For Entertainment Purposes

If you know me, I'm about as OCD with cleanliness as it may get, my car would disagree at the moment, but hey I didn't say I was perfect. I'm just one of those moms that likes to feed the baby/toddler to avoid any messes. And by messes I mean applesauce on the floor, walls, windows, and under the booster seat that's hidden for weeks until you decide "oh hey maybe I should check under there" ...I would just rather avoid "those messes". But against - what I like to think is - my better judgement, I decided to let my 16 month old feed himself these last few days for the sake of, well, being a kid! Ha. It was surprisingly less messy than I expected, but then again he just kept the mess all in one place... his face/body. 

Photos to elaborate...

Day 1: Applesauce. I was sadly unprepared for this new "wear my food" stage. So this is all I was able to capture.

Day 2: Yogurt. Lucked out on this one! I just so happened to catch almost every second of his experiment with this new freedom. 

Who needs a spoon?

Well that was fun.

Day 3: Mac & Cheese. I'm still a little confused by this one. But it still made the cut, because really? How does one manage this?

And then that "let's wear the placemat on my face until that gets boring, and just throw it on the floor" moment. 

My anxiety may have been on hiatus during each one of these moments, but I shall learn to just let my kids be kids because every moment of this was hilarious and priceless.

#toddlermom

Lovers Weekend

After this eventful weekend I quickly remembered why I began blogging {two year anniversary in April} ... but then that realization also reminded me that I've slacked tremendously in these last 6 months. I would post, but not a lot of context. As if my photos did justice to any of our adventures. Granted there isn't a photo/post/entry that could ever do justice to the experience, but they were just photo memories. I wasn't making time to sit down and put these photos into words. THIS trip however, I must. There are very few trips we take that spoil us rotten, and this was one of them. Often times my husband gets to attend events, which allows him to travel the US, or even jet set to Europe. But he's gone solo on most of them. This time he was chosen to accompany some others on a long weekend stay in Naples, FL, and being that it was a couples getaway, I was lucky enough to tag along! Hehe. Thanks to mom and dad, the kiddos had a comfy place to reside for the weekend and we were able to enjoy this amazing Valentine weekend together.

Upon arriving to the hotel we were greeted with some bubbles, which is most certainly the way I would expect to be greeted on a lovers weekend getaway, right? ;) Lovely. Then we headed up to the room - so chic - dropped off the bags and headed back down to the lobby. No unpacking, we were starving. Food first, my friends. No hangry moments accepted on this trip! 

We met some friends down in one of the restaurants to get the evening started, and oh boy... I was in heaven. Sushi! Between that and pasta, it's a toss up to which has my heart most. Immediately, I knew this was going to be a good night.

It was, until I indulged more than I could handle and went off to bed in a food coma. True story. But the morning was greeted with room service, a nice cup of jo with this view, and a massage awaiting us in just a few hours.... you could say I was feeling less miserable. 

Although it was a relaxing weekend, we made time to squeeze in the gym. I know that sounds crazy to some people, but when something's important to you it doesn't take a back seat. With that over and done with, I went ahead and jumped into my robe ready for this massage! And yes, I took a frightful selfie, but mainly because I was sharing my Shakeology the spa cafe hooked up for me! {{angels singing}} 

This right here became my safe haven for the weekend. The "relaxation room". 

Next on the list... lunch. Like I said, food... always. With the desire to soak in all the beachy-ness we could, we tried this seaside place off the dock of the hotel. But with the weather being mid 60s with strong ocean winds, the idea was more ideal than realistic!

Inevitably, a very nice waiter ended up offering me a towel to put over my shoulders. I was visibly that cold. 

{below: turkey burger topped with brie and apple butter}

Considering I was still thawing out from lunch, I bought this cute jersey-style shirt and tried taking a selfie to share, but it actually just looks like an everyday shirt so it was a fail ... but what was NOT a fail, was Chris doing some kind of booty poppin' in the background? Ha! Not sure what he was doing, and still don't know to this day. But it was a good laugh for the moment. 

This entry should have been titled "Food Weekend" considering the overload of these delicious luxuries. Since it'd been awhile from some of my more detailed blog posts, I forgot how uncomfortably annoying it is to whip out the phone during every meal, along with the looks people give you when you have them pause before touching one single thing.... yea. 

