Food, Travel and Sports
There is nothing like eating a nice cool salad to help beat the summer heat! This pasta salad is a family favorite at our house. Every single person in our household will eat it, which is a nice bonus!
Another thing I really like about this pasta salad is that you can adapt it to whatever your tastes are. I put different things in all the time. You can even change the pasta shape to your preference or whatever you have on hand.
I just got back last week from Seagrove Beach, Florida with some of my girlfriends. We planned the trip back in the winter (which lasted FOREVERRR). We needed some warm weather to look forward to so we started planning in March. One of my friends is a teacher so she wanted to wait until school was out. We all looked at our schedules and decided the early part of June would work best.
We had all been to this area of Florida before but we usually have our families with us. Don’t get me wrong, I love going with my family, but it was nice to have some time to just relax. There was no worrying about fixing someone lunch, making sure everyone had their sunscreen on or breaking up bickering kids!
When deciding where to stay we knew we didn’t need any fancy or elaborate accommodations since we were just staying 4 days. We found a cute villa just a few steps from the beach at Beachside Villas. It had recently been updated, it was clean, had 2 bathrooms and the beds were comfortable. It had everything we needed. We all agreed that we would stay there again. Now, I don’t know about any other units in that complex, but we were very pleased with ours. I booked it through VRBO and Angela, the owner, was very nice and easy to work with. Here’s the link to the unit we rented.
We pretty much just went to the beach every day and out to dinner in the evenings. It was so relaxing!
One evening we went to Bud and Alley’s rooftop bar for the sunset. They have a really beautiful view from up there. Here are some pictures right before sunset.
We enjoyed some drinks and appetizers up there. I tried the Frose. It was refreshing and had a pretty flower in it. While that was a nice touch, I probably would just rather have had the glass filled up. Ha! I would definitely put Bud and Alley’s at sunset on your list. If you are with your family, children are allowed up there until 10:00 p.m.
No trip to 30-A would be complete without a trip to The Red Bar in Grayton Beach. It is probably my favorite restaurant in that area. It has such a funky, eclectic vibe! The menu is not large, but I have been going there for 15 years and never had a bad meal. The last several times I’ve been there I have ordered the blackened grouper. It is delicious! Don’t go if you are in a hurry or expecting to relax. The wait is usually about an hour but they usually have a jazz band. They are loud, but it’s always a fun experience. They now have a D.J. that plays Thursday through Saturday nights after 9:00. It is definitely a happening place!
Mother Nature must have thought we needed a break from the sun because she provided a little rain one morning. We decided to head to Seaside again for an early Lunch. We went to Great Southern Café which had a great view of Seaside. Our table wason the porch and you could see everything going on in the village. I ordered shrimp & grits and they were delicious. One of my friends ordered the fried okra and I wish I had. It was whole okra instead of the small pieces I am used to. So good!
Some other notable restaurants we went to were Seagrove Village Market Café and Bruno’s Pizza in Watersound. Seagrove Village Market Café has been around for years, but they recently opened in a brand new building. It is nice and bright. I had the blackened fish tacos and they were good. They come with a lime poblano tarter sauce that is really flavorful. Bruno’s was a new restaurant to try for us and we really liked it. I forgot to take pictures until one of our pizzas was almost gone! They really load their pizzas up with toppings.
It was so nice to get some time away and relax with my friends. If you are thinking about taking a girl’s trip…..DO IT! You won’t regret it!
Have you ever bought a bunch of bananas and when you get them home, no one eats them? While school is in session my kids eat bananas in their lunch several times a week, but now that summer has rolled around – not so much. I found myself with 3 very ripe bananas so I decided to dig out my husband’s grandma’s banana bread recipe to use them up.
This banana bread recipe is the best I’ve had. It’s basic and simple but you can fancy it up with some chopped nuts or chocolate chips if you like. When I asked my family if they wanted me to add anything, they said they like it plain. That’s what I went with.
This banana bread comes together in no time. If your bananas are good and ripe they mash up really easy. After that, it’s as simple as stirring in the rest of the ingredients. The hardest part about making this bread is waiting for it to bake and cool. It smells amazing while it is baking!
This banana bread is delicious to just slice and eat but I like to serve it warm with a little butter on it. It is heaven! I think it would be good with a little cream cheese too.
Next time you find yourself with some ripe bananas, give this recipe a try. I think you’ll go bananas for it! HA!
Mash ripe bananas with a fork until lumps are gone. Add sugar.