World Cup Weekend

Who knew I would enjoy watching football (soccer) so much? I don't have a favorite team nor did I watch every game this weekend but the ones I did watch were intense, enthralling, and full of surprises.

So about the weekend...

Long Weekend Rain and Some Shine

Since our return from the Cuba cruise on Wednesday last week, we were in need of a low key weekend to relax and get stuff done around the house. Plus with the weather forecasted to be rainy all weekend, we kept our plans at minimum.

Houston: The Food & Bar Scene

We packed so much into my Houston trip last weekend, I decided break it up into a few posts focusing on different adventures so this one doesn't turn into a 10-page essay. Today I'm sharing the restaurants, bars, and breweries we visited.

Weekend Celebrations

Friday
I happened to be downtown for a work meeting in the morning so I treated myself to some delicious tapas for lunch at Kasa Restaurant.

 

Long Weekend Celebrations

 
What an action-packed weekend! Thankfully we have a short work week ahead. A friend from Boston was in town visiting over the long weekend so we definitely kept busy showing him a good time around Orlando. It's always fun playing tourist in your own city as he did the same for us when we went to visit him in Boston back in June.

Weekend Happenings + TBB Asks

We meet again on this Monday morning so I hope your coffee is strong and the week goes by quickly. I had a great weekend but it's never long enough, right? I got off work a little early on Friday so I finally made it over to the new Nordstrom Rack to do some browsing and a little shopping, nothing crazy.

Spring Weekending

The weekend was glorious. I got to catch up on some R&R and enjoy the beautiful warm weather. It feels like Summer already in Florida during the day but I'm liking the cool Spring nights.

The weekend started off with a little happy hour after work with one of my girl friends. Nothing beats some refreshing Mojitos and some girl time catching up on life and such.



One of K's friends came into town with his pup for the weekend and stayed with us on Friday night. When I got home from my little happy hour, the guys went out to grab dinner and I stayed home puppy sitting Lola and her new friend, Soda. Thankfully they got along great and wore each other out playing for hours.

Saturday morning was perfectly relaxing catching up on some blogging and a few shows on TV. I headed out for my massage appointment which was much needed for this achy back of mine and got a few errands done afterwards.

On Saturday night we watched the movie Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee which was pretty interesting even though it didn't have the best ratings. I'm always intrigued by crazy, real-life stories like this one.

 On Sunday I slept in until about 10am. Glorious! I then got dolled up to meet up with another girl friend for lunch but she wasn't feeling well so I convinced K to go out for a quick bite and so he could watch some sports. Baseball is boring as hell so I had fun trying out all the fun SnapChat filters.

We only stayed out for an hour or so and then got into our swimsuits to enjoy some sunshine by the pool. The weather was hot, hot, hot - like 90 degrees - so we didn't last too long out there but still got some good Vitamin D and hopefully some color with SPF 50's approval.

Joining my girl Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Monday Morning Coffee Talk

The weekend started off with a little happy hour at a spot close to home and then dinner at Outback on Friday night.

I had the bacon bourbon salmon which was pretty tasty.

Saturday morning was a lazy one at home before venturing out to stock up on groceries and figured we'd check out the brand new Walmart Supercenter in our area. Adulting 101 at it's finest! Seriously though it was a huge controversy when they started building this Walmart because "it would attract the wrong crowd to our new community" among other things.

Turns out this is probably the fanciest Walmart in the country with portable scanners you can use and the pay via an app on your phone so you don't have to wait in line. There is also a drive-up window to pick up groceries and an organic restaurant called Grown opening this month. I was quite impressed.

For dinner on Saturday night, K made Buffalo Chicken Sliders inspired by one of those Tasty videos you see floating around Facebook. They were amazing!

Here's the video



On Sunday I met up with some friends for lunch. We chose a Trinidadian restaurant I've been wanting to take them to for over a year now. It was a fun little catch up lunch date indulging in some of my favorite West Indian food. No pictures were taken.

In the afternoon our neighbors hosted a Super Bowl party so we made our "famous" Bite Me Dip and went over there to watch the game.





I didn't stay for the whole game because "Sunday school night" but we had some fun hanging out for a bit to cap off the weekend!

Joining the lovely Biana for some Monday morning coffee talk.

Weekend Celebrations

Another weekend come and gone way too quickly but it was a great one spent in and around town before more traveling this weekend. K and I also booked a little weekend getaway for my birthday in December so I'm looking forward to that!

On Friday night, we actually made it out of the house for dinner and Outback it was since we have very limited restaurant options close to home. We had some dirty martinis and delicious meals before heading home for a relaxing night.

On Saturday we went furniture shopping and finally found a dining room table after going through four different furniture stores. We still need a guest bedroom set, couch, and a few other things for the new house so I walked around taking mental notes. Our previous house still hasn't officially sold yet so I'm waiting til then to fully furnish our new house.

That night we had a birthday dinner to attend and our sushi fix was definitely taken care of with several delicious rolls and some tuna sashimi.

Sunday morning was Kate's baby shower which a few of us girls had been planning for months now. We decided on a travel-themed Sunday brunch shower which was super fun coming up with ideas for games, decor, and the menu items.

It was a huge success and I can't wait to share all the details later this week when I have time to compile the pictures. I was super happy with how my Mimosa Bar turned out along with so many other cute & personalized details the "shower planning team" put together.



Cheers to another week and is it really mid-September already?

Joining the lovely Biana.

