starbucks
Weekend Bliss
77 months ago
by Nanci
in anniversary, blue, book, daily mile, dinner, Eagle Lake Park, hubby, Ozzie, run, starbucks, walk
Yesterday was such a great day. Besides the fact that it was our 11th anniversary, hubby and I spent the day together. I took a lot of pictures yesterday so sit back and enjoy! Hubby gave me a beautiful card for our anniversary. He always buys the sweetest cards….
We started the day with a 3.50 mile walk. There was much excitement on this walk for me because I actually ran a little. I’ve been thinking about running and wondering what would happen. I was so happy, there was no pain at all. Yay!! I ran about 3 blocks total, certainly not a lot, but I also don’t want to overdue it. I’ll work my way back into it.
After our walk, we went home and loaded Blue and Ozzie in the car for a trip to Starbucks. Yes, my boys are incredibly spoiled and they know what Starbucks is and get SO excited if we even say the word. Everyone at the Starbucks drive-thru loves Blue and Ozzie and always give them cookies.
Later on, we went to Jimmy John’s for lunch (freaky fast!). I had a Club Lulu unwich, so no bread. I was saving my bread for dinner, so go me! After lunch, we went to Barnes & Noble so I could use a coupon that was burning a whole in my wallet. I couldn’t possibly let a coupon go to waste… There’s never a shortage of books I want to buy and I had this one on my mind…
Then we went to Wal-Mart. I usually dread going to Wal-Mart, but we were on a mission so it was necessary. First on the list was a special Christmas project we are working on which I can’t wait to share as soon as I have all the details in place, so stay tuned for that. We also bought 4 big bottles of bleach to take to the Humane Society of Pinellas, hubby informed me they were running low and were in need. Our handsome Ozzie came from HSP and we have donated items to them in the past. It always feels good to help out when we can.
For our anniversary dinner, we went to Outback Steakhouse. Hubby and I both love steak and shrimp so we were looking forward to it all day. Here we are on our way to dinner. After 11 years, I’ve gotten pretty good at the self-portrait.
You can’t go to Outback and not get a Bloomin’ Onion so of course that was the first thing we ordered. Hubby had a beer and I tried a Blackberry Sangria. I have never had a sangria with apple in it, it was SO good!!
It irritates me that my drink is crooked in this picture but it was the only one I took, so I’ll just have to deal with it. I really enjoyed the Caesar salad, always delicious even though it’s loaded with calories.
My main course was the Victoria Filet and grilled shrimp with baked potato. I loved the tomatoes they served with the shrimp, they had a wonderful basil flavor.
This morning, we had to walk that filling dinner off, so we went for a walk at 6:15. Seems crazy on a Sunday, but there’s not sleeping in here with our two crazy Aussies. I took this picture around 6:45 as the sun was starting to come up.
Our goal was to walk 3.11 miles, but we decided to go for 4 to put us at 15 for the week. After walking around the neighborhood, we ended up at the park for the last mile. It was perfect timing for an amazing picture of the sun coming up over one of the little lakes.
Even better, I took a panoramic shot. So peaceful and serene…. I always feel so lucky to live so close to the park to enjoy views like this.
I also spotted this heart-shaped leaf on the ground. There are trees all over the park with these heart-shaped leaves on them, but I loved this one because it makes me think of fall.
By the time we got home, our walk ended up being 4.20 miles. I ran a little bit of it again, still no pain. Whew! I love logging my miles on DailyMile. If you use DailyMile, be sure to add me as a friend!
It’s been such a great weekend. I am so proud of hubby and I for getting so much walking in this week, 5 mornings total we’ve walked super early. I enjoy the extra time together and love that we are taking care of ourselves. Tomorrow starts another week!
Do you work out with your spouse or significant other? Do you have a routine?
Fall Favorites
5Fall is my favorite time of year and my favorite season. Here in Florida, we have miserable summers with hot and humid days. It can be unbearable. Whenever summer starts, I wonder how I will survive three months of awful humidity. I dread sweating as I get ready in the morning, despite the a/c. And even worse, sweating some more when I walk out the front door. I literally count the days to fall.
This past Saturday marked the first day of fall. To say that makes me happy is an understatement. I live for fall! And while we don’t have the typical fall here in the Sunshine State that others experience up north, we finally have temperatures that drop out of the 80’s at night and wonderful breezes.
To celebrate the arrival of fall, I thought I’d share some of my fall favorites…
- Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. Yes, you knew this was coming. And while I tend to think they bring it back too soon, it is a wonderful treat, and a sign that fall is quickly approaching. The only thing better? When the holiday cups come out. There is just something about a pumpkin spice latte in a holiday cup that makes me happy.
- Shorter days. I, personally, like shorter days because it means we will have some sort of temperature change. California is a good example – some places can experience a 20 – 30 degree temperature change when the sun sets. That is just not the case here and in summer, it rarely drops below 80 degrees, which means the a/c is running all night. But when the sun sets earlier, it cools off a little more.
- I love pumpkin. And cinnamon, and nutmeg. Those flavors are the epitome of fall. Ironically, I have never been a fan of pumpkin pie, but I’ll take a slice of my mom’s pumpkin cheesecake anytime. And I love to make pumpkin fluff (you can find the recipe here). Starbucks has amazing pumpkin scones and pumpkin loaf. Love it.
