Orlando Beyond Disney

I'm aware that most visitors come to Orlando to visit Disney but there's so much more to do in Central Florida for people with all different interests from food to sports, attractions, festivals, and entertainment. The locals know the secret to enjoying Orlando and avoiding the crowded Disney area.

Downtown Orlando
Orlando has a really fun downtown where the locals go to enjoy some amazing Sunday brunch restaurants along with the bar hopping nightlife and the dog-friendly restaurants in Thornton Park.

 

There's also a local farmer's market every Sunday around Lake Eola where you can purchase produce, food, and art from local vendors. Several festivals are hosted around Lake Eola such as Paws in the Park which is an annual pet festival coming up in February.

iFly Orlando
This Indoor Skydiving place gives you the opportunity to experience the skydiving experience in a safe environment. I, personally, am afraid of heights so will never do the real thing but I had no hesitation to try indoor skydiving.

Orlando City Soccer Club
Our Major League Soccer team is a fairly new addition to Orlando's sports teams but the fan base caught on quickly and everyone here can enjoy an inexpensive evening watching some soccer at the family-friendly Citrus Bowl.

Cocoa Beach
This is not technically Orlando but it is the closest beach that most locals frequent during the warmer months. Port Canaveral also has some amazing waterfront seafood restaurants that we like to grab dinner at after spending hours at the beach.

Wekiva Island

Wekiva Island is an amazing facility to visit on the weekend to enjoy some kayaking and canoeing along with lunch and drinks at the onsite restaurant. It's great place to relax along the river and get some Vitamin D plus it's pet-friendly so everyone brings their dog to enjoy the outdoors.

The Orlando Eye

This 400-foot observation wheel located on International Drive was built in 2015 and is one of Orlando's newest attractions that allows you to enjoy breathtaking views of Central Florida. We went on it in December at sunset and enjoyed seeing the sun go down along Orlando's skyline.

Amway Center
The Amway arena is the home of the Orlando Magic basketball team but they also host most of the big concerts such as Taylor Swift who I saw perform a couple years ago.

Winter Park
Park Avenue in Winter Park has a historic strip of boutique shopping and restaurants. It's a great place to walk around and go for lunch or some happy hour with friends. They also host an Art Festival that features work from local artists for sale.

Universal City Walk
You can enjoy family fun here with a variety of restaurants, entertainment and shopping. My two favorites are Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and Bob Marley's for some live reggae music and Jamaican cuisine. The nightlife is always hopping here so it's a fun place to go to celebrate a birthday or bachelorette party.

Orlando Improv
 Everyone loves a good laugh. Lots of great comedians come to Orlando Improv to perform. It's a nice venue that serves food and drinks while you enjoy a funny comedy show.

Orlando is dubbed "The City Beautiful" and I couldn't agree more. There's so much to do here that makes living here never a dull moment.

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?

Weekend Happenings

Another low-key weekend around here. On Friday K and I had dinner at Pom Pom's Teahouse which has amazing soups, sandwiches, and of course teas. I had the Cherry Bomb iced tea which was so good!

We rented Ted 2 from Redbox and had a relaxing night at home with lots of laughs.

On Saturday I finished organizing and decorating our home office and did a few errands around town. Later in the evening we went out to meet up with some friends for drinks at Firebird's and then dinner at Santiago's Bodega which has amazing tapas. We shared a variety of different tapas but the flaming cheese (saganaki) was a hit!








On Sunday, I went through my closet and purged 3 bags of clothes, shoes, and bags to donate to Goodwill. I then did some damage at Target shopping for warm clothes since it finally feels like "winter" here. Two of my favorite buys are this Mossimo Faux Sherpa Cardigan and the Kalliope Shearling Style Boots both under $35.

After said damage, I went to get an hour long facial at Massage Envy to use the gift package K gave me for Christmas. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at home, food prepping, and getting organized for the work week. I made this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe in the crockpot with lots of leftovers for this week.

Happy Monday...Let's do this!

Friday Faves

This was the first cold weekend in Florida and it was nice to bring out the boots and scarves however I don't have many warm pants other than jeans. Recommendations? I'm looking forward to another fairly quiet weekend with lots of R&R which sounds like perfection. I'm finally back on track with the work/blogging/personal life balance after the crazy holidays which is definitely good for the soul. So how about some faves for this week...

Favorite Article:
Ashley from The Grits Blog talks about her Blogging Pet Peeves and I couldn't agree with her more, especially #1.

Favorite Purchase:
This dainty silver leaf bangle bracelet from Express goes so well with my watch and has gotten lots of compliments.

Favorite Recipe:

This Healthy Kung Pao Chicken with brown rice recipe looks so good. I'm a big fan of stir-fry recipes and love trying different combinations of meat and veggies.

Favorite Holiday Gifts:

I didn't post much around the Christmas long weekend but two of my favorite gifts were both from K and I'm in love!

#1: Marc Jacobs 'Decadence' Perfume
Smells amazing! Definitely my favorite new perfume on the shelves.

#2: Revlon One Step Hair Dryer and Styler 
This is seriously a life-changer for me. My hair is very thick so it takes a long time to wash and dry which has always been a dreaded "chore" of mine. This brush/hair dryer combo has cut that time down significantly and I absolutely love hoow it styles my hair. I give it a 9 out of 10 because it could have more heat settings but otherwise it works wonders.

Favorite Funny:

Me everyday.

Have a great weekend lovelies!

Joining Amanda for Friday Faves.

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Alaska Cruising

In 2005 my Grandmother organized a family cruise up to the Arctics. We all flew into Vancouver, Canada and then left for seven days on a Royal Caribbean cruise up to Alaska. Since this trip was over ten years ago, I couldn't find many photos on file but I was able to dig up some from Facebook.



Before we left for the cruise my entire family spent the day exploring Vancouver. We went to check out the Totem Poles in Stanley Park which are carved out of red cedar wood. There are nine poles in total and each one tells it's own story. We also checked out Lion's Gate Bridge and several other attractions/monuments.

The next day we left on the cruise and stopped at three Alaskan ports - Ketichikan, Skagway and Juneau. Although my ideal vacation typically includes sun, sea and sand, it was an amazing seven days spent with my cousins and family at sea. We saw whales through the window while eating dinner, enjoyed the icy scenery and got lots of quality time with each other. More importantly, it made my Granny extremely happy to have all of her family together since we all live in different countries/cities.

The time-stamp on some of the photos below are incorrect. This trip was in 2005 despite my cousin's camera saying 2004.

Alaska was beautiful but that will probably be my first and last vacation there. It was good to experience it but Europe, several US cities, and lots of tropical islands are on my radar for the upcoming years.

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