Is it Monday already?
The weekend passed by a little too quickly for my liking, but since time flies when you’re having fun, I guess that means it was a good one!
Saturday
Our Saturday morning began with a workout. After a series of strength training exercises that focused on my legs in the weight room, I completed a new-to-me Nike Training Club workout: Lakey Peterson’s Beach Legs Workout. Loved it!
Ryan and I spent the rest of the day out and about in Ocala.
Ocala Strawberry Festival
Immediately after the gym, we grabbed coffee at Cup O’ the Irish and drove downtown to the square to check out the local strawberry festival. It wasn’t even a quarter of the size of the Florida Strawberry Festival Ryan and I attended in Plant City a few years ago, but we still enjoyed wandering around outside despite the overcast weather.
Before driving home, I requested a pit stop at Stella’s Modern Pantry because I always have fun browsing around the little café.
The last time I blogged about my lunch at Stella’s, I mentioned the my love for Rewined candles made from repurposed wine bottles.
I was hoping the candles would be on sale, but no such luck! (FYI – When I said I didn’t buy any of the fabulous-smelling candles because of their hefty price tag before, a blog reader commented to let me know that they are often featured on sale on RueLaLa. Keep an eye out if you are interested!)
I smelled a bunch of the candles on Saturday and my favorite was definitely the chardonnay candle. It smelled like vanilla, cedar and hazelnut.
Ocala Hike
Once we made it home empty handed, Sadie clearly needed some attention, so we headed out to our favorite local hiking trails and covered a five mile loop.
The early morning clouds burned off by the time we were done with our hike and it was a gorgeous day! This is the time of year I appreciate living in Florida most. Around the holidays I am envious of the snow and winter weather that we don’t get (I think the Chicago girl in me misses it!) and in the summer it can be so ridiculously hot, so the weather from the end of January through the beginning of April is Florida’s “sweet spot” in my book!
After our hike, we drove home to eat and get a little crafty. Well, Ryan didn’t do any craft projects, but I had a few surprises to work on for my sister’s wedding next weekend.
Eventually our stomachs told us it was time for dinner and when I suggested going out for Mexican food, Ryan was more than game!
El Torreo
We drove to a local hot spot, El Torreo, and the food was just as delicious as we remembered.
I wore a new white tunic from White Plum (stay tuned for a giveaway later this week!) and was happy for the extra fabric because Ryan and I both left dinner feeling ridiculously stuffed.
Our meal began with chips and salsa.
If you have mastered the art of eating only a few chips when you visit a Mexican restaurant, please share your tips with me. I am pretty sure I could eat five billion. YUM.
For my main meal, I ordered the shrimp fajitas with refried beans, guacamole and soft flour tortillas.
We left feeling absolutely stuffed, but when Ryan suggested frozen yogurt, I couldn’t say no, so we split a cup of cake batter frozen yogurt before crashing on the couch with Sadie for the rest of the night.
It was a great Saturday!
Question of the Morning
- What is your favorite thing to order at a Mexican restaurant?
I am always a huge fan of taco salads and fajitas or anything with tons and tons of pico de gallo!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
haha jonny and i always devour like a million baskets of chips!! too addicting!! i love super stuffed burritos!!
Queso, of course! Also I’ve recently tried a fajita burrito that was fantastic! Did you guys get your massages!?
No! One of the masseuses got sick so we had to reschedule 🙁
enchiladas!!!
Enchiladas are so good. Ryan got them and I had more than a few bites. 🙂
That white tunic is so pretty!!
And my favorite Mexican dish is GUACAMOLE 🙂 Straight up, with some delicious freshly made tortilla chips!
Love the pants! Where are they from?
My favorite are soft shell tacos. Yum!
I love that you get to go to a strawberry festival. I was just reading a chart of in-season fruits/veggies and was surprised that strawberries are in season starting in March!
As for Mexican food, this is a tough one, because, having studied abroad in Mexico City, it’s a favorite cuisine of mine. For appetizers, nachos – I just love nachos, and particularly nachos topped with pulled pork. For entrees. I’d have to go with chicken tamales. Mmm, so tasty! I also love quesadillas, and those were incidentally the first item that my “house family” served to me when I lived in Mexico.
Anything mexican!! Its my favorite food to go out for.
I have a Rewined candle and it’s the best! It makes the entire house smell good! 🙂 You can purchase them here for $22 – http://mattressdirectonline.com/Rewined-Signature-Wine-Bottle-Candle-Merlot!
Glad to know they’re worth the money! They all smell so fantastic!
black bean tacos with lots of guac and fresh salsa! mmm
I love chicken fajitas and carne asada. But I usually am so full from eating chips and salsa I can barely eat lol. Seriously Julie I’m totally with you on that. I cannot stop eating them. I think the only way to not eat and eat is to ask the server not to bring them at all….which would make me sad so I’m also open to suggestions on how to eat a healthy portion.
Looks like a great Saturday! Very envious of your strawberry festival and hike. It’s -25 windchill here in Wisconsin. 🙁
Enchiladas are one of my favorites! And I’ve seen those candles a couple places and want one so much! Haha but I’m also deterred by the price!
First of all I love your pants that you wore to the Mexican restaurant! Where did you get them?
My favorite Mexican foods to order are fajitas, chile rellanos, cheese enchiladas, and beef burritos of course lots of green sauce with everything. I’m usually not a huge chip person, but when there are chips and salsa I just can’t stop eating them. Especially if the chips and salsa are really good!
