My weekend kicked off with a nap and then a lovely 30-minute walk outside. It was H O T (mid-80s) but the warm sun felt good on my skin. As I rounded a bend to start my second loop, I saw some scary dark clouds in the distance and had to send a prayer that those clouds would stay put so I could finish my walk. Thankfully, they did! It started pouring maybe 10 minutes after I finished my walk.
Most of my evening was spent on the couch, finishing up the second season of Bridgerton! I didn’t love this season as much as season 1—and they veered so far off the book’s plot that it was unrecognizable—but it was still a fun show to watch and I’m looking forward to season 3. In this photo, you can see that Ellie likes to sit on my lap desk while I’m coloring.
I painted my nails on Friday night. I had gotten two weeks out of my previous nail color, which I think is due to wearing a new gel polish and gel topcoat (the white bottle is my gel topcoat). So I’m testing to see if the gel topcoat will provide the same long-lasting wear with regular nail polish. Will report back!
My Saturday started off slow, which is just how I like ’em. I used to spend my Saturday mornings at Starbucks with my friend Mikaela, working on our respective projects. But we’re on a hiatus since she has a wee babe who is too small to fit in any sort of stroller just yet. We’re hoping to get back to them sometime during the summer! This Saturday I was trying my best to get into the book I’m reading The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, but it just wasn’t working. I decided to abandon it—for now. I didn’t add it to my abandoned list on Goodreads because I’m going to try it in audiobook form. I think that format will work much better for me! (This is definitely a case of me, not the book. The book is very good and well-written, but I just wasn’t in the right headspace to focus on it.)
In the afternoon, I had a fun adventure day with my mom, stepdad, and the dogs! We started with lunch at Clear Sky Draught Haus in Dunedin. The dogs weren’t exactly on their best behavior (I gave them a D; my mom gave them a C+), but it was their first time eating at a restaurant and they just need to be trained. They barked at our server every time she came by our table (we made sure to give her an extra tip for dealing with them, haha). Dachshunds are notorious for being fiercely protective of their people, so it’s not surprising that they were so suspicious of every person who walked by our table but hopefully, my mom and stepdad can take them out to more places so they can get used to being out.
Our second adventure was the day was to visit Salty Paws! This is a dog ice cream bar in Dunedin that a friend has raved about, and I really wanted Chip and Lucy to experience it. We got them the cookie crunch ice cream, which is vanilla ice cream with “cookie” crumbles on top. They devoured it within maybe two minutes, haha. They loved it! We’ll definitely have to make a trip back for more ice cream this summer.
Salty Paws also has a really cute retail shop. Most of it is dog-centric, but there was a small shelf with cat toys and treats so I was able to buy the girls a few toys and treats. They also have lots of really cute and funny dog biscuits that are homemade in-house, so I bought the dogs two Easter biscuits. I wish I had taken a picture of all the dog biscuits, but I failed on that account.
Oh and also, when I was checking out at Salty Paws, a man came in with a cat on a leash! AHHH. He was so cute and sweet. (The cat, not the man. Although, come to think of it, so was the man.) It made me want to teach Ellie how to walk on a leash because I think she’d be all about it.
After our busy afternoon, I was so happy to come home and veg on the couch for a while. I started a new book, which I am loving. It’s so cute and exactly what I need right now.
The rest of my night was pretty low-key! I ate dinner while watching Brooklyn 99, did a little computer work, and then got in bed around 9 because I was so tired from my busy day. I love when Lila jumps on the bed at night and shows me her belly. I always give it a pet and say, “I love that little belly!”
(Sorry for the major boobage in this picture. This dress—the one from Stitch Fix!—is so very low-cut, whew.) On Sunday morning, it was Easter! I got up early so I could do a workout before Easter brunch. Then I got ready and headed to my mom’s house to pick up her and my stepdad for our brunch reservations in Tampa. It’s not often I get to get all fancy, so I enjoy it when I can.
I wish I had more photos from our Easter brunch but I kinda sucked at taking photos, oops. But I did take a photo of my watermelon mimosa! It was so, so, so good. My mom ended up ordering their bottomless mimosas and just kept topping off my glass whenever I was getting low, ha. We went to Kona Grill for brunch and I can’t say I was too impressed with them—I ordered a typical breakfast platter of eggs, sausage, toast, and breakfast potatoes and it was all just fine. I probably wouldn’t go back, at least for brunch. I waited too long to make brunch reservations, though, so we had slim pickings on where to go!
