Key West Part 2

Friday at lunch we found a cute place to eat. It's called Dante's.

You could actually swim if you wanted to.

It's an outdoor restaurant but we were under the pavilion part. There was good people watching here too. I had a shrimp poboy that was del! It was along the wharf area where all the boats were docked.

I wouldn't mind being on a boat like this one!

We stopped at Sloppy Joe's for a drink & to listen to the live music and then went in Kevin's Irish Pub. We stayed there awhile listening to the live music. The guy was really funny & he was a good singer. Plus it was raining harder so it was the perfect place to hang out for awhile.

Later we had dinner at Red Fish Blue Fish. I had a blackened shrimp salad that was really good. We did a lot of eating.

At one of our stops we started talking to some locals & the guy told us he retired from the NFL. Dean didn't believe him but I overheard him talking to someone else & spell his last name so I googled him.

Everything he told us was true & we also discovered he's Dick Vermeil's nephew. He could hardly walk because his knees are so bad. His retirement job is to drive the golf cart of the hotel we stayed at around town dropping off & picking up guests at different places.

The Episcopal Church was gorgeous.

Saturday for breakfast we ate at Two Friends Bar. The NFL guy & his wife recommended it.

I love mimosa's!

The crab cakes benedict was delicious &  those potatoes tasted like French fries. Loved it!

We went to a Blue Heaven for key lime pie. It was so good! We also found out later that we should've had breakfast there & that they have something like 13 different types of mimosa's.

After pie we went to Rick's to watch football. There was live music, football & a dog. Yes, a dog. 

He was so cute & so good. You would've never known he was there. He never made a sound, just laid in his owner's lap.

When it started getting close to time for LSU's game we moved to Durty Harry's.

Perfect spot to watch college football! There ended up being a lot of Florida fans here (LSU was playing Florida) but they were so nice. We talked with them all night. After awhile the band started. They were great! They played all kinds of music that I liked. A lot of songs from the 90's.

Waiting on the game to start.

LSU won a nail biter so that was good. I'm not sure how many of you follow college football but  Tom Cruise was at the game. In Baton Rouge. 3 mi. from my house. Same thing happened a few years ago with Matthew McConaughey. I know Tom's weird but I've loved him since Top Gun came out.

Once the game was over we went to eat a late dinner. I can't remember the name of it but it was so cute.

We ate outside & had a view of the Hard Rock. I love that all of the restaurants there have outdoor tables & they're not in the back. They're all out front so you can people watch everyone on Duval Street.

Our hotel was across the street from a little bakery. They had these big cookies in their window & I wanted one every time we passed. After dinner we had one.

Warm, out of the oven chocolate chip cookie with pistachio & coconut ice cream. It was delicious!!

Sunday came way too fast & it was time to go back to Ft. Lauderdale. We stopped in Marathon, FL for lunch at the Sunset Grille. I had lobster tacos.

Really, really good! They came with a side of black beans & rice.

It was on the water & they had a pool. There were several restaurants that had pools. I hadn't seen that before.

Once we got back to Fort Lauderdale I did a little shopping.

Happy  early birthday to me!!

We flew home Sunday morning & it was back to the real world. For a few days anyway.

Toodles!

Key West

We left Wednesday evening for Florida. We flew into Fort Lauderdale & stayed there Wednesday night before leaving Thursday for the drive to Key West.

We stopped for lunch at Jimmy Johnson's Big Chill - ex football coach Jimmy Johnson. I had my first cocktail of the weekend.

A really good margarita!!!

I ordered fish taco's & mango slaw.

It was really, really good!

We ate on the patio & had a great view. 

Several people told us the drive from Ft Lauderdale to Key West was really pretty. Maybe our expectations were too high because we weren't impressed. It was 35 mph driving on 2 lane roads through cities with some glimpses of water for over 3 hours. Live & learn. Next time we fly directly into Key West.

We checked into our hotel, the Crowne Plaza La Concha Key West . It was a nice hotel on Duval St. in the heart of the city. We had a nice balcony too. My only complaint is the room was really small. It wasn't a huge deal because we weren't in the room much but there was no unpacking & setting up your stuff. 

