Sunny skies are…
Here again! Rain has been scarce in Miami lately and I’m happy about that and because of it, I took advantage of plenty of outdoor time last weekend and throughout this week.
Vance’s beer flight at Tripping Animals Brewing Co. in Doral
It was such a great start to the weekend kicking off with a Friday date night with my better half Vance to Tripping Animals Brewing Co. in Doral. We went there after dropping Nick off at his Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies which was minutes away at Doral Central Park.
At the brewery, which has a very cool, chill vibe by the way, we split a trio of appetizers and Vance chose a beer flight while I opted for one of their pilsners. I can’t remember the one I had but it was good. As for the eats, we shared the sweet corn ribs, roasted eggplant and tomato spread and heirloom tomatoes and burrata salad. Click here to check out the full menu and here to see their long list of what’s on tap.
Delicious gelato in a cute waffle cup topped with a stroopwaffel
Afterwards and with Nick’s event not over yet, we needed something a little sweet so I searched for nearby dessert spots and the Gelateria Made in Italy in Doral popped up. We loved this cute little spot where they also serve what looked like pretty good pizza. My strachiatella with chocolate gelato was perfect.
Saturday, after Nick’s basketball games (they lost the first one and won the second), we headed to Casa Wutzler in South Miami for an afternoon hang with Kevin and Michelle and friends Raquel and Darryl who were in town from Orlando. As always, Michelle put out an amazing charcuterie spread which we nibbled on before having barbecue sausage and burgers with homemade potato wedge fries. It was a lovely Saturday evening but I will admit Vance and I were totally wiped out when we got home.
South Florida Symphony Orchestra rehearsing for a beachside performance.
Bal Harbour beach view.
Sunday, before Vance drove back up to Merritt Island, he and I took a lovely stroll from Surfside Beach to Bal Harbour Beach jetty where we enjoyed the view and a rehearsal by the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. It turns out they were rehearsing for a Bal Harbour event that night.
Cute cardinal in our backyard birdfeeder.
Tuesday after having breakfast on the patio while enjoying watching the birds in our birdfeeder and getting some work done, I took a long, brisk walk through the neighborhood. I also watched some great Miami Open matches on Tennis Channel.
Thursday, after dropping Nick off at his program I decided to go to the beach. It was a gorgeous day with a fantastic breeze. I went to 73 St. and Collins Ave. right by the Miami Beach Bandshell. I love going there because there’s a convenient parking lot across Collins Ave. that’s only $1 an hour!
That afternoon I got the courage to submit a short script I wrote to a Live Script Reading Event happening during next month’s Miami Film Festival. Curious to see what will happen, keeping my fingers crossed.
This weekend I’ll be busy shopping for and cooking the menu I’m preparing for my catering gig for Karen Peterson and Dancers on Sunday. I’ve been catering her post-performance and post-workshop receptions for a few years now. Looking forward to that.
This week I was also told by the Executive Director of Exchange for Change Kathie Klarreich, who I’ve known for several years now and whose program I support, that she heard me reciting my O, Miami Zip Ode poem on WLRN radio. You’ll recall I read my poem at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens last year as part of O, Miami Festival’s Zip Ode Finale event. That day was such a thrill and I’ve submitted several