Zoes Kitchen

I've seen Zoes Kitchen in Gainesville and Jacksonville and wanted to try it out.  So I was excited when a Central Florida Lady Bloggers event was held there.

Zoes Kitchen is a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant.  And there was tons of yummy foods to try!  I think my favorite was the hummus trio.

There was traditional, red pepper, and basil pesto served with pita bread and cucumbers.  The basil pesto was the overall favorite of the group.  We couldn't stop eating it!

Then we tried the Greek Salad which had tomato, cucumbers, olives, onions, feta, and greens.  We topped it with Zoes Kitchen Greek Dressing.

I **might** have been picking out all the cheese to eat first!  Love it!

Next came the sides

Pasta Salad with fresh basil and feta

Seasonal Fresh Fruit

Potato Salad made with baby reds

Rice Pilaf with fresh seasonings

And Braised White Beans with fresh rosemary

I am not normally a bean person.  And I can't believe I'm saying it.  But this dish was a very close second favorite of mine of the night.  They were absolutely delicious!  I could easily have eaten the whole bowl and not shared at all!

Some kabobs came out next.

Shrimp & salmon kabobs with zuchinni

Steak kabobs with roasted red bell pepper and onions

And chicken kabobs with grilled peppers, onions and tomatoes

Be warned--the shrimp and salmon ones had a kick to them!  The steak was my fav of the three.  Often times the steak can be tough and dry, but not here!  It was cooked perfectly.

We also go to try Spinach Roll-ups which were tortillas with mozzarella, fresh mushrooms, feta, roasted tomatoes, and scallions served with a dipping salsa (we were warned the salsa was spicy so I didn't try any)

And grilled chicken breast

For dessert we tried the Ya-Ya's Handmade Chocolate Cake

It had the texture of being not quite all the way done--which I love!!  I *may* have had three of these pieces! (Hey, that's why I run!)

We walked away stuffed!  They're opening a restaurant on my side of town in Dr. Phillips by the end of June and I can't wait to go try more items off the menu (especially the Mediterranean Baked Feta).  And I'll definitely be ordering more of those braised white beans!

Weekly Recap- February 22-28, 2016

No race this weekend...felt weird!

Monday--softball.  We won by run-ruling the other team.

Tuesday--rest

Wednesday--3 miles in 30:16  Felt so good to run with the morning group again. Mile 1: 10:12, Mile 2: 10:02, Mile 3: 10:04, Average Pace: 10:06

I attended a Central Florida Lady Blogger's Event at Zoes Kitchen!  I'd seen them around and was excited to try them!

Thursday--rest

Cori, Faith and I attended the Disney Vacation Club 25th Anniversary Disney Parks Blog Meet-Up!
First we enjoyed yummy food and drinks at the Top of the World Lounge at the Contemporary and saw some characters!  Then we headed over to the Polynesian to taste some food inspired by Trader Sam's, take a tour of one of the over-the-water bungalows, and enjoy a Dole Whip!

We met up with Kate and Katie at the Magic Kingdom for the Disney Vacation Club 25 and Beyond Bash!  There were short lines for rides and characters and tons of cookies, chips, and ice cream bars to snack on!

Friday--rest

We celebrated Cori's Belated Birthday at Hamburger Mary's.  It was so much fun!

Saturday--rest

We celebrated Olivia's birthday at Kobe!

Then Faith and I took a field trip to Donut King since we'd been wanting to go!  Yum!

Sunday--3 miles in 29:23 Mile 1: 10:12, Mile 2: 9:47, Mile 3: 9:25, Average Pace: 9:48

I participated in the Disney Bowl-a-thon with Kelly, Ron, Kacie, Paul, & Mikey.  Such a great time!

