Merry Christmas!

Back home enjoying time with family and eating as much food as I possibly can! Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. 

Happy Friday

 

Happy Friday everyone! This is going to be Marc and me this weekend before heading up to New England for Christmas.  

Music Mondays

Last week Marc and I finally got around to watching The One I Love.  I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but I keep thinking about the movie and how it cleverly addresses themes of relationships and marriage. I also want to move into the Ojai farmhouse where the story is set. This song begins to play as the ending credits role and I am finding myself listening to this on repeat on my ride up to work. During the whole movie I had David's Grey's The One I Love stuck in my head, but this song is a perfect ending as you are sitting there wondering what just happened!  Enjoy ...

Christmas Snapshots

 

I finally have a real camera! I am a bit rusty (trying to dig into my college photag classes) ... but I figured I would practice taking some shots around the apartment. This year a Christmas without snow and cold doesn't seem as strange as it did last year.  Although I am taking advantage of the "cold" days down here (60 is COLD) to wear a beanie or a pair of tights.   

Music Mondays ...

Happy Monday Everyone ... here is a little bit of what has been on heavy rotation around here lately.

I like listening to this when I am running along the beach path after work ... I think its about LA but whatever.

September Plans

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I am not quite sure where summer went ... but I can't believe it is already September.  "Summer" in Miami is odd, especially coming from New England where summer is what you wait for all year long.  Down here not only is it super hot and humid its also the quietest time of the year, because who would want to be down where when it is hot and sticky when they can be enjoying lovely summer weather in the rest of the country.  I am looking forward to "Fall" down here. I can actually wear a sweater outside and maybe if I am lucky some little booties. I will also be on full alert for celebrity sightings once people start flocking down here when the cold weather hits. 

I have some travel plans on the docket this month too. Which I am super excited about.  First, I am heading to Barcelona for 5 days for work. I haven't been to Spain since 2002 when I was a badly dressed 20 year old college student studying abroad.  Barcelona was my favorite spot that I visited and I can't wait to be back and experience it as an adult.  Does anyone have any good spots I should check out while I am there? I will be staying around The Sagrada Familia.

After that trip I am heading out to Boston for 2 back to back weddings. I am looking forward to squeezing in some friend time and some fall time up there. I will definitely pack some tights just for the heck of it.  I can't wait to see this ...

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A Year In

Holy Moly ... I have lived in Miami for a year! When we moved down here last August I didn't know if I could last a month and then poof ... a year later here we are.


I am looking forward to what next year has in store in this crazy little island on the tip of Florida!

Happy Friday!

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Happy Friday everyone. I wish Miami still looked like this instead of the massive high rises that are taking over the beach. Any who ... I hope everyone has a good weekend. I am going to celebrate the fact I have a new job :)

Vintage Friday

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Happy weekend everyone! We are heading over to the west coast of Florida to visit family in Marco Island. I hope everyone enjoys this weekend ... we get an extra hour of sunlight ... woo hoo! 

5 Things .

So its been over 6 months since Marc and I moved. We officially are Florida residents now with a new license plate to prove it. It's been a big adjustment from Boston, but I can say that over time the list of pros about living down have been accumulating  Here are five things I love about Miami ... in no particular order.

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1 - Publix - Yes, a grocery store has made the list. Publix is a Florida chain of grocery stores. We are lucky enough to live within walking distance to a newly renovated one. I had never stepped foot in Publix before being down here but now if we ever move back up to New England, I will miss it terribly! They have a really good bakery (where else can you get half of a key lime pie?!), a great assortment of natural and organic foods mixed in with regular items and you don't have to fork over your entire pay check like you do at Whole Foods. I have recently formed an addiction to their Ranch Rice Cakes. You can also get empanadas which brings me to number two.

2- Empanadas everywhere - A little pastry filled with meat and spices, yes please. I liked empanadas when I lived in Boston but it was a rare occurrence to get one... here getting an empanada is as easy as getting a chocolate frosted donut from Dunkin' ... I can count on two hands spots I could get them in my neighborhood, they are usually around a dollar and are a perfect breakfast, lunch, or snack. mmm ... 

My whole list isn't food but I could easily write a post all about the great eats down here 

3- The Beach - Of course I have to include the beach on my list of things I love about Miami! I never thought I would live within walking distance from a beach never mind a beach that I can go to year round. I sometimes have to remind myself how lucky we are to be living down here and even it is isn't forever what a great experience it is! Whenever I am in a bad mood or feeling stressed, a quick walk to the beach helps clear my head. 

