Did you realize today is Friday the 13th? Definitely be careful out there today!

Last Friday, Vance and I had a nice time at Magie Miami in Little River, celebrating my filmmaker friend Gina’s birthday. As we walked up to the entrance Vance brought it to my attention that it used to be a restaurant called Sherwood’s that we used to frequent. The interior is the same but there’s no longer sit down service and the limited menu is fine but definitely a bit pricey. They have however, updated the exterior patio, where we all gathered to chat and have birthday cake. We got to meet many of Gina’s friends from the Miami Sound Choir and Vance and I spent most of the night chatting with my friend Jean and her husband Iggy, artists who have a great studio space in South Miami where they run CollaboARTive and she also runs her business Font Squared. I know Jean from my time working and volunteering with the Arts & Business Council of Miami.

Saturday morning was a wonderful reunion with several of my former Miami Museum of Science co-workers. My friend Fernande put it together and a group of us, myself, Fernande, Rosena, Natalie and Judy, met at Threefold Cafe in Coral Gables for brunch/lunch. It was so nice catching up, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

***A very happy Kaitlyn on stage at the Miami Beach Bandshell performing with Cranium Crash.***

That night, Nick, Vance and I went to the Miami Beach Bandshell to watch Kaitlyn and her Cranium Crash bandmates perform at the Miami Beach Youth Music Festival. I’ve loved watching her come into her own on the guitar, she did a great job. We stayed to watch several other bands perform and were particularly impressed with the band Prickly Dog Fish, those kids are so talented. I looked them up on Instagram and saw they perform gigs around Miami at spots like Titanic Brewery in Coral Gables.

After the show, the three of us, joined by my sister Ana, who is Kaitlyn’s grandmother, grabbed dinner at Manolo, an Argentinian Restaurant across the street.

***Bal Harbour Shops exhibition. Photo by Monica Zarate***

Sunday, after church I finally got together with my best friend Monica to celebrate her birthday. After walking around Bal Harbour Shops, one of her favorite places, admiring the Fleurs de Villes Flora exhibition which was ending that day, I treated her to lunch at the posh Makoto restaurant where we sipped prosecco and enjoyed a delicious lunch. My sushi was very good but I’ve had just as good (or better) at more casual places (I’m talking about you Moshi Moshi). We popped into Books & Books where Monica bought herself an O, Miami Poetry Festival book that features a collection of the organization’s Zip Odes. If you’ll recall, I read my Zip Ode at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens last year. On the way back home we stopped in at Haagen Dasz in North Miami for a decadent, fudgy, brownie bit filled ice cream. It was the perfect ending!

Monday and Tuesday I did my volunteer food rescue work. Monday morning was my regular run from Whole Foods to Village Freedge and then in the evening from Panera to Broward Rescue Mission/The Caring Place. Then on Tuesday, I filled in for our regular rescuer who had to cancel and made a run from Trader Joe’s in Midtown to Amistad Apartments in Little Havana.

On Tuesday night, I dropped Nick off at the Best Buddies Friendship Walk kick-off happy hour event at Bay 13 Brewery in Coral Gables and while he was enjoying a spread of burgers, wings, onions rings and dessert the restaurant provided, I drove over to one of my favorite go-to spots Daily Bread Marketplace just outside Coconut Grove, which I used to frequent for lunch when I worked in that area. There, I had a chicken pita wrap and grape leaves, half of which I took home and had the next day for lunch. I also took home fresh pita bread, red pepper hummus and a few bite sized sweets from their market.

***Mary’s Cafe & Coin Laundry on the corner of SW 27th Ave. and 24th St.***

Then on my way to pick up Nicholas, I stopped at Mary’s Cafe & Coin Laundry just to see what all the fuss is about with that place. It’s been a part of the neighborhood for decades and I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve ever stopped there. I picked up a few little things to take home from here as well. One of Miami’s most popular Instagram accounts Miami Stadium, run by Miami native Abel who almost always films his videos in front of their marquee. If you love throwback Miami stuff, check out his t-shirt collection, it’s pretty cool.

***Beach view at 54th St. and Collins Ave.***

Wednesday morning I needed some beach time so I drove to 54th St. and Collins Ave. on Miami Beach and spent the morning enjoying the cool surf and sunshine. Miraculously, I only paid a little over $3 for 3 hours of parking which is unheard of on Miami Beach. $1+ an hour… that NEVER happens. But even better than that was listening to the gentle lapping of waves on the shoreline, admiring the pristine and crystal clear water and watching pelicans and seagulls fly overhead. It was the perfect mid-week getaway.

I’ve got nothing planned for today or tomorrow then on Sunday I’ll be going back to Bridge Red Studios, this time for the opening of “Pablo Cano: Streams of Consciousness” by one of my favorite local artists whose marionettes and plays he presented with those marionettes fascinated me when I first experienced them at MOCA. This show will feature Cano’s drawings which seem as whimsical as his puppets and is dedicated to his late mother Margarita Cano, a Cuban-American artist/curator. Click here to read a synopsis of her career and work featured on the Oolite Arts website from when she received their Ellies Award in 2023, one year before her passing.

And on Sunday night, I’ll be glued to the television watching the Oscars Red Carpet special on E Channel and then the Academy Awards. And all this film talk has me excited for the 43rd Annual Miami Film Festival happening at various cinemas and venues around Miami from April 9-19. I already know a few films I’m going to see including the locally filmed “Miami Magic” which is part of the I’m Every Woman Shorts Block on April 11 at Cosford Cinema in Coral Gables on the University of Miami Campus and “Poetry City” on April 18 at Koubek Center in Little Havana. The film is led by Miami’s own Oscar “The Biscayne Poet” Fuentes and featuring Miami’s literary king Mitchell Kaplan, Miami Book Fair founder and owner of Books & Books and Miami’s own Richard Blanco, inaugural poet and poet laureate. I love the film festival and have been attending for years and as you can tell, I’m excited for the 2026 edition.