3rd Annual Deerfield Wine & Food Fest

April is such an awesome month.

When you live in South Florida, it’s pretty much the last month of spring before the weather starts to get hot, sticky and muggy.

And it’s also my birthday month!!! Woo hoo!!

Since my birthday is on Monday, I thought it would be fun to get together with friends to celebrate at the 3^rd Annual Deerfield Wine & Food Festival at Quiet Waters Park.

The event was held from 6 – 10:30pm and featured over 50 booths with fresh food samplings from local restaurants and cuisine from some of south Florida’s Culinary Chefs. There were also numerous wine tasting booths (with generous pours I might add) with wine from all over the world as well as live music and a beer garden!

My friends and I arrived right at 6 and our mouths were watering while we waited in the long entrance line. As soon as we got inside we were given a plate and wine glass and headed straight to the food booths.

The first dish we tried was excellent which was a hot crab bisque served with white chocolate bread pudding from Bistro N in Boca Raton. Then we tried a sample of some tasty Tuna Ceviche and Guacamole from Cabo Flats while we waited for the rest of the gang to arrive.

Some of the other stand-out dishes were:

El Jefe Luchador  – Steak Tacos and Pork Tacos with Mango Salsa (BIG FAN!!)
El Tamarindo – Ceviche
Smokey Bones – BBQ Pork sliders
A Flair for Fudge – Cuban Coffee Fudge
Direct From Philly – Philly Cheesesteak…yumm!!

I was also very impressed with the retail vendor booths such as: Hedley & Son’s Raw honey, the Herb n’ Garden and Creations by Pat whom I purchased some beautiful jewelry from.

We had a great time and thought that it was well worth the money. The weather was sunny and breezy and good times were had by all. We left feeling very full and rubbing our bellies.

All in all it was a fun and filling night!!

Bay Bay’s Chicken & Waffles

“Bay bay, are you in the mood for some hot spicy chicken and waffles?”  HELL YEAH!!

Last Tuesday, my guy treated me by taking me out for some delicious southern fried chicken and waffles at Bay Bay’s for a weeknight dinner date.

I’ve only tried chicken and waffles once and loved it so I was really looking forward to going to Bay Bay’s.

Bay Bay’s Chicken and Waffles is located in West Palm Beach on Okeechobee Blvd. just west of I-95. It’s rated as the best fried chicken in Florida and it certainly lives up to it’s reputation. Their fried buttermilk chicken is very meaty and a little spicy but not too spicy (I am kind of a wuss with spice). And their waffles are to die for! They are soft and sweet with an almost cake-like texture.  They go really well with the fried chicken and some maple syrup. For $7.95 you  can get a breast, a wing and a Belgium style waffle. It’s just enough to leave you feeling full and satisfied.

I was also impressed with their variety of waffles as well as the other items on their menu. Unfortunately, I did not get to try the dessert waffles but I look forward to going back multiple times and ordering the lemon cake, red velvet and pumpkin pie waffles. They even have a PBJ waffle, a Cuban Coffee Waffle and other Southern fare The service is very friendly and hospitable and they cater too!!

If you’ve never tried chicken and waffles, I highly recommend it. And if you live or are visiting the West Palm Beach area, I highly recommend making a stop at Bay Bay’s!

Spinning Ninja Sushi Bar

I LOOOOVVVE date night. But you know what else is really cool? DOUBLE date night!!!! Especially one that involves yummy sushi served on floating boats….Ninja style!!

Saturday night was a fun date night. We went to the Spinning Ninja Sushi Bar in Boca Raton with my good friends, Alicia and Dee who just recently got engaged It was a lovely evening and I especially enjoyed hearing all about their engagement and future wedding plans.

I thought the restaurant was a neat little place and a cool concept. We sat at the bar where they had little boats going by carrying small plates of food.  Each plate is color coded based upon the price. We dined on sushi, sashimi, edamame, and dumplings and sipped on coconut saki. We also ordered fried rice and miso soup from the menu. My favorite meal was the mango and crab sushi roll.

The sushi was delicious and if there was something that you wanted that was not on the menu, the staff was happy to make it for you. I also noticed that they have other tables to sit at aside from the floating bar area. This was a fun place to eat with a great atmosphere and I look forward to going back.

Since the restaurant is located next to Mizner Park we took a walk over there afterwards, did some window shopping and stopped for coffee at Starbucks. We discovered some new restaurants and happy hour spots to visit and even came across some weird guy on a bike who kept rambling on about how he was friends with Ralph Lauren and Howard Schultz and that they own him favors. HHHmmm…a little strange but definitely entertaining.

All in all it was a great date night and I look forward to doing more double dates with Alicia and Dee And congrats again to the both of them on their engagement!

West Palm Beach Bus Loop

Good times were had on Friday, April 19^th when my friends and I got together for the WPB Bus Loop. The bus loop is a trolley service that connects the island of Palm Beach, City Place and Clematis St. For $20 a ticket, we got to ride the trolley and enjoy complimentary beverages from some of the hottest restaurants and bars in the downtown WPB area. All proceeds from the bus loop are given to Florida Community Health Centers, the Palm Beach County Gator Club Scholarship Fund, and Little Smiles.

We met up and checked in around 6pm at Blue Martini in City Place where we were given a wrist band and a drink card with a list of each venue and their complimentary drink.

After Blue Martini, we walked over to Brewzzi’s for some beer and nachos. It was a little crowded but we were able to find a place to sit on their outdoor patio and enjoy some of tasty hand-crafted lagers.

