A good night’s sleep is always something that’s appreciated, and you’ll certainly notice that feeling of exhaustion and sickness when you’ve had a bad night’s sleep. Everyone’s situation looks different when it comes to bedtime. Whether that’s having young children who get up in the night, or having difficulty sleeping because you’re a night owl …
Fun
Planning your summer vacation? Why not try something a little different this year? An RV trip could be the perfect getaway for families, couples and solo travelers, bringing a lot of benefits and plenty of amazing memories. If you’ve never traveled in an RV before and want to give it a try, here are five …
Imagine the smell of wood smoke drifting into the evening air, the soft crackle of the flames, and the sizzle of something delicious cooking away. There’s something so raw about cooking a proper meal in the great outdoors. No kitchen gadgets, no electric rings—just you, the fire, and some fresh ingredients. Camping food does not …
This sweet and tart raspberry dipping sauce is the perfect accompaniment to jalapeno poppers, fried pickles, or roasted Brussels sprouts.
Can you believe we are more than 2 weeks into 2019 already? Who’s still writing 2018 on everything? How many of you are still working on your New Year’s Resolutions? I am happy to say that I am. Although, I didn’t really make resolutions. I made lists. I joined a few programs. I wrote down …
Tunica, Mississippi is a tiny town with a population of less than 1000 residents located about 30 minutes south of Memphis, Tennessee. However, Tunica is known to be home to several big casinos (even though the casinos are found 10 miles north of the town). There are not a lot of restaurants, but one restaurant …
Here we go - week four. I tried to go full on Vegan last week for my 7-day challenge, and it was a complete failure. The truth is I just did not try hard enough. I did not prepare, and I failed miserably. Boo. If cheese did not exist I could do it. But cheese …
Oh my goodness - I do not know what is happening here in Florida- it was 29° this morning in Orlando! I know it is most likely a lot colder where ever you may be right now, but 29° in Florida??!!?? I am thinking an island in the middle of Caribbean may be our next …
So, here we are two weeks into the new year, how are your resolutions going? Last Thursday I talked about starting this 7-day challenge series with the hope that some of the challenges I set up for myself will result in making permanent changes in my life. I hope you will join me in trying …
Here we are, the first Friday of 2018. Yay! Welcome to Friday Favorites. So, yesterday evening I attended a media event for the grand opening of a new restaurant at Disney Springs. The restaurant, called Maria and Enzos Ristorante, will serve upscale Sicilian Italian fare in a lake side setting. Mickey and Minnie were there …
So here we are, four days into the New Year. Have you kept all of your resolutions so far? I have embarked on one challenge so far, just for the month of January. I am eliminating refined sugar for 31 days, joining Lindsay from Pinch of Yum. So far, 4 days in and I am …
If you are regular reader of this blog, you know my obsession with Whole Foods and the Fresh Market. And Publix. Let’s face it- I am a grocery store junkie. I love grocery shopping. I was recently invited to an opening of a new market in Seminole, Florida- a new market called Earth Fare. In …
Well, that was not a fun hurrication. #IrmaGerd #Irmageddon Hurricane Irma was just a hoot. She couldn’t decide which coast to visit in Florida so she put the whole state in a panic. Residents from the East coast of Florida evacuated to the West coast, then when Irma decided the West coast was more to …
Well, my plans are pretty much made for the weekend. I plan on staying inside, away from the windows, eating wheat thins and Oreos. We are bracing for IRMA who is currently heading towards the entire state of Florida. We had actually made reservations at a pet friendly hotel in Atlanta. That was when the …
Happy Friday!! I am about 10 days out of my surgery and I finally feel like I am coming out of the fogginess. Just in time for this weekend – I am spending the whole weekend at EPCOT Walt Disney World. I plan to eat a lot of new foods at the International Food and …
I admit, I do not know much about running shoes. I know what feels good to me when I run. I was fitted for a running shoe many years ago at my local running store and the only thing I remember them saying was to go up a size to allow for foot swelling. Now, …
My intent was to run the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, a race that winds through the streets of downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia and up the famous Hospital Hill. The hill is the equivalent of climbing to the top of ten-story building over 930 yards, or roughly a half mile. My intent was to not try …
I sit here in front of the TV, my eyes glued to CBS as I wait to see when and where my team will be playing for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. OK, I was not glued to my TV, and it isn’t my team – it’s Mr. Beet’s team. Go Purdue Boilermakers!! Basketball is a …
Happy Friday everyone!! Here we are – less than a week from Thanksgiving!! What are your plans? I have NONE. No plans. AND I CANNOT WAIT. I have been on the road non stop for the last three months and I soooooo happy to finally have a week off at home. Last year we were …
(Jump to the link up) Last month I spoke at a blogging conference here in Orlando with two of my fellow local writers- Jen Vargas of Central Florida Top 5 and Anthony “Biggie” Bencomo of Deli Fresh Threads. We spoke about the challenges of balancing blogging and other life commitments. I think our session was …
As many of you may remember, I attended the BlogHer conference in Los Angeles back in August. While I loved the swag and the many sponsors, my favorite gift we received was the jewelry from The Artisan Group, a marketing supplier of handcrafted jewelry and crafts to the entertainment business. I got some really pretty …
