Red Dress. Special Day.

I have some amazing news to share, before I get into my actual blog .... I got engaged last night!!! On my birthday, too!!! What a fabulous birthday!! :) 

Since I've been in FL, we've eaten at some amazing restaurants. I wanted to share those, along with some pictures from last night. Got a special red dress from Barney's on the way down to FL. I decided on a red dress for 2 reasons. One, I need to incorporate more color into my wardrobe, especially since spring is right around the corner. I feel like I always buy things in black, and while I love the color, I need to get more colored pieces. Secondly, since I've been blonde, I've been liking the color red on me more and more. I thought this bright red dress could be worn a lot of ways, and I'm glad I got it! I wore the dress with one of my favorite pairs of sky-high black heels. They have a hidden platform inside, so they are very comfortable!

For lunch, Chris and I went to Yoder's, a quaint little place in Sarasota that we had seen on Man vs Food.  We were sold when we saw that they made tons of homemade desserts, the most popular being the Peanut Butter Cream Pie. Since we both love dessert, we thought this would be the perfect place for a birthday lunch. We were right...everything we had was amazing! (especially the pie!) That night, Chris and I went to the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota for drinks before dinner. The hotel was gorgeous. There were red roses all over the place, for Valentines Day. After he proposed (and calmed down), we met our friends for a birthday/celebration dinner at this cute tapas restaurant called Ceviche. Between the four of us we got 7-8 dishes. My favorties were the "ceviche de atun," sushi-grade tuna marinated in lemon, lime, cilantro, jalenpeno, and sweet onion.....the "gambas al ajillo," shrimp severed sizzling in garlic and EVOO and red peppers.....and the "table mixta," which was a plate full of meats, cheeses, and fruits! We also had an amazing champagne sangria, with tons of fruit floating around the glass! After dinner, we all came home and opened a bottle of 2005 Duckhorn Cabernet... hands down the best wine I've ever had!! What a great night!

Peanut Butter Cream Pie from Yoder's, complete with bday candle!

Ritz Carlton

Love these shoes!!

Some of our yummy food at Ceviche

Wanted to share this special moment with everyone reading :)

Greetings from Sarasota, FL

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while... Been super busy with work, then drove down to FL yesterday with my boyfriend. Loooooong drive! Thankfully, he let me stop in Atlanta to shop for an hour before driving the rest of the way. :)  Today, we decided to mess around Sarasota for the day, stopping to eat at "The Old Salty Dog Cafe." Chris and I love watching "Man vs Food" on the Travel Channel, and Adam went to The Old Salty Dog in one episode. We have a running list of restaurants we want to visit in different cities, and this was one of them. I just had to try the "salty dog." Let's just say it's not the best thing in the world for a person to eat. Ever. (You only live once, right???) I also had one of the best bloody marys I've ever had! It was super spicy, which totally does it for me in terms of any kind of food...especially bloody marys! Chris and I also went to watch the sunset on Anna Maria Island before dinner at The Waterfront Restaurant. It was beautiful - but very, very windy - as you can see in the pictures below.

One of the best-ever Bloody Marys

The Salty Dog, featured on Man vs Food

Snapping some quick pics before the wind blew us away... sorry about the car in the backgroud. Kind of came out of nowhere.

Bracelets I threw on for the adventure :)

Red Wine + cheese plate + beach = heaven.

He said since it was my b'day tomorrow, I could put a picture of him up on the blog!

This sunset is perfection!

Miel.

Last night, my boyfriend, a songwriter I work with, and I tried out a new restaurant called Miel. It's a French restaurant that serves local farm and artisan products It's in a weird area here in town, but the building and inside is very warm and charming. For appetizer, I had some of the BEST oysters I've ever had while dining in Nashville. (They came from Boston, so that explains it!) I also tried Foie Gras for the first time ever! I am an adventurous eater, but foie gras always kind of weirded me out. It was good and very tasty, but it was a little too fatty for my taste. Glad I tried it, but I think I'll stick with oysters from now on! I also tried Bouillabaisse for the first time. Bouillabaisse is a fish-type stew served in a tomato broth. There were prawns, scallops, muscles, and fish in the stew. I loved it and will definitely try it again next time I see it on a menu! We also had some amazing wine that went with everything we had. It is pictured below if you want the name. Miel means "honey" in French, so I was told last night. At the end of our dinner, the waiter brought out tiny spoonfuls on orange blossom honey. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic meal! If you're in Nashville I would highly recommend this place!

Foie gras

Another dish worth mentioning... the duck, it was a special last night. YUM!

                                                       My fabulous Bouillabaisse

Creme Brulee, inverted so that it's in a sugar cup! Very inventive!

My dessert choice: Profiteroles with hot fudge sauce