Weekend Cruising

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.

If you follow me on Instagram or SnapChat (emilyalisonb) you might have seen that I was on a cruise over the weekend. I didn't go snap crazy but I shared one or two sites and scenes from our 3-night cruise to the Bahamas.

This cruise was initially scheduled for the weekend when Hurricane Matthew hit Florida in October so it was cancelled but luckily we were able to get another date booked.

It was a relaxing, fun, and hilarious company trip since my coworkers are a blast to hang out with and we have some serious comedians in the group.

The only bummer was that our shore excursion to go jet-packing was cancelled the morning of the tour but we made up for it and I have so many highlights to share.

We are arriving at the port this Monday morning around 5:30 am and I have to head straight to work around 7:30. Pray for me!

This trip was so much fun so stay tuned for a full recap coming soon!

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana.

Exploring Music City

Nashville treated us very well and it was an amazing time touring the city. It was a short trip but we made sure to pack in as much as we could.

  
K's birthday falls on Labor Day weekend so we usually try to travel somewhere new to celebrate and take advantage of the long weekend. This year he chose Nashville to visit one of his good friends and explore a city neither of us had been to before.



Saturday
After dropping off our luggage and relaxing for a bit we headed over to Broadway Street to explore Music Row and get the full Nashville experience. We quickly realized that this city is the #1 bachelor/bachelorette party central in the US. It made for some good people watching and I now know why it's nicknamed "NashVegas".
 

Our first stop was at the world famous Tootsies for some rooftop drinks and a view of all the action down below. We spent the entire day walking around exploring the music scene and checking out the shops in between.



One of our favorite places was The Stage on Broadway which was a nice relaxed bar/venue with amazing live music.

After hours of fun and exploring, we settled at Merchants Restaurant for dinner which is on Broadway Street in the heart of the action. The food and craft cocktails were excellent!

Sunday
On Sunday we had reservations for brunch at Pinewood Social which was recommended to me by several people and for good reason. This place is more than just a restaurant, there's a full bowling alley, pool area, cafe, large outdoor patio and several bars. The atmosphere was fun and trendy, the service was great considering how busy this place gets, and the brunch menu didn't disappoint!

After our hearty brunch, we walked around the premises to check out the different areas and then made our way into downtown on foot to walk off those calories and sight-see in slow motion.

Once we made it to Broadway Street, we were ready to cool off and relax our feet so we stopped at the George Jones Entertainment Complex to walk through the museum and have a cold beverage at the bar overlooking the Nissan Stadium.

The entire day was spent exploring all the fun things Nashville has to offer and of course we returned to The Stage for more live music.


 

After another action packed day it was time for dinner so we jumped in an Uber to head to Peg Leg Porker for dinner. Several people recommended this restaurant for amazing BBQ so it was on my short list but when we arrived, we found out it's not open on Sundays so we had to take another taxi and head back to where we originally were.

 

We settled at The Stillery for dinner which was a place my boss had told me and about he raved about the sriracha deviled eggs. He wasn't kidding!

Monday

Our flight home was in the evening so we had a few hours to enjoy Nashville before heading to the airport. We went to visit our friend's parents at their beautiful home.

 

It was then time to make our way to the airport but TSA precheck bought K and I some time to stop for lunch at another highly recommended restaurant called The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden. We loved the outside patio/beer garden and the burgers were excellent!

Even though it was a very short trip, we loved Nashville and hope to return again to see the beautiful Fall foliage.

Virgo Birthday Celebrations

This weekend was our much anticipated trip to Nashville for the holiday weekend to celebrate K's birthday. Instead of birthday gifts, we have been on a roll with traveling to new places to experience more than the bubble we live in.

Funny enough Lola and K share the same birthday so Friday night was all about spoiling Lola for her 2nd birthday.

On Saturday we made our way up to Nashville to stay with one of K's best buddies for the long weekend. We, admittedly, live an adventurous life but I don't remember the last time we had THIS MUCH FUN!

 More details of the trip coming soon but K and I agree that Nashville exceeded our expectations and was such an amazing city to explore.

Joining the lovely Biana

August Fun & Favorites

This week was like any other except a hurricane was heading toward Florida and we really weren't sure how bad it would affect Orlando. Either way I failed to adequately prepare but luckily we only had some heavy rain and the winds felt like I was sitting on a beachfront property. Unfortunately other areas in FL weren't so lucky and I'm just catching up on the news myself.

Since my blogging has been few and far between these days, I figured a recap of August happenings was due. Still can't believe we're already in September!

At the beginning of August I had some relaxing weekends after returning home from a family trip to Montego Bay for my cousin's wedding. 

We still found time to go out to celebrate some special occasions ~ baby's 1st birthday, dinner & drinks for my girl friends birthday, and K's fantasy football draft party.

And of course being home meant lots of time spent with my love bug Lola. Her 2nd birthday is this weekend so we're spoiling her rotten tonight with some doggie treats and a new bed. 

 

My family reunion picnic that happens every 5 years was at the end of August so I made my way up to Toronto for a quick weekend trip.
 

With all the different family events scheduled for that weekend, I only had Sunday to explore/shop/do whatever I want so my sister, cousin, and I went to the Distillery District downtown Toronto to walk through the market and check out some cute boutique shops. The weather was perfect and a nice break from the sauna heat in Florida.
 

 

And of course, I made sure to get some Tim Hortons coffee and snacks which is a must (for me) when in Canada!

 

When it comes to shopping, the only thing I fell victim to was this MAC Look in a Box Lip & Eye Kit. They have a few different color combos good for different skin tones but I went with the more neutral nude pink set plus I've had that mascara before and it's amazing!

That's a wrap for August! I have some fun things lined up for this month so I can't wait to share.


Enjoy the long weekend and be safe my friends!

Toronto Weekend Whereabouts

The details from last weekend are coming to you a little late since I was in Canada for a long weekend family reunion. I love visiting Toronto in the summer and this year was our family picnic so it was the perfect opportunity to make my way up there. My sister picked me up from the airport on Friday afternoon and we all went to the adults cocktail party that evening.

The family picnic was on Saturday so we gathered at a beautiful park to have some lunch followed by our traditional family photo plus some more of the different generations. The rest of the day was filled with different sports and then cooling down at the ice cream truck.

 

That evening my (immediate) cousins went out for dinner and drinks at Hungry Brew Hops in the cute downtown area of New Market. My sister and I shared their homemade "Woodsy" pizza (mushrooms, mozzarella, roasted garlic, truffle balsamic) which was amazing!

I stayed the weekend at my cousin's house and her pup, Pepper, was the sweetest little companion in the mornings while having some coffee.



Sunday was really my only free day to explore Toronto so a few of us started the day with some dim sum in Chinatown.



We then headed to the Distillery District in Toronto to walk around the local market and check out some boutique shops. The weather was warm but comfortable, and a nice break from the sauna heat in Florida!







While walking through the cute cobblestone streets I spotted a familiar face and it was a good friend of mine from high school who now lives in Toronto. How random is that? Such a small world sometimes.

On Monday it was time to make the trek back home. My sister drove me to the airport after one last stop at Tim Horton’s for some coffee.

It was a wonderful trip and time spent with family, but...you probably already know what I’m going to say…it was TOO SHORT!