Miami Memories : Chargers at Sun Life Stadium

We're back from Miami! We returned home yesterday evening to some very happy dogs. (Furry, jumping, smiling greetings are the best kind.) We managed to squeeze quite a bit of activity into just about two days, so I thought I'd break up our weekend getaway recap into a couple posts. I'll start with the best worst time.

If you're a football fan, you know what I'm talking about: Sunday's Chargers game against the Miami Dolphins. The game was the sole reason for our trip down south. It was G's birthday gift to himself, to see his favorite team when they came to Florida. So an embarrassing shut-out was definitely not on the itinerary.

Nevertheless, outside of the Bolts' poor plays and scoreless-ness, G and I had a good time. When G started feeling down and regretting even coming to the game, I reminded him that we have no control over how the Chargers play (as much as we wish we did!). We can only control how we feel about our experience, and we could choose to enjoy ourselves regardless of the scoreboard. 

Fortunately, my husband is a bit more reasonable than some fanatical, sports-loving dudes and can see beyond the football-fueled rage, especially with a little positive reinforcement from me, which went something like this while waiting at the bar for another round of drinks:

We have a great view of the field 

and seats in the fancy-schmancy Club Level of Sun Life Stadium! 

We are living large in Miami! 

Sipping Chardonnay and Corona, woot woot! 

Sometimes we wives have to be cheerleaders, especially when our hubby's team is having a bad day.

[ Walking into Sun Life Stadium, thrilled (and surprised) to see so many other Chargers fans! ]

[ In da club. The Club Level of Sun Life Stadium, that is. ]

[ When we got to our seats we found this. A bit ironic considering the outcome of the game. What did we win? Just a pair of Dolphins sunglasses. Also known as: trash. ]

[ Posing, and hopeful, before the game. It was a beautiful, sunshine-y Miami day. ]

[ Battle of the 17s! I thought this was funny. These men are friends, too. In case you are not a football fan, Tannehill is the quarterback for the Dophins, Rivers is the QB for San Diego. ] 

[ Chargers and Dolphins setting up for a play. This was right around the time we gave up on the game and decided to get out of the heat and just hang out in the Club. ] 

[ Seriously delicious, hit-the-spot BBQ pork nachos in the Club. My friends will tell you: I don't much like cheese, but I love me some nachos. Especially when I'm a wee bit (or a lot) tipsy. ]

[ View of the Miami skyline as seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the Club. ]

Stay tuned for more recaps from our mini Miami vacation!

Weekend Recap : Guavaween & A Bucs Game

We had an eventful weekend, with Guavaween, a Halloween party in historic Ybor City, on Saturday night, followed by (too-early-if-you-ask-me) tailgating on Sunday morning before the 1 o'clock Buccaneers game. Still tired from all our fun, let's cut the words and rely on pictures.

A few scenes from our weekend...

 Mr. Gangsta and Mrs. Flapper make their entrance at Guavaween, at The Cuban Club in the historic district of Ybor City. Needing costumes in a pinch, I recycled the outfit I wore to a 1920s-themed NYE party two years ago and added a white boa.

 The hubby proving he's a beer-shotgunning champ while tailgating before the Bucs game. We were hanging out with GT's Coast Guard crew. Of course, the hubs had to show his San Diego Chargers pride, even in Florida!

 Enjoying the crowd, the sunshine, hot dogs and super-sized frozen drinks at the game.

Hoping you had a wonderful weekend, too!

Fri-YAY for the Best Days

Saturday and Sunday are always the best days. Too bad there's not more of 'em! But I guess having just two days for going on adventures or simply doing nothing provides the motivation to make the most of them-- whatever you do, or don't do.

This weekend, the hubby and I do have plans. New friends invited us to tag along with them on Saturday night to Guavaween, a "Voodoo Carnival" in Ybor City. I did a little googling and discovered it is quite the rowdy and rollicking Halloween party, with booze and beads, burlesque and side show acts, street performers and a costume contest. So, as to blend in with the wild crowd, I may have to throw together some kind of edgy, creative costume in a jiffy. We'll see how that goes. I was kind of looking forward to not having to purchase a tacky, over-priced costume this year... I need inventive, affordable ideas post-haste!

Sunday is all about football, of course. But instead of heading to a bar, we'll actually be at a game! GT's Coast Guard shipmates (and their girlfriends/spouses) are gathering at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for tailgating, and then we'll go inside to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Minnesota Vikings. It'll be my second time at an NFL game and while I'm not the biggest football fan, I am excited to drink some beer, eat a mustard-topped hot dog and meet some new people. 

I'm also thrilled that the weather will be much nicer than my first NFL game, when we saw the Chargers at home in San Diego and basically melted in our unshaded seats, suffering through each quarter in sweltering 100+ degree heat. Yuck. I couldn't even pretend to have fun that day. Even GT, the biggest Chargers fan ever, was miserable. Fortunately, the forecast this weekend is predicting temps in the high 70s and low 80s. Perfect. That's Florida in the fall.

Have a great weekend!