(Jump to the link up) Happy Friday! What are you guys up to this weekend? I am keeping my Friday post short but sweet. I am here in Sandusky, Ohio for BloggyCon, one of my most favorite blogging conferences of the year. This is my third year attending and this year I am on the …
Happy Friday!! So this week I am starting a new link up called Featured Friday. Here is how it works- this will be a place for bloggers to share their work with brands- sponsored posts, giveaways and general screaming from the rooftops about brands you love!! It does not have to be sponsored, it could …
Oh the irony. A Hot Chocolate race that almost got cancelled due to the cold weather. This past weekend Mr. Beet and I took a drive up to Georgia to run in the Hot Chocolate 15k Atlanta race. The forecast was cold, very frigid cold, too cold for any human to decide it’s a good …
As some of you know, I have been selected to participate in the blogger’s event at this years World Food Championship, taking place in Celebration, FL from November 3-10. Fifty bloggers will spend three days learning about the world of food sport. We will then end our experience with a blogger cook off where we …
I am skipping my usual Meatless Monday post this week. It is with a very sad heart that I have to announce the passing of one of my precious Beets. Zoey passed away last Friday afternoon while under the care of her vet. She was being treated for complications with diabetes- something she had been …
(puh-CHAW keh-SHAW) PechaKucha Night started in Tokyo in 2003 by Architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. The concept was invented to provide young designers an opportunity to gather and showcase their work and pitch ideas to each other. However, in order to allow for as many presenters as possible, Klein and Dytham set limits …
Happy Friday!! I joined Chad this past week as he had to work in Ft. Myers- about three hours south of Orlando. As he spent the days working, I got to leisurely enjoy the hotel. I actually spent the time catching up on emails and getting some writing done. We’ve had no time for sight …
Happy Labor Day- it’s Meatless Monday as well. I wanted to share with you a great program many of you may find to be helpful. Especially if you are a Vegetarian. We know how hard it is sometimes to stick to a diet regime when you are busy and always on the go. Here is …
Ah….Friday the 13th…….why is it that Friday the 13th is supposed to be a bad day? It’s been a fairly quiet week around Beets land. Chad and I have been on a roasted veggie binge. Every night for dinner we have been roasting cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts and adding them to rice or pasta. …
Just a few weeks ago I attended the BlogHerFood Conference in Miami which I have talked about just a few times here on the blog. A blogger conference to a blogger is like a Star Trek convention to a Trekkie. It’s the bloggers version of Comic-Con. I sat in a large room and realized I …
This past weekend we visited the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida- about 30 minutes northeast of Tampa. The 10-day festival started in 1930 as a small gathering to honor the harvesting of the strawberries. Today it is an enormous festival attracting a half million visitors each year and features carnival rides, flea market-style …
Sorry guys- I took the last couple of weeks off from Friday Favorites. I guess just nothing was my favorite- ha! Just kidding! I have been quite busy with some new projects and got a little behind in the blogging world. But no worries- I have accumulated quite a bunch of new Friday favorite things- …
I feel like a fraud. Although I am not Vegetarian (I eat fish but no other meat), I have often written about some of our meals that are strictly plant-based. Turns out I am a liar. A BIG ONE and I am devastated by it. Many of my "self proclaimed Vegetarian" recipes call for …
I wrote a post not too long ago about the benefits of using chia seeds. While chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, protein and calcium, there is another secret weapon many vegetarians use to obtain some of the vitamins they miss out on by eating a plant-based diet. I have …
Here we go- round #3- of Friday Favorites: 1. Whole Foods Hummus Hummus is the greatest snack ever. Hummus is also so popular now that it can be found anywhere, however, my favorite is that from the Whole Foods brand. This hummus is made fresh at the store so it isn’t trucked in and left …
I am liking these posts. This is a series of posts that have inspired a large group of my fellow bloggers to think about their favorite things and then post about them. I love reading them. I love learning what other people are into these days. Here is my first Friday Favorites from last week …
I’ve been reading a blog for a few years now called Housewife Glamour and it is a fun website about relocating to Detroit from Florida, eating healthy and dancing for the Detroit Pistons. Heather and I actually worked together on The Singing Christmas Trees show a few years ago but we had never actually spoke …
I love movies. I love food. How can I not love movies about food? Movies for foodies. I have been researching movies about food and cooking and compiling a list. I have a wishlist over at Amazon.com so I can keep track of the films I want to order. I have a wishlist from my …
You have probably heard of replacing oil with applesauce in a baking recipe (if you haven’t it is very easy- simply replace measure for measure- equally.) I recently heard about ditching the eggs and using chia seeds instead which offer many health benefits equal or greater than that of eggs. I also learned that the …
Chia seeds were big back in the 80’s- they grew green "hair" on a terra-cotta sheep or cat- who knew that we had such a healthy superfood just under our noses all along? Unless you were nibbling on your chia pet, you weren’t getting the most bang for your buck with these seeds. Last year …
My job requires me to report to work really early in the morning. And I don’t drink coffee. I did do the coffee once. And in order for me to enjoy I had to load it up with a lot of cream and even more sugar. But in general, coffee just isn’t my thing. However, …