by Pam | Feb 5, 2020 | Everyday Adventures, Food, Holidays, Relationships, Relaxation, travel
Date night doesn’t have to be your typical dinner & a movie (although you can make that special by visiting a unique theater!). Why not make this Valentine’s Day different by giving one of these three awesome date night ideas a try? Bonus if you schedule date nights for the next two weeks with the other two ideas! How about a Progressive Dinner? Idea #1: Create your own progressive dinner. We accidentally did this for our anniversary last year. Our first course was chips & guacamole and margarita’s during soccer practice and then we moved on to a much nicer restaurant for salads, wine, and dessert after we took our soccer player home. It was actually really fun and memorable so I decided to upgrade it this year for a unique night out. Start your evening with an appetizer or salad and a drink at one local restaurant, move on to another for entrees (or we did sushi since we aren’t big eaters) and finally end the night with coffee and dessert. If you have an area of town with several restaurants within walking distance of each other this can be a really fun experience! This works best with just two people because even if the restaurant is full you can often sit at the bar and be served pretty quickly at each stop. If you are on a tight budget this year, you could even do this with counter service restaurants – it’ll be a fun and inexpensive adventure. Get out and explore Idea #2: Skip the big night out and go exploring in a nearby town instead....
by Pam | Dec 25, 2019 | Everyday Adventures, Food, Relaxation, restaurant, travel
I’m sure you’ve heard of winery trails and brewery trails. They seem to be everywhere these days. However, recently I’ve started hearing about donut trails. Since we don’t have an official one near us, I thought it would be fun to create my own. So grab your travel mug of coffee and join me to create your own donut trail. Donut shops seem to be popping up left and right in our area. I think it’s because it’s a fun and affordable treat, and who doesn’t like a good donut, right? We have quite a few new ones nearby so if you like donuts, this would be the perfect way to spend a free day. Rebellion Doughnuts The first stop is Rebellion Doughnuts. It’s been on my radar as a place to check out since it opened less than a year ago. The restaurant is quite close to our house so it’s an ideal place to start this adventure. The interior has a funky industrial feel and in addition to fresh coffee, they have kombucha on tap. It’s perfect if you like a fizzy drink with your doughnuts. All the doughnuts are made fresh each morning and the flavors are interesting and unique. My son tried a bubble gum flavor (it really did taste like bubble gum and he loved the piece of gum to enjoy afterward) and I loved the lemon filled. Not only are the doughnuts delicious, but they are also pretty too – which is always a nice touch. I can easily see this becoming an addition to our weekly breakfast date. Jack’s Donuts Jack’s Donuts...
by Pam | Dec 13, 2019 | Everyday Adventures, Food, Indiana, Relaxation, restaurant
Why do foodies flock to Fortville? Fortville is a small town east of Indianapolis located in Hancock county. The population is just over 4000 and there is only one main street. However, it’s fast becoming a foodie destination for the surrounding counties. What a great place to add to my Explore Indiana adventures! With half a dozen delicious restaurants in downtown Fortville, there is a yummy meal perfect for any tastebuds. We’ve recently had the opportunity to check out three of them. Interested in Italian Food? Cortona’s Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar – Since Italian food is my daughter’s favorite, it was a no brainer for the two of us to check our Cortona’s on a recent lunch date. We arrived at an odd time (3:oo PM) for lunch, but the server warmly greeted us and seated us at a comfortable table for two. I have to admit I was a little leery of this one as the Yelp reviews weren’t as high as I normally like, but in the interest of this blog post, we went for it. Luckily, we LOVED the food. The menu was full of typical Italian dishes but with a creative twist. For example, I enjoyed the Ravioli di Simone & Beth which was butternut squash ravioli with arugula, prosciutto (on the side for me) in a Madera cream sauce. Serious yum. My daughter opted for the Spaghetti Allo Scoglio. The dish was full of fresh clams, mussels, calamari, and shrimp and sauteed in a white wine garlic sauce. It was light and flavorful. We split an order of Tiramisu for dessert. The service...
