First Blogger Meetup!

Today was the first time I met someone from the internet in real life.

Yes, Mom, I’m alive!

I met with another Caroline, who lives here in St Pete and has the cutest southern accent I’ve ever heard! I’ve been reading her blog for a little while now, and I’m so glad I got to meet her today!

She suggested a day of bike riding, vintage shopping and lunch at a cute cafe downtown.. it was nothing short of perfect.

Luckily we live pretty close to each other (talk about small world!) and met up this morning in the neighborhood before biking downtown. The ride flew by because we talked the whole way down there – it was a blast!

We hit up some great thrift stores on Central Ave, I had no idea what a great vintage scene there is in St Pete. Caroline has some great pictures of the stores we stopped at on her blog, we saw some interesting stuff. I do have to admit that I’m not the best shopping influence, I may or may not have convinced Caroline to get a gorgeous sundress  😉 But! We both had some great finds, I got two dresses that I’m so excited about! Theory + Ella Moss at 75% off retail, talk about a happy girl!

After shopping, we hit up a great downtown cafe – Central Cafe & Organics.

 

Not only do we have the same name, we have the same taste in food! The two Carolines got two hummus wraps! It was a good thing we both got the hummus wraps because after eating this, I had killer garlic breath. I sure hope it’s true that two garlics cancel each other out!

Caroline is seriously so sweet – she had a Groupon for Central Cafe and treated me to lunch! Thanks Caroline, the next one is on me 🙂

After our delicious lunch, we rode our bikes for a little bit longer before parting ways, chatting about all sorts of stuff. It was a great day filled with all of my favorite things – exercise in the sunshine, shopping, good food and a new friend!

A Run with a View

Today I got fit for a new pair of running shoes.

I was totally and 100% that girl in the running store. I showed up in black wedges and a belted floral sundress.. not exactly athletic attire. I had a laundry list of requirements for my new kicks – cute, preferably black, very light etc. Luckily the sales guy was really patient and had a good sense of humor. I walked out of the store excited to run! I couldn’t wait to get home and test them out, but first I had to wait a few hours for it to cool down a bit outside. By cool down, I mean reach 90* in the shade. Views like this make it so worth it though.

Verdict? After a 4 mile test drive, I love them! They are cute, black, light and amazing to run in.

How I spend my days

Lounging in the sun, soaking up rays poolside at the Vinoy.

Sweet Home St Pete

I’m finally back home in St Pete for a much needed vacation. Not quite the wild spring break most college girls plan, but just what I needed. I’ve spent the past few days visiting my favorite restaurants, working out at the Vinoy, spending time with my parents & grandparents, and of course, doing my fair share of shopping at International Plaza.

Saturday I woke up with a mission. I was going to a spin class at the Vinoy. Instead, I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and ride my bike instead. I mean, why spend an hour in a hot room filled with sweaty people huffing away going nowhere when you can enjoy a solo ride by the water instead? Anyway, I rode out to St Pete’s Saturday Morning Market which is basically a huge famer’s market with tons of vendors selling everything from crafts to clothes to organic veggies. I love it. I ran into quite a few people that I haven’t seen in awhile which sucked because I didn’t have on any makeup and was wearing workout clothes! I hate when that happens.

I spent the rest of the day getting mani pedi with Libby – we enjoyed some much needed sister time. I love the little n00b! She’s 14 and growing up sooooooo fast. It makes me feel OLD.

Sunday was spent at the beach with my friend  Tiffany. Small world moment – Tiffany is my roommate at OSU. Her older sister Courtney, & fiancé, Jake, are renting my older sister’s condo here in Tampa. My sister’s condo was empty since she moved to Manhattan and a few weeks aago Jake landed a job down here, so I told them about each other and now my sister’s condo is Tiffany’s sister’s condo! Anyway, Tif is spending a few days in Tampa with her sister before heading to Ft Lauderdale to visit some of her family, so we squeezed in some sun time between life guard shifts ….

Andddd today I got up, hit the gym for an extra sweaty workout, then I laid out by the pool alllllll afternoon. It was glorious. I got some reading done, but mostly I napped. In the evening, I drove up to Tampa and met my mom for a latte and some shoe shopping  after she got off work. I really love my mom – she’s the BEST to shop with (not just because she pays). I also spent some more time with my grandparents..my nana may be blinder than a bat, but the woman can still cook.

The rest of my plans for the week include……………….. NOTHING!

And it feels G.R.E.A.T!

7 things

1. I’ve been to three colleges. I started my freshman year at University of Dayton, transferred after a terrible semester full of homesickness to University of Tampa, then transferred to Ohio State to be with a boy.

2. That boy? Yep, it lasted! Rob and I have been together since the beginning of high school. We have made it through thick and thin, multiple states, bouts of long distance, and honestly, we are better than we ever have been. I can truly say he is the person I’m meant to be with.

3a. I have a severe aversion to chores. I know it’s bratty, but I hate doing dishes and laundry. I throw everything I can into the dishwasher, including pots & pans. As for laundry? Well, Rob is amazing and used to do it for me when I would go hang out at his apartment, but now I save us both time and have it sent out. It’s so worth it. 

3b. I love to vacuum though!!!

4. My nails are always painted. If they are chipped, you can bet something BIG is stressing me out. I’d rather buy a nice bottle of polish and paint my own nails than settle for a sub par manicure at a salon that chips in a few days. Right now I’m rocking OPI’s “A Oui Bit of Red” after this post I’m repainting with my favorite pink “La Paz-itively Hot”

5. I’m slowly becoming addicted to the gym again. I’m no athlete, but there’s nothing like sweating out the days stress and pumping some iron! I go through cycles of exercise. Fall quarter I went to the gym maybe 6 times? Since Christmas break I’ve made it a regular part of my routine. I feel great!

