Last December as I was laying on the couch, my foot in a cast, I found out I had been selected as a member of the Rock ‘n’Roll Marathon Series #RocknBlog team for 2015. I really wanted to jump for joy- literally- only I was just a few weeks out of surgery where my foot …
Travel tales
There are a few things the city of St. Louis is known for – The Gateway Arch, The St. Louis Cardinals and gooey butter cake. Yes, that’s right- gooey butter cake. Gooey butter cake is so big here- it originated here and most every bakery in town serves it. The first Gooey Butter Cake I …
Ever since I was a youngster the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a tradition in my house. Growing up we watched it every Thanksgiving morning. Once I moved out of the House of Mom I would still spend my Thanksgiving mornings in front of the TV. The parade is just a tradition for so …
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. All opinions are 100% mine. When the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau asked me if I would be interested in writing a travel article about Daytona Beach I did not even have to pause to …
Welcome to a rare Saturday post from Beauty and the Beets! Yesterday I recapped the highlights of our three day Food Fight Write blogging summit at the World Food Championships being held November 3-10 in Celebration, FL. I promised to share some of the pictures from our final third day- the day of our blogging …
What a crazy week it has been in Beetsland. I just wrapped up a three day bloggers’ summit at The World Food Championships, now in its 4th year. This year the competition has moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to Celebration, Florida. Fifty bloggers were selected from around the world to participate in Food Fight Write, …
So, last Tuesday I shared the press release from the World Food Championships, announcing the competition taking place November 3-10 in Celebration, Florida. Fifty bloggers were selected from around the world to participate in a special three-day blogging Food Fight Write event ending with a cooking competition of our very own. Bloggers were chosen based …
When: Labor Day Weekend. Where: The beach, Virginia Beach to be exact. Who: Vacationers trying to enjoy the last official beach weekend of the summer. It’s a tradition. While families, young couples and old couples alike are flocking to the beach to soak up the last of the summer rays, there are thousands of people …
Happy Friday! Happy looooooong weekend for some of us. Today I am headed to Virginia Beach to run during the Humana Rock N Roll Marathon VA Beach ½ Marathon weekend. Humana is flying me up, putting me up in a hotel and all I have to do is run the 5K on Sunday. I am …
It was a Friday night in September- the day before the Central Florida Blog Conference (now FLBlogCon) and I was staring at my closet. I had nothing to wear. I was scolding myself for choosing too bold a polish color on my toes. I was still contemplating going with the clear polish on my hands …
Chad and I love Savannah. We are big fans of wrought iron fences, cobblestone streets and old world flair. Everything that Savannah embodies including that world famous Southern charm. Savannah is a place you expect to find Sweet Tea and Fried Green Tomatoes on the menu of every restaurant, and for the most part, you …
Greetings from Beetsland! Chad and I have returned from a wonderful trip to the Smoky Mountains. We had some delicious eats in Asheville, NC and hit some really fun attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Here are some of my favorite highlights for this week’s edition of Friday Favorites: 1. Clingman’s Dome The highest point in the …
Hey all y’all! I’ve been learning to speak Southern while in South Carolina. Last week we were in Atlanta, then went to Ft. Myers a few days for a blogger conference and had a few days at home in Orlando before heading out again. This time we were in Hilton Head Island for a few …
Now through May 31 there is an incredible event happening at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. Chad and I made the hour trek south of Orlando and made a weekend out of it- I just really wanted to see the Chinese Lantern Festival, also known as Zoominations, at the zoo. We arrived about 6:30pm, before sunset …
Did you know that Madame Tussaud learned to make wax figures in the year 1770, over 2oo years ago in Paris? And in 1835 her first wax exhibit went on permanent display in London? Here we are in 2015 and Orlando has just opened its very own Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. The wax museum is …
Last Monday was the official grand opening of the I-Drive 360 complex on International Drive in Orlando. After witnessing the ribbon cutting ceremony I had the opportunity to take a flight on The Orlando Eye. Let me just start by saying, even though I worked for years as a Flight Attendant, I am not a …
It’s Friday y’all! What are you guys up to today? I’m just hanging out at the house for the day, but tonight Chad and I are going to the new Dr. Phillips Center in downtown Orlando to see a ballet called Coppelia. Chad isn’t really a ballet type of guy but I talked him into …
Last Tuesday I told you about my date with Chad at Disney’s Animal Kingdom- then yesterday I wrote about our recent date night at The Melting Pot and Gigi’s Cupcakes. We’ve been busy enjoying Orlando lately- and last Thursday we went down to Disney again to celebrate on the actual date of my birthday. This …
There are certain perks to living 10 miles from Walt Disney World. First of all, the fireworks blast off every night at 9 at Epcot, then 10pm at Magic Kingdom and we hear them rumbling in the sky. Secondly, we can hop over to one of the many resorts to enjoy a nice lunch or …
The Culinary Institute of America is a private college for the culinary and pastry arts with three campuses across the United States and one location in Singapore. The main campus is located in Hyde Park, NY- about two hours north of New York City. On a recent trip up north, my Mother, Chad and myself …
I completed the St. Augustine Half Marathon this past Sunday- my third half. We spent the weekend up in St. Augustine- one of my most favorite cities ever and less than a two hour drive from Orlando. I knew this was going to be one of my very last races before surgery in early December …
