Happy Mondays & Grilled Bananas

Usually Mondays are anything but, because, well, that means the weekend is over. But I thought I would turn over a new leaf and try to feel as good on this Monday morning as if it was a Friday afternoon at 5pm. The weekend was beautiful, spending lots of time with family. We traded in a visit to the seafood market for a nice dinner at the Thai restaurant with my parents on Saturday. They loved it!!!! I took the camera to take pictures but then was too busy chowing down to actually take any. And the Farmers Market on an early Saturday morning with my little guy started the day off just right. Here are some more cute pics of our town. Click for larger, better view.

This is the heritage museum with an old train parked in front.

The fountain where bands play on certain Fridays.

One of my favorite wine & coffee bars I wish I owned!






Sunday was a great day started by brunch at Chef's Table with one of my best friend's Tammy. It deserves a post all its own but because I forgot my camera, words alone can not do it justice. Everything was amazing though, from the Smoked Salmon Frittata to the Artichokes, Creamed Spinach & Poached Eggs to the mimosas. This new restaurant, with only 9 tables in a very quaint setting at the bottom of an old historic hotel, is doing well so far. I look to go back for dinner sometime.

Sunday continued with us hosting a simple afternoon to Terry's parents. This meant fat free hot dogs on the grill with some fixins, and an easy to put together pasta salad on the side. I also threw some peaches on the grill just as a simple side and they went over very well. For dessert and on a whim, I decided to grill some bananas. I was inspired by a dessert by Bobby Flay on All Star Grill Fest. It is amazing to me how just 3 minutes on the grill brings out such a sweetness you can never imagine. And it's quite healthy with some fat free cool whip we always keep in the freezer. Perfect for adults and kids!!!!!! THIS is a must try. A tiny effort that will make you say WOW.

GRILLED BANANAS WITH WHIP CREAM












Slice the bananas lengthwise, leaving peel on just as in the picture. Brush a little vegetable oil on the bananas. Grill banana side down for 2 minutes to get some nice grill marks. Turn them over & grilled them one more minute. Carefully take off peel and place flat side up on a nice plate. Dollop some fresh cool whip on top. Last night I drizzled some hot fudge sauce I was lucky to have in the house but I really preferred it without. Next week we'll be trying Bobby's dessert just as he did it. I wish I could have gotten an after picture but again, I was too busy chowing down. I must stop that. Next week!!!!

Wonderful Weekend

Downtown Winter Garden

This is our town. We LOVE our town. Only recently has Tristan decided he would share it with us and stop saying "MY town, MY clock." We take great pride in it as we have watched it grow and develop over the past 5 years. But it hasn't developed too much where it has lost it's small town feel. It's still so quaint and unpretentious with cobble stone streets, a wine & coffee bar, a bike trail running through it, and just a few high end boutique/restaurants to balance out the lawn mower place and historic museum. The clock tower has been standing for almost a century (I will have to confirm but that sounds good for now) and sits next to a fountain where a band plays every Friday and children eat their ice cream from the new French bakery. How proud I am to live in a town, where if I was visiting & drove by, I would exclaim " gosh, I wish I could live there." And to add on to my excitement, they just started a farmers market every Saturday morning.

And what a wonderful weekend! Wonderful enough to lift me away from that downward spiral. Lots of quality time, just the 3 of us.

Terry & I enjoyed a couple mojitos poolside, which I am able to whip up so quickly now and to perfection. It still feels like such an accomplishment every time I make one, since we worked so hard to make it right. We also enjoyed a quick trip to a newly discovered seafood market where Terry got a delicious shrimp salad sandwich which is served on a toasted New England style hot dog roll.



So fresh and so yummy, it makes my mouth water. Places like this are my favorite because you just don't see neighborhood seafood markets much anymore. I enjoyed a crab cake sandwich with a remoulade sauce which was 2nd to the shrimp. I also made another little discovery in a nearby town, just by going a different route to a familiar place. It's a little creamery and coffeehouse in a cute residential neighborhood. I stopped by with Tristan to sample their goods before bringing a close friend or hubby back with me. Unexpected discoveries like this put me in such a "life is good" mood.

Church on Sunday was inspirational & fun given our conversation as we walked the huge parking lot. I was explaining to Tristan why it was important for us to go.

Me: We don't expect for you to understand everything they're saying but it makes mommy & daddy feel really good, and it makes us better parents.

Tristan: It makes me tired. Daddy, how does it make you feel?

Later in church, the assistant pastor who we hardly hear from was speaking. Tristan reaches over to me and says "I think he's a new passenger Momma."

After church and for lunch, we did go to OUR town to a new Thai restaurant which opened a few weeks ago, My Thai Blossom. What a great name. We had been once before and this time was even more delicious. Just another reason to love OUR town.

