Palm Pavilion

Palm Pavilion offers a free sunset with every dinner…get it. 🙂 Palm Pavilion is the perfect place if you want a beach bum feel-no shoes, no problem type of restaurant. It is just steps from the beach with one of the best spots to watch the sunset. The slogan,”There’s no place like this place anywhere near this place so this must be THE PLACE“, captures the feel of Palm Pavilion and can be found on all printed items from shirts to cups. You see a good amount of branded attire down here as everyone wants to remember the vacation of a lifetime. Read more

Sand Key

backwater'sBackwater’s on Sand Key is one of my favorite restaurants off of the island. Before you get alarmed that it is off the island, let me explain. Clearwater is part of a string of islands that outline the Florida coastline. San Key is to the south of Clearwater and can be accessed by taking a bridge over the inner coastal. It takes only about 5 minutes to reach Backwater’s. It is 100% worth the small drive, and they have free parking in front of Backwater’s. It is in a small strip mall so keep your eyes peeled. Read more

Cooters Restaurant and Bar

cooters Restaurant WingsBrad and I always travel to Clearwater in post season. Either the race for the Stanley Cup or the fight for World Series. We proudly represent our St. Louis gear and brag about our hometown. For this trip, we are lucky enough to watch the Blue right before/after Tampa plays. As you can imagine, the bars are crowded and full of life even if we are in a select few to cheer on the Blues.

Before leaving, I grabbed some warm weather Blues gear. You can check out my favorite blue gear here to fully support your team. Read more

Bait House

Clearwater Beach Calm

There is nothing better than waking up to the sound of waves rolling in. As much as I try to sleep in, my eyes pop open no later than 7:30 am every day. When you’re awake that early in beach time, you get to watch the beach groomers come up and fluff the sand for another day of fun. After being mesmerized by the calmness of the beach, a sleepy-eyed Brad stumbled out onto the balcony.

He was desperately seeking coffee after our late night which I happily obliged. We grabbed some cash, flip flops in hand and headed for the beach. We strolled south on the island until we passed Sand Pearl hotel and cut into Mandalay where our favorite coffee shop is a few storefronts down. We always grab an iced coffee to go and head back the beach. We stroll back to our condo basking in the beauty around us knowing the beach will be filled with gossiping girls, laughing children and people enjoying themselves in just a few hours. We enjoy the calm and sip on our delightful coffee.

In a blink of an eye, it is 11:30 and it is lunch time! Our first lunch is always at the same place, Bait House. Bait House is a taste of old Florida as it is a bait shop that was expanded into an outdoor restaurant in 2009. The restaurant is a dock with 11 2×4 crafted tables, plastic chairs and stapled dollar bills on the wall. Bait House puts you right on the inner coastal to watch boats go by and stop at Bait House to grab lunch and more bait. The menu changes a bit every day as it all depends on what fresh fish was caught that day.

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Clearwater Beach

Happy Monday!

We have been in Clearwater Beach, Florida for a little over 24 hours and I feel like a whole new person. I tell Brad every time we hit the roundabout on the island, all my worries fade and my creativity sparks. We assume this is because Clearwater Beach has been our vacation of choice (home away from home) for over 10 years. Brad loves it so much he even look at going to college down here. Luckily, my big mouth said I would miss him and he ended up in Southern Missouri. Not the same view, but a much better commune.

All week I will include you on our vacation from the food to the transportation, join me!

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Whole30-Week 4 Meal Planning

I am going to apologize now for the small Whole30-Week 4 Meal Planning list. My last week on Whole30 was filled with a trip to DC and celebrating three birthdays. All I can say is thank God I was not craving and had hit the Tiger Blood Stage!

I am not going to lie; I did not do this week perfectly. I am sharing my slip ups so you may learn from my mistakes and know the pitfalls of cheating. As the book says towards the end of Whole30, it gets hard. You are anxious to know what the scale says, people have noticed a change in your appearance, and frankly your are over the restrictions resulting in dishes.

My Whole30-Week 4 Meal Planning was even harder as 5 days were spent eating out. Now I knew that my Whole30-Week 4 Meal Planning would be rough when I started, but I wanted to do Whole30 with my family for Lent. When we all started, we decided this weekend could be a cheat weekend as I would be in DC and the rest of the family would be on a retreat. For all those who are disgusted by our decision, remember that we did not do this for weight loss. We did this for Lent and a way to honor God. If you are new or forgot, go ahead and check out the start of my Whole30 journey. Read more

Whole30 eating out

Today is Day 24 of Whole30, and we celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday at the Fox Theater with dinner beforehand.

Eating out on a Whole30 plan can seem intimidating. There are so many guidelines to the program that makes it difficult at times. The key is to ask a lot of questions, and warn the waiter. I always start with, “I am sorry to be difficult, but…” After asking about how many items were cooked, I made a custom meal that was not on the menu. I ordered a salad without cheese and extra veggies with a steak on top. I topped it off with oil and vinegar for dressing. It was delightful!

Eating out on Whole30 doesn’t have to be hard, you just need to be mindful of what you order. Don’t let your diet dictate your social calendar!

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Whole30 Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

I was craving my Chicken Club Sandwich, but the Homemade Honey Mustard, bread and Parmesan Crisp are not Whole30 approved. I did take inspiration from my weaved bacon  to form Whole30 Bacon-Wrapped Chicken.

The Whole30 Bacon-Wrapped Chicken is essentially my Chicken Club within Whole30 compliant standards. To make the dish similar to an actual chicken club, I added avocado slices and Whole30 Ranch.

Next time, I make Whole30 Bacon-Wrapped Chicken, I am going to get even more adventures and add jalapenos under the wrapped bacon to give a real kick to every bite! Have fun cooking this and feel free to get a little adventure with the base recipe.

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Whole30-Week 3 Meal Planning

I can hardly believe it, 3 weeks are complete! I have gotten past the hard part of Whole30 of terrible cravings, dreaming of food and low energy. In my Whole30-Week 3 Meal Planning, I hit the tiger blood stage. I am filled with energy and have never felt better!

The Whole30-Week 3 Meal Planning list is filled with adventurous recipes to keep me motivated, full and in love with what I eat. After 3 weeks of eating Whole30, it becomes hard to find new recipes that excite you. This week’s meal planning did just that!

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Whole30 Meatloaf

Three more days until my trip to DC, and I can hardly wait to be with my best friends. I am in the height of laundry which if you are like me can take a long time. I was just flipping my second load when I realized that I hadn’t started dinner yet. If I have taught you anything on my Whole30 journey, it is that meal prep can take a while.

Whole30 meatloaf sounded like the simplest and quickest option for dinner. The Whole30 meatloaf is a new delicious twist on an old classic. My favorite part is the butternut squash makes it moist and adds a new flavor.

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