Last Days in Clearwater

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Monday was our last full day in Clearwater, so we started the day off right. We headed over to Broadway Cafe in Dunedin. I had an amazing egg white omelet that had vine ripened tomatoes inside, alongside a ton of veggies. I may have also had another side of grits... Can't stop with that stuff.

Afterward, we headed back to my in-laws'. My husband had some work to do, so he holed up in the living room with his computer and spent some time on conference calls. Personally, I had a conference call with the sun. It was very successful.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, everyone was a tad bit hungry. We headed back over to the Hyatt and split some chips with guacamole and salsa. I kicked my anti-blended-drink issue and ordered a peach daiquiri,  my FIL had some kind of blended drink as well, but my poor husband had left his ID back at his parents', so he was not served.

Trying to choose our drinks... (Before my husband realized he had no ID)

We spent a bit of time lounging up there, despite the intense wind, because the view was spectacular.

View from the Hyatt's swim bar

After snack time, we headed back to my in-laws' to regroup and get ready for a boat ride and dinner. We grabbed some beer for the ride and boarded the boat around 5.

Having spent almost all of our trip on land, it was neat to see everything from the boat. I had no idea that the intercoastal waterways were so expansive!

Look at that hunk!

After the boat ride, we headed to a bar and restaurant called Pier 60. It is located on the top floor of a building, and has amazing, panoramic skyline views.

They specialize in the sunset hour, and we arrived about 30 minutes before sunset. We ordered a couple Rum Runners and a White Russian and then watched the sun slowly sink into the sky.

Just as the sun was setting, they passed out shots and all the patrons took a shot together as the sun finally slipped below the horizon!

After our sunset shot, we headed to Sandpearl resort for dinner. I loved this place from the start; from the decor inside to the self-playing piano, I was sold.

We started our meal with a toast to my brother-in-law and his fiance, who had just gotten engaged that weekend. We were all so happy for them that we wanted to let them know we were thinking of them!

A couple of cocktails later, we walked home. On our way, we ran across these monstrous sized chairs and had to get a shot of me in them. Just one of the perks of being a shorty who married into a tall Dutch family (we're about to inherit another shorty, YES!).

When we got home, we watched a movie before passing out for the night. The following morning, we awoke to some serious fog...

We went out to breakfast and then I did some shopping with my in-laws while my husband did some more work. By the time the sun finally made its way through the fog, we ended up with a bit of time left for laying out (2-3 hours) and then headed to the airport!

What about you?

• What do you like to do on a foggy day on vacation? Sleep in? Go shopping? Watch a movie?

Weekend Things: 4th of July Weekend

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We kicked off the long weekend in the best way: Yoga. We drove up to the suburbs to visit my family and joined my mom for a yogathon at Fitness Loft on Thursday morning. 

Long live America, the land of the free and the home of the yogis.

"It's early and I'm tired" face.
Note: My sock bun stayed in place all night! Winning.

After yoga, we proceeded to grill out (read: burgers. this is not called a barbecue, people. it is grilling out.) and lay out. There were a few beers consumed.

I tried to make a cake I found on Tone It Up (Not sure if it was their recipe or if they just posted it). Basically, you take a watermelon and lop off the top and bottom of the oval and then cut the center out, making it a "cake" like shape.

You're almost a cake, but deceivingly healthy. Keep doin yo' thang, watermelon.

The recipe called for cool whip, but I don't trust cool whip anymore (chemicals... blegh), so I went with good old whipped cream. Only whipped cream isn't the same as cool whip. So, while it looks gorg in this pic, it sort of... sagged. #ohwell #stilldelicious

You are so beautiful and festive. Get in my belly.

To be honest, my fiance and I spent most of the rest of the weekend laying out in our backyard (YES! FINALLY!). We are super blessed to have a fairly private back yard in the city with a lot of green space and a view of the Sears-I-Mean-Willis-Tower.

Our dog was in heaven because it meant she got to chill outside all flipping day. Sunbathing dogs are so precious.

Nose to the wind

Other things that happened (you know, besides tons of sunscreen and drinking sparkling water in the sun, which is obviously the highlight of life):

1. DRAAAAAAAAAAAANKSS. Cocktails. A few of them. At Farmhouse. At the Silver Palm (pictured -- and the best drinks of the weekend). At Grandview.

I seriously cannot rave enough about the cocktails at The Silver Palm and The Matchbox (they are next door and connected and serve the same cocktails, but The Matchbox tends to be more crowded so we hit up The Silver Palm). Their drinks are only $8 and they are delicious and strong. They also usually  bring you your own cocktail shaker with almost another full drink in it. All for $8, I remind you. #GOTHERE

The most delicious Gimlet I've ever had, and a Manhattan with seriously boozy cherries.

2. FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. More burgers. For my fiance. Not so much for me. (Pictured: Burger from Farmhouse with gouda and crispy bacon)

Fun fact: My fiance always asks for not just bacon, but "crispy bacon" on his burgers.

Some... uh... yogurt. With maple syrup and PB2. It looks gross, I can see that now. But it tasted so good.

Why do you look like brain matter?

3. WEEEEEEEEEERKOUTS. A long run. A spin class. Body pump. Another spin class.

Post-run, Pre-shoulder burn out.

Spin, spin, baby.

4. MAAAAAAAAKEUPPPPPPPPP. My makeup artist came over and we played around with some wedding makeup ideas. Lesson here? makeup is fun. 

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After playing with makeup, my fiance took me on a date (how could he not? i mean come on) to Oon, in West Loop. IT WAS AMAZING and I'm going to post pics tomorrow to make you jealous. :)

Everyone else... How was your weekend?!