Category: Restaurants
Weekend Recap
| June 11, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Baby, Baby Gear, Favorites, FitFluential, Friends, Georgia, Restaurants, Savannah, Weekend |
Happy Monday friends! This week is INSANE for us. Chris’ parents get to Georgia tomorrow and will be with us until Friday for Chris’ Change of Command ceremony on Thursday! I am so flipping proud of my husband I can’t stand it. :) Before the chaos of the week hits I have to share our amazing weekend with you!
Courtney was in town visiting us from Chicago and we had an absolute blast. Friday morning we laced up our sneakers and hit up a new-to-me trail in J. F. Gregory Park in Richmond Hill. The trail was a 3.5 mile loop which will be PERFECT to run for half-marathon training this fall. Half of the path is paved with workout stations along the way. After awhile it cuts over into gravel. The whole thing is shaded which is nice in this Georgia heat.
Courtney was rather disappointed that we didn’t see an alligator. Emmie and I were thrilled haha. I asked one of the park workers what we should do if we saw one and he said to just go the opposite direction. That the gator would be more scared of us. I think the gator would see Em as lunch. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out and prepping a yummy dinner of roasted chicken (for us), salmon (Court) and veggies.
We got up bright and early Saturday to hit the road to Hilton Head Island for a day of sun, sand, and shopping. We got to Coligny Beach around 10AM which was perfect timing. Coligny is SO nice. There is free beach parking literally a 3 minute walk from the sand. The showers, bathrooms, and changing rooms are all amazing. I was seriously impressed. We were still able to claim prime beach real estate and get our fortress set up.
Our beach tent was a life saver. When I was prepping for our trip I called Maria and asked what she uses for Caleb and she recommended getting a tent over an umbrella so I went on Amazon and did. Luckily I ended up getting the same one she has and it’s AWESOME. I highly recommend it for anyone with kids. You can find it HERE.
Emmie was pretty content hanging out in her palace.
After a bit we thought it was time to see what baby girl thought of the ocean.
Verdict is … she likes the beach but is undecided about the ocean. She wasn’t too happy putting her feet in it. I think it was a little cold for her. The princess likes her water bath tub warm. But please tell me that those chunky thighs aren’t the cutest thing you’ve seen today??
Victoria met us for the day and we all had SO much fun! I am so glad to have such a FitFluential friend in town. She has been so warm and welcoming and I LOVE it 
We spent about 3.5 hours at the beach which was more than enough for the day. We dropped off our gear at the car and walked a short distance to Market Street Cafe. I know Presley LOVES Hilton Head so I hit her up for a lunch suggestion and that’s where she sent us. She was right … it was GREAT! I had the Greek steak pita and it was delish.
After lunch it was time to SHOP. Hilton Head has a pretty good set of Tanger Outlets. The only downfall is that they are broken into two sections and are a couple miles apart so we had to move locations to hit all the stores we wanted. Courtney and I did some heavy damage at Banana Republic, J. Crew and Nike. My BEST find of the day was a dress for the military ball in September. It is amazing and was way too good of a deal to pass up. I’m obsessed.
We shopped til we dropped and then we were hungry. Again. Haha. We made our way back to Savannah and met with Victoria and her hubs at Vinnie Van Go-Gos for some pizza.
Yesterday wrapped up the weekend. We said good-bye to Court and headed downtown again for lunch at the Crystal Beer Parlor. Some of our best friends from Texas were in town visiting with their family and we jumped at the chance to see them. The last time we saw Wed and Rachel we were high-fiving as they were leaving and we were moving to Missouri. The only disappointing thing is that their sweet boys weren’t with them. Next time 
We seriously had such an awesome weekend. It was great to see so many good friends Here’s to the week!
**In case you missed it, the final blog of my wedding series was up this weekend! Check out our honeymoon in the Bahamas
What did you do this weekend?
Three Years
| June 5, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Dinner, Family, Georgia, Hubs, Restaurants, Savannah, Seafood |
It’s hard to believe that it has been three years since this …
But at the same time it feels like it has been forever Our wedding was one of the best days of my life … second only to Emmalyne being born. It’s easy for time to fly when you’re spending your life with your best friend. In three short years our lives have changed so much.
We have moved to three different states.
We survived Chris being in Afghanistan for a year.
We got pregnant.
God gifted us with the most amazing baby ever.
