Fall Beach Trip part II

Friday evening we planned to go Louisiana Lagniappe for dinner.  This is where Tim and I went the night he proposed.  We had not been together in years and the food is some of the best around.

Please excuse the hair :) I didn't say there was no humidity



Again, we were able to sit outside overlooking the Harbor.  A benefit to the beach in the Fall is that you can do this and actually enjoy it, not sweat! We were not disappointed:

Stuffed Shrimp- my FAV

And on the way home we even enjoyed a fireworks show.  What a great night!  Sorry for the poor quality, my camera has an aversion to taking pictures at night.

The clouds started rolling in Saturday morning so after our walk, Tim and I decided to do some shopping. 

Happy Birthday to me :)

Gotta have fresh Amberjack!!



By lunch time the sun was shining  and we were able to sit beach side and enjoy a great lunch.  It had been years since either one of us had eaten @ Pompano Joe's.  I must say the food and service  was good, no wait and the view was unbeatable!



    

 Mama and I spent the afternoon on the beach.  There was a mass Minnow suicide attempt so much of our time was spent saving Minnows :) It was so nice you could see to Navarre!

There is just nothing better than relaxing on the beach, enjoying these views and talking for hours with your Mama! The boys stayed inside watching college football.  You can see below where the 2 of them spent their Saturday!



Decked out in our orange!



Saturday night we watched the Auburn versus University of South Carolina game.  And what a game it was !!  Thankfully Auburn came away with a win 35-27!  War Eagle.  Due to all of our seafood consumption, we decided to have a "tailgate" dinner of G-Daddy's boiled peanuts, homemade pepper jelly, smoked tuna dip, crab dip... We may not have had our usual pretty tailgate trays etc but the food  was perfect for game watching!

And the next thing we knew it was time to head back to Birmingham.  We certainly were not ready to leave and cannot wait to go back next Fall!! Thanks again Cece and G-Daddy, we can't thank you enough!

Leaving on a rainy Sunday

Our last stop!





Fall Beach Trip part I

View from the balcony

Fall is my favorite time of the year to visit the beach.  The crowds are gone, the weather is cooler and the days are gorgeous.  My parents rented a place to stay for a couple of weeks and were so generous to ask us to visit.  So last week Tim and I took the Pomchildren to Camp Cano and drove down to spend the weekend with Cece and G-Daddy.  We had such a great time.  Most of our time was spent on the beach and eating wonderful, fresh seafood! 

Thursday we decided to try a place we had not previously been, Dewey Destin's.  Due to the ROWDY bunch inside, we were able to sit outside on the harbor.  It was so nice to relax, catch up and enjoy the views!



Smoked Tuna dip= Delish

 Cece and I took morning walks and reminisced all time we spent growing up on the island.  We saw where our condo once was.  Sad to see that nothing has been built since it was destroyed in a hurricane.    Okaloosa Island really is a beautiful place and we are so fortunate to have been able to spend so much time there!



The old road sign for our condo @ Coquina



One morning on our walk, Mama and I were able to walk onto a bay front lot and enjoy the views of Choctawhatchee Bay. 


 

 I found a couple of images on Google of Coquina Isle when it was still thriving.  I have not seen pictures of it in years and these bring back such fun memories!



Friday the beach was unbelievably pretty.  Unfortunately after 2 hours of being in the sun Tim had the most insane sunburn on his chest! To say he was not observant while spraying his sunscreen is an understatement. I begged him to let me take his picture but was denied! Needless to say that was the end of his sun bathing.

Sunset over Brooks Bridge and no I was not driving while taking this :)

And again....

 

Okay I know yall are thinking  I must be obsessed with zucchini.  But up until the past couple of weeks, I have really not eaten it very often.  I would say on average I eat zucchini a couple of times a year!  But I have founfd these great recipes.  We are leaving for the beach today so last night I was cleaning out the fridge.  I realized I still had zucchini left from the "boats" I made last week.  What a better way to use them than try a new recipe. So here you go:

Zucchini Parmesan

Ingredients

• 3 whole Zucchinis
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour
• ⅔ cups Of Your Favorite Tomato Sauce
• 1 whole Large Ball Of Fresh Mozzarella
• 1 whole Handful Of Basil Leaves, Chopped
• ¾ cups Finely Grated Parmesan
• Olive Oil, For Frying (about 1/4 Inch Up Your Skillet)

Preparation Instructions

Slice the zucchini into about 1/3” discs. Sprinkle slices with a small pinch of coarse salt on each side.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly dredge the zucchini slices in the flour.

Heat 1/4C of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When a pinch of flour sizzles on contact, add the zucchini slices in a single layer, turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about one and a half minutes on each side or until dark golden brown. Drain the zucchini on paper towels and repeat in batches until all of your zucchini is cooked, adding more oil as necessary.

