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Weekend Wandering

LB and I have various venues that we frequent on the weekend.

This past weekend we decided to try something different…

attend an event in Jacksonville. There was an event at the Jacksonville Landing that involved two bands and fireworks. It seemed like a good idea to head downtown and check it out. We took a few minutes to take in the Jacksonville Landing experience …but ultimately decided it wasn’t how we wanted to spend the evening.

We headed back to the car admiring the artwork along the way.

I took an evening stroll around this particular column:

 As we were making our way to 95 South, we almost passed a Jacksonville landmark

The Treaty Oak

LB thought we should stop, so we did.This massive tree is approximately 250 years old.  and appears to be laying on the ground. It is defined as “octopus-like”You can’t climb it! But you can read about it here

Following the tree experience, we headed to Whisky Jax (Beaches location) for dinner and live music.

This was our second time having dinner at this location and the food was just as good as we remembered.  We were able to get a table up front so we could see the band and the amusing patrons occupying the dance floor.

Dinner was delicious.  And it was fried.

LB and I shared a seafood platter with 3 dipping sauces, along with tantalizing French fries, and Jim Beam applesauce (brown stuff pictured below).  Very tasty.The SunJammer Band was featured Saturday night. This was our first time seeing this band. They are an intriguing group and very entertaining. We had a good time and I recommend Whiskey Jax (Beach location) for a fabulous Saturday date night.

What started out as a perplexing date nightended as a pleasant date night

Rainy Weekend

Saturday and Sunday are typically filled with opportunity to DO WHATEVER I WANT!  This past weekend had limited possibilities due to the rain.  Nevertheless, LB and I made the most of our rainy weekend.  Following our Friday night little pizzas, we watched a movie and stayed up too late.  Because of the late night, we slept in Saturday morning.

The day began beautifully with the sun shining bright and hardly a cloud in the sky.  After straightening the house and finishing the laundry, I went outside to work with my needy plants and pull the weeds out of my marigold flower bed. It needed work then and it still needs work.

Then the thunder began.  It wasn’t long after that the rain started.

rain window rainy day GIF

So I went inside and got on the treadmill.

The day seemed to fly by and become date night time before we knew it!  There were three possibilities for the evening.  1.  Jerry’s Sports Grille is a restaurant near the beach that we enjoy going to for a steak dinner.  And if it isn’t football season, there will be a cover band playing.  2. The Cellar Upstairs is our favorite Saturday night place and one of our favorite bands “Ain’t too Proud” would be entertaining.  3.  Ragtime Tavern Seafood & Grill is a beach side restaurant with live music.  But it was rainy and we didn’t feel like going out.

Luckily LB had purchased a rack of lamb from Costco the week prior and was in the mood for some home cooking.  This was a first for me but after I figured out what to do with it, we ended the day with a very nice dinner.

And then we watched Deadpool.  No commentary… watch the trailer for yourself.

The sun didn’t tease us on Sunday morning.  It was overcast outside and the rain would be coming soon.  I made the usual Sunday morning Breakfast for a King which LB thoroughly enjoyed.  Afterward I began assembling breakfast wraps and lunches for the upcoming work week.

This is my breakfast wrap assembly line.   LB loves them!

After some treadmill time we decided to brave the weather and head to the store.  Obviously if you can’t hang by the pool, or go to the beach, shopping is the only logical option.

And we picked up some nice shorts for LB

We ended the day with dinner at our favorite Mexican Restaurant LaNopaleraA rainy weekend turned out to be a pretty good weekend!

 

 

July Fourth Fried Chicken

Although it isn’t frequently on the menu at my house,

I Love Fried Chicken!

I know that at least one of my Memas made fried chicken during my lifetime, but I cannot remember witnessing this process first hand.  The Food Network is my go-to place for cooking instruction these days.  Recently I have watched several episodes of chicken frying and have been bitten with the chicken frying bug.  Since allowing myself the experience, I can safely say I have it out of my system.  Here is my attempt at frying chicken:

Because I made the mistake of not purchasing a chicken that was already cut, I began by cutting up this whole chicken. Then seasoned the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and I’ll spare you that horrific photo.  Let me just say that I do not ever want to cut up a whole chicken ever again.

My Recipe

Taking tips from several different Food Network cooks, I began by combining 2 cups of buttermilk with 1/2 cup of Tabasco, a beaten egg, and my chicken pieces.  Apparently the buttermilk mixture is what will tenderize the chicken.  Good to know.  All of this goes into a zip top bag then into the fridge for 2 hours up to overnight.

In my Le Creuset French oven, I added about  2 inches of canola oil (because it has a high smoke point) and heated until it reached 350°F.  I’m learning a lot from the Food Network!Next I mixed together flour, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a large zip top bag to easily coat each chicken piece in the seasoned flour.  It reminded me of Shake and Bake.  Sort of.  Then I placed 3 or 4 pieces of the chicken in the oil (you can’t do more than 3 or 4 at a time without causing the oil temperature to drop) put the lid on, and fried for 5 minutes.Next I removed the lid, turned the chicken, and fried for another 5 minutes.  Then removed the chicken from the oil and placed on a wire rack.Once every piece was fried, I put it into the oven at 375° for 15-20 minutes.  It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. LB thought so too!