Although our actual anniversary is today, we celebrated in Savannah on Saturday. It is just a lot easier to do big things on the weekend We headed downtown to City Market and hit of Belford’s.
We sat out on the patio and it was a PERFECT night. Not too hot with a nice breeze. Our waiter immediately brought us fresh baked bread with honey butter. The butter was AH-MAZING!
For an appetizer we got some baked brie …
And toasted to 60+ more years of wedded bliss.
Em of course was the star of the show and boy did she put on a good one. She was laughing and smiling and talking to all of the waitresses and other diners. She sure loves her daddy!
For my meal I got the blackened salmon and shrimp with mashed potatoes and sautéed seasonal vegetables. It had a bit of a kick to it but it was pretty good. While our food was tasty it was rather pricey. We live to live a little for special occasions but we weren’t “wowed” by the food. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but when we spend that kind of money (a lot for us but not crazy $$) we want to be floored and have our tastebuds singing.
When I married Chris it was hard to imagine life getting any better. We were young, in love, and ready to tackle the world. I never thought I could love him more … and then I saw him become a dad. Seeing him and Emmie together fills my heart with so much joy that it is overwhelming.
Life as a family of three is pretty amazing. I am honestly the luckiest girl in the world to call the two of them mine. As wonderful as the last three years have been I can’t help but be excited for the future because it just seems to get better and better.
Boot Camp Workout
| May 15, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Baby, Bootcamp, Family, FitFluential, Georgia, Restaurants, Savannah |
One of the things that I have really been enjoying since moving to Georgia and starting at my new gym is the Monday morning boot camp class. It is the perfect way to start my week and it is SUCH a fun class and a great workout. What I like about Boot Camp is that YOU choose how hard you go. You choose how heavy you lift, how fast you go, how hard you push. You get out of it what you put in to it. Period. Since I love boot camp so much I thought I would share a new workout inspired by my class.
Give it a try and let me know On the topic of group fitness … I am hosting #FitBlog for the first time tonight and we will be chatting about all things group fitness. I would LOVE it if you came out and joined me … I am pretty nervous about moderating!
After getting a good sweat on in the morning Chris and I packed up the Emster to go meet Victoria for lunch. We went to The Upper Crust in Richmond Hill and it was fabulous! I shoot for an 80/20 approach when it comes to eating and today was definitely in that 20% We started with buffalo wings because we all know Chris and I love all things buffalo!
Chris got the Cajun Alfredo for lunch and said it was really good! Victoria was a better eater than us and got a delicious looking spinach salad.
I am really glad that Victoria introduced us to this local place. The outside is pretty deceiving and it is definitely a hole-in-the-wall kind of place but the food was REALLY good. On top of that, the owners are Packers fans. Since Chris and I bleed green and yellow you know that was a major plus for us.
Having Victoria around is such an awesome blessing and just another reason why I think FitFluential rocks. V and I are both FitFluential Ambassadors and met that way and I am SO thankful! If you want to be part of the #FitFluential family you can join HERE.
Chris had a 4-day weekend off from work so he was home yesterday also. This meant mama could get some stuff done sans baby. One thing high on the priority list? A manicure. My fingers needed some pampering. I ended up getting my first shellac mani and I am HOOKED. My sister gets them back in Phoenix and told me about it. Shellac manicures use a special polish that allows your manicure to remain chip, smudge, and scratch free for 10-14 days. I love how it turned out and will let you know how long it lasts
AND Em enjoyed playing with the new toy we got her …
Yes she is standing. She can’t pull herself up yet but she totally can stand supported. Chris discovered this while I was getting my nails done. She is growing up so fast! Any-who … we had a fabulous Monday if I do say so myself
See you tomorrow for What I Ate Wednesday!
Do you take group fitness classes? Ever had a shellac manicure?
Weekend Recap
| May 14, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Army, Dinner, Family, Fashion, Friends, Georgia, Holidays, Hubs, Restaurants, Savannah, Weekend |
Hello friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Mine was perfect … full of food, fitness, and family so it was a win
Saturday Heather and her family was in town house-hunting in preparation for their big move coming up in July. I felt like I was going out on a date … tried to look cute, told Chris to behave, and cleaned the house. Why? Because up until Saturday Heather was a blog friend and we hadn’t met. Granted, we have a ton in common. Our husbands are at the same point in their Army careers, Heather and I are both Alpha Phis, and we both live for LOFT. Match made in heaven right? Well it was. Before getting there though, here is what I wore:
SKIRT: Loft Eyelet Hem (Here)
TOP: LOFT basic scoop neck tee (Here)
SHOES: LOFT Metallic Veronic Sandals (Here)
Can you tell I like LOFT? Haha. Anyways, Heather, her husband, and their sweet baby girl came to our house and then we all caravanned downtown to Vinnie Van Go-Gos for pizza.
