Puppy Shopping & Holiday Kickoff Party

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm so excited Thanksgiving is almost here. Definitely looking forward to some family time and a few days off of work. 

This weekend we started our search for a baby bulldog. We've had an empty nest since Skyh passed away and think it's time to adopt a new furbaby.

Friday night looked something like this. Well, it looked exactly like this. Chinese takeout, Redbox movies and homemade dirty martinis.

On Saturday, I used the pamper package gift certificate I won at a charity event a few weeks ago. I got a facial, mani & pedi and my hair styled. The package included a few more things but honestly I don't have enough patience to stay more than 4 hours in a spa so that was good enough for me. 

Saturday night, was our first Holiday party for the year with friends and it was a blast!




Sunday: we cooked up some brunch at home and continued our search for a new puppy. We finally found our furbaby and she'll be arriving this week from the breeder!!

 K also thought pineapple mimosas with blueberries were a good idea to celebrate.

How was your weekend?

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.  

Pig Floyd's & Blog Direction


Earlier this week, a friend and I went for lunch at a fairly new restaurant in town called Pig Floyd's. We wanted to check out the menu and see what the hype was all about. We sat down and were chit chatting when the owner stopped by offering us Cuban-style tacos he had just created in the kitchen. Have you ever seen tacos with black beans, rice, pulled pork, plantains and a fancy avocado sauce? They were amazing!! He said he's thinking of calling them The Fidel. (aka Fidel Castro = perfect name based on the ingredients)

We chatted with him a bit and convinced him these tacos needed to be on the menu asap. Not before long, he was back with with a plate of BBQ ribs for us to taste test. Amazing once again! We had such a great time on our lunch break away from work. Thanks cool dude who is the owner of Pig Floyd's for making our experience so enjoyable. We'll be back to try more of your menu options. P.S. sorry I thought you were Canadian when in fact your accent is that of Puerto Rico. #blondemoment 

He posted the #Fidel tacos photo on their Facebook page and we even got some love.

Lucky for him, he was sharing his creations and chats with a blogger and had no clue I would share my experience online.  The Big Floyd sandwich is amazing btw! Tough to finish as the menu says but worth a shot.

So about my blog direction...
I've been thinking for a while now about where I want to take my blog and different avenues I want to explore. Experiences like this at Pig Floyd's solidify what I've actually been leaning towards the whole time. Outside of blogging, I love to write restaurant reviews on Yelp & UrbanSpoon as well as reviews for retail websites and stores. 

I want to create a section specific to Orlando or at least Florida life in general. I love the city in which I live. There's lots to do and I want to be able to share that on my blog. It's part of my lifestyle and what I enjoy. While I know most of my readers and blog friends don't live in the Orlando area, it is a popular vacation spot and I think my reviews will eventually be helpful to both locals and visitors looking for recommendations for different types of restaurants, entertainment, shows, festivals and so on. This won't be the focus of my blog but I plan to do a review here and there based on my experiences and what I think is worth mentioning.

I travel quite a bit and I already have a section for that where I can do my travel recaps and restaurant reviews. I think it's time to create a section for the city I live in and love ~ Orlando. 

What do you think?

Birthday & Christmas Wish List

My birthday is right around the corner in December and soon after will be Christmas so I've finally finished putting together my wish list for the year. 

The big ticket item on my wish list is this Nikon D3200 Digital SLR camera which we actually just purchased a few weeks ago to have in time for the holidays so you may have noticed some better quality photos are these parts (big upgrade from my iPhone). I love taking pictures and I'm considering it a huge investment for my blog. Now, I just need some photography lessons!!



My Wish List

What's on your wish list?

Holiday Gift Guide for Yogis

Yoga is definitely one of my favorite forms of exercise and I've always loved the peaceful yoga style and way of life. I was contacted by YogaOutlet.com to review their products and had to jump on the opportunity to see what they were all about.

I ordered the Chakra racerback burnout tank and the Peace, Love and Namaste wall plaques.



*I was given the above items complimentary from YogaOutlet.com but all opinions and gift advice are solely my own.*

Guide Guide For Yogis






(ring holder or decoration)





Go check out the YogaOutlet.com's Holiday Shop if you're looking for fun and affordable yoga clothing, mats, home decor, jewelry and other yoga accessories.


Namaste.

Coffee-Rubbed Steak


Amanda from Kids And Cabernet posted this Coffee Rubbed Steak recipe a while ago and I wanted to try it out. Coffee mixed with steak? It seemed like a weird combination but it turned out to be a great dish.

Ingredients:
2 ribeye steaks (or cut of your choice)
1/2 cup ground coffee
1/2 white sugar
1/4 cup steak seasoning
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp minced garlic

What to Do:
1. Mix all ingredients and rub onto steaks. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

2. Heat grill to high heat.

3. Place marinated steaks on the grill and cook to your liking.

4. Enjoy!

Martinis & Bikinis

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.

Weekend Fun & a Fairytale Bridal Shower

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mine was relaxing which was much-needed before the crazy holidays begin. Friday night was date night at Cooper's Hawk Winery which has amazing food and great wine. 


On Saturday, I went to the hairdresser to get my hair done. 

I did some online Christmas shopping on Saturday night (so much for waiting until Cyber Monday) and we watched the movie Tammy, which was hilarious. Melissa McCarthy always cracks me up. It was a nice relaxing night at home.

Sunday:
 I went to a friend's bridal shower which was a fun time with the ladies, laughing and playing bridal games.
 


How was your weekend?

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.  

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! 

I found out that I'm heading back to San Francisco for work in March. You can read about my work trip earlier this year here and then touring San Fran here. This time I'm hoping to find some time to head over to Napa Valley as I'm already out there. I'm currently trying to recruit a friend to join me so I don't have to tour wine country by myself. 

I happened to visit the bridge on a rarely clear day and got this amazing photo (our tour guide said there are only a few days in the year the bridge isn't foggy). After touring around, San Francisco quickly won my heart and I can't wait to go back to explore some places I didn't get to see.

Yesterday, myself and several coworkers volunteered at Feeding Children Everywhere, which is an organization that assembles healthy meals for hungry children throughout the world. We packaged and boxed our goal of 10,000 meals to be distributed worldwide. 

This week's healthy dinner meal plan was successful after a few weeks of hiccups: 

Monday: Skinny chicken fajitas
Tuesday: Pork chops and brussel sprouts
Wednesday: Baked salmon and broccoli
Thursday: Tossed salad with chicken

Joining the lovely Amanda for Friday Favorites.

Favorite Recipe:
The Ultimate Bloody Mary via Honestly Yumm ... or as I like to call it, a Vodka Salad!

Favorite Purchase:
This Speechless Lace Bodycon Dress for one of my upcoming holiday parties. 


Favorite Funnies: 
Possibly? He rocks the kid pretty good.

I'm convinced I'm allergic to tickles.

Definitely reminds me of my granny from childhood days. Ice cream with chocolate chips was her signature treat!

True story, especially when it's cold and no one is seeing your legs anyways!

Have a great weekend loves!


Fun Holiday Potluck Dips

The holidays are coming up and I, for one, usually have a few potlucks to attend with friends & family and at work. I've been looking for some fun dip ideas from blogs I follow and via Pinterest and wanted to share some ideas I came across. 

White Cheddar and Cranberry Dip
via Little Broken
 

BBQ Chicken Dip

Cauliflower & White Bean Dip

Pimento Cheese Dip


7-Layer Mexican Dip

Avocado & Yogurt Dip

Texas Caviar

Pumpkin Dip

Do you have any go-to potluck dishes (not only dips) to share?