by Pam | Nov 20, 2019 | Everyday Adventures, Food, healthy tips, Menu Planning, nutrition, Organization
Eating dinner together as a family most nights is very important to me. However, with two teens in the house (both involved in sports), a full-time job AND my blog, time is at a premium. Most weeks I do a great job of planning out meals, hitting the grocery (or using Shipt) and making a healthy, tasty dinner. Then there are the other weeks … You know, the weeks where there is something going on every night, where the weekend was so packed you couldn’t get to the grocery or even get your online order placed, even the weeks where you just don’t feel like menu planning. Those are the weeks I depend upon EveryPlate. EveryPlate isn’t the first home delivery service I’ve tried. I’ve also given Hello Fresh and Blue Plate a try, but I couldn’t stomach the prices and I found myself forgetting to cancel a week and therefore ending up with meals I didn’t really want or need. Pros of EveryPlate EveryPlate is really affordable. I have a family of four, but I use the 2-3 serving meal plan and it’s currently only $38.93 per week (including shipping). That gives me 3 meals and since my daughter doesn’t eat meat I’ve found by adding a salad, a piece of fish or veggie burger for her, or just adding extra rice or pasta to the meal we have more than enough. To be fair, none of us are big eaters, but you could certainly start with the smaller plan like we did and move up if needed. The food is delivered fresh and nicely packaged. I really...
by Pam | Oct 18, 2019 | Disney, Everyday Adventures, Food, Relationships, restaurant, travel
Although we LOVE trying all the different foods when we visit Epcot, I also love that there is so much more than food at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. After making your way around the World Showcase and checking out the various food booths, be sure to take some time to do some of the other fun festival activities. Enjoy live music. The concerts at Epcot are so much fun! They are located at the American Pavilion. Every few nights there is a different artist and they put on three nightly shows – each one lasting about 30 minutes. Seating is limited, but even if you don’t get a seat, you can still enjoy the music by standing along the sides or just outside the amphitheater. We’ve seen Rick Springfield, 38 Special and many other great shows. Grab a margarita at nearby Italy or Mexico and enjoy some live music! Insider Tip: If you want to be sure to have a seat, you can book an Eat to the Beat Dining Package. You can book a meal at one of 14 restaurants in Epcot and you’ll have a guaranteed seat on the same day. It is a little pricey but includes a full meal, so if you want to eat at one of the selected restaurants anyway might be a perfect solution. Details can be found HERE. Play with your food. A fun and affordable event occurs in the Land Pavilion every day at 3:30 and 5:30. For only $10 per person, you can learn to make candy sushi. Kids especially love this one – it holds their...
by Pam | Oct 10, 2019 | Everyday Adventures, Food, Indiana, restaurant, travel
What a perfect day in Spencer, IN. Last week we spent a day exploring another county for my Explore Indiana project. This time, we headed southwest of Indianapolis to Owen County. Half the day was spent at McCormack’s Creek State Park and the other half in Spencer, IN. It was an ideal mix of invigorating and enjoyable things to do. The day was a lovely, crisp, clear fall day. Our 90-degree heat-wave had finally broken and we were treated to a perfect 65 and sunny day. As we headed south, the flat land and cornfields gave way to the rolling hills and treelines of southern Indiana. So beautiful! Indiana’s First State Park The first stop was McCormick’s Creek State Park. McCormick’s Creek is considered Indiana’s first state park. The land was dedicated as such on July 4th, 1916. The park is full of wonderful hikes, interesting landscapes, recreation, and a historic Inn. The Canyon Inn is a lovely historic building built on and around an 1880’s sanitarium that was marketed as a place for the wealthy to relax and rejuvenate. Sanitariums and mineral springs were all the rage during that time period. Canyon Inn has expanded and remodeled multiple times since then, but the inn is still located on the original sanitarium foundations. The inn has a rustic charm and houses a small gift shop, restaurant, several conference rooms and a comfortable lobby/ lounge area with a fireplace. We were able to check out one of the rooms, and although older, they appeared to be comfortable and clean. With such a gorgeous setting, I think this would be a...
