His 'n' Hers Dream Days

Ever wake up kind of twitchy … like you know you want to do something, you just don’t know what? That’s what happened to me on Saturday. The last few weeks have been consumed with a long must-do list, because we’ve been renovating the master bathroom. That’s done, and while there are plenty of things I could do — maybe should do — there was nothing I had to do.

Here were the options that seemed to present themselves:

• Stay home and clean the house. Ugh.
• Spend the day working out. Double ugh. It was 90+ degrees out.
• Stay at home and watch all of the episodes of “The Next Food Network Star” that I DVR’d and never watched and now know the winner so it kind of seems like a waste but I’m going to watch them anyway.

See? Nothing super appealing. Then, it was husband to the rescue. He told me to get dressed for a day of his ‘n’ hers fun. And boy, did he deliver.

We started by taking a drive to the Florida Mall, to track down a purchase that has eluded us for weeks.

Lucas has been looking for these special edition Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms for weeks. We searched high and low; at candy stores, grocery stores, Target and more. No M&Ms. So, we knew we needed to take a trek to the M&M mecca.

Check this place out — it’s candy *everywhere. On the ceilings, on the floor, in the walls. It’s colorful, garish, and a little like a Candy Disney World.

Lucas bought a case of the candies, and one single bag to try on the walk through the mall. I snuck a couple, and they’re great! They taste just like a normal peanut butter M&M with just a hint of strawberry when you first put it in your mouth.

But M&Ms does not a meal make, so I jumped up and down (literally, jumped up and down in the mall) and begged Lucas to take me to a pizza place that I’ve been DYING to try: Pizza Fusion. It’s not for me. It’s because I want to help save the world one pizza at a time. I’m giving like that.

I can’t say enough amazing things about this place. From the second you walk in, you see affirmations all over the wall. Everything in the restaurant is eco-friendly, from the recycled glass countertops to the biodegradable to-go containers and silverware. There is organic beer, organic wine, and all of the ingredients used in the pizzas, sandwiches, salads and more are organic or at least all-natural. In many cases, they’re purchased locally, and the kitchen is open, so you can see the chefs slicing the onions, roasting the peppers, making the sauces and baking the crusts. Which, by the way, are 7-grain or organic white.

The menu isn’t huge, but the waiter told us that since everything is made from scratch, they’ll make pretty much anything you want, with any of the ingredients they offer. They can also make anything vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free if you want. I chose the Farmer’s Market pizza:

FARMER’S MARKET
A farmer’s medley of roasted artichoke hearts, red onion, roasted zucchini and roasted Portobello with tomato sauce, mozzarella, provolone and parmesan.

But I asked for no cheese, and asked them to add the tricolor peppers. Lucas says that made it more of a flatbread, but tomato tomato, potato potahto … it was crispy, rich and oh.so.good.

I didn’t, but not because I’m above it.

Lucas got the Philly Steak pizza:

PHILLY STEAK PIZZA
Steak, roasted bell peppers, roasted red onion, tomato sauce, gorgonzola, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and parsley.

Lucas is a big pizza fan, and I think was a little suspicious of how good an organic pizza could be. But from the sounds across the table (mmmmmm wowwwwwww so goooood), I think he’s a convert. We will definitely be back. Besides, the restaurant doubled as an office for the world’s hardest-working beer blogger:

I wonder what the IRS would think …

So, with stuffed bellies and happy hearts, we moved to the next part of his ‘n’ hers day. And, since we live in Orlando, the theme park comparisons continue. Children have Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure. One has rides and great places to eat. The other has shows and great places to buy souvenirs. They’re both fun, and if you’re lucky, you can visit both in one day.

Adults have Whole Foods and Fresh Market.

Similar, but different … Whole Foods has better groceries but Fresh Market has more specialty items. In my theme park analogy, Whole Foods is Islands of Adventure and Fresh Market is Universal Orlando.

At Fresh Market, we mostly just perused, but we did have to buy these:

Because we love Rick Bayliss so much. (Remember our trip to Topolobampo in Chicago?)

And then we headed to my own idea of heaven, Whole Foods. Thankfully, I was still full from pizza, so I didn’t attack the hot bar. I did manage to find every sample station in the place, and try everything once. Some things twice.

Ain’t no party like a cacoa nibs party ‘cuz the cacoa nibs party don’t stop …I also bought some supplies for the week:

Don’t judge.

And to round the day out, we made one last stop. First, we jumped in our car:

Not really, but since it looked like this outside:

We could have used a floating/flying car. Anyway, we sloshed our way to Lucas’ version of Disney. Total Wine and Spirits.

And, since we were, there, I restocked my organic wine supply. A growing girl needs her antioxidants, right?

All in all, an amazing day. And, just like I had actually gone to a theme park, I came home a little exhausted, a little sunburned, a little full and very happy.