What I Spent, What We Ate | I don't really know!
You may remember that last year, for Mr. FG's birthday, I gave him a trip to Florida rather than birthday presents.
And he liked it so much (he hates winter!), I did that again this year.
(with free flights, thanks to our Southwest card.)
So, for most of this week, he and I were in warm and sunny Florida, in the Naples area.
Sonia and Zoe stayed with a friend, and since Joshua and Lisey can both drive themselves wherever they need to go, they stayed here at home.
Mr. FG and I ate out all week, since we were staying at an Airbnb with no kitchen access, and Joshua and Lisey fended for themselves, which is why I'm not entirely sure what was eaten at my house this week!
Joshua likes to cook fancy Asian dishes, but Lisey isn't so much into cooking.
So, I bought her some convenience foods from the frozen section at Aldi, and she also made some easy stuff like quinoa fried rice with an egg.
We saw lots of sunsets, walked on the beach, slept in, went to a spring training baseball game, went to a waterpark, and took a 25 mile bike ride on Sanibel Island.
It was really lovely to have some days with no responsibilities other than ourselves, and lots of time to talk and connect. So, I'm really glad we went!
We came back to cold, rainy, windy weather, which is kind of a bummer after sunny days in the 80s.
And I'm really sad to put my shorts and flip-flops away.
But.
Daylight Saving Time is coming up soon (a week from Sunday!).
The weather does usually start to warm up a bit in March.
And flip-flops and short sleeve shirts start to make an appearance around here in April.
So, better weather days are coming.
Not gonna lie, though...I do wish I was still in Florida! And I could definitely do with about a month of no responsibilities. 😉
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Congratulations on a winning BD present! So nice that you could share in it, as well! It may have been the second annual... 😉
Even better is that your children did not have any wild parties while you were away! Yeah!
Definitely a win-win time for everyone!
Haha, yes! Lisey was still recuperating from being sick, and Joshua was busy with work and school, so it was pretty quiet here. And they're good kids too...not the type to throw a raise the roof party.
And yes, so nice I could go too! I'd have been willing to stay home with the kids if Mr. FG wanted to go by himself, but he wanted me to come along. <3
Nice trip! We are going to Florida in May and I can't wait. We will be in Panama Coty Beach. It was nice to see your preview of what we have yet to come. There are a few good things about kids getting a little older and not requiring as much help. Seems like the empty nest might be not so bad after all.
Ugh, Panama City! I saw the mistake right as I pushed the post button, lol.
That looks so lovely. Ten inches of snow coming our way this weekend. Boo.
So I decided I should really stop hijacking your comments section with excessively wordy comments about my food, and just do my own post about it. Because I do have my own blog. Not sure why it took me so long to think of this . . .
Anyway.
Monday: Leftover pot roast, mashed potatoes, peas, and some chili-ish soup made from more of the leftover pot roast, black beans, and butternut squash
Tuesday: Italian sausage, roasted butternut squash/bell pepper/onions, pasta with pesto, more peas
Wednesday: Hamburgers, tater tots, fried mushrooms and onions, sauteed cabbage with cheese, baked apples
Thursday: So my husband bought a FOURTEEN-POUND whole boneless ribeye. That's what happens when he goes to the grocery store. 🙂 In his defense, it was six dollars a pound, which is incredibly cheap for ribeye. So I cut some steaks off of that and he grilled them (in 35-degree weather), and we also had braised leeks with heavy cream, rice, and green salad
Tonight: Eggs, maybe scrambled, maybe omelet. Probably fried potatoes (this time I WILL try your microwave pre-cooking method), and steamed carrots and broccoli
Hijack all you want! I always like reading about what you've been making.
Definitely wishing I was in your place. I'm here with no access to time off (a project dictated this) and a rain and snow slush mess today. Bleh!!
BTW, nice Schoolhouse Rock shirt. I'm partial to No More Kings myself.
I was also going to say I love the Schoolhouse Rock shirt!!
Haha, I'll pass all of your compliments onto Mr. FG. We got that shirt from Target a few years ago.
LOVE Mr. FG's School House Rock t-shirt! Old school - YAY!
I'm heading to Florida with That Man next week. He has two drag races to compete in on back-to-back weekends, so we figured we'd vacation in between! SO looking forward to warm weather.
