Birthday Extravaganza

The weekend had finally arrive!  My Birthday weekend was here and i had nothing planned.  I was up to my neck with assignments that  i had no time to sit down and planned a birthday extravaganza. So Saturday Morning  after all the assignments were submitted,  i told my sister lets go on an adventure Trying new things that we always wanted to try but never got the chance to. While that sounded great we didn’t know where to start, so we just ended up shopping all day lol. When it came to lunch  time, we decided we were going to be adventurous and decided on the Pub. The Pub is a British inspired Restaurant where their bar takes up half the place with all different types of liquors and brews. Even though it was mid day we just had to try out one of their drinks, so i ordered up a “Lucy in the (sky with diamonds)” and fish tacos with chips. While my sister had what seemed to be a raw tuna wrap, if that isn’t  adventurous i don’t know what is .  None the less It was a great kick off to a memorable weekend and couldn’t had planned it any better myself if i could!

 

Let’s go to a Cantina!!

On our mini vacay during Labor Day weekend , my sisters and i decided to go Mexican.  We originally had plans to go to Mexico but scrapped the plans and enjoyed a fun filled staycation.  So in memory of  going to Mexico, we decided on visiting a Mexican Restaurant for the fun of it. So we decided on a restaurant called Cantina Laredo, we’ve had our eyes on this restaurant for a while but never really went out our way to check it out. This wasn’t your ordinary TacoBell or On the Borders Mexican Food this was Authentic Gourmet Mexican Food. They are reasonably priced but some items in my opinion was a bit on the pricey side. At each table they had a bowl  with an avocado and lemon for their top shelf guacamole that the waiters do right at the table. Just out of curiosity i asked the waiter “how many avocados will be used for this $10 guacamole?” he said “this one avocado and lemon would be used to make it”. Knowing that  the night before i seen hass avocados 10 for $10 at Publix we passed on the “top shelf” guacamole and they brought us out complimentary salsa and chips. I know a steal when i see one, and that my friends was not one… I ordered the tacos de pescado aka fish tacos, which came with Mahi Mahi, marinated vegetables, queso fresco and chipotle aioli. .It came with some yellow rice and beans but one thing that i notice from every Mexican restaurant I’ve been to is that their rice are kinda like plate fillers. It fills up half the plate but no one really eats it , the only exception being Chipotle but that’s another story for another day. None the less Cantina Laredo was great, my sisters and i experienced a  little bit of Mexico and i finally got my fish tacos fix.  Life simple pleasures at its best 🙂

 

 

 

Road Trippin’

So Labor day weekend, my family and i decided to head on down to Key West to do some sightseeing and some good old family bonding. I can truly say that God has blessed me with a great family, I’m truly grateful and thankful for all of them.  They know how to put a smile on my face like no one else can, i love them!! 🙂

Since I love them so much, that morning instead of the usual portion i make everyday, i decided to make green smoothies for the whole family.  This particular smoothie was with Kale, Romaine Lettuce, Ginger, Pineapple and Starfruit. It was a great picker up for the 4hr drive ahead of us with no need for coffee. We packed up our hurricane snacks from Tropical Storm Isaac from earlier that week and headed out the door.

We arrived at  Duval Street around mid day and did some sightseeing and took pictures. We worked up an appetite and decided to grab lunch , at  a restaurant called Red Fish Blue Fish.I was really in the mood for fish tacos but they didn’t have it so i went with a Shrimp Po’ Boy. I’ve only had a Po’Boy once in my life so i couldn’t base it on anything i ever had before, but you can never go wrong when it comes to fried shrimp. It was a nice little place and their food was good. But the flying pigeon in the restaurant really through me off, wasn’t sure if it was part of the act or the poor pigeon didn’t realized it was indoors before hitting the ceiling fan. Either way, i felt bad for the couple that was sitting under the ceiling fan, lol…. All in all , Key west was interesting  but Road Tripping with the family is always fun no matter where we going. :).

 

Road Trip Essentials

Bittersweet Conclusion

Over the weekend i went to my sister in law baby shower,where i was the photographer of the night.   This has been the first time that i was at a social gathering  where it was surrounded by food since my transition, and boy was it tough. Even though i was the photographer there was still time for me to sit back and relax with my fam and eat. At first i was worried that i would not find much to eat that were meat free, but they had that covered.  For the first time in my life, i headed to that infamous vegetable tray that no one ever goes to, as well as the fruit and cheese tray. But then the host of the party muttered 3 words that changed the night for me: “Homemade Crab Ragoon”. Yep, these 3 words had me go in overdrive, here comes the sweet Cuban pastries, and fried seasoned dough  …. To say the least, i was full before the main courses  was actually ready, which made me  free to take pics of the event all night long. Once the cake was rolled out  i couldn’t take another bite, my body was still  working on the appetizers. Poor thing hadn’t had this much work to do in months . So i came to the conclusion that night, more fruits and veggies and less fried carb goodness. All in all It was a bittersweet conclusion to a fun filled night!