Miami, FL SOUTH BEACH

Mom and I went to Miami 2 weeks ago. We had a great time :) I love the food in Miami, I truly think it's comparable to New York City...and the latin food is the best of the best.

We stayed at The Lords, an art deco boutique hotel. It had a wonderful location and the staff was very sweet. We didn't know, but The Lords is actually a gay boutique hotel, but everyone is welcome. They made us feel very comfortable and we would defiantly go back.

Fell in love with this chandelier

First night we ate at The Tudor House. It was a beautiful night so we ate outside.

I chose crispy skin salmon (not so great pic of me but just look at the food :) )

The salmon rested on a bed of sweet corn, escarole, and Jamon Iberico. Jamon Iberico is a cured ham that's made in Spain. The pig has a black hoof if I can remember. Of course it melts in your mouth.

Mom and I shared this chilled Portuguese octopus...it was my favorite. They used a beautiful floral olive oil to drizzle over the top. Very simple but delish.

Mom wanted this crispy calamari with fried almonds. Good but you can get fried calamari anywhere.

Joe's Stone Crab

For lunch we ate at Joes Stone Crab....5 STARS ALL THE WAY! Freshest crab claws in Miami. Here is a secret. If you go into the take out section the prices are half as the fine dining and it's the same food. These stone crab claws melt in your mouth! The best $20 I've ever spent on food. Don't forget to order some fried green tomatoes with your claws! Ask for extra dipping sauce.

The Restaurant at The Setai

Beautiful restaurant, very expensive. Food was great but I think it was a little overpriced. We enjoyed everything but I would have enjoyed authentic cuban across the street for a fraction of the cost.

All the pictures didn't turn out...but here are the two that did.

Grapefruit crab salad. Very fresh and tasty.

Tandoor roasted seabass with arugula

We also tried wok fried noodles with prawns, ginger, and garlic. Great but not the best.

SushiSamba, Lincoln Road Mall

Japanese, Brazillian, and Peruvian in ONE DISH! I loved this placed!! Great balance of flavors and fresh ingredients.

Here is what we shared :)

Samba dromo Rollmaine lobster, mango, tomato, chive, crispy rice, soy paper, peanut curry

A sushi roll with mango and lobster. We loved this!!

Chicarron de Calamar cornmeal crusted calamari, tomato, mint, plaintain, tamarind

and I saved my favorite for last :)

Yellowtail ceviche with jalapeno and lemongrass....I wish I could make this at home.

The Marlin was next door to our Hotel. I loved this photo...

Mom with her thai chili martini :)

The best cubano coffee on the face of the earth.

We went on one excursion...a 3 hour boat ride that showed you miami from the water. WELL WORTH THE MONEY! Here is the link and the guide was great.

Art deco doors...I love ART DECO

I have so many more pictures but I'm short on time.

The PAST 2 Weeks

My friend Kristin invited me to the Britney Spears concert. It was really good! We had a great time and it was nice to see her. Brit S had Nicki minaj opening for her so that was a fun surprise.

This is the best picture I could get :(

Last week we had some business meetings in Boca Raton. I LOVE the Boca Resort and Spa. We've been going down there since 2004. I hadn't been in over 2 years so it was a nice time, even though Jim was in tons of meetings most of the time. Robin and Jim were also down there so we got to enjoy dinner at the great seafood restaurants Bcca has to offer.

Boca sand and my favorite sandals :)

Over the weekend I did a photo collage up in the loft. I got most of them hung, now I need to print some pictures for all the blank frames. Pictures of the finished loft coming soon.

ROXY

Mom is back in town! (Her husband Joe has moved to Georgia for business reasons so she has been gone most of the month of July helping him)

Atlanta has a lot of outlet and warehouses packed full of good deals. She found this Christmas tree dress for Roxy :) HOW CUTE!

Mom also got a new green rug. I love how it turned out.

The crew at moms (Roxys best friend Tootie Jane)

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

I was blow away by Notre Dame. I'm going to be honest I told Jim I really didn't care to go in, seeing the outside was fine but he demanded we go so we did. It was one of those moments where your eyes fill up with tears and your overwhelmed by the feeling the minute you step in, it's hard to describe but I know some of you know what I'm talking about. It was amazing and THANK YOU JIM for making such a great decision :)

We actually picked a perfect time to go in because there was a service going on...this was amazing even though we didn't speak French and had no clue what he was saying, it was beautiful. Of course I teared up again.

Here are some of the pictures I took from the inside.

The Streets of Paris

Here are some pictures of Paris. This is a darling restaurant below. :) Wish I had some escargot and french onion soup!

The doors are amazing! I probably have over 100 pictures of just doors.

The sweets! Jim was in HEAVEN!

We had lunch up in the Eiffel Tower and it was quite a memorable meal :) Here are some pictures!

Shrimp and beans :)

Lobster Salad

White bean salad (looks like dessert doesn't it?)