 

 


Happy Together

A typical Sunday night for me involves last minute shopping and dinner out at a familiar favorite place like LaNopalera.  Tonight LB surprised me with an event he TEASED me with last year.  The “Happy Together” Tour.

With dinner first on the agenda, we left the house at around 6PM and headed downtown…

We checked into the Burrito Gallery.    The Burrito Gallery is located at 21 East Adams Street in downtown Jacksonville.  Although it is new to me, it has been around since 2005.  There are also locations on Riverside Avenue and Beach Boulevard. LB and I enjoyed a tray of toasted tortilla chips with a hearty sampling of salsa, guacamole, and Queso (listed as Trio on the menu under Starters).

Right up my alley.  I could LIVE solely on tortilla chips dipped.

Then we walked about a block to the Florida Theatre for the Happy Together Tour 2017 concert.  The Florida Theater is a beautiful building, the architectural details are amazing.The concert began with Ron Dante, one of the voices of the Archies who sang Sugar Sugar and a few other songs and commercial jingles like this one that he helped to make popular.  After Ron, the Cowsills took the stage.  The Cowsills are a family of singers that were the inspiration for the Partridge Family.  I was not familiar with the name Cowsills, but definitely familiar with some of their songs. As a matter of fact, one of my favorites last night was “I Love the Flower Girl“.  Even today I keep singing ‘I knew I knew I knew I knew’ in my head.  Although I had not been familiar with most of the artists, I fully enjoyed the concert and every song that was performed.

And last but not least, Flo and Eddie of the Turtles began their set with “She’d Rather Be with Me” and wrapped up the event with the 1967 hit “Happy Together” with all of the artists coming to the stage to join in the song.  Every song that was performed tonight made me feel happy!

This event takes place every June and I recommend it if you’re looking for a happy together time!


Summer Vacation 2017

Vacation is such an anticipated time in my life!  This year summer vacation 2017 began on May 31st and continued through June 4th.  The event itself starting in St. Augustine with the concert at the St. John’s County Pier (which I posted about here) and culminating in Captiva, Florida on Florida’s beautiful west coast.  LB and I left our hotel in St. Augustine on Thursday morning and headed south.  We arrived at Captiva Island late Thursday afternoon, checked in to Tween Waters Inn Island Resort and Spa, and headed directly to the beach.

Toes in the water…

Beautiful ocean… shells… sunsets… a tropical paradise

 Life is good today!

The suite was beautiful

Some of the furniture reminded me of a collection that I became very familiar with during my time at Liberty Furniture.  I was so sure it was the same collection that I did some investigating.  Sure enough… it was the Thomasville Bridges Collection.  I searched it online, but it appears to have been discontinued.  I’m not able to find any pictures from my Liberty files which is not surprising.  It wasn’t one of my favorites.  But seeing the collection in our suite brought back memories of furniture days gone by.

Later that evening, LB took me to enjoy my most favorite cuisine for first dinner on the island.  Cantina Captiva served us the best carnitas (pulled pork) fajitas I have ever had in my life!

There are dollar bills stapled to the ceiling and walls which is quite interesting to say the least, and the food is delish!  Adiós and Vaya con Dios

It may sound like we ate constantly, but on occasion we split breakfast, skipped lunch every day, and split dinner every night.  Gotta watch those calories!  Speaking of calories…

Day Two

started with breakfast at the Captiva House.

LB’s breakfast sandwich

Kim’s Greek Omelet

and COFFEE!

and then we continued with a tour of the grounds

We spent the day on the beach.  I love to collect shells and LB is kind enough to keep them in his pockets.  We didn’t take any pictures (since LB had shells in his pockets and no room for his phone) during our 2 mile walk on the beach to Andy Rosse Lane.  There are shops and restaurants on this little street.  One restaurant in particular is the Mucky Duck which is at the end of Andy Rosse Lane, on the beach.  There is typically live music in the evenings and LB and I were intent on checking this out.  After doing so, it was decided that we would have dinner at the Mucky Duck that evening, which we did… and enjoyed a seafood platter… which we split.  It is worth checking out if you are ever on the island.  If you do, hopefully it won’t rain so the live music isn’t cancelled.

(source)

Dinner was good

And just like that… it was the end of day two of our summer vacation 2017

Vacation Day Three

began with a trip to the ER.

Yep.

All I am going to say about this is I had an episode unlike any I have ever experienced.  This event cost us at least eight hours of vacation time and probable medical bills.   I’m sorry to say that I can’t post the pic of me on the hospital gurney with medical apparatus around me and wires/tubes attached.

I’m just too vain.

The good news is, I am still here to tell about it and my heart is in good shape.

When I was finally released, I was more exhausted than when I checked in.  And (believe it or not) we hadn’t eaten anything in almost 24 hours.  It was time to get back to the resort, take a nap, take a shower, and (you guessed it) find something for dinner.

