday was my first day off all week and so I spent the entire day running errands, cleaning, and getting rid of the weeds taking over our yard. They were so thick and tall, I woke up extremely sore the next morning. I think that means I need to get into the gym. Friday evening I somehow convinced Jake to help me finish up our guest room. I am SO in love with it and can't wait for friends and family to come visit us. I shared a little sneak peak on instagram. I can't wait to share the before and after soon!

Prints found here

{saturday}

Saturday we hung around the house for a little bit and then did a bit of shopping, visited a cute cafe right by our house, and took Lexie to the beach.

This was the view from the cafe

Saturday evening we headed down to a friend's house for a cookout. The food was great and it was so much fun the spend some time with friends. It was such a fun evening!

Love these girls! Wish we could have gotten a picture with all the girls before they left!

{sunday}

Our friends stayed with us Saturday night because they didn't have any furniture in their place yet. Saturday morning I cooked a big breakfast and then we got ready and headed out for the day. We took them to our favorite $1 sushi-go-round and then did some thrift shopping. We also showed them a few of our favorite places to shop. We ran across some puppies for sale and I fell in love with a poodle. They don't shed and after our war on dog fur, this puppy was looking cuter and cuter! But at $1,000, Jake wouldn't let me bring him home.

We finished the afternoon with a bit of furniture shopping and then headed home for lasagna and movies.

{monday}

Jake actually had to work Monday morning but was home in time for breakfast and to spend the rest of the day off. On his day off he really wanted to go 4wheelin'. We picked up our friends and took them to get soba at our favorite marketplace. 

Soba is thicker and straighter than a ramen noodle

We then went to look for the 4wheelin' trails Jake had heard about. We ran across an interesting hand-fishing stream with lots of fish and then finally found some trails. It wasn't anything too crazy or wild, but it was fun!

These guys were brave enough to go on our 4wheelin' adventure

Once we were done, we headed to Maeda flats where it was super low tide. I was wearing my Hunter boots so I was able to walk around in the tide pools and see tons of interesting sea creatures. Have I mentioned how much I love living on this island? 1,000 times? You're right.

Never knew these boots would come in handy at the ocean!

Before we headed to a cookout to end our adventurous day, we stopped by Manzamo point. It was so pretty!

What an incredible weekend! 

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High Five For Friday 01/17

{one}

I had my first full week of subbing. I absolutely LOVE it. I loved being back in the classroom, but I also like having a job. I thought that I was enjoying my free time and being a stay at home wife, but I think I was made to be a working woman, at least until we have children. I like the routine of waking up, getting dressed, going out and doing something productive, then coming home at night. During my time as stay-at-home wife, I wondered how working people ever get things done, but I think I got more done in this week than I have in a long time. I think the busier you are, the more you take advantage of every free minute. I'm going to miss having free time to explore the island and lay in bed watching netflix doing projects, but there is nothing better than feeling like a productive member of society. 

{two}

I made quinoa pasta greek yogurt chicken mac and cheese this week and it has topped the list of best healthy comfort meals. I love finding ways to eat healthy without having to sacrifice taste. And sometimes, you just need mac and cheese. I will share the recipe soon!

{three}

Every time I am on my way home from the English class I teach, I pass the cutest little bakery that I have been wanting to check out. Thursday I had a bit of time to spare before my class so I stopped at the bakery. Come to find out, it is macaroons and gelato! It was the cutest little place and the best macaroons I've ever eaten. It will be hard not to stop there every Thursday when I am on my way to my class. 

{four}

A lady at the Japanese school I work at gave me a couple of bags of homemade mochi. The Japanese eat lots of mochi during January to celebrate the new year. It was such a nice gesture to share some with me! It has such an interesting texture and doesn't taste like much. It has almost a medicine-like taste/smell. I love learning about the Japanese culture.

{five}

I found a website on pinterest that allows you to type in all of the items on your grocery list and then gives you coupons for those items. So convenient and time saving! I feel like such a nerd/grown-up that I get excited about coupons. When did this happen?? The sight is lovo.com.

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for the long weekend!

Linking up with Lauren, Darci, Rebecca, Casey, and Jennie