Ooh, wonderful! I hope you enjoy the sunshine.
Ruth, Gatornationals? Have fun!
What a great trip! We had a super frugal month of groceries eating outback of our pantry and freezer. We spent under $100 for the month for the two of us!
This week we ate loaded potato soup, homemade pad Thai, and salad mostly!
Wow. That's an amazing spending amount!
Aww this is really sweet! I'm so glad you two had a great getaway. Our son is only 3, and we're having another one in 6 months, so it'll be a while before we can do that.
Having older kids who can take care of themselves sounds wonderful!
I missed the news that you're pregnant. Congrats!!!
It IS pretty great to have kids who are fairly self-sufficient. It'll happen for you one day too, sooner than you imagine. 🙂
My sisters and I were in Naples the middle of February and just loved it there. We all live in different parts of the country and decided to get together at least once a year. We have a cousin in Naples so we decided our first trip would be to visit him since none of us have ever been to Florida. Naples was a lovely town, the beaches are pristine and we spent every day there wading in the water and looking for shells. It was a great week with wonderful company. Maybe next time we’ll bring the husbands.
That sounds just fabulous!
Lol....been to Naples, Italy and Italy in general many times and love it, but guessing yours is Naples in the U.S.
Haha, yes, this was Naples Florida!
Oh man...sunshine, warmth, warm breezes blowing your hair back while walking on the beach....sigh...sounds heavenly.
Such a awesome birthday gift!
I'm green...well, maybe blue...its ccoolldd. 16 degrees last night and like Kirsten going country more snow and rain on the way. Hopefully things will thaw soon.
This week we had for dinner
Monday - BBQ baked beans with kielbasa (do ahead), garlic bread, cheese and cucumbers
Tuesday - Baked sweet potatoes (crockpot) topped with butter, maple syrup, and toasted walnuts
Wednesday - Lime chicken, coconut rice, sugar peas with peppers saute, pineapple
Thursday - Today was a real hairball all the way around, time ran away and didn't come back so I took Wednesdays leftovers and made fried rice, daughter made baked cream cheese wontons, finished the pineapple
Friday - Making chicken parmesan, cherry tomato cucumber and mozzarella "salad", breadsticks
Saturday - I noticed this morning that we still have leftover bean bake from Monday so well have that with some roasted ranch potatoes, and whatever else I bump into that needs to be eaten up
Hope everyone has a good weekend...stay warm!
And no shoes! I love going barefoot.
I hope some warmer weather comes your way soon.
I'd like to hear what you two ate in Florida! What did you buy there, and what restaurants did you eat in, what did you like or not like, etc. We will stay at a place with a kitchenette but will be running around most of the time and meeting up with other people so I dont think I will cook much if at all. I will but yogurt and coffee for the room- maybe sandwich stuff for a beach day...
Do I spy The Bubble Room?
We love staying in the Fort Myers Beach area - last October we stayed at the Outrigger Beach Resort in a beach-front efficiency with a kitchen. There are 2 grocery stores in the area. It was great & I want to go back!
Yes, we biked from Sanibel to The Bubble Room! It made a good resting/refueling spot before we rode back to Sanibel.
So glad to hear you all got away just the two of you! My husband and I did a two day, just-the-two-of-us trip last May. It was the longest we had been together but kidless in seven years. And it was absolutely wonderful. You don't realize how heavy the weight of responsibility feels until it is lifted. Here's to many more weeks in Florida in February!
Right? Even though my kids are older and I'm not dealing with diapers and such anymore, there's still a lot of responsibility there, just in different ways. So, it was nice to get a break from parenting for a little while!
We just placed passport applications todsy in hopes of a such a trip.
I lived in Naples in high school - and then again in summers in college ( my dad "retired" there but it didn't stick so he moved back to Ohio and tried it again when I was college). My mom and brother still live there and my in-laws lived in Bonita Springs for about 20 years. It's always so funny to me that people vacation there when I lived and worked there but glad you had a good time and good weather.
I know what you mean! I live just west of WPB, and I can’t remember the last time I walked on the beach. I definitely take out weather for granted. I love love living here in the winter, but I’m not crazy about our hot and humid summers.
