Target Part Deux

Total: $63.88

Total Paid After Coupons: $20.80

WW: The cutest picture on the planet!

Collage Restaurant, St Augustine

The whole purpose of our trip to St Augustine was to have our anniversary dinner at Collage. We have dined here before and technically do not have to even look at the menu, but you never know if there is something that might catch my eye. They are located about a minute from St. George's St, where you can walk off your meal with a nice stroll.

The restaurant is warm and cozy. I believe that it only sits about 40 guests at a time. Service has always been personal and attentive. Our water glasses were never empty and we were always checked on either verbally or visually to ensure satisfaction.

Our meal starts off with warm bread served with basil infused olive oil & a whole roasted garlic bulb. They used to serve a homemade pesto butter which was to die for, but the olive oil is a healthier alternative.

Danny's appetizer was the Gambas al Ajillo. This dish makes him sweat! But he loves it and orders it every time. This dish consists of large shrimp in a spicy garlic sauce. Really spicy!

I had a Caesar Salad, because I'm boring like that! The croutons are homemade and I believe that the dressing is as well. After the appetizers we were served a housemade citrus sorbet that was very good.

Our main course is what Danny has been looking forward to the the most. He had the Lobster Ravioli. The raviolis are huge, full of lobster meat and served with a pesto cream sauce and shrimps. It is then topped with a lobster tail. He was in heaven and was not dissapointed! I had the Tenderloin with Vidalia Onion & Gorgonzola Sauce. This was served with a small serving of whipped potatoes and asparagus. The tenderloin was perfectly cooked to order and lightly charred on the outside. I could literally cut it with a butter knife! The sauce was delicious and the perfect addition to the steak.

We were both stuffed but we did order one dessert to share, because we're fatties like that! We had Collage's signature dessert, The Bougainvillea Dessert. This consists of Strawberries sautéed in butter and black pepper with homemade Vanilla Bean ice cream served in a phyllo cup.

This might sound a little odd, but it works. Except maybe when I got a large piece of pepper.

We both will not, and do not, hesitate in recommending this restaurant to others. We have never had a bad meal at Collage. They also have a nice wine list with offerings both by the bottle and by the glass. We find the pricing to be appropriate for what we get. You can view the menu on their website. Oh, and reservations are recommended.

Double the Fun!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE when I can combine coupons? Especially at Target. Today, I did a quick Target run. Armed with my Target coupons and manufacturer coupons. $10.65 later, this is what I got:

Score!

And for the sake of comparison, this is what my daughter bought for almost $10

Have I not taught her anything?

No Get a Day for me

I started looking for volunteer opportunities in my area since the start of the program. There was never really anythin available for Danny & I to sign up for around here. During the Disney Social Media Moms conference, we learned that they had already had over 600K volunteers sign up for the program. So, I was even more determined to find an opportunity. That was on February 12th.

When we returned from Disney, I found a perfect opportunity and signed up for March 28th. Hurray! Not only would we be doing 8 hours of volunteer work but we would also have a ticket to DisneyLAND for our trip in October. Great way to cut back on expenses, right?

Well guess what? Disney hit their goal of a million volunteers on or about March 8th. We are still doing our volunteer work, acually we signed up for 2 seperate days. One for a ticket and one without. Only difference now is that both days are without tickets. Although we are a bit disappointed, we are still commited to what we signed up for.

Although the program has ended and a free Disney theme park ticket will no longer be provided, those still interested in volunteering may search for opportunities through HandsOn Network, or in Canada.

Free Olay

I've been home for 3 days and have been sick the entire time. I'm feeling better now so I will post some reviews from our trip soon.

In the meantime, from today til April 16th, you can get an Olay Quench Body Lotion FREE after rebate. I love this stuff!

Road Tripping!

Get in the car and drive. That would be easy for some, but I'm more of a planner. For our 22nd Anniversary, we did not have any huge plans since we will be going to Hawaii in October. I had a couple of hotel vouchers that I had purchased at a discount and Danny & I both have our Disney Passes. We both wanted to go up to St Augustine for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We decided on just one night in St Augustine, 2 nts in Orlando and 2 nights in Sarasota.

We're off the minute that Danny gets home from work on Thursday.Saying that the weather was crappy is an understatement. The rain stayed with us the entire ride up. We arrived in St Augustine around 1PM and decided to go to the San Sebastian Winery for their wine tasting. If you are ever in St. Augustine and want to do something that is FREE, this is th place to go. The tour & wine tasting is 100% free. The wines are well priced but there is never any pressure to purchase.

We have been to St. Augustine several times in the past. We have done all the touristy things like the Tour Train, Ripley's, The Lightner Museum, Flagler College & a Ghost Tour. This trip was more of a chill day. We were staying at our favorite Bed & Breakfast, The Saragossa Inn. We had reservations at our favorite restaurant, Collage. Plus I had a free ghost tour on my iPhone courtesy of Shivers & Awes.

