Social Activities Alert: FUN Things To Do In The (863)

I am pretty impressed with all of the fun activities to do around this area! Thanks to Carrie Hughes (Hrdlicka's wife...can you blame her for not changing her name?! :) ) she has introduced us to some fun things and I've discovered a few on my own. I

PicassoZ Art Cafe: http://www.picassoz.com/

Here is my owl that I painted! Pardon the terrible lighting, she lives at my office and this is where the pic was taken. 

Carrie, Jen, Lydia and I went here one Friday night and it was so fun! You pay a $6.50 flat studio fee, pick out any object you want to design and paint, and then you paint it, decorate it, hand it over and they put it in the kiln. It is so fun and the prices are very reasonable. You can make multiple items after paying that one studio fee and they are great for gifts or house decor! You can paint anything from coffee mugs, to Iron Man busts, to dog bowls...the possibilities are endless!

Paint Along Studios: http://paintalongstudios.com/

Carrie, Jen and I went here on another Friday night and it was (wait for it...) so fun! Paint Along Studios is an art studio where you sign up for a class, and they teach you, step by step, how to paint the painting of the week. The Friday evening that we went it was a mountain photo, and I think that our paintings turned out pretty well. I mean, my setting sun looked a bit polluted and the boys commented how are lovely mountains looked like boobs, but other than that, it was an admirable try! You can bring food, wine, friends...it's great. It was $35 but you get to keep the painting afterwards. It would be great for parties, showers, or just for girls nights like ours!

Lake Hollingsworth: 

Yes, that is a church steeple, and million dollar homes nestled around this 3 mile trail!

Lake Hollingsworth is a gorgeous lake that is surrounded by a 3 mile walking-running-biking trail. It is stunning and on these fall days, it is a slice of heaven. Jen and I ran it last week (and literally ran into Lydia and Nick!) and I was in awe that this jewel was available to me at any time. With every step that you take you are enveloped with gorgeous homes, beautiful wildlife, and fellow walkers who are just as happy as you are. For Christmas, when Kyle and I host the family festivities at our house, I am going to take my beautiful nephew (who should arrive next weekend!!) on a stroll around this lake. With the houses decked out in Christmas decorations, and the chilly weather, it will be perfect. 

First Friday ArtWalk: 

First  Friday is an event I've yet to attend here in Lakeland, but Carrie and Jen and the husbands went and had a lot of fun. It's dog friendly, and just as the name implies, occurs on the first Friday of every month and usually has some theme each time. For this Friday, November 2nd: “Paint the Town Red” – Sponsored by Polk County Builders Association, Inneract Alliance and the City of Lakeland- Fun for everyone at this big event! Stop by PCBA’s Home Show and meet a variety of  local contractors. City of Lakeland will be hosting live entertainment all night with their annual Employees Give Back talent show on the north side of Munn Park. Register for Inneract Alliance’s Red Ribbon Run and learn more about the cause. 
  We will be attending on Friday (unless my sweet Charlie is born!) and we will DEFINITELY be attending December 7th, because how amazing does this sound? December 7, 2012 – “Cookies & Carols” – Holiday fun galore! Local schools and groups performing live. Holiday specials at many of the Downtown shops.

So, these four activities should get you started, but there are always fun events going on: just yesterday at PetSupermarket there was a costume contest for all pets! I was running a Florida Boxer Rescue booth and was able to watch as birds, iguanas, dogs and cats paraded around in costumes. The best was watching the cats attempt to murder their owners for bringing them to what was probably hell for the felines. I know Sprinkles (real name)  looked cute as wonder woman, but I seriously saw her shoot daggers at her owners. It was a fun activity for everyone (except Sprinkles). Also, two weeks ago in downtown Lakeland there was a 'Zombiefest' (because zombies are very trendy, for some reason) and everyone dressed up as zombies and walked around. It's easy to find fun things to do--just check online or ask co-workers! Cooper told me of two really cool events that happened yesterday: Guavaween and Blueberries, Bluegrass and BBQ! I wasn't able to attend either but I know I would have had a blast. 

He isn't a boxer but I fell in LOVE with this bull mastiff yesterday who happens to need a home!

It's blurry but you get the idea! I was stuck with the fish but then moved closer to the front. 

And to top it all off, because Halloween is so near, Kyle and I went to a Halloween party last night at Jen Higley and Spath's house (different Jen from above and Spath has a first name, but no one uses it). 

Kyle as a ventriloquist doll...eek!

I'm a cat! Just a cat. Not a sexy cat. Just.CAT!

And one more cozy Halloween pic (ok..two!)...on Friday night we ate apple cobbler, watched Nightmare Before Christmas (well, we watched 47 minutes of it and fell asleep!) and had a fire!

Fire!

Us in front of fire! My mascara is smeared because I was crying from a Secret Life of the American Teenager episode. And if you don't understand why I could be crying from that show, then you  are just clueless!

Until next time faithful readers! Next blog post will be a guide to businesses around the area that I absolutely adore: general physicians, eye doctors, nail salons, chiropractors...I'll be giving you recommendations on great places to go!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

80 Degrees Outside...Pumpkin Degrees Inside!

Well, "fall" is here! Now, living in Florida it's kind of its own season in and of itself. We neither have crisp days (our crisp days arrive a wee late...in January) nor stunning changing leaves, however, we Floridians LOVE our fall, any way that it comes to us. That's why this post is a display of how the McNeals have been embracing this season and maybe you can take some of these ideas and use them. Or not.  

First off, I made homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and I don't mean to brag, but they are amazing. Of course it's not bragging because I cannot be credited with much; I simply followed a recipe to make the dough, but from a box they are not! I brought them to the office on Friday and they were gone in about 35 minutes...and there were 30.

They have this awesome cake-like consistency...so delish!

This afternoon Kyle made this amazing pumpkin cream cheese. It kind of lost the cream cheese consistency a bit, but now it'll not only be fabulous on bagels and toast, but also it will serve as a fantastic dip for apples, graham crackers, and even vanilla wafers. YUM. 

Mmmmm...

Finally, I have decorated the outside of our house; but I didn't go crazy...no, no, crazy is being reserved for Christmas. Oh how excited I am for the Yuletide season BUT, it's not time just yet, so back to the exterior Halloween decorations.

You can get a glimpse of pumpkins from here!

Pumpkins and a fall themed wreath. I need to buy some mums too!

For some reason, I have always wanted a yard banner for every season and I found a fall-themed monogrammed banner at Kirklands. I cannot wait to order one for Christmas, winter, spring and sumer!

Yay banners! And M's...we love our M's. 

Yay fall!

So, just a brief glimpse into our lives celebrating fall. Next blog post will be all about the fun things to do around Lakeland, as well as recommendations on businesses we all need in our lives: vets office, eye doctors, family physicians, nail salons, you know, the essentials! I am loving this town (city?) and thanks to my new girlfriends, I am experiencing a lot of fun things...with more to come!

Have a great pumpkiny week everyone!