From Paris to the ’80s

What a fun and adventurous day!

After breakfast, we visited Paris… in the form of my sister’s sorority’s Parisian mother/daughter brunch.

(Notice the Eiffel Tower in the Background)

When we arrived, we were greeted by her smiling sorority sisters who showed us to a yummy buffet of tasty sandwiches, desserts, fruit and more.

My Plate

I went back for fifths (yes, fifths) of the seven layer bar dessert squares. I flippin’ love those things!

Leslie and Me

Swinging and Smiling

After the brunch, we changed into casual clothes and headed to Do Art, an art studio nearby to paint some pottery.

I selected a chips and dip platter, while my mom and sister opted to paint mugs.

My Chips and Dip Platter

My Mom's Mug

Leslie's Mug

With Our Creations

My sister will pick up our goodies in a week. Apparently when the pottery gets fired up, the colors will really pop! I can’t wait to see the final product.

Dinner

Once our pottery painting was complete, we hit the road for Orlando to pick up Ryan for a dinner at Park Plaza Gardens in Winter Park.

Park Plaza Gardens

We decided to try Park Plaza Gardens, a rather expensive restaurant usually, because they are currently offering a menu featuring items from their 1980s menu at the original 1980s prices. Score!

Before ordering, our waiter brought us a basket of bread that we devoured.

Bread Basket

Since the prices were amazing, my mom, sister and I ordered lobster while Ryan opted for the filet mignon.

Lobster

We also shared a la carte sides of onion soup, asparagus and sweet potatoes.

The Dessert Lady

Dinner was delicious and we were very tempted to order dessert at Park Plaza Gardens, but we decided to hop in the car and head downtown to pay a visit to The Dessert Lady instead.

When we got there we were overwhelmed with so many decadent choices on the menu. When we spotted the sampler option our eyes lit up and we knew we had a winner.

We decided to enjoy one slice of carrot cake, bourbon pecan pie, Neapolitan cake and peanut butter pie and split them between the four of us.

The Dessert Lady's Dessert Sampler

We all agreed that the pecan pie (served with cinnamon ice cream) and the peanut butter pie were the stand outs.

Huggin' Outside the Dessert Lady

Ryan and My Sister

The Dessert-Lovin' Ladies

Today definitely ended on a sweet note! 🙂

Since today was filled with girly fun, we’re letting Ryan control the remote and are hanging out watching the NBA playoffs before heading to bed in a bit.

See ya in the mornin’!

Lobster with My Lobster

Yes, another reference to the best show ever… Friends! 🙂

For breakfast this morning I enjoyed lobster with my lobster.

Ryan and I went to the grocery store right when we woke up and they had lobster tails on sale for $5 each. We figured eating lobster for breakfast on Valentine’s Day morning would be a neat treat!

Lobster Tails

I broiled the lobster tails until they were bright red and lookin’ tasty!

Ryan had his with eggs and toast, while I enjoyed mine with egg whites, zucchini, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.

Ryan's Lobster Plate

My Lobster Breakfast

It was a yummy treat!

Valentine’s Day Mission

After breakfast, I headed off to the gym for a quick workout while Ryan got a head start on our Valentine’s Day mission.

This year’s Valentine’s Day mission was to spend $15 or less on a simple gift for each other.

My workout was awesome. I was totally in the zone on my run and I caught myself lip syncing to the Wicked soundtrack on more than one occassion. I ran five miles in 44 minutes before walking on an incline for another six minutes to cool down. My hair was sweaty and I looked like a brunette when I was leaving the gym!

I then headed off to tackle my end of our Valentine’s Day mission. I have no shame shopping without make up, looking red-faced and sweaty, but maybe I should… 😉

When I arrived home, Ryan and I took Sadie to the dog park for an hour before arriving at an appointment to see the house just down the street  from our current apartment for the second time this week. We wanted to check it out again as a potential place to rent when we move out.

We saw the place in the middle of last week and really liked it a lot. The landlord is a cool guy and seemed to want us as tenants. We were hoping to find a cheaper place, so when he called us last night to say he’d drop the rent by $100 a month for us we were super excited!  

We ended up submitting applications and are hopeful! Cross your fingers!

Lunch

We ate lunch late today and I was a hungry lil’ girl! 

Pasta was sounding great, so I made a big pasta bowl with broccoli, marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Pasta Bowl

I enjoyed a couple Gingersnap cookies for dessert and two squares of dark chocolate Dove chocolate. What’s Valentine’s Day without chocolate???

Tonight

I’m off to shower up for a hot date with my handsome Valentine this evening.

Ryan made reservations for us at The Capital Grille for a romantic dinner. Neither of us have ever been, so we’re very excited. I’ve only heard wonderful things about it and can’t wait!

See ya later tonight! 😀

Rave Reviews for Lobster Ravioli

When Ryan was off being a wild man of nature on his hiking adventure last week, I took my time browsing around the grocery store. I can spend shockingly long amounts of time in grocery store aisles and without Ryan rushing me encouraging me along, I often stumble upon fun foodie finds.

Last week the lobster ravioli caught my eye. At less than $5 a pack, I figured this would be a great way to enjoy a dinner that tasted gourmet on a poor writer’s budget.

Lobster Ravioli

YUM

Before boiling the ravioli, I sauteed yellow squash, onion and portobello mushrooms to add to the marinara sauce I used to top the pasta.

Veggies!

I wanted to incorporate extra veggies into this meal since the only vegetables I seemed to ingest this weekend were the ones on my burger. Oops!

Ravioli Bowl

My Bowl

Ryan said this dinner was a great way to carbo-load before our run tomorrow. 🙂 (Anyone else remember that episode of The Office where Michael carbo-loads on fettuccine Alfredo for the 5K Rabies Awareness Run? Hilarious!)  Ryan is joining me and Sadie on our morning run as we resurrect Family Fun Run now that his hamstring injury is healed.

With big full bellies we’re poppin’ The Proposal in the DVD player to enjoy a movie and relax for the rest of the night. See you in the morning!