gettin crabs

I have gone down the list of favorite foods of mine a few times and crossed things out and added things. I mean a list like that needs editing every now and then. That kind of list also has some sublist. I would say one of my sublist to favorite foods would be favorite sea foods. On the favorite sea foods list crab legs are somewhere toward the top. 

On a hunt for some awesome crabs this Easter Sunday I found myself crossing the Gandy to visit The Crab Shack. I have passed this place so many times going to Ray's games in St. Pete and I should have known that a place looking the way it does can only stay in business by having some bangin ass food. 

The ambiance is definitely St. Pete beach bum. The place is far from fancy but the food is authentic to say the least. And the prices are pretty killer.

The apps we ordered included 

Oyster stew 

Green back muscles with butter garlic sauce

Buffalo shrimp 

Deviled crab rolls

The best out of these were the buffalo shrimp they were seriously amaze balls. The muscles were pretty damn good too. I did not try the oyster stew because I am still a little anti oyster after the shooter experience. Also although the crab rolls were good there are way too big... sometimes bigger isn't better. Crab rolls are heavy as is therefore they should not be larger than like an egg... ish. I am still voting Brocato's as first place for deviled crab. 

The apps definitely were a nice way to start a meal but I honestly could barely contain my excitement for the crab legs.

The server dropped off this little tool kit to get us ready and my excitement grew. They get you prepped by giving you a bucket for the shells of course, nut crackers (not crab crackers haha), kitchen sheers, and a little popsicle stick fork type of thing. you will not find any wet ones here folks. 

So top of this photo you will see two blue crabs... if you are into that get them because they are $2.50 each... I mean that is a deal. But guess what...I am NOT into that shit. Those crabs are full bodies meaning they still have all that orange and brown weirdo brain matter looking nonsense. I like to think I am a Florida girl who can handle sea food but when you can just have crab legs that have the beautiful clean meat why go for something with all the weird!.. no thanks. 

I was all about the dungeness crab legs though. I mean listen these have the creepy hair on the outside which is not ideal but the meat inside... OMG. They were recommended to us by another patron. FYI I would not take advice on much other than which crab legs to order from the patrons at these joint... just sayin. But seriously though the crab legs were AWESOME. 

I attended a Ray's game the same weekend and watched the Ray's kick some Yankee ass... Due to a late departure to the game I ate at the stadium and while the pretzel and cajun boiled peanuts rocked I think next time I will leave earlier and stop at the Crab Shack for sure. 

The location makes it perfect for a pre game meal but if you are not headed to a game it is just right over the Gandy so it really is only a quick trip and you can stop by one of my faves on the way home for a beer.

Hula Bay

That is how I got crabs in St. Pete... the first time. I am pretty sure it will happen again :)

8 incredible nashville restaurants in 1 day

About a month ago a friend of mine mentioned that him and a foodie friend of his were bouncing around the idea of a food crawl... umm... a food crawl? My ears perked up and mouth started watering... I was basically a dog begging for a bone.
He told me all about his friend Jay and Jay's wife Dollie. They are total foodies and because they were about to move out of Nashville for Jay's job they wanted to visit some of the best foodie finds before the big move.

I know when you think Nashville you probably think about what most people know music city for... cowboy boots, honky tonk bars, the Opry, and maybe even the show on ABC. Well all of those things are no joke NashVEGAS is the home of a lot of country music... and on any given night you might see 10 bachelorette parties full of girls in matching outfits that include cowboy boots. But I had no idea that Nashville is also home to some AMAZING food.

Walker and Jay got serious while planning this food crawl... brainstorming about where to go what time etc. They came up with an itinerary and made a couple reservations at the places that required them. Meanwhile my planning consisted of working out and trying to get mentally and physically prepared to eat at 8 restaurants in one day which turned out to be equally as crucial.

That morning we did a little air-dyne sit up workout. I complained about having to wake up and do that crap but 26 plates of food later I was glad I started the day with a sweat.
I would love to go on and on about every little detail at each place but with 8 places on the list... it would be the longest blog ever so I am going to give you some highlights no worries though I plan on showcasing some if not all of these eateries later on in my blog life.

