Category Archives: Holiday

March 19, 2012 · 9:12 pm

Peep wars

Kevin and I had a great time celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day.

Saint Patrick's Day

We went out with friends to Wall Street in downtown Orlando, drank American beer and ate Mexican food. It was a really fun evening.

I was moving a little slowly on Sunday, but we made it out to Waterford Lakes in East Orlando to meet my parents and sister for lunch at Keke’s—the perfect recovery food. I ordered a grilled buffalo chicken wrap with blue cheese dressing in a whole wheat tortilla with sweet potato fries.

Keke's - Buffalo Chicken Wrap

I love Keke’s because its food is a lot lighter than most other places. The sweet potato fries really hit the spot.

Also ordered at the table were two egg white omelets, a cheeseburger and French toast. We had quite the assortment of foods.

Keke's - Egg white omelet

Keke's - Cheeseburger

Keke's - French toast

After lunch, Kevin and I stopped by Publix and came home with a ton of groceries, including two boxes of Peeps. Peeps kind of gross me out, but these Peeps weren’t for eating…they were purchased solely for dueling.

Peep wars

That’s right…PEEP WARS (apparently, that’s a thing?).

Basically, you take two Peeps, put a toothpick in the side of each and microwave them (causing them to grow) until one toothpick deflates the other Peep. It was a battle royale, and since I’m the most competitive person on the planet, I wasn’t about to let my Peep lose without a fight.

Peep wars 2

VICTORY! My purple Peep won, and now we have two boxes of Peeps that no one is going to eat.

Do you like Peeps?

12 Comments

Filed under East Orlando, Holiday, Waterford Lakes

March 17, 2012 · 1:54 pm

Going green

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Kevin is half Irish, so I consider myself close enough. This morning, I realized that I don’t really own any green articles of clothing. After some digging, I finally remembered my green J. Crew Bermuda shorts.

green shorts

Today has already been full of green. We met with a potential florist, which was really fun. We still have to meet with one more, but I’m really liking how our vision is coming along.

My breakfast this morning was a Pinterest-inspired green treat. I saw photos of these floating around and decided to try to recreate it without following any sort of recipe. How hard could it be?

Eggs in avocado baskets

Ingredients:

  • 1 avocado, sliced in half lengthwise, pit removed
  • 2 medium eggs (I used jumbo and had some excess whites leftover)
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a sharp knife, shave off a piece of avocado from the back side of each half, so it has a flat surface to balance on. This way it won’t roll everywhere. Place on a small baking sheet.

Take a spoon, and hollow out a larger area around where the pit was. Crack one egg in each hollowed out avocado. Crack salt and pepper over the top. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs.

avocado and eggs

Avocado and egg in one of my favorite combinations, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this recipe. And I love how simple it was to make. Parko had an early morning vet visit, so I ate breakfast pretty late, which resulted in a mid-afternoon snack instead of lunch.

asparagus and spinach

I sautéed two handfuls of baby spinach and some baby asparagus with olive oil, salt and garlic powder then topped it with parmesan cheese. Perfect for my green day!

Hopefully the trend will continue tonight with some green beer. I hope you have a great, green day!

How are you celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day?

7 Comments

Filed under Eating In, Holiday, Lighter Options

February 14, 2012 · 8:13 pm

Hearts and Magic

Happy Valentine’s Day! Kevin and I aren’t huge Valentine’s Day celebrators, so we are enjoying a relaxing evening in catching up on the DVR. Last night we did have a fun night out at the Amway Center cheering on the Orlando Magic.

Magic

Thanks to Kevin’s friend who works for the Magic, we got really great tickets in the lower bowl. It was fun to see all the players up close.

The Amway Center is newly constructed, and this is only its second season operating. It’s so nice. Of course, I love that there are plenty of food option.

gyro

I ordered a gyro, which ended up being messier than anticipated, like most of my meals. The seasoning was pretty good, but the meat was a little dry. Overall, it wasn’t the worse concession food I’ve ever had. I also noticed that Amway has carving stations with BBQ options, and they offer veggie burgers. They definitely have a good variety.

The Magic ended up winning. I hadn’t been to a Magic game since last season, so it was fun to see them in action again.

Magic2

It was the perfect way to spend Valentine’s Eve.

us

What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day? Any plans?

15 Comments

Filed under Holiday, Orlando, Sports

January 1, 2012 · 10:35 am

New Year’s Eve

Happy 2012! I hope you had a great time ringing in the new year. Kevin and I started out New Year’s Eve day by going to downtown Orlando for the Citrus Bowl parade with his brother’s family, including his adorable nephew who is about 17 months old. It was so fun to see his nephew get excited over all the parade floats.

us

Riley

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float2

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Then we capped off New Year’s Eve by getting together with friends and heading to a party. I can’t believe this is my third New Year’s Eve with Kevin. Time flies.

NYE_boys

NYE_girls

Kevin and I have also been fully utilizing some of our Christmas presents. I love that we received so many food-related presents. My parents bought us some massive gourmet bone-in steaks, and my sister bought us a grill basket so we could cook veggies on the grill. Both were put to use in a delicious dinner.

grill

Kevin seasoned and grilled up the steaks and also roasted potatoes, onions and garlic in the grill basket both over hickory chips, which gave everything a nice, smoky flavor.

griller

steaks

potatoes

To wash it all down? Oh yeah, my parents also got us a Beertender, which is a kegerator for Heineken and Newcastle kegs. It’s actually almost the same model we bought Kevin’s brother for Christmas.

beertender

Here’s to a great 2012! Do you make new year’s resolutions? I don’t usually get too into them, but I do like to have some sort of self-improvement goals that I keep in mind to start off the new year on the right foot.

  • Kick butt on the GMAT
  • Get in ideal wedding shape
  • Learn to relax better

What are your resolutions? How did you ring in the new year?

11 Comments

Filed under Downtown Orlando, Eating In, Event, Grill, Holiday, Steak

December 30, 2011 · 11:38 am

Looking back and ahead

I can’t believe 2011 is just about over. I feel like we were just ringing in 2011 yesterday, and now we’re getting ready to bring on 2012.

2011 Highlights

In March, we took Kevin’s nephew Riley on his first trip to Disney World: a must for any baby in Orlando. It was so neat to see Disney World through a child’s eyes again.

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In April, I started this little blog, which has been an amazing creative outlet and a way to combine my loves of eating, writing and staying fit. I’ve also met so many wonderful people through the blog community and have been able to document so many wonderful events and moments in my life.

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In May, I took my first-ever work trip for a conference and got to meet Richard Blais, winner of Top Chef: Masters, at the conference dinner.

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In July, I relived my childhood at the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys concert and we took a weekend trip to Ft. Myers Beach.

NKOTBSB4

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Then in September, I had my favorite moment of 2011: I got engaged!

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Looking ahead

I am incredibly excited for so many things in 2012. Of course, we have our wedding next December.

I am also looking to take the GMAT in the beginning of the year and apply for business schools to get my MBA. Hopefully I kick some GMAT butt!

books

Last week, one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Sarah, got engaged to her wonderful fiancé Edgar, and she has asked me to be a bridesmaid. I am so honored and so excited to help her with her planning process next year. They are such a great couple, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m so glad we’ll be planning our weddings together!

Sarah and Edgar

2012 should be a great year, and I’m so thankful for how wonderful 2011 was. Thank you for sharing in all of my memories over the past year through the blog.

What was your favorite moment of 2011?

5 Comments

Filed under About Me, Holiday