summer is such a fun time of year for me, and for scott.

it’s a mix really, the first half is spent away from our house on summer project and the second half is slower. i really love both, but it has been so nice to have a few things to do here and there and then just do whatever i want to do. i’ve been able to sleep in, cook a lot, spend time with friends, read and watch a lot of food network to get more cooking inspiration.

this weekend i’m going to the beach to hang out with my summer project staff girls

i can’t wait! soon enough the school year will start and then it’ll be december and i won’t remember where the year has gone. this will be my last little hoorah, i think. if something else pops up i won’t complain.

so, so hot.

it’s hotter than the center of hell here in tallahassee. by 9am you can expect temperatures to be in the high 90′s with the humidity reaching 80-90%. this leaves residents like me quite miserable! it’s impossible to be outside without a pool within 10 feet for more than half an hour unless you experience things starting to spin or you’re plagued with heat exhaustion.

none the less our dog still has to get walked and we can’t stay inside all day. so what do we do?

1. we are cooking recipes that don’t require the stove or oven on, at least not for very long.

2. we go to the pool around the corner from our house and spend a couple hours relaxing and dipping in every 10 min.

3. we make fruit smoothies to keep us cool.

4. we go to movies on cheap days. last night we saw inception. it’s a great movie, tons of thinking involved, lots of action and super fast. 2 1/2 hours felt like 1. i suggest you see it, it’s definitely worth it!

5. reading in a coffee shop gets us out of the house but we still get to stay cool all the while continuing on our summer reading list! i’ve finished 4 books this summer…that’s a record people.

scott suggested today that we play in the hose. not a bad idea…

so, these are just a few things we do during the summer to stay hydrated, cool and sane. what do you do?

kool b.e.a.n.z

tonight scott and i went to kool beanz in midtown for dinner. i love this place for several reasons. the menu constantly changes leaving it full of fresh and fun ingredients that are unique to the restaurant. i also love that they have quaint outdoor seating if you’d like to venture into the heat of summer. their wine menu is displayed on an actual empty wine bottle which is super funky! they bring fresh bread and fluffy butter to the table and their menu is clipped on a clip board.

on the menu tonight we saw anything from coffee rubbed pork tenderloin to green tea salmon. every item is paired with yummy sides too, or you can splurge and get a couple appetizers like homemade hummus, falafel or seared shrimp and grits. tonight scott and i shared the artichoke and roasted red pepper hummus and the brie and pear stuffed chicken which came with rosemary-thyme potatoes and asparagus. it was d-e-l-i-s-h. if you live in tallahassee and haven’t been, GO! if you’re visiting make a stop, you won’t be disappointed.

http://www.koolbeanz-cafe.com/

image via google

i’m back to review those cupcakes. they were so delicious! i couldn’t taste the difference at all and they were only roughly 200 cal a cupcake. not bad for a little dessert! you should try adding veggies into your dessert in place of butter or oil…you’ll be pleasantly surprised! enjoy your monday night. tonight…real housewives of NJ! (my secret smutty addiction)

cupcakes and zucchini.

strange combination. i followed a recipe that incorporates this veggie into vanilla cupcakes. i’ve always wanted to see how well the flavor of a vegetable in a sweet glorious dessert can be masked. they are cooking away in my oven at the moment. i’ll review after eating one.

scott and i have been enduring “hell week.” minus this cupcake i’ll be eating here in a sec to kick off our mad men marathon, we haven’t eaten any excess sweets or snacks since thursday and plan on continuing to do so until next thursday. sort of a detox-get the crap out-cleanse this bod of mine week. i’ll also review this next week. so far, i’m starving. but it’s fine. sort of.

also, a couple days ago i made home made nutri grain bars. they are so so good. i enjoy a good boxed, peel the wrapper back nutri bar as much as the next girl, but gosh darnit, these are better. the crunchy topping makes them hard to resist. the only thing keeping me from eating the whole pan is a piece of foil and lemme tell you, that stuff is weak. not really only a little at breakfast! remember, hell week? nothing in excess!! bahhhh, i hate/love you scott for doing this to me.

do you know who i really missed while in miami? ina garten…yep, i’ve missed her soothing voice and consistently blue attire, not to mention her french inspired, buttery sugary cuisine. today, a perfect french dinner party? invite me over Ina!!

scott and i are about to start watching season 1 and 2 of mad men before the premiere of season 4 next week. we are skipping season 3 cause we already did a synopsis.

enjoy your saturday.

life has resumed…kind of.

i’m in Virginia right visiting Emily! Scott is bored out of his mind in Jacksonville waiting for my return. Then we will venture back to tallahassee.

summer is so fun but so busy at the same time. summer project definitely helped relax and refresh us but then we were only home 5 days before going back to jacksonville to celebrate the 4th and catch a flight to VA.

oh well, that’s what its all about right?

we went blueberry picking today. let me tell you what…that is an affordable and fun way to get lots of blueberries! i got roughly two pounds for under $5. that’s cheap!

now we’re at demolition coffee in the heart of petersburg. tonight we’re going into the big city of richmond to have dinner and go to a movie in an old historic theatre! i’m excited to see this theatre. it’s been restored to its original condition from the 1920′s. so fun!

off to enjoy the trip…

http://www.byrdtheatre.com/