We’ve been in Florida for two full weeks now and have another week to enjoy the warm weather before moving our road trip north to Washington, DC for a long weekend and then heading back home. The weather has been spotty this week with a lot of rain and some storms. While it’s not ideal weather for being outside, it does make perfect SHOPPING weather! We’ve done a lot of browsing, hit up the massive Sawgrass Mills outlets (a shopper’s paradise), and have had quite a few nice lunches at new and different places. I have a lot of fun tidbits for you below… enjoy and have a fabulous weekend!

1. A few glimpses of our second week in Florida…

2. I miss this little guy…

3. Our limoncello is officially limoncello-ing.

We figured since we were going to make it, we might as well make a triple batch. Go big or go home, right?! I’m looking forward to filtering and tasting next week!

4. One of my absolute favorite things to do when we’re down here in Florida is go to Lion Country Safari. It’s a drive-through animal preserve located in West Palm Beach and is just so cool. You drive your car through a four-mile area where almost all of the animals can roam free (only the lions are in a fenced area). You can see them eating, sleeping, running, mating, nursing, and just about anything else that animals do… right next to you. It’s such a cool experience – if you’re going to be in the south Florida area, definitely check it out!

5. I’ve been agonizing over the decision to buy a new laptop, and since I’m quite possibly the most indecisive person on the face of the planet, I can’t seem to make up my mind. I’m on my 3rd or 4th laptop that has begun a quick downward descent less than 2 years after my purchase. During a stormy afternoon this week, we hit up the mall and I browsed around the Apple store looking at the new MacBook Pro, and then went to Best Buy to check out the PC laptops. I’m hesitant on pulling the trigger on an Apple – it’s definitely priced at a premium and I’m wondering if having a machine that lasts longer might also mean that the technology becomes outdated. Gah! If only it didn’t take me forever to make a decision! Back and forth, I go…

6. Speaking of the mall, have you ever heard of the store Charming Charlie? They have one at the local mall here and it’s new to me, but after looking at the “store locator” map on their website, it seems that they’re just about everywhere (including Pittsburgh, in the Mount Lebanon area, which may as well be on the dark side of the moon, since I live in the northern suburbs – Pittsburghers understand). The entire store is dedicated to ladies’ jewelry and accessories, but – and this is the best part – the store is completely organized by COLOR. There is one whole section of turquoise, another entire section of red, black, and so on. I could spend hours (and a significant amount of money) in there. Love it!

7. I always forget how much I love football season until the very first Sunday of sitting in front of the RedZone. We made our favorite football crock-pot meal and I whipped up some potato skins for the early games, while we waited allll day for the Steelers game. Such a bummer that we lost! This cartoon is spot on, but include hockey season, and suddenly I’m only classy and graceful during the summer months… sometimes the truth hurts ;-)

8. I’ve been eating an ice cream cone nearly every single night we’ve been in Florida… this is obviously something I have no trouble making a decision about. Edy’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup in a waffle cone has been my flavor of choice. Looooove ice cream on vacation!

9. I keep intending to complete a photo challenge, but am admittedly horrible when it comes to actually doing it. I’m gung ho for a week or so, and then fall off the wagon. With the holidays coming up, I’m making a renewed effort. I love the monthly photo challenges by fat mum slim, and recently found a color-themed Project 365 challenge from positively present. Have you ever successfully completed a photo challenge? Are there any you’d recommend?

10. TGIF! I hope you have a swimmingly-good weekend!