Aww, this is so cute! I'm glad y'all could have a trip for just the two of you. 🙂 We're having similar weather to Florida here in Texas. February is usually the coldest month of the year here, but it was in the mid-80s last week. Ugh.
This week we ate:
Monday: Salsa verde chicken 'n' dumplings.
Tuesday: Goulash.
Wednesday: Pizza. It was supposed to be ragu and polenta, but it just didn't happen. Frozen pizza it was.
Thursday: Freezer night. We ate leftovers from the fridge to reduce food waste.
Friday: We're grabbing Olive Garden with the fam as a late birthday celebration. 🙂
I have a question actually regarding the travel part of this post lol. I see you stayed at an Airbnb without kitchen access. I am on the fence regarding Airbnb’s vs hotels and was wondering if you could give some feedback. I was just wondering why there was no kitchen access, and why you chose it over a hotel with your family hotel discount which I imagine might be cheaper. Thanks for any info as I am always looking for cheaper and better ways to travel! : )
Well, air bnbs typically don't let you cook in the kitchen. You can often leave some food in the fridge (we bought some snacking produce from Trader Joe's and stored it in the fridge), but cooking is usually prohibited.
We did look at hotels, but I guess because it's peak season in Naples right now, there were no good employee discounts available, and the hotel rooms were more expensive than the air bnb.
My ideal is to stay in a condo with a kitchen because then you can usually eat breakfast and lunch in the room with minimal fuss and effort. And you have the option of doing a really easy dinner too, though I rarely end up cooking all of the nights of a vacation.
But sometimes condos are super expensive, and then you have to weigh that against the cost of eating out (which, for the two of us, isn't that bad. The whole family is another story!).
oic. i did not know you cannot cook in Air bnbs. That makes sense. Thanks for the reply! : )
I didn't know that either! But, I don't know much about AirBNB. I guess it has to do with insurance and mess?
My inlaws are running an airbnb out of their walkout basement and they allow cooking, but who wants to go to Wyoming in February? 😉 Most of their guests have been long term (like a month or two at a time) so not cooking would be impractical.
Oh, and we live in Florida and I do LOVE the sunshine, a little hot in the summer, but this weekend, highs in the 70's, lows in the 40's PERFECT!
Late winter vacations to sunny and warm places are the best! Glad you got to do another one.
Kristen, Great that you were able to take a small break away and that the kids were all totally fine in your absence! Yay you guys!
Monday - Baked spicy chicken, cilantro lime rice, fruit salad
Tuesday - Grilled cheese, bacon and tomato (the littles do not like tomato), fruit and chips
Wednesday - Whole grain penne with marinara and meatballs, salad, garlic bread
Thursday - Grilled PB&J, roasted chickpeas, watermelon
Friday - Leftover penne with mushroom sauce, grilled Andouille sausages, asparagus, apple slices
Saturday & Sunday - Right now are the great unknown! lol
Sanibel makes me think of the Doc Ford novels by Randy Wayne White (that is an author's name that is just darn hard to say aloud). I've had a stretch of stay-at-home parenting thrust upon me and my itchy-footed, introverted self is wildly envious. Also, I hate cooking, lol, and the menu is blah on this end, and I'm envious of having people cook for you! Envious in a good and well-wishing way though. Nothing sinister here. 😉
I read your comment & thought 'is it hard to say out loud?' so I tried it, & your right, it is 🙂
Commenting from (North-Central) Florida where it is currently a beautiful, sunny 76 degrees! And probably a little warmer in Naples. Seriously, this is why I live in Fl and never plan on leaving. Yes, summers are brutally hot and humid but I'll take Oct through end of April wonderful-ness over a brutal winter any day. Glad you and your husband came back to visit our beautiful state!
Monday-tilapia with salad and veggies
Tuessday-korma and palek paneer take out
Wednesday-tex-mex chicken skillet with bell pepper and hummus, which our kids devoured. with their hands. Not so thrilled with that part
Thursday-chicken noodle soup with lemon
Friday- someone's bringing us a meal tonight, because we've had a week of parainfluenza and now one kiddo at is the hospital.
