Saturday, we celebrated my grandma and grandpa’s 60th Wedding Anniversary island style in Clearwater Beach.

Without further ado, our dinner cruise in a nutshell:

I creeped the Hogan’s house… as usual.

Oh, and this happened.

Sunday my Dad and I set out for a 23 mile bike ride on the Pinellas Trail.

11.5 miles each way from Main Street in Dunedin to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks.

When we reached Tarpon Springs, we rode down Main Street and parked our bikes at Rusty Bellies.

The Grouper Souvlaki was calling my nameeee.

Won’t lie, it was a little hard to keep that fish down biking all of the way home.

Lesson learned.

Now off to Frenchy’s on Clearwater Beach– the last part of my 4 day bucket list!

First time in 7 months… and whew, it is feelin’ good to be back.

JFK Airport food consisted of..

The lamest meal ever.

Chicken pecan salad, apple & rice cake. On the plane it was all about the free pretzels.

The ride from NYC to Tampa was great! I sat next to a really nice man who flew to NYC that morning, gave a presentation that afternoon and was flying home that night. We talked the entire time about family, social media and Chickfila — and he pretty much sold me on buying an iPad. (If you’re reading.. hi!)

Afterwards, he gave me his business card and it turns out he is the Chief Operating Officer at a highly successful company! Very very cool.

Arriving in Tampa was definitely a moment.

I get really really sad/excited when I see the water, beach, palm trees & SKY– so I won’t lie, I busted out in tears at Tampa Airport and driving over the Courtney Campbell Causeway to Clearwater.

Reaaaal smooth, Shannon.

First thing I did yesterday morning was make a bowl of Pumpkin Oats using a random can of pumpkin I found in the pantry.

Winner.

Next, I took my doggy on a long, hot walk down the back road.

And then this happened.

Oh, how I missed my Sammie… aka my Honey Bear.

Yeah, don’t ask.

My poor little car is tagless.. which means I can’t drive it.

BOOOO.

If anyone wants to buy it, hit me up.

Yup, it’s officially time to give up my wheels & resort to the Monthly Unlimited Metro Card.

Off to the beach again!

PS Stay tuned for an epic post on NYC Fleet Week.

It’s pretty juicy.

My blog posts have been slightly all over the place the past two weeks.

All of the rainy weather last week put me in a weird writer’s funk!

But thankfully Mister Sunshine has creeped back out so we can play again!

Those are Arnold Sandwich Thins disguised as a personal pizzas btw.

Topped with feta cheese, spaghetti sauce, onions, oregano, and a hot dog! Yum and yum. My brother ate three of them he loved them so much.

Remember when you were about 12 and you scribbled the game of MASH onto a piece of notebook paper? Well this website lets you play it online!!!! Eeeek I may or may not have played 2 rounds already…

For some reason, I always got stuck with the shack back in the day. What luck!!! On that note.. I found my dream home on a beach drive last week.

What a gem. I think it’s the fish  Adirondack chairs that got me.

Wish there was some way we could just pick this cute shack up and place in gently on a beach somewhere. It’d also have to have a picnic table, hammock and fire pit in the backyard.

Surfin’ the web I also found this one..

Love. When I see this I think, “Yes please.” Hopefully it has wifi though.

What would your dream home look like? Where would it be — in the city/beach/country?

]]> http://tropicaleats.com/2010/09/03/mash-mansion-apartment-shack-house-rv/feed/ 17 tropicaleats DSC04601 DSC04595 DSC04783 DSC03431 DSC04768 DSC04772 DSC04775 DSC04779 housey http://tropicaleats.com/2010/08/26/how-to-look-like-you-went-to-the-beach-without-going-to-the-beach/ http://tropicaleats.com/2010/08/26/how-to-look-like-you-went-to-the-beach-without-going-to-the-beach/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:59:17 +0000 Shannon [Tropical Eats] http://tropicaleats.com/?p=2503 ]]> I like to bake. You know muffins, brownies, cookies, cakes… sweet things!

What I don’t like to bake is my body. Laying out under the blazing hot sun is NOT fun. The whole time you’re laying there with your iPod on, literally counting down the minutes until you can flip over and bake on the other side like a shishkabob.

Here are a few simple steps you can get the same look, without going through the dreadful baking process.

1. Try the “Just Rolled Out of the Ocean Look”

I’m talkin’ LION HAIR.

Tousled, scrunchy, wavy, whatever you wanna call it.

Sigh. I love these three little products. And for this style, you only need 2 of them!

How To Get Lion Hair:

• Get wet. As in a shower.
• Blow dry your hair until it’s about half dry. Completely dry the top part of your head though! Mine always gets weird and somewhat oily if I don’t.
• Let the rest of your hair fully air dry
• Squirt a palm-sized amount of the green Garnier Fructise Style Volume Inject Mousse into your hand. The Mousse says to work it in after you let it partially air dry, but my hair gets too poofy when I do that. Waiting until it’s fully dry gives you the control to add however much “scrunch” as you want!
• Flip your head to the side and scrunch the product in. Don’t go too crazy because it will look like a hot mess (been there done that).
• Next use the light green-ish container of Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion. It is kind of expensive, but WELL worth it. My sister let me have hers, so I lucked out big time. This product thickens hair by 17%!