After the winery we checked in at the inn, and it was like coming home. I had reserved the same suite, the Southwind, that we had stayed at last time. I LOVE this inn. The location is great, within easy walking distance to everything. Each suite has it's own entrance from the outside. Free off-street parking, Wi-Fi & breakfast. Our host, Gibbs, is friendly, informative and a fabulous chef! The rooms are all nicely decorated and super clean. The beds are comfortable and the towels are plush. The Southwind has a small room at the entrance with a daybed & wetbar area with a micro, fridge & coffee maker.

Gibbs serves a 3 course breakfast that is fantastic! Our breakfast consisted of fried apples for the fruit course and I believe, it was called a Saragossa Monte Cristo as the main course. I unfortunately did not get a photo of the 2nd course, but it was french toast topped with ham, eggs, cheese & tomatoes. I do not eat eggs so I just slid that off. It was delicious! Then came the dessert! OMG! Dessert for breakfast! That is music to my ears. Dessert was home made Strawberry Shortcake. Yummo! I'm not a coffee drinker, but Danny raved about the coffee.

This is our second stay at the Saragossa Inn and it won't be our last. I highly recommend it! I had the opportunity to tour and view each suite, you can't go wrong with any of them!

Next up is my review of Collage Restaurant

The cutest proposal EVER!

I am a sucker for creative proposals. As I have mentioned before, Danny is NOT in the least bit romantic. I am not complaining. Trust me. There really is no such thing as a "perfect" man. Whoever tells me that there is, will have to definitely prove it to me. There is always one or ten little things. In my case, if I have to forgive the lack of romanticsm for a loyal, faithful and very giving husband... I will do it in a heartbeat.

Still, that does not stop me from admiring those that are not only romantic but oh, so very creative when it comes to surprises and proposals.
So here I present to you, my all time favorite proposal. It doesn't hurt that it's at Disney!



Although there is the possibility that this is not a real proposal, I choose to ignore that possibility. It's Disney, after all. I choose to believe in the magic!

Oh, how I've missed you!

My life as a travel agent is taking up most of my days lately. Forget the fact that I only have one client. Myself! I am, and have always been, in charge of planning all our travels. I hunt down the best prices and read tons of reviews before I finally book. On extremely rare occassion, I will book blindly. Meaning, there are no reviews and I am going in just on instincts. I just booked one of those.

I am finally getting down to finalizing and booking our trip to Hawaii. It's been 3 long years since our last trip to Hawaii. We will be traveling to LA, Maui, Kauai, Oahu then back to LA before coming back home. Twenty-three days total. I will probably not post much of our exact plans until we return, but I will be posting planning tips and also, more details about our trip in 2007. I will include links to my favorite places, tours, accommodations etc. I will also include tips on budgeting and saving money. Hawaii is not cheap, but we managed to get the most for our money. Just takes a heck of a lot little planning and research.


Like I mentioned a few days ago, I have decided to post my personal reviews and travel tips on here. I will not post my work evaluations unless the client specifically requests that I do. In such instances, I will always let ya'll know!

I've been married for more than 1/2 my life!

My title says it all! Today, Danny & I celebrate our 22nd Anniversary. What can I say that I haven't said before?

And for kicks & giggles, here is a picture from our wedding. Now pick yourself off the floor and stop laughing at my marshmallow-ness!

I am also sooo lucky that he puts up with all my "Lucy" ideas & plans. And I don't even have an Ethel!

After 22 years in this sacred institution of marriage,

I can safely say: there's no one with whom I would rather be institutionalized!

Hello Kitty, almost didn't recognize you!

What happens when I get cravings and I don't feel like going out? I make do with what I have. Today I had a major craving for something sweet. In the hopes of losing some weight, I generally don't have sweets in the house. But guess what? I had flour, eggs, sugar & butter. Plus a few other staples. So I decided to make some cupcakes, because I'm a fatty.

Why cupcakes instead of a cake? Well, cupcakes cool faster. Which means I can devour it faster.

While, the cupcakes baked, I whipped up a small batch of buttercream icing. I can't have my cupcakes without icing! Actually, I can, but that's not important right now.

I then decided to complicate my simple cupcake craving and brought out the fondant. You know what I learned today? That I really don't like working with fondant. At least not for tiny details.

Maybe one day, she will look like herself. Whiskers are the devil!

Don't worry, I did not eat all 24 cupcakes! Kari will be taking a dozen to her little ones. I share! I'll try to limit myself to one or five.;-)

I just stumbled upon a fantastic blog and as always decided to share with my internets. I just found The Dear Diary Stories ~Marta Writes blog and I'm liking it! This week she is offering a FREE online Blog & Business Workshop. How cool is that? Ya'll know that I need all the help I can get. So head on over, the 1st installment is already up!