Monday, November 21, 2011

Florida sunsets and meet ups


We have just spend a wonderful weekend in Florida, a weekend of fun eats, wonderful meet ups and strolls along the beach.


 We fly into Saint Petersburg from Greensboro great deal :-) meet friends in Tampa that evening. We ate at the Tacos bus 
913 E Hillsborough Ave  Tampa, FL 33603
(813) 232-5889



Fun place with a buzzing atmosphere and good Mexican food at very affordable prices. I thought the fish tacos were just ok but they were fried I prefer grilled, my favorite item was a drink - Hochata a Mexican drink made from rice, condensed milk and cinnamon. I mentioned it on the facebook wall and Kristina kindly shared a recipe, guess what I will be making this week :-)

Love horchata - rice, condensed milk and cinnamon from Mexico so good

 ·  ·  · Friday at 10:12pm via mobile · 

  • 4 people like this.

    • Nelly Rodriguez I had this at The Aviary last weekend and it was amazing! They made cinnamon ice cubes, so the flavor was amazing! They also added rum and tequila ;)
      Friday at 10:26pm ·  ·  1

    • Chow and Chatter Nelly now that's a fun version :-)
      Friday at 11:45pm ·  ·  1

    • Shelley A Rael My son buys it as his own treat. I don't remember to get it for him. Good stuff.
      Saturday at 12:16am · 

    • Kristina Holdburg i love it to never made it with condensed milk before im sure that makes it super sweet ill have to try that! i always use rice cinnamon sugar and whole milk.
      Saturday at 12:40am · 

    • Kristina Holdburg horchata is great in the summer its a thirst quencher!
      Saturday at 12:41am · 

    • Chow and Chatter Shelley :-) Kristina do you have a recipe ?
      Saturday at 12:04pm · 

    • Kristina Holdburg yes my recipe is very simple and authentic got it from my best friends grandmother who is from mexico.... take 1 cup long grain rice and 5 cups water put into blender make sure rice is uncooked blend about 1 min till rice breaks up. set aside and let soak 3 to 4 hrs i usually do it before i go to bed and when i get up in the morning i strain the rice water into a pitcher and then u discard the rice then add 1/2 cup of whole milk 1tsp vanilla 1tsp cinnamon and 2/3 cup sugar blend wellput in fridge till well chilled serve plain or over ice! YUMMY now i want to make some! :)
      Saturday at 5:22pm · 

    • Chow and Chatter Kristina thanks awesome recipe making for sure :-) Rebecca
      Saturday at 8:14pm ·  ·  1

    • Kristina Holdburg your very welcome hope you like it! :) and thankyou for all your wonderful recipes that you share with us all! :)
      Yesterday at 4:33am · 

    • Chow and Chatter Kristina oh your so sweet I am going to add your recipe to my blog just now :-) rebecca
      4 seconds ago · 



We then headed south to Siesta Key wow the sand is like sugar. I have been enjoying Lyndseys blog The Tiny Skillet for a few years and love her beach pictures it was so special to walk on her beach.


a sunrise 

stunning sunset a must see


Since I was headed to her neck of the woods a meet up was in order, so we arranged to meet for lunch at Mattisons downtown Sarasota and another one of my all time favorite bloggers joined us Sam from My Carolina Kitchen.




Here you can see Lydsey in the blue she is every bit as sweet and talented as her blog, her hubby and daughter. On the left the pretty and lovely Sam and her hubby Meakin he was the life of the party.



This beautiful shell angel was a gift from Lyndsey that she made, she also gave us some dried sea urchins and told me she had made snow men with them here's the link, she is super crafty as well as a great mum, wife and cook ;-) - sea urchin ornaments



On saturday after a morning on the beach we drove along the keys from Siesta to Anna Maria in fact these wonderful German folks at our hotel told us to go, we ate at the waterfront restaurant overlooking the 100 year old pier. Good fresh food and loved the view. 


fresh gulf of mexico shrimp so good 


and of course no trip to Florida is complete without key lime pie :-)




lovely old car


Today on the way back to Saint Petersburg I quickly looked up restaurants and red mesa cantina came up, offering Mexican and South American flavors. I loved this place funky building with a hip vibe 


4912 4th Street North  St. Petersburg, FL 33703-3819



I ordered mofongo a new dish to me - pork, a type of cheese and yuca a Puerto Rican dish very good, we were in a rush would love to visit again and have fun eating more from the menu :-) 


decor



I even got to enjoy a cup of tea on the beach this morning :-)






So if your thinking of a short break in the US - be sure to add Siesta key, Sarasota area to your list. Also if your a blogger never be afraid to reach out to blogging friends in a city your visiting and arrange a meet up you will be glad you did. 

