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52 New Recipes | Welp, I flew to Florida this week.

(Alternately: Why I Did Not Try A New Recipe This Week)

So, Mr. FG’s birthday is this month.

florida flowers

And since he hates winter with a passion, I thought he’d like a birthday gift in the form of a quick little trip down to Florida. I managed to find him some super cheap tickets to Naples (I used Southwest points to pay for them too!) and got him all set up.

The only thing was, he was a little bit sad that I wasn’t coming along. And he said it would be 200% more fun if I went with him.

(Cue the heart-eyes emoji. It’s an awfully big compliment to hear that from your husband of nearly 20 years. He is the sweetest. And I’m glad he’s not tired of me!)

naples pier

The problem was that I booked this rather last-minute, and it’s a little more difficult for me to get four days off than it is for him to get four days off (he has vacation time at work, but my life/work doesn’t exactly come with vacation time!)

(photo by Mr. FG)

(photo courtesy of Mr. FG)

BUT.

I realized I could join him halfway thru the trip, so I found places for my kids to stay, sneakily booked a set of Southwest tickets on my own Southwest account and tucked a note into his suitcase with directions to open it on Sunday morning (I was flying in Sunday night.)

And off I went!

city lights at night

(Remember what I wrote about how I changed in the last year? There were all sorts of rational, responsible reasons to not go on this spur-of-the-moment trip (I had to find people to take care of/ferry my kids, I had just come down with a cold, it would use up more airline points, I had appointments scheduled, I wouldn’t be able to stay long, etc., etc.), and Kristen 1.0 probably wouldn’t have gone.   But Kristen 2.0 was like, “Hmm. In the grand scheme of things, this is totally gonna be worth it. I’m gonna make it happen!”   And she booked the tickets.)

(another one from Mr. FG)

(another one from Mr. FG)

We spent my first day there (Monday) on Sanibel Island, where we rented bikes ($12 for four hours) and took a 16 mile ride around the island.

biking on Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is covered in bike trails, and they’re a great way to see the island without having to drive.

bikes on Sanibel

 

On Tuesday, we visited downtown Naples and the Naples pier, and then we visited several beaches where we took long walks.

Naples Beach

We didn’t choose this because it was cheap, but it did end up being pretty inexpensive.   We just paid some small parking fees for the various places we stopped and that was that.

 

It was great to wear shorts in February and to see so much green too! It was a lovely break from the brown/gray that we currently have here at home.

shorts in February

(My shorts are not actually long denim shorts. And my legs are not 6 feet long. My phone just makes them look that way!)

And of course, it was fun to have my favorite person all to myself.

Kristen and Mr. FG

We flew back home on Tuesday night, and Joshua picked us up from the airport. It’s so handy to have a kid who drives!

So, it was a brief trip but Mr. FG and I had fun adventures together and he said this trip was his best birthday gift ever (yay!).

naples condos

Anyhoo!

I’d planned to make my new recipe last night, but yesterday morning, I discovered that squirrels had chewed thru some essential wiring in my van, rendering my steering and braking systems useless. In fact, my van had to be towed to the shop.

!!

That meant I couldn’t go grocery shopping for the Arroz con Pollo ingredients, so instead we had a meal I scrounged up from pantry/freezer ingredients.

All of that is a very long way of saying: I didn’t try a new recipe this week!

Maybe if next week goes more smoothly, I’ll double up and do two new recipes.   But I will at least plan on making Arroz con Pollo one night.

(You know, if I don’t fly out of state and if my van doesn’t need to be towed. 😉 )

arroz con pollo

How about you?   Did your new-recipe-trying go better than mine? 😉

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Jen

Friday 10th of February 2017

Wow! So jealous! My birthday was a couple weeks ago and I would have loved a gift like that. I'd give just about anything for a couple days in Florida (away from my current situation of 12 degrees and 6 inches of snow on the ground) with my husband. But I have no one to beg my kids off on so that won't be happening anytime soon.

Dianne

Friday 10th of February 2017

We tried a honey mustard chicken recipe with pineapple juice that was very good.

Way to go on taking the trip!

SAJ

Thursday 9th of February 2017

Wow- great job on the trip, Kristen 2.0! That is so cool! Glad you both were able to go and enjoy it. Aaaah, squirrels. Not even going to start...

HeatherLiz

Thursday 9th of February 2017

Yay for spontaneity!!! And for traveling with your husband, just the two of you. I always hesitate about the costs of traveling, but the memories made are priceless, and it's great to have stories together to share and remind each other of.

A few years ago my husband and I took a plunge and made a big solo trip without kids, with money that would have been much more sensibly spent elsewhere, and went to the wedding of a very old and dear friend in Brittany, France (our friend is American, her wife is French). It was amazing to be a part of that two-day celebration in a little village. We also stopped in England and spend three days with another old, dear American friend who lives there now, and meet her three adorable British children for the first time. I will never regret that trip--for the rekindling and cementing of friendships and the wonderful memories shared with my husband!

Kristen

Friday 10th of February 2017

Exactly. After I thought about it, I decided that I would not regret going, and I don't. :)

Your trip sounds wonderful!

TamaraR

Thursday 9th of February 2017

This week's new recipe was a BLT chicken caesar salad out if the ATK Quick Family cookbook. It was delicious! I cut way back on the amount of bacon used, and subbed in chickpeas for the chicken because I forgot to defrost a breast in time (!), and still it tasted terrific.

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