6. I love buying people little presents. If I’m out and I see something that makes me think of you, chances are good I’ll pick it up and surprise you with it. Unless it’s super pricey, then you have to settle for a cell phone pic and a text telling you where to buy it.

7. I absolutely HATE  driving and have terrible luck with cars, especially tires! I’ve had it all, from tickets to tire blow outs to a totaled red convertible (what were my parents thinking buying me a red BMW convertible at 16??? They really love me). Once, when I was getting my tires changed, the mechanic didn’t tighten the lug nuts tight enough and I pulled out of the lot onto a busy 6 lane highway and my car rattled so bad I thought it would hit the ground. Luckily, the guy came right out onto the road and fixed it. I’ve been scared to get new tires ever since. (I’m long overdue)

Gasparilla 2011

This past weekend was the first (of hopefully many) reunion of my best girlfriends that I studied abroad with. Unfortunately, Vic couldn’t make it, but Caitlin, Mollie and I had a total blast.

After we all got into Tampa early Friday afternoon, we headed down to my parents house in St Pete. We walked around downtown, grabbed some delicious cupcakes and then hit up my favorite boutique for some shopping. It was great to catch up, but we all felt like it was so surreal to actually be seeing each other again!

We headed back to my house where we ate dinner, then later that night we hit up my favorite local bar, Old Northeast Tavern, for a few rounds of drinks. We headed home relatively early because we knew we had a big day coming up!

Saturday morning came a little too quickly (killer headache – ugh) but we all put on the big girl panties, got ready, made breakfast and headed back up to Tampa for the parade. After battling traffic and street closures for about an hour, we finally got to my sister’s condo. Since she moved to NY, her condo is empty and so is her parking spot, which is conveniently located a short walk from the parade. I should have known that someone would try to jack the spot she pays good money for! We parked the car in the lot, cracked open some beers and called a tow truck. After waiting ANOTHER hour, the tow truck finally arrives and much to our dismay, can’t tow the car out of our spot! Something about the truck lifting the car and being ruined on the covered parking structure.. not gonna lie I’m not totally sure because I was pretty buzzed by the time the truck arrived.

 

So we find a parking spot that we had to pay a pretty penny for and then head over to my friend Kim’s apartment to have a few drinks before the parade starts. We were only there for a little while because we got there so late, but it was so good to see everyone, as always!

We headed down to the parade, which was so different from years prior. People were sooo rude and getting pretty mean over the beads being thrown out by the parade floats. It didn’t really matter though… we were drunk so it was going to be fun no matter what! After the parade, we were sobering up and getting pretty hungry. We hit up one of my favorite South Tampa joints – Daily Eats! Yummy burgers were enjoyed (in about 2.5 seconds) by all!

The next day was sadly our full day in sunny Florida. We didn’t waste a second! First we had brunch with my family at Dome Cafe – again one of my favorites! After that, the girls and I headed for the beach which was .. PERFECT!

The beach was followed by a trip to the Pier (best views in St Pete!), then gelato, and some pool action at the Vinoy. After all of that, it was time to say bye to Caitlin… she had a late afternoon flight back to school. Mollie and I spent the rest of the day shopping at International Plaza, then went back to my parent’s house to have some of my mom’s home cooking. We spent the rest of the night relaxing at the Vinoy.

It was an amazing weekend! It was so awesome to see these girls again. We made fast friends on semester at sea, and honestly, it felt like not a day had passed since we saw each other last, even though it was months ago! Our next reunion is going to be in Boston once it warms up! I can’t wait!!

A Christmas prank

So, I mentioned a few days ago that my family loves pulling pranks. My older sister Christina was the target today. She has been asking for a Louis Vuitton bag for a few months, and my parents finally decided to indulge her. Mary and I were joking around the other day, and decided to wrap a fake bag borrowed from a friend before giving her the real one. It worked like a charm.

She opened it up and didn’t instantly realize that it was fake. She was like “This isn’t the style I wanted, but I still love it!” Meanwhile, I was holding back peals of laughter. Once she opened it up and saw the old candy wrappers, a lip gloss and loose change left by the bag’s real owner, she knew what was up. We gave her the real bag after that and I’m happy to report it was exactly what she wanted.

Now, for some scenes from the morning …

   

Dad & his girls

The extended family getting ready to feast!

Sisters <3

Even though we have (more than) our fair share of spats, at the end of the day, I’m so glad to be back at home with my parents and all 3 of my sisters.

 

Merry Christmas!

December?

Ahhh I love Florida! Laid out all afternoon with Mary, then went on a bike ride and got some good color. This is the LIFE.

Arabic groceries

So my grandparents arrived in Florida a few days ago, and with them comes tons of Arabic groceries brought from Dearborn, Michigan. Today I was eating some of the bread with homemade hummus (thanks Nana!) and I noticed how weird the package was. The Arabic intermingled with the English – fine, no problem. It was the fact that it was called “healthy diet bread” that threw me off. Maybe it’s the equivalent of low carb or something?

 

Curious to see what the ingredients were, I turned over the package and got a good laugh.

I’ll admit I didn’t know what apostasy was – but according to Wikipedia it is the formal disaffiliation of a religion…. definetly not a food, but okie?

Next up was “flower,” typo not a huge deal.

Improvements though? What on Earth could the “improvements” be?!