After lunch, I dropped my mom and stepdad back home and then went back to my place and took a nice, long afternoon nap. It was just what I needed! The rest of my night was fairly low-key. I did a little bit of computer work, tidied up my apartment, and finished Brooklyn 99. I can’t believe I finished the series finally!
All in all, it was a lovely, lovely weekend and I’m preparing for a good week ahead. I finally get my stitches out (from my mole removal) so I can take baths again (!!!), I have book club where we will be taste-testing different types of frozen pizza, and I have my second therapy appointment. Woo!
How was your weekend?
What a perfect balance of social and relaxing time this weekend! What is in dog ice cream? How did you feel after having a mimosa? I had a drink this weekend after not having one in almost a year.
My weekend didn’t have enough down time. I had some fun social stuff but felt really pissy and drained last night 🙁 I am so sick of adulting and always having stuff to do. LOL, such is life.
I am not exactly sure what they put in the ice cream, haha. They said is was vanilla ice cream and the cookies were dog biscuits crumbled on top.
I hope you get a weekend with more downtime soon!
Ha, well I love the pictures from Salty Paws!!! I was just thinking “too bad there’s nothing like this for cats” when I got to the part where a guy came in with his cat. I can’t even imagine trying to get either of my cats on a leash though- there would be a lot of hissing and yowling.
Sounds like you had a fun and relaxing weekend (my favorite kind.) Yeah, it’s getting hot here- summer is coming (sigh.) I’m only running in the early mornings now.- afternoons are too hot!
It’s truly getting to the “must do my walk in the early morning” type of weather here. It’s been nice to be able to do a mid-day walk but now I’m just a sweaty mess. Not to mention, I have to slather on sunscreen so then I always have to take a shower to get the smell out! A first-world problem, indeed.
That’s a great photo of you! You look just beautiful. Sounds like a wonderful weekend; especially the mimosas!
You are too kind! Thank you!
That mimosa looks so good! We have a Kona Grill here and I’ve had a pretty ‘meh’ experience there as well. But I am glad you had a fun cocktail at least!
I was in the minority and did not care for the Revival of Opal and Nev. Maybe it was the format for me as well? It just didn’t work for me but I am terrible at putting my finger on exactly what I didn’t like!
While your Easter weekend was warm, ours was the exact opposite. On Friday I don’t think the ‘feels like’ temp got above 20! It was cold and windy and at times it was snowing! Spring in Minnesota is the worst!
Minnesota needs to get its act together with the weather. It’s spring! You guys suffered through the winter already – you deserve a nice spring, especially if it’s going to be hot and humid like it was there last summer.
I’m going to try Opal & Nev on audio and see if that format works better for me. It just wasn’t keeping my attention in print.
Oh, I’m so sorry Opal & Nev didn’t work for you. I adored that book.
Zelda the Cat does not like being on a leash. She’s very funny about it. I think that because she’s an inside cat, she’s really freaked out by all the outside noises (even just wind!) and she feels very vulnerable when she goes outside and all she really wants to do is hide.
I’m trying not to be envious of your 80 degree weather when I woke up to snow this morning, but I am not envious of your rent price, so I guess I’ll take the good with the bad. I’m glad you had a nice weekend!
I have hope that Opal & Nev will work better for me on audio! I think it’s a full-cast recording, so that should be fun to listen to. 🙂 I know how much you loved it, and I wanted to love it just as much!
The 80-degree weather comes with oppressive humidity and an extreme UV rating most days, so we’re really in for it this summer if it’s already this bad in April.
Colouring with a cat cuddled in looks like #livingyourbestlife!
And doggy ice cream? I mean, could you get any cuter?! I have a feeling it would be a lot cleaner than kids eating ice cream, too, which I often try to avoid because it’s just so sticky!
It was truly a pet-centered weekend, and that is living my best life, indeed!
Ohhh…80 degrees? Doggy ice cream? (Do they also have human ice cream? Asking for… a friend. ;>) Trading in a book that wasn’t doing it for one that you are loving? All good things! (I prefer my bubbles unmarred by fruit, thanks… straight bubbles or nothin’!)
(And, side note… I’m assuming that’s an “adult” coloring book? LOL.)
They didn’t have human ice cream at this dog ice cream bar. It was all for the doggos! Such a cute place. 🙂
Tehehe, regarding the “adult” coloring book. I tried to angle the picture so the “fuck” wasn’t so in your face, but it wasn’t working. So there you have it!
Wow, you fit so much into your (Easter) weekend. I love it. I feel like my weekends are always the ‘same old’… but in fact my Easter weekend was special as I was back home in Germany with my family for Easter, so my weekend was very full and busy, too 🙂