Busch Gardens Tampa

I did a quick recap of our trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa over the weekend and our experience at their Food & Wine Festival which was excellent! Today I wanted to share some more details about the park itself and some of the rides and attractions that stood out to me.

I didn't explore every single inch of the park but, being there for a full eight hours, I think we saw most of the main attractions and covered good ground.

The Rides:
The Cheetah Hunt and Skyride Cable Cars.
We really wanted to go on the Skyride to get a bird's eye view of the park but it was closed due to weather conditions (too windy). 

Falcon's Fury

The Phoenix

Congo River Rapids

Sheikra

The Animals:
We saw an elephant, large alligator, a gorilla, tortoises, flamingos and penguins.

Garden Sightings:
Beautiful garden displays all throughout the park. 

Live fountain statue singing in the garden at the Food & Wine Festival. 

Games:
There were several options for games and arcade games where you can win prizes such as the Flamingo Farm below.

Shows:
There were several shows to pick from and we decided on Iceploration which is a 30-minute ice skating show with professional skaters and acrobats. Flash photography was not allowed so I didn't capture the best photos with my iPhone. 

Food & Drinks:
We had lunch at Zambia Smokehouse which serves fast-food barbecue and it was fairly good.

Later in the evening and after several drinks at the Food & Wine Festival, we tried several small plates at the festival which were all excellent. 

Menu:
Pan-Seared Shrimp with Roasted Red Pepper Grits & Grilled Corn
Bacon-Wrapped Prawns
Deconstructed Duck Confit
Bacon Mac & Cheese

We had a great time exploring Busch Gardens and i was really impressed with all that they had to offer even though I'm not big into the scary rides but there's so much more to entertain people with all types of interests as I pointed out above. 

Cranberry Cream Cheese Rollups

** Before I get started, Kate and I both agree that hosting the Recipe Swap bi-weekly will be more manageable for both of our schedules so starting this week we will host the linkup every other Tuesday. We hope you will continue to join us in sharing your delicious recipes! **

This is a copycat recipe from Food.com that I stumbled upon on Pinterest and had to try for myself. It's also an easy finger food to whip together for parties or large groups of people.

Serving size: 40 pinwheels

Ingredients:

1 container low-fat cream cheese

1 (142 g) package dried cranberries

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onion

4 large sundried tomato flour tortillas

What To Do:

1. Combine the cream cheese, cranberries, feta cheese and green onion in small bowl and mix together well. 

2. Spread mixture evenly over each tortillas.

3. Fold the tortilla tightly and wrap in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour. 

4. Use a sharp knife to cut in 10 slices.

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival

Hey lovelies! 

We meet again on this Monday morning and I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

On Saturday, we headed to Tampa for Busch Garden's Food & Wine Festival. It was a hot day in Florida but we lasted a solid eight hours. I have to say Busch Gardens definitely outdoes Disney when it comes to crazy/scary rides and I didn't go on one of them. Not one of the scary ones. (I plan to do a full recap of the park later this week). 

In a nutshell, I saw some beautiful animals such as this cute gorilla.

Went on the Congo River Rapids and got soaked!

Saw the Iceploration ice skating show.

Then ventured on to the Food & Wine Festival

Tried several small plates of amazing food...

And a beer flight with the husband...

While watching Daughtry in concert.

After the show K went on a couple scary rides while I relaxed my aching feet (old age is a bitch) and took photos. 

We checked into our hotel on Saturday night which turned out to be in the ghetto (I'm not even going to get started on that). Tampa is an interesting place....

On Sunday morning, we went to Ella's American Folk Art Cafe for some brunch/lunch which I was told was a must-do while in Tampa. The food and drinks were amazing and then we hit the road to head back home and call it a weekend. 

Another fun weekend for the books!

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup. 

Friday's Favorites

Happy Friday loves! So glad the weekend is here...

This week was fairly uneventful with my regular work routine. No afternoon happy hours or celebratory lunches/dinners but that's okay with me. Quiet and routine was nice for a change.

~ K and I started a 10-day herbal cleanse earlier this week. I've been interested in trying one but I didn't seek it out. K is friendly with a Rep from Advocare who somehow convinced him to buy us the cleanse kits. Ta da! Today is day 4 and I feel fine and it's really not hard to keep up with. Nothing crazy otherwise to report. I will let you know if it made any difference after 10 days. 

~ Buddha's quote "Be where you are. Otherwise, you will miss your life" sits on my desk at work with his smiling statue. It's something to think about especially with the distraction of technology and social media. Sometimes we must enjoy the moment instead. It's something I always need to remind myself especially as a blogger.

~ Afternoon walks with Lola around the neighborhood and apparently rest breaks too. 