My friend Meghan over at Meghan on the Move is celebrating in memory of her pup, Pepper's 11th birthday.  She asked friends to do something special for puppies or kitties over the weekend.  #RAKsForWoof  In honor of Pepper, I gathered up all of Bella's things from when she was a puppy that she didn't use like training pads and toys, and I'll be donating them to the local animal shelter.  Hope you're having a wonderful birthday over that Rainbow Bridge, Pepper!

Total miles this week: 6

Total miles in 2916: 174.48

Total miles: 2714.16

Tijuana Flats Wants To Give You The Bird!!

Tijuana Flats is having a limited edition item this month--seasoned ground turkey!!

All of your favorites can be made with it for this month only (although hopefully it might become a permanent item in the future.)  And this Sunday, they're having a special--Turkey BOGO!!

I attended a Central Florida Lady Bloggers event there last week and got to try a bunch of yummy items!

The first item we tried was a Turkey Tostada.  It was lightly fried corn tortilla with refried beans, melted cheese, toppings, salsa, and of course--TURKEY!  

Outside of dessert, this was my favorite menu item of the night! 

Next up we tried the Mahi Tacos topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, and a southwest citrus vinaigrette. 

The mahi in it was cooked deliciously!

Next came the Blackened Chicken Flautas.  I'd been wanting to try these but always stick with my standard so I was excited!

They were perfectly crispy and I loved that it came with queso to dip in!

Our last entree item of the night was a Ground Turkey Norrito Bowl (no + burrito = norrito).

I loved their take on the bowl.

And finally--dessert.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Flautas!

These are simply amazing!! I could eat the whole platter by myself if allowed!!!

We left stuffed and happy!

I learned some fun facts about Tijuana Flats--it was started in 1995 by a UCF grad and is now in 6 states!  And they have a foundation called the Just In Queso Foundation where all proceeds from the sale of each bottle of Just In Queso Hot Sauce go to.  

And another fun fact that I especially enjoy but didn't until now-- with ID, all teachers get 10% off!

Weekly Recap--February 15-21, 2016

It was Glass Slipper Challenge Week!

Monday--rest

It was President's Day so thankfully we had a day off from school.  And Kory and I had a lunch date at Red Robin...yum!

Tuesday--rest

Wednesday--rest

I attended a Central Florida Lady Blogger's Event at Tijuana Flats.  We tasted some of their limited time turkey menu items!

Thursday--rest

It was Princess Half Marathon Expo time--my favorite one of the year!  There's always such cute stuff to buy!

That night we celebrated Jordan's birthday at Hagan O'Reilly's.

Friday--rest

Saturday--Glass Slipper Challenge Part 1...Enchanted 10k..6.48 miles in 1:35:50  We stopped for so many great pictures! Mile 1: 10:32, Mile 2: 17:54, Mile 3: 14:33, Mile 4: 15:34, Mile 5: 20:42, Mile 6: 11:47, Mile 6-6.48: 10:31, Average Pace: 14:49

I met up with some DisBrides for breakfast at Ohana.  And I had to get a Princess Cupcake from the Contemporary (it said cotton candy flavored but it tasted like Funfetti--yum!)

Sunday--Glass Slipper Challenge Part 2...Princess Half Marathon. 13.42 miles in 3:06:47 No intervals today... Only stopped at water stops & long character lines. Our total moving time (so not time in line) was 2:38:57. Mile 1: 10:28, Mile 2: 10:10, Mile 3: 19:02, Mile 4: 18:33, Mile 5: 11:39, Mile 6: 12:38, Mile 7: 21:11, Mile 8: 14:21, Mile 9: 15:22, Mile 10: 11:02, Mile 11: 12:06, Mile 12: 11:26, Mile 13: 14:23, Mile 13-13.42: 11:12, Average Pace: 13:56

We stopped for so many pictures that had long  lines but it was so worth it.  And for the first time, I only stopped for those pics and at the water stops--no intervals.

Total miles this week: 19.9 miles
Total miles in 2016: 168.48
Total miles: 2708.16

Weekly Recap- February 8-14, 2016

Donna 26.2 Marathon week!

