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!

Day Date: Festival of Trees

As I mentioned previously, Ryan and I take turns planning one extra-special date for each other every month. October was his month and since his date involved a proposal, I think any date I plan following that amazing experience will never quite match up.

To begin my date, Ryan and I headed to the Orlando Museum of Art for the annual Festival of Trees event featuring lots of intricately decorated trees, vignettes, wreaths and holiday decorations.

Festival of Trees

When I graduated college in the spring of 2007, my first job was working at the museum in the public relations and marketing department, so I have a special place in my heart for events at the museum. Plus, when Ryan and I went two years ago, we had a blast!

After paying admission and entering the winter wonderland, the very first tree we saw ended up being our favorite.

The Best Tree

All Smiles

We then headed into a room sportin’ lots of Christmas decorations, including an elaborate gold place setting. I snapped a picture immediately because I am in love with the chairs and want the same ones at our wedding reception! 🙂

I Love You, Chairs

We passed many gorgeous trees on our way to the room full of gingerbread houses.

Pink Poodle Tree

Bright and Beautiful Tree

The gingerbread houses were truly amazing and must take hours and hours to assemble (not to mention tons of patience).

Gingerbread Mansion

Check Out the Detail

This One is Bigger Than Our Apartment

We managed to exit the room without sneaking any bites. 😉

We then headed to the holiday boutique to check out the goodies for sale. On our way we passed this photo:

Spooky Girl

Ryan said this girl will haunt his dreams. She’s kinda spooky, no?

The holiday boutique didn’t have any creepy photos or paintings but it did have these hilarious napkins:

🙂

All in all, we had a great time at the Festival of Trees, but both agreed it wasn’t as good as years past. They weren’t even playing Christmas music, and there were areas of the museum without trees when it used to be completely full. Oh well, it was still a fun day date!

Dinner Double Date

Our original dinner date plans at Season’s 52 expanded a bit and we made it a double date. Ryan’s cousin Daniel and Courtney, a really sweet girl he is dating, joined us for a fun and delicious double date.

Season’s 52 is probably my favorite restaurant in Orlando. All the food is so fresh and tasty and with each dish under 475 calories, you know you’re eating a normal portion entree, not excessive amounts of food.

I ordered the pork tenderloin with polenta, spinach and cremini mushrooms.

My Plate

I practically licked my plate clean!

On our way home from dinner we passed Jeremiah’s Italian Ice and just had to stop.

Mmmmm

This place serves the most amazing gelati. Our huge helping layered vanilla soft serve with cookies ‘n’ cream gelato and pumpkin pie gelato on the top. It was delish, as always!

Pies!

After Jeremiah’s we stopped by the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for turtle pumpkin pie I will be making for a Thanksgiving potluck party tomorrow.

Unfortunately I forgot two main ingredients and will be waiting until the morning to do some baking. Oh well! Stay tuned for some yummy-lookin’ pies tomorrow rather than tonight. 😉

Hopefully everyone is enjoying a fun-filled weekend before the Thanksgiving craziness sets in! 🙂