the black eyed susan: a week on the beach sounds good to me

As you may have gleaned from the title of this post (I just love that word - gleaned. I try to use it whenever possible..... big dork here, sorry.), I am on vacation! We were going to spend a week hiking the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail, but Tom totally wussed out at the last minute.
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Did you believe me? I'm working on my lying skills. No, Tom didn't wuss out. In truth, we cancelled our week of climbing mountains in the woods because I'm terribly out of shape and lazy. Now that I ponder it, reeeeaaaallllyyyy lazy. Lately I've been having a hard time getting out of bed every morning, and I always feel drastically under-rested. I hope I'm not coming down with something.

Thankfully, at the last minute (read: the day before we left), we got a great offer to stay with a friend here in Florida. Plans of lounging on the beach and drinking cold things are being fulfilled. Mostly I'm excited that Barley was invited too, so we brought her along to share in the fun.

Honestly, though, I'm full-on-ready to spend a week away from work and in relaxation mode. I'm excited about using the week to recharge and focus on the little sparkly gems in my life - running, writing, cooking, knitting, crafting. Sort of like a staycation, but without that nagging feeling that you ought to be cleaning your house instead of relaxing.

Last night I made Mexican Cherry Tomato Salad, and it was divine. Really, divine. Also: easy!! Divine and easy is a recipe for success (hardy har, my puns crack me up).

Next up? Perhaps some Brie and Bacon Quiche. Yes please.

{Image taken from The Pioneer Woman}

Or maybe some Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos from Pink Parsley. I've never made taquitos before, but these look easy and yum.

{Image from the Pink Parsley}

And the perfect lunch will probably be Goat Cheese and Strawberry Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Or Strawberry, Mango and Avocado Salad.

If you haven't noticed yet, this vacation is - for me - very much about cooking and food.

Speaking of which, I tried my very first raw oyster tonight. Tom prepped it and made it perfect (with hot sauce, horseradish, a saltine and cocktail sauce). He did make the disclaimer that the appropriate way to eat an oyster is definitely straight up - no chaser - but I wasn't ready to go that route.