Then we took the trolley over to Cha Cha’s in Palm Beach where we enjoyed some fresh homemade sangria and margarita shots!

Cha Cha’s was my favorite out of all of the stops because of their food, service and atmosphere. The food is delicious and the waiters and staff are fun and friendly. We stayed there a little longer and missed some of the other stops but as you can tell that really didn’t seem to bother us much.

After Cha Cha’s we took the next trolley over to World of Beer where we met up with more friends for a post pizza party, more drinks and more silliness!!

We concluded the night at Hullaballo and O’Shea’s which is only a block away from our apartment. Luckily most of my friends live downtown so we were all able to walk home afterwards and no one had to drive.

As you can see, we all had a really great time and we hope they keep this around for all the downtown residents to enjoy.

Now for the recovery……..;P

Running for Boston

 On Thursday, April 18^th, my friends and I met up after work at the Fit 2 Run store in the Wellington Mall to wear white and run a 4 miler in support of Boston. I thought it was going to be a small gathering of about 20 people but to my surprise over 200 people showed up to run and 3 of them had actually ran in the Boston marathon!! The store manager and event organizer introduced them to us right before our run and we all clapped and cheered for them. One of the staff member’s sister was also at the marathon and her legs were badly injured from one of the bombs that went off. Seeing him get choked up as he talked about his sister really brought it home for me and I found myself choking back tears too.  

We started the run with 26.2 seconds of silence in honor of Boston and then ran a 4 mile route around the Wellington Mall and the surrounding communities.  The weather was nice and breezy. There were little kids and families running together and cars would honk and wave as they drove by to show their support.  It was a nice run and I am very glad I did it.

Words cannot describe the pain, anger and heartache I feel every time I hear and think about what happened at the Boston Marathon. When are these terrible acts of violence, hate and terrorism going to stop? The Boston Marathon is supposed to be a day of fun and celebration and it brings people together from all over the country to accomplish a major fitness goal and to have it ruined with this horrific act leaves me absolutely sickened!  

My heart goes out to those poor marathoners who had trained their hearts out for months and months as well as the spectators and everyone who was effected by this horrible tragedy.  Stay safe and strong, Boston!!! We’re rooting for you!

 

Surviving the Desk Job

Are you like me working at a desk job and sitting on your keester most of the day?

Call me an old lady but I’m starting to get the worst pain in my lower back, tightness in my hips and a sore neck from sitting and hunching over a keyboard while staring at the computer screen for 8-9 hours, five days out of the week. And let’s not mention the strain it’s putting on my poor eyes. Yeesh….I am really starting to get whiney, aren’t I?

Well I like my job but I refuse to let it get the better of me physically so here are some awesome stretches I found on popsugar (a la pinterest) that are helping me get through the day and relieve some of the soreness I feel from sitting too long at my desk.

Butterfly stretches: These are really good for your lower back and your hips. You can do them on your chair, on the floor next to your desk or in a private conference room. I also do them at home before and after work.

Chest-opening stretches: This one is a yoga pose called the seated heart-opener. I usually do these three times a day for about 15-30 seconds each.

Tight hips: This is another great stretch and I use these not only after sitting but before running since they stretch the hip flexors which can easily become tight so keep this one committed to memory!! Hold for 30 seconds then slowly release and do your other side.

Neck and shoulder stretches: This one feels good on the arms, neck and back and is very easy to do. In fact, I do this every day without fail. Move your head to your right side to give your neck a stretch. Hold for 30 seconds and switch.

I also make sure to get up from my desk, walk around the office and stretch every 90 minutes. You can set-up  reminders on your Outlook or on your phone. I also like to take a walk around the building for 5-10 minutes each day around 3pm. It really helps to get some fresh air and move around so my hiney doesn’t fall asleep like I start to around that time of day  :P

For more essential stretches for office dwellers like me, click here.

Is it Rude to Unfriend?

Is it really that rude to unfriend someone on facebook? I’ve been thinking about this lately after coming across an article on my newsfeed titled “5 Alternatives to Unfriending Someone on Facebook” which is featured on Mashable.

Basically it shows you how to organize your newsfeed by “hiding stories” from those friends whose posts you find annoying and how to change your visibility settings by creating “limited lists” so you can prevent people from seeing and commenting on your posts and photos. I thought it was very useful information especially if you have certain facebooks peeps whom you would like to have some privacy from without having to un-friend them which can be a little awkward.  

I’ve also had conversations about this with friends, co-workers and fellow work-out buddies who complain about the annoying people on facebook and how to deal with these so-called “friends” that they don’t even like which prompts me to ask, “Well, if you don’t like this person, then why don’t you just un-friend them?” And then they give me this weird look like I’m an alien and reply that it’s very rude to un-friend and it’s something that you should never do. I guess the proper etiquette now is to just hide them from your newsfeed and try to make yourself less visible to them. Woops…silly me!

I think it’s OK to un-friend certain people such as: ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, ex co-workers and old classmates that you never speak to. Although, I dropped a friend of mine once because we had a falling out but looking back I don’t know if that was the right thing to do. It’s kind of petty and it’s just not nice. I guess I thought it was better to be out-of-sight, out-of-mind but that was before I knew about the privacy features. Oh well. Lesson learned.

It’s so funny how social media has become such an important part of our lives. Whenever something  important happens to us, we immediately have to include it in our facebook profiles or in our status updates and consider who we want to include or exclude. I just think that if it’s that personal and you don’t want to share it with everyone than don’t bother posting it at all.

Have you ever had to unfriend someone on facebook and felt bad about it? How do you deal with annoying people on facebook?