I Don’t Like Manicures

I decided something today.

I do not like manicures.

Sure I think the end result is pretty, but I inevitably smudge at least one nail on the way home which frustrates me way too much.

Today I had an appointment for a manicure and the entire process took almost two hours.

I even made a point to ask how long a manicure would take when I made my appointment because Ryan’s mom and her boyfriend were coming into town and I wanted to be done by the time they arrived. The woman assured me it would take no longer than 25 minutes. I waited 40 minutes before the manicure even began.

What is this? A doctor’s office?

(Okay, I know I sound like a mega-brat right now, but I was really frustrated!)

The long wait gave me ample time to choose my nail polish color.

I actually flip-flopped back and forth between three different colors since I had so much time to think about it, but inevitably I chose OPI’s Pinking of You.

 

One hour and 45 minutes later, my flippin’ fingers were painted and I was super irritated. I’m not lying when I say I had three nails that were only pained 3/4 of the way down. It looked like I let a six-year-old paint my nails.

I left the salon, smudged a nail when I was trying to start my car and arrived back at our apartment in a huff. I felt like some uppity version of Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde complaining to Ryan about my experience but luckily he didn’t think I was too ridiculous. 🙂

Dinner

Fortunately I had some good company in Ryan, his mom and her boyfriend to make me forget about my not-so-fun manicure experience almost immediately.

They’re in town for the weekend because Ryan’s mom will be joining me for my bridal shower tomorrow. (YAY!)

The four of us had plans to enjoy dinner and headed to Maitland to eat at Antonio’s, a nice Italian cafe and deli.

The inside of Antonio’s is really neat. The restaurant is essentially located in the middle of a gourmet deli and you enjoy your meal surrounded by jars of olives and marinara sauce and packages of pasta.

To begin, we were served fresh bread.

 

I had three slices. It was warm, crusty and delicious.

For my entree, I ordered a create-your-own-pizza topped with loads of veggies.

I ate all but two slices… and then ate one more when we got home. 😉

Dessert

Even though we were all feeling fairly full, we still had room for dessert and headed to Jeremiah’s Italian Ice for a cold treat.

 

Ryan and I split a medium cookies ‘n’ cream gelati with vanilla soft serve.

It was fantastic, as always. Jeremiah’s is the jam.

Ryan’s mom and her boyfriend shared a strawberry gelati with vanilla soft serve and gave it good reviews as well.

I’m pretty pooped and hope to get into bed a little early tonight. I know tomorrow will be a big day with my bridal shower kicking off at 11 a.m.!

Hope you’re having a good weekend! 😀

Change in Plans

Last night our dinner plans for a double date to Season’s 52 changed when our friends Ryan and Jenessa decided to head over to our apartment a little early to hang out.

We originally planned to meet them half way between their house and ours, but since they drove to visit with us in downtown Orlando, they wanted to eat at a local Orlando restaurant. Since Ryan and I have been meaning to try Antonio’s, a nice Italian restaurant in Maitland, we decided to give it a go! (Warning: All pictures are extremely dark due to restaurant lighting. Please don’t hate me.)

Antonio's Ristorante

Antonio’s Ristorante is located directly above Antonio’s Cafe and Deli, a more casual restaurant in the middle of a gourmet Italian shop. The atmosphere downstairs was louder and seemed really fun, but the wait was a good 45 minutes, so we opted for the upstairs fine-dining restaurant.

The first thing we commented on was the attentive service. Very impressive! Our waiter greeted us and took our drink orders immediately and brought us a big basket of freshly baked bread which was delicious!

Warm Bread

I somehow enjoyed only one piece… I think I was too busy chatting away and by the time I went for another, the boys had already polished off the goods. 🙂

For my entree I ordered a big bowl of Antonio’s soup of the day: chicken with lentils and vegetables. This soup was unbelievable. Ryan also had a bite and thought so as well.

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Vegetables

I also enjoyed a side of asparagus because I was determined to get some veggies in my body after a  holiday hiatus.

Asparagus

I ate a lot of Ryan’s dinner as well since it was so huge and delicious.

Ryan ordered the Risotto allo Zafferano. Confused? I was too, but it was tasty! The dish was arborio rice slowly simmered with saffron threads, white wine and chicken broth, finished with Parmesan cheese, and  topped with jumbo shrimp.

Janessa ordered the same dish and we all were raving about the creamy, cheesy flavor.

Dessert

After dinner we just had to take Ryan and Jenessa to Jeremiah’s, our favorite gelati joint.

Jeremiah's Menu

As always, Ryan and I split a big ol’ cookies ‘n’ cream gelati and enjoyed every last bite. I could eat Jeremiah’s every day!

Cookies 'n' Cream

Why-oh-why is ice cream so gosh darn delicious? Why can’t broccoli taste like this???

Today

Today I woke up and frantically changed into my gym clothes and dashed to the gym because it was freezing in our apartment and outside. Even non-Florida folk would agree that weather in the 30s is cold! Where was this chilly weather on Christmas!?

My workout was all over the place because my iPod was acting up and wouldn’t play any of my music. I really need my music when I do cardio.

Today’s cardio hodgepodge consisted of:

• 10 min. stair master
• 15 min. arc trainer
• 15 min. weird cardio machine that I don’t know the name of
• 10 min. elliptical

Not the most amazing workout, but it made me sweat a bit and did the trick.

Breakfast

As a peanut butter lover, my cravings for the nutty spread hit me hard. I wanted peanut butter for breakfast like nobody’s business!

I made a breakfast sandwich with peanut butter and fresh strawberries (on sale!) on an Arnold whole wheat sandwich thin.

Yummy PB

Tuesday's Breakfast

I also enjoyed a cup of free Barnie’s Santa’s White Christmas coffee courtesy of my gym.This is definitely my favorite flavor of all Barnie’s coffees. The combination of coconut, caramel and vanilla flavors hits my coffee spot!

You Go Girl!

I had a man say “You go girl!” to me today. 🙂

How often does that happen? Apparently he thought my Uggs were quite jazzy and complimented my boots.

Mah Uggs

When I told him they were lined with fuzzy sheep wool to keep my feet warm he busted out the “You go girl!” It made me laugh and started my morning off on the right foot.

I hope you’re all enjoying a great Tuesday so far and are staying warm! You go girl!