The Relaxing One

After traveling last weekend for the long weekend, a relaxing one was in order so I made sure to clear my schedule and focus on getting caught up with blogging and stuff around the house. A relaxing weekend means nothing majorly exciting to share but definitely check back on Wednesday for my Nashville trip recap which was action packed.

On Friday K returned home from a business trip so he was tired and I had no problem ordering Chinese food for dinner and relaxing at home. Easy and much needed!

Saturday morning was a slow start until the coffee kicked in and then I tackled the long list of things to do around the house and errands. I finally got my car full detailed and then stocked up on some groceries before retiring home for another relaxing night.

K dressed Lola in his UCF Knights shirt to watch the game on Saturday and of course she doesn't look entirely impressed but she did watch the whole game attentively. lol

On Sunday morning I tried my hand at making chicken and waffles for the first time with a side of smoked Gouda scrambled eggs. So incredibly good!

I did some errands and shopping for Kate's baby shower coming up and then went for an hour massage, which was much needed after having a stiff neck for almost a month.

It was a low key weekend but it was everything I needed to get back on track and feel rested. Hope you had a good one and you're ready to tackle this week!

Joining the lovely Biana by sharing some weekend action.

The Weekend In Between

The summer slump has definitely been sticking around longer than I expected or maybe I've just been running around like a headless chicken trying to keep up with life in general. Things have been busy with work and traveling but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Last weekend I went to Toronto for a family reunion (trip recap) and now we're heading to Nashville for Labor Day weekend so this past weekend was all about relaxing and recharging those batteries. Friday evening was a quiet one with some happy hour beer on our patio and Thai takeout for dinner. I wasn't quite ready for pumpkin beer since we're still in the hot and muggy summer months but that's what K brought home to try.

On Saturday, I got to sleep in a bit and then went off to the hairdresser to do the usual highlights with a trim. From there I went to meet up with K and friends who were doing their live fantasy football draft at Dave & Buster's. We ended the night at Yard House for dinner and drinks.

If you have a Yard House in your area, I highly recommend Ahi Tuna Poke nachos as an appetizer. The photo doesn't do them justice but they were delicious minus the jalapenos which had my mouth on fire.

Sunday morning was all about coffee and relaxing before heading to the grocery store to stock up for the week and get prepped for our dinner guests.

Kate and H came over in the afternoon to hang out and catch up. I missed her birthday brunch last weekend when I was in Canada so I wanted to host a late birthday celebration.

We grilled ribs, chicken, and mixed veggies skewers along with corn on the cob and rosemary red potatoes. It was a nice Sunday spread to cap off the weekend.

Kate gave me the cutest bulldog cookie jar as a housewarming gift which I'm in love with and goes so well with our new kitchen.

Now the countdown is on for Nashville next weekend!

Joining the lovely Biana.

Weekend Whereabouts

After some busy weeks prior I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet time this weekend had to offer. K and I had planned to go out for dinner on Friday but after my long commute home, I really didn't want to get dressed and head out again so we ordered Chinese food and relaxed at home catching up on Orange Is the New Black on Netflix.

On Saturday morning I woke up entirely too early for my liking but I sipped on some coffee and started on a design project for work that was really scheduled to start today. The project took more hours than I expected so K did the grocery run and then we headed over to Home Goods to buy some curtains and random home decor. After some shopping & errands it was time for some happy hour at Graffiti Junktion.

We had a quick bite for dinner at Toasted (known for their fancy grilled cheese sandwiches) and the rest of the evening was spent at home relaxing.

On Sunday morning K and I cooked up some Crab Eggs Benedict and relaxed at home watching the news. I then got to work in the kitchen to make some pink and blue Rice Krispies Treats for Kate's Gender Reveal party. (recipe coming soon)

I arrived to the party dressed in pink even though I was mentally undecided. K dressed in blue and Kate and H dressed neutral.

Team Blue + the parents

Team Pink + the parents

It was then time for Kate and H to cut the cake to reveal their baby's gender.

It's a GIRL!!!!

I can't wait to  shower baby S and Kate with gifts in the months to come. Girls are so much fun to shop for.

After leaving the party we stopped by a local brewery to have a beer to cap off the weekend.

It was a nice refresher of a weekend. I hope this week treat you well and I'm looking forward to the long weekend ahead.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup. 

Weekend Whereabouts

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I'll start by saying my whereabouts were pretty minimal the past few days. It was a rainy weekend so it was perfect for catching up on some R&R since I have a few busy weekends of travel ahead.

I did venture out on Friday afternoon for some puppy playtime and a quick dinner.

After dinner we watched the movie Steve Jobs at home and had a quiet Friday night which was much needed!

 On Saturday I stayed local to get some errands done and rest up at home. I shopped around for some essentials for our Easter dinner party, did a ton of laundry, took some naps and spent lots of couch time with Lola watching TV.



Some inevitable online retail therapy happened on Saturday night since I had all the free time to browse. Maybe this is why I try to keep myself busy on weekends?

On Sunday, I went to Kohl's to pick up a dutch oven I had ordered to make the Guinness Beef Stew I posted about last week for my Friday Faves. It came out amazing by the way and I have to thank the lovely Andrea for helping me out with a few secret tips!

 Of course I ended up venturing over to the clothing department in Kohl's but not too much damage was done. I purchased these cute coral-colored shorts and navy crochet shorts for the Spring/Summer time weather and used a 30% off coupon.

 I'm so excited this is a short work week (we get Good Friday off) and I'm looking forward to our quick road trip adventure this coming weekend.


Joining the lovely Biana for her weekending linkup