taco bus.

Have I ever told you that eating out is one of my favorite things to do...ever? Because it is. It really, truly, honestly, truly, really, honestly is. Really. Honestly. Truly. Sometimes authentic Mexican food is really not my jam. I try so hard to like it, but sometimes it seems like a miss, in my opinion. That's where Taco Bus comes in. I'm not saying it's truly authentic, but it's truly good. And that's all I really care about.

baseball game.

On Tuesday, my dad and I went to a spring training game for the Rays, which is something we did last spring break as well. The weather was perfectly lovely (with a lot of wind!) and we were more than happy to lay our picnic blanket down and make a seat in the grass.

During the seventh inning, we moved to another grassy spot and found ourselves sitting with four or five young boys who were determined to catch foul baseballs. Most of them had already caught at least one or two, but two of them had none at all. One of the boys was very keen on orchestrating a plan so that everyone had the chance to get a baseball. It was the cutest (and funniest) thing to watch! Unfortunately, the Rays lost, and the two boys were unable to catch a baseball, but maybe next time!

shopping with my mom.

The scene:
Me, my mom, at J.Crew, looking at a way-too-expensive dress.
Not one in my size.
Always makes it that much easier to walk away.
One of the employees walks up to me: "Would you like for me to see if we have your size in the back?"
Why the heck not?
"Sure, thank you."
She walks away.
My mom looks at me, "...She thinks we're serious..."

We both cracked up a good deal over that one.

the tampa bay rays.

My family (mainly my dad and me) has been a fan of the Rays for a really long time. My dad and I try to go to the games, but between all my school stuff and all his work stuff, it doesn't always work out. We made a special trip down to Charlotte County to see a Rays spring training game over my spring break. We got seats on the lawn, which was awesome! We brought a blanket and laid it out on the grass, took our shoes off, and enjoyed the beautiful Florida weather. Of course we had to get a couple hot dogs, a Coke, and a lemonade to finish it all off. And, there may have been peanuts.

We won in the 10th inning, which was awesomely exciting! My favorite (BJ Upton) didn't play, but a person we know from back home is currently on the spring training team and he was playing. It was a wonderful day! xo, R.

my spring break.

My spring break was perfectly relaxing. We ate pizza at one of our favorite restaurants, I went to a Rays spring training game with my dad, went to the beach and read books with Jeffrey, got Subway and took Andy to the park, went to St. Pete to eat cannolis, went shopping and to Barnes & Noble to look at wedding books (this one in particular) with my mom, made these delicious power bars and on Sunday we went to an antique show in our little town (my aunt has a booth there every year)!

On Thursday Jeffrey and I spent some time in St. Pete. While to the unfamiliar eye there is not a whole lot to do there, Jeffrey and I have found some hidden gems that are very special to us. It wouldn't be a trip home without a trip to check up on our favorite places. And of course we couldn't go to St. Pete without stopping at our favorite market to get a cannoli (or two)!

Spring break was lovely and just what I needed. I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday! xo, R.

see you soon.

This week is my spring break, which means I'll be frolicking in Florida's sunshine. Which means I won't be here much. Which means that I probably won't have many updates here, but you probably already knew that.

kloveyoubye.

*via

Spring Break 2010: Monday & Tuesday

Unfortunately, this is where I totally forgot that I owned a camera and neglected to take any pictures of these two days. Why, oh why?

Monday, March 8th, 2010
I went out to lunch with my two best friends. We are shameless lovers/supporters of Olive Garden's unlimited Soup/Salad/Breadsticks deal and took full advantage of it. Like I said, shameless. We talked about the normal stuff — you know, things like meeting up at Olive Garden when we're old and still talking about high school and weddings and the future. It was fun, but it always is. Then, we hung out at my house and just talked some more and perused our high school yearbooks; such an entertaining pastime. Love it.
Once again, my mind has totally blanked and I have no idea what I did Monday night. Sometimes I wonder about myself.