Vacation Wrap Up

I have been pre-occupied with a lot of good stuff on the home front this past week that I never got a chance to really talk about our vacation and post more pics. I also had a hard time putting the pics into a fun mosaic sort of fashion I have seen on other blogs. I couldn't move on with other posts until I wrapped this up so finally here are just a few other pics and a review of our vacation.

It was incredible!! Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort was beautiful. The food, the condo we stayed in, the weather, all simply exceeded our expectations. Tristan was the perfect travel companion. One morning while in the middle of us in the big bed, and half asleep, Tristan extended his arms out to both of us and pulled our heads into his shoulders. Our hearts melted. He also went into the ocean water for the first time as well as took a shower with Daddy for the first time ever. So, we had some special moments.

I also remained extremely motivated while on our trip. One morning I went jogging on the beach, another time I jogged from the beachside of the resort all the way to the bayside. I even woke up one morning at 6am to jog before Terry had to leave for golf at 7am!! While I had a few indulgent meals, I didn't go crazy just because I was on vacation. So, the healthy feeling stayed with me and made our trip even more awesome! I cannot wait to go back to Sandestin sometime in the future!



Terry & I at Baytown Wharf




Tristan building a sand castle



These were the best oysters I ever had in my life. Chargrilled and then drizzled with seasoned butter and romano cheese.



This was our view from the room



Beach Fun the Right Way. We would go to the pool during the day when it was stifling hot and then go to the beach about 4:30 when it was more comfortable.



Look at that beach-kissed face



Me by the Pool with a Michelop Ultra. Tristan's favorite thing about the pool - the waterfall.



Handsome Hubby with a Hole In One

Mother's Day Extravaganza

I haven't posted in a while because times were very hectic with preparing for our Mother's Day party. And since then I have had a mild case of post party depression but I am finally coming back to normal!!

Mother's Day was amazing!!!!! It was everything I wanted it to be & more. All the hard work paid off & everyone had a great time. Thanks to my husband, we have lotsa pictures to capture the day. Now that it is over I can divulge the special things I did. First, I want to say I was very honored that our friends & family chose to come to our house so I wanted to make them feel extra special. I took quotes about moms by some famous people, then decorated & placed them on cardstock & put them everywhere - in the bathroom next to some flowers, by the bar area & the food, even hanging from some plants. I showed my geekness when I fell in love with.....paper easels which held my quotes up on the tables. There were bunches of flowers & each Mom received a corsage when she arrived. I also made up gift bags for each Mom which included a little bottle of wine, a candle I bought from Publix & then decorated differently, a Starbucks gift card for $5, a package of gift tags, & a chocolate bar. We also had a raffle to give away a bouquet of flowers, a bodyworks type of package with lotion & bath soap, & a gift bag of flowers.

We all just had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful, everyone was feeling great & the food and cocktails were in abundance. Enjoy the pics.....

All the ladies had a corsage waiting for them when they arrived.

My Mom & Terry's Mom - We surprised them with a Harry & David mixed bag of things plus our first ever professional family photo of me, Terry and Tristan.

Tammy & Me - we enjoyed this day even more because this was right at the end of our very successful buddy weight loss challenge. She was my motivator & on this very day I got below my goal weight, so I surprised her with a gift card to a spa.

Nice large spot of water right before everyone came. I remember being frantic at finishing up last minute details. While I have stupid smile on my face & my lips have all but vanished I was happy I fit into this dress I wore on my honeymoon 5 years prior.

Flowers were placed everywhere as well as the quotes I decorated & placed on cardstock.

These paper easels from the craft store were just what I needed.

The 3 quotes above were my favorite that I decorated & placed on cardstock. Click to enlarge & see the beautiful sayings.
More ambience.
Above: I put a little bouquet of flowers in a small vase & then placed it in a gift bag. I also loved how this purple quote turned out.
I actually played around with the bar area for at least 2 weeks prior to the day. The Key Lime Martini was the featured drink so I had a little note propped up with directions on what to do so guests wouldn't have to wonder.

The menu - grilled pork tenderloin, fried asparagus, eggplant parmigiana (made by mom Gloria), potato gratin, mediterranean quiche from Emeril, tomato mozzarella salad, spinach dip, artichoke dip and onion pepper relish dip. For dessert - white chocolate raspberry tart, banana pudding (made by mom Sandy) & a chocolate fountain below. I labeled little tags so everyone wouldn't have to ask what was being served.
The kids really enjoyed it all!

Above are the pastel gift bags which I filled with an assortment of cutsies for the Moms to take home.


I actually decorated this plain brown gift bag & loved how it turned out. Very simple!

I was elated at this point to actually sit down & enjoy some of my food at my new bistro table I had bought just a few days prior! It was an awesome day!!!!!