A Taste of Mexico in Sarasota

This morning was spent around the house. Ryan helped his mom’s boyfriend with some yard work while I updated the blog and chatted with his mom. Every time we come visit his family I feel so grateful that I am marrying into such a great, close-knit group of people. They’re a special bunch. 🙂

Ryan's Mom & Sadie

Once the yard work was done, we soaked up some sun in the backyard while Sadie chased shadows, lizards and reflecting lights. She’s quite the huntress.

Ryan and I felt like we were laying out at a resort because his mom set up a fan and brought us water with fresh lemon slices. Talk about relaxing!

Lunch

Around 12:30 we showered up and headed out to Mi Pueblo, a nearby restaurant, for lunch.

Mi Pueblo in Sarasota

The Digs

As we were seated, a big basket of tortilla chips and salsa were placed in front of us and I downed several of the chips ‘n’ salsa immediately.

Chips & Salsa

They had a great selection of lunch entrées, and I ordered a large shrimp and avocado salad.

Shrimp & Avocado Salad

I think the salad came with 3/4 of an avocado. I was in Mexican food heaven and ate every last bite.

Though I was feelin’ full, when we arrived home I couldn’t resist a little sweet treat.

Gotta Satisfy My Sweet Tooth

Me and Mah Honey

To satisfy my sweet tooth, I had another slab of Harry & David peppermint bark and a Dad’s scotch oatmeal cookie, ordered from the fantastic Dad’s Cookie Company located in Missouri.

These cookies are crunchy, light and full of cinnamony spices. Ryan’s mom sent Ryan a huge box for his birthday before and we ate them by the handful. They’re phenomenal and I always swipe a few from his mom’s stash when we come to visit. Yum!

Now it’s time to join Ryan on the couch for the USA vs. England World Cup soccer game. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not exactly a soccer super-fan, so I’m hoping to coerce Ryan and his family into a round or two of Scrabble. 😉

Though I’m still full from lunch I can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner tonight! 😀

Striiiike

Phew!

I feel like I’ve been on the move all day! It feels good to finally be at home. 🙂

Lunch

After a nice, long shower following this morning’s 10k race, my tummy started rumblin’ again.

I boiled some water to make pasta while roasting asparagus in the oven and steaming broccoli in the microwave. I had all the appliances in use!

I knew I needed a lunch with staying power since we were going to be bowling from 1 to 4 p.m. Pasta with veggies seemed like a great option.

Lunch

Noodles + Broccoli + Sauce + Cheese

Yum

Afternoon Bowling

After inhaling lunch, Ryan and I headed to Boardwalk Bowl for an afternoon of bowling to raise money for Junior Achievement with his coworkers.

Couple o' Bowlers

Our team was a fun one! Ryan and his buddy Rob were quite the bowlers and were neck-in-neck throughout the first game.

Ryan got three strikes in a row (a turkey!) and just barely nudged him out for the win. It was a lot of fun to watch!

Ryan, Me, Katie & Rob

 

Top Notch Bowlers

Bowl Baby Bowl

Ryan and His Winning Score

Our friend Katie was also a big winner… She won the top pirze for the worst score in the first round (a 43 in case you were wondering). As a former winner of this prize, I was especially proud of her.

Katie the Big Winner & Me

A little after 4 p.m., greasy bowling alley food was brought out for us to snack on.

Bowling Alley Food

I was pretty hungry but knew Ryan and I had plans to head out for a date night right after bowling, so I limited my snacking to a couple of pigs in a blanket and a chicken finger.

Date Night

We left about 30 minutes later and headed right to Paco’s, a small Mexican restaurant we’ve heard great things about.

Da Suuun!

Whenever we’ve driven by Paco’s, the parking lot is packed and now we know why!

Paco's

What to get... What to get...

Within five minutes of our waiter bringing chips and homemade salsa to our table, they were gooone!

Chips and Salsa

Our food was delivered to our table very quickly, which was wonderful because I was hungry!

Enchiladas

Chicken Tacos

I downed the chicken tacos like it was my job and had several bites of Ryan’s enchiladas. Tasty!

Dessert

After dinner, we headed home to our energetic puppy.

Since it wasn’t quite dark outside yet, we took her on a 40 minute walk around the lake by our apartment to let our dinner digest a bit before heading out for dessert.

Dessert = McDonald’s shamrock shakes!!!

Shamrock Shake

I love milkhakes and McDonald’s makes a mean shake!

My McDonald’s shake flavor rankings are as follows:

1. Strawberry shake
2. Shamrock shake
3. Chocolate
4. Pumpkin shake
5. Eggnog shake

I drank a big diet coke while we were bowling today and I think it triggered my sweet tooth so the shamrock shake hit the spot! 

I’ve read a lot of articles about diet soda and I don’t drink it often. I definitely think it makes me want sugary foods… Something about the sweetness of the soda sets me off!

Do you drink diet soda?