What are a group of bloggers to do when they hear that a wonderful blogger is moving to the area?
Host a “Welcome to Orlando” dinner, naturally!
When I got word of Gina, aka The Fitnessista’s, plans to move to Orlando from Valdosta, I was immediately excited and knew it would be a great chance for area bloggers to get together and warmly welcome her to our wonderful city.
Luckily, a bunch of fantastic bloggers were more than happy to welcome Gina and we all decided to meet at Season’s 52 to enjoy dinner and drinks last night.
The gang included (from left to right above):
- Raya of Raya Runs
- Gina of The Fitnessista
- Jeanette of J’s Everyday Fashion
- Katy of Katy Widrick
- Katy of The Balanced Foodie
- Me!
Gina had the hook up at the restaurant and was able to snag us the chef’s table.
While we were waiting for our table, we enjoyed complimentary glasses of sparkling wine.
I’m always down for a little bit o’ bubbly! 😉
After we were seated, the chef greeted us and described the amuse-bouche he created for our table.
It was salmon served on a delicious pineapple mango salsa. Loved it! I would definitely order a much larger portion of this little sample as a meal if it was offered on the menu.
Following the amuse-bouche, our server brought out a bunch of appetizers for us to sample.
Spicy Chipotle Shrimp Flatbread
Edamame with Green Tea Salt
Housemade Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli
Grilled Artichoke Flatbread
Every single appetizer was fantastic, though my favorites were the goat cheese ravioli and the chipotle shrimp flatbread.
I had two pieces of the shrimp flatbread, one piece of the artichoke flatbread, a large spoonful of the goat cheese ravioli and lots and lots of edamame.
Delish!
Since our dinner wasn’t until 9 p.m. I ate a little something with Ryan before arriving, so I wasn’t too hungry after my pre-dinner snack and the appetizers. When it was time to order our entrees, I opted for the chipotle grilled prawns with tomatillo salsa verde and fresh guacamole appetizer as my main meal.
It was so, so good!
The shrimp were perfectly seasoned and the guacamole was a tasty relief from the heat of the dish.
Then it was time for the best part of any meal…
Dessert!
Season’s 52 offers a variety of mini dessert shots, and we decided it was best to taste them all and shared the whole spread… with one exception…
The fresh fruit!
And we call ourselves healthy living bloggers… 😉
Fresh fruit is fantastic, but when choosing between a dessert shot of fresh fruit or carrot cake, rocky road mousse or pecan pie, there’s no competition!
Possibly my favorite part about Season’s 52 is that the restaurant concentrates on creating fresh, healthy meals. Everything on their menu has 475 calories or less which is a neat concept when you think about all the restaurants that have 1,000 + calorie dishes hidden on their menu. It takes the guessing game out of the equation.
We all agreed that our meal was delicious!
I really enjoyed chatting with these wonderful bloggers. I had a great time talking about blogging, food, fashion, Orlando and more. These are some fun girls! 😀 I can’t wait to get together again soon.
Today
It’s about time for a good workout at the gym.
Ryan and I also have plans for a date later today, which I’m awfully excited about.
See ya later, friends!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
what a fun night! i would love to have everything that you guys ate 🙂 and it’s amazing that gina’s able to move there with such a great support system!
happy saturday girl!
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally jealous! Ya’ll are GORGEOUS! What an amazing evening 😀
I love that you guys welcomed in Gina like that. You are awesome. It seriously warms my heart.
I have to agree with Jessica, that was so sweet of you ladies. Not that i’m surprised. I LOVE seasons 52 it was one of my favorite go to restaurants in Orlando. Their food is delish and the mini desserts, who can have just one? They are awesome! Glad you all enjoyed yourselves! Looks like a great time. 🙂
That looks like it would have been so much fun!! I would love to meet Gina. And I know I can’t wait until our next meet up. 🙂
Looks delicious! I can see alot of cameras clicking away simultaneously during this dinner. 🙂
Oh my goodness I LOVE Seasons 52, so incredibly delicious. It’s definitely a great choice for a welcome dinner. Looks like a fun and tasty night! 🙂
So fun! I would have left the fruit too. Hahaha!! Your shrimp and guac look delicious!
That dinner seems so fun!!! There are so many food bloggers who rave about Season’s 52. I want to go there and hang out with all you Orlando bloggers, seems like so much fun! Yall are all so beautiful by the way.
I also love how the restaurant only has meals under 500 calories. That’s so refreshing and comforting to hear.
That’s so cool that the restaurant has dishes under 500 cals- so unique these days
Looks like such a great time!
The last time I went to Seasons 52, I had the Baklava dessert. It was so good. Did you get to try that one? I also love their flatbreads. This post is making me want to go there soon.
yes! that one was my favorite! i also loved the carrot cake &chocolate + peanut butter mousse.
Ahh so much fun! I love all of you ladies 🙂
I’ve only been to Seasons 52 once, but I’d love to try it there again. I ordered a flatbread as my meal, but even after eating the whole thing I wasn’t entirely full :/ Next time I’ll definitely give one of their entrees a try!
That sounds that a really awesome restaurant! I wish there was something like that around here.
Hi There Julie! Just found you from over at Gina’s, Love your blog. I look forward to checking in and you have killer Recipes-we have a lot in common.:)
What a fun night and those desserts- are you kidding, that should be mandatory at every restaurant! Have a great weekend!
Looks like a fun night! Everything looks so tasty!
You really make me want to move to Orlando (just so I can go to good restaurants like this one!).
So great that all you bloggers can meet up for nights out! Looks like great fun! And I love the concept of the restaurant with all meals below 475 calories.
What nice bloggers all of you are! 🙂 You guys must have had a lot to talk about! Seasons 52 looks like a great restaurant – too bad is an 18 hour drive away. 😉
So jealous of Seasons 52!
Looks like a fun night with great food! Jealous of the get together, would be nice to find some Savannah bloggers!
Looks like a great night with delicious food and fun company! We did a blogger meet up at the Season’s 52 here in Atlanta and it really is the perfect place for a meet up! Glad you had a great time!
Man I wish we had a Season 52’s here!
Everything looks so good!
thank you again, so much, for planning the welcome dinner! you’re all amazing and i’m so lucky to have such a wonderful group of bloggies in orlando 🙂
let’s go to a whole foods class sometime soon!
xoxo
Wow, I’d love to try some of that green tea sea salt – mmm.
Wow, that dinner looked incredible! I wish I knew more bloggers in my area to meet up with. Canada seems to be lacking in the area of healthy living bloggers. Hmm, wonder why?
lol When I opened up the link for this blog, I thought I accidentally clicked on J’s Everyday Fashion. Then I saw it was still your page! haha How fun to meet other bloggers in real life! I have a little bit and it’s fun!!!
I should have moved to Orlando instead of St. Pete. I love Season’s 52. Seems like you guys had a great time! 🙂