In a 13” x 9” baking dish (or cast iron skillet), arrange as many slices of zucchini as can fit snugly in a single layer. Top each slice with a small spoonful of tomato sauce, a few small pieces of torn mozzarella, a bit of basil and a dusting of parmesan. Continue the layers, evenly distributing all the ingredients, until everything is used up.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melting and bubbling and the house smells divine.

SO, SO good and easy!  I ate it without pasta  but it would be great with pasta! 

SURPRISE!

My sweet husband was away last week entertaining customers @ the beach playing golf and eating delicious seafood (I know it is hard to feel sorry for him).  But we did miss him while he was gone.  He got home early Friday afternoon just in time for our new bed to be delivered.  I was so excited to see the bed  I went home before exercising.  When I got upstairs I found this on the table :

Is that not the cutest chip and dip bowl ever?  I was so excited for a few minutes I for got about the bed!  Tim knows how Halloween crazy I am and bought me this on his trip.  I cannot wait to use it- guess this means we have to have a party ;)

Blogger Tag : 8 Questions

Blogger Tag : 8 Questions

IGriza Tagged me with these questions:

I wasnt sure which set of questions I was supposed to answer so I just picked a few from each!


1. If you won $8 million in the lottery, how would you spend the money?
SO many things I would want to do.  I could prob go through 8mil pretty quickly.  I guess I should say I would put a significant amount in the bank so that we could @ least retire early and travel often.  Pay off our mortgage, pay any debts family members may have, give to animal charities/shelters, maybe a nip or tuck here or there  :) and finally a fabulous vacation of our dreams! 

2. If you had the talent and training for any profession, what would your chosen profession be? I think I have the training and talent for one of the best professions out there (Interior Design)  but due to this economy I am stuck in an office working on technical management.  I pray that one day I will be able to work in design again. 

 3. If you could compete in any reality show, what would it be? Dancing with the Stars for several reasons: I love to dance, everyone on there looses a ton weight and you get paid really well.  Who would turn that down?

4. If you could pick any celebrity to be your BFF, who would it be? OPRAH!  Hello look at Gayle, she's famous and now has a ton of money just because she is Oprah's BFF.  Not that that is how you should choose your friends.  But come on, think of all the the perks of being Oprah's bestie. 

5)How clean are you? Describe your OCD ness or lack thereof.

I am assuming this question is asking in terms of housework :) I think I am pretty clean, nothing like my Mama.  But I do have a list of "Chores"  on my refrigerator that I @ least attempt to complete each week.  I do have a bad habit of starting a clothes pile.  Instead of hanging clothes back up that I haven't worn for very long etc I will just throw them on my vanity bench and wahlah in no time its a mountain that takes an hour to hang up!  But now that I have recognized this "problem" and realized that its much easier to do as you go, the pile does not present itself very often.

6)What is your favorite healthy lunch? Sushi for sure!  Could eat it everyday well probably not that much but several times a week!

7)How often do you workout/exercise?

Obviously not enough J  No really, 3-5times a week generally speaking.  Of course I have a week thrown in every now and then when its twice or once.   With my compressed vertebrae and lack of a few disks exercising has become even more difficult.  I have found that Pilates really helps.  But I am dying to get an elliptical machine since it’s a great cardio workout  with no   little impact to my back.

8)How often do you see your immediate family? pretty often. We may drive each other crazy :)  but we are a pretty close group.  I love to get my nephews and spend time with them. And between football games, birthday parties etc we go to Auburn a good bit.  We have gotten bad about visiting in Andalusia but we visit @ holidays and a couple of times during the year.  Luckily we live in Birmingham so we get visitors when there are fun things to do in the city, shopping etc  we always have a really good time when our families come up to visit!

Auburn vs Clemson

This past weekend Tim and I traveled toto see Auburn play Clemson on the Plains.  I was not able to attend a game last season (first time I can remember saying that) so we were very excited about tailgating with friends and family as well as watching the Tigers play.



Arriving in Auburn!




Tailgating with Lynn

 


Benj and Tim

 

  


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We started tailgating @ my cousin Jill's new spot. Its behind the alumni center under beautiful, old trees. It is a great tailgate especially for those days it is 100 degrees!  We then moved to the RV fields to tailgate with our good friends Ben and Leanne.  Despite the extreme heat, we had a great time!  It is the perfect spot for people watching!

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Pregame Festivities

  
The game was a fight to the end!  But thankfully the Auburn Tigers got a W 27-24!

Toomer's Corner- the day after!

Ready to go back!  Well maybe when the temperatures drop about 20degrees :)  War Eagle!!