Category — SoFlo

Mark Your Calendars!

Festival of the Arts BOCA is returning to Boca Raton March 5 – 13.  This year’s fest recognizes the film, literature, and dance of Russia, including

• Grammy award winning soprano Renée Fleming returns for an evening of opera arias
• jazz protegee and Grammy nominee Eldar Djangirov
• stars of the American Ballet Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky
• historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, Doris Kearns Goodwin; former advisor and speechwriter to President Kennedy and to Senator Robert F. Kennedy

Festival of the Arts Boca will also include master classes with authors and performers, open rehearsals, and workshops for area students  to learn from the masters. In addition, this year’s Festival will also offer  free public events including “Film in the Park Series” offering  Anastasia, From Russia with Love, and Doctor Zhivago.

For a complete Festival schedule and to purchase tickets, visit Festival of the Arts BOCA.

I lucked out in the sister-in-law department. And since Moi has 5 brothers, this makes Moi very lucky. SoFlo sil H is the Crafty Lady. It’s actually a family thing: all the girls in her family, including her mother, knit, sew, crotchet, bake and otherwise manage to keep pretty busy. And on the lucky occassions when I go to visit Crafty Lady, I am lucky enough to benefit from her craftiness!

This Christmas I was triple gifted:

• a gorgeous handmade lavender felted flower pin
• wrapped in a beautiful handmade blue and cream gift box
• along  with the instructions on how to make the boxes myself! (She’s not crazy: no bothering to give me instructions on making the flower!)

Crafty Lady’s sister Kathleen recently opened at yarn store in Daytona Beach – who knew they’d want wool down in Florida? Smart girl! She Sells Yarn specializes in high quality yarns and all that goes with it for knitting, crocheting and spinning. Best of all, She Sells Yarn offers classes in all things yarn, including making felt flower pins! sil H took the class back in November, and voila! I have a gorgeous lavender felted flower pin.

Crafty Lady then took some left-over scrapbooking paper and made the cutest little paper boxes to nest the flower pins. She found the site fold something and followed the instructions for Square Box 1. Crafty Lady tip: To make the smaller, inside box I just shaved off a meager 1/4 inch from two perpendicular sides of one of the squares

And best of all, I have a gorgeous pin, a beautiful box, and instructions on how to make the box for my own gifts!

Merci bien, sil H!

I love finding something special when I’m not even looking. Whether it’s for Moi or a gift, the surprise find brings extra pleasure.

Last week I visited the recently completed Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach, Florida. We’ve been watching the construction for several years, and reading the signage each time we passed by, and TBG and I were excited to walk in and finally have a chance to investigate. First stop: the shops.

etc. café & gifts is filled with magazines and sundries, gourmet foods and candies (indulged in 2 boxes of Fran’s Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate Caramels), palm leaf shaped serving trays and glitzy utensils, logo-ed sweat shirts, sparkled Christmas ornaments, and lots of fun beach accessories, toys and souvenirs. But tucked in the corner of a shelf I spotted a small plexiglass display housing 10 slim, gold pens with beaded tops.

So different than anything else in the shop, I quickly got the scoop:

A warehouse in Maine burned down and someone had salvaged a box of early 20th century glass beads and semi-precious stones. Someone else (no one seemed to know who made the pens, I’d love to share their name with you) had fashioned these little antique treasures into one-of-a-kind pens. And 10 of these pens styled with antique beads found their way to the newly opened Seagate Hotel and Spa.

And now, for only $20, a slim gold pen with a blue and gold beaded fob is tucked inside my bag, ready to dazzle as I autograph my credit card receipts.

Moi tip: if you’re staying in the charming seaside village of Delray Beach I’m loving the Seagate to stay a few days, enjoy the spa, lunch at the Atlantic Grille, or just browse the shops.

The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival starts today: January 1, 2 and 3.

Looking for something to do this weekend? The first full weekend of each month from November through June, the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is Florida’s largest show.

