The Weekend with Hurricane Matthew

With Hurricane Matthew approaching us on Thursday afternoon and a mandatory curfew set until Saturday at 7 am, we planned to spend the 3-day weekend at home and just pray we didn't get hit too hard from the storm.

The anticipation of a Category 4 hurricane heading towards us was quite scary so we stocked up on supplies last week and prepared for the worst.  I can't speak for other parts of the country but we got very lucky with no major damage to our house and didn't lose electricity either. The curfew was lifted sooner than expected on Friday afternoon so we headed out for some dinner at Outback.

Most of Saturday was spent cleaning and doing errands before taking Lola out to enjoy the beautiful weather at a lakeside restaurant and market.

Sunday was another gorgeous day although I managed to be a coach potato for most of it watching TV and blogging. Lola was worn out from all the fun on Saturday.

For Sunday dinner, I tried my hand at making Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna, which turned out amazing (recipe coming soon). I enjoyed all the relaxing and I'm thankful the hurricane has fizzled instead of looping back around and hitting Florida a second time as initially predicted.


Joining the lovely Biana for some weekend whereabouts.

Weekend Plans Cancelled

I was supposed to leave today for a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas but Hurricane Matthew has threatened the east coast of Florida so the cruise was officially cancelled yesterday. I'm not hugely disappointed because I've been on this cruise ship twice before and really didn't want to chance getting on a boat knowing a huge storm is lurking nearby. Safety first and I'll gladly take a quiet weekend at home. I'm just praying Matthew doesn't cause too much devastation which I know it's already caused in Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas.

We are supposed to be hit the hardest at 8 am today so I'm not sure if I'll have electricity or internet. The uncertainties of a natural disaster are the worst feeling to experience because you just don't know what exactly to prepare for. The gas stations have been out of gas since Wednesday and the shelves were empty when I went to Target this week but I managed to get some essentials.

Since I already had a few things lined up to share today, I'll stick with the program...

I finally jumped on the Audiobooks train after procrastinating for way too long and decided to get started with Amy Schumer's new book The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo. I've been listening to it every day this week on my commute to and from work and I've been really enjoying it. It's raw and uncensored and I like her take on life.

On Wednesday, I shared some cute swimwear options that offer a little more coverage. The cruise this weekend was supposed to be a company event so I wanted some less skimpy swimsuits to take on the trip and I found some really fun suits at Target and Express.

I just received my semi-annual Ulta haul (I just made that up but it seems to be every 6 months). Lots of products were repurchases of my favorite products but I did add in some new products such as the Benefit Eye Brightening set and Lip Crayon.

POREfessional Pore Minimizing & Eye Brightening Set  //   Gimme Brow Fiber Gel
Tarte Amazonian Full Coverage Foundation  //   ULTA Matte Lip Crayon - Carnival

This cute Benefit makeup bag also came as a free gift with my Benefit Cosmetics purchase.

We finally purchased a dining room table for the new house. Something so simple to be excited about but it means we're getting closer to fully furnishing our house.

Since we've been working on getting settled into our new house, I just hope this hurricane doesn't set us back and have to fork out money for repairs instead of interior decorating and furnishings.

Enjoy the weekend break and I'll catch you next week with an update on Hurricane Matthew.

Swimsuits: Cute with Coverage

My company booked a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas this weekend for employees to relax and vacation after our huge annual seminar last week which tends to get stressful for us organizing the details during crunch time. While I love all my bikinis and even some of the "itsy" bottoms from Victoria's Secret, I went shopping for some swimsuits that had a little more coverage for this company vacation. I haven't worn a one-piece swimsuit since childhood but, with all the cute styles out there now, I'm ready to give it a go again! 

Strappy Back One Piece  //  Strappy Back Macrame Monokini

Crochet Inset One Piece  //  Halter Midkini Top

Striped Cross Body Bikini  //  Patterned Strappy Back One Piece

Black Strappy-Side Bandeau  //  Bandeau Tankini Top

White Strappy One-Piece  //  Black Mesh Inset Hipster Bikini

Target seriously came good this year with their fashionable tankinis and one-piece swimsuits (which are mostly all on clearance right now) and Express surprisingly also had some really cute styles that offered coverage.

With Hurricane Matthew now on the radar for this week, I'm not sure if we will even be going on the cruise but I presume it will be rescheduled for another weekend. At this point, I'm more concerned about the Hurricane and what it may bring our way and to everyone in it's path. The swimsuits I bought will be inevitably worn at some point.

Prayers!