- My fall decorations. I have a nice assortment of fall and pumpkin-themed candles and decorations. This week they will be unpacked. I can’t wait.
- Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. The food is amazing, my mom has always made a wonderful spread – turkey with Italian sausage stuffing, crab cakes (a family joke, not really crab cakes, but fried stuffing patties, shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce, blue cheese and celery, amazing mashed potatoes, and dinner rolls. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I also love Thanksgiving because it is the first day of the holiday season.
- My niece’s name is Autumn. Adorable, right? I love her oodles!
“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”
Is fall your favorite time of year? What do you love about it?
Sunday in the kitchen and a blogger meet-up!
6I hope you all have had a wonderful Sunday. I had a fantastic day. I had Starbucks this morning and got my grocery shopping done early. I did laundry and some much needed cleaning. Sad, but yes this makes for a wonderful day. It means I can start the week organized!
The highlight of my day (other than hubby coming home from his paintball weekend today) was a meet-up we had in St. Petersburg for the Tampa Bay Lady Bloggers. I was lucky to join this group on Facebook a few months ago after following several local bloggers. They had a meet-up last month, but I was unable to attend. I had this day marked on the calendar, excited to meet a great group of women who I read about and interact with on Facebook and Twitter. We met at The Hooker Tea Co. in downtown St. Petersburg. Like anything new with me, I was nervous going into it, but quickly became comfortable with them. We talked about our blogs, eating out, reading, and more. It really was a great time. I had a yummy iced tea and enjoyed the surroundings. The staff was great and even took pictures of us (with several of our cameras!). I look forward to next month’s meet-up and continuing to get to know these great women.
After our meet-up, I headed home to make dinner for my honey. He was gone all weekend playing paintball and I was excited to make his favorite meal – steak and shrimp. Normally I would make myself a piece of fish when he has steak and shrimp, but I decided to have the same. Well, almost. I make his shrimp in Carolina BBQ sauce – he loves it. I wanted something a little different, though. So I sautéed shrimp and fresh tomatoes in olive oil, minced garlic, and basil and served it on toasted French bread from Publix (darn you Publix for smelling like fresh bread when I walked in there this morning!). This is the first time I’ve made this bruschetta-type dish and I would most certainly have it again. The flavors were amazing and it was very filling. I couldn’t even finish my steak, thank goodness hubby was home and finished it for me. I also had a nice glass of Pink Moscato. It was soooo good.
It really was a great Sunday. It’s a shame that tomorrow is Monday and that will ruin everything. So, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday!
Happiness Is…
1I am not happy that I’ve missed the last 2 days of blogging, but we had a bit of craziness. So, time to move on and start with today. Being Saturday, I’d like to do a Happiness Is post. 
Happiness Is…
- Starting the weekend with a 3 mile walk with hubby at the park after work on Friday. We ignored the clouds and threat of rain and went anyway. No rain and a nice breeze made for a very nice walk.
- Meeting a fabulous friend for a 4 mile walk this morning on beautiful Bayshore Blvd. in Tampa. We hadn’t seen each other for almost 2 months so it was great to catch up AND be active at the same time. A trip to Starbucks topped it off.
- Knowing that my snuggle boy Blue is getting the care he needs at the vet. I hate that he has to stay there, the house is WAY to quiet without him, and I miss him but I know he is exactly where he needs to be for now.
- Having time today to upload pictures to finish my dad’s scrapbook that I started for him years ago. I will work on the book tomorrow and while I will not be happy about finishing it and bringing it to a close, it will make me happy to know that SO much love and emotion went into it. Since starting it, it’s been a very special book to make.
- Having so many ideas for my blog and knowing it’s all mine to do what I want with.
- Knowing that this week I’ve walked 11 miles. This is FANTASTIC given the last few weeks I’ve had.
What are you happy about today? Happy Saturday!
True Confessions Tuesday
2It’s that time again!
- I CONFESS that I did not run this morning. I put my clothes and shoes out yesterday evening, so they’d be there ready and waiting for me this morning. But I just did not have the energy to put them on and run out the door this morning. And because of that, I’ve been irritated with myself all day. #blah
- I CONFESS that it messed me up a little mentally not running over the weekend. While I enjoyed the time doing other things, it just didn’t seem right to not be out there on the two mornings a week when I have no pressure to be somewhere else.
- I CONFESS that my reading of a couple good books lately has me wanting to read every spare second I have.
- I CONFESS that I need to get my mind back in the game as far as my eating goes. I have fallen back into a few bad habits such as drinking coke (only one a day if I have one), not paying as close attention to my portion sizes as I should, and not eating as many fruits and veggies as I should.
- I CONFESS that on this 13th day of no Starbucks, I am really craving one. It seems harder now than when I first decided to stop them for awhile. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks which is HUGE. I would like to enjoy them once a week, perhaps on the weekend. But, I don’t know if my will power will be enough to stick to that. (remember me? all or nothing girl…..)
- I CONFESS that I need to step up my water intake this week. Maybe a fun water bottle would help me with that. Time to change it up a little….
- I CONFESS that ALL I can think about today is going to see Daughtry in concert tomorrow night. Tomorrow will be the longest day ever until it’s time to go.
- I CONFESS that over the next couple of days, it’s quite possible you will only hear about Daughtry. I apologize in advance for this.