4- No One Gives a ....  - New Englanders are not really well known for their go-with the flow attitude. Rules are meant to be followed and order must be attained. Here, it seems that rules are merely suggestions. This can be frustrating when you are say behind the wheel and the car in front of you passes 3 lanes to exit the highway without using their blinker BUT when you out of the car the overall "who cares" vibe is kind of freeing. Especially when it comes to clothing, I love knowing that no matter what I have one no one will blink an eye because there is most likely wearing something with 3/4 less fabric, or 2020202 more rhinestones. It has been a lot of fun to experiment blending my preppy New England style with a more boho beach style ... I mean, would I own a pair of Bermuda print pants if I still lived up north? The answer is most likely no. 

5- "Winter" - Marc and I picked the right winter to get out of dodge. I missed hunkering down for snow storms for the first storm or two but I got over it. Below zero temps, pasty dry skin, snow, slush, ice ... ehhh. The fact that winter down here is like the perfect summer day in Maine is incredible. So when are you all coming to visit!? 

House Progress

Our apartment is slowly feeling more like home. My list of things I want like always is a mile long, but I am trying to enjoy the imperfections and stick with my 2014 mantra of calming down, it will all come together in time. Some recent pics below.

Playing Tourist - South Beach

So, in all honestly I have been a little scared to venture to South Beach since we arrived in Miami.  I wasn't sure if I could handle the crazy party that everyone had told us about and driving through it a few times was enough to give me an ulcer.  

Last Saturday morning I decided to be brave and check it out. I hopped on the bus (which smelled like sun tan lotion, where else but in Miami does a public bus smell like sun tan lotion) and jumped off around 17th Street, I walked down the Beach Path to Lummus Park where I was going to take a beach yoga class. I waited on the beach and people watched and let it sink it that it was the middle of January and I was on a beach in a t-shirt and shorts. The yoga class never seemed to materialize, unless it was the super skinny guy sitting on a towel. I decided instead to play tourist.

 I walked along Ocean Drive, which around 11 AM is much more low key than 11 PM. I hit up Zara which was having an amazing sale. I found some cute little boutiques such as Helium I made a mental note for future gift giving, and Taj (if I ever want to splurge on swank beach wear I will be going here). 

I decided instead of taking the bus back to bike it.  Like Boston's City Bike, Miami has it own version called Deco Bike. I biked back up to 63rd street and spent the rest of the day at pool at my building. I think it was my favorite Miami day to date.

The bus option opens up a whole new way to explore the neighborhood and I already told  Marc... next up will be a South Beach Hotel Bar Crawl ... that will be a post for another day .... 

Jobim

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The other month Marc introduced me to Jobim on our trip down to the Keys. If you are like me and have lived under a rock  Jobim was a Brazilian composer (he composed The Girl from Ipanema) and father of the Bossa Nova. 

Well, it turns out this is the perfect soundtrack for Miami.  I have been listening to it non-stop while sitting on the beach or exploring new neighborhoods. It's an amazing backdrop to the swaying palm trees and sunny skies and transports you back to a Miami where the rat pack partied and played. You can almost block out the crazy drivers, plastic surgery addicts, and tourists wearing shorts with YOLO written across the butt. 


Happy Friday! 

Vintage Friday

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How Miami is this? Happy Friday to everyone :)

In the New Year

Wouldn't you like to be a fly at this Studio 54 New Years Party? Source

Hello there. After a hiatus over the holidays I am ready to give this blog a little bit of love in 2014. Marc and I headed up north for a few days with my family over Christmas.  Our little break was just what I needed. It cured my bought of homesickness I was feeling in December.  I reflected on all of the changes we went through this past year and thought about what I want to do in the upcoming twelve months.  

I have never been one for resolutions. I usually break them less than a week into the new year and then feel like a failure. I like to think more about a theme or goal I want my year to have.  This year its all about settling in and calming down.  

Looking beyond even just the last year, the past five years have sort of been a whirlwind of change and growth. The end of my twenties and beginning of my thirties brought career changes and growth, my first serious relationship, a new dog, an engagement, planning a wedding (in 3 months eek), realizing I had a mountain of credit card debt, getting said debt in control, capped off with moving a 1,000 miles away and starting a new life in a new spot.

 I think we are all wired to want to rush to the next step, whether it be the next job, a bigger house, or a child but this year I want to really try to stop worrying about when that next big thing is going to come and just enjoy the now and let things happen naturally. I want to get to know Miami and I want to try to be more appreciative of everything I have in my life right now. I get to live blocks from the beach, something most people would kill for and something I never thought I would be doing it's pretty cool! 

So here is to 2014 and all it may bring!!