21:
Dear neglected blog,
I promise I’ll be back. October has lots to offer! :)
Love,
Allie
Random
08:
- Still haven’t posted a blog about the #NASATweetup #STS135, I have all the photos off of my memory card, but no wifi at my place to upload. It’s been a MONTH today. Talk about procrastination. You think with an event that was life-changing, I’d find a way to share my experience.
- This past Saturday night some friends & I had a complete fake bachelorette party. Pretty much the greatest night ever. Do this, trust me, it’s awesome. Gregg made us all dinner & then we hit up pretty much every local bar/club. Scavenger hunt, bar games, free drinks, suck for a buck… It was amazing.
- I got a new job, I start on the 14th. Kinda excited, kinda nervous. I’ve been having daily headaches, I wonder if the quiet atmosphere of my new place will help that? I am excited to dress up everyday, I’m over jeans/tees/flip flops. (I bet I’ll regret saying that!)
Duckweed Urban Market – Downtown Tampa
01:
Friday evening I stumbled upon an amazing store that is just opening!
Duckweed Urban Market is located downtown on the corner of Franklin Street & E. Polk Street, next to The Hub and below the Sweatshop Urban Gym.
Duckweed carries a ton of local products, just from browsing I found many local brands! Buddy Brew Coffee, TeBella Tea, tons!!! of different types of Sami’s Bakery breads and Intensity Academy’s delicious hot sauces & sauces.
We met Derek who was manning this shop, he is incredibly knowledgeable! (Please make sure to say hi!) Every time I “Ooohed!” or “Awwed” at something usually he’d mention that it was either also made locally or it was special ordered. He made sure to point out a soda named “Hotlips” which has fruit pulp in it!
What was nice was, that among the truffle oil, quinoa “burger” mixes, gluten free awesomeness, numerous of delicious cheeses, freshest produce I’ve seen in Tampa… they also have staples! Out of eggs? Drop in on your way home. Need milk? Just walk over. Yes, they also had cheapie macaroni & cheese too :P
I loved that Duckweed has everything I have been dying to try! I will obviously be a regular here! Derek also mentioned they soon plan to carry beer & wines!
Here is some pictures to share:
Omg how cute is the front of this place?!
They even have animal food! :)
Duckweed Urban Market:
305 E Polk Street, Tampa, FL 33602
Website
Facebook
Twitter
***Big thank you goes to Renee! for taking all these pictures while I was chatting it up w/ Derek!<3 <3
(I can’t find source)I have the best friends
25:
Last Thursday (June 23rd, 2011) my friend Oz texted me the above photo of my friend Bridget & this message:
“Bridget and I left you a gift. 27:56:53.20, -82:27:42.51, or there abouts. Rsvp”
I was immediately excited because Oz knows I love to geocache & those were GPS coordinates!
This morning we decided to find it on the way to Gregg’s office. The building in the background of the picture is of University of Tampa, so we knew to look in the park across from the campus. (Curtis Hixon)
We got to the park, and the cords were pretty far off. Gregg saw the fence that Bridget is leaning on, it was the only one in the park without a wooden top rail.
We to that spot, & wedged between the concrete there was an altoids tin. We had found the cache!
Inside was a note from Oz & two antique dice, which on one of them the 1 is a skunk! Also he typed up the directions to a game called “Mia”; which I am going to try to learn tonight. :)
This is probably one of the most awesome & creative things friends have ever done for me. I already am thinking of ideas of how to get them back!
Freshley’s Cafe – Seminole Heights
18:
There has been a lot of tweets/mentions of Freshley’s Cafe that has just opened in Seminole Heights last week. Freshley’s offers breakfast & lunch Monday through Saturday, I woke up this morning knowing I wanted to stop by on the way to Gregg’s office to check out all the hype.
Freshley’s is located at the northwest corner of Florida and Hillsborough in Seminole Heights.
Have I mentioned I love airstreams?!