We had a sunset cruise booked for the first night. There was a live band, drinks & hors d'ouevres. While we were waiting to board is when I spotted the first chickens of the trip. 

They were everywhere. Not the least bit scared of people & as you walked by it wasn't unusual to be cock a doodled dood at. So weird. 

This was the first & only sunset of the trip. 

We didn't have the best weather but it didn't stop us from having fun. After the sunset it started raining so the band had to stop playing. 

I was not great at taking pictures this trip. After the cruise we had a late dinner at Johnny Rockets and watched the Saints game. 

There was a Starbuck's basically attached to our hotel. I thought that was going to be dangerous but we actually only made one stop! We had breakfast Friday morning.

We took a trolley tour Friday. I really liked it because basically you could use it like a taxi & get on & off but only pay one price & it was good for 2 days. Plus, you got some history while you rode around town.

It rained off and on Friday which is why I dressed the way I did. Not to mention it was hot & humid. Just like home!

We walked around by the water.

This was at the end of a pier that was further out than the Southernmost point.  

We went to the Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. It was voted the #1 attraction in Key West by all sorts of people so we went. 

There were some ugly frogs.

My favorite thing were the flamingos. 

There were two.

Love their names!

There were butterflies just flying everywhere. Just flitting around like nothing.

I've never thought about butterflies actually eating. I would've never guessed they like bananas & oranges. Kinda weird.

Most of the butterflies were a really pretty blue color.

You can't really tell but the turtle was looking up at me smiling for the camera. 

It was a pretty cool place but it was so HUMID! Thank goodness the place wasn't very big because I honestly thought I was going to die! 

More pics to come!

Toodles!

Texas

Thursday night my friend that I used to work with got married. The wedding was so pretty and the food was delicious! Shrimp & Grits, Fish, Fettuccine, Gumbo, Jambalaya, etc. I couldn't believe the groom's cake.

Everything is edible except the ketchup & mustard bottles! 

My favorite was her wedding cake.

Cake balls from my favorite cake ball place, Brew Ha Ha in Baton Rouge. They had my 2 favorites - wedding cake & king cake. 

They passed out these cute little cards that had a cute little saying about taking pictures with your phone & there's a website where you can upload the pictures for the bride & groom. I thought that was such a cute idea.

Dean, Nick (a co-worker's husband) & me.

There was a candy bar & cute little bags for all the guests to fill up.

Me & the Bride

Friday I worked half a day & Dean & I went to Pearland for our nephew's Senior Night Football Game.

Me, Drew, Camille & Dean after the game. 

Saturday we were going to my brother in law's girlfriends house to watch the LSU game & have a fish fry. We stopped at Kroger to pick up Blue Bell ice cream to bring home. After the whole Listeria outbreak, taking it off the market, cleaning their plants fiasco it hasn't made it's way back to Baton Rouge. Well, I just happened to run into an old friend.

Leslie lives in League City with her family. It was so funny running into someone from home that I haven't seen in ages in the grocery store! 

I got pictures with the kids while they were cooperative. LOL

LSU won & we made the trip home after the game. 

I did my long run Sunday at the lakes with Cindy. 

The weather was fabulous but I just wasn't feeling it & one of my hips was bothering me a little. I'm blaming it on the fact that I haven't slept well the last few nights & the way I sat in the car for the 4 hour ride home from Texas. We leave for Key West Wednesday so I may take the week off from running.

We had a relaxing day of  pizza for lunch at Schlitz & Giggles, a nap & froyo after Mass. 

Somewhere under that whipped cream is Pumpkin pie & Cheesecake froyo with M&M's, cheesecake bites, cookie dough bites, vanilla chips & Reeses. Needless to say this wasn't the healthiest thing I ate yesterday! Oh but it was delicious. I had 3 oz. free that was going to expire so I kinda had to get it.

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

Toodles! 

Friday Eve

This week has been a bit of a bore. I'm not complaining too much because as of 5:00 today things get busy. 

I ran Tuesday morning. I haven't been running with Varsity Sports because I've been trying to keep up with their workouts. They guarantee that if you follow their plan you'll be faster so I'm trying. 

