Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! (Don't forget to be a shark 😉)

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

It is a rainy morning here, so far, but I don't mind because flowers are beginning to bloom all around! We had a couple amazing days of sunshine that I took advantage of, and got a few pictures of some of the birds in the backyard!

Cedar Waxwing

Bluebird

Although it isn't technically Spring yet, it has been extremely refreshing to see nature coming back after a long and cold Winter. 

I see a lot of Cardinals, Bluejays, Carolina Chickadees, Sparrows, Carolina Wrens, and more!

We have a sneaky little Carolina Wren that is trying to make a home in our screened in patio! I finally caught him in action this morning! 😂

🌷

On a different topic, I made a delicious dinner last night (husband approved).

As many of you know, I'm not a huge fan of cooking. My Farberware air fryer completely makes cooking a breeze!

For dinner, I coated chicken legs with organic coconut flour & Weber garlic jalapeno seasoning; cooked the chicken on 360 degrees for 15 minutes, flipped them over and cooked another 20 minutes.

The chicken turned out perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Without using oil, these fried chicken legs are MUCH healthier!

Yummy! 😋

QUESTIONS:

* Is it Spring weather or Winter weather where you live?

* What are the most common birds you see around where you live?

* Do you like fried chicken?

Baby, It's Cold Outside ❄️

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Brrr...It is a cold start to this Sunday morning! A chilly 24 degrees outside right now!

I LOVE this cold weather! Knoxville actually had some decent flurries on Friday!

Chilly days call for hot cocoa!

This past week has been a lot of fun. I've been able to do a little exploring around Knoxville and check out some places that I have been wanting to go to for a while now! Here's a recap of this past week!

First off, I'm super excited that I can finally make smoothies again! I got a Ninja blender for my Birthday last week, and I've been making a smoothie practically everyday!

To get my chocolate cravings in, I've been making more banana, chocolate smoothies. I add the ground flaxseed because of the health benefits, but mostly because it helps keep me fuller, longer. 

1 banana, chocolate almond milk (about 1/2 cup) , 1/2 tablespoon ground flaxseed, and ice!

Speaking of chocolate cravings...

Last Monday was NATIONAL COOKIE DAY!!

I picked up these gluten-free cookies from Aldi! The brand is Live G Free, and these cookies were double chocolate brownie. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprising, the cookies tasted really good! I liked how soft and chewy these cookies were. The only downfall is how tiny they are! 2 cookies = 120 calories. Two cookies isn't bad though when you just need a little bit of dessert!

Cat cuddles!

Now, for the exploring Knoxville restaurants/shops bit:

I enjoy my days off with the hubby, especially since it doesn't happen often enough. I was ecstatic when we had Thursday off together.

Nathan and I have a nice long list of restaurants we want to try out. 

We decided to go to Tandur Indian Kitchen for lunch!

Tandur Indian Kitchen was sooooo yummy!! I certainly love Indian food, so when I heard about Tandur Indian Kitchen arriving in Knoxville, TN, I was extremely excited! When you enter the restaurant, I was greeted by the friendliest staff, offering to explain the menu. I already knew the majority of the menu, so I ordered right away! 

I love Saag (creamed spinach), so I ordered it with chicken. My meal came with either basmati rice or brown (I ordered brown rice), and regular Naan bread.

We ordered vegetable samosas to start out - the mint sauce is delicious! I have to learn the recipe!

Samosas!

Saag with chicken, brown rice, and plain naan!

After an incredible lunch, the hubs and I needed to walk it off. Just down the road is Bearden area, and there are so many local shops that I haven't been to yet!

Fig & Co. is one of the many places that I had been really wanting to check out. I can't believe it has taken me this long to go into Fig & Co.! They had the cutest home decor and very reasonable prices! This is the place to go to get your Christmas presents for everyone!

The staff was extremely friendly, as soon as Nathan and I walked in, we were offered to try some chocolates (we were too full from our lunch), and they also gladly answered any questions we had! I really appreciate genuine customer service; that's exactly what you receive at Fig & Co.!

I bought an adorable fox trinket box, a little "puzzle" reindeer! I plan on going back very soon to get some more Christmas gifts!

Right next door to Fig & Co., is another interesting boutique/shop - Ironic.  Ironic had really one of a kind pieces that I absolutely adored! This advent calendar was super cute (move the mouse to each day of the month)! At Ironic, there was home decor, clothing, some jewelry, chalk paint, and more!

Since we were still in Bearden area, we went into Nadeau (furniture with a soul).

 The staff was also extremely friendly and inviting! 

There were SO many pieces of furniture that I just wished I could take home with us! The prices were surprisingly reasonable for the majority of the pieces of furniture!

I will certainly go back after the holidays, and pick out the beautiful pieces of furniture I want/need for the home!

It's always exciting exploring new restaurants and shops. I have a list of more places so it won't be long till I check more places out! 

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Oh, apparently, the Nutcrackers couldn't handle all the nuts...😂

QUESTIONS:

* Do you enjoy snow?

* Have you had snow/flurries yet?

* Have you finished your Christmas present shopping?

Back on the Saddle

I have been on a writing hiatus for some time now, and it is time to get back on the saddle! I have missed writing and sharing my posts. As many of you know, it has been a difficult year for me, since my Dad passed away.

Fall is the perfect time to begin writing again. Inspiration is literally all around - the stunning display of new colors, a chill in the air, and the feeling that something new is around the corner!

The trees transform themselves this time of the year, almost as if they have been touched by Midas himself. I've been driving through tunnels of gold this past month, and it's always mesmerizing.

I figured I would share some highlights from last month! Can you believe it is November already?! 

Pumpkin spice is nice and all, but have you heard about Reese's Peanut Butter Cup coffee creamer?! Yeah, I finally found it at Walmart, and it is AMAZING!

