Jam-Packed

Today was a jam-packed day!

Within 30 minutes of waking, Ryan and I were off to Bradenton to meet his dad for breakfast.

Ryan and His Dad

Ryan’s dad’s birthday was yesterday, so it was great to see him and spend some time with the birthday boy.

We met him at Peaches, an adorable restaurant that serves only breakfast and lunch.

I ordered a veggie omelet with a side of fruit salad.

Omelet

Veggie-Filled Omelet

Fruit Salad

After breakfast, Ryan, his dad and I ran to the outlets to stop in some shops. I wanted to return a pair of running capris to the Nike outlet and I left with a new sports bra and workout top. Score!

Wedding Dress Shoppin’

After saying goodbye to Ryan’s dad, we headed back to St. Pete.

I hopped into the car with my mom and sister to leave for our 12:30 appointment at a wedding dress boutique that was hosting a San Patrick trunk show.

My Sister and Mom (The Consultants)

Gigglin' with Mama

🙂

They had the gown I loved the last time I was there, and I tried it on again. It really is beautiful! I apologize for the lack of pictures, but Ryan can’t see me in the dress that could be the dress until the big day. I’ll post pictures of the contenders once I actually select the dress, I promise!

After that trunk show, we headed over to the next trunk show featuring Maggie Sottero dresses. I had such high hopes, but was pretty disappointed. They only had a small selection of Maggie dresses and I didn’t see any of the ones I loved online. Oh well.

We were pretty darn hungry by the time all of our wedding dress appointments were over and headed to El Cap to pick up cheeseburgers for us and the guys to enjoy at home. 

Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger

I only wanted a few bites, so I shared a burger with Ryan. I was cravin’ dippy eggs and fixed myself a yummy plate.

Eggs and an English Muffin

I enjoyed a Honeycrisp apple and a bowl of grapes on the side.

Honeycrisp Apple

After a late lunch, Ryan and I decided to make a cake to enjoy for dessert tonight.

My mom loves tunnel of fudge cake and I gave her a box of the mix for Christmas. We decided to make this tasty cake and it made the whole house smell heavenly.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Before we added the chocolate to the mix, Sadie and my sister got to lick the beaters (one each) full of butter and sugar. They were in heaven.

Lickin' Beaters

Yummy

Once we added the chocolate to the mix, Ryan and I dug into the batter for more than one fingerful of the yummy goodness. 🙂

Tunnel of Fudge Batter

I can’t wait to enjoy this cake tonight. Yum.

Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend!

Family Dinner

I feel very fortunate that I had family dinners nearly every night when I was growing up. Some of my best memories from childhood came from conversations around the dinner table, and I still look forward to family dinners whenever I come home to my parents’ house.

Ryan and I arrived in St. Pete around 6:15 p.m. and snacked a bit while we waited for my dad to get in town from a meeting in Jacksonville.

My mom already had a good portion of the dinner ready, but I tried to make myself useful by chopping up some brussels sprouts, tossin’ them in olive oil, salt and pepper and roasting them in the oven, right beside the fish and shrimp casserole my mom made.

The Cooks

Brussels Sprouts

Ryan and Leslie made a delicious fresh fruit salad.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Once my dad got home we were ready to eat!

Dinner included:

• Brussels sprouts
• Fruit salad
• Corn on the cob
• Brown rice
• Shrimp and fish casserole

Corn on the Cob

Casserole

Brown Rice

I filled my plate with a bit of every thing… and went back for seconds (and thirds of some things). 😀

Dinner

Dinner was yummy!

Ice Cream Party

My mom keeps our freezer stacked with a bazillion (yes, a bazillion) different kinds of ice cream, so you know I just had to have some. My dad, sister and I scooped ourselves a big bowl of chocolate marshmallow ice cream, my mom enjoyed chocolate caramel cone crunch and Ryan opted for cookies ‘n’ cream. All delish!

The guys have already gone to bed, and my mom, sister and I are hangin’ out watching The Bachelor that my mom taped for us. One of the bachelorettes was actually in my sorority in college, but she went through rush after I graduated, so I never knew her. Still, it makes it fun to watch!

See ya in the morning for wedding dress shopping fun!