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.

Beach Weekend Getaway

 

 Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I start my new job today so I'm excited to get back into a work routine although I did thoroughly enjoy the downtime and lack of schedule. The bestie and I planned a trip out to Cocoa Beach for the weekend to relax and recharge before life gets busy again. We headed out there on Thursday afternoon and checked into a beachfront hotel. Unfortunately the weather wasn't in our favor on the first day so we couldn't enjoy the beach but we did have fun hanging out at Coconuts for some frozen drinks and a casual seafood dinner.

 Friday morning started off a little gloomy but the sun eventually came out so we were able to lounge on the beach and by the resort pool for most of the day. It was so good to finally work on getting a tan of course with lots of SPF.

In the evening we went out for the best seafood dinner we've ever had. C and I shared a lobster and snow crab dish which was amazing. We had no idea they would bring an entire whole lobster so you can imagine what a feast that was.

 Our hotel had a pretty cool beach bar and restaurant so we spent a lot of time there eating, drinking and listening to live music. We also met tons of fun people and had such a blast chatting with visitors from around the country. My ribs hurt from how much laughing we did over the weekend.

I introduced C to Snapchat so we played around with different filters which is always hilarious. More laughing ensued. Feel free to add me: emilyalisonb

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early so we found a local cafe to grab some breakfast before checking out of the hotel. We decided to stick around the resort for a few hours to get some final hours of sun and relaxation before making the hike back home.
 

Saturday night consisted of relaxing at home and lounging after all the sun and traveling. My Snapchat of Lola explains it all!

On Sunday morning I woke up to the horrific news that a nightclub close to home had the deadliest mass shooting overnight in the US. I've been to that club on a couple occasions for bachelorette parties and know several friends in the LGBT community so it was extremely scary and sad news to absorb.

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After watching the news for several hours and checking in with different friends, K and I made some brunch at home and then got to work around the house putting up photos and decorating our walls, while keeping an eye on the news and any updates as more victims were identified throughout the day. Lots of family and friends were calling to make sure we were okay so it was a little hectic.

We had a quiet Sunday night at home to cap off the weekend and prepare for new adventures ahead, sadly with heavy hearts for my city and the victims of the terrorist attack.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was a fairly quiet one since K was traveling for work so I enjoyed lots of "me time" and tried to sleep in but early-bird Lola woke me up at 6 am on both Saturday and Sunday morning.

On Friday night I did a whole lot of nothing other than relaxing at home catching up on some shows.

On Saturday I had a hairdresser appointment which is always a process but I love how my hair looks after getting a trim and some fresh highlights. After the salon, I went to Pier 1 to browse some of their gorgeous mirrored furniture. I talked about some of my current home obsessions on Friday and a pretty mirrored nightstand was on the list - These are the two I have my eye on - one  / two

Kate and I met up on Saturday evening at Brio Tuscan Grille to catch up over some delish Italian dinner and wine. The sweet potato and chicken risotto was amazing even though it looks like mushy baby food in the photo (ha!). The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at home watching the movie Sisters with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler which had some funny parts but altogether not a highly rated movie.

Bright and early on Sunday the bestie and I drove out to Cocoa Beach for some sunshine and fun. We stopped at Ron Jon Surf Shop first to do some shopping and I bought my first floppy beach hat.

 It's so lightweight and comfortable which is perfect for the Florida heat!

Once we got to the beach, we went to Coconuts for some much needed frozen cocktails to sip on while we relaxed on the beach for a few hours. After getting some sun we went to Jazzy's Mainely Lobster & Seafood Company for some local seafood dinner and then made the drive back home.

The weekend was capped off with some food prep and house staging on Sunday night to prepare for the week ahead.

Joining the lovely Biana for her weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

 

What a nice little break this weekend was.
I indulged in some of my favorite things ~ sleeping in, snuggling with Lola, quality time with my bestie, and some outdoor adventures.

After posting the recipe for Paleo Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos last week, I was craving the real deal so it was an easy decision to have our Friday night dinner date at Bonefish Grill.

The rest of the night was spent relaxing and catching up on some shows at home with my favorite snuggle bug.



Saturday was a Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond type of day, except we didn't go to BBB. Instead laundry, grocery shopping, meal prep, and garden shopping at Home Depot happened before we headed out to continue the search for a new home.

We found a house with the perfect floor plan and it happens to have the most gorgeous kitchen! This week we are going to work on confirming all the details and possibly putting an offer on the house.

