I am so excited I can hardly stand it! This time tomorrow I’ll be arriving here…
My parents just moved to Okaloosa Island which is located on the Florida panhandle just outside of Destin. We actually grew up going to Destin for two weeks every summer (back when it was a small beach town!) and I haven’t been back in years. I’m really looking forward to being at my childhood beach with my family. We’re already planning on dinners at some of our old favorites. I haven’t seen my parents since Easter so this visit is overdue! Five days of relaxation and beach time are exactly what I need right now.
Last year I asked for book suggestions for beach reading and got some great recommendations and wrote a “Summer Reading List” post. I asked for book recommendations for my trip on Facebook today and got tons of good suggestions. Let me know if you have anything to add to the list and I’ll a write a Summer Reading List post for 2012.
Things have been pretty easy on the food front. I didn’t want to go to the grocery since I was only home for a few days this week so I’ve been making do with what I have. Dinner last night was a turkey burger, roasted sweet potatoes and okra.
I was at the new gym at 7 a.m. this morning to meet some of my friends who wanted to try CrossFit for the first time. I planned on doing the class with them but my body just does not like doing CrossFit upon waking. So I went and got coffee for everyone and breakfast instead! I tried the Starbucks Artisan Egg Sandwich with Monterey jack cheese and veggies (the veggies are a joke…a couple peppers sprinkled here and there) for the first time. I really liked the sandwich and I’d definitely eat it again for a hot breakfast on the go. I feel like it’s a better option than getting something out of the pastry case. I think this sandwich had around 350 calories and 18 grams of protein.
Lunch was a quinoa bowl with spinach, quinoa, roasted squash, sweet potatoes and eggplant, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and hummus. I had some blue corn chips on the side. I had quite a few dips in the cookie butter jar while I was cleaning up. That stuff is scarily addictive. I’ve yet to actually put it on anything. I just eat it straight from the jar.
Now that it’s so hot out I have been craving kombucha like crazy again. Such a refreshing (albeit expensive!) afternoon treat.
Any fun plans for the 4th? And let me know if you have book suggestions! Off to pack! 😀
A friend just finish Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and won’t stop recommending it to everyone. She said its one of those that you just really cannot put down! Its on my list to try!
oh my gosh!! cookie butter! i’m 100% hooked! It’s so good. I spread it in between 2 cold chocolate chip pancakes this afternoon as a treat…can we say: amazing.
Love the quinoa bowl! Such a yummy lunch idea! and I’m with you on the Kombucha! It’s such an expensive habit but so worth it!
Give your Mom and Dad a big hug from me. Doesn’t surprise me at all that Lewis ended up retiring at the beach. Good for him…..living his dream.
Have such an amazing trip! A friend just moved to Okaloosa Island in May and the couple of times I’ve visited have been amazing — such a pretty place! Relax and enjoy, you more than deserve it 🙂
My suggestion is Running for Women by Jason Karp, Carolyn Smith or Get Running by Matt Roberts. I enjoyed reading both books and picked up a couple of good tips.
That lunch looks fab. And I know what you mean about the workouts not agreeing first thing in the morning. I can swim or bike or run no problem when I get up but hard efforts like Crossfit or circuit training I like to actually be awake for! 😉 Have an awesome 4th!
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (a.k.a., “The Bloggess”) – hysterical, ridiculous, strange; all of The Hunger Games books or anything by Emily Giffin are fast & easy reads
i went to buy trilogy an hour ago and they were out!!! ended up going with gingerberry. hope it’s good.
if you’re looking for something different try, Postmortal by Drew Magary. It’s a quick read.
Destin is my family’s beach location! Which restaurants are your favorites!?
Enjoy the beach! Anything by Emily Giffin are usually my go-to beach reads. While your at the beach I will be running the Spectacular 4 miler! (Can we trade?) 😉
Do you think it’d be good to put the cookie butter into actual cookies? I was thinking of trying to incorporate it into the gluten free cookies (that are usually made with peanut butter). Any thoughts?
I’m doing the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta tomorrow 😀
I just started reading the book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. It is about a 26 year old woman who goes and hikes the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through Cali, Oregon, to Washington State. She has no hiking experience but she felt lost in her world-recently divorced, her mother passed away when she was 22..she turns to heroine to cope…..she finds herself in the woods through pushing herself and through nature. I JUST started, but it is a true story and amazing thus far. I hiked the John Muir Trail last summer with my little brother (280 miles) most out of my comfort zone, best, most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. Wish I could do that more often-let go of the material world and just be…something I am working on! Let me know if you decide to read it! Have a blast on vacation 🙂
Violets of March, great chick lit, i was thinking about it all day at work, and couldn’t wait to get back to the story.
I am going to Okaloosa Island & Ft. Walton Beach for vacation in
August! 🙂
I’ve never tried cookie butter but I always eye it when I’m in TJ’s. I think it would be too dangerous to have in the house for me but I’m dyin’ to try it.
I love Destin! I also grew up vacationing there with my family when it was just a small, quiet beach town. You will be blown away by how much it has changed!! Have a wonderful trip 🙂
That quinoa bowl looks to die for. Yum. Have a great trip! I have no clue on books, I just finished a bunch and now am looking for new reads!
Yay for coming to my hometown as well! I grew up in Fort Walton Beach which is just over the bridge from Okaloosa Island. Traffic will likely be terrible for the 4th but you’ll have a great view of the fireworks!
Yeah, that cookie butter is so good that I’ve banned it from my house. Lol. I didn’t put it on anything either — I ate it straight from the jar.
Silly question: How do you roast your okra? I’ve tried several different times, and the outside always feels like I’m chewing leather. I need help! Thanks!
hi morgan – i just coat it in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 until tender, about 20ish minutes. the key to not having tough okra is to try to avoid buying the giant ones. they tend to be tough – the smaller pods are more tender. hope that helps!
Thanks! A friend of mine grows them and gave me a huge bag of them. They are all pretty big. I’ll try again with smaller ones.