Hello from St. Pete!
After my dad’s surprise retirement party last night, my mom and I spent the night at my dad’s interim apartment. (Just in case you’re confused, my parents’ house in St. Pete sold faster than expected, so my dad has an apartment in the area through the end of the year before he officially retires and lives with my mom in their new condo in Jacksonville. You can read more about the backstory here if you’d like.)
I am staying in St. Pete through tomorrow since I already had plans to fly out of the Tampa airport tomorrow morning. I figured it made more sense for me to stay here rather than drive two hours back to Ocala only to return to the Tampa Bay area a day later.
So where am I going?
New York!!!
My friend Leah and I are flying out of Tampa tomorrow and meeting up with our friend Ashley who flew to NYC from Chicago today. We’re all staying with my friend Merri, the bride-to-be!
Merri and her fiancé Pete got engaged back in August and Leah, Ashley and I planned a trip to the city to visit her and help her go shopping for the perfect wedding dress. To say that I am excited would be a huge understatement. I cannot wait to see three of my favorite girls!
I’ve heard such wonderful things about New York City during the holidays and hope to soak up all the festive fun I can in three days. Woo!
Someone was less than excited when I brought my suitcase out of the closet to pack yesterday.
I felt bad saying goodbye to her and even worse leaving her looking like a vizsla martini in her little cone.
At least she doesn’t seem to mind it too much!
Speaking of Cone Dog, we heard back from the vet about her biopsies and everything looks a-okay! Hooray! He said the lumps were papillomas, which he explained are nothing to worry about, calling them “benign wart-like growths.” Phew.
Today
After a quick breakfast at my dad’s apartment, I headed out for a run around the water in downtown St. Pete.
I enjoyed checking out the festive decorations in the city as I set out to complete seven miles.
Even though my half marathon training plan had five miles on the agenda for today, I have a feeling a long run won’t be happening in New York this weekend and wanted to make sure to accomplish my long run for the week beforehand.
I felt pretty overheated on today’s run and rather sluggish, but when I was done I felt fantastic. Seven miles!? Yes!
Lunch
After my run, I made myself a small peanut butter smoothie and worked for a few hours before taking a break for lunch.
I ate an apple while assembling my main meal.
Today’s lunch included a bowl of leftover chopped salad (half eaten before I snapped a pic – oops!) that included bacon, lettuce, peas, shredded cheese, hardboiled eggs, onion and Italian dressing, paired with Terra Mediterranean chips and a cup of peach Greek yogurt.
And two Godiva chocolates for dessert!
Yum!
Now I have a few work-related loose ends to tie up before dinner and then it’s off to NYC in the morning.
Enjoy your night!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
So glad Sadie is doing well, she is so cute! I think New York is going to be a loooot of fun.
What a coincidence, I just got back from NYC for the same exact reason! My cousin is getting married in May and was looking for a veil, headpiece and accessories. She already bought her dress elsewhere, but we browsed the dresses at several places such as Kleinfeld’s and saw some AMAZING dresses. I wrote about my Kleinfeld’s experience today, it was like none other!Have fun, can’t wait to hear all about it! 🙂
Please take lots of pics of NY at Christmas and post to your blog! 🙂 I have always wanted to go to NY at Christmas!
You know it’s a good lunch when you eat half of it before remembering to take a snap 😉 Looks like a beautiful running view- definitely motivation to run.
How funny, I’m currectly in St. Pete Beach for a conference! I just went running on the beach after my session…how relaxing!
I’m heading up to NYC for New Year’s as well. I’m really excited to be in the city during the holidays, and am looking forward to watching the ball drop in Times Sqaure!
Ahhh, I love that Chistmas tree in downtown St. Pete!! That whole park is so beautiful at night:)
Have a blast in NYC!
Be sure to stop by the major department stores windows. They are so beautiful and everyone is always gathering around them taking pictures!
I was in NYC this time last year and absolutely loved it. Even managed to have some nice weather (as nice as it can be in December I guess), and a few runs through Central Park. Have fun!!!
Have fun in NYC!! 🙂 I love going there during the holidays. It’s so great to see the tree in Rockefeller Center not to mention some frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. Love it!
Have fun in NYC! I live in Florida now, but am so thrilled to be able to go home to Connecticut for the holidays-where a trip to NYC is only an hour or so away!
Visiting NYC whilst the Christmas lights are up is on my bucket list. Enjoy!!! are you going to get to do any touristy stuff or will you just be helping the bride-to-be?
Thanks for the pictures! I’ll be back to St. Pete for the holidays in about two weeks and cannot wait!
She is a little vizla martini! Poor thing. Have fun in New York! I loved being there during the Christmas season a few years ago – cold but so incredibly cozy and romantic.
Sadie martini….almost peed myself!
have a great trip …. hope u brought enough warm clothing!
I’m so glad Sadie is okay!
NYC at Christmas is the best thing. Ever. We’re headed up there next weekend, and I could not be more excited. In other news, your apple is so fun looking! 🙂
Would love to check out the skinny girl workout! Have fun in NYC!
That sounds like such a peaceful place to run! That big Christmas tree is beautiful.
I’m glad to hear that Sadie’s lumps were benign! I’ve been thinking about her. I work at a vet practice and you would be surprised how many lumpy-bumpy dogs that come in. It’s especially noticeable on the skinny ones like Sadie, but a lot of the time they are nothing to worry about! And she makes that come look good! heehee
Ah!!! Safe travels and have a blast! I absolutely loooooove NYC, especially during the holidays.
Fellow New Yorker here! Enjoy your visit! Eat, drink, walk everywhere! The holidays in NY are always festive and normally you can find last minute tickets to shows too at great prices.