I thought I would share some highlights from our houston trip with you. I had a 6 hours pilates course so most of the weekend was spent shopping, going to our fave resturants, trying some new places, and relaxing.
Nimblefingers yarn shop
We found a new pizza place in Puerto Vallarta. It's not new, just new to us... and it was delicious! La Piazetta is in old town, near the new pier, by Andeles... just incase you need landmarks.
We had one ham and artichoke pizza and one smoked salmon with arugula pizza. We also shared a bottle of Orlandi between the 4 of us. We have never had Mexican wine before and we were surprisingly pleased. I imagine we will be back in our next trip!
I forgot to say this yesterday but I cannot believe it is Decembet already! This semester has flown by!
On our way back from Illinois we like to stay at Southaven, MS as it is the halfway point in the 12 hour drive. I did some research on Urbanspoon and decided we should try Maria's Cantina. Mexican food in Mississippi, why not?
I saw some great photos on their website and the parking lot was packed when we walked up so we figured we picked a great place. We had 2 for 1 mango margaritas to drink and chips with salsa to start which were both delicious.
For dinner I decided to pick the salad that caught my eye on the website. I had the grilled mahi mahi salad with a side of guac. It was delicious!
I think we have a new favorite place to eat in this town. The service was also excellent which is an added bonus when traveling. Oh, and B liked that they were playing foodball on TVs throughout the resturant! Mexican food and football is the way to his heart.
Have you heard of Seasons 52? This is exactly what we needed for a healthy vacation dinner. Everything on the menu is under 475 calories and there is no butter, frying or bread basket! We decided to go early since we were hungry and we wanted to partake in the happy hour special: a wine flight + a full pour of your favorite and a flatbread... all for $15! Healthy, delicious, and a great price!
For my wine I decided on the red flight and the merlot for my full pour.
We found a hidden gem in St. Petersburg Beach. It's called The Black Palms. It was highly rated on Urbanspoon and we felt like Mediterranean food. We called for a reservations then his the road... on the scenic route, of course! Although it took a while to get to, it was definitely worth the drive. Our service team was excellent. When trying B's food they actually tried to bring me my own spoon... I was too quick but it did become a game by the end of the evening. B had the gazpacho to start. For our entree we shared the paella for 2. It was filled with saffron orzo and as many types of gulf seafood as you could think of: shrimp, mini scallops, large scallops, octopus, clams, mussels, and fish. It was absolutely amazing! We also shared a few desserts around the table for dessert. It was nice to try a few without having to eat an entire dessert! Here a a few photos to entire you to try this restaurant next time you are in the area!
We love going to Houston! It's only 4 hours away, we always discover new places as well as go back all of our faves. We never go to a place we have at home while on vacation and Houston makes it very easy... it is the 3rd largest city in the country!
Some of our faves include:
The Oceanaire Seafood Room... specifically happy hour in the lounge. The food and prices are amazing! This time we enjoyed blackened fish tacos along with shrimp and grits. Yum!
Sprinkles Cupcakes!
The Tasting Room... we love the food and wine selection.
Central Market! We are obsessed with this grocery store! What is not to love about this place. This time we purchased in house roasted lamb and hatch chili turkey for sandwiches, olive bread, paprika salami, and my favorite parchment paper baking cups!
Oh, we also bought new bedding at West Elm. I love the style of this store, it definitely fits my vision for home decor. I would love one of everything.
We are not sure when we will be going to Houston next but I cannot wait to try more new places!
Wow. This was definitely a wow experience. On Urbanspoon, Tiny Boxwood's cafe was rated as one of the top resturants in Houston. Rather than babble about the food, I will just show you. B had the pesto grilled cheese. I had the chicken sandwich and a mint lemonade. We both loved our lunch. B actually said this was the best grilled cheese he has ever had. Success! The restaurant was hard to find but was worth the search! Go check it out if you are ever in Houston!
Happy Monday! We spent the weekend in Houston. Every year I have to complete 6 hours of continuing education to keep my Stott Pilates certification. This year Icompleted the CORE basic certification. The focus was on athletic conditioning and core strength. John Garey who is from LA taught the 7 hour course. We focused on theory, basic principles, exercises, and complete two full workouts. The workouts kicked my butt... and I am still feeling it two days later.
John was so friendly and approachable. Of course I took a photo with him to commemorate completion of the course.
I would love to complete more training with him in the future because of his teaching style and his focus on application of research. Maybe next summer when I am in LA I will have the opportunity.
We also did some other fun things while in Houston. We went to Ikea, West Elm & Central Market. We also went to our favorite resturants and found a new one to add to the list. We stayed at the Omni, a hotel we would highly recommend to others. I hope to show/ tell you more about the details throughout the week.
We are vacationing in Florida for the next 2 weeks. I will not have very much access to Internet the first few days so keep checking back!
Happy Friday! Better late than never, right? We were traveling today. Clearly vacations come before blogging somedays. I love Friday posts as going through my photos reminds me of everything I accomplished in the past week. Conveniently, most of my photos are no longer on my iCloud as I cleaned out everything for vacation... oops!
Here are some of my highlights from the past week:
1. I was studying the anatomy of the heart for my cadaver anatomy final exam. BTW, I got 98% on the last exam! I think I may have done well enough to get my final grade up to an A. Final grades are not posted yet so I do not have a confirmation. I learned so much in the class. Every anatomy class I have taken now makes so much more sense. Things I used to do as an OT now make more sense. The human body is such an amazing thing. I got so much out of this class and am thankful I was given the opportunity to take it.
2. Then we wrote our final exam and were so relieved! These ladies were a great team to have in the lab all summer.
3. Starbucks happened so many times this week, you don't even want to know. But it was delicious every time. I try to always remember my reusable cold cup to decrease my ecological footprint.
4. A J.Crew outfit for traveling. I love this new outfit combo thanks to my recent purchase!
Have a great weekend. We are in Houston having a great time. We have already done so much. I cannot wait to tell you about it next week!
Posted with Blogsy
