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Slice of chocolate chip zucchini bread

Long Weekend Recap

written by Parita 16 Comments

I’m so thankful that Vishnu’s brother and parents came to visit this past weekend.  Otherwise, I would’ve had to spend the majority of the weekend by myself.  We all wished that Vishnu didn’t have to work on both Saturday and Sunday, but it actually ended up being ok because he got to spend time with us in the evenings.  Better than nothing!

A weekend with the family always includes delicious food (most of which went undocumented).

My MIL and I tag teamed lunch every day.  We made chickpea curry, veggie stir-fry, and risotto at home (all on different days of course!). 

I also made another loaf of my chocolate chip zucchini banana bread.  It was a huge hit!  We pretty much ate half of it as soon as it came out of the oven.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread Round 2

We also ate quite a few meals out.  Of course, we had to take everyone to Datz.  Unfortunately, the food wasn’t as good it was the last time we ate here.  We also tried a new-to-us Thai restaurant called 9 Bangkok.  While everything was delicious, my Pad Thai and my MIL’s basil curry was waaaaaay too spicy.  Thankfully, they took both dishes back and brought out mild versions.  Much better!  And finally, we celebrated my FIL’s birthday with a Greek meal (his choice!) at Acropolis Greek Taverna.

A few snaps of my meals…

Kale salad - Datz

Kale salad at Datz

Pad Thai - 9 Bangkok

Pad Thai at 9 Bangkok

Greek salad - Acropolis

Greek salad at Acropolis Greek Taverna

In between all the food we ate, we also managed to fit in a couple of great walks.  On Saturday morning, we walked our usual trail by the water.  It was nice to show Vishnu’s parents our neighborhood!

St. Pete by the water

And on Sunday, we headed to Treasure Island to walk on the beach.  No one really thought we were going to make it to the beach because of all the rain in the forecast, but we were blessed with a beautiful day and made the most of it (1.5 hours of walking!).

Florida sky
The rain didn’t stay away for all that long though.  So that’s when we relaxed at home and watched movies – Bollywood one afternoon and Fed Up the next!

I’ll do a more comprehensive review of Fed Up in another post, but I highly recommend it.  In fact, my FIL is going to tell his patients to watch it.  It’s eye opening on so many levels.  A must watch documentary if you ask me!

Other than all of the above, we really just spent good quality time together – talking, laughing (a lot!), and relaxing.  I miss the fam and am already looking forward to the next time we all get together!

Family

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Written on September 9, 2015 Related:Family, Food, Restaurant, Weekend

Total Body Toner workout graphic from Tone It Up

Three Things Thursday (23)

written by Parita 10 Comments

Funny story of the day – I was scheduling a work meeting yesterday afternoon and totally scheduled it for Wednesday morning not realizing it WAS Wednesday.  I then stared at my Outlook calendar for a few seconds because I couldn’t believe the work week was half way over.  Say what?!

Anyways, let’s just get to my three random things for the week before I share more embarrassing stories!

3 Things Thursday Badge

(1) Vishnu’s parents and brother are visiting this weekend

Niel gets in tonight, and my in-laws get in tomorrow evening.  Unfortunately, Vishnu’s working 7a-7p both Saturday and Sunday.  We’ll make the most of their time here though, even when Vishnu’s at work!  Can’t wait to see them.

(2) This total body workout from Tone It Up kicked my butt.

Total-Body-Toner-Tone-It-Up

I repeated this sequence three times through, and it felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.  In a good way of course!

(3) 2015 Summer reading list update

I’m still reading The Poisonwood Bible, a book that wasn’t even on my original list.  And it’s taking me forever, I know.  The book is over 550 pages (dense pages I should say), and it didn’t really grab my attention until about 100 pages in.  I’m hoping it’ll be more of a page turner now that the story is going somewhere.

To be completely honest, I almost gave up on this book.  After confessing this to Vishnu (who insisted for almost 10 years that I read it in the first place), he knowingly nodded.  When I asked him how long it would take for something to happen, he said to wait until after page 300.  Then it gets really good he said.  Well, I’m at 110 and it’s getting better so here goes nothing.

And as far as that Summer reading list goes, it’s looking more like a Fall reading list now.

Well, that’s all I have today.  I’ll be back tomorrow with a VERY delicious recipe (involving chocolate!).

If you’re a blogger, write a post and link back to one or all of the hostesses: Raj from Pink Chai Living, Nisha from Love Laugh Mirch, or Salma from The Write Balance. Then share a link to your post (not your blog’s home page).

Written on September 3, 2015 Related:Three Things Thursday

Weekend with the In-Laws

written by Parita 5 Comments

I count my blessings for a lot of things.  Having wonderful in-laws is definitely one of them.  Vishnu’s parents are awesome and a lot of fun.  I honestly don’t feel like their daughter-in-law…just their daughter.  It’s nice!

We were super excited to have them come stay with us this weekend.  The last time we saw them was early July. 

in laws visit 001

After a 3 hour commute home from work on Thursday (still not ready to talk about it), I headed to the airport to pick up my in-laws.  Upon seeing them, I instantly felt better!  We stayed up for an hour or so after getting home just talking and catching up. 

I worked from home on Friday and was able to get off a bit early, so we decided to go to the outlet mall before dinner.  After doing a little shopping, we headed to Lime Fresh for some good eats.  Vishnu’s parents loved Lime just as much as my parents did when they came to visit.  Even though we were all stuffed, I somehow convinced my father-in-law to try fro-yo (this was his first time!).  He loved it!  Although I think the huge selection of toppings overwhelmed him. Smile

iphone happenings 064

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at home on Saturday and spent a large portion of the morning talking about current events.  After showering and getting ready, we headed out to South Beach.  Vishnu’s parents had never been so we thought we would give them a small glimpse!  In fact, Vishnu’s dad first heard of it in medical school when a professor told him all about the beaches and the “openness…” if you know what I mean!  Luckily, we didn’t see anyone being too open.  Haha!

We decided to spend our time on Lincoln Road, an outdoor mall with lots of shops and restaurants.  After walking around a bit, we were hungry…so Pizza Rustica it was!

in laws visit 002in laws visit 003in laws visit 004

Everyone got their own individual “slice.”  I went with the goat cheese and eggplant pizza (pictured above) – it was deeeeeelicious!

We eventually made our way to the beach…

in laws visit (iphone) 017in laws visit 005

What a pretty day it was!

After looking through wedding pictures (I can’t get enough!) later that night, we headed out again for some Thai food. 

Side note:  I am definitely done with eating out for a little bit.  After multiple work lunches and dinners last week and all of our meals out this weekend, my body needs a break!

Anyway, it was SO nice to have Vishnu’s parents come visit!!  I was sad to see them leave and miss them a lot – but am looking forward to seeing them again next month for Thanksgiving!

What’s something that’s always on your list of blessings?

Written on October 8, 2012 Related:Family, Food, Marriage, Restaurant, Shopping

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