Our Memorial Weekend was such a crazy whirlwind, I think I’m still trying to catch my breath.

This is a long post, lots of pictures.  But there’s so much to share!  My husband and I were celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary over the weekend.  We typically don’t go gifts, but plan a night out to a restaurant we would never take the kids.  And boy did we have some fun…

Friday:  Daytona Cubs

We have been to the Daytona Cubs in the past, and we had a great time.  We decided to catch the Daytona Cubs versus the Lakeland Flying Tigers.  It was a perfect Chicago v. Detroit matchup for this couple! The stadium is beautiful and historic and we had such a great time.  The boys each got a foul ball and we got pictures with Cubby!  The only bad part, Tigers won.  Boo.

Saturday:  Cask & Larder

I’m pretty sure we are the last people in Central Florida to finally make it here.  We have wanted to go here since opening day, but something always comes up.  Well, NOT THIS TIME!

It’s just so pretty inside- I think this is how I want my house to look.

We started the meal with the beer flights.  We actually got two different beer flights so we could try all the beers.  On one hand, this was awesome.  All of the beer was delicious.  There were some I loved more than others.  But I was surprised how much I liked some of the beers I didn’t expect to like.  It was great.  On the other hand, perhaps it was too much beer because I felt SOOOO full after drinking this and eating dinner it was hard to enjoy the rest of the night.  SO maybe next time just one beer flight?

We started our meal with the Cornbread Madeleines which came with a blackened pecan purée

For my meal, I went big…maybe too big.  But I’ve heard some amazing things about the Fried Chicken, I just had to.  But four pieces?! Wow…lots of food.  But SO great!  The Heritage Fried Chicken is served in smoked wildflower honey and alongside a fingerling potato salad with pickled shallots and creamy ramp dressing.  The chicken was that perfect non-greasy fried chicken.  The four pieces were just so big!  And that potato salad I could eat all day.  It was just perfect.

My husband opted for the Oysters.  It was the Shucker’s Choice – and included five Oysters from different parts of the country.  It all sounded way too fancy and complicated for me.  In the end, he said they were good, but he couldn’t really tell the difference in their locations.  But he’s also somewhat of an Oyster newbie, so perhaps his palette hasn’t quite been developed yet. 😉

For his main meal, he again got something complicated, at least in my opinion.  I like meals that basically all come together already.  He opts for this built-it-yourself dish.  He said it was good – but still felt like he wanted more.  The Country Ham dish had three different hams along with farmers cheese (which was delicious!) pepper jelly and homemade biscuits.

I’m a sucker for dessert and even though I was SOOO stuffed from beer and fried chicken, we had to forge ahead for dessert.  We opted for the Moon-pies, which were perfect for us.

You see, I don’t like fruit or believe fruit should ever a) be dessert or b) be disguised as dessert.   My husband is basically the opposite. This dish comes with three small moon-pies covered in this amazing dark chocolate and inside with homemade marshmallow.  I was in heaven.  It also came with this fancy banana ice cream thing.  So he was all about that.

After my husband basically rolled me out of the restaurant, we went to one of the bars downtown that I’ve been wanting to try.  We got on the list for the super secret speakeasy, Hanson’s Shoe Repair.

It’s a small bar located in one of Orlando’s oldest buildings.  Word is, the first business operator in that building was a Mr. Hanson who owned a shoe repair business.  So the owners of this new place did their homework and paid a nod to Orlando history.  So the bar itself has no sign.  It really has no website other than the Facebook page.  You have to ask for a shoe repair appointment, and if you’re accepted, you’re given a password.  Show up, ring the bell, give the code, and you’re in.

The bar itself really holds about 30 people, so get their early for a seat or you’ll be standing until someone leaves.  The drinks are strong and delicious – but don’t expect to order a screwdriver.  They won’t make them.  They also won’t do shots, bombs, rum & coke and a few other things.  This is really for an older crowd.  There were some younger girls there and I was hoping they would leave.  They did not.  All they did was complain about how long it took them to make the drinks.  Listen people – these quality drinks take time to make.  If you want something crappy, there are 100 other bars in Orlando.

My favorite part about the bar is the outside rooftop patio.  It was such a perfect night.  Not too hot, not too buggy or muggy and a slight breeze.  I could have fallen asleep out there if it wasn’t for the whiny girls.

We are so lame, I think we went home around 10pm.  I was still so stuffed from dinner and from that great drink at the Shoe Shop, I just needed to find my bed and sleep it off.

Sunday: Cask & Larder

When I woke up Sunday, my husband was already awake and asking me about breakfast plans.  I had none, but he obviously had an agenda.  And that agenda was to get back to Cask & Larder for brunch.  He liked dinner so much he wanted to go back.  Immediately.  So we booked a quick reservation and headed back out to Winter Park.  I’m not sure if I’m proud of this accomplishment or embarrassed.

I didn’t want a Mimosa, the champagne often gives me heartburn.  So I asked for something I first tried on my Chicago trip, a Beermosa.  It’s orange juice and beer.  It’s basically a better tasting, Shocktop. So good.  This isn’t on the menu here, but they’ll make one for you!

Again with some form of cornbread, I couldn’t help myself. I just love the stuff.

I had a hard time deciding on what to order.  I decided on the Brioche French Toast – and wow. I’m so happy I did.  Have you ever eating something and then had it haunt you…in a good way? Like sometimes I be working on a report at work, lots of numbers and all of the sudden in my head I hear, “french toast…you need to go back and have that amazing french toast.”

My husband had something so amazing, he literally can’t stop talking about it.  This is the Short Rib Hash – and apparently it’s new on their menu.

My husband’s beverage, a nod to his favorite Johnny Cash song and his favorite old-radio show on RealRadio, Sunday Morning Coming Down.  A drink with bluecoat gin, fernet branca, lemon juice, grapefruit bitters.

After all this eating, we went to pick up the kids at the in-laws and just sit by the pool for awhile.  I, of course, forgot to pack my bathing suit.  So I had to take a quick trip to Target for another.  At least now I have some backups!  Plus, it’s a nice Spartan green color!

Monday:  Back to life…back to reality.

Monday was a day of sleeping, laundry and cleaning.  We did make it out of the house for a big bike ride with the cousins on their new road racing bikes.  I’m just a little jealous.

While the boys relaxed and played video games, I worked on some teacher gifts.  I made this one for Brendan’s teacher – the whole class is obsessed with mustaches.  I’m happy how it turned out.  Maybe I should start a business.

If that wasn’t enough – we went out for dinner with a dear friend and his wonderful fiance.  It was so great to catch up and we really need to do a better job of keeping in touch.  We were cheering on the Red Wings, and apparently it didn’t do much good 🙁

That was our whirlwind Memorial Day Weekend!  Are you tired yet?