Yay! It’s Gluten Free

30A, Floridia- The charming little beach towns strung along the coastline, sugar-white sand, water so clear it almost looked painted, and only a short flight from Austin? I was so excited when we decided to go this summer!

Sadly, the excitement fades a little when I start looking for restaurants that will be safe for my gluten free family. It can be so intimidating! We can’t just stop anywhere. Especially with two people with celiac in the family. But, I did a ton of research and experienced these places first hand so hopefully it will help someone else going to the 30A.

After my research, we chose to stay in Santa Rosa Beach, just 20 minutes from Seaside—one of the places we knew we couldn’t leave without exploring. It turned out to be the perfect home base. We could easily wander into the neighboring beach towns, then come back to the quieter rhythm of Santa Rosa Beach.

What surprised me most was how different it felt from the busy beach towns we’ve visited before. Towering pine trees lined the roads, giving way to emerald water and powder-soft sand. The pace felt slower here, the kind of place where you naturally linger over your morning coffee and lose track of time watching the waves.

We rented an Airbnb with a pool, which was perfect now that our kids are older. They could head down for a swim whenever they wanted while we enjoyed a slower morning on the balcony overlooking Oyster Lake, framed by those beautiful pines. A five-minute walk brought us to the beach, and, just as importantly, coffee was only a five-minute drive away. (I always like to know where the nearest coffee shop is. ☕)

As a gluten-free family with two people who have celiac disease, eating out often means asking a hundred questions, studying every menu, and double-checking ingredients. It takes extra planning, but I promise it’s worth it. If you’re a gluten-free mama wondering if a relaxing beach vacation is possible, I’m here to tell you—it absolutely is. And I hope this little guide helps!

Now on to the restaurants! After this beach pic of course.. soooo pretty!

Back to Santa Rosa restaurants! First stop….

The Bay

Our Favorite By FAR! With its pretty little beach area on the bay for the kids to hang out at, live music and separate gluten free menu this place made all of our gluten free dreams come true. We ordered a lot lol. We traveled all day so this was our first stop on day 1. For appetizers we ordered edamame and shrimp lettuce wraps. For entrees, my husband got lots of sushi, my daughter got the sushi and miso ceasar salad with chicken and my son ordered a burger with au gratin potatoes and I got the chicken sandwich with side salad. Everyone left stuffed and happy at the end of dinner. Oh, and we got a creme brulee for dessert which my kids devoured. The gluten free menu has less items than the main menu but it had soooo many great options to choose from. We loved it so much we went back on date night a few nights later.

The Perfect Pig

We didn’t find this beautiful restaurant until the last night or we would have visited here again. It did not have a gluten free menu but the waitress was very knowledgable and helped us look through the menu and pick what would be best for us. I asked her a million questions and she was soooo sweet to me. She helped me feel comfortable with our choices. My husband ordered the Perfect Pig Nachos(delicious) for an appetizer and the pork medallions with grits for his entree. I got the smoked chicken salad and my daughter had the chef salad. My son wanted fish so in order to get it GF he ordered grouper a la carte and loaded potato salad and beans for his sides. All were wonderful choices and we had no reactions.

Pizza By the Sea

We ordered pizza multiple times during our stay in Santa Rosa and the kids never got tired of this pizza! I ordered online and let them know we had celiac and we were able to get gluten free pizzas that came in boxes marked as gluten free. They were really fast at delivering too! Pizza by the pool? Sign me up! We had no issues here.

South of Philly

The owner of this little restaurant was the nicest! We ordered cheese burgers here and we let him know we have celiac and he said they had gluten free buns but sadly the fries were made in the same fryer as everything else so there was risk of cross contamination. Instead, we got potato chips as our side and both of my kids said they were the best burgers ever! No reactions.

No Pics of burgers we ate them too fast 😦

Beach Weekend Coffee

This little coffee shop was our favorite place to stop every morning for our coffee. Iced sugar free vanilla lattes are my jam. They had milk, poppies and juice for the kids too. They also had some gluten free pastries that seemed to change daily. One day we had a lemon blueberry scone, the next a lemon bar and then one day my daughter wanted to try the acai bowl which had gluten free granola. They weren’t labeled gf in the case so that worried me but the lady assured me they were gf. My kids loved everything they had here with no issues.

