Whirlwind Weekend!

Three hundred plus miles, one blogger meet up, many new friends, one husband’s birthday, one set of in-laws, three meals out (two of which were pizza), two  trips to Whole Foods, one fruit pie, two church services and one lovely glass of wine in my hands equals one crazy, busy, fun, whirlwind of a weekend!

As soon as we got to Orlando yesterday I jetted off to the blogger meet up and Whole Foods trip round one! It was a blast! Thanks again for a great time ladies, and congrats to all of you princesses who all did excellently in the Princess Half this morning!

When I got back to Ross’ parents house I had to make a pie for the birthday boy! I tried to make a lemon cake for Ross’ family birthday celebration, but unfortunately it came out rather brick/ rubber ball like. HUGE fail! All’s well that ends well though, because Ross changed his mind and said he’d rather have a fruit pie than a cake.

Since two of his favorite fruits and pears and blueberries, a Blueberry Pear Pie it was!

• 1 pie crust
• 1 package frozen blueberries, thawed
• 2 pears (cored and chopped, peel is optional!)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup vegan sugar
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Topping:
• 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pre-bake your pie crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Meanwhile, combine all of your fruit, lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour into your pre-baked crust and cover the crust rim with foil (you don’t want the edges to burn!). Sprinkle your oat topping all over the fruit and bake for another thirty minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Check out who accidentally matched! Hilarious when we walked in the door and Jordan (my sister-in-law, we’re the same age and I LOVE her!) goes, "uh hey Linds, where’d you get your dress?"

After the pie was done the whole family headed off to church (Discovery Church) to see Ross’ dad play in the worship band. He did a great job, and we enjoyed being back (Ross and I actually met through one of the services at Discovery Church years ago!).

Once it was done we headed back over to the other side of town for Mellow Mushroom! After a long wait we were so ready to dive in! I ordered the Mega Veggie with no banana peppers and no cheese (and no butter or parmesan on the crust, to make it vegan).

Ross and I were not too thrilled about the wait.

It was worth it though, the pizza was amazing and I inhaled a little over half of mine!

We got home late since we ate late, and crashed hard! When I woke this morning I felt so off, which unfortunately made us late for church round two (Ross’ brother Roman goes to a different church and really wanted us to all go to meet his friends, so we obliged!).

After church (again!) we headed out to Tijuana Flats for lunch. The weather was so gorgeous and we all jumped to eat outside. Here’s Jordan looking beautiful as always in the natural light (candid, this was not posed, I promise!).

We had a blast reading all the bumper stickers:

Gotta love the atmosphere. Love the food too! Mexican is usually pretty easy to veganize, so long as the beans and rice aren’t cooked in animal fat or butter of any kind (and it’s a simple enough question that can easily be answered when you’re there). I went with a small burrito of salsa, rice, lettuce and black beans in a whole wheat tortilla.

Soon after, Ross and I packed up to head home. Not without one more stop at my health food mecca, Whole Foods! I love that place. We picked up some well-priced produce for the week, as well as a couple treats for the road: Black Forest Berry Honest Tea and a Vegan Chocolate Chip cookie!

The quote in the tea was quite fitting for Ross’ birthday:

I adore quotes, especially ones that ring true.

Now we’re happily home again, busily working away. After this whirlwind of a weekend, I have happily accepted some Pinot Noir into my Sunday night. It’s a beautiful thing.

(I also just ate the leftovers from Mellow Mushroom for a late dinner/ snack).

Have a good night, and get ready for an awesome, healthy week ahead!

What’d you do this weekend?