~ Our low-carb dinner meal plan for the week was a success. My favorite is making a Mexican chicken fiesta salad, which reminds me of Chipotle's salad but with lighter ingredients (the sour cream and dressing). So good! 

Now on to some more favorites and joining the lovely Amanda for her weekly linkup.

Favorite Fashion Find:

Cute Maxi Dresses for the spring.

Favorite Recipe:

Jessica's Mahi Tacos with Chipotle Mayo look delish!

Favorite Fashion Quote: 
Wouldn't it be nice to have it all at the same time...

Finally, don't forget to enter our giveaway for a chance to win $200 big ones to Lululemon!

A Little Glitter | On the Daily Express | Deborah Yanni | My Borrowed Heaven | As the Wine Cork Turns | The Sequin Notebook | Medicine & Manicures | Cheshire Kat | The Kay Times | Martinis & Bikinis | Green Fashionista | Coffee & Glitter | Make Me Up Mia | Pink and Fabulous Kids and Cabernet | Dream Big and Buy the Shoes |

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a fabulous weekend!

Chewy.com - Lola Gives The Paws Up

I was contacted by a representative from Chewy.com Online Pet Shop asking if I'd be interested in trying out some of their dog treats. Of course I said yes because Lola loves treats and I'm still figuring out what ingredients and flavors work best for a growing English Bulldog. Seeing that bulldogs typically have so many food allergies, I really have to study the ingredients to make sure it will work for her.

They had a ton of different treat options but I picked out the Canidae Grain-Free Biscuits with Salmon & Sweet Potato because I thought they sounded healthy and tasty at the same time. Lola has been eating these dog treats every evening for the past couple weeks and she loves them. I'm so glad they sent me a good size bag to last a while. To my pleasant surprise they also included a Multipet Plush Dog Toy in the package which Lola quickly ran off with and has been entertained with since she received it.

I only recently discovered Chewy via Steph and some other bloggers so I've been browsing through their website to find other treats and doggie accessories (such as a new collar). Lola is a growing pup so she's been outgrowing her things and even needs to move on from small dog treats.

Now that I'm familiar with their online pet store, some things that stand out to me is the quality of their dog treats (healthy and nutritious ingredients), the reasonable prices on things like leashes and collars, and a big one is their free 1-2 day shipping on orders over $49. 

Their customer service is also second to none and my interaction with their representative over the past few weeks has been exceptional. She's been very helpful and also genuinely interested in learning more about Lola to recommend products that would work best for her.

I'm so happy to find an online pet store I can use moving forward cause the Big Guy above knows I'd never enter another store if I didn't have to. Online shopping is really a time saver with my busy work and personal life schedule.

Disclosure: The above two products were provided by Chewy.com complimentary for testing purposes but the review provided is solely mine (and Lola's) own and honest opinion.

Spring Training $200 Lululemon Giveaway

I'm excited to team up with some of my favorite ladies and fellow bloggers to offer you a special treat for the Spring! Who doesn't love replenishing their workout gear and accessories? This girl does for one but now it's your chance to get $200 worth of goodies from Lululemon. 

A Little Glitter | On the Daily Express | Deborah Yanni | My Borrowed Heaven | As the Wine Cork Turns | The Sequin Notebook | Medicine & Manicures | Cheshire Kat | The Kay Times | Martinis & Bikinis | Green Fashionista | Coffee & Glitter | Make Me Up Mia | Pink and Fabulous Kids and Cabernet | Dream Big and Buy the Shoes |

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cajun Grilled Shrimp & Veggie Medley

Ingredients:

1 lb. large uncooked white shrimp

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp butter, melted

Creole seasoning (to taste)

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 zucchinis

1 can chick peas

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

Spiral Vegetable Slicer

There's a few parts to this recipe but overall it's an easy and fairly quick meal to piece together. A second hand would be useful to take care of the grilling while the veggies are being prepped and cooked. 

I purchased this Spiralizer thanks to Steph's recommendation and it's very effortless to use. It took only a couple minutes to spiralize the zucchinis, which was easier than I expected. 

What To Do:

1. Toss uncooked shrimp in creole seasoning and set aside. Melt the butter in the microwave and mix together with garlic powder (for basting the shrimp). Heat up the grill and then set to low to cook the shrimp. 

2. Spiralize the zucchinis. 

3. Melt coconut oil in a deep pan on medium heat and then add chopped red peppers and green peppers. Cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini spirals and cook for an additional 3 minutes. 

4. Add chick peas to the pot and cook on low for 5 minutes. 

5. While the veggies are cooking on low. Place cajun seasoned shrimp on the grill (temperature set to low), baste with garlic butter and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip the shrimp, baste with remainder of garlic butter and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. 

6. Serve the cooked veggie medley topped with shrimp. 

Enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.