Honorable mentions- Publix for grocery shopping is nearby and we went and loaded up on sandwich fixings and they had plenty of gluten free snacks. We didn’t get to visit but I read that Meltdown in Seaside had gluten free bread and a separate preparation area for gluten free orders!! It had a lot of great reviews and people said they felt safe eating here and the food was great! If you try it let me know. If you try any of these restaurants or find new ones I’d love to hear.

Counting down until next summer in 30A 🙂

XOXO -Kat

Parties

Harry Potter Themed Party List

June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 Yay! It’s Gluten Free

I love lists. I have from an early age. I have a list for everything- cleaning, to dos, budget, workouts, morning routines and parties-to name a few. It helps me feel organized, more in control and I LOVE to cross things off when I complete them. lol Anyone else?

I have changed my blog a bit so that each week I will post different lists that help me with everything! I thought maybe there are other list lovers out there that would appreciate it!

The first list is from one of my favorite parties I have thrown for my daughter. You can print the list below to help with your next Harry Potter party! Enjoy! The list can go along with my blog post I wrote a few years ago with details and pictures called how to throw a magical Harry Potter Party.

Parties

How to throw a magical Harry Potter Party!

March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 Yay! It’s Gluten Free

I don’t know who loved this party more me or my 6 year old daughter…..probably me. I’m a bit obsessed with Harry Potter so this party was so much fun to plan. We have a small house and it was about 100 degrees outside so my space was limited but I made it work and the kids had a blast. ***side note I need to be better about taking pics of everything at the party. lol Some things like activities for this party and the super cool Nigini sandwich have no pictures to be found but I can still explain what we did and they were all a hit!! Next year all. the. pics. of. everything. I get too excited! Especially at this party. I was dead set on dressing up as Harry but my daughter is getting older and said no please don’t. So I didn’t. Sad day for me. lol

DECOR

**Amazon**– Banner, Owl & Chocolate Coins
**Dollar Tree** -Battery operated candles and spider
Wands Easy DIY (coming soon)

**Amazon**– Witch Hats hung with fishing line
**Party City**– White Balloons & printed Owls to tape on them
DIY Fireplace + letters with Harry’s address coming out of fireplace

Food

The girls already hit up Honeydukes before I could take a proper picture!!!! Chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts, Chocolate Coins, and Golden Snitches were destroyed. Good sign I picked the right snacks! Except the caramel apples were a flop. Whomp Whomp. Oh well I thought they were cute.

A candy bar is a must at a HP party. Gather all your fav candy(may I suggest the Dollar Tree), print cute labels and tape on jars already on hand. Even if the jars do not match it will add an eclectic vibe. I bought little bags from Dollar Tree and used the candy as a party favor plus the slime listed under the activities below. The trip to Honeydukes was one of the highlights of the party. *The kids LOVED it.*
**Golden Snitch**= *Print wings tape on Ferrero Rocher*
**Amazon**-Chocolate Frog Mold
**Amazon**– Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans
**Created** Labels for Candy Jars on Word

**Butter Beer**– Cream Soda, Vanilla Ice cream, Whip cream, Butterscotch Syrup
**Polyjuice Potion**– Sprite, Lime Sherbert, Edible Glitter
DIY Labels on Word

ACTIVITIES

POTIONS CLASS

Now, this is where my picture taking skills went south. ANNND it was so cuuute. WAH! I ordered a make your own slime kit from Amazon and set up a table for “Potions Glass”. It’s called DIY Crystal Slime Kit on Amazon. The best part is the slime is already made the kids just add glitter and little beads to the slime. It even comes with containers to put all the slime back in…..perfect for party favors. I did it outside because one word GLITTER!! My husband hates glitter. The word makes his eye twitch.

Playing Quiddich

I didn’t have anything to really play Quiddich but 6 year olds don’t care–I said now go outside pick teams and play a wild game of Quiddich. lol Did I tell you I like easy.. and so do kids I think. Leave room for imagination. This took up a big portion of time before it was present and cake time.

