Look who arrived in Charlotte yesterday!
My mom and dad swung by in the late afternoon and are planning to stay here with us through tomorrow morning. They decided to make a detour to our place on their way back to Jacksonville from Raleigh where they were visiting my grandma. Ryan and I are thrilled to have them as our guests again!
Yesterday
After beginning the day teaching spinning and working for an hour at the gym afterward, I headed to Sun Up Café for a lovely brunch date with my friends Tanya and Brittany where we chatted for a solid two hours. It was a great mid-day break and I enjoyed an awesome dose of girl time before heading back into work and coaching Girls On The Run later that afternoon. By the time I made it home, my parents were waiting for me and the three of us chatted in the backyard until Ryan arrived home and had fun watching Sadie run around sniffing everything.
The weather yesterday was incredible! No jackets needed! Ryan, my parents and I decided to go out for dinner in Birkdale Village and popped into eeZ, one of our favorite sushi hot spots. We were hopeful we could grab a table outside and enjoy the warmer temperatures and were quickly escorted to a table for four on the patio.
We began by sharing an order of the sweet and spicy Thai cucumbers and the tuna nachos. Though I couldn’t partake in the raw tuna, I made sure to do my part and filled my plate with the deliciously tangy cucumbers. They’re the best!
A flavorful bowl of coconut curry soup followed and it came out with two big pieces of tempura shrimp on the side – perfect for dipping!
For my main entrée, I figured I should take advantage of my current craving for fresh salads and ordered the beet salad.
Unfortunately it left a lot to be desired. I made a pretty good dent in it, but I was grateful Ryan ordered more than enough sushi for himself and had some of his tempura salmon and avocado roll leftover to share. Note to self: Stick to sushi next time!
While my dad and Ryan finished their drinks, we chatted outside for a while and just enjoyed such lovely evening weather. So many people were out and about last night and it really felt like spring!
Before driving home, Ryan suggested ice cream and I’ve never known my family to shy away from ice cream, so we walked to Ben & Jerry’s and each ordered a small cup.
I opted for a scoop of strawberry ice cream and a scoop of a new-to-me flavor: Speculoos!
I’ve been trying to find that flavor ever since I heard it came out a few months ago, so I had to give it a whirl! It was fabulous and I’m now on a mission to make them sell it in my local grocery stores.
Once we made it back to our place, we spent the rest of the night relaxing on the couch and I caught my first episode of The Voice this season. Lots of talented singers!
Now it’s time for me to head out and soak up some quality time with my parents. I am taking my dad to my gym with me to show him the ropes!
Have a great Wednesday!
Rachel @ Blonde with a Chanse says
Your coconut curry soup looks delicious 🙂
MorganLewis2012 says
Fun! I love when my family visits me.
How is the house? I’d love to read about some updates and see some pictures! Have you posted a house tour on here? I love seeing peoples’ homes. I’m nosy like that 😉 Also, I’m a huge HGTV nerd and used to go to open houses on Sundays with my mom (no, we weren’t looking to buy).
Julie says
good!! I have been so bad about sharing house updates & photos here — i’ll try to share more soon!
Sarah @ Sarah Sincerely says
Enjoy the time with your parents! I’m sure they’re loving getting to spend time with you during your pregnancy. I wish we had a Ben and Jerry’s location near us. I always have to settle for whatever is in the grocery stores. Hasn’t the weather been fabulous lately? We’re getting lots of rain now, but it’s still warm, so I’m not complaining…yet!
Nona @ RunningHigh says
Now I’m craving sushi! A few months ago I started to have weird stomach aches after eating sushi and haven’t had it since. I miss it!
Kerry says
Shame about the salad but at least you had ice cream after 😉 It looks delicious! x
Maria says
I so remember the awful breakouts from the first and second trimester ( I also would get random dark red spots on my face!?)!! Fortunately, mine cleared up magically about halfway through pregnancy and has been great since! Three weeks to go now 🙂 I’m a little worried about what it’s going to do POST-baby!
rachel says
We love speculoos!!! It originally Belgium, and while we were in tour in Germany we became addicted to the spread. We were sad to leave our spread behind when we move to California but we found it at the grocery store! It’s called biscoff spread. So yummy! I love adding it into cookies and oatmeal!
Meg says
your hair looks so pretty in these pictures!! how did you do it!? you’ve also got that pregnant glow 🙂