Date Weekend

The weather this weekend was cold and dreary. I could have easily curled up on the couch and not moved all weekend but we had some plans lined up for Saturday.

Friday night was a relaxing one. We watched Girl on a Train which had a few parts that were slightly different from the book. The movie didn't get the best ratings but I'm not the biggest critic when it comes to movies so I enjoyed seeing it to compare it to the book.

 On Saturday we had tickets to go see Florida Georgia Line in concert so we bundled up and headed downtown a little early. It was already packed when we got there with people tailgating and a whole block party going on outside the Arena.

It was too cold for my liking outside so we went inside for some drinks and early dinner.

Then it was time to head over to the Arena and get comfy in our seats. We were a lot higher up than expected but at least in the first row of the upper level so we had a pretty good view. It would have been better with some binoculars though. lol

 On Sunday we had our hearts set on going out for some brunch even though it wasn't exactly patio weather but we settled indoors at one of our favorite brunch spots with a beautiful view of Lake Eola.

 

It wasn't an intentional date weekend but it turned out to be a great one. Since K travels often, I guess we got some much needed "us" time.

Joining the lovely Biana and her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

Life threw me some lemons in May (details here) but things have been shaping up nicely in June. I landed a dream job and we settled into our new home. Things have been busy but everything is moving in the right direction.

K and I celebrated our 6-year anniversary on Friday night at Nona Blue Tavern for a dinner date after the busy work week. We had some delicious dirty martinis, salmon dip, and my favorite ahi tuna salad. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home since K had been traveling for work last week.

On Saturday, the bestie and I headed out to do some shopping and errands before settling for some lunch at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen. C heads back home next week so I wanted to get some quality girl time in before she leaves.

We had a nice day together until the heavens came crashing down with lightning and heavy rain while we were in Publix so we had no choice but to stay under shelter until it calmed down a bit some 30 minutes later. Gotta love the unexpected afternoon summer storms in Florida.

On Sunday morning we cooked breakfast at home and organized the house since we invited some friends over for dinner. We grilled steak and shrimp and had fun catching up.

It was a nice weekend (always too short) but I'm looking forward to my second week at the new job. Hope you have a great week!

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

Well this weekend just seemed to zip by as they all tend to do. By the time Friday night came around I was pretty exhausted so we went for a quick bite at The Social House, which just recently opened. There was live music but it was extremely loud (like we could hardly even talk) and the salad I ordered was just okay. I'll give them another try but it wasn't the best date night idea.

When we got home we relaxed and watched The Night Before from RedBox. I didn't care for the movie so I zoned out half way through. I guess that means I don't recommend it, at least it didn't peak my interest.

On Saturday morning it was time to go pick up my new car at the Mazda dealership which of course is a long process and takes a couple hours but I'm in love with my new ride and all the new features cars have these days.

 On Saturday night it was time to get dolled up and head to Mango's Tropical Cafe to celebrate J's 37th birthday with dinner, drinks, and entertainment. While the atmosphere was fun with lots of different shows throughout the night, the service was horrendous (took 30 minutes to get a drink), the food was decent but they messed up a few people's orders including mine. The icing on the cake was when we had to pay $15 for valet parking but when it came time to leave, we waited almost 45 minutes for them to bring the car. I probably sound like a complaining shit between the events of Friday and Saturday night but I will always give my honest opinion here on my blog.

It was a fun night with friends but I will never return to Mango's again!

Sunday was all about getting organized - eggs benedict for a late breakfast since I slept in, three loads of laundry, all the blogging possible, dinner cooking in the crockpot, weekly food prep, and early to bed with hopes of not feeling too exhausted today because of the time change.

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Happenings

Another low-key weekend around here. On Friday K and I had dinner at Pom Pom's Teahouse which has amazing soups, sandwiches, and of course teas. I had the Cherry Bomb iced tea which was so good!

We rented Ted 2 from Redbox and had a relaxing night at home with lots of laughs.