This run was a 1 mile warm up followed by 4 - 220's at a faster speed. 220 yards is approx. 0.13 miles but I just round up to 0.15 because it makes it easier to calculate. Between each 220 I ran at a slower speed for 0.10 miles. So the first 4 - 220's equaled a mile. Then I had 2 slower miles, followed by 4 more 220's faster & I still did the 0.10 mi. between & then 1 cool down mile for a total of 6 miles. It was definitely more challenging than what I normally do but you know what? I did it & it didn't kill me & I'm not hurting. It's really amazing what happens when you push yourself a little bit. 

I've only done weights once this week. I couldn't seem to drag myself out of bed Wednesday. I'm going to have to do better especially with vacation & the holidays approaching because that means more "non-healthy" food than normal. 

This morning's run was supposed to be an "easy" 5 miles. I felt fine just a little tired & it's warmer & humid again.

It worked out that the run was only 5 miles instead of 6 because I needed a little extra time getting ready & gathering stuff up. We're going to a wedding tonight & I won't be going home before. 

Tomorrow I'll work for part of the day then we're off to Pearland, TX for our nephew's football game. It's Senior night. Hopefully, the weather will be nice. 

Toodles!

12

Sunday was our 12th anniversary. I like to drag out the celebration. Why just celebrate one day when you can do 3??

Friday after work I went to Hollydays with Jackie, Allie & Cindy. The Baton Rouge Junior League puts on the holiday shopping market every year. We had a fun afternoon. We all bought some clothes & sampled lots of little treats. 

I stopped by my neighbors for a few minutes for cookie cake for Amelia-Ann's birthday. Then for dinner Dean & I went to French Market Bistro. I've never been & it was really good. I had the sea bass special.

The sea bass was topped with crab meat & served over cheese grits with asparagus. So so good!

You have to get dessert for your anniversary! We ordered the Louisiana Lust. It was Chocolate Chip, Frangelico & pecan pie with warm chocolate glaze & vanilla ice cream. Really good!

The weather was supposed to be fabulous Saturday morning so I slept a little later than normal & started my run around 7:15. It was cool & gorgeous!

I was surprised when I ran by Mike the Tiger's "habitat" (it's a multi million dollar place) that he was not only awake but walking around. Mike is LSU's mascot & he likes to nap. 

He's a really pretty animal.

He just paced back & forth.

I had a 12 mile run scheduled. My time isn't accurate. I forgot to stop my watch when I stopped to see Mike so I was a little faster than this which is awesome for me!

I've been wanting to try the Toasted Graham Latte from Starbuck's. I keep hearing how good it is so after my run I went & got one. 

It's definitely worth the hype. I love a good pumpkin spice latte but this has moved into the #1 spot for me. I was disappointed to see that our Starbuck's doesn't have fall cups. What's up with that??

After a nap & Mass a small group of us met at Caliente to watch the first half of the LSU game. We ate, had a margarita & then went to Dennis & Jackie's for the second half. 

Cindy, me & Suzy 

We had a little fire & watched the rest of a not so good game. LSU won but not like they should have.

Me & Jackie

Sunday Dean & I went to Ruffino's for brunch. There were bottomless mimosa's,

a crab meat omelet with the best bacon you'll ever eat. It's called Benton's bacon & it comes from Arkansas.

Then there was dessert. 

That cheesecake tasted like fudge. It was really good. However, it wasn't as good as the white chocolate bread pudding we had before it. Yes, we had 2 desserts. I think there was miscommunication on the part of the wait staff. One guy asked if we wanted dessert so we ordered the bread pudding. We ate that, then they brought out cotton candy because that's what they do at Ruffino's, then they brought out the cheesecake & said they were trying to send us into a diabetic coma. No way were we letting dessert go to waste! In hindsight, it may have been a better plan to get the cheesecake to go. Oh well. It was all delicious.

We did some shopping & got some winter clothes. There were a lot of sales. Between what I bought Friday & Saturday I think I'm set. 

You know you live in Louisiana when the first cool snap we get everyone makes gumbo. We went to Brad & Cindy's Sunday night & ate. It was delicious. 

And now it's Monday again. sigh.

Toodles!