Beers Worth Trying

I posted recently about some seasonal pumpkin beers I've tried recently. I know not everyone loves beer but K and I like trying different beers every weekend. I don't like heavy or dark beers so most of them are light and refreshing. This year I've also been on a major cider kick so here are some of my favorite beers and ciders that I've tried this year and loved:

 

Key West Southernmost Wheat

 

Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat Ale



Angry Orchard Summer Honey Hard Cider

 

Magic Hat Stealin' Time

 

Forbidden Traveler Apple Ale

Florida Lager

Stella Artois Cidre

Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat

Hop Nosh IPA

 What are your favorite beers or ciders so I can try them out?

Seasonal Fall Beers

Call me a lush but one of my favorite things about Fall is when pumpkin beers hit the shelves. K and I have a little tradition where we pick up a new (to us) beer every Friday to try out over the weekend. Of course some of the favorites stay in the rotation while others come and go. Since pumpkin beer is in season and I've been taste tasting over the past few weekends, I have some faves to share.

I'm no beer connoisseur so there's no description for each one on the flavors and how sweet or tart (or whatever) they are. For me, it's either I like it or I don't. In general, I like pumpkin beers with a hint of flavor and aren't too sweet or overpowering. All of these passed the test with Jack-O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy being my favorite because it's light and refreshing.

Jack-O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy

Samuel Adams Oktoberfest

Leinenkugel's Harvest Patch Shandy

Samuel Adams Pumpkin Batch

Yuengling Oktoberfest

Do you have any pumpkin beer favorites that I should try next?

Let the Long Weekend Begin

I couldn't be more excited about this 3-day weekend. Labor day weekend last year was spent with friends at a beach condo lounging on Florida's west coast.  This year I've opted for a go-with-the-flow kind of weekend with hopefully lots of R&R.

 

So what's been going on with me this week? 

Well our bank account got compromised. That's always fun, right? On Sunday, I went online to check our balance to see what damage was done over the weekend and also figure out a budget for the upcoming week. I noticed a charge on our account that didn't look familiar but since K and I share the account, I don't always know what's being spent 100% of the time. K didn't seem to recognize the charge but I went along with my day thinking I was just going crazy and forgetting something. A few hours later, I signed back into my account so I can rack my brain a little more about this charge but instead I saw some more charges being racked up over the past few hours. We hadn't even left the house on Sunday. Something was definitely wrong because both of our cards were safely in our wallets! We called the bank to report the charges and found out someone an hour away was swiping our card away on a little shopping spree...that would be a fake card with our info. The most recent charge was $85 at a sushi restaurant but got declined because they had pretty much drained the account. This person has some f#ing nerve! Anyways, our bank was really helpful and worked with us and we should be getting back the money in a week or so. Thankfully! It's really quite scary how easily these people can just hijack your bank account and access your money.

On to some better things and joining Amanda and Lauren for their Friday Linkups.

Oh technology! Ordering lunch and paying the tab via an iPad at Carmel Cafe. This almost eliminates communicating with a server except for ordering drinks/water and the server running the food to your table. Not sure how I feel about technology replacing jobs but I do like seeing photos of menu items to help with the ordering process.

Outfits that transition from work to happy hour. I actually wore this several weeks ago when I met up with Kate and Pam for happy hour.

I caved and bought the Alex and Ani bracelet of the month. The seahorse bangle was calling my name and I wanted to get the $5 discount before they discontinued the offer. Having an A&A store a few blocks from my office is proving to be trouble.

Favorite funny: 
I am guilty of this and having zero patience on the road.

Happy hour beer is calling my name so 5pm needs to hurry it up! Two of my favorite beers this week are Sea Dog Blueberry and Kona Island Lager.

Enjoy the long weekend!!!

Weekend Sunshine & Birthday Celebrations

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

On Friday night we went out to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday at a Sushi restaurant I've been dying to try out. We had a fun night catching up with friends over sushi, wine and some birthday dessert.

On Saturday we headed to the beach to celebrate another friend's birthday. The weather is sweltering hot in Florida so we got some frozen drinks to cool us down at Coconuts beach bar and spent the day lounging in the sun.

Sunday was a nice lazy day at home just as I like it these day.

In other news, K and I have been on a kick recently trying out new "fancy" beers every week for our happy hour on the patio. This past week we tried Blue Moon's Pumpkin Ale which was really good. I actually prefer it to the original Blue Moon. I was also surprised Pumpkin beer is already out on the shelves.

And my steals and deals of the week...I snagged a pair of silver sandals, a pretty lilac top and the most comfortable "WTF" beach coverup for $10 a piece from Express's sale.

How was your weekend?

Joining Molly for Funday Monday and Biana for Weekending.

Friday Favorites: August Already!

It never gets old being excited when the weekend rolls around but can you believe we're in August already? Shit...soon it'll be time to start preparing for the holidays! This year seems to be flying by as they seem to do when you're having fun. So I guess that's a good thing!

 I ventured over to an Alex and Ani store on Wednesday to check out their pieces and I'm in love!

Of course, I ended up purchasing a bracelet to start my collection.

After my little shopping trip, I took a stroll through Park Ave and then headed back to my car which was interrupted by a train that sat still for 15 minutes blocking my path to the parking lot. So while I'm standing there in 95 degree Florida heat twiddling my thumbs I spotted this pretty sign and snapped a few photos. I love the beauty of this small city where I work.

 And some favorites from the week...

Favorite Recipe:

Naked salmon burgers with siracha mayo sauce from SkinnyTaste.com. Recipe found here. I have to try this out for dinner soon. Salmon + avocado + spicy mayo = heaven for me.

Favorite Quote:
Embrace your differences...

Favorite Beer (of the week):
I discovered this local beer at happy hour yesterday which was really good. I love trying out new beers from random breweries and being pleasantly surprised.

 Favorite snack:
 I am obsessed with this hummus from Trader Joe's. I don't snack on junk food at home but I've always liked some hummus or different cheeses and I've found a keeper!

Favorite Funnies:
After my crazy busy week at work dealing with an acquisition and random annoyances like people who are hired to help you but create more headaches this ecard says it all...SO glad it's the weekend and perfectly acceptable to crack a cold one (after 5pm today of course).

This ecard was made for my husband. I cringe sometimes during football season by how excited and loud he gets yelling in front the TV. Who knows what the neighbors think is going down in our house!

Breathe in and breathe out...

Joining Amanda today for Friday Favorites.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Drinks & Goodbyes

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

On Friday after work, K and I had a lil "happy hour" on our back patio with some Berry Weiss beer and then headed out for dinner at Carrabbas. After dinner we went to Ale House for a couple drinks and then called it a night since we were both exhausted from the week. We had all intentions of renting a move from Redbox but that didn't happen.

On Saturday I went to the hairdresser to get my hair done and then met up with some friends downtown for a girl friend's going away party.

 

We hopped around downtown for a couple drinks and then said our goodbyes to Becky who's moving to St Thomas for work. (I'm hoping to sneak off and visit her as soon as I can)

Sunday was a nice lazy day at home spent blogging, doing laundry, baking and prepping food for the week.

Joining Molly for Funday Monday and Biana for Weekending.