I had a bad headache this morning so I'd planned to stay at home, but I'm so glad I changed my mind and decided to go out w/ R&J & Sara because it was an awesome day!
First, Sara picked us up and drove us to Oviedo, which I've never been to. After a brief errand, we went to The Town House for breakfast, snagging the last table. The restaurant has an interesting mix of country food w/ Greek cuisine, a modern country chic decor, and very welcoming staff. I ordered the Gyro meat omelette w/ olives & onions (good), w/ tzatziki sauce home fries (yum!), & biscuit (meh, dry).
We killed some time at a Publix and bought drinks & snacks that are hard to find elsewhere, like specialty chips, cookies, chocolates, & nuts. I just got ginger ale and Oreos (BOGO w/ Sara), but we all shared/sampled each other's snacks in the car, which was fun.
Next, we visited The Coop Antiques shop. I do love looking through all sorts of collections in one big antique mall. Of course, my favorite thing to look at is jewelry, and within minutes, I spotted a lovely, unique necklace that reminded me of one of Mom's special pieces. It was $45, so I wasn't going to get it, but Sara said it was perfect for me and said she would buy it for me! :o I tried to tell her no, but she insisted (b/c she didn't get me a bday present ^^;;). I couldn't let her buy such an expensive gift for me, so I decided to buy it myself. ;P She left her purchases at the counter while she continued to browse, and while she was in a different area, I went to the counter and told the sellers I wanted to purchase the necklace myself before she got back. She was none the wiser until after she checked out and wondered why the total was so low. XD; I thanked her for the kind gesture, and even though it's a bit of a splurge, I'm glad I bought the necklace. It's described as an antique gold-tone dragon frame over jasper stone (chalcedony quartz):
After that, we went next door to another antique mall. ^^; Just walking around, pointing things out to each other, and sharing commentary was so fun! R was definitely in a shopping mood and in addition to a few items for herself & J, she bought a pretty purple glass ornament/sun-catcher for me ($5):
Next, we drove to Waterford Lakes. We browsed a couple of shops then picked Marlow's Tavern for lunch. We didn't know what it was, but as soon as you step in, you can tell it's like a Ruby Tuesdays but more chic. Since it was our first time there, they gave us a free order of JT's Kettle Chips w/ gorgonzola cheese, scallion, roma tomato, & bacon. It was quite tasty! I ordered their "Best Burger in Orlando" Black & Blue Burger w/ gorgonzola, apple-wood smoked bacon, on toasted sesame brioche roll. It was really good, but honestly, I liked R's Royale burger better, w/ double wagyu (HQ) beef, American cheese, pickle, on buttery sesame brioche. The fries were standard good, but their house recipe dill pickle was upsetting, just a salty cucumber. XP
It rained hard while we were eating, but luckily it stopped by the time we left. We drove to my place to watch
Super 8. I was the only one who hadn't seen it yet, and I really liked it. It was a charming coming-of-age sci-fi adventure movie.
And that was it! Sara went home, and I drove R&J home. It was a full 12-hour hang-out, and it was one of the best days ever. :D