I’m not a huge fan of mexican restaurants, mainly because they put sour cream or cheese on everything, and I’m lactose intolerant. And let’s be honest, Mexican food just isn’t right without either of the two haha. Um yum!!! Cake batter is the best flavor of froyo :D!!
Oh ye gotta be fajitas with all the trimmings!!! Lots of avocado!!! LOVE anything with chipotle!
I love taco salads! However, I’m usually in it for the guac, so anything that can serve as a vehicle for that is good in my book. Also, I can’t believe it’s Leslie’s wedding week already! I’m so excited for your family and can’t wait to hear all about it!!
There is the most amazing Mexican place close to me and I get arroz con pollo EVERY time. It’s embarrassing. They don’t even ask what I want anymore. And margaritas of course. On the rocks no salt. 🙂
Mexican food is my all time favorite, so I always have a difficult time deciding what to order. I typically go with tacos, fajitas, or enchiladas! And yes, I hear you on the chips and salsa! Soooo addicting!
I am with you struggling with the basket of chips – they’re so darn good at my local Mexican restaurant. Always served warm with freshly made salsa. Since I know I’ll be eating chips (why fight it), I keep my meal simple with fajitas (no shell) or a salad. That way I still get my chips and favorite flavors without feeling like a balloon!
We order the same thing almost every time! A bed of rice with grilled chicken and queso on top! DELISH! And super cheap 🙂
I miss a good Mexican restaurant, chips and salsa are just impossible to not eat a ton of!
Our Marketing team meets every Monday for lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. I usually order the lunch portion of chicken fajitas or one of their salads. You’d think I’d get tired since I eat there every week, but I am such a sucker for Mexican food.
Mexican food is one of my favs! I definitely love the fresh guacamole and I also order either a burrito or fajita. So yummy!
Tacos are always my go to dish at Mexican restaurants…along with Mexican Fried Ice Cream! You can never go wrong with a meal that ends in ice cream 🙂
I love fajitas as well! The chips and salsa to start are always a plus as well!
Is it sad that when I go to Mexican food I usually just end up ordering a salad because I eat so much of the chips and salsa that salad is all I have room for? Yes… Thats ok 😉
Out to eat + froyo is THE best night in my book! 🙂 Sounds like a fun weekend!
Love your outfit!
Chicken fajitas with steamed veggies & black beans topped with salsa. Ok and Agee tortilla chips! 🙂
The Chicken Fundido is my favorite thing to order, probably because its so fun to say. Chimichangas if I’m feeling reckless.
My Chip Tip: Count out 15 chips and place them on your plate, I’ve done it once successfully!
Enchiladas are good, but it’s been a while! Also, you can’t go wrong with plain ol’ tacos 🙂
I definitely order carnitas if they have them. I absolutely love them!
A trick I learned about the chips, or bread if you’re in another restaurant, ask the server to bring them with your meal instead of before, that way you’re less tempted to ruin your appetite but you still get to enjoy them!
That’s a great idea!
That is a GOOD idea…love that!
That outfit is adorable! I’m also a sucker for lots of pico and also guac!
I love fajitas with chicken or fish– as long as guac, rice, and beans are included– they all go so well together!
If you find the secret to not eat billions of nachos please write a post about it!! Ha! Is insane how much I can eat of them! Whenever I’m on a mexican restaurant I enjoy everything with beans on them, refrito, bean burritos. Beans and more beans 😀 They are soooo tasty!
I’m a chicken taco salad girl. Maybe a seafood/shrimp enchilada if there’s one on the menu.
So jealous you were able to attend a strawberry festival! I used to go to the one in Peddler’s Village, PA every year but now I don’t live close enough to make it. Even an overcast day can’t ruin good strawberries IMO!
I love chicken fajitas! Those are always at the top of my list!
What a cute outfit! I love Mexican food, but rarely go so when I do, I NEVER know what to get. For the longest time the only thing I would get was quesadillas because they were the only thing besides tacos that I knew what would be in it! sad story but true. I recently discovered Chimichangas , but that’s about the extent of my Mexican ordering knowledge lol.
I could seriously make a meal of the chips and salsa/guac at Mexican restaurants. The chips are just so addicting and delicious! Sounds like a nice weekend.
I think West Elm also carries those candles so you can check the price or sale opportunity there as well.
As far as Mexican restaurants go, a Baja style fish taco is always a favorite, tortilla soup, or a carnitas taco. San Francisco has some great Mexican so if you find yourself back again, Mijita at the ferry building has an amazing fish taco and tortilla soup!
The mexican place near my parents house has arroz con pollo which is just chicken and rice drowned in queso…super healthy but so delicious!
What a fun weekend! Love that white tunic!
Those Rewind candles are my fav. I have the Chardonnay flavor and the Spiked Apple Cider. Love love!
And the tortilla chips with salsa are kind of like the Pringles jingle… once you start, you just. can’t. stop. haha
Lately I have been loving salsa verde enchiladas. Of course I also always have to have some table side guacamole!
Yum!! I almost always order chicken fajitas. They’re almost always good, regardless of where you order them!
I always order chicken or shrimp fajitas with corn tortillas. So good…I am actually now craving fajitas for lunch! Too bad I’m working…think anyone would notice if I just left…ha!
Posole … my favourite dish ever!!!!!
I just got a rewined candle for my birthday…they smell amazing and burn really evenly. Worth the price tag, I promise!
I had the most awesome tuna and avocado salad at a mexican restaurant this weekend but fajitas are always a go-to favorite!