We sat outside the restaurant and the atmosphere was SO much fun! It was the perfect location for excellent people watching. Being unconstrained also allowed Grace to run around and have fun. The weather was absolute perfect and the company fantastic. I started off my meal with a Blue Moon … aka my favorite beer ever and a little pint of heaven. Chris and I shared a medium pizza and topped it with pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, and black olives.
The pizza definitely lived up to the hype of UrbanSpoon and Yelp. It was DELICIOUS!! Apparently the single slices you can order are as big as a piece of paper so if you end up there you might want to stick with one. The medium pizza was more than enough for Chris and I and we ended up bringing some home as leftovers. A couple things to know about Vinnie Van Go-Go is that they only accept cash so make sure you stop by an ATM before getting there. Also, they don’t have high chairs so Emmie spent the meal sitting on our laps.
I love the fact that Vinnie Van Go Go’s is located in the heart of City Market in the Historic District of Savannah. There were a ton of shops Heather and I can’t wait to explore. After dinner we went on a quest for dessert and ended up going to Cafe GelatOhhh. Something really cool about Cafe GelatOhhh is that they use organic milk for their gelato. It was REALLY good. I got the Chai Latte gelato and wasn’t disappointed.
I always describe chai as tasting like Christmas. This gelato had Christmas all over it. Chris got the chocolate chip version and it was equally as good. Heather got amaretto and loved it as well! Overall it was an awesome evening and I can’t wait until they move here. Heather … remember I want my BFF necklace in silver please
Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I was a pampered princess. Emmie’s gift to me was sleeping 13 hours! Woo Woo!! Chris and Emmie woke me up with their gift to me:
How sweet is that? Chris had it made and blog-stalked my month updates of Emmie to get the pictures he wanted. Yes he has access to my iPhoto but apparently getting them off the blog was easier haha. It’s on foam board so it is durable. We are going to get it framed and then hung in our bonus room!
They also treated me to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and never-ending back scratches. They know the way to my heart is through French toast and sprinkles
Chris also decided that it was a night-out kind of night. He thought he was picking somewhere local for dinner and picked Dillingers. WELL … Dillingers ended up being attached to the mall. HA. I did get to go to Charming Charlies though SO we went in to Dillingers with open minds and it ended up being a disaster. I ordered the grilled salmon and it was so dry it was like chicken. Then I tried the chili which was completely devoid of flavor. Needless to say we will NOT be going back. BUT Chris saved the day and snuck out to “use the bathroom” and instead bought me a watch I had been eyeing at Charming Charlies:
Overall I had a great weekend. I even snuck in a HIIT run and shoulder workout on Saturday! I am so blessed to have great friends and an even more amazing family in my life!
***I am going to be moderating #FitBlog tomorrow night!! Come out and chat with me at 9PM EST about group fitness
How did you spend your weekend?
Leoci’s Trattoria Review
| May 1, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Appetizers, Dinner, Georgia, Italian, Restaurants |
It has been such a jam-packed last couple of days and I just have so much to share with you guys!
Before my mom left to go home to Arizona we had one last nice dinner out. We live about 20 miles from downtown Savannah so we decided to make the trip and start exploring our new city. After a quick look at UrbanSpoon we were sold on Leoci’s Trattoria.
Leoci’s serves authentic Italian food using locally sourced ingredients when possible. The reviews I read all raved about the huge deck for outdoor eating and I was looking forward to experiencing it myself. What I didn’t know is that Leoci’s takes reservations every day because they are so busy. We got lucky to even get a table inside!
Even though we didn’t get to sit on the deck I loved the interior atmosphere. Since it was 5:30 we were the only ones sitting inside. Oh the joys of parenthood and wanting to make it home before bedtime
Our server was really sweet and immediately brought us out some delicious house-made bread. The loaf was some kind of olive bread and it was so warm and perfectly chewy. The sticks apparently tasted great because Chris chowed them down without sharing One of my favorite things was the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They grated fresh parmesan into it which is something I haven’t seen before. That little bit of cheese took it to a different level. Delish!
