Weekend: Purple Hair Don't Care

The weekend was exactly what I wanted with lots of relaxing, some pampering, shopping the President's Day sales, and dinner with friends.

I mentioned last week that I went to Tampa on Thursday night for a work conference which was at a beautiful resort on the water.  My coworker and I grabbed a bite to eat and caught a beautiful sunset before the conference kicked off. I didn't get home until super late so I was too exhausted to do anything on Friday night.

On Saturday I had a hairdresser appointment to get my highlights touched up and added in some purple/lavender streaks to change things up a bit. I love how it turned out!

I got roped into the President's Day sales at Target and Kohl's and picked up a few goodies for myself!

Tassel Drop Earrings  /  Gold Layered Choker Necklace

"I Don't Do Mornings" Graphic Sweater

We had dinner reservations on Saturday night with our neighbor friends at a new tapas-style restaurant. The food was amazing and we really enjoyed their company. My neighbor guy especially is hilarious so I was laughing for most of the night with his funny comments and jokes.

 

Sunday was all about relaxing and being productive. I finished off a work project, got my blogging on, and did the usual food prep, laundry, and other adulting stuff one is required to do.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Lucky Friday The 13th

I've always considered Friday the 13th a lucky day because I was born on the 13th so, in a sense, I wanted to reverse superstition and turn it into a good day. I've had many birthdays fall on a Friday.... which you have to admit is better than a Monday!

Today I feel lucky that I have no major plans or obligations for this weekend so I can focus on getting organized around the house and with my blog schedule. I have so many fun yet unfinished blog posts that need to get published already.

Here's some random happenings from this week...

I met up with Kate and Baby Fashionista on Tuesday for lunch to catch up and also so I could spend some time with Serena who is such a smiley doll and the cutest lunch date!

On Wednesday I shared the details of the Dancing With The Stars Live show we went to over the holidays and was a fantastic production.

I started reading The Couple Next Door this week and I've reached to the part where the plot thickens. The beginning was mind boggling but now it has me in such suspense so I can't wait to continue reading/listening via audiobook.

Yesterday evening I met up my girl friend at our favorite sushi spot that we've been going to for years. It's kind of a tradition for us but now we both have busy schedules so it doesn't happen as often.

 A relaxing weekend ahead means lots of snuggles with Lola, who photo-bombed quite a few photos while working on my "home tour project" (coming to you next week).

Enjoy the weekend and I hope today is a lucky day for you!

Friday Favorites

With Monday being a work holiday, this week seemed to just fly by which is always a great feeling! After the busyness of the holidays, I'm welcoming a fairly relaxing weekend which is perfect since the weather forecast isn't looking good!

 
On Fridays I usually post about some favorites from the week. Today I wanted to change it up and share favorites that are relevant to the theme of my blog (all listed in my navigation bar above).

Martinis & Bikinis is a Lifestyle Blog so I talk about a hodge podge of things which inherently means these are the things I love and enjoy doing.

Orlando Living

I talk about my weekend whereabouts and all the things I love about my city including my favorite sushi restaurants, happy hour hot spots...and other fun things to do.

Travel
I have a huge passion for traveling so this comes in 2 parts...

Travel Planning
The only trip I have signed and sealed for 2017 is Boston in the Spring and I'm super excited about planning out the details of that trip!

I'm sure there will be other travel adventures throughout the year once we figure out our work schedules.

 via

Travel Recaps
A recent one was our company Cruise to the Bahamas last month and how much fun we had exploring Nassau.

That's me learning how to use a selfie stick. Still don't own one.

Style & Fashion

I'm a shopper at heart but I like to find the best deals and stock up when things are on sale. I mainly share fashion and beauty products that are very affordable, not that $3000 purse that nobody can afford. 

Recipes

I love cooking and sharing new recipes. Sundays are usually when I have time to try a new recipe and share the details on the blog. My recipe posts have slowed down recently but I do plan to share some healthy new recipes for 2017 such as this Jalapeno & Swiss Stuffed Chicken dish.

My Life: Family & Friends

With all of the fun things aside, I don't share too much details of my family life to keep a level of privacy from the internet creepers.

What I can tell you is....

- K and I have parents that are still married (40+ years)

- We both have one sibling - both sisters

- Our extended family is huge on both sides & very close knit

- We have no kids but Lola is the love of our life (and a handful enough)

- We have a great group of friends in Orlando 

- Both of our best friends are from childhood days

Happy (almost) weekend and I hope the weather treats you better wherever you are!

Ringing in 2017

Since my parents had to cancel their trip to visit us for Christmas and New Years (details here), we decided to throw a last minute party at our house for NYE. Mostly everyone we knew already had plans or were out of town but luckily some of our neighbors were in for the celebration and we did a little house hopping to another neighbor's house to set off fireworks at midnight.

It was a very Christmas-themed NYE party because we bought so much food and drinks to celebrate with my parents but instead went out of town on Christmas Day to spend it with K's family.





Nothing goes to waste around here so we cooked turkey and some sides for dinner but we did have the NYE essentials ~ champagne and fireworks to ring in the new year.

We ate and had some eggnog and drinks and then headed over to our neighbor's house to pop the champagne and light off fireworks at midnight.

With my sister in town and lots on our agenda for the whole week, this was the perfect way to ring in 2017 with new friends in the neighborhood.

Christmas Vacation Scenes

Our house was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. K and I spent weeks decorating and organizing the house for the arrival of my parents and sister to spend our first Florida Christmas together until we got the news that my dad was in the hospital. So to make a long story short, only my sister made it to Florida. I was really upset at first but we made the best of it and decided to take a road trip to K's family on Christmas day.

 We celebrated early at home on Christmas Eve opening gifts with my mom via FaceTime and cooking a smaller version of Christmas dinner.


 
  
I wanted to get that out of the way before backing up a few days when my sister arrived in Orlando. We were all disappointed by the news but decided to make the best of it and planned a few extra things to keep us busy.

Last week Friday we visited the Pulse Nightclub memorial site and then went to see the Christmas lights at Wall Street downtown Orlando before heading to the Amway Center to watch the Magic vs Lakers game.

I'm happy to report the Orlando Magic won and my sister had a blast at the game!

On Christmas day, we made our way to Florida's west coast with my sister to spend Christmas with K's extended family.

My MIL absolutely spoiled us with gifts but most of all she spoiled me with 3 gorgeous Pandora charms to add to my small yet growing collection.

We stayed Christmas night at a hotel near the water and woke up to beautiful weather on Monday so we walked around the riverfront before grabbing lunch and making the road trip back home.

On Wednesday night we had tickets to go see Dancing With The Stars live at the new performing arts theater downtown. My cousins drove into town (to take my parents place) and we all went our for some dinner before the show.

 

We had amazing seats quite close up to the stage and they put on a fantastic show staring Laurie Hernandez the winner of Season 23 (also US women's Olympic gymnast).

It was pretty difficult snapping any quality photos with the fancy lighting and the movement of dancing but I'll share some more of the fun details next week.

To wrap up, it was a far from traditional Christmas this year but it all worked out. My Dad is doing much better and technology helped us stay connected with my mom all weekend long. 

Today we are on to another adventure.

Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend!