Weekend Archives - Page 17 of 19

Celebrating All Weekend Long + Open-Faced S’mores

This weekend was full of birthday celebrations for Vishnu!

We went to dinner at Crazy About You on Thursday (his actual birthday).

On Friday, we celebrated by making birthday s’mores (“recipe” below). This could become a tradition…for every celebratory event in our lives!

On Saturday, we saw Gravity in 3D. It was an amazing movie! I hope to write more about my thoughts in another post because there were some beautiful philosophical undertones throughout.

Later that day, we headed down to Andy and Robin’s apartment for a surprise birthday bash…for both me and Vishnu! When I spoke to Robin earlier in the day, she told me that they couldn’t hang out because Andy had to study and she had some work to do. It just so happened that the “work” she was doing included making party food and baking a birthday cake! She didn’t tell me about it because she wanted to surprise me as well. She’s awesome!

After a couple of hours of eating and drinking, a group of us headed out to a local bar. The fun didn’t end there though! We then came back and played Cards Against Humanity for a couple of more hours. You guys, we didn’t go to sleep until 4:30 in the morning! Needless to say, we slept in just a little bit on Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, Vishnu spent the entire day watching football. To make it even better, we invited Robin and Andy over to join us. The four of us lounged, ate, talked, and watched football. Perfection!

And check out the fifth wheel, Andy and Robin’s dog Guinness.

He is seriously the cutest and sweetest dog in the whole world. I am kind of in love! And that is saying a lot since Parita and animals don’t usually mix.

* * * * *

Open-Faced S’mores

Graham crackers
Mini marshmallows
Dark chocolate chips (I love theGhirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips)

Turn on the oven to the lowest broiler setting. Break graham cracker sheets in half and arrange on baking sheet. Top each half with nine mini marshmallows and six chocolate chips. Place baking sheet on middle rack and bake for four to five minutes until marshmallows begin to turn light brown.

Enjoy every single delicious, ooey gooey bite!

* * * * *

Happy Monday, friends!

Have you ever been thrown a surprise birthday party?
Are you planning to see Gravity?
Are you a s’mores lover like us?

The One Where They Had Fun…

written by Parita 12 Comments

…bought to you via Parita’s iPhone.

The word fun is pretty subjective. What’s fun for me may not be fun for you and vice versa. However, I think most of us can agree that relaxation plus good friends plus delicious food plus beautiful weather equals fun. Right? Right.

Luckily, our weekend included a little bit of each of those elements.

First up – relaxation.

Also known as a long overdue pedicure. And trust me, it was much needed. I even stepped outside my comfort zone with a color I normally would never choose (Essie, Maximillian Strasse Her).

On Saturday, we met up with a group of friends at the local Oktoberfest event. Friends + beer = always a good time. We were able to try a number of different of beers and ciders, and if I remember correctly, my favorite was the Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat. Delicious!

When our hunger pangs eventually kicked in, we decided to grab dinner at a local burger place. I ordered the portabella mushroom burger with a side of sweet potato fries. Yum!

Other notable food from the weekend –

Homemade baked chicken fingers (for Vishnu)…

and chocolate zucchini muffins for me. I mean for both of us.

And as far as beautiful weather is concerned, the weather in Miami has been amazing over the past few days. Lots of sun, very little rain, and a slight drop in humidity – makes me very excited for what’s to come!

Oh and one final thing that made this weekend fun…

That says “GAME-WINNING DRIVE”

…Georgia’s win over LSU!!! Woo hoo! Gooooo Dawgs!!!

Have a great Monday!

End of the Week Hodge Podge

written by Parita 7 Comments

In no particular order…

1. Vishnu wanted to watch This Is the End last Friday, and so we did. Honestly, I thought I was going to hate the movie, like fall asleep half-way through hate. I’m happy to say that I was so wrong. I actually really enjoyed it and found myself laughing more than I’d like to admit.

Essentially, without giving away too much, it’s about a bunch of Hollywood actors living through the apocalypse. The best part is that they all play themselves. If you don’t get easily offended and like stupid humor, as I like to call it, this is the movie for you!

2. As Vishnu and I were walking home after dinner on Monday, I suggested that we take a stroll around the neighborhood. He agreed. I then suggested that we get cupcakes for dessert, since we had just eaten salads for dinner. He disagreed. I had a cupcake anyway. I offered to share, but my husband was not in a very dessert”y” mood. More for me…and it was worth every bite!

