Wouldn’t it be lovely to enjoy a pre-dinner walk on the beach every night?
While my grandma caught up with some of her long-time friends by the pool, my mom, sister and I strolled along the beach for an hour or so, dipping our feet in the water and enjoying the cool sea breeze. I needed a sweatshirt for our walk, but the weather tomorrow promises to be nice and warm.
After our beach walk, we headed home and my mom made a special dinner at the condo.
Broccoli + Sweet potatoes + Butter and garlic shrimp
Aaand my favorite…
Soft-shell crabs!
My mom bought the crabs at a local farmer’s market on the island on Sunday and they were on point. I ate one and a half and a ton of shrimp with the sides. I was in a seafood mood.
Since Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to eat some sweets, we dug into cupcakes that my dad sent along with my sister for a special treat after dinner.
Along with my chocolate cupcake, I also ate three mini red velvet cupcakes… and vanilla ice cream.
Sugar overload!
Now we’re all curled up on the couches watching the Westminster dog show.
As always, the vizsla got snubbed.
I’ll be honest, I’m almost more distracted by the spiffy outfits the handlers are wearing than the dogs. Those are some sweet skirts, opaque tights and shoulder pads.
Off to watch the working group!
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I haven’t had seafood in so long! I just developed a huge craving though. YUM
Being able to take a walk on the beach before dinner every day would be SO nice! My family has a cabin in Michigan and when we’re there we always take a walk around the lake (it’s about 3 miles) as soon as we get up in the morning. I always look forward to it and it’s just not vacation without a daily walk 🙂
what a fabulous dinner!! it sounds like you’re having a wonderful girls’ night! enjoy! 🙂
I always think the same thing about the handler’s outfits! Too funny! It sounds like you had a perfect Valentine’s Day with the fam.
Your grandma is adorable! I love the tradition all of you have! And those cupcakes look amazing. Both my boyfriend and my boyfriend’s parents got me lots of sweets so I’m on sugar overload right now too!
what a fun valentine’s day dinner! those cupcakes look delicious 🙂
What a cute family valentine’s day!
with a little determination and practice, I’m sure that you too could be wearing one of those spiffy outfits…
I have a major sugar week ahead for valentines my husband bought 4 mini bundt cakes so you know I have to have one every night!
And what exactly is wrong with opaque tights? Much better than sheer pantyhose IMO!
everything. everything is wrong with them when they’re paired with a suit that has shoulder pads. 🙂
What a great valentine’s day dinner! Haha and I’m loving all the sugar – totally necessary on valentine’s day!
Hahaha sounds like a great time 😀
You forgot to mention the handlers’ “sensible” shoes 🙂 Gotta trot those dogs around!
youre grandmother is TOO CUTE!
Julie– does soft shell crab taste differently than crab legs? I’ve never eaten it. E
i think so! it’s definitely stronger… more fishy, in my opinion. if you love most seafood in general, i think you’d really like them.
Your grandma is so cute! I am always in a seafood mood, it’s my favorite type of food! Happy Vday 🙂
Haha my mom is watching the dog show right now too, she called before to tell me the weimaraners were coming up! They never win though (sometimes they don’t even show them!) which annoys me because they show some nasty ugly rat dogs instead.
yum!! valentines day DEFINITELY warrants a sugar overload… well done:)
I had seafood tonight too! My boyfriend made bacon wrapped scallops – so good!
Valentine’s day is only complete with sugar overload 🙂
The handlers have got to be the best part; especially their shoes and awkward runs!
Your crab dinner looks so good! How sweet of your dad to send cupcakes!
We used to go to Sanibel every summer! Your post is definitely making me homesick. Enjoy your time at the beach : )
I’ve only had soft-shell crab once before, but it was delicious!
I caught just a glimpse of the dog show & was happy to see that the boxer got 2nd place! 🙂
Last night I made crab cakes, shrimp, mashed sweet potatoes and green beans!! Tell your mom she has good taste 😉
What a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day! 🙂 Everything looks delicious! Your mom did a great job!
How about those handlers shoes?!?! Sweet pumps!! 🙂 I loved watching the show! There were some cuties, especially the vizla!!! 🙂
Yikes to the dog that won!!! I’ve never been a fan of soft-shell craps but perhaps its the way they were cooked, I may have to try again.
i know! i feel like he looked like a character from star wars.
I was watching the dog show too and was laughing at the opaque tan tights. It looked so funny because these women had pale (i’m a fellow pale girl… so no hate here!) faces and arms/hands, but their legs were matte tan. a lot of them also had crazy manicures, which i appreciated.
The picture of you and your grandma is so cute.
Oh seafood!!! YUMMY! 🙂
It was a nice vizsla, though I’m more of a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever gal. The whole sporting group is just great. What did you think of the peke winning best in show? I wasn’t surprised, but I was disappointed- it was such a good line-up this year, and the Scottish Deerhound won last year, so I thought they might pick another wild card, like the wirehaired dachshund. It was a great show this year at least- lots of new breeds. Did you watch on Monday? There was a new breed that was designed to hunt puffins, and has “at least six toes on each paw”, which I thought was weird/awesome.
i loved the wirehaird dachshund. so cute! we did watch on monday but i missed the new breed!
Were you as shocked as I was about the winner?! My boyfriend and I were watching, and we kept laughing at the Pekingese and how funny it looked. As they were lining up, I turned to him and said, “Watch, the little Pekingese is going to win” as a joke, and it did! I thought for sure that the Irish Setter or the German Shepherd had it!
Your Grams is adorable!
I cannot bring myself to eat softshell crab! Being from the Gulf coast, I eat any other seafood imaginable. (oysters, crawfish, shrimp, etc). I don’t know why I can’t get past eating the shell on those things.
OMGosh–so jealous you’re in Sanibel!!!
My hubby and I live in Oregon (so cold here right now) and last year at this time we visited Sanibel Island for the first time and fell in love with it. It’s now our favorite place to visit in the states.
Have a wonderful time!
ahh i love soft shell crabs–but only when they are fresh! I’d love to be able to pick some up at a Farmer’s Market! And your dad is so cute to send cupcakes with your sister. I love it!
I can’t even begin to tell you how jealous I am of those beach shots! I WILL move away from the cold northeast eventually!!!