Trust me, I’m a doctor.

The combination of the two products will give you that awesome textured beach hair, minus the sandy side effects.

2. Eliminate your Oompa Loompa Past

I did not get this tan on my own people.

I am a European mutt– therefore I burn like a lobster -> tan -> freckle.

After about 20 years of frying in the sun, I finally learned this. D’OH! Thankfully, I never gave into tanning beds. They always screamed cancer to me.

I guarantee you in about 50 years, this girl…

.. will most likely end up looking like this lady. That is IF she doesn’t get skin cancer.

That and tanning beds also look like they will eat you… like that furnace in Kevin McCallister’s basement. RWAR.

So what is the solution?

Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer

How to Get a Sweet Tan:

• Buy Jergens Natural Glow– the Revitalizing kind! It lasts 2 x’s longer than their other versions.
• Be honest with your skin tone. Do not buy medium to dark if you are pale-ish like me. What’s up doc? Do you want to look like a carrot?
• For pale-ish people, use the lotion for Fair to Medium skin tones.
• Get nekked. AKA remove all articles of clothing
• Squirt some lotion into your hand and then start applying! I usually start from the top/down. Make sure you cover all parts except your face, hands, and feet.
• Apply a super thin layer to the tops of your hands and feet. Pay special attention to rubbing it in between your fingers and toes.
• Jergens has a special Healthy Complexion Daily Facial Moisturizer that works great for your face. Honestly, I think it is the same exact thing as the body moisturizer. It’s about $7 for a tiny bottle… so it’s up to you if you want to spend the extra cash.
• Let it dry for about 15 mins. They don’t recommend putting clothes on yet, but feel free to put on an old t-shirt.
• You can apply the tanner as many times as you want in a day. I wouldn’t apply it more than 2 x’s a day just because the color doesn’t really start to show until the day after.

3. Buy Some Shellfish

Surprising you can find really pretty shells, starfish, heck even an inflatable palm tree at the Dollar Store. Buy a few of these knick knacks to give your house that chill and summery (oxymoron?) vibe.

4. Make Friends With Bob Marley

You need these songs on your iPod.

• Collie Man – By Slightly Stoopid
• Roots, Rock, Reggae – Bob Marley
• Get Ready – Sublime
• Lay Me Down  - Dirty Heads
• A Jah Jah – Rita Marley
• Girls Dem Sugar – Beenie Man
• Red Red Wine – UB40

I know many of you are excited for Fall, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, and cozy sweaters… but it has literally been raining a week straight here. I would loveeeee some hot happy sunshine! Our 7-Day Forecast doesn’t look that promising either.

Please do a sun dance for me. <3

From the bright lights of NYC, to Chicago’s hearty deep dish pizza. It’s been a fun ride.

—

Yesterday I started the day off right with some Whole Grain Cereal, ice cold milk, and blueberries.

Cereal is my one true love.

Sadly, I had to divorce Kashi GoLean Crunch a wee bit ago due to irreconcilable differences.

He was seeing other people–I was addicted to his lovin.

After sitting on my lappytop for far too long –job hunting and blog stalking–  it struck me that I needed some fresh, salty sea air ASAP.

After an unexciting hunt around the house for my dog’s leash–

(Which for some reason is always missing. I found it approximately 5 phone calls, 8 cupboard doors, and 3.5 laps around the house later)

–my dog and I were off to Honeymoon Island’s Dog Beach!

Meet Sammie– a 7 year old golden retriever.

He likes to eat. Mainly socks and lizards.

The beach was nice and not too crowded. The locals hold a special place in their heart for weekdays.

We sat in the water for about thirty minutes. A few friendly dogs –yellow labs and something that looked like a llama–swam over to visit.

A quick skip and a shake later, we propped ourselves onshore for some quality people watching time.

We both agreed we need to invest in a paddle board. This couple and their lab glided ever so gracefully across the seamless ocean waves.

It was also unanimous that we should have brought more food.

To our left, we heard the deep rumbles of a storm brewing in the distance.

Or maybe it was my stomach.

To avoid the intimidating storm, we packed up our bags and hopped in the car.

We discovered a tiny boardwalk that overlooks the inland waters of Clearwater Beach.

Somebody got his head stuck in between the boards.

It’s funny to think that I picked this goofball out when he was just a tiny ball of golden fluff.

To continue our adventure, we crossed the bridge and did a quick drive-by of the Hogan Family’s old beach home. You may have seen it on VH1′s Hogan Knows Best.

The Hogan’s have lived in Clearwater ever since I was born.  It was always exciting to have a celebrity family in our little town, but recently they’ve moved out for reasons I’m sure you’re all familiar with. It’s sad to see families break apart so quickly over things that Brooke, for instance, cannot control.

I am not a stalker. I am not a stalker. I am not a …

Next up was Hulk Hogan’s-- scratch that– Linda Hogan and her 21 yr old boyfriend’s– home!

Unfortunately it is for sale. If any of you are bringin in the dollas, maybe you can afford its $2.3 million price tag.

After the childlike fun of playing paparazzi wore off, we both went home to take a nap.

And that was that.

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