Before we left for the lake, we had some prep work to do.

Remember those brown bananas from the other day?

I used them in the kitchen on Saturday. I did my baking in the fabulous apron that Katie of Sweet Tater gave me for our housewarming gift.

Pre-baking.

I turned those brown bananas into homemade banana bread using this recipe, but with some substitutions. We were out of spelt flour so I used all whole wheat pastry flour. Plus I subbed almonds for pecans.

Hubby whipped up a fabulous lunch using one of the books we received from our housewarming party.

We had grilled, seasoned shrimp with a roasted pepper/avocado/creamy sauce, plus micro-ed frozen veggies and deeeelicious, tender, wondrous Virginia roll (gosh these things just melt in your mouth!).

I had most of our stuff laid out in advance: books to read (In Defense of Food, Thrive, The Gentle Art of Domesticity), magazines to leisure over (Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Grill It), plus snacks and eats: Kashi crackers, Larabars, fruit & nut mix, Barney Butter, chocolate cookies, bread, and Virginia rolls.

We ended up bringing a lot more food for the dinner we offered to cook for our family, plus 3 bottles of wine, cheese and other goodies.

The lake is really nice. There’s a little creek near us that I can hear from some places around the house.

The music of the creek meandering away is so relaxing! I feel like maybe I should record it and slap it on a CD that I could sell for millions!

Yea, I’d call it “Sounds of Relaxation from the Lake”. C’mon, you know you want the CD already.

Bailey is having  a grand time exploring.

Turns out our lakehouse does not have wi-fi. *sad face* So, hubby and I took his laptop to the local pub where they do have wi-fi to download Windows LiveWriter. I must admit, I’m an apple girl myself, but I do love LiveWriter for blogging – it’s the best tool I’ve used.

Hubby and I enjoyed a brewskie to kick off our vacay. Yuengling was our choice brew.

We headed back to the lake house later for dinner. We were actually supposed to cook dinner the first night but we ran into 2 fatal flaws with our plan:

1. We needed aluminum foil, which was in hubby’s sister’s car (since we forgot to bring our own).
2. The dinner I planned was vegetarian since hubby’s sister and her fam are all vegetarians. They were a few hours behind us and wouldn’t be there in time for dinner.

Though the local pub was actually kind enough to give us a piece of aluminum foil, we decided to save our vegetarian dinner for Sunday night when our vegetarian side of the family could really enjoy it.

We ended up having some arugula and baby spinach salad.

Tortellini with red sauce and a mini meatball.

Plus hubby and I split one of those irresistible Virginia rolls.

My banana bread made a guest appearance for dessert.

PS Note almond and flaxseed topping. I took a cue from Mama Pea and added the flaxseeds and subbed the pecans for almonds. (Last time I just used pecans).

I must say, I think I am now addicted to zucchini bread. I remember the first time I heard someone say zucchini bread. I was a kid and I didn’t like vegetables, so of course, “zucchini bread” sounded quite “gross” to 8 yr old moi. When someone told me zucchini bread tasted like banana bread, I decided to give it a shot and I found out that zucchini bread, though made with “icky” vegetables was actually quite tasty. Of course, it wasn’t until I made my own loaf several days ago that I really fell in love. And now…I think I actually prefer zucchini bread over banana bread! Who knew!

I had a giant piece.

Which I enjoyed with some of my magazines. Ahhh…the simple pleasures of vacation. Enjoying homemade eats at a cozy lakehouse whilst perusing the magazines I never have time to read. Yessssss!

What kinds of food do you bring to your vacations (where you rent homes and have space to bring food)?

After our adventurous day touring Key West, enjoying a Cuban lunch, and visiting the beach, we were ready to slow down a little with a romantic dinner for two at Louie’s Backyard. The restaurant had great reviews on Yelp and was recommended by the waitress at Pepe’s.

Hubby was smart and called ahead to make a reservation but all the patio seats (recommended by the Yelpers) were taken, so we had to get a table inside.

We took one of those bike-carriage thingies over. Those things are expensive! It was $18 for the ride over, but it was pretty nice. Plus, we got a great recommendation for a restaurant we had actually spotted on our Conch Tour – a dessert spot called “Better Than Sex.”

We got to Louie’s early and they already had our table ready. Score!

Inside was nice and airy and the doors were all wide open.

