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Weekend Recap – When Friends Visit

written by Parita 11 Comments

I was looking forward to this past weekend since May!  That’s when my friend Jenny asked if we were going to be around because she was going to be in town for a conference and her husband Jimi was going to drive down for the weekend.

I’ve known Jenny since my freshman year at UGA.  We quickly bonded during late night study sessions and continued to stay close over the years.  Vishnu and Jimi actually met during Vishnu’s freshman year as well…way before I knew Vishnu and Jenny knew Jimi.  Craziness!

J&J visit

It’s been a long time since the four of us have really hung out and spent time together.  Of course, we’ve seen J&J at various weddings over the past couple of years, but those don’t count as quality time!  I’m so glad it worked out for them to stay with us this weekend.

Jenny and Jimi got to our place late Friday night.  Unfortunately, Vishnu was sleeping because he had work in the morning (the only crappy part of the weekend!).

On Saturday morning, we got up and lounged around for a few hours chatting about…pretty much everything.  J&J love deep conversations as much as I do!  Seriously though, we talked about everything from our childhoods to our take on healthcare.  SO MUCH FUN!

Eventually, we got ready and made our way to the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Pete.

Morning Market - St. Pete

Horrible picture but you get the idea!

Jenny, Jimi, and I scoped out the different stalls and then got our eat on…literally!  I tried a cheese stuffed arepa, a pineapple + strawberry smoothie, and a falafel wrap.  Aside from the amazing food stalls, there was lots of fresh, organic produce as well. Can’t wait to make the Morning Market a regular thing!

Falafel

After stuffing our faces, we continued on with our walking tour of St. Pete and eventually ended up at Kilwin’s for some ice cream!  There’s always room for ice cream.  I decided to go with a scoop of the chocolate peanut butter…my fav!

Kilwins Ice Cream

Since we couldn’t fathom anything other than sitting on the couch for the next few hours, we headed home after our ice cream break.

Quite a few hours later, after Vishnu got home from work, we headed to Taco Bus for dinner.  Jenny and I decided to share a plate of nachos because neither of us was that hungry.  Best decision ever (I was kind of sick of food by this time).  We ended the night with funny YouTube videos and random conversation!

The next morning unfolded a little slowly.  We got up and talked for a bit before showering and getting ready.  We then made our way to Banyan Cafe for brunch (the same place Vishnu and I went for his birthday brunch).  I decided to go with a breakfast sandwich this time (eggs, cheddar, spinach, and Cuban bread) and was happy with my choice!

And then came the sad part…saying bye to J&J!  Even though I didn’t want them to leave, I was so glad we had the chance to spend good quality time together.  Jenny and Jimi are so much fun to be around.  I honestly haven’t laughed this much in a long time! Can’t wait to do it again soon (I hope)!

Until next time…

J&J visit 2

Have a great Monday and thanks for reading!!

Written on October 12, 2015 Related:Food, Friends, Weekend

Plate of vegetarian nachos at Taco Bus in St. Petersburg, FL

Weekend Recap–Just the Two of Us

written by Parita 11 Comments

Just the two of us.  The perfect way to describe our weekend.  Vishnu was home by 1:30 pm on Friday and didn’t have to work on Saturday or Sunday.  Instead of making specific plans to fill our time, we decided to wing it and relax.  No better way to spend the weekend, especially given that Vishnu’s going back to a six days a week/12 hours a day schedule.

Here’s how we filled our days…

Taco Bus

Vishnu was craving Mexican food on Friday and asked if I wanted to try Taco Bus.  I just so happened to have a Taco Bus coupon (one free entrée), so I was on board!

The coolest thing about this place is that the kitchen is literally located inside a renovated school bus.  So you order at the front window (much like a food truck) and take a seat on the outdoor patio where you food is brought out to you.  Thankfully, it didn’t rain on Friday, so we were able to enjoy our meal in the beautiful Florida sunshine (for once!).

I ordered the nachos – queso, veggies, and tofu (as my chosen protein).  The portion size looked small at first, but I was sufficiently stuffed by the end of our meal.  I’d definitely order this again!

Taco Bus 1

Vishnu ordered two tacos – fish and chicken – and was happy with his decision.  Everything was fresh and nicely seasoned.

Taco Bus 2

We hear that the original Taco Bus in Tampa is amazing, so we’ll have to check that out at some point.

College Football

Both the UGA and Georgia Tech games were on at the same time, so we switched back and forth between the two for a while.  House divided!

House hunting

We spent most of our Saturday morning looking at homes in Chicago.  Since we’ll be there for at least four years, we’re thinking about buying versus renting.  It’s all super exciting to think about but a little nerve racking at the same time.  Eep!

Reading

I FINALLY finished The Poisonwood Bible!  I’ll share more soon.

About Me page

I rewrote my About Me page.  It needed a bit of an update and an overall refresh.  Check it out!

Homemade treats

We were both craving something chocolaty on Saturday night, so I made a batch of Lindsay’s Freezer Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.  You guys, you HAVE TO make these at some point.  I used crunch PB and chia seeds but feel free to add whatever mix ins you like.

Freezer Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I also made these Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins.  I was looking for a healthy go to snack, and these muffins did the trick.  Fair warning, these are on the extreme end of the healthy spectrum, but still taste delicious.

Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Target

I had two things on my Target list.  I ended up coming home with four.  Not bad, considering that I can easily spend $100+ at Target.  And get this, I had $11 worth of coupons, so I only ended up spending $25.

I found this shirt in the clearance rack.  $6!!!  Plaid shirt + jeans + boots = my (eventual) Fall outfit.

Target plaid shirt clearance

Barre3 Online

After reading about Barre3 Online workouts on Kacy’s blog, I decided to take advantage of the free 15 day trial and see what the hype is all about.  I did a 30 minute workout on Sunday, and at one point, my entire body was shaking.  I’ll share more once I’ve tried a few more classes.  But so far, this whole Barre thing seems pretty legit!

Naan pizzas

With a lot of help from my friend Trader Joe’s, I made delicious naan pizzas for dinner last night – pesto, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and chicken (for Vishnu).   Yum!

NFL games

Football season is officially upon us, people!  There was some serious game watching happening at the MIS house yesterday.  The serious part only applies to Vishnu.  I was in and out during most of the games.  I will, however, be watching tonight’s Falcons game because Matt Ryan is my QB this week, and his performance will determine whether I win or lose!  Wish me luck!

Well, these are just a few snippets from our weekend.  I hope you had a great one as well!

Happy Monday and thanks for reading. Smile

What did you fill your weekend with?

Written on September 14, 2015 Related:Life, Weekend

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