So this was my afternoon munch. Arugula, candied pecans, dried apricots, tomatoes, and red wine vinaigrette. A pretty rainbow of yumminess.  

One thing I enjoy on a weekend getaway, is being able to dress up and wear heels! Chasing two kids around usually requires bare feet or tennis shoes... so this is always a fun change up. 

Friday's dinner was set in the lobby of the hotel. Couches, comfy chairs, and tapas... couldn't have been more perfect. 

{below: sweet potato spread; adult fries; pumpkin carrot cake} <- yes you heard that right.

And then it was Lover's Day! <3 <3 <3 although the men had an early tee time, the women were set up with spa appointments. Chris even arranged room service for when I woke up, accompanied by a sweet card! :) 

Spent the morning relaxed, with no rush to get out of bed. Headed on down to the gym around 9am, and then sat in the relaxation room until it was time for my appointment. Talk about a zenful kind of morning! ..... wooo-saaaa.  

And then... you guessed it... lunch time! This amazing ceasar was to die for. Soooo good. I'm salivating just looking at this photo.

With the weather picking up a bit, we decided to head back up to the spa rooftop and enjoy some sunshine. Although it was a bit chilly for full on sunbathing, I was against bad tan lines {golfers tan? no thank you}, so I changed into my bathing suit bottoms. Half was good.   

Since it was a lovers weekend, I couldn't forget about my two little lovers at home. We FaceTimed each day, and I even sported the necklace my sweet girl made for me. She had one, and I had one. I told her I would wear it ALL day, and I did. Even with my evening outfit. ;) It matched my pants, so it totally worked out. Haha.

Well we are coming to a close, and what better way to end this food weekend post, than with this beauty. Yes, we started the weekend with sushi and ended it that way, too. ;)

We ended up with a full table {4 couples} and lots and lots of laughs. Couldn't have ended the night any better. We are so thankful for opportunities like these, and for the people who consider us to be a part of them. THANK YOU. We are so, so grateful.

Bienvenido a Miami

How to sum up such a weekend? Let me try.

Hotel.

Champagne poolside.

Spa.

Festivals on the beach.

Foooooood.

And all with great company.

 [Michael Symon, from The Chew]

That still doesn't do it justice, but we don't have time for an overload. This was one of the best weekends! Just long enough to have a relaxing few days with my hubby, but just short enough to get back to my babies. I really missed them.

As much as I enjoyed this weekend of paradise, [as crazy as it sounds] it's good to be back to reality

A sober birthday celebration.

This weekend was our first night without the kids. The occasion was for my husband's upcoming birthday [his golden one, to be precise]. Going into it you would think 10-months of sobriety would push one to order their first drink at dinner! Negative.

Instead it looked more like this.

To justify my drink of choice:

1) I love coffee. 

2) I was sitting by a window where it was below zero outside. And while bourbon serves a similar purpose of body warmth, note previous statement above.

With my beverage preference aside, my post today is merely to share with you a delicious restaurant here in town; Doc Crow's. It's known for it's large supply of whiskey & bourbon [again shocking why my "when in Rome" instinct didn't kick in] where the atmosphere is rustic modern, and historical. 

For apps, the whole table [minus yours truly] indulged in three rounds of oysters, while I stuck to my own little side of shrimp cocktail.

Then came the entrees.

As you can see, the portion sizes are nothing short of huge. Staying alongside my better judgement, I decided to go with the grilled salmon & rice [borrrring]. The last time we ate here, I ordered the beef brisket tacos, fried okra, and lima beans!! Sadly, my post-pregnancy provision does not approve of such indulgences yet, so I surrender to the fish. Although, it was quite tasty. On the contrary to my "light" meal, two of our friends ordered the famously ginormous "Bubba" burger; which is on a list of America's Over-The-Top Burgers.

Wowsers.

We all know the best part about any dinner is usually the end... the dessert. To no surprise, however, I did not get any. So I suppose that puts this entry at a disappointing close. Muh-bad.

Nonetheless, the food was good, the company was great, and the night ended with us surrounded by a bunch of intoxicated adults riding wooden horses inside a church. I could totally elaborate on that, but the summary of it sounds so much more enticing, right?! Ok ok, so it was a Home Builder's function where we went to support a friend who helped sponsor the event, where they placed bets on people riding wooden horses on wheels. And yes, in a church. Quite the show.