They had some great specials and I actually ended up selecting one.

To drink, I tried their cosmo made with house-made pineapple infused vodka. It was the best cosmo I’ve ever had!

Bread and butter.

The entrees were a little more expensive than I anticipated. The special was $37.

Our entrees came out with silver lids.

Hubby got the shrimp and grits.

I got the herb-crusted mahi mahi with pineapple salsa and grapefruit butter sauce, green beans, and rice pilaf.

The citrus was not just for decoration – they really enhanced the flavor of the fish. I was a little disappointed with the herbs – I didn’t taste them at all! Not sure if they were just parsley and therefore should have had a mild flavor, which might make sense considering how flavorful the citrus and pineapple salsa are. The fish was cooked nice and the green beans were nice and crisp-tender.

We actually finished eating just before sunset so I headed outside to snap some photos.

Turns out you actually can’t see the sunset from Louie’s! I don’t know why I thought you could…I guess I mis-read the Yelp reviews, but I was sort of disappointed.

Still, the view from Louie’s was quite nice – an open area of water and sky.

Hubby and I hung out on the back patio for a bit before deciding to walk to the dessert restaurant.

The dessert restaurant was down a side street from Duval (one of the main streets in town).

I don’t know what was going on with the lighting, but I really liked it and thought it added to the ambiance.

So what’s better than sex? Apparently this dessert restaurant!

Inside, the scene was right up my alley – cute, cozy, intimate. They had a man playing the guitar and singing laid-back version of popular songs.

The decorations and wording on the menu tied in nicely with the theme. For example, instead of a “daily special”, they have a “one night stand.”

They also had books and games on the various tables for some fun tableside games.

Each table gets a flashlight to read the menu – it’s very dark inside.

You could pretty much see the menu without the flashlight, but the whole flashlight thing was neat.

Check out those menu item names!

Kelly was our waitress and she was great. She was very personable and attentive. She even has a menu item named after her – a drink called Kelly’s Klimax.

Hubby and I got decaf versions of the restaurant’s secret house blend. The coffee was lovely, but it would have been extra nice if the restaurant offered liquor drinks (Bailey’s and coffee anyone) or espresso drinks (mmm…cafe latteeeeeeee). The coffee was really so good, I didn’t miss the liquor or froth.

The lighting was so dark, I couldn’t get a photo of hubby’s extra-dark dessert – the Better Than Sex chocolate bread pudding.

I had the special – the Cookie Nookie pie. I was a little worried about ordering this because a chocolate chip cookie pie is one of my fave desserts at a coffee shop in my home town, but this version was different yet equally tasty. It hit the spot!

The dessert restaurant was my favorite restaurant of the whole trip! I loved their quirky, fun, and intimate ambiance and their desserts were fantastic, too!

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We hit up the hotel’s breakfast bar Monday morning to fuel up before a long day of traveling.

I had a hard-boiled egg, a piece of French toast with a little syrup, and a I grabbed a banana and orange to eat on the ride home.

We had a long day planned:

• 4 1/2 hour long shuttle ride
• 2-3 hour wait in the airport
• 2 hour flight
• 1 1/2 hour drive to / from SC to meet sister to pick up Bailey

Our shuttle driver, Tom, showed up right on time at 9:30am and in a very cheerful mood. He was a nice guy and told stories to us and another rider for most of the trip.

Things went awry about 3 hours into the trip when the windshield washer of the van broke off and Tom had to pull over to the side of the road. About 5 feet to the left was a one lane highway with cars and trucks speeding by. About 5 feet to the right – rocks and water. I was so worried we were going to get rear-ended or something because the road was pretty narrow and there wasn’t really anywhere to go. Not to mention, we were in the middle of a torrential down pour with lots of thunder and lighting. It was pretty scary.

Out shuttle service ended up calling a taxi for us after waiting for about 40 minutes for a cab to arrive, we took off. Tom stood in the rain to watch us off. I felt terrible for him. His day had just started and without a windshield wiper, I wasn’t sure he’d be able to finish his trip that day. That meant an average of about 3-5 groups missing…and also missing – their tips! Some of the other shuttle riders were kind of angry, so they weren’t going to tip Tom, but we still did. Poor guy – it’s not like he broke the windshield wiper off…I hope he got home safely himself! And I wish people could be more understanding!