Monday--rest

Tuesday--rest

Faith & I took her munchkin to 33 & Melt for some grilled cheese yumminess.

Wednesday--rest

Thursday--rest

I'm obsessed with Nothing Bundt Cakes and there's a new location near us.  Kory surprised me by picking some up as an early Valentine's Day present!

Friday--1 mile in 10:39  Cori's birthday Dunkin Donuts Run

Bella got a haircut!

Since I had the marathon on Valentine's Day, we went to an early dinner to celebrate.  Kory surprised me by taking me to Coral Reef at Epcot.  He had some strings pulled and we had seats right next to the window.  It was so neat!!

Saturday--rest

Faith and I drove up to Gainesville to drop off Ava Joy and pick up Blair.  Then we drove to my parents house and dropped off Bella before heading to the Donna 26.2 Expo!

Then we met up with a bunch of MRTT ladies for a pre-race dinner at Carraba's.

Sunday--Donna 26.2  26.55 miles in 5:45:24 Took it easy and had tons of fun! Mile 1: 10:17, Mile 2: 11:36, Mile 3: 10:59, Mile 4: 11:41, Mile 5: 11:40, Mile 6: 11:56, Mile 7: 11:51, Mile 8: 12:19, Mile 9: 12:35, Mile 10: 12:07, Mile 11: 13:41, Mile 12: `1:58, Mile 13: 12:37, Mile 14: 13:48, Mile 15: 12:20, Mile 16: 14:37, Mile 17: 13:16, Mile 18: 12:08, Mile 19: 15:00, Mile 20: 14:36, Mile 21: 16:17, Mile 22: 13:14, Mile 23: 13:20, Mile 24: 14:47, Mile 25: 16:39, Mile 26: 12:44, Mile 26-26.55: 11:37, Average Pace: 13:01

We took our time and had a blast!  Outside of Disney races, this race is still my favorite!

We headed back to my parents house to shower, then to Gainesville and finally back home!

Total miles this week: 27.55
Total miles in 2016:148.58
Total miles: 2688.26

Race #101- Walt Disney World Half Marathon

Now more than halfway though the Dopey Challenge (race-wise, not mile-wise!) we were just starting the Goofy Challenge!

Faith wanted to wear her Hope Water jersey, so the two of us and Blair decided to dress up as Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

We hung out at the Hope Water tent before the race with a big group of friends.

And had some more fun in the corrals!

Soon, we were off!

Faith was running with her hubby so I was on my own which was fine with me since I love stopping for pictures.

There was a random hot air balloon on the ground.  It was cool, but I didn't really get the significance of it.

Before I knew it, I was at the Magic Kingdom tollbooth!

As I turned the corner before going into the TTC, Cori was there to greet me!  She always knows the perfect spots.

The one big hill at Disney?  Right before the Contemporary---lol  But there's some awesome music (and Mickey hands) to get you going.

And then my favorite part of some runDisney races..turning the corner on Main Street and seeing the castle. And during Marathon weekend, it still has the lights on it!  Simply magical!

And of course I have to stop for a picture in front of the castle

Around this time, Faith messaged me that she was going to wait for me at mile 7--I wasn't too far behind.  

Around mile 8.5 or so, we saw the balloon ladies heading into the Magic Kingdom.

And Sebastian had no line, so we stopped for a picture.  Turned out to be one of my favorites of the race, surprisingly.

We saw Cori again and got a group selfie

We made it to the overpass right before the Studios.  Faith was tired so she took a quick nap

And we got yelled at during one of our walk breaks and had to drop and give 10

Spaceship Earth meant we were almost done

And when we saw cheerleader Minnie right at the end, we had to stop for a picture!

Disney races are just pure fun!!

Our official time was 2:35:08.  I placed 7831 out of 21505 overall (so top half), 3370 out of 12311 for women (top third) and 603 out of 1960 in my age group (top third).  Not bad for just having fun!!