Sushi Saturday

After loads of shopping and two long walks with Sadie, Ryan and I were hungry for dinner. Rather than just cook something up at home, Ryan decided to make it a date night. 🙂

We headed downtown for sushi at Bento, a trendy restaurant that was conveniently playing the Florida/Alabama game. Coincidence???

Ryan was sad the Gators weren’t doin’ so hot (he went to UF for his MBA).

Oh No!

(Yes, this picture was totally staged, and yes Ryan will hate me for posting it. :D)

Though my stomach started eating itself in the amount of time it took for someone to come take our order, I was a happy camper again once I got some miso soup in mah belly.

Miso Soup

Happy Girl

I bet I slurped this whole bowl down in less than two minutes.  

When our order came out we were quite impressed with the tasty display.

Sushi

Mongolian Beef Noodle Bowl

One of the sushi rolls we ordered came without rice which was really neat. I honestly didn’t even miss it. I don’t really like white rice that much. I prefer the nutty flavor of brown rice.

We ate until we were nice and full… but not too full for dessert! We headed to Jeremiah’s for some ice cream and gelato. I ordered a small chocolate peanut butter gelati with vanilla and pumpkin pie on the top. Sounds weird, tastes great!

On our way home we also enjoyed hot cocoa with whipped cream and fudge drizzled on top. A wintery treat!

Both Ryan and I had never seen the classic holiday movie A Christmas Story. I actually won it on DVD last year at the Festival of Trees at the Orlando Museum of Art, so we figured tonight would be a great night to break it open.

A Christmas Story

We both really enjoyed the movie and thought it was a great conclusion to a nice little Saturday date night.

French Toast Strips and Christmas Shopping

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof. I curled up and went back to sleep for another hour or so since there’s no cozier sound than rain against the window. Ahhh, I love the weekends!

Once I got out of bed, Ryan and I leashed up Sadie for a chilly walk in dreary Orlando. It actually felt like winter! Brrr. Our chilly walk prompted cravings for a warm breakfast. Cinnamon sounded tasty and I wanted to try to make French toast strips out of Joseph’s lavash bread.

French Toast Strips

I used egg whites and lots of cinnamon to dip the lavash strips in before placing them on the griddle. They smelled and tasted phenomenal. Of course I topped them with yummy syrup.

Yum, Yum

After breakfast, Ryan and I headed out to put a dent in our Christmas shopping. We arrived 20 minutes before the stores opened (we figured they’d be open by 9 a.m. – not so!) and wasted time wondering around the shops.

Since it was cold outside we stopped by Starbucks for some hot beverages. I ordered a skinny caramel latte.

Hot and Delish

After Starbucks we wandered into Le Gourmet Chef where I think I ate my lunch in free samples! Yikes! They had so many different foods and dips to try and I couldn’t resist any of them. I even took several handfuls of animal crackers to enjoy while I browsed.

I loved just about every thing I saw in J. Crew, including these pj pants:

J. Crew PJ Pants

Every year on Christmas Eve, my family gets new pajamas. I love this tradition because going to sleep in my new Christmas pj’s makes me feel extra festive. Plus, it’s fun to have something to open before all the Christmas madness begins in the morning. 😀 Needless to say, I always take extra time looking at holiday pajamas in the stores.

After stopping in several more stores, Ryan and I headed toward the car.  I dropped Ryan off at home before heading out to a shopping center near our apartment for a little more shopping. My shopping stamina exceeds his by just a little. 😉

We bought some (hopefully great) gifts for our loved ones.

Shopping Success

On my way back from my second round of shopping I got a call from Ryan with a special request: the new eggnog milkshake from McDonald’s. Since neither of us have ever tried it before, I swung by the ol’ McD’s and picked up a small shake.

What’s your favorite kind of milkshake?

Eggnog Shake

This seasonal shake was g-o-o-d! I think eggnog is very tasty and this shake replicated the flavor really well. YUM.

Hope you’re all enjoying the weekend so far!