I miss you Florida :-), we will meet again 

Have a great start to the week everyone its a special week for folks in the US thinking of you as you prepare for Thanksgiving 

Love 
Rebecca





24 comments:

  1. Lovely photos, Rebecca! I will be waiting for your horchata post :)

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  2. So glad you had a good trip and lots of good things to eat. The key lime pie looks interesting. What's the thin dark layer on the top?

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  3. Looks like you had a wonderful trip. I love beaches and sunsets. Your prince and princess looks cute. Nice clicks as always.

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful trip Rebecca and so fun you were able to meet some other bloggers (even if we didn't get to meet in San Diego :-). Next trip, right???

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  5. Wow that sea and sky shot is just amazing. Diane

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  6. It was great to get together with you and your lovely family and Lyndsey in Sarasota. I've been enjoying your beach shots on Facebook.
    Sam

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  7. Yuri thanks oh man now I am scared bet you make it really well
    Abigail not sure tasted good though he he
    Swathi thanks they had fun
    EA thinking next spring for California not sure which part up to my parents
    Diane :-)
    Sam thanks so much fun to meet you

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  8. Love this post, and the Mofongo looks delicious, love it!

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  9. You are so sweet Rebecca, thank you! It was such fun getting together with you all! Everyone is so much fun in person, so nice to meet Sam and Meakin. I wish I knew more local bloggers to meet up with. :)

    I have always wanted to try mofongo, looks great. I have a friend that has a recipe that I can use my banana leaves with. I like grilled fish tacos better too.

    Beautiful photos! I will be better prepared for your next visit. :)

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  10. I love St. Pete's beach, it is a great place to relax and enjoy long walk while collecting seashells.

    Horchata has many versions in Mexico. And few people add condensed milk but it is a great sweet addition. Some people use evaporate milk and others don even add milk. There is also coconut horchata, almond horchata and cantaloupe seeds horchata.

    I posted a recipe for horchata back in the summer.
    http://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2011/08/aguas-frescas-mexican-fruit-drinks.html

    Thanks for sharing your trip, it brought back nice memories.

    Hugs,

    Mely

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  11. Im glad you had a wonderful trip... i just came from florida too and wished i had met up with other bloggers but i was too busy with family time and reunion. i love sarasota too it's just lovely out there. i will be back in orlando in 2 weeks again reb, not to make you jealous though hahah.
    happy thanksgiving,
    malou

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  12. Love the pictures,Rebecca!It is so great to see you next to those wonderful bloggers !!!

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  13. Awesome ! great to see that you are travelling around with lil R :-) Lovely pics. Happy holidays Rebecca !

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  14. wow...your cliks are excellent..hope you had a wonderful time with your family..;)
    Tasty Appetite

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  15. What a wonderful meeting with fellow bloggers in Florida, Rebecca! Beautiful Florida photos and I envy the warm temps and sand in the toes ;)

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  16. You met Sam! Lucky you! Love the opening sunset photo - it's food for the soul. All those Florida foods... I need some sunshine. I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Rebecca to you and yours.
    P.S. There was a comment log in the middle of the post - and that's where I had trouble. No problem commenting here.

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  17. Thanks for bringing us along on your trip. Sounds like a fun and enjoyable one meeting up with Lyndsey and Sam. Lovely beach pictures and good food too. The mofongo sounds interesting :)

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  18. Just lovely. My favorite time is family time, you look to feel the same ;)

    Happiest of holidays!

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  19. Sounded like a fun weekend.
    Rita

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  20. What a lovely trip...gorgeous photos!

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  21. What a lovely trip you made & meeting & greeting & having fun with other bloggers! That's what it all is about!

    Good food, family & friends!
    Have a happy Thanks Giving!!

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  22. Nelly :-)
    Mely oh fun can make many versions in future I remembered your recipe when I saw on menu just had to try it
    Malou oh thats fun enjoy Orlando hugs
    Erica was unreal to be there in person
    Namitha ;-) same to you we all did pretty well for first big trip
    Jay thanks so much
    Susan oh it was amazing miss it
    claudia hope to meet you sometime and thanks for trying to comment again
    Biren thanks for coming virtually
    Sandi for sure and the same to you
    Rita :-)
    magic of spice :-)
    thanks Sophie

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  23. the first image is so dramatic and beautiful. florida is awesome

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  24. I just got back from florida and have to say the Sunsets in Tampa are so gorgeous. Hope you had a great trip!

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