3. By the time Wednesday rolled around this week, I was exhausted. Not just tired but “I wish I could crawl into bed at 7 pm and sleep until7 am the next day” tired. No worries – that didn’t happen. But I did fall asleep on the couch at 9:30, which means that I only watched half of the new Modern Family episode. You know I’m tired when my favorite TV shows get put on the backburner!

4. After over eight years of being together, I finally convinced Vishnu to dance with me to Bollywood music! For those of you who know him, you understand what a big deal this is. Now, it wasn’t romantic dancing nor was it choreographed in any way. It was just the two of us jumping around to old school Bollywood songs in our tiny living room. SO MUCH FUN, and I think even Vishnu had a blast! I’m hoping to make this a regular thing.

5. I finally downloaded the new iOS7 and am loving it so far! I even convinced my sister to download it. And when she asked what the big deal with the new version was…

6. I am currently going through a Friends obsession (more so than usual). I blame Vishnu because he recently got me the complete set of all ten seasons. In the past week, I’ve watched…

The one where Ross and Rachael…you know
The one with the football
The one where everybody finds out
The one with the proposal
The one where Rachael tells Ross
The one with the Halloween party
The one with the lottery (one of my absolute favorites!)
The one with Phoebe’s wedding

O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D!

7. You guys are going to be so proud of me. As I was walking out of our building yesterday morning, the lady in front of me abruptly stopped, turned around, and walked into me. I felt my body tense up, but instead of getting upset over something so stupid and trivial, I smiled and kept walking. Normally, I would’ve said something under my breath and shot her a mean look, as poor sidewalk manners are a pet peeve of mine. So you see, this was huge!

8. Vishnu and I are going to a local Oktoberfest event on Saturday. Unlimited beer sampling, small bites from local restaurants, and a music festival – woo hoo!

9. Next week is a big birthday week in our family. Two of my favorite people will be celebrating the joy of turning one year older! While I won’t be able to celebrate in person with my sister, I’ll be sending lots of birthday love her way! I will, however, be around for Vishnu’s big day – lucky guy! And I have a few fun surprises in store for him. Can’t wait!

10. Happy Friday, everyone. We made it to the weekend!

Our First NFL Experience

written by Parita 10 Comments

I owe our first NFL experience to my friend Robin! During game night, we discussed how it would be really fun to go to the Atlanta Falcons v. Miami Dolphins game. That’s where I dropped the ball and Robin picked it right up. The next day I got a phone call from her asking if we wanted to go to the game, where we would want to sit, etc. We ordered our tickets an hour later. Thanks, Robin!

So, yesterday afternoon we excitedly drove to Sun Life Stadium in our red and black outfits and cooler full of beer and snacks.

After an hour or so of tailgating, we started walking towards the stadium. And that’s when the rain started. Tiny little drops turned into sideways rain in a matter of minutes. We were soaked! I should also mention that Sun Life is not a covered stadium, and it would have done us no good to enter prior to the start of the game. So we waited out in the open in a semi-covered area. Not fun, especially when you’re wearing TOMS.

Once the rain eventually stopped, we made our way to our seats – four Falcons fans in a sea of aqua, orange and white. Luckily, there were no major incidents, except for the drunk and/or high lady sitting behind us. Not only was she annoying in general, but she managed to spill beer on both me and Robin. Grrr.

[Rant over]

Anyway, our seats were amazing, right at the 50 yard line in an upper section.

Now, I should mention that I’m not a hardcore football fan. Don’t get me wrong…I like watching games with Vishnu because he explains everything really well and because his energy is contagious. But this particular game was special because the Falcons are from our hometown of Atlanta. In fact, my enthusiasm may have exceeded Vishnu’s!

Unfortunately, our cheering did the Falcons zero good. They ended up losing 27-23. It was a nail biter until the very end, but according to Vishnu, a few key mistakes hurt us in the end.

Despite the loss, our first NFL experience was awesome. Not only did we get to share it with good friends, but the weather eventually cooperated, our view was perfect, and the black bean burger I gobbled up during halftime ended up being surprisingly delicious. AND we were home in time to watch the Emmy’s! Wins all around!

Your turn – share a fun highlight from your weekend!

Shenanigans

written by Parita 7 Comments

The word that best describes this weekend = shenanigans. Lots and lots of shenanigans.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had friends in town this weekend. And these aren’t just any friends. These are people we’ve known for a very long time, which means that everyone had the freedom to act silly without being judged too much!

I love my friends enough to not divulge the details, but let’s just say that the past few days included all the elements that make for interesting experiences.