Oh, I hope your family is well soon - especially the one in hospital; just said a prayer for you
Monday- Meatloaf, white rice, and lettuce salad
Tuesday- Grilled cheese sandwich and fruit
Wednesday- Chicken noodle soup, lettuce salad, and lemon cake
Thursday- Chicken Enchiladas
Friday- Scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage
Child-free vacay with your hubby, sunny warm weather AND eating out?!! Sounds divine!
As for our meals this week... let's see
Monday- ground deer meat, brown rice, zucchini and carrots
Tuesday- stir fry to use up my book choy.
Wednesday- taco wrap deliciousness
Thursday- I made a shepards pie using up a container of mashed potatoes I had froze awhile back as well as some leftover ground beef.
I don't know if I've ever really made a shepard's pie before, but with the potatoes and meat already cooked, it was super quick and easy.
Friday- tonight we had chicken legs with zucchini and green beans from last years garden.
I forgot to mention tonight's thrilling side of brown rice!
This week didn't have much going on as far as a menu. Basically, DH cooked a pot roast and had 2 days of leftovers with it, there were fish sticks, stuffed fish, beef enchiladas and sloppy joes. I didn't eat most of it as I'm not a meat fan.
If anyone has ever seen the books about blood types and foods eaten, I'm definitely not a meat eater. Never was. Then my doc told me about how blood types can tell you what you prefer and should eat and sure enough, she was right. Interesting read.
So glad you had a great time; it's so wonderful to have that time together and in such a beautiful place - made me wistful for holidays, I won't be able to have a break for a while so am trying to make little holidays throughout the week where I can like going for a walk or singing to the radio in the car. It's been warm here - 88 today but dry with a fresh cool breeze late arvo & will be 68 tomorrow. I mainly ate freezer leftovers this week but after 2mths of freezer/pantry challenge treated myself & we had Thai tonight - potato prawns & pad thai; was so yum.
We have been without electricity since Thursday. And it's cold. 🙁 We've been having to go to town to get food (either already prepared or pb & j stuff). I have decided I do NOT want to be a pioneer family with no running water or electricity, mostly because I really want a shower.
I'm glad you had fun though. I can't wait until my husband and I can get away together sans kids.
Oh my, you poor thing! I hope you have power by now.
My wife really wants to retire in Marco Island/Naples. I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale so I'd much rather move there. We go to Napes/Marco 2x a year for vacation( we live in Socal). We find it so relaxing. We usually AirBnB in Marco. There is a great inexpensive breakfast place in Naples called Goldi's restaurant.
That's funny that you live in Socal and yet go to a beach for vacation! Do you just enjoy the change of scenery?
You went to the warm weather, and we had our first snow in 6 years (!) in Rome, Italy 🙂
And, I wanted to tell you: you both look soooo young, as if you'd be expecting Kid #1 and not have 4 kids (teenagers!) already. <3
Aww, thank you! I appreciate the compliment. 🙂
We've just come back from Rome, Italy (to the U.K.) and my son and his girlfriend are leaving for Rome tomorrow. Our most favourite city, next to our home town of London/Essex.
Good morning from North West Florida, where it was 38 degrees at my house this morning. No barefoot walking around here. Reminder -- we had snow one day this winter, along with an ice storm.
I can't stand Florida heat and humidity, but here I am, and have been for over 40 years, so here I'll likely stay. I miss Kentucky, though.
I'm glad you got to have lovely weather for a lovely vacation. Lovely weather is fleeting, so it's good that you could enjoy it while here.
I can't remember what all we ate, but I know I cooked a pork roast in the pressure cooker and served it with roasted veggies. We had tacos (AIP compliant for me) one day, and a small chuck roast another day, again with some roasted veggies. I also cooked mushrooms, celery, and onion with the roast and made a yummy gravy with them, which the husband had over rice, and I just put on the roast itself. I think the rest of the week was leftovers, with the addition of more veggies. Gotta have the veggies!
How's the AIP going for you?
Do the mild winters in Florida make up for the super hot and humid summers? Where I live, the outdoors is basically useless for three months, so I wonder if Florida is tolerable if you just view the summer months as indoor months. Mr. FG would LOVE to move to Florida, and while I'd love to winter there, I'm hesitant to take the plunge and live in a fairly tropical climate year round. I just don't know if I can handle the humidity for so much of the year!