It was a rainy and cold Saturday morning as my Mother and I joined 8000 runners gathered in New York City. Our plan was to run the Dash to the Finish Line 5K race- 3.1 miles from the United Nations Building to Central Park. Our finish line was the very same finish line as the …
*This is a sponsored post by Marsh Landing Adventures, however, all opinions are my own. I was compensated for this post with a complimentary airboat ride with Orlando Airboat Tours.* On a recent Saturday afternoon, Chad and I ventured down to St. Cloud to experience an adventure with Orlando Airboat Tours. I have to admit, …
HELLLOOOOO!!! I took some time off from the blog to head to New York City- and now I am back just in time for Friday Favorites. I will write more about the trip later and tell you how I ended up making an appearance on the Aladdin Broadway stage and how I went to a …
Chad and I attended a Yelp event where we ended up winning a one night stay at The Hyatt Regency on International Drive in Orlando. The property is the former Peabody Hotel, which sold last year and became part of the Hyatt Regency brand. We checked in early and went straight to check out the …
Membership has its privileges. As a member of the Orlando YELP Elite squad I was among a handful of lucky members chosen for an amazing weekend down in Tampa. Yelp Eliters from Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa all gathered in Tampa for the annual Fall Break. Friday night we had special VIP passes to the …
Chad and I have been doing so much travelling lately. It certainly seems we’ve been away from our house more than we’ve actually been there. In the last month, we’ve spent a week in Ft. Myers, then went to Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. This weekend we are heading to Tampa for a bloggers event at …
And just like that….it’s over. I spent months getting excited for BloggyCon ‘14, a blogger conference held at the Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. And then it came and went by so fast, in the blink of an eye it was over and we were checking out of the hotel. There will be …
Happy Friday! For me, it is time for BloggyCon 14 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. My most favorite moments this week are all from yesterday..... I woke up really really early yesterday to catch my flight. I was packing and discovered I had a stowaway. Well, it is the start of Halloweekends at Cedar …
I recently went back up to New York City to do some research for new recipes and get some inspiration for Beauty and the Beets. OK, that isn't entirely true……I was there for a little R&R with the family. But we did do some experimenting in the kitchen…..Here are my highlights of New York City …
Here is the final installment of our trip to the south. We are leaving Carolina. Previous trip recaps can be found at the end of this post. Our long 11 day trip has finally come to an end. Sadness. It seems just yesterday we packed up the car, kissed the kittens goodbye and headed …
Here is another installment of our trip to the south. Previous trip recaps can be found at the end of this post. By our third full day in Charleston the ice storm was just an old memory. The temperatures were expected to climb into the high 60’s. I again spent the morning working on the …
Here is another installment of our trip to the south. Previous trip recaps can be found at the end of this post. The day after the massive ice storm crippled the city of Charleston, many of the schools, offices and bridges remained closed as people recovered from losing power and heat. The Ravenel Bridge, …
This is another recap of our trip to the South. The Great Ice Storm of Charleston. Previous recaps of the trip can be found at the bottom of this post. As the winter storm was approaching South Carolina, we realized how lucky we were in Chad's work schedule. We started in Augusta, GA then went …
This is another recap of our trip to the South. Leaving Myrtle Beach before the storm. Previous recaps of the trip can be found at the bottom of this post. Myrtle Beach was fun. The day Chad worked he was done early enough that we were able to go grab some dinner at one of …
Here is another installment of our trip to the south. Myrtle Beach- Ferris Wheels, the Beach and Donuts. Previous trip recaps can be found at the end of this post. We still had another day off in Myrtle Beach before Chad had to go to work so we drove about ten miles south of town …
This is the third installment recapping our trip to Georgia and South Carolina. Chad had work in four cities over an 11-day period. We visited Augusta, GA and Columbia, SC before we made our way to Myrtle Beach. We had all day to make the 2 ½ hour drive from Columbia to Myrtle Beach so …
Here is another installment of our trip to the south. Previous trip recaps can be found at the end of this post. We arrived very late in Columbia, SC. We checked into the hotel at 11pm, grabbed a quick bite close by (the only place open that late was the Carolina Ale House- another place …
I recently went on an 11 day trip with Chad to Georgia and South Carolina. It was mostly a business trip for Chad but we had a few days off to explore. I am calling it a Trip to the South even though we went north of Orlando but let’s face it- Orlando is no …
Last weekend Chad and I traveled to Jacksonville for the 2014 Gate River Run, America’s largest and most prestigious 15K road race. This year a new American record was set by the female winner- U.S. Olympian Shalane Flanagan. Over 15,000 runners gathered to run the USA 15K Championship. Some runners like Flanagan come to win. …
Happy Friday!!! When I worked as a Flight Attendant, I logged many hours, days and months away from home spent in foreign cities. I love staying in hotels, even still to this day. However, hotels are so impersonal. I always had certain staples I would bring with me so I would feel a little more …
We spent a Saturday not too long ago being tourists in our own backyard- which is easy to do in Orlando with all the theme parks we have. However, we drove over to the beach to check out the Key Lime Pie Festival near Cocoa Beach. About 2500 people visit this festival, now in its …