Surf Hut is about a year old in Destin, FL. It is your typical shrimp basket restaurant. We have been there twice. This review is of our second trip. The waits can get long, so arrive early or plan on having appetizers at the bar area.
Tostadas
Tostadas is a really quick and easy recipe, and it is a nice alternative to typical cook at home Mexican food like tacos and fajitas.
Indoor Summer Decor
So I know what you are thinking...I am doing a post about our indoor summer decor a month before summer ends. Well it's been a pretty busy summer in the Payne Household! Our decor is also perfect for Labor Day (and Memorial Day and July 4th!).
Disney Souvenir
If you have stayed at Disney World in the last few years, they send a nice little picture and a thank you for visiting. We have received both Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. It is a sketch picture and at the bottom it says "Payne Family Vacation 2015". It is super cute, and we have so many that I felt we should do something with at least one of them. This idea has been floating around Pinterest, so I decided to recreate it. See below!
Spicy Parmesan Zucchini
We love zucchini, so when I went to the beach a few weeks ago I had to get some at the farmer's market. The recipe below is perfect for fresh zucchini, but it could probably work for frozen zucchini if it is nice and thawed.
My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets and Gizmos!
Brad and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. We love to cook, and cooking involves having some great gadgets and gizmos to help. Below are some of my favorite things to have in the kitchen:
Hot Dogin Review
Hot Dogin is a somewhat new restaurant in Madison, AL. I say somewhat new because it was originally opened as a food cart across the street. They did have an open space inside of a building with seating and such, but you would order your food outside at the food cart. We noticed that they finally opened a full service restaurant inside one of the shopping centers around town, so we decided to give it a try.
Shepard's Pie
I never had Shepard's Pie until Brad and I met. I tried it at a restaurant once and decided to attempt to make it. Below is my version of this nice casserole.
Bathroom Storage
Do you have a bathroom counter with very little space? This post is perfect for you! Our guest bathroom has very little counter space, but we wanted to display some travel toiletries for our guests. I wanted to do this in a cute way that didn't take up too much space. Luckily I found this cute idea on Pinterest. I found a fairly inexpensive plate stand from TJ Maxx. It holds three plates. Then I went to Kohl's and purchased two salad/dessert plates and one bowl. The bowl and plates matched the color theming in the guest bathroom (red/gold). They were white plates with red trim. I put a plate on the bottom and top racks. Then the middle rack I put the bowl. The top rack held some liquid soap and lotion from Bath and Body Works. The middle bowl holds things like individual sample packets of shampoo, face soap, and face lotion. The bottom bowl has a bar of soap and toothbrushes.
Our Netflix Shows During Summer TV Break
During the summer there tends to be nothing on TV. Sometimes this can be nice, but some nights can be pretty boring with nothing to watch. Below are a few of the shows we are watching on Netflix this summer:
Fruit Display
Last weekend we had a family gathering at my in-law's new house in Memphis. Aunt Beth had a cute fruit display that she gave me permission to share! See below:
Trip Countdown Activity Idea
Going on a trip soon? Below is something we did to countdown to our most recent Disney trip. You can really do this for any upcoming trip to try and get everyone in the family excited!
Mini Taco Appetizers
We recently made these mini taco appetizers for family when they came to visit. They are super easy and quick to make, and they are delicious!
China Cabinet Makeover
With our recent floor remodel, it gave me the opportunity to makeover our china cabinet.
Stinky's Fish Camp - Destin, FL
We travel to Destin, FL quite often because Brad's parents own a condo at Tops'l Beach and Racquet Resort. We have a lot of restaurants that we love, but one of our favorites is Stinky's Fish Camp. It is actually located in Santa Rosa Beach off of 30A. While the food can be expensive, it really is amazing. I am not sure we have ever had a bad meal here. The only recommendation I have is that you should arrive early! Everyone knows how good this place is. We went on a Friday at 5:30 in June, and we had to wait an hour and a half. Something also to note is that you are required to valet your car.
Quiches
I have found multiple recipes to make mini quiches, but I made it my own by adding the ingredients we prefer.
Guest Bedroom Welcome Basket
We don't have overnight guests over often, but when we do, we like to do something special for them. Below is an easy idea to make your guests feel welcomed and appreciative if they have forgotten anything!
Floor Remodel
Every year, Brad and I do some sort of remodel to our house. This year we decided to redo our floors in our living room, hallway, and dining room. We wanted to replace the carpet and put in laminate floors. To save money, we decided to install it ourselves with the help of some of our friends. We purchased all of our products from Lowe's. We decided to get a Lowe's Credit Card since we would get 5% off all of our purchases. I think it saved us somewhere between $100-$200. They also have some special weekends where you can get 10% off.
Iced Coffee
We are currently obsessed with iced coffee. So it was only natural that I formulate a recipe for us to use. I have a Keurig and we like our coffee sweet and creamy.
Bravo! Cucina Italiana Dinner Review
As you have possibly read in one of my previous posts, Brad and I try to visit a new restaurant once a week. This hasn't happened a lot lately just due to our schedules, but last month we did get to visit a new restaurant at our outdoor mall. It is called Bravo Italian. It has been here for a few months now, we wanted to let the newness wear off a bit before giving it a try. Bravo was so crowded, at first, a reservations was required to eat there during lunch if you wanted to avoid a long wait.