1. Husk

We ordered-

Bone Marrow

The Deviled Eggs

The Husk Cheeseburger

Shrimp and Grits 

Steak and Eggs 

The Pork Belly Monte Cristo 

and some cocktails

You should try-

The Husk Cheeseburger. I had one bite and it was heavenly. Walker describes it as "the best bowling alley cheese burger he has ever had" which sounds gross right? I think this eater.com article does it a little better... sorry Walker. 

Other than the food-

Husk has many interesting little quirks... I mean honestly I want to take a class on the place and then tell you guys all about it. Until I take my Husk course I will mention, the pear trees, the private dining room, and the ham. The pear trees they have are grown and pruned so the limbs stretch out like arms and when they bloom form a fence apparently they are like 3k. There is an unattached little barn building behind Husk that is used for private events and even has its own kitchen (my goal in life is to have a party there). And the HAM! The people of Husk go H.A.M on their ham. They have a case where you can see it hanging and it hangs there for 24 months making it the melt in your mouth amazingness.

Condition of the Crawlers-

I consulted the smartest woman I know before going on this adventure... my mom. Her advice was to pace myself and I took it seriously. Apparently none of the other crawlers consulted their mothers because everyone went heavy at 10:30 am. We all left feeling satiated to say the least and when you have 7 more stops thats not ideal. It would catch up to us later. 

2. Mas Tacos Por Favor

We ordered- 

Horchata 

Plantains 

Tacos (pork and I think Jay and Dollie got fish)

Roasted Corn

You should try-

The roasted corn. It seems so simple but they put seasonings and cheese on it that makes it worth looking like a sloppy mess and having corn in your teeth after eating it.

Other than the food-

This place is a little shack across from our next stop (The Pharmacy) which worked out because we got on the list there while waiting in line for tacos. Food crawlers have to multitask. If you don't already know East Nashville is hipster central. This is a great place to see those hipsters in action. They love the idea of artisan tacos out of a shack... guess what Tampa has you beat because they do tacos out of a bus at the Taco Bus.... Boom. 

Condition of the Crawlers-

The little wait was probably good for us after a pretty heavy morning meal. Mas Tacos does not serve alcohol so we all came down a little from our brunch buzz. Do not worry though stop three brought the buzz back strong!

3. The Pharmacy

We ordered - 

Kielbasa with kraut and tots

and like 3 rounds of beers

You should try-

A burger... and tell me how it is!

We were pretty full around this time but Jay insisted on ordering some food and apparently he has a love for all things sausage. But this place is all about the burgers.

Other than the food-

They have a great beer selection and glassware! I think it is a nice touch when places that pride themselves on beer also serve the beers in their appropriate glass. They claim to be Nashville's original biergarten (aka beer garden.. fancy right?) and who knows if they are or not because lets face it a beer garden is just a little place outside where you drink different types of beer. I will say this... theirs is pretty awesome it is lined with picnic tables so there are plenty of seats and its has a nice outside feel in a normally congested part of the city. 

Condition of the Crawlers-

It is official at this point we are getting a little day drunk. And obviously judging by the small amount of food we ate at this stop we are all feeling pretty damn full. Although we kept our energy up by sharing some great stories. Jay and Dollies proposal story was my fave... this dude sent her on a scavenger hunt... cute right? While she was on it he was hiding in her trunk... WTF? One of the best stories ever!

4. {PUB}licity

We ordered-

The Bacon Sampler

The Pretzel Sticks 

and yet another round of beers 

You should try-

The Bacon. Now I have been there and done that when it comes to candied bacon. I have made it and I have eaten a lot of it. I will say that was not my favorite of the bacons. I personally loved the chocolate covered bacon. But I mean regardless or which was best lets face it if there is a fuckin bacon sampler on the menu... order it. 

Other than the food-

This place is outside of the city in Bellevue. It is in a plaza with Kroger so it really does not seem all that appealing to the foodie looking for a once in a lifetime experience... But I would suggest it to anyone going that way because the menu has a lot of interesting options and the bar itself is really cool inside. They have that table shuffle board shit.. I love bars that have games. 