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
My mom took the day off of work and we went shopping. This is something that we commonly do. I was blessed with a mother who has impeccable taste and fortunately we share very similar styles. She's definitely one of my favorite shopping partners (my sister is my other favorite). Then, we went to P.F. Chang's and ate on the patio. I shared a piece of my fortune cookie with a sparrow. They're so cute, I had to. My mom and I always have the best time — I'm really lucky to have her. We also went to Crate & Barrel and I contemplated which comforter I liked most.

I don't know. What do you think? Normally green would be the obvious choice because it's my favorite color, but there's something really happy about the yellow and I promise the blue actually looks good in person. The picture is simply not doing it justice. Let me know what you think in the comments.
My mom and I came home after a looong day of shopping and who knows what we did next. Seriously. Who am I? This is so horrible. I can't believe that I am drawing such a blank. I'm pretty sure we watched Where The Wild Things Are, which I had already seen and still do not like it. I'm sorry, but that is not a children's movie and it is a children's book, so shouldn't the movie have been for the children? Let me know if I'm missing something. I'm pretty sure the movie's only redeeming quality was the goat, Alexander, who I would absolutely recruit as my best friend if he were real.

I guess I was just expecting something different and half the time I really didn't understand the point of certain scenes. Like, why was the chicken's arm ripped off and then replaced with sticks, and how would anyone explain the meaning of that to a small child? Anyway, I guess it's pretty clear how much I enjoyed that movie. The book, however, is a masterpiece, and always will be.

xo, R.

*images found here and here.

Spring Break 2010: Sunday

My gosh, I wish I had done a better job of taking pictures over spring break.

Note to self: Keep a diary, take more pictures.

Sunday, March 7, 2010
When I go home it is almost a rule that we have to make a stop at Lighthouse Donuts at least once. Donuts are so, so good for the soul. My favorite kind of donut is Maple frosted and Lighthouse has one of the most delicious renditions I've ever tasted. So, on Sunday my parents and I made a stop there and sat on the deck and enjoyed our donuts. Such a pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning. We originally planned to go to an art show downtown, but our planning was poor so we didn't make it.
And here's where my only picture of this wonderful day comes into play: Jeffrey is the proud owner of a 1966 Red VW Bus and we love it. So much. And so whenever we see another bus our eyes get kind of wide and our mouths drop and we just can't help but stare. My parents and I saw this darling little thing sitting outside of a produce shop and had to take a closer look!
What a gem. And doesn't she look so summer-y? Love that yellow. And I don't think you can see too well, but there was a little Hula Girl on the front dash. Precious. Anyway, this was for sale, but did not have a friendly price tag. It was fun to look at, though. And yes, I called Jeffrey while he was camping in the mountains just to inform him that I had seen a bus.
As for the rest of the day, we spent the afternoon in Borders. I poured over wedding magazines (Have I ever mentioned that I am completely in love with weddings and the mere mention of one makes me giddy and gives me the fuzzies? Now you know.) and then we stopped at Super Target, which is basically a given in my family — if you are in a plaza with a Target in it, you must go to Target. No questions asked. I got some spring-y nail polish and we headed home. And I wish I could remember the rest of this lovely day. I'm pretty positive that we made Not-So-Red Velvet Cake that night, but we didn't start it until around 9, so I'm missing something. I guess that's why a diary comes in handy.

xo, R.

Spring Break 2010: Saturday

I have a horrible time recalling past spring breaks, summers, etc. even though they have all been very near and dear to me. And I should really keep a diary since I enjoy writing so much, but I don't.

Maybe this is a sign that I should start.
I'll be sure to make a note.

Anyway.
Saturday, March 6, 2010.
My parents and I woke up and had Dutch Babies, which can also be called German Pancakes. Dutch Babies have the tendency to look pretty crazy, at least in our house.
We then headed to the Farmer's Market where my parents showed me their favorite booth to get organic produce.
Lots of awesome chalk art at the Farmer's Market.
Then we ate at El Cap.
And took pictures of things we thought were cool.
Then, we spent some time in our favorite scrapbooking shop. We love their paper selection.

xo, R.