While we waited for our food I enjoyed a glass of vino. Since I am breastfeeding I don’t drink much or often but I do love a good glass of wine. This pinot noir was smooth and fruity. It also made me realize how much I have missed wine.
As an appetizer Chris and I shared a small Caesar salad. It was good but it was just a Caesar salad. The dressing was good and their doused the whole thing in cheese which is a win in my book.
The real star of the show was my entree. Mom and I split the lobster ravioli in champagne lobster sauce. Oh my goodness you guys … this was AH-MAZING! Mom and I were both pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was. The sauce was absolute perfection and the handmade ravioli was exceptional. I could eat this all the time and be completely satisfied. I highly recommend it if you visit Leoci’s.
Chris had the Classic Bolognese … house-made pappardella pasta tossed in a Hunter Cattle Co. hunter sauce consisting of beef, pork and veal ragu with a touch of Sweet Grass Dairy cream. He was a gentleman and let me have a bite after taking a picture. It was delicious also. There is something so amazing about handmade pasta when it is done right and it certainly was done right here.
Overall we had a really good experience at Leoci’s Trattoria. I can see if becoming one of our favorite Savannah restaurants. If you are ever visiting the city make sure you check it out … just call ahead and make reservations so you can sit out on the deck.
Mom has only been gone for a few days and I miss her already. I think Emmie does too … they were quite the team for 2 weeks. Lucky for all of us Em and I already have our next trip to Arizona planned for the summer
What’s your favorite Italian dish? Are you a wino?
It has been such a jam-packed last couple of days and I just have so much to share with you guys!
Before my mom left to go home to Arizona we had one last nice dinner out. We live about 20 miles from downtown Savannah so we decided to make the trip and start exploring our new city. After a quick look at UrbanSpoon we were sold on Leoci’s Trattoria.
Leoci’s serves authentic Italian food using locally sourced ingredients when possible. The reviews I read all raved about the huge deck for outdoor eating and I was looking forward to experiencing it myself. What I didn’t know is that Leoci’s takes reservations every day because they are so busy. We got lucky to even get a table inside!
Even though we didn’t get to sit on the deck I loved the interior atmosphere. Since it was 5:30 we were the only ones sitting inside. Oh the joys of parenthood and wanting to make it home before bedtime
Our server was really sweet and immediately brought us out some delicious house-made bread. The loaf was some kind of olive bread and it was so warm and perfectly chewy. The sticks apparently tasted great because Chris chowed them down without sharing One of my favorite things was the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They grated fresh parmesan into it which is something I haven’t seen before. That little bit of cheese took it to a different level. Delish!
While we waited for our food I enjoyed a glass of vino. Since I am breastfeeding I don’t drink much or often but I do love a good glass of wine. This pinot noir was smooth and fruity. It also made me realize how much I have missed wine.
As an appetizer Chris and I shared a small Caesar salad. It was good but it was just a Caesar salad. The dressing was good and their doused the whole thing in cheese which is a win in my book.
The real star of the show was my entree. Mom and I split the lobster ravioli in champagne lobster sauce. Oh my goodness you guys … this was AH-MAZING! Mom and I were both pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was. The sauce was absolute perfection and the handmade ravioli was exceptional. I could eat this all the time and be completely satisfied. I highly recommend it if you visit Leoci’s.
Chris had the Classic Bolognese … house-made pappardella pasta tossed in a Hunter Cattle Co. hunter sauce consisting of beef, pork and veal ragu with a touch of Sweet Grass Dairy cream. He was a gentleman and let me have a bite after taking a picture. It was delicious also. There is something so amazing about handmade pasta when it is done right and it certainly was done right here.
Overall we had a really good experience at Leoci’s Trattoria. I can see if becoming one of our favorite Savannah restaurants. If you are ever visiting the city make sure you check it out … just call ahead and make reservations so you can sit out on the deck.
Mom has only been gone for a few days and I miss her already. I think Emmie does too … they were quite the team for 2 weeks. Lucky for all of us Em and I already have our next trip to Arizona planned for the summer
What’s your favorite Italian dish? Are you a wino?
