Friday's Flashback

Happy Friday!

I have no big plans for the weekend and I'm pretty damn excited about it. After a busy week at work, sometimes you need the weekend to recoup and relax. I do welcome some fun with friends but I prefer to run on a non-schedule.

I was excited to participate in Helene's Blog Auction yesterday and think it went pretty well. Thank you for those that placed a bid on my large ad space to advertise for 4 months straight on Martinis & Bikinis. I'm excited to find out who will be featured on my blog for the next several months :-)

This was me on Monday. I did some workouts at home over the weekend and never knew I was capable of kicking my own ass. I was sore and in pain all week but Monday and Tuesday were pretty bad. 

 

The ladies met up after work on Tuesday at a new spot in town called The Porch for some happy hour cocktails and appetizers. It was fun catching and planning a girls trips we want to do next year.

Another Ebates check arrived in the mail. I think it's pretty fabulous getting paid to shop. I signed up earlier this year and have already racked up about $115 in cash back.

Some goodies I scored from the Kate Spade sale last week. I had my eye on a few items and finally decided on a crossover purse (perfect for traveling) and the silver huggie earrings, which look so much better in person.

Lastly, this is so me specifically in the wine department.

Have a relaxing and fun weekend everyone!

Joining Amanda and Lauren today for their weekly Friday linkups.

Alex & Ani Charmed Arms

I recently started my Alex and Ani collection and I can't get enough of all the different ways to style these bangles. There's definitely a bracelet (or 10) for every girl out there.

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via Pinterest

via Instagram

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I tend to like the beach-themed bangles and the seahorse bangle happens to be the bangle of the month so that might be my next purchase. You get $5 off with code SEAHORSE on the Alex and Ani website.

Where should I go from here? Decision decisions...

Recipe Swap: Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz. shredded Mexican blend cheese

4 flour tortillas

1 packet fajita seasoning

Optional:

Sour cream
Salsa/chopped tomatoes

Shredded lettuce

Black beans

Avocado/guacamole

Makes: 2 large quesadillas 

What To Do:

1. In a between pan, saute chopped up chicken, with 1 tbsp olive oil and diced garlic until chicken is no longer pink. Add in fajita seasoning and cook according to directions on the packet.

2. In a separate pan, saute chopped onions and peppers with 1 tbsp olive oil for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat.

3. Place one flour tortilla on greased baking sheet. Top generously with cooked chicken, onions and peppers.

4. Layer with cheese and secure a 2nd flour tortilla over the mixture.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes on 350 degrees until the top starts to become golden brown.

6. Use a pizza cutter to cut into 4 large pieces or 8 small pieces.

Serve with sour cream and other condiments of your choice. I suggested a few above.

Enjoy!

 

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

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

Weekending: Live Music, Brunching & Hibachi

 What a fun and hectic weekend!

After work on Friday we headed to Cocoa Village to see Stephen Marley, Slightly Stoopid and a few other bands perform. It was storming heavily all afternoon and finally cleared up just in time for the show. The venue was on the riverfront so lots of people drove their boats up and it was a really great night out with friends.

Before the show, we checked out a couple spots in the village including this cute British pub called The Dog & Bone.

On Saturday we had brunch with one of my college best friends that drove 4 hours to go to the show. We go to Maxine's on Shine downtown Orlando every time she's in town to get chicken and waffles and ginormous mimosas. They also have live music and a great atmosphere for brunch on the weekends.

K had the world's yummiest looking bloody mary.   

On Saturday night we went out to celebrate Kate's birthday at a hibachi restaurant with friends. 

Sunday was perfectly lazy. Lazy as in I cooked, cleaned, did laundry, blogged, worked out and got caught up before another busy work week.

How was your weekend?

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip. 

Heavy Hearts & Hectic Days

If you happen to follow me on instagram, you might have seen a photo of Skyh I posted earlier this week because she hasn't been feeling well. Skyh passed away yesterday. She was my fur-child for 6 years and K has had her for 12 years so she was his baby first. You never really hear of men having cats but he loved her to pieces.

Skyh's favorite things in life were to eat and sleep (and sometimes get into mischief) so when we noticed that she wasn't eating a few weeks ago, we got very worried and took her to the vet. All blood work tests came back fine and we were given some medicine and special food. However, nothing seemed to be getting better over the days. She was refusing water and food so becoming very weak. We had a follow up appointment set for today to do further tests and scans but she didn't make it and has gone to kitty heaven. Unfortunately we're entering another hectic weekend with heavy hearts.

Also, in the wake of the loss of Robin Williams earlier this week, I find this quote fitting. 

Joining Amanda for her weekly Friday Favorites linkup.

In better and brighter news...

I ordered my bridesmaid dress for one of the 3 weddings I'm a bridesmaid in next year. It's one of those cool wrap dresses where you can choose your own style. I'm curious to see how it will look.

New towels make me happy especially when they're fresh out the wash & smell like Gain or Tide. Same goes for my bedsheets and comforter.

The highlight of my week was meeting up with two pretty bloggers yesterday for happy hour ~ Pam and Kate. I had a great time and look forward to doing it again!

I think we picked the best happy hour spot in town. You seriously can't go wrong with $5 martinis and $4 wine and small plates.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tradewinds Island Resorts on St Pete Beach

If you're ever looking for a relaxing beach getaway, I have the perfect place to recommend. St Pete Beach is one of my favorite beaches on the west coast of Florida and Tradewinds is a beachfront resort that offers lots of great amenities including beach & water sports, pools, beach cabanas, mini golf, paddleboats, spas, and several restaurants to choose from. They have two different properties along the same beach for either an adults-only or family-friendly vacation. The resort is also pet-friendly so your fur-babies are welcome to join the fun.

 

I've stayed at Tradewinds on three different occasions; the first time was many years ago for a friend's beach wedding, then K and I went for a "mini-moon" after our wedding in 2012 and most recently we stayed 3 nights this past June for my company's annual vacation. I posted a trip recap but I wanted to share more details about the resort itself.

This isn't a sponsored post of any sort. I just truly love this resort as a vacation spot.

The Guy Harvey Outpost is one of the two properties with a great restaurant onsite called the RumFish Grill. The restaurant has a fine dining side and a sports restaurant/bar side along with a huge aquarium and a Guy Harvey store.

We stayed at the Island Grand property, which I failed to get many photos of. The rooms came equipped with a mini kitchen and were comfortable (a little older but good enough for the price). Our balcony overlooked the paddle boat river. Typically I would choose a beach view but my company organized this trip and I had no say in the matter.

We spent our days lounging in the beach cabanas, which you have to book the night before as they fill up quickly. When the beach got too hot (June in Florida), we headed to the pool area to cool off. I didn't opt to do any water sports on this trip but I did go down the huge water slide on the beach.

Finally many beach cocktails were had at Salty's Tiki bar.The mojitos were the best!

And here's me in vacation mode....

As the Tradewinds resort slogan goes, Just Let Go.....