Hours of house shopping definitely leaves you feeling exhausted and hungry so we went to the new Buffalo Wild Wings in our area for some dinner and a cold beverage.

 On Sunday, the bestie and I spent the day laying out, chit chatting and canoeing on the river at Wekiva Island. We had so much fun and it was the perfect way to end the weekend

Linking up my girl Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

Good morning lovelies!
I hope this Monday treats you well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the break over the weekend to mentally and physically rest from work. On Friday evening, K and I went to Nona Blue for dinner to get my favorite Ahi Tuna Salad and a Moscow Mule for "dessert". We cook healthy dinners during the week so Friday nights I prefer to go out for dinner so somebody else can cook and do the dishes.

On Saturday I had an appointment to get approved for TSA Pre-check so we don't have to wait in the horrific security lines at the airport. K recently got his mainly for work trips so I wanted to have it as well so we can bump ahead of the line for our personal trips. After that appointment we headed to Graffiti Junktion for some lunch and a couple cold beverages. Our server was a trip and had us cracking up the whole time.

On Sunday it was time to meet up with my bestie for some sunshine at the beach. The weather was perfect! Sunny and cool, not 100+ degrees like it gets in the summer. The ocean was very rough so we just basked in the sun for a few hours (of course with lots of SPF) chatting, laughing and catching up on our life's happenings. We ended the day with a nice seafood dinner at a restaurant on the water.

 How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was fairly relaxing for me but I had a fun girls day yesterday with my bestie visiting which was soooo good for the soul!

K and I didn't do much on Friday night. Lola was sick on Wednesday and Thursday night so I wanted to stick around to take care of her.  We had some Vietnamese food for dinner and caught up on some shows. Steph gave me a recipe for upset stomachs so I wanted to get that prepared for Lola for dinner and her next few meals. It worked wonders and she hasn't gotten sick since. Thank you Steph!

On Saturday K and I spent most of the day looking at new construction houses in the Orlando area. We've been wanting to customize a home since our current house lacks some features we think are important. We saw some amazing floor plans but I'm not sold on the location so the search continues.



After about 5 hours of house viewing we settled for some dinner at Lee and Rick's Oyster Bar which is seriously the biggest hole-in-the-wall restaurant but no one has better oysters around here.

 

Sunday morning came quickly (thankfully!) because it was time to meet up with my bestie of 25 years who's in town visiting to do a course for the next few months. We had SO much fun catching up over pedis at the day spa, lunch at Wich Wich, and TONS of shopping.

My whole backseat was filled with shopping bags but mainly for her. I can't wait to wear the cutest beach coverup from Target (pictured below) next weekend.

I also can't wait to see my bestie next weekend for more girl time at the beach!

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Miami Weekend Getaway

On Friday I got out of work a little early to beat rush hour traffic and head to Miami. Of course we still got stuck in traffic but made it there in 4 hours. K had to work a convention on Saturday and Sunday so I decided to tag along to relax and enjoy some down time. As much as I love my own bed, there's something about comfy hotel beds, where you can lower the AC, close the blackout curtains, and have a good night's sleep.

We stayed in Coral Gables which is just a few miles west of Miami and we could see the Miami skyline from our hotel balcony.







We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables which is a beautiful hotel with lovely staff and a comfortable bed. Just the way I like it! By the time we checked in it was already 8 pm so we were starving. Thankfully on the four hour drive I had lots of time to read reviews of restaurants in the area. I chose POC American Fusion Buffet & Sushi which did not disappoint! For $25 we got all-you-can-eat sushi, raw bar (crab legs, oysters, etc), carving station, different ceviches, and a variety of salads, soups, and desserts. It was one hell of a feast and just what our starving bodies needed plus I'd say my sushi fix will be satisfied for a few weeks.

On Saturday morning, I had breakfast in bed while catching up on some blogging and clearing through my inboxes. I got dressed and headed out to Miracle Mile to explore the strip, do some shopping, and get a pedicure at Evolution Salon.

After hours of walking around and exploring I went back to the hotel to relax before getting dressed for dinner. We decided to go to Tarpon Bend Raw Bar & Grill which had amazing seafood and live music.

On Sunday morning, I checked out of the hotel and went to Cherry Blow Dry Bar in Coral Gables to get my hair washed and styled. I figured it was a good weekend for some pampering while K was working.

After K got out of work, we hit the road to head back home. Luckily there was no traffic and we made in back in good timing. It was a lovely little weekend getaway.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending link up.