Shop at Honeydukes

The kids lined up with their bag and each got to shop at honeydukes. Too easy to be called an activity but I’m all about EASY!

Between the slime making, running around playing Quiddich, the sugar high from going to Honeydukes and cake, the opening of presents this concluded the party. Whew. We made it. And I kept the decor up for Halloween. LOL Mom Win!

I hope you enjoyed these simple ideas on how to have a magical Harry Potter Party. It wasn’t fancy but my daughter still talks about it. Nowadays, kids birthday parties can get extreme. I try to have a balance with making it awesome and not stressing over every detail and spending a million dollars. Remember when our parents would order a cake from the grocery store, put up a couple balloons and call it a day? What’s the theme you ask? The theme was it was a birthday party. duh? lol Don’t get too hard on yourself mama your little angel is going to remember how they felt so special and how awesome it was to have so many sweets and presents not if it was ‘Pinterest’ worthy.

XOXO- Kat

Lifestyle

Easy Cleaning Schedule to Keep Your House as Clean as Monica Geller’s.

January 14, 2020March 29, 2021 Yay! It’s Gluten Free

I don’t know about you but with two kids and a husband it is almost impossible for me to keep the house clean. lol Not that my husband doesn’t clean but he does what I like to call “man clean” lol. He always has. He cleans the big things like dishes and laundry but forgets things like wiping the counters and putting the laundry away. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him clean the toilet…..I’ve asked his mom she says he knows how hahahaha P.S. not bashing my husband he is the best I’m just the better cleaner around here plus I care more that everything is clean.

He teases me that I’m Monica from friends because I ENJOY cleaning. If I am stressed this is probably when the house is the cleanest. Well, between laundry mountains, shoes and toys thrown about it can get overwhelming….especially with all the other things we mamas have to do. So, I created this simple cleaning schedule that has helped me and hopefully it will help you too.

I created it to include just certain cleaning tasks per day so that you aren’t cleaning for hours. I usually have a set time every morning to clean. I schedule it to take about an hour or less if the red headed 3 year old boy is being an angel. This schedule helps me keep the house tidy throughout the craziness of the week. I’ve divided it up between morning and night chores that I do daily, chores of the day, and as I call spring cleaning chores that I do on Saturdays ish.

Morning Chores

Make Beds
Unload dishwasher
Chore of the day

Night Chores

Load dishwasher
Wipe kitchen counters & stove top
Tidy living area

Chore of the Day

Monday– Wipe Appliances, Wash Towels, Wash Adult’s clothes and put away

Tuesday– Floors (Sweep, Vacuum, Mop all rooms)

Wednesday– Bathrooms(clean counters, toilets, showers, mirrors, wash bath mats)

Thursday– Dust all rooms, including the dreaded fans!

Friday– I just do morning and night tasks (no chore of the day) and I meal plan for the next week

Saturday– Spring Cleaning Chore (See list below) + Grocery Shop (Side note: hubby loves to grocery shop so usually does the shopping while I make him the list. This makes up for the toilet thing)

Sunday– Wash all sheets plus kids clothes (It’s so nice to start the week off with fresh sheets)

Spring Cleaning Chores

(done on Sat I pick 1 category maybe 2 if I’m feelin’ crazy )

Bedroom– Clean out closet, Chest of drawers, Bedside table, Books(I have a book hoarding problem)

Bathrooms– Clean out Cabinets, Drawers, Medicine Cabinet, Donate old towels, Wash Shower Curtain

Linen Closet– I have more than linens in here so I ….Organize games, Pictures, Crafts, and extra sheets

Kid’s Rooms– Go through toys, Clothes, Books and donate as needed

Kitchen– This is a big task so I sometimes divide this up between 2 weekends or do it Sat and Sun. Clean out drawers and cabinets, clean oven, refrigerator, pantry, and under sink.

Miscellaneous- I do these all together and feel like I have my life together afterward….clean out purse, cleaning closet, papers, car, recycling, backyard and label any garage storage boxes not labeled

I want to make a note that I’m trying to be better and stick to this schedule daily!! I sometimes get off schedule and try to do everything in a day or spend my whole weekend catching up on the house cleaning. lol Do you do that??? I hope this helps you mamas!

XOXO- Kat