(Image via A Fabulous Fete)

Weekend Recap : Gourmet Eats at The Birch & Vine

This past weekend started off gloriously, when the hubs took me out for a gourmet dinner at The Birch & Vine at The Birchwood in downtown St. Pete. The award-winning restaurant is considered one of the top eateries in St. Pete. Led by Chef Jason Cline, The Birch & Vine uses organic, locally grown ingredients (there's an edible herb wall in the dining room!) to serve up globally-inspired dishes that are inventive yet approachable. The wine and cocktail selection is just as impressive. 

We started out our meal by perusing the drink menu on—what else?—an iPad. Fancy, huh? I chose the Stoli Spritzer, a light, refreshing, slightly fizzy cocktail made with Stoli vodka and St. Germain elderflower liqueur, shaken with grapefruit juice and topped with Italian prosecco. Always a gin man, GT opted for a Hendrick's martini, served with a twist. I gave it a taste and puckered my face in displeasure, while the boy laughed at my unsurprising grimace. How he enjoys drinking that is beyond me. It's like Pine Sol meets gasoline. I prefer my boozy drinks nice and sweet.

For dinner, GT went the manly route and ordered a steak. The Garlic and Peppercorn Charred 12-oz Niman Ranch NY Strip, to be exact, paired with a glass of medium-bodied, easy-drinking Jekel Vineyards Pinot Noir. Blackened and crusty on the outside, but red and tender on the inside, the hubby thoroughly enjoyed his steak, and we both agreed the sauce foyot (a variation on the classic bearnaise sauce) only made it that much more delectable. 

I went for the House Made Spinach & Basil Gnocchi and it tasted just as divine as it sounds. Lured, I was, not just by the thought of homemade gnocchi but by all the wonderful ingredients accompanying those little clouds of dough: shaved cauliflower, mixed olives, grape tomatoes, maitake mushrooms, shallot confit, tear drop peppers, shaved romano, lemon-roasted garlic sauce and toasted pinenuts. It was an explosion of colors and flavors and textures. I added grilled salmon, which was delicious but also totally unnecessary. The gnocchi and all its counterparts stand just fine on their own. There was just one problem: I couldn't stop eating it! I was beyond full and yet I couldn't put my fork down. I didn't want to leave one piece of cauliflower, one baby pepper, and most certainly not one bright green fluffy bite of gnocchi behind. Superb. The bright, citrusy Estancia Pinot Grigio (from my home state of California) was a perfect pairing.

We capped off the evening with a sweet treat. When a waiter brings a dessert menu to the table, I am powerless to resist. Especially once my wandering eye caught this: Brûléed Plantain "Foster." The hubs and I adore crème brûlée, it has sort of become "our" dessert, and I am obsessed with banana, well, anything. The layered dessert was creamy and crispy, served alongside swirls of thick caramel and a scoop of tart crème fraîche ice cream. GT wasn't a fan of the ice cream, as it reminded him of icy sour cream, but I thought it was a nice foil to an otherwise entirely sweet dessert.

I'm looking forward to a return visit to try some of the other fantastic offerings on the menu. And next time, we're making sure to get there early to check out the rooftop lounge, The Canopy. Views of a St. Pete sunset with a well-crafted cocktail in hand? Sounds like perfection to me.

Here's hoping you had a wonderful weekend, too! 

(This was only our Saturday night. Sunday was dedicated to football, as you may know if you follow me on Instagram. To sum up: I sipped a surprisingly good beer-topped mule, er, jackass while watching the game at World of Beer in downtown St. Pete and, we're on a roll, the Chargers win again!)

Football Sunday at theAVENUE

It's a slow, lazy Monday here. Still recovering from yesterday's fried-and-fatty-food bonanza and the four-too-many Moscow Mules that I consumed while watching the San Diego Chargers take on the Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks.

The hubs and I had fun, maybe a little too much fun, but despite the loud cheering and boozing I was still able to discern how delicious the bar food was at theAVENUE eat/drink in downtown St. Pete. I'm not a football fanatic like my hubby—I find it nearly impossible to pay attention when a game is on, it's like I'm programmed to find a diversion—but I would certainly return to theAVENUE for another Sunday... Monday... or Thursday game. (Why is football always on? At least, it feels that way in my house.)

We had what could possibly be the perfect game-time snacks: Corndog Nuggets with hot mustard aioli and Crispy Fried Green Beans with buttermilk ranch (which I doctored up with some pepper and wing sauce that was on the table, making it even more ah-mazing).

After the game, we weren't really that hungry but we needed something to sop up all the alcohol in our stomachs. Fortunately, theAVENUE is known for having an incredible burger selection, with about 25 options to choose from. Unfortunately, I was too tipsy to take a photo before we devoured our burgers, so you'll just have to trust me—they looked and tasted divine. 

GT ordered theCRACKA, an Angus patty topped with a deep fried green tomato, southern slaw, pimento cheese and barbecue sauce while I got theGOODNIGHT. The appropriately-titled burger was breakfast-for-dinner on a bun: applewood bacon, sunny up egg and bourbon maple syrup on an English muffin (I held the American cheese). Sweet and savory and so, so good. Man, I wish I took a picture. Oh well, guess we'll just have to make a return trip :)

So, all in all, despite the hangover that followed, it was a good day. And best of all (for the boy at least): The Chargers won, 30-21! Woot woot!

Here's hoping you had a wonderful weekend, too.