We partied hard on Friday night…

After mustering up some energy on Saturday morning, we headed out for a late brunch that included my first macaroon experience. I can finally say that I understand what the craze is all about. The chocolate one I had was unbelievable. So now we have a French bakery and a cupcake place within walking distance of our apartment. Great (said with a mix of sarcasm and excitement).

I’m a little embarrassed to admit what happened after brunch, so let’s get it over with. I realized I am no longer 21 and took a really long nap. Staying up way past my bedtime did me in. But in my defense, I was not the only one to fall asleep – Vishnu and our friend Jetan also passed out!

After a little bit of rallying, we got ready and took a cab to Espanola Way where we had dinner at Oh Mexico. This was actually my third time eating at this restaurant, but for some reason, it wasn’t as good as I remembered. Unfortunately, everyone felt that way. Oops! Word to the wise…if you decide to try this place, don’t get the vegetarian fajitas. They were a major disappointment.

After dinner we went back to our friend Monica’s hotel room to hang out and relax. They got upgraded to a one bedroom suite with a wrap around balcony, so we spent the rest of the night talking and enjoying the amazing view.

Even though we technically stayed in and away from the nightlife, it was 6:00 am before I crawled into bed. I know! I can’t believe it either. But it was totally worth it because we don’t get to see our friends often enough.

A late night/early morning made for a slow moving Sunday. After cleaning and sorting through three loads of laundry, Vishnu and I drove back to South Beach to pick up Monica and Amit so that we could take them to the airport.

Once we were finally home, we made a quick grocery run, ate dinner, and enjoyed the spectacular sunset.

A great way to end a great, shenanigan filled weekend!

Blogger Meetup

written by Parita 6 Comments

After a few busy weekends, it was nice to relax and take my time getting things done over the past couple of days. Aside from the usual, I didn’t do much. It was glorious!

My weekend motto!

Part of my lazy weekend included a blogger meetup with Nisha from Honey What’s Cooking! She was vacationing in Miami this weekend and asked if I wanted to meet up. Of course I did!

I’ve been reading Nisha’s blog for a little over 1.5 years, so this was kind of a big deal. This may sound a little strange, but I felt like we were old friends catching up over some gelato. It wasn’t awkward at all (phew). Nisha, her friend Anu, and I talked for almost 1.5 hours (how appropriate!). It was no surprise that we were able to chat comfortably for so long. Nisha is just how she appears on her blog – bubbly and fun! We covered everything from work, husbands, family, kids, favorite blogs, summer plans, and more. I can’t wait to meet again – hopefully Vishnu and I can make a trip up to NYC sometime soon.

Well, I don’t have much else to say. In my opinion, that’s a good thing because it shows how simple my weekend really was!

With that, here’s a little message to start the work week off…a little inspiration if you will.

Here’s to a great Monday!

Shopping + Reunions

written by Parita 7 Comments

FRIDAY

Early office closing + amazing weather = 4.32 mile run (precision thanks to RunKeeper)

And guess what?! NO knee pain. WOO!

SATURDAY

Earlier in the weekend a coupon was delivered to my inbox. It informed me that everything was 50% off at the Banana Republic outlet. With my coupon in hand, I headed to the mall and did a little damage – a few pairs of shorts, a few blouses, a few things for Vishnu. My favorite purchase was this peplum top from the Ann Taylor factory store…

Perfect for date night!

After a couple hours of shopping, I drove to Las Olas for an early dinner at Rocco’s Tacos. My friend and old coworker Allison and her mom were vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, so we decided to meet up for a delicious meal and fun conversation. It was great catching up, and I’m already looking forward to our next reunion!

SUNDAY

Another day, another reunion. My friend Vijal and her husband Jay were vacationing in South Beach this weekend, so we decided to meet up for lunch. Vijal suggested Yardbird, and I gladly obliged. I’m telling you – this place is a Miami must. Everything is delicious.

My kale salad was unique and surprisingly filling – kale, cheddar, apples, onions, raisins, and cornbread croutons. YUM!

And of course, I made Jay and Vijal order a side of mac n’ cheese!

Yay for friends visiting Miami!

MONDAY

I have no idea what I’m going to do with my day off today. With Vishnu at the library, I foresee a somewhat lazy day ahead of me.

On a serious note, I’d like to thank all of the service men and women (and their families) who put their lives on the line for the sake of protecting our country and it’s people. Thank you for your dedication, your devotion, and your selflessness.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Celebrating All Weekend Long + Open-Faced S’mores

The One Where They Had Fun…

End of the Week Hodge Podge

Our First NFL Experience

Shenanigans

Blogger Meetup

Shopping + Reunions

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