This weekend’s show theme is Antiques & Modernism. This is a new show for the Fest, and combines  the traditional West Palm Beach Antiques Festival show and the West Palm Beach Modernism show. Modernism dealers from all over the country will be offering Arts and Crafts, Mid-Century, Nouveau, Glass, Pottery, European Furniture and Accessories.

Americraft Expo Center at South Florida Fairgrounds, Southern Boulevard, West Palm Beach

• Antiques Fest Hours:
  • Friday: 9:00am – 12:00pm:   Early shoppers $25, good for entire weekend
    
  • Friday: 12:00pm – 5:00pm
    
  • Saturday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Sunday: 10:00am – 4:30pm
• Adults $7       under 16 Free    Seniors $6
• indoor airconditioned booths and outdoor booths
• unlimited free parking
• on site glass repair and jewelry repair

Moi tip: Go to the website and print out the $1 discount coupon

The outdoor art and craft festival season has arrived to South Florida.   Moi has attended several times for the fabulous artisans… and the sunshine and warm weather   Along with all the New Yorkers and Canadians who flock to SoFlo for the winter, fabulous artisans and crafters arrive to share their sculpture, paintings, photography, ceramics, jewelry, clothing and more. And always, great food booths available! And when you tire of shopping, the beach is always just footsteps away.

Mark your calendars:

Boca Raton Fine Art Show

• January 2 and 3, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• 10am-5pm
• Royal Palm Place, 302 S Federal Highway, Boca Raton

22nd Annual Las Olas Art Fair Part I

• January 2 and 3, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• 10am-5pm
• 600 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale

23rd Annual Boca Fest:

• January 9 and 10, Saturday and Sunday
• 10am – 5pm
• free admission
• The Shops of Boca Center, 5250 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton

21st Annual Downtown Delray Festival of the Arts

• January 16 and 17, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• 10am – 5pm
• Atlantic Avenue, Downtown Delray Beach

CityPlace Art Festival in West Palm Beach

• January 23-24, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• 10am-5pm
• CityPlace, South Rosemary Avenue,  West Palm Beach

Boca Raton  24th Annual Juried Art Festival

• February 6 and 7, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• Mizner Park: 327 West Plaza Real, Boca Raton

13th Annual Downtown Delray Beach Craft Festival

• February 27 and 28, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• 10am-5pm
• 4th Avenue & Atlantic Ave, Downtown Delray Beach

22nd Annual Las Olas Art Fair Part II

• March 6 and 7, Saturday and Sunday
• free admission
• 10am-5pm
• 600 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale

14th Annual Lauderdale by the Sea Craft Festival

• March 13 and 14, Saturday and Sunday
• 10am – 5pm
• free admission
• A1A & Commercial Blvd. in Lauderdale by the Sea

Mirror purchased at Delray show

Moi tip: for more  listings of art shows in South Florida visit Art Festival

If you see me walking down the street any morning you’ll instantly recognize me: dark shades, little white dog on a pink leash, and a Starbucks in my hand.

I try not to vary my order: tall skim chai, extra hot, extra water with a straw. And why do I have to explain my order to every new-to-moi barista:     

• extra water, because too much milk makes it too sweet, and has too many calories
• extra hot, 200°, and no, you can’t burn skim milk
• skim is skim, no matter that the marketing geeks insist on calling it non-fat (and btw prunes are NOT dried plums!)
• a straw because I don’t want to spill hot chai on myself!
• tall because it’s just the right amount for my morning walk, PLEASE don’t complimentary upgrade me to a grande, then I’ll have to find a bathroom, not easy with a small dog in tow

Moi at Starbucks Singapore

What also makes me happy is that Starbucks is hurdling toward world domination of the beverage field. I can (and have!) get my chai or my frappucinno in the US, Paris, Berlin, CPH, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, London, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Ireland, Poland and lots of other places I’m too caffeinated to remember at the moment…and no, I don’t need a souvenir Sbux mug from every country!

Why my daily Sbux fix? It makes me happy!