We got to the airport late and had enough time to scarf a snack down before running over to board our plane.

Once our plane landed, we took a shuttle to our car and drove half way to my parent’s house to meet my sister to pick up Bailey.

The weather back in the Carolinas was thankfully nice and clear.

Bailey was really excited to see us and we were really excited to see him, too.

We had dinner with my sis at Cracker Barrel before heading home.

We didn’t get back till 10:30pm!! That’s like 12 hours of traveling! Phew! Long but successful trip. Being somewhere so tropical made me think of the Bahamas….we haven’t been in the 2 years since we got married, but I hope we can go back soon. I miss it!

Phew again! Ok, I think I’m all caught up but I have a post from last night’s dinner to share still…eek! Plus, I’ve gotten some really cool samples over the last couple days and can’t wait to share!!

PS I’m selecting the winner of the Nasoya Tofu Press tomorrow, but there’s still time to enter!

I’ve been craving good Cuban food for awhile now since we had one of the best meals ever at a little Cuban restaurant in Miami a couple years ago. So, since we were in southern Florida, Cuban food seemed like a good idea.

After brunch and our tour of Key West, we hit up El Meson de Pepe’s for lunch (the restaurant was recommended by our Cuban shuttle driver).

The restaurant was right near where the train dropped us of (like a block away), so the placement was pretty good. The restaurant was located in a part of Key West called Mallory Square.

Luckily, there was no wait this time.

The inside was pretty neat looking…

…but we opted to eat on their outdoor patio. I wish the patio would have had some views waterside, but it was still nice to just be outdoors.

Our meal started with Cuban bread, crackers and mojo (dips).

I got a sangria to drink.

Hubby and I split an appetizer and an entree.

For our app, we got the Tostones Rellenos – an option hubby was eyeing and the waitress recommended. I really liked sampling all the flavors. My fave was the Ropa Vieja (yep, like my dinner at the wedding reception).

For our entree, we shared the Bistec Palomilla a la Plancha. It wasn’t quite as good as I remembered, but is anything ever as good as you remember? Especially when it’s been a couple years since you had it!? I think we all tend to romanticize things we enjoyed a long time ago. Overall, lunch was really enjoyable and I’m glad we chose Cuban for one of our meals. I think I may have a new fave Cuban dish though – the Ropa Vieja!!

I also had a Cafe con Leche…because I could and because I can’t get that around my town! It was tasty and a nice pick-me-up for the afternoon.

After lunch, we had the brilliant idea to try to walk to the Fort Zachary Taylor park where we heard the best beach was located. I tried to talk hubby into renting a bike (actually, I asked for one all weekend, but we never did rent one I think I need to be more persuasive) but we didn’t. Boy was that a mistake! We walked for a good 30-40 minutes in the hot sun to get to the beach.

It cost us $2.50 each to get into the park.

I made friends with a nice Russian man, Artem…or is it Arteum? (the dude laying out in the background), who let me have some of his sun tan spray. Thanks again A! A was in Key West visiting from Miami. He was in the states getting ready to select a university. Exciting stuff! Some days I wish I was in college again.

The beach was a bit disappointing. I guess I thought it would be like Miami or the Bahamas. It looked pretty and white and it was mostly sand, but when you got to where the water was, it was all rocks till you got deep enough your feet didn’t need to touch any more. It was painful to walk into the water!!

I think I know now why people told me there are no beaches in Key West…there are some, but they’re not that great. Or, maybe we went to the wrong one? Who knows. Hubby and I were just glad to get some sun.

We took a taxi back with two beautiful Italian women and ended up buying their fare. It was only $3 per person and they were really nice and basically let us share their taxi (they were waiting for one at the beach first), so it was good karma.

We had a little time to relax before it was time to get ready for a romantic Key West dinner! Dinner details next time.

After our delicious brunch at Blue Heaven, we said our “laters” to Rachel and Frank and headed out to explore Key West.

Key West is about 2 by 4 miles and is basically comprised of many narrow streets (originally designed for carriages, not cars) with lots of cute, beach-town buildings, house, cottages, inns, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, and shops. It reminds me a bit of Charleston, SC – lots of history, lots of shopping, but not really any beaches (you have to go to surrounding cities in SC to get to the beaches like Isle of Palms).

