We've been dying to go to EPCOT's Food and Wine festival for years. Our birthday, which falls around Thanksgiving, is always within a few days of the festivals ending, so over the past few years, we have gone to Disney near our birthday and missed the amazing festival. Not this year! We went to one of the first weekends for the event during Dapper Day weekend. We are lucky - while we live about 3 hours from Orlando, my in-laws have a lovely home near Disney. Since this was a celebration trip (both of Jason getting a job and our 'unanniversary', a random, fun celebration of our anniversary we hold in September every year), we decided to get a hotel room and have me take a half day so we could do our Friday outing in EPCOT.



Jason and I have become big beer drinkers over the years. What started as liking a few certain beers at a brewery in Hawaii opened us up to trying more things and expanding our palettes. While I hate some of them still (I can't do porters or stouts at all), I really love some. For instance - the Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale in this flight was my favorite of the night. They even had Kona on draft at the Hawaii stand - a beer from that special place in Hawaii I was talking about.



After our initial beers to get us started, we started to get hungry. That's when we started going 'around the world' to sample both the food and drink. I honestly believe this should be deemed the 'Food, Beer, and Wine' festival. Because it all pairs so amazingly.

Pulled pork with pineapple chutney and spicy mayo paired with pineapple wine and Kona Brewing Golden Wave from Hawaii. Jason's fave from the night.

A yummy filet mignon with mushroom and truffle sauce and a Moosehead lager from Canada. (Not as good at the one inside, but for 7 bucks, I'll take it)

My favorite stand of the night? By and far Brazil. These little cheese breads (pao de queijo) were the perfect drinking food, and the frozen caipirinha was delicious and surprisingly strong for a frozen drink at Disney. And not sweet - I don't do overly sweet frozen drinks, and this was exactly how a frozen cocktail should be. Plus, how AMAZING does this stand look, even on a fairly raining evening?



We're going back to the food and wine festival in early November, so look out for more photos from the event then!

I feel like one of the most important parts of my relationship and life is food. I mean, food keeps me alive, but it's also amazing and delicious. Here are some of my all time favorites from over the years.

Grilled Corn, Sweet Nectar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Italian Ice and Soft Serve, Jeremiah's, Windemere, Florida

Frita Burger, KUSH, Wynwood, Florida

Shrimp and Pear Salad, Oceans 234, Deerfield Beach, Florida

Donut, Fractured Prune, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Macaraons, Rice and Noodles, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Cheesesteak, Geno's Steaks, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Grilled Cheese with Chips, Tom + Chee, Cincinnati, Ohio

Pretzel, Immergut Pretzels, Intercourse, Pennsylvania

Pit Beef Sandwich, Hungry Andy's, Baltimore, Maryland

Last weekend, we went to a local burger battle with friends. I was so excited to go, but I have to say, I think I set myself up for disappointment. Tons of people plus burgers cooked way too fast is actually not great, especially when combined with a hot Florida day. They ran out of beer (and water and pretty much beverages in general) by two hours into the four hour event. Bad planning! We still had fun though, and at least got a few quick snaps while the sun was still up and the event wasn't too crowded.

dress :: loft // belt :: modcloth // heels :: steve madden

tote :: handmade // rings :: kiel mead and kate spade // necklace :: j crew

sunnies :: ray ban // headband :: forever 21

I've shown pictures from The Columbia many, many times on this blog before, dating back to nearly 2 years ago now. It's a favorite restaurant of mine in Central Florida - with consistently good food and service. Columbian food wasn't something that was common to come by in southwest Ohio - in fact, I hadn't had it until the family began to live in Florida. We have enjoyed many meals here - it's best for Tapas and sharing in my opinion, but their entrees are delicious as well. The best part though? Tableside Sangria! It's so yummy. Also - the freshly baked, warm bread that comes with your meal is to die for, but really easy to fill up on. The location we visit is in downtown Celebration, but there are a few other locations as well. If you want to know more, my (recently updated) Yelp review is here.

Rice Krispie treats. Oh such an American tradition - and so easy to make too! This recipe is simple - and uses basically the entire box of Rice Krispies so you aren't stuck with half a box left over. It also takes the difficulty up a notch because working to split hot crisped rice and marshmallow into three and layer them requires some quick movements. When it's all said and done though - it makes for an adorable treat.

what you'll need

2 10.5 ounce bags of mini marshmallows // 1 stick of butter // 1 box of rice krispies

pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean //  food coloring (red and blue for this particular version)

stock pot // 3 spoons to stir // 8" x 8" pan // cooking spray // sptaula

Set aside two bowls. One for red krispies and one for blue. I like to add a few drops of food coloring to the bottom - it helps when you are trying to stir really quickly and get the color to be even.

I like to make my rice krispies in a giant stock pot these days. It's easier than the microwave actually - believe it or not. Start by melting the stick of butter over medium heat with the 2 bags of marshmallow until they form a creamy spread. Be careful not to cook too hot or they will burn!

Once you have melted the marshmallows and butter, add in the entire box of Rice Krispies slowly. I add in  by about a quarter of the box at a time. After they are added, split the mix into thirds - 1/3rd into the red food coloring bowl you set aside, 1/3rd into the blue one, and 1/3rd left in the pan. Add additional food coloring to each the red and blue mixture, and stir well until the krispies are evenly coated.

Spray an 8"x8" pan with cooking spray. Put the first 1/3rd (I do white) into the prepared pan. Using a spatula that you spray lightly with cooking spray, press the krispies down into the first layer.

Repeat the spatula process for each color, being sure to clean in between so you do not mix colors.

Let sit in the refrigerator for an hour to cool. This really eases the cutting process! Cut into small cubes - I do a 6 x 6 grid. For parties, I suggest sticking toothpicks in - it makes them easier to pick up!

Of the most wonderful things about cruises are the dinners - especially on the themed Disney cruise restaurants. While I do believe our first cruise experience on a different boat was overall better, it's not to say I didn't enjoy this one! There were some really delicious things. You always get a choice of an appetizer, a soup/salad, an entree, and a desert. Of course, there is the option to get two, but I usually didn't opt for that because it's SO much food!

This restaurant had a magical garden theme and was pretty cute!



A bacon and mushroom tart



Lobster Ravioli with Tomato Broth



Tomato Soup



A big cheese plate! We got one for the table every night



Sea Bass with Fava Bean and Pea Risotto - one of my favorites of the cruise.



Chocolate Mousse



Sachertorte



A cute centerpiece at an animation themed restaurant where Crush from finding Nemo appeared



The menu



Black truffle pasta purseittes in a champagne sauce



A 'make your own pie' dessert

Probably my favorite thing in the whole cruise - a delicious French onion soup. Randomly one of the best I have ever had. So, so, so good!