Beach Time!!

I've been missing for a few days, but with a good reason I promise!

For an extra long weekend, the hubs and I packed up all of our beach belongings and headed to Santa Rosa, FL with three of his college roommates and their wives.  And we had an incredible time.  The beach was beautiful and food was yummy.  I haven't laughed so much in a long time too!

We ate at the Local Catch the first night and the boys made a low country boil the next night that was incredible! We dumped it out on newspaper and quickly ate up the fresh shrimp.

Later that night we went putt-putting! A lot of us had not done it in forever and it was definitely entertaining!

The next morning we went to Another Broken Egg cafe, seriously the best breakfast I've had in a looonnnnggg time! We briefly hit the outlet malls and then camped out on the beach into the evening.

That evening we went to the Great Southern Cafe in Seaside, FL.  We spent some solid time thinking about where all the Truman Show was filmed in the downtown and shopped while we waited for dinner. The waitress recommended a dish called Grits a Ya Ya. It was a featured dish in Southern Living. And I can tell you, there is a reason it was featured... It was SO GOOD!

David and I had a great time catching up with everyone while getting our tan on.  It was a great trip!

homemade hummus

When I had some time off in March, I went to Hollywood Beach in Florida with my mama and grandma.  On our first night we ate at a really good and FUN restaurant, Taverna Opa.

Typically, if you go to a nicer restaurant they bring you complimentary bread before your meal.  Well, at Taverna Opa they bring out a mortar and pestle bowl with marinated chickpeas in it and a side of bread.  At first, we couldn't figure out what to do with it.  Our waitress quickly showed us how to mash up the chickpeas for hummus!  It was the best I had ever had!  I was so in love with it I had to have the recipe.  I was shocked at how easy it was!

Later in the week, my grandma bought me a really nice mortar and pestle so I could make my own (and think of her when I did!)  I have finally gotten around to trying it and it was so easy and YUMMY!

Homemade Hummus

Serving Size: 6

1 can Progresso Chickpeas (19oz)

1/2 cup olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

Pinch of pepper

Marinate the chickpeas in olive oil, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and pepper for 2 to 3 hours.

Drain chickpeas from marinade and put them in your mortar.

Use pestle to mash chickpeas for hummus!

ENJOY!

vacay!

Last week my school went on intercession.

Woohoo a week off!

We have our tennis region tournament during spring break this year, so I knew I had to take advantage of it.  My mama and grandma very generously took me to the beach for the week!  Boy, am I thankful for all the sun and my tan!

Welcome to Hollywood Beach, Florida! So beautiful!

 The first night, we went to Taverna Opa!  We had a very good experience!  It was so entertaining and fun!  Here are grandma and I!  At the beginning of our meal they brought out garbanzo beans that had been marinated in olive oil and mixed with garlic in a mortar bowl.  The waitress showed us how to make our own hummus with the pestle!  It was so neat and yummy!

 Here are three generations standing outside the restaurant!!

It was really windy at night!

 On another evening, we ventured over to Le Tub.  Their burger was rated one of the best in the US by GQ Magazine and Oprah!  So of course we had to go try it!!  

The burger lived up to all burger hopes and dreams.  It was exceptional!

The atmosphere was awesome.  We were sitting waterside enjoying our dinner!

Now that I'm back, I promise to be a better blogger!  I'm looking forward to make my own hummus recipe and trying some other new recipes I will post soon!

Hope you are having a great week!

end of the year!

alright... I MADE IT!!  I made it until the end of the year!  I spent the last day of school getting my classroom organized and ready for next year!  On Pinterest and other blogs, I saw teachers cover parts of their file cabinets with scrapbook paper.  Now, at my school, you take whatever you can get your hands on, not matter how it looks!  So I decided to try this out!  And it worked out well!!  I covered the rusty top and put labels on the front!

I will miss my classroom until next year...

This weekend, David and I traveled to St. Simons for a wedding!  And wow were they lucky Beryl held off!  It was absolutely beautiful on Saturday!  It worked out perfect because it gave me an excuse to go see my good friend Sarah T!

The wedding was beautiful too!  It was outside and the temperature was perfect!  During the wedding, they had horse carriage rides going on and dancing on the lawn.  It was so fun!

Even though tropical storm Beryl wanted to stop us from having a good time, we were able to get plenty of sun!  Just before we left, we decided that even though there were 60 mph winds, we wanted one last walk on the beach.  And sure enough, we were in the background of the Weather Channel coverage of the storm for awhile!  It was pretty cool!

We had a great weekend!! Only 19 days left until the BIG day! :)

not to inspire jealously, but

Spring Break has officially begun, because I am officially at the beach! We have a fantastic view from our room! The water is so clear, the sand feels so good, and the sun is just right!

I'm starting to feel relaxed!! Tonight, we ate at The Reef Grill and then explored the island! Donald Trump, if you are reading this, I know where your house and hotel are now :). We also scouted a lot of places to come back and visit during the day!

We are having tons of fun so far! More later!

High Five for Friday

I MADE IT!!!! SPRING BREAK IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!

I MADE IT!!!! I MADE IT!!!! I MADE IT!!!!

I'm so excited for a break! Stress-free, fun, sand, beach, water--I'm just so EXCITED!!!!

I'm going to West Palm Beach with my parents! Wooohooo
This really is a High Five for Friday!!!

While at the beach, we will be ironing out some wedding details!!! It's getting SOOO close!!! We get married in 64 days!!!

I'm looking forward to trying to make my hair look this pretty...

I'm really excited to finish this series!! I've been waiting until spring break to read the last two! I am so obsessed with the first one, I can't wait to find out how it ends!

I hope you are all having a great Friday! I know I am!!!

Vacay here I come!