La Chua Trail - Gainesville, Fl

Stop #5 on my Farewell to Gainesville Tour: La Chua Trail, located within the Hawthorne Trail. If you are unfamiliar with the Hawthorne Trail (like me) you park as if you were going to walk/ride/jog the trail turn left on the trail and keep walking (about a mile) and you will see signs on the right for the La Chua Trail.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the majority of the trail is paved and appears to be very safe.  In my mind, we were going to be trucking it through the brush.  I was slightly disappointed in the amount of alligators we saw.  We saw less than 15.  According to my sources we were going to see a lot more.  If you are even slightly into natural and want to show your visitors (or yourself) something unique to Gainesville this is a great idea.

  

 Sinkhole where the gators gather.

 Look closely, 2 gators in the middle.

How many gators do you see?  At least 4.

 Chomp!

Better later than never..Happy Holidays!

 My Grandmother's Shiny Brite Ornaments. If you follow me on twitter you may have seen I recently discovered Christopher Radko's Shiny Brite Collection at TJ Maxx. Love them!!

 Foyer. Mercury glass, another favorite of mine!

 Our main tree. Snowflakes!

 Kitchen tree!  This is a new addition.  My mom has been collecting these ornaments for several years and I adore it!  The mixer is my favorite ornament.  All the ornaments are kitchen themed and it looks great!  Thanks Mom!

Travel Tree.  This tree has all (all 10, ha!) of our travel ornaments on it.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Holidays!

Cedar Key, Fl - Tony's Famous Chowder

Stop #4 on my Farewell to Gainesville Tour: Cedar Key, Fl. I kept hearing about this little fishing community and their yummy seafood. I knew I definitely wanted to check it out and see what all the talk was about. Everyone said we had to try the Calm Chowder and that we did. We went to Tony's and the chowder was amazing. After lunch we walked around the town. There isn't much to the town and the shops are pretty outdated (think beanie babies circa 2000). If you have a free weekend and enjoy seafood you should definitely check it out.

Tony's Chowder.  It was very good and worth the drive.  You can order online, if interested.

The fried shrimp was also amazing.  We weren't very good with the crab.  Our waitress was extremely nice and offered to crack (Is that what you would call it??) it and got it ready for us to eat.

How cute is this sign?!

Don't forget to let me know if there is anywhere else I need to check out before the big move.

Burrito Brothers - Gainesville, FL

Stop #3 on my Farewell to Gainesville Tour: Burrito Brothers. Burrito Brothers is another local joint that I had heard lots about but never took the time to go too. It has been around forever. It makes me sad to think that in the 10 years that I have lived in Gainesville I have only been here once. This place screams local Gainesville restaurant. The ingredients are extremely fresh. Check them out the next time you are in town!

Adam's Ribs - Gainesville, FL

Stop #2 on my Farewell to Gainesville Tour: Adam's Ribs. Everyone raves about this place and I knew I had to try it before we moved. What sold me is every morning this place is packed! Who in the world goes to a rib place for breakfast? I knew it had to be good.

I got the 4 rib dinner. It was so much food! The ribs were yummy and had so much meat on them. If you haven't tried Adam's you definitely should. Don't forget to let me know if you have any suggestions for my Farewell Tour!!

Bailey has needs too...

Disclaimer: For all you non dog lovers out there you probably aren't going to understand this post. After seeing Hannah's post about getting her dogs prepared for the winter I started thinking I should do the same. I've been told that the salt/ice can really hurt their paw pads. Do I really need to get Bailey dog boots and a jacket/sweater?? I keep getting mixed reviews from people. I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I am concerned about Baileys exercise or lack of once we move. He is used to getting TONS of exercise. If he doesn't get to run he becomes a very annoying dog. Lets be honest, I don't know how often I am going to be willing to stand in the freezing cold to throw his ball. My mom recently discovered Chuckit! Indoor Fetch Toy. I should probably invest in this. I've already checked and Columbus does have a dog park. But again, that involves me being in the cold for long periods of time...Suggestions/tips appreciated.

Cold Weather Help

I have frantically been on the search for cold weather gear. Honesty, I have no idea what to even search for. Any coat I have found doesn't seem to be warm enough and the shoes are just plain ugly. If you have any suggestions cold weather related please let me know. No suggestion is too silly as I know nothing. While searching I have come across a few silly items.

LLBean Snowman Kit
LLBean Snowball Maker Set

Chocolate Bark Tip

I want to share with you all my go to holiday chocolate bark. I make a lot of goodies that are coated in chocolate and people always ask what chocolate I use. This stuff is the best and so easy to use. I am slowly discovering that most people haven't used or even heard of this gem. Which is why I am sharing it here. You don't have to use a double boiler or any of that fancy stuff. You simply use your microwave and a glass bowl. I break off 4-5 chocolate squares at a time and follow the microwavable instructions. Easy as pie. Sadly, down here they only sell it around the holidays. It comes in milk and white chocolate and I've only seen it at Walmart and Publix. Happy Baking!

Wilson's Farmhouse Treats - Williston, FL

Stop #1 on my Farewell to Gainesville Tour: Williston Donut Stand. My Gainesville Bucket List is slowly turning into a random list of restaurants I've never been to before. Oh well. A coworker has mentioned this donut stand several times and raved about how yummy the donuts are. I immediately added this to my list. Random donut stand, in the country, sounds like a perfect combination. :) The donuts were good but definitely not worth making the drive again. If you are interested in going the stand is located on the corner of US 27 & NE 155th Ave in Williston. So cool. The donut roller.We both got half a dozen: regular glazed, chocolate glazed, maple glazed & peanut butter fluff (stuffed). The peanut butter was definitely my favorite. Shocker. ;)
The menuMe & the peanut butter fluff.

If you have any suggestions for my Farewell Tour please let me know!!

Last Game in the Swamp...

This season has been rough. Very rough. I am glad it is over. Mr. 2 Bits showed up for my last game! Very nice of him. :)

Hereeee come the Gators!! I think the towel people are hilarous and completely pointless.

Family!Sad outcome. I don't think it will really hit me until next season when I'm not sitting in The Swamp. I am very excited for this new chapter. I can't wait to learn new traditions and sport my new gameday gear! I've had a few people ask me if I'm now going to be a Buckeye Fan..umm yea, that's how it works people. Geez.

Gainesville Bucket List

Ahh..I still can't believe we are moving. I probably won't believe it until I am there and freezing!! I am putting together a Gainesville Bucket List. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for Gainesville or the surrounding areas. Restaurants, activities, etc. Thanks and Happy Friday!