We enjoyed dinner at the Crow’s Nest Beach Bar and Grille

and a new dress (that I didn’t get a picture of (due to extreme discombobulation).

Vacation Day Four

The trip home involved a stop at the Sanibel Outlet which is documented here.

Happy Birthday to Me

My birthday celebration actually began on May 31st at the St. John’s county pier.

Every Wednesday night beginning in May and continuing through September at Music by the Sea, there is a catered dinner and musical entertainment event at the pier.  LB and I attend every chance we get.  This particular event was catered by Amici’s Italian Restaurant and entertainment provided by one of our favorite local groups The Committee Band.  We split an entree that included eggplant parmesan and penne pasta while relaxing in the pavillion prior to the concert.  While waiting for the concert, the resident DJ “DJ Dan”, honored us with tee shirts including us in The Danighan Gang. 

As is customary, my birthday began with a phone call at 7:52 AM from my sweet Mama.  Because I was in a hotel that rendered my cell phone useless [No Service] I missed her call.  She went right to my voicemail.  When we left the hotel this is the message I retrieved:

“(singing) Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you (laughs) Happy birthday Dear Kim… it’s too early in the morning, but I wanted you to know I love you.  God bless you. You’re such a joy to have Kim.  I love you with all my heart.  I hope you have a wonderful birthday, spendin’ it with the one you love.  When you get back we need to have cake.  And biscuits.  I’ll talk to you later.  God bless you Darlin’.  I’m so thankful there’s you.  Bye.”

I am blessed beyond measure to have such a precious Mama who loves me so much.

I listened to that message several times.

LB had other surprises planned.  He brought me to Cathedral Drive and let me pick a restaurant for brunch.  I thought the Greek restaurant would be a nice treat.  We walked into Athena Restaurant and I immediately noticed the specials posted.  One special was Salmon Eggs Benedict.  Yes please!

Those are grits on the side.

LB had hashbrowns

After brunch we strolled [it is a vacation day, after all] down to St. George Street and visited one of my favorite St. Augustine shops, H.W. Davis Clothing and Shoes.  LB was recalling a post from April when I mentioned a blouse that I loved.  He brought me to H.W. Davis and found that blouse

along with another that was just as cute

He bought both of them for me! Oh Happy Day!  Not one, but TWO Clara Sunwoo blouses!  LOVE these!  This has definitely been a day to remember thus far.

The birthday gifts continued

These bracelets were purchase by LB more than a month ago from a Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry party hosted by my coworker Geraldine.  LB logged onto the website that was assigned to her party and selected the Silver Star Fish Bracelet and the Two Tone Silver Razzmatazz Bracelet.  I was not at all surprised at his GOOD TASTE!  But very surprised by the presentation as I had completely forgotten he participated in this event.

There was also an adorable little bracelet that I picked out myself on April 2nd that LB decided I could wait till my birthday to have.  This pearl bracelet with starfish and sanddollar charms is from Fresh Produce and I shared it on this post. 

So cute!

Believe it or not there was ONE MORE!  I absolutely loved it and feel it deserves a post of it’s own.  I’ll be presenting this particular birthday gift from LB soon.  Stay tuned.

Obviously a birthday is Not all about gifts.  LB knows I love pretty things, but he also knows how to make me happy in ways that do not get filed under Material Girl.  So he took me to the beach and let me put my toes in the sand

Afterward

We split smokin’ Carnitas Fajitas at a delightful Mexican Restaurant

To all of my FaceBook friends who wished me a happy birthday… I Had a GREAT day.  Thank You!

 

Memorial Day

As I was searching for a words to capture the spirit of Memorial Day, I came across this article and could not decide which quote to use.  It is worth reading.

While Memorial Day is a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered, and I have no intention of undervaluing this, it is also a day that typically marks the beginning of Summer.  Although summer officially begins on Friday, June 21 of this year, we typically celebrate its start on Memorial Day.  This year I celebrated with my family.  Though I do this on many holidays with my Mama and kids, this year my sister Gina and her family joined in the fun

We had FOOD!

corn dog bites, sliders, kettle chips, Asian slaw, crudités, guacamole, corn chips, cupcakes, and there was more!

There was even an attempt to create a red, white, and blue punch that did not remain red, white, and blue for long.I tried!

however… Kyle liked my PURPLE PATRIOTIC PUNCH!

then there was the initial investigation of the hot ducks (thank you Lydia)… and Yes, they were hot.

I didn’t get many action shots of the family gathering, but I so enjoyed seeing everyone get together.  They played in the pool, enjoyed dessertthose are the sprinkle accessorized ice cream sandwiches you’ve all seen on Pinterest.  They are very tasty and cute.

then some came inside to watch Moana (which I didn’t get to finish watching), played various board games, ate again, and enjoyed being in the company of family.  Regardless of the takeaway from this event, I am happy that it occurred, and hopeful that it happens again.  LB and I thank you for coming Mama, Stephanie, Amanda, Richard, Emily, Lydia, Gina, Stuart, Kyle, Clay, Dillon, Sydney, Chynna, Levi, Thea… I love each and every one of you.

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