Gators, Girls, More Gators, and Greeks.....

I haven't posted in almost a week.... It is hard to believe! We haven't been super busy but we both enjoyed our weekend last weekend. On Friday, Ryan and two other men went Gator Hunting. This does not sound fun to me at all, however for men in Florida it is a big deal! While the men went Gator Hunting the women had a Friday Girl's Night Out. We went to this great downtown restaurant/bar called Fly Bar. It had a great vibe, and some yummy food and drinks, so we definitely will be going back.  Although the men did not catch anything they had a great time.  Saturday was just a restful day. We were both pretty tired from our Friday night fun.  We did go out Saturday night with some friends to watch the Florida/Kentucky game. I love my pack, but I will say it was different watching Florida play... I think it is all of the winning! Haha.... Sunday we went to the Greek Church, and we met some nice people there. I enjoyed being in church with Ryan.  So, a fun weekend all around, and now we have only a few days until we head to NC for the wedding of our friends Morgan and Andrew this weekend. Should be a fun weekend filled with lots of friends and family!!  I am sad we have to leave Morgan Dog in Tampa, but I know he is in good hands with our friends Merri-Ellen and Harvey! He will have a fenced in yard to run around in all weekend, so he might even be sad to come home!

Datz Junior League Cocktail Event

Ryan and I attended a Junior League event last night at Datz, one of South Tampa's popular dining spots. The event was held to advertise the new Junior League Gasparilla Cookbook, and we were able to sample recipes from the cookbook as part of the event. We really enjoyed ourselves and it was great to reconnect with some couples that we had met in August. I am so glad to now have connected with more women in Tampa. I am slowly feeling more and more at home here. Ryan of course hit it off with all of the husbands, and made some new friends too. I am getting really excited about all of the upcoming Junior League events. YAY for a fun Tuesday night. Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

P.S. For those of you in Tampa or for those who plan to visit us, here is the link to Datz!
http://www.datzdeli.com/

Water Weekend

We had a great time this weekend. Ryan did some diving in Venice, FL on Saturday with his co-workers and their significant others. The Captain and I made fast friends, because I opted to bask in the sun instead. I enjoyed watching though, and I especially enjoyed seeing Ryan having fun!! We were tired when we got back home Saturday evening so we ordered Hungry Howeys and watched football. We were so glad that our WOLFPACK won too!! We love our boys! Sunday Ryan woke up at 6 AM (obviously I was still asleep) and went fishing. He caught a large red drum. He was so happy to call and report his catch to me, and I was glad to have dinner for last night! We went to the Dog Beach yesterday afternoon at Picnic Island and got some good use out of our umbrella and chairs. Morgan Dog enjoyed his time in the water and he met a few friends!! We enjoyed winding down with some red drum, shrimp, and potatoes and watching the Emmy's last night. All in all a good weekend, and we have a fun week ahead. Stay tuned for more updates!

Ryan's Birthday

Ryan had a great birthday yesterday! Although he had to work, I made sure to spoil him as much as possible. We went to lunch at Kona Grill, which is of course one of our favorite places. After our long lunch break Ryan went back to work and I proceeded to begin making the birthday feast for the birthday boy. I used the "You're Invited Back" Raleigh Junior League Cookbook (shoutout!) for everything I made, except for dessert. I am loving this cookbook. What a great Christmas present from Mom last year. So, I made Mucho Margarita's as our beverage, Asian Pork Loins, Orzo with tomato and feta, and Southern Green Beans.  I don't EVER brag about my skills in the kitchen since I don't see myself as having perfected those skills just yet, but it was DELICIOUS!! To top it off I made Key Lime Pie, which is one of Ryan's favorite pies and what he asked for this time.  Overall the birthday boy was pleased, and we enjoyed eating our fabulous dinner, watching our wedding video, and just being together.  It was a low key birthday, but my husband is a low key type of guy, so for him it was great!  I am so glad I could have the time to do all of this cooking. I am really starting to get the hang of cooking good food, so YAY Megan Rindone!! We will be going to Venice, FL this weekend where Ryan will be diving and I will be sun-bathing to continue the celebrating.  Stay tuned for info about our fun weekend!!

Weekend Re-Cap

I had such a wonderful time in Wilmington this weekend celebrating Morgan. We enjoyed lots of good seafood, a cute condo on the beach, and sun bathing in the sand. Everyone had such a good time, and of course I loved being in one of my favorite places,  Wrightsville Beach. It was also great to see the girls and catch up. I had a little trouble with my flight back, but hey what's a 5 hour delay..... I finally arrived home in the early AM, and my husband was glad to have me back home in Tampa. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone again in 3 weeks for Morgan's Wedding! Ryan spent his weekend fishing, fishing, and doing more fishing. He enjoyed his time on the water and he even caught a few!! We are excited to celebrate his birthday in a few days! :)

First Official Junior League of Tampa Meeting

I love the Junior League of Tampa, and I am so excited to get more involved. The meeting last night was great. I sat with my friend that I already knew and I met another girl who transferred in from Winston-Salem, so I was glad to meet a fellow NC girl. The ladies all seemed really nice. After the meeting there was a social at Mise En Place, which was a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to all of the activities and events coming up and meeting even more people. :)

Labor Day at home

This weekend was relaxing. Friday night we went to one of our favorite little Italian restaurants, Bellas, for dinner and then to see the movie "Crazy Stupid Love".  It was a great movie, even Ryan liked it. I would recommend it completely for a date night. Saturday we took Morgan to the Davis Island Dog Beach. He was not feeling super social so he stayed close to Mom and Dad most of the time. We were not able to watch the NC State game since it was only online at ESPN3, so we went to MacDinton's Pub and watched Football while Ryan received updates on his phone for our game.  We really did have a great time though. I love trying new places, and this was my first time at MacDintons. Of course, a fun night would not have been complete without a stop at Krispy Kreme for a "Hot Now" donut? Yum Yum!! Sunday we went to church, then went to visit The Leiss Clan and spent the afternoon and evening with them at their campground vacation spot. We had a great time, as always! Monday, Ryan and I went back to Davis Island to the people beach and just spent some time together. It was nice and quiet and relaxing. We found a great place to beach in the future. After having hot dogs and Greek coleslaw (yum), we met some of Ryan's friends out for a drink.  The weekend was jam packed with things to do, but we had a great time together!!

WOLFPACK Football and a relaixng long weekend!

I am so ready for NC State Football season! Even though Ryan and I are only going to be able to go to three games this year, I will be watching every one and cheering on my PACK!! Ryan has worn a different NC State polo to work everyday this week. His boss, who got his PhD at UNC is not a fan of this, but my proud husband is a devoted Wolfpack fan for sure.  I am sad that Russell Wilson isn't on our team this year, but I am really hoping it'll be a great season for us because we are the most devoted fans and we deserve it.  Ryan and I are staying home this weekend and relaxing at the beach, doing a date night, visiting FL family, and of course watching LOTS of football. GO PACK! It'll be nice to be home, but I am so excited to be returning to NC in 6 days to see my parents and attend Morgan's Bachelorette Weekend in Wilmington. It'll be great to be back. I will have more updates after our relaxing weekend!

In conclusion, GO PACK!!