Main methods of transportation are your feet, bicycles, bicycle-drawn mini-carriages. There’s no real reason to bring a car here. Parking is difficult, hard to find, and expensive.

Some areas are more touristy than others, like this famous bar Sloppy Joe’s, which is known for being frequented by Ernest Hemingway.

There are tons of outdoor bars and restaurants.

As we were walking around, I found a man chopping up a coconut. Score! When I got married in the Bahamas, all I wanted was a drink in a coconut. Alas, I was too busy with wedding stuff to rouse one up. So, 2 years later and I was REALLY excited to see this guy and his little stand.

Success! I was also really happy to get fresh coconut water for the hydration benefits – natural electrolytes.

We walked around, coconut in hand, to explore town some more. We were short on time, so I just snapped photos of everything. Would have been nice to tour more of these places, but we only had a day, so we tried to hit up the highlights.

The Audubon house.

A museum.

Umm….another museum?? I forgot!

We saw a giant cruise ship.

Saw some quirky art work – this building had lots of statues all around posed doing various activities. This scene is a painter statue painting naked statues.

Since we had a late brunch, hubby and I decided to go ahead and do a tour before lunch. We went on the world-famous Conch Tour Train, which lasted 1 1/2 hours long and was very informative. I wish we would have done this first to get a sense for how the island was laid out and what activities and historic sites would be good to hit up.

Here are some photos from our tour:

Shannon was our guide and she was pretty awesome.

We learned about the local trees and other plant life.

Begin Highway 1.

We learned about different house styles.

And passed lots of pretty houses.

We passed many historic sites – too many to remember!

Sand sculpture.

I think this may be the Cuban area of town…eek, we saw so much, I can’t remember!

One of the beaches.

The southernmost point of continental USA.

I thought this scene was interesting – just some random guy staring out at the water.

Roosters and their chicks running around.

Church.

More pretty houses – I loved the flowers spilling all over the fences and all around the houses.

Me + hubby on the train.

Entering the Bahamian area of town.

Painted by a famous painter.

More quirky stuff – a bicycle attached to the second floor balcony.

A shop.

A house designed to look like a wedding cake.

And speaking of wedding, we passed the church where Serena and Dan were married the day before.

Rooster! Why did the rooster cross the road?

We learned about gingerbread – the special cut-outs of the woodwork on houses where the craftsmen left their marks. Here are some actual gingerbread men-shaped gingerbread.

Prohibition gingerbread – bottles, hearts, spades.

Hubby and I really enjoyed our tour. We saw a TON of the island and learned a lot, too. I recommend trying out this tour if you visit Key West, but go as soon as possible so you know where you’re going afterwards.

Next up, our Sunday lunch…

Sunday morning after Serena and Dan’s beautiful Key West wedding, hubby and I headed out for brunch with our new friends Rachel and Frank.

The gorgeous weather continued with more bright blue skies that made the surrounding greenery POP!

After research on Yelp (click for reviews), we decided to try out Yelp’s #1 brunch spot in Key West, FL – Blue Heaven (they have a blog!). Word on the street is that Ernest Hemingway used to frequent this place.

After checking in with the hostess, I wandered around camera in hand to take some shots of the scenery.

Inside, there was outdoor seating with quirky decorations. The vibe was very fun and eclectic and there was live music going on.

And yes, the reviews are correct, there are chickens and roosters running around everywhere. Of course…there are chickens and roosters running all around Key West in general.

After about a 30 minute wait (this place is popular!), we were seated at our table.

We started with coffee.

I based my brunch selection completely on the overwhelming amount of reviews on Yelp recommending banana bread. I really wanted to try Blue Heaven’s homemade granola, but granola and banana bread didn’t seem like a good idea.

Rachel got the shrimp and grits with a slice of banana bread.

I got the avocado omelet (avocado, cheese, black bean sauce) with banana bread and even got a small side of fresh fruit.

Hubby got the shrimp omelet.

And I would have taken a photo of Frank’s omelet, but he got the same thing I did! I am sad I forgot to get a group shot of our table!!! Doh!

I thought brunch was really good and yes, even that banana bread everyone raved about. I still really like my Spelt Banana Bread (click for recipe) but the BH version was really tasty, too.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out my photos from the Key West rehearsal dinner and ceremony/reception for some serious eye candy photos.