It is surrounded by a ton of newly planted plants, as well as a cute dining area with shade. (I wonder if they have wi-fi? ;)
I sneaked a picture of the inside. :) It’s a Mother, Daughter and Grand Daughter team!
Showing all the cute plants in bright planters. So cheery! Gregg has coffee :)
This is the specials board, condiments table, and tea! (Sweet & Unsweet)
Gregg got “Good Morning New York”
- Smoked salmon, light cream cheese, red onion, sliced tomato, and capers on fresh Pumpernickel bread. $5.95
It got raving reviews from Gregg.
I got the “Egg White Frittata”
- Baked Arugula, garlic, green onions and turkey sausage (salmon was a choice too), served on wheat toast, with fresh fruit. $4.50
Can I say how EXTREMELY OVERJOYED I am? Freshley’s food was amazing. They have healthy portions. Food is perfectly seasoned. Fresh. Good pricing. -There was BLUEBERRIES in their fruit salad. When have you ever seen that?
I will for sure be a regular at Freshley’s Cafe. :)
Happenings Update
16:
The US space shuttle, an American icon for over 30 years, rolls out to the launch pad for the final time in preparation for STS-135, its last mission. The 3.4-mile trek takes about seven hours to complete. Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station.
[Photo Credit]
★ Pretty much as soon as I got accepted for the #NASATweetup; it took over my life. I’ve spent a lot of time making travel arrangements, saying hello! to my #DiscoveryHouse-mates, checking out the Facebook Group to meet some of the other attendees, & watching the #STS135 & #NASATweetup feeds constantly!. :)
★ Diet is pretty much the same. Losing a pound or two a week. During the week I am pretty strict, I’ve adding eating some dairy, cottage cheese and Kefir. I’ll have it randomly, I’m trying to up my calorie intake slowly. Example: Yesterday I ended the day at 716 calories. That was after I noticed my calories were so low that I ate two of those 90 calorie Special K bars. Tuesday I ended at 947; because I had to try the dark chocolate from Aldi. (Had a friend rave about it.) This week I ordered Jillian Michaels’ Ripped in 30 DVD after seeing Anastasia’s results. Liz also did the same thing! :) I’m not sure about the meal plan, according to my calculations, I should be right at 1,000 calories to lose weight, the meal plan is at about 1,200-1,300 a day. We’ll see.
★ Tomorrow is the last day to sign up to swap cookies! Go now! Go go go!
…Okay! That’s it for now. :)
Tampa Etsy Craft Party
13:
This past Friday was the Tampa Etsy Craft Party!
I actually can’t believe I didn’t blog about it beforehand. Quick summary, I saw the week before that no one was planning anything for the 2011 event, so I started contacting people, & before you know it, we were all knee deep in planning! There was an amazing group of people who made this possible. Thank you KC, Jenny, Sarah, Jess, Kaye, Amanda & everyone else who brought treats, crafts, or just their awesome self! Oh! & HUGE thank you to Mindclay! The lent us a super dope space. Photo explosion starts… now!
Haha me in close proximity to a computer, coffee, cutest baby & sister/bff … of course!
NASA Tweetup, STS-135
12:
Friday, while at work this popped up in my e-mail:
Dear Allison Barkley,
Congratulations, you have been selected to attend the NASA Tweetup on July 7-8 for space shuttle Atlantis’ targeted launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! The event will provide you the opportunity to speak with shuttle technicians, engineers, astronauts, and managers, and to experience the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.
… I can hardly contain my excitement!
I will be regularly updating! It’s overwhelming, & the whole community is AMAZING.
(STS-135 is the final planned mission of the American Space Shuttle.)
Is He a Good Guy?
02:
Have I ever mentioned my boyfriend, Gregg, is an eagle scout? Often when I think of all the things I love/admire/respect about him, it always seems to be me compiling the Scout Law. :)
I found this article in a magazine while at the gym yesterday.
