Anniversary Celebrations & Ladies Night

My weekends are usually for catching up on some sleep but I was awake at the crack of dawn on both Saturday and Sunday for no good reason. I did get some relaxing in between the celebrations.

Weekending

It was a weekend of sweet relaxation and not much on the agenda except a ladies night. Most of Saturday was spent relaxing and doing stuff around the house and then lounging at the pool even though it was a little overcast.

Friday Reflections

Four posts in one week...who am I? I guess that's what a mandatory hurricane curfew and a three-day weekend will do to you. No complaints here since I feel somewhat organized again.

My SIL's wedding is this weekend so that calls for pretty nails and this is the color combo I'm rolling with: Essie's Chinchilly (my favorite), Lady Like and Sugar Daddy.




I just recently found out about the soft as silk LuLaRoe leggings from a coworker so I had to buy a pair, except I cheated and found them for half the price on Amazon. They're from VIV Collection but honestly you can't tell the difference. I'm tempted to buy 10 more pairs!
 



Another Bath & Body Works haul happened recently because when 50% off 3-wick candles comes around... that's when I stock up. I got my usual fall/pumpkin candles but I also bought some year round scents such as Hello Beautiful.




I finished Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo audiobook earlier this week and since then I've moved onto The Girl on The Train. I know I'm late to the party but I'm late to reading books altogether. So far I'm confused with the story but starting to pick up the pieces. I'm not sure I could sit through physically reading this book but the audio version will do on my commute to and from work.

The new Hello Kitty wine collection is quite adorable and since it's the weekend, why not share? 

Cheers to the weekend!

Joining my fellow Floridian Amanda for Friday Faves.

Skinnygirl Cocktails

A surprise package showed up at my door from Skinnygirl® Tastemakers which included a water bottle, coasters, a cute wine stopper and a cocktail making book. I purchased the Skinnygirl White Cranberry Cosmo to enjoy over the weekend.

I liked the White Cranberry Cosmo but found it to be quite sweet for my liking even though it's very low on calories. The website describes the Cosmo as having hints of orange essence, subtle lime, berry fruit notes and cranberry. The taste is delicious but I personally don't drink sweet cocktails so it was a little much for me (I'm more of a dirty martini girl). If you like drinks on the sweeter side, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this Cosmo. 

I can't wait to try some of the new Skinnygirl® Vodkas they have out to make martinis such as The Bombshell recipe below.

Have you tried any of the Skinnygirl® alcoholic products?

Long Weekend Part 1: Work Holiday Party Plus Some

Such an epic long weekend for my company holiday party and ringing in my 32nd birthday with friends. My husband was traveling for work so Kate stepped in as my date for my work party at a Universal Studios resort on Thursday night. Luckily they gave us Friday off because lots of wine was had! The night consisted of dinner, wine, karaoke, dancing, wine, casino table games with funny money and more wine.

On Friday morning I went to brunch with some coworkers at Hash House a Go Go which was amazing and much needed! I've been dying to try out their brunch menu. The portion sizes are out of control so I had leftovers for days.

On Saturday night I went out with my friends from college visiting from near and far which we'd been planning for months. We met up at a sushi restaurant downtown and then rang in my birthday at 12 o'clock at a bar downtown before calling it a night like the old fogies we are. ha!

Sunday brunching for my birthday happened which I'll cover tomorrow since this post has gotten long enough. Luckily I took this morning off of work to use up the remainder of my PTO and slowly wean back into the work week after all the celebrations over the weekend.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Making Our Way Around Epcot's Food & Wine Festival

I've been living in Florida for 13 years and this was the first year I made it to Epcot's Food & Wine Festival and we had a blast. My only complaint is that it gets very crowded but otherwise the food and drink samples are excellent and worth every calorie.

The Food & Wine Festival was a huge part of why we purchased annual passes in the first place. Sadly our passes just expired over Thanksgiving weekend but we definitely made good use of them over the year especially at Epcot since it's more adult-friendly and our favorite park because of the amazing food and drink options. Unfortunately I didn't get to try every marketplace at the festival but everything we did try was nothing short of amazing.

The Ocean Spray cranberry grower's display as you walk into the world showcase shares the history of cranberries, how they are grown and harvested and why cranberries are excellent for a healthy lifestyle. Not the most interesting showcase but nevertheless it shared some interesting facts.

 

We had some wine and an assorted cheese platter at the Wine & Cheese Studios. I forgot to snap a photo but the trio artisan cheese platter included:

- Karst cave-aged cheese served with honey

- La Bonne Vie goat cheese served with Craisin bread

- Rogue Creamer Oregan Blue Cheese with berry port compote

Photo credit

Greece:

Food: Chicken gyro with tzatziki sauce

Drink: Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko Athiri

Brazil

Drink: Kaiser Brewery Xinghu Black Beer

Food: Escondidinho de carne (layered meat pie with mashed yucca)

Craft Beer:
Flight #2: Craft Beer Lovers
- 3 Daughter St Pete Beach Blonde Ale
- Florida Beer Company Passport
- Funky Buddha Vanilla Espresso Porter
- Shipyard Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Eat To The Beat Concert:
The performers change from week to week (2015 schedule) but we happened to catch Starship in concert back in October and they were amazing live. There are usually three show times per day and the concerts only last 35 minutes so it's not a long show and you can move on to exploring the rest of Epcot.



UK:
Drink: Snakebite (equal parts larger and cider).
You can get this all year long at the Rose & Crown Pub.

New Zealand:
Food: Lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney
Drink: Kim Crawford Pinot Gris

Photo credit

Farm Fresh:
Drink: Florida Orange Groves, Key limen wine
Food: Loaded mac 'n' cheese topped with Nueske's pepper bacon, cheddar cheddar cheese, peppers and green onions.





Africa:
Food: Buttered chicken with micro cilantro and naan bread
Drink: Indaba Chenin Blanc

For anyone that has visited the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, what's your favorite food or drink to sample?