Condition of the Crawlers-

We went over this way because Jay and Dollie needed to take their dog on a little walk. The drive gave us enough time to realize we weren't even half way through the day and we decided to stop for a pick me up. I chugged a sugar free red bull and Walker got some copenhagen (gross right?)... Do not judge us... everyone has their vice. 

5. The Southern

We ordered- 

Oysters

BBQ Shrimp 

Dominican Pork 

You should try-

The BBQ shrimp. It is a must have everytime! Make sure you ask for extra bread you will need it to soak up the sauce in the bowl. This is another dish that is worth the mess.

Other than the food-

The cocktails at The Southern are sooo great. The Zydeco is a must try. All together it is an awesome place to try and I have a friend Raven who works there... ask for her! She knows food and will make sure your "southern experience" is the best. 

Condition of the Crawlers-

Walker, Jay, and Dollie were all looking forward to having oysters at The Southern all day. So despite the semi-full bellies they were on an oyster high. I personally am traumatized after a bad oyster shooter experience. I tried an oyster at Southern but I swear it tasted like the bottom of the fuckin ocean... not my thing right now. We were feeling a solid buzz at this point and it put an extra pep in out step.

6. The Farmhouse

We ordered-

The fried quail and waffles 

The pork belly and sweet potato gnocchi 

and more cocktails

You should try-

This one is tough but I have to go with the quail. I am such a huge fan of pork belly so let's just make it a rule that it is ordered everywhere. But in this case the quail really was amazing. The breading is so sweet and crispy. Everything in the world should be fried like that quail.

Other than the food-

We ate at the bar so we did not experience a lot of the place. It is right next door to Etch which is awesome. The bar tender was really cool... he made us a bunch of great drinks and even made one with some kind of weird tomato ice cream... I swear. Weird. 

Condition of the Crawlers-

Well you can tell me photos I was falling apart. I forgot to take pictures so I had to take them after we had already torn into the food. Also we all stood the entire time... just could not stand to sit at that point. All of a sudden we realized Walker hadn't spoken in a while and we looked over at him... he was leaned against the wall and it was a bad situation. Dollie and Jay called and changed our dinner reservation to give us some time. Walker managed to mumble "we need to take a walk". We obliged and took a walk on the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge.

7. Mason's

We ordered-

Bone Marrow (boys choice)

Deviled eggs

Crab corn dogs

some kind of Elvis themed desert 

You should try-

The crab corn dogs... They are a little heavy but so worth it. They really remind me of an elevated version of the devil crabs at Brocato's in Tampa. So much crab in every bite. 

Other than the food-

This place is located inside the Loews Hotel and we sat in the bar which gave us a great view of people coming and going. Remember earlier when I mentioned the bachelorette parties with matching outfits and cowboy boots... even better I think I saw one in a princess type dress. I mean if this girl was wearing a princess dress for her bachelorette just picture what she will look like on her wedding day! It was great. Mason's also had some wine glasses Dollie and I were obsessed with and a huge projection screen in the bar area that sports enthusiast may appreciate. 

Condition of the Crawlers- 

By this point Jay was getting that look in his eyes... "I am over the fact that I ate all day and I want to drink all night". Walker was still mumbling shit from time to time while doing everything he could to get all the marrow out of the bone. And Dollie was over it. She was full and focused only on getting back home to her bed and her dog. Which is what makes Dollie an awesome wife and dog mom she knows when to call it quits and when her fur baby needs her. They agreed that if there was no wait at the next spot they would join... there was a wait so they skipped out on stop 8. 

8. The Patterson House

We ordered-

Fried Goat Cheese 

Cocktails

You should try-

A cocktail. I was not that impressed with the goat cheese... mind you I was far from hungry. They are known for their cocktails here so order one, two, as many as you can.

Other than the food-

So I have some opinions about this place. I wanted to rally and make sure we hit 8 places like we had planned... so I am definitely glad we made it but the place is too cool for school. It is a "speakeasy"themed place so there is no sign indicating where it is and there are a lot of drapes so that just by walking in you would not know it is a bar... I guess it could be a book store? or maybe a place to buy bad velvet drapes. The speakeasy thing is cool but I think the Vandy kids that go to this bar think those things are just because it is so elite... I think to them prohibition was 6 months ago before they turned 21 and only Chili's would accept their fake ID, so they definitely do not know what a speakeasy is. The drinks are super good and they put herbs and fresh zest and drops of oils or something out of small viles, but it is just too hip for my liking to be honest.