Of course, fall is never complete without making pumpkin muffins! These muffins are the easiest to make, and they never ever fail! All you need is unsweetened applesauce, spice cake mix, canned pumpkin, and walnuts (whole/crushed - whichever you prefer).

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Nom, nom, nom!

Toward the beginning of October, only a few trees began to change color, but Nathan and I woke up at 4:30 am to drive up into the mountains (Cherohala Skyway) to see the sunrise. 

Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in, and ruined the sunrise. It was still a fun adventure!

Full Harvest Moon before the sunrise.

My furbaby, Riley, turned 7! 

Cat cuddle session time!

October is one of the best times to go down to Charleston, SC. The humidity is gone, and the temperature is perfect! 

Eating lunch at Pier 101 for Mom's Birthday!!

Beach hair, don't care!

I actually found a shark tooth! Haha! A small piece of it broke off, so I will have to super glue it, but how awesome is it that I found one?!

Finally, after coming home from vacay the end of October, the majority of the trees changed color! Nathan and I cruised over to Cade's Cove at the perfect time!

How cute is this salamander?!

October is never complete without Halloween!

Nathan had to work, unfortunately, so I painted some Halloween decor (Calavera & Eyeball), while I watched Hocus Pocus, and waited on Trick-or-Treaters! Oh, I also played on Snapchat...

So there you have it! I am happy to be back and writing again! :)

Destin, Florida Vacation Part 2!

Today has been a bit rainy, which makes it the best time to catch y'all up on this past weeks activities in Destin, Florida!

Nathan and Riley headed back home, but I had the opportunity to stay just a little while longer with Kay and Steve at the beach!
Nathan and I had to get our picture taken in front of the sunset before he had to leave the next day!

Sunset

Monday, was deep sea fishing day! Kay, Steve, Pam, Joe, and I were excited to get on the boat and catch some fish! I was there to be the photographer while everyone else fished. Since I get sick easily, I took dramamine an hour before we headed out on the boat. Our boat was "Cutting Edge," over at HarborWalk Village. The deep sea excursion lasted 8 hours, and it was an interesting adventure!

Cutting Edge Charters Inc.

Our first stop was to catch the "bait" fish to use later to catch the big deep sea fish.

After catching enough bait fish, it was time to head out to deeper waters.

While attempting to catch some huge amberjacks, the sharks decided to join in and take the fish!!

I was really hoping to see a shark or two, and I got my wish! I didn't want them to take the fish away from us, but alas, they did.

The sharks kept hanging out, so the Captain took us to a different spot to try again.

At the second location, we ended up having dolphins steal the fish instead of the sharks!!

Dolphin swimming away with Joe's fish

At the end of the day, we walked away with 48 fish (snappers, mostly), not counting all the fish we had to throw back!

Triggerfish and red snapper are out of season and had to be thrown back in the water. The amberjacks that were caught were only a few inches too small, so those also had to be thrown back into the ocean.

The pelicans waited patiently for some goodies after our return to the harbor.

A heron stood by closely, also waiting for some handouts!

Tuesday was a chill day! The girls met up with Kay and I, and we all went to get manicures and pedicures!

OPI nailpolish - "This color's making waves"

This past week, meals have been prepared mostly at home. Dinner was Wahoo fish (bought from Destin Ice and Seafood) with mango salsa, and a side of asparagus! The wahoo with mango salsa was excellent!

Wednesday morning, Kay and I woke up early to see the sunrise and walk over to a nearby coffee shop.

The sunrise never had a chance to appear, the fog just didn't want to let up.

Although we didn't see a sunrise, we found 33 jellyfish washed up on shore. Turns out the jellyfish are actually a type of Portuguese Man of War jellyfish! Yikes!

Bad Ass Coffee was worth the 2.33 mile walk! I had a skim latte that absolutely hit the spot!

After a morning of running errands, the car needed a bath! While the car was being washed, we walked next door to Aegean just for a place to sit and a cup of coffee to drink. I wouldn't mind going back to the Greek restaurant to try their food!

It has been fun cooking meals at home! Chicken taco salad was our choice for dinner! Yum!!

I've been trying to at least get over 10,000 steps a day! Walking so much has caused some pain, but I won't let it stop me!

Thursday morning, Kay mentioned going to "The Donut Hole," I simply could not refuse!

Western Omelette

Real breakfast food was pretty good, but the doughnuts were the best part. There were tons of choices of different doughnuts to choose from! I grabbed a bunch to take back home!

(left to right) Apple fritter, Chocolate Angel, Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Peanut Butter filled doughnut, Red Velvet, Chocolate Coconut, and Raspberry filled doughnut

After breakfast, it was time to go to Destin Commons for a little shopping, and find our penny souvenir machines!

The weather was gorgeous, our next stop had to be across from Harbor Walk to look for more shells!

Low and behold, I found a shark tooth!!!!!

A pod of dolphins showed up!

If Gandolf the Great were a bird....

I made a Caprese chicken dinner, based on a Pinterest find - you can find the recipe here: Caprese Stuffed Chicken Foil Packs

I was too excited and hungry, I forgot to take a picture of dinner, but it turned out excellent!!

Dessert HAD to be split 3 ways! The apple fritter is massive, and a third of it was plenty! If you ever have the chance to go to The Donut Hole, I highly recommend the apple fritter!!

Vacation has been awesome! I've been impressed with Destin, Florida, especially since it isn't exactly tourist season. The beaches aren't super full, so you can actually appreciate the beauty here! Though, I can't imagine how it is during Spring and Summer!

Questions for you!

* Have you ever been deep sea fishing?

* Where is your favorite place to get doughnuts?

* What is your favorite kind of doughnut?