I can’t resist alliteration. 😉 

That said, we did have a great time with our family and friends over Memorial Day weekend. We drove down Friday afternoon and stayed with Sean’s dad and stepmom. We had sushi for dinner and played cards. It was a nice event of catching up and celebrating the closing of our new house! 

The next morning we headed to my grandparent’s house after a yummy breakfast of homemade bagels with lox and cream cheese. My grandparents only live 15 minutes from Sean’s dad and stepmom – it’s very convenient to see lots of family when we come to Florida!

On the way there, we saw so many magnolia trees. They were in full bloom everywhere and I couldn’t get enough. Beautiful and fragrant!

It was my sweet grandmother’s 84th birthday and it was awesome to be able to share it with her. I can’t remember the last time I was with her on her birthday. We had lunch, played a few intense rounds of the card game “Hand and Foot,” and laughed a lot. 

My grandman brought out some old photos at one point. I opened an envelope and pulled out all the 8×10 photos from her wedding to her first husband and my mom’s dad, Bill, who died of a heart attack when my mom was 13. It was horribly tragic and my grandma still gets tears in her eyes when she talks about him. They were soulmate. <3

I had never seen the photos before and was captivated by them. All in black and white, they captured a couple in love, surrounded by loving family and filled with joy on their special day. From “getting ready” photos to cake cutting photos, it seemed all the traditional shots we get today were done back then, too. 

The quality of the photos themselves was shocking. Like they’d never been touched, even though they were over 60 years old!

It was a wonderufl visit with my grandma. I’m grateful for these special times we share together.

And no visit in 2015 would be complete with some selfies. Luckily for us, the GPs quickly learned the concept and got in the action. Fun!

Back at Sean’s parent’s house, we had dinner. Well, first we had starters – including these amazing roasted carrots with cumin and creme fraiche and caprese bites.

Our next course was grilled halloumi (a hard Greek cheese) with rhubarb, lemon and fennel pollen (I might be missing more detail here, but it’s what I could remember since I didn’t write it down at the time.) This was one of more unique and lovely things I’ve had to eat in a long time. I’m a fan of all the flavors in this dish and they went together perfectly to create what can only be described as a party in my mouth. 

Next up was a chilled soup with cucumber, rhubarb and strawberries – topped with ricotta cheese. This was crisp, cool, bright and sweet – perfect dish for the start of summer and a great way to use in-season fruits like strawberries and rhubarb.

Sean’s dad showed us how to cook lamb. These perfectly grilled lamb lollipops started out as a rack of lamb and were delicious with simple seasonings of garlic, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Yum!

On Sunday morning it was time to leave for the beach! We said goodbye to Stella and Chelsea for the next two days and drove down to Siesta Key to visit Sean’s friend Sean and his fiance Caitlyn.

If you’ve not been to Siesta Key Beach, you should definitely add it to your list. The sand is sparkling white quartz and is cool to the touch. It feels a bit like baking powder. The water is turquoise and green and blue and clear and perfect! Even with all the people out for the holiday weekend, the beauty was undeniable.

Sean and Sean shotgunned beers together. It was our friend Sean’s first time doing that. It was pretty funny.

Pure white sand. Ahhh.

We were at the beach for most of the day. We went out for dinner in Sarasota at the Colombia where we all had a nice dinner and some wine. Later, we played cards and just hung out, catching up. Good times!

On Monday morning we drove over to Orlando, where Sean’s mom and stepdad where coming from Melbourne to meet us. We met at a local botanical garden and spent a couple of hours strolling through the very lush grounds in high humidity and catching up about house stuff, summer plans, etc.

I loved all the big palm frawns. Perfect backdrop for photos!

The Spanish moss made me feel, for a second, that I was in Savannah. I love it’s combination of peace and mystery.

After the gardens, we took his parents out for a later Mother’s Day/early Father’s Day sushi lunch. It was a place Sean used to go to all the time when he was working and living in Orlando. It was good – portions were HUGE – and it was fun to go to a place that had nice memories for him.

On our drive back to Dade City, we stopped at Cigar City Brewing for a flight. It was cool being there in person after having so many of their beers brought to us from Sean’s friends and family. (We can’t get their beer in Georgia yet.)

We had one last dinner with Sean’s dad and stepmom then headed home on Tuesday morning with the pups. A quick trip, but worthwhile. It was good to see everyone and to explore Florida a bit more. Until next time, Sunshine State!