On Saturday I finished organizing and decorating our home office and did a few errands around town. Later in the evening we went out to meet up with some friends for drinks at Firebird's and then dinner at Santiago's Bodega which has amazing tapas. We shared a variety of different tapas but the flaming cheese (saganaki) was a hit!








On Sunday, I went through my closet and purged 3 bags of clothes, shoes, and bags to donate to Goodwill. I then did some damage at Target shopping for warm clothes since it finally feels like "winter" here. Two of my favorite buys are this Mossimo Faux Sherpa Cardigan and the Kalliope Shearling Style Boots both under $35.

After said damage, I went to get an hour long facial at Massage Envy to use the gift package K gave me for Christmas. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at home, food prepping, and getting organized for the work week. I made this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe in the crockpot with lots of leftovers for this week.

Happy Monday...Let's do this!

10 Affordable Date Ideas

1. Tour a local winery or brewery.

2. Take a day trip to a nearby city or town to walk around and explore. 

3. Hit the gym together and while you're there relax in the sauna to unwind.

4. Go out for Sunday brunch and then stroll through your local Farmer's Market.

5. Cards Against Humanity always makes for a good laugh.

6. Seek out free concerts in your area. I know we have several throughout the year.

7. Go for a jog around the neighborhood and/or take your dog out for a nice long walk.

8.  Make some sandwiches or a cheese platter, pack a blanket and head to the park for a picnic when the weather is comfortable outside. If you live in big cities like New York or San Francisco this can also be very interesting for people watching ;-)

9. Explore a local street festival. Most cities have several festivals year round centered around different things such as food, drinking, music, or different cultures which can be really fun to check out.

10. Go out for your favorite dessert whether it may be ice cream, gelato or cheesecake. Take the time to disconnect from your phone and social media and connect with your significant other.

Weekend Wherabouts

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend! Mine was a nice break to feel recharged for this work week. It's unbelievable how quickly this year is flying by.  July and August are fairly low-key months so I'm enjoying the quieter weekends before more traveling in September and October.

Friday night was our usual date night. We went out to Texas Roadhouse for some BBQ dinner and then spent the rest of the night relaxing at home. We watched The Boy Next Door movie from Redbox which wasn't terrible.
 

 

On Saturday morning, I finally got around to watching 50 Shades of Grey (never even read the book) and it's not what I was expecting at all!  Anyways I'm glad I got that out of the way.

On Saturday evening we met up with some friends to watch the Orlando City Soccer game and to celebrate a friend's birthday. Someone ordered these glutenous fries smothered in bacon and caramel and surprisingly they were amazing!

Sunday was perfectly relaxing spent doing laundry, blogging, food prepping and catching up on some shows. I also organized my closet and will being doing a "shop-my-closet" sale soon with all sorts of goodies from Kate Spade, Michael Kors, BCBG, and more.

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts & Spring Cleaning

Hello lovelies!

 Sorry for being MIA for a few days. The head cold and allergies hit me hard last week and I was focusing on feeling better and catching up at work after all the traveling I've been doing. This weekend really helped me catch up on some rest and get back into the swing of things. 

Friday night was a quiet date night at BoneFish Grill for their famous Bang Bang shrimp which we absolutely love. I veered away from my usual dirty martini to try their blueberry cold snap cocktail which was a disappointment.

After sleeping for almost 11 hours, we had breakfast at home before heading out to do some shopping, errands, and stock up on groceries. K got some new kicks for working out and I replenished my 3-wick candle collection.

We then headed to our favorite hole in the wall oyster shucking bar where we got some ginormous raw oysters from Louisiana. Our oyster fix was a success!

After lunch we took Lola for a walk around the neighborhood and I spent the rest of the day Spring cleaning and purging clothes, shoes, jewelry and toiletries to donate. I capped off the evening with my favorite blueberry beer and some blogging.

Sunday morning consisted of more spring cleaning and decluttering before heading out to Wildside BBQ for some lunch with K and Lola. 

It was so amazing having a fairly quiet weekend in and around town. Lots of sleep and snuggles with my loves is just what the doctor ordered!

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.