Weekend Happenings

I love when the season of pumpkin everything and fall colors rolls around even though the weather takes a while to get the memo in Florida. This weekend was actually quite low key with no major happenings since I was recovering from a nagging cold and didn't have a ton of energy.

Last week was a mad rush preparing for a seminar we hosted on Thursday and Friday so by the time 5 o'clock on Friday hit, I was exhausted and ready to relax. All the hard work paid off as we got really great feedback from our attendees and speakers!

My newest pumpkin candle burned throughout the house over the weekend. This is one of Bath & Body Works newer scents so I wanted to try it. While I love the scent of berries, it doesn't blend perfectly well with Pumpkin so it's not my favorite but it's not terrible either.

Most of Saturday was spent cleaning around the house and doing laundry before some of K's friends came over to hang out. We grilled up some Bratwurst hotdogs for lunch and they watched football while I tried to get some blogging done.

On Saturday night we had Magical Dining reservations with some friends but unfortunately had to cancel because I still wasn't feeling too great.  I'm not sure if other cities run this type of special but every year Orlando has magical dining month where several popular restaurants offer prix fixe dinners (usually 3-6 course meals) for $33/person. Unfortunately this was the last weekend to take advantage of the special so I'll just have to wait until next year.

On Sunday morning, we relaxed at home and K put on Saturday Night Live's skit of the Presidential Debate which is absolutely hilarious.

I got to catch up with a couple friends from back home over the phone and then ventured out of the house for the first time to do some shopping and a grocery store run. The rest of Sunday was spent blogging, food prepping and more laundry! So not the most exciting weekend but I welcomed all the relaxing before some busier weekends ahead with travel plans and my SIL's wedding.


Joining the lovely Biana.

Oktoberfest Craft Beer Tour

Over the weekend, myself and a dozen other ladies went on the Brew Thru SRQ tour to explore the craft beer scene in Sarasota for my Sister-in-law's bachelorette party. Who knew Sarasota had such amazing breweries? It was the perfect way to celebrate with my eclectic, beer-loving SIL
 

The meeting spot to start the tour was at Mandeville Beer Garden and I was so surprised that we had never been or heard about this brewery before. They have a beautiful (dog-friendly) outside patio and inside bar/restaurant area plus a huge selection of craft beers and German-style eats.

 

From there we took off on the trolley to explore some more breweries. Our first stop was at JDub's Brewery where I tried a nice Passion Wheat beer. While I do drink some beers, I don't like heavy and hoppy craft beer but I was able to find some lighter options at each brewery we stopped at.

 
 

 
 
The staff were really incredible in terms of keeping us entertained and educated throughout the tour. Despite it being a million degrees outside, I have to say this is the most fun I've had on a brewery/pub tour.


 
The third stop was at Big Top Brewing Company, which is another hidden gem with some amazing brews especially the Key Lime Wheat and then their Pumpkin Stiltskin during Oktoberfest.

The next stop was at Calusa Brewing Company which is a huge Tap Room with a brewery attached. At this point, all we wanted was some AC to cool down in before exploring the beer menu. The Coffee & Cinn Brown Ale was a hit among our group.


 

The last stop was at Pi Craft Beer & Spirits Restaurant which is a small laid-back joint in a strip-mall but is hugely popular for their pizza and craft beers. I think they knew pizza/food would hit the spot after beer drinking during the day.

 

It was such a fun experience and a great way to celebrate a bachelor/bachelorette party for those interested in breweries and beer tasting. I'd definitely go again at another time of year since Brew Thru Tours rotate to different breweries depending on the season.

 

Is it Friday yet?

Weekend Bachelorette Bash

 

I went to my first bachelorette for the year over the weekend for my sister-in-law. She's around my age so thankfully she chose a daytime brewery tour which is more my speed than going out clubbing until the early morning.

On Saturday morning we made the drive over to Sarasota to meet up with my SIL, cousins and her friends. Around 2pm we left for an Oktoberfest brewery tour to 5 different craft beer breweries in Sarasota. Despite it being a million degrees outside, it was a really fun tour and we tried some amazing beers.

After the tour, K and I went to grab dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Siesta Key. We shared some appetizers while listening to live music on the outside patio. After daytime drinking in the hot sun, I was ready to have a quiet night relaxing at my in-laws house for the rest of the night.

On Sunday morning we had some coffee with the in-laws and then hit the road to head back home. It was a fun weekend although I wish we could have stayed longer to go to Siesta Key beach which is gorgeous but hopefully we'll make it there before "winter" in Florida arrives.

Joining the lovely Biana for some Weekend talk.