Category — SoFlo

I was invited last week to brunch at a friend’s who just bought a condo in SoFlo. So of course the hunt for the perfect hostess gift begins. Brilliant: specialty breakfast treats from Florida!

Everyone likes food gifts, and what’s better than introducing a friend to some of my favorite local foods: a gift of Florida sunshine!

Palmalito Jams and Preserves: Moi faves are the Guava Jelly and the Orange Marmalade, but love the Jalapeño Pepper and Key Lime jellies too. I buy mine at the local Publix, but you can also buy it online and ship it as a gift (or to yourself!) About $3.50/jar.

McCoy’s Honey: I looooove McCoy’s Florida Orange Blossom on my yogurt and TBG squirts it on his toast. Perfect for a little tea sweetner! And we still love our bear squeeze bottle. I buy mine at the local farmer’s market, but you can buy it online. About $4.50/jar. Also sold in larger jars (which we buy to refill the bear.)

Kermit’s Keylime Pie: I buy and send several Kermit’s Key Lime Pies a year to friends up north in the dead of winter: just a taste of Florida Sunshine in all the snow! Ships frozen overnight. About $75. Try the Key Lime Pops on a Stick too!

Honeybell Oranges and Tangellos: These special Florida oranges are only available for a few weeks every year: typically late December thru early February, depending on the weather gods. I once gifted brother Tom 40 honeybells to celebrate his big 4-0! Prices vary, but usually around $25 for 5 lbs, plus shipping. The perfect post-holiday healthy gift! I buy mine at Woolbright Farmers Market, but when shipping I use Cushman’s.

Moi Tip: Check out the recipes from the local producers: Palmalito suggests adding a jar of Guava Jelly to your Thanksgiving yams: sounds yummy!

Recently (ok, 6 years ago, but still…) we removed the beige wall-to-wall carpeting furnished by our condo developer and installed hardwood floors in the living room, dining room and kitchen. With our blue and white beachy decor we enjoyed the new feeling of lightness and openness. But the last 2 years, TBG has been asking for an area rug under the coffee table: he just thought it looked a little bare. Since we usually only visit the condo a few weeks a year, it was never a priority and we casually glanced at area rugs when we shopped, I checked out rugs in the mountains of catalogs the postman delivered, and I honed in on the flooring selections in my baskets of shelter magazines. Finally, a decision: flokati!

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I love riding my bike, but even as a kid my bike was primarily for transportation rather than recreational. School was over a mile away, and no bus service, so I when I was a grown-up 4th grader my bike got me there in 10 minutes versus the 30 minute walk…and I had a messenger bag slung across my shoulders when they were still called bookbags! During the summer, my best friend Carla and I rode our bikes 3 miles downtown to the Palatine Public Library – then a big old renovated house – for afternoons reading in an upstairs corner where no one ever bothered us, and to Janies or Benjamin Franklin for 25¢ bags of candy.

Biking in Holland

Later living in the suburbs with a family a car was a necessity, and bikes relegated to family nights cruising the neighborhood or hauled to the forest preserve to cruise the bike trails.

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We’re slowly adjusting to the 90° temps and dripping humidity of SoFlo in May: not complaining, just saying. Fluids, lots of fluids. Frappuccinos, of course. Diet Ginger Ale. But trying to keep it healthy and low cal, I was inspired by a Starbucks summer favorite and am now brewing my own green tea lemonade. Couldn’t be simpler, or cheaper… or lower calories.

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We recently decided to split our time between Chicago and SoFlo, which led to all sorts of chaos, challenges and problems. But no problem was greater than the scourge of all women in South Florida: the humidity.

In the North and Midwest humidity is at a critical level only a few weeks each year: rain was the bigger problem. But on rainy days a chic ponytail, brimmed hat and sturdy umbrella could meet the challenge, and all women were equal.

But humidity? To moi eyes there is some secret that South Florida women know to keep their hair sleek and straight instead of the crinkly droopy hair that I was trying to contain with a growing collection of hairbands, elastics, decorative barrettes, and huge plastic clippies. I have thick coarse hair: and lots of it. Normally I just blow my hair dry with a round-brush styling dryer. Which looks fine in SoFlo. For about an hour. [Read more →]

I’ve been fortunate to have visited Vatican City several times, but I took advantage of the opportunity to see Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art at a special exhibit at the Fort Lauderdale Art Museum.

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Saturday was a gorgeous sunny day as we strolled charming Los Olas Blvd in Ft Lauderdale, trying to decide which outdoor café to lunch at. Eventually we chose Mango’s – for the seafood salad – and continued strolling with our little beeper until our table was ready. We didn’t want to wander off to far, so I stepped inside of Ann’s Florist. I’ve passed the shop many times, but have never gone in: I was never looking to buy flowers. But displayed outside was a Hungarian baby bathtub, similar to the one I grew herbs in, so I was lured in: this was clearly more than a florists store.

moi rooftop herb garden

And when we entered: quelle surprise: a marché de fleur and brocante; the perfect combination of flowers, antiques, and baubles. I had just started to look over this tres chic and fun ottoman when BZZZZZ: our table at Mango’s was ready! [Read more →]

I’ve been a city girl for a while now. Paris, Copenhagen, New York, Chicago: they took me out of life in the ‘burbs and changed me forever:

• car? Take a bus, metro or a cab. Or better yet, just walk.
• everything can be delivered. Even waffles and frozen yogurt. 24/7.
• washing machine? The laundry service down the block picks up and delivers. And nothing is better than freshly pressed sheets from the laundry.
• garage? We had a storage unit. For only $372 per month!

With a grocery market on every corner, I’m used to picking up a bag or two of groceries every couple days. I go to the farmers market for fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and meats, and even fish and breads. There’s always an online grocery store that delivers.

Every convenience imaginable, all for a price.

I had long conversations with my Omaha bff J about the price of groceries: how can 3 small plastic bags of groceries, with no meat, fish or cleaning products, cost $127.50? My box of favorite tea bags from the Italian deli? $12.  I became immune to to the prices: it’s the cost of living in the city. But it provided endless entertainment for Moi suburban friends. It was almost an honor: I could top any price my friends ever paid for anything.

And now, I’m living part of the year in South Florida: the home of the car and big, wide roads. So today, for the very first time, instead of shopping at a corner grocery market, I shopped at Super Target. [Read more →]

I just discovered a perk of being a Bank of America customer: free 1st week-end of the month at over 100 museums across the country! Is this a new perk: no, I just never heard of it until moi personal banker Greg happened to ask me if I was going to take advantage of the free museums  in Chicago for BoA customers this week-end.

Free 1st week-end museum? It makes me happy!

So here’s the scoop on Museums on Us :

Some of my favorite museums participate in this program:

• New York City: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bronx Zoo, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
• Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, DuSable Museum of African American History
• Florida: Museum of Art Ft Lauderdale, Miami Children’s Museum, South Florida Science Museum
• Washington DC: The Phillips Collection
• St. Louis: Contemporary Art Museum

Moi Tip: afraid you’ll forget to schedule museum visits? BoA lets you sign up for text alerts or emails to remind you of upcoming free musum 1st weekends!

Sunday this tweet from House Beautiful Magazine appeared on Moi screen:

House_Beautiful Make summer last! The creative tablescape by @toryburch uses a decorative shell to hold sea salt and forgoes a shaker: http://ow.ly/2yFlJ

I’ve been a fan of shell decorating for a long time, it’s a way for me to bring a bit of my South Florida home to my everyday city life. In fact, I blogged about my shell decor recently for The Antiques Diva! [Read more →]