Condition of the Crawlers-

Jay and Dollie were out on this one and honestly I do not even think there were more than 5 words said between Walker and myself. We were over it and ready to pass out. Jay text us when we got home and said he weighed himself in the morning and evening and had gained TEN POUNDS... whaaaaat... worth it. 

The food crawl was honestly one of the best experiences ever. We have already discussed doing another one. Or possibly doing it annually. I love good food and drinks. In this case I can easily say the company was as a good if not better than the food... 

#foodcrawl2014

hangover food revamped

Keep in mind in my first post I hinted that I am by no means a culinary genius. I will also add that I am not a nutritionist. I try to eat healthy though.

Sunday my hungover state led me to make an unhealthy food choice... a couple if I am being honest. I ate chinese take out for dinner. It was delicious and I did not... and still really do not regret it one bit. Yesterday when considering what to cook for dinner I opened the fridge and saw a little box packed with left over fried rice... it was staring at me saying "eat me".  I said "no fried rice I am not hungover and I know you aren't the best decision for my summer body"... and then I pulled the container out of the fridge and decided to stop talking to the food and eat it.

Now I do not know if you have had fried rice from a chinese place lately but they have really let things go in that area. Maybe this is a figment of my imagination but I remember bitching when I was kid about the veggies in the fried rice. It came filled with egg, peas, and onion. By no means was it ever packed with nutrient rich veggies but at least there was something... those days are over. Now you are lucky if it is even actually fried rice rather than some yellow looking weirdo rice.. gross.

This was my fried rice taken out of the box before sprucing.

While I was willing to stoop to the fried rice level I refuse to eat it in its current lack luster state. I decided to spruce it up. This is something I have done before to add a little extra yumminess to boring left overs and it is always a great way to stretch leftovers for one into leftovers for two.

I have done many variations and none of which are really all that complicated... I just open the fridge take a look around and grab some stuff to add to the rice. Easy right?

I usually always add an egg and some onion and I would like to lie here and say some super fancy veggies I get from some farmer on the corner but let me be honest and say... I choose some stuff that might go bad soon. This time the options were limited but I found a couple carrots and some celery. 

I chop it all up.

Then I saute those veggies in some olive oil. When they are cooked to my liking I remove them from the pan but don't put them in the rice just yet.

Although you could just add the veggies in and be done, I like to do a little more.

I then use the same pan add a little more oil or butter if you choose.. just enough to keep the pan stick free... then add the rice. When I say a little bit of oil or butter I am for real this is just reheating not cooking so keep it light.

This time the rice was a little dry so I added some ponzu sauce... I don't use measuring spoons but if I could guess I would say it was about a table spoon. 

This is when I add the egg I make a little spot on the side of the pan and crack the egg right in... then I just scramble it as it cooks... I prefer it still a little separated.

Once it is basically cooked I mix it with the rice

Now it can all be mixed up

Although the final product doesn't look completely different it taste so much better!! And there are some extra veggies... so a little more bang for your buck in the nutrition department.

I grilled some chicken and the two things together made for an awesome meal... I added siracha of course 

Tonight there was still a little of the spruced rice left so I sautéed some diced zucchini and peppers threw it all together in a little chicken rice bowl thing. 

I feel like when I am cooking for one or two it is hard to eat leftovers before they become science experiments and same goes for veggies. This is a mini solution to that issue.

crossfit competition gone wild

This weekend I went to the Europa Games and Fitness Expo. Retro Crossfit (my new home box) had a team and an individual competing at the Europa Throwdown aka The Raid Games. 

I know it may seem weird to go out of our way to watch our friends workout... the same people we work out with everyday. But that kind of community is what I personally think makes the "crossfit koolaid" so addictive.

I have only been going to retro for a little over a month but I already feel at home there. We come together everyday to workout and although our daily lives might be very different, during that time we sweat, suffer, smile, and get stronger together. 

Crossfit has evolved a lot over the years and with it the competitions and gyms have too. Competitions come in all shapes and sizes from local competitions hosted by a local box where the first place prize includes a swag bag full of supplement samples and a tshirt, to The Crossfit Games where first place takes home 250K and becomes a crossfit celebrity. This Europa crazyness was somewhere in the middle of all that. 

The huge difference between this competition and others is that this one was smack dab in the middle of the most meathead filled fitness expo I have ever heard of. This expo had all types of sport going on. Cheerleading, body building, judo, zumba, even arm wrestling! Which led to the best people watching experience I have had in a damn long time. 

Body builder types believe in a serious lack of clothing and a lot of spray tanning.

 Don't get it twisted crossfitters love ripping their shirts off during a wod and wearing tiny little shorts, but generally when not working out we wear a normal amount of clothing or at least pretty damn close. The bodybuilder guys either wear no shirt or shirts that are so cut up they look like little pieces of cloth draped over their puffed up muscles. And the ladies... you just never know. But I saw a lot of bedazzled bikinis and I also saw a shit ton of those high heel sneaker things. 

When I was 21 I might have talked a lot of shit right here... but at this point in my life I am not hating. Those ladies may wear some outfits I think are super stupid but they are fuckin ripped! And honestly knowing how much work they have to put into looking that way I say rock it however you want to! Get it girl!

The body builders were definitely fun to watch... but I also loved the arm wrestlers... apparently this arm wrestling thing gets very serious! It is hard for me to consider it a sport because they wear jeans while they do it... but later in the day we saw a dude get wheeled out on a stretcher because he broke his arm in one of the matches!!! So I get it they make sacrifices for sure. 

There were a shit ton of vendors at the event too. One of which gave us an opportunity to lift a little weight...

Even though this event had a lot to offer the best part was of course watching the Retro athletes do their thing. You get to see people you know push themselves to the max and it is awesome! You find yourself cheering for people you don't even know because although you don't know them you know the struggle they are facing when they just can't get a rep and you want to help them push through. 

These are a few of the photos of the guys getting after it.

And this is probably my favorites from the weekend. Team Retro Crossfit after their final wod. Super messed up!

They did great competing in the RX male team division and Frank did awesome going for it in the RX Male Masters division. They were all super jacked up after two days full of working out. I look forward to them all groaning and moaning at the gym today about how much pain they are in... I know thats kind of sick. 

The competetors definitely deserved some celebration for their performance. So we did what any "great" crossfitters do... went out and ate some bomb ass food and had some drinks!!

We went to Brick House Tavern for dinner and although I am usually all about the food, this night I clearly had a one track mind. Somehow despite the many plates of awesome food I wound up with these photos...

The night continued to get weird when we went to Senior Frogs... where I got hit on by a guy who I thought might be homeless... I got clarification that he indeed has a home but rode to the bar with the top down on his jeep which is why he looked disheveled... whatever the case it was time to get out of there... but not before getting this awesome photo 

We skipped down to Howl at the Moon. Where we drank too many bucket sized drinks and sang along to way too many songs. 

I wish I could talk in more detail about the debauchery but to protect the reputation of some of the crazies I will leave out some details... I will say that toward the end of the evening the guys decided a shot of fireball was a good idea for a night cap (Ashley doesn't drink fireball... take a guess how that came about). Just at the mention of fireball Conners demeanor changed. By the time the shots arrived Conner was gone and despite our efforts to find him we ended up taking a cab home without him... #whereisconner ? 

After a pretty wild cab ride back to the hotel we all stumbled out and guess what we found... Conner, what happened in between howl and the hotel is still and probably always will be a mystery. Of course none of us went to bed we rallied and found ourselves getting into plenty of trouble... again only some of which I will talk about here. Let me tell you about crossfitters and drinking... it never fails that when a bunch of crossfitters get together and drink someone will eventually decide to do something to show their athletic skill. A buzz just makes you want to show how badass you are at burpees, and its all fun and games until you crack a tooth (you know who you are). Well I think this night in particular the guys were inspired by the arm wrestlers from the expo.

I am pretty sure there was a best two out of three situation between Matt and Conner. I honestly can not tell you who won but I can tell you Matt did a lot of winner posing. In the photo on the bottom right Matt is doing an air thruster!

The Europa experience was a great ass time for sure. 

Over the years I have attended multiple crossfit gyms and met a lot of crossfit people and I always love the way we all support each other and show our love at these events. Even for none crossfitters competitions have an energy that is infectious. And of course the after competition crazyness is always a blast.

Me and Ash are thinking about getting a team together for The Central Florida Throwdown so stay tuned!

the f word

First let me apologize to my parents. I promise I had every intention of not doing this, primarily for your sake. But I cannot resist any longer...

When I thought about this blog and started typing I kind of made an unwritten rule for myself that I would stick to words used on prime time TV. You know… bitch, shit, ass, etc. However as I continued to brainstorm and even in jotting down thoughts for future post I realized I was changing my voice. Going out of my way to censor myself... censorship is just not my style. Therefore at the risk of offending a couple people and making my parents cringe...

I will now be introducing the F word into my blog. That happened fast right? J

I considered the pros and cons and I even started to read a couple blogs this morning about not using the F word and I stopped after the first paragraph… shit got boring. Ultimately this is the right decision for everyone involved. I do not intend to use the word constantly, but you will come across it in my future post maybe only once a post or every other post but maybe sometimes 10 times in one post. I will keep it need based... yes sometimes you NEED to say it. 

My mom would say that it is my lack of vocabulary that makes me want to use this word to describe things. That might be true to some degree. But sometimes the word crazy just isn’t intense enough without the f word in front of it. And “what the…” definitely is not complete without the f word. From time to time I need to escalate things and dropping the f bomb does that. Below is a perfect example. If you are ever tempted by an oyster shooter do not do it! It is gross and you will not look cute during or after. Take my word for it.

two nights in trampa

I recently moved from Clarksville, TN back to Tampa, FL where I am originally from. Any long period of time spent living away from Tampa was littered with weekends back home. Weekends back home were always bitter sweet. There was never enough time to see everyone I wanted to or do everything I wanted to but on the other hand seeing the friends and family I could and enjoying even just a few of my favorite places made even the shortest trips worth it.

There is one person who can make a simple weekend home an epic walk down memory lane... my brother. He lives in Italy and when I was living away from home the two of us having time off and making it home at the same time was a once every 6 months or so type of thing. To some people being away from their sibling like that might not be a big deal but in getting to know me you will see that Ben is legit my best friend and we have the most fun when we are together. So when I had the chance to come home for the weekend while he was here on leave I definitely took advantage. 

It was a quick two night trip but I made the most of those two evenings. This is the break down.

Day 1

This pretty much sums it up. I spent the day traveling out of Nashville to Tampa. I love the feeling I get when the plane lands in Tampa. 

Night 1 

Obviously the family hit our usual dinner spot... Datz. My mom and I always get the spa-ahh water which is a fancy cucumber gin gimlet its pretty damn good. Ben usually orders something weird like a whiskey cocktail with bacon in. Apparently this time he chose something with a tree limb in it. Dad orders a beer... a craft beer of course. We ate some super good food and then said goodbye to the rents before getting our drink on.

First stop The Dub. Its a cool little Irish place that has trees growing up through the patio, live music, and good beer. At the Dub they toss a handful of blueberries in the blueberry beer (yeah I drink a bunch of fruity beer get over it) and I can almost convince myself that I am getting my fill of antioxidants while drinking beer... good logic right? But what I really love about Dub is kind of what I love about all the little bars on South Howard... they all have a layer of sticky beer on the floor, a couple groups of college kids getting too drunk, and some thirty somethings hoping the drunk college girls will find them hot and mature. I think we ended that night how we end almost all of our nights out with a shot and a beer at The Retreat. We took it pretty easy that night knowing we would have a day full of food and working out starting the next morning. Rough life right?

Day 2 

There is nothing better than waking up a little late after a night out and going to the gym right? um wrong! maybe 5 years ago. I loved that shit back then. Now I wake up after just a few drinks the night before and I am like "Shit I guess I will drag my sorry ass out of bed and work off some of the beer" 

So we put on our best lulus and tied up our nanos (we may feel like shit but we do not look like it) and headed toward MacDill AFB. 

Before we got there we stopped to get JUICED. 

We stopped at a little juice and lunch spot called O.E. Market. Come to find out it is an extension from the Oxford Exchange which from what I can tell is where snooty bitches in Tampa eat lunch and buy eco friendly throw pillows. We each got a fancy ass $10 cold pressed juice that we hoped would give us super strength for the WOD ... it didn't. 

We did a nasty little 7 minute AMRAP of deadlifts and burpees. From now on when I mention WODs I will make an effort to tell you the weight I use, my scores, and my scales. This time I have none of that but just know... it sucked. Also know that if i say that it was probably awesome... crossfit logic. 

You are in Tampa and just finished a super hard workout what next?... cupcakes and bomb ass wings obviously!

Frostings etc. is the absolute best cupcake place in Tampa... I mean possibly anywhere. Joe runs the place and a lady named Sharon makes the cupcakes. I have never seen Sharon to be honest but I picture her to be kind of like a superhero in an apron back there whipping up cupcakes while flying around in the kitchen and turning the oven on with her mind. Meanwhile Joe is seriously so friendly it is like he is a friend of the family and he seems to like us. I mean where else do you get a chocolate cupcake topped with cookie dough frosting served up with a shot of Jameson. F$%@ yeeah! This was followed up by a couple beers and some wings at Soho Saloon where they have some hilarious wall art. 

Night 2 

Apparently we didn't get enough of the dub the night before. This night Ashley joined the party and wrecked our asses in some kind of coaster game. Honestly though losing to Ashley doesn't really count because she kicks ass at like everything cornhole, can jam, beer pong, softball, and yes crossfit... bitch is bad. We decided to add good ole MacDinton's to the mix on night two. MacDinton's is like a landmark here in Tampa. I have heard people talk shit about it... its shitty, full of snobby UT kids and over-served locals, a 15 minute wait for a beer, and bathroom lines that lead to a creepy ass bathroom attendant offering you body spray from walmart. But I mean hello... all of that is what I love about the place. If you can not embrace the debauchery that goes on inside of these Tampa bars... you suck and you probably have never had fun.. like ever.

Day 3  

Unfortunately the fun came to an end and I had to fly out. 

Not before a beer at Hula Bay of course. 

There it is the highlight reel from one of the many successful Tampa trips. Before I moved I knew Tampa was great but after living in other places (to include a town in Alabama that didn't even have Starbucks) I have gained a new appreciation for this sunny city. I love it and the people I share it with. 

expecting the unexpected

So I thought for a while about starting a blog, and by a while I legit have been considering it for a few years... I know what you must be thinking... who the F#$% thinks about something as simple as a blog for three years and doesn't get off their ass and start one...on their ass and start one I guess is a little more accurate in this situation. Well I imagine many things kept me from typing but here I am now so lets get to it.

My life has changed about 20 times in my 20s. Which has given me a lot to say and this blog is where I plan to say a lot of that in some way or another. Just as my life has changed I imagine my blog will change over time as well. Two years ago if you came across this blog it would have had a point of view I can not even imagine today. With that said I know where I am now and I am going to start my blog by trying to help you know where that is. So what to expect and just as important what not to expect from my blog. 

What to Expect..

1. Some terrible grammar. 

This will surely cause my mother some serious anxiety. Let me go on a mini tangent here my mom is amazing and super smart. She was a high school english teacher for 23 years after which she held multiple positions in the school system for another 15 years. She retired from the school system and now teaches education courses as an Assistant Professor at a private college. Her degrees include a BA in english education, M.Ed and Ed.S. in educational leadership, and an Ed.D. Yeah she is Dr. Badass. Well guess who did not pick up the literature bug... me. The thing is I can sit here and edit all my post so they are perfect and make sure that I use the proper conjunctions, and tenses, and whatever, but I would rather spend my time talking to you! Or doing things outside of this little internet home that are worth talking about! So I will take a normal amount of time editing and I hope everyone will be able to stomach the occasional use of the wrong sense and a complete lack of commas. Also I curse a little... Thank you ahead of time for putting up with that shit.

