Travel Shenanigans
I've been wanting to go home to visit friends and family all summer, so I finally broke down, bought the airline tickets, and did it! I decided to take a detour to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area on my way to visit two of my good friends Mindy and Ali. My pug, Ali, always knows when I'm going somewhere. Look at her snuggling up in my clothes while I was trying to pack:
It's like she thinks that if she integrates herself into what I'm packing, I'll just place her in my suitcase, too! I wish Tater Tot!
My friends have been so awesome and understanding of my "need to stay off my feet and heal" situation. So was Southwest Airlines. Look at this!
I'm still kind of shocked that they actually gave this to me! I needed to sit in the very front so I could stretch out my leg and move around if I got uncomfortable. I am so grateful for the nice guy at the desk for doing this for me! Hopefully the next time I need one of these is when I'm like 85 or 90 years old lol!
Shameless airport selfie. Being in Denver was such a tease! I have a few friends that love Colorado, and one that went to school there, and I really want to visit and check it out. My flight from Denver to Ft. Lauderdale was delayed by almost two hours, but it still wasn't enough time to leave and come back. I could feel the cold air walking through the tunnel coming off of the plane, and just wanted to put on a sweater with jeans,Uggs and a scarf and walk around in it. Colorado is on my travel bucket list for sure.
Look at all of my Four Square badges! I really get around, don't I, lol!!
My flight finally landed in Ft. L after 1am. I changed at the airport and we went straight out to meet up with Mindy's friends. It's so easy to forget about humidity when you live in AZ, holy cow!
I'm pretty sure the only reason I was able to hang as long as I did Friday night was because I'm still on AZ time. I don't know how I used to party so late! Also, they were nice enough to make sure I had a place to sit while we were out.
Saturday, we went to lunch at an Italian place in Ft. Lauderdale. I had shrimp cocktail, and a beet and goat cheese salad that was really good!
Mindy had a caprese/antipasto salad with grilled chicken.
I got FroYo on the way home. They had sea salted caramel flavor. SO yummy!
The plan for that night was to go out to dinner, and then to a club called Gryphon after that to celebrate one of Mindy's friend's birthdays.
I absolutely love my curling wand. It works so much better on longer hair for me. Even the next day it still looks good wavy! I love an "investment" hairstyle-when you know that taking the time to do it will get you at least two days of good hair ;-).
Nicole, me, and Mindy at Tatu before dinner. Tatu is an Asian fusion/sushi restaurant at the Hard Rock Seminole. It was really good, but the service was really slow.
She got a spicy tuna roll and I got a Marilyn Monroll, which was the most highly recommended dish on Yelp.
For dessert, they serve cotton candy.
I didn't take any pictures the rest of the night. Once we finally got into the club, no one could find the friend whose birthday we were celebrating, and therefore, there was no place to sit. I sat somewhere in the club, and was told by the @$$40!$ security guy that I couldn't sit there. So we left to try to find him, and I had to sit while they looked. Then, I was told by the security lady for the complex that I couldn't sit where I was sitting and asked if I needed a wheelchair after I explained my situation to her. This just hit me hard emotionally, and at that point, I was ready to go. It was 2am and I was tired of being a gimp and not having any fun because of it. Mindy was nice enough to let me drive her car home and go to bed. It's like as soon as those words came out of the lady's mouth, the last five months of disability came tumbling down on me. Going home was the right thing to do.
I got some good sleep and rest, and woke up feeling much better both physically and emotionally the next day.
That evening, we went to Rustic Inn Crabhouse for dinner with Ali.
I had frog legs for the first time! They really do taste like chicken. I also had alligator, which was really good, too. Look at the Dungeness garlic crabs we got!
I was wearing garlic by the time we were done. No shame in digging right in and pounding the crap out of the crab legs with the mallet! When it was someone's birthday, everyone would start pounding on the tables with their mallets. It was so fun! Some of the best crab I have ever had for sure!
After dinner, Mindy and I did some shopping in Hollywood at the boutiques. I got quite a few things and got some great deals!
**Injury update: (ties right in with the shopping actually) Doctor called Friday and said that the ultrasound did show some improvement in the tear. Such good news! I'm going back for a follow up in another month. The bad news is that although there has been improvement, I am nowhere near out of the water just yet. I hadn't tested out my ability to stand for awhile, so shopping was a good indicator of where I am at.
I started feeling uncomfortable within the first hour of shopping. There were couches at all of the stores, and chairs in the dressing rooms, thank God. I was able to go between sitting and standing for about two hours, and then got to the point where we just had to go home. In that time, I got these:
(FTR I hate mirror pics, and will only post them if I have to....most of you already know that. Just want everyone to be aware, haha!)
This dress is cool because of the color blocking and contrast in the textures of the material. The black part looks like faux leather, but it's not. It's a really cool texture combo!
The cut of the top of this dress is called a "cold shoulder" for obvious reasons. I debated back and forth, and then threw a blue belt on it. Mindy and I decided that it was unique and sexy, and that with the perfect blue statement necklace, the look would pull together and be really nice. So I got it!
This lace cutout dress just screamed leather or denim jacket when I saw it. I just got a mustard yellow colored faux leather jacket that will look amazing with it! So will my denim one I have at home. Come on fall!! I have clothes I want to wear!!
I got more than just these dresses, and will try to put together some outfits and take pics to show you guys. I have a lot of fun material for OOTD's for fall. Now we just need the weather to start cooperating and I can have some fun!
Today I have been relaxing and laying around all day. I had Pumpkin Pie FroYo with bananas, yogurt and dark chocolate chips, and slivered almonds from Yogurtland, and grapes for lunch today:
I am going to Ali's tonight to spend the next two days before I head up north to Louisville. I am so excited to meet her other dog Drago, and to see Miss Daisy Peanut again! We are also taking a cooking class tomorrow night that I'll probably do a blog post about! I am super excited!
I hope you guys had a great Monday, and I'll talk to ya soon!
Happy Trails!
Stacey
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