2. Crossfit talk.

I am a Crossfitter. The rumors are true... I drink a gallon of koolaid a day, I can talk about crossfit to no end, I adorn myself in the latest and greatest gear hoping it will add some kind of super strength to my small frame, I drink beer and eat high fat foods right after a WOD and feel guiltless because of the sweat angel I left on the gym floor. We are not a cult but we are definitely a tight knit community. My truth about crossfit is this, I didn't play sports as a kid... yes I was one of those weird kids with an easy bake oven but no soccer cleats which led me into my early twenties small but soft and weak. I never had the focus or motivation to work out on my own even though I tried. Crossfit is where I found the things I had missed out on. The hour (more or less) I spend working out is where I find solace on bad days and where I celebrate on happy days.

3. Food and drink.

When I say food I do not mean 12 freezer to crockpot meals that will blow your mind although I love those... I am not that ambitious just yet. My food post will consist of a lot of food that I eat at restaurants. Good food though... so if you are looking for some "expert" advice on where to eat I am your girl. I will occasionally talk about stuff I make and hopefully become a culinary master in the process. Now onto the DRINK... this is where shit gets real. Just as I enjoy food I have an equal if not sometimes a deeper love for drinks. I will tell you all about the amazing artisan cocktails I have at pricey dim lit martini bars and I will also share the stories that come after 6 yeunglings at the local dive ... because we all know those are the good ones :)

4. A peak inside the crazy.

When I say the crazy I am referring to the mind and life of myself C Bunn. This will include my travel, relationships with friends and the like, and my normal chaotic life as it changes everyday. I imagine there will be a couple post that get emo... we all have a sensitive side right? and a couple that are scatter brained as I can sometimes be. I also recently took the GRE and hope to find out which school I will be going to for my MBA soon. When I start I will surely bitch about how difficult it is to get an amazing education at an amazing school :). If I do it right it should be funny from time to time. Basically I plan to just share my life and hopefully I learn a lot and have fun in the process. And holy shit if someone else learned something or got a laugh or enjoyed their day a little more because of reading it I would be super cool with that.

What not to expect... 

1. Professional Pictures.

Although I am like many girls my age in the blogging world... interested in fitness, food, and fun. One bandwagon I did not jump on is photography. I can spend hours looking through photos taken by friends or friends of friends who are amateur photographers. You would think that in 2010 Canon launched one of the best marketing campaigns ever getting all women in their twenties to buy 3 thousand dollar camera and all the accessories to go with. Well in 2010 I was working at a bar and spending every bit of disposable income I made on shots at the bar next door after my shift... that shit was awesome by the way. So while unfortunately all my photos won't be the best they will be taken primarily by my iPhone 5S... thats legit right? Anyway maybe one day I will have a guest who takes badass pictures. 

2. A review of the best mac eye shadow ever.

So I use about three makeup products daily and they can all be found on the isles of one of my favorite stores... Target. My hair is stick straight so I do not spend a shit ton of money on hair product to calm my frizz. Now of course I am a 26 year old middle class girl so I own a naked pallete and I also attempt to contour my face... I also end up looking like I rubbed a bunch of clay on face. So while I might share with you some easy things I have picked up along the way or ways to not look like shit after a workout I will not be turning anyone into Megan Fox. But wait have you guys seen that she has a weird thumb? She is mortal after all :) This also goes for clothes. I spend most of my time in workout clothes so I may never be able to put together a blog full of amazing outfits but I will share which shorts work best for burpees? That is pretty important sometimes my friend. 

3. Kids

Listen I like the little nuggets. But currently I have none of my own. Although I have read other blogs about kids and seen some really awesome stuff about parenting the bottom line is I have no business talking about this subject. I have some friends who are amazing parents and maybe they will drop in sometime. But kids are a mystery to me... crazy little creatures. Killer squats though.. to all the babies out there good work on those squats. It is like their bodies are just mush. Ok anyway.

So there we have it. I have birthed my blog baby, lets watch her grow :)

All that shit will probably be out the window in like a year when my life looks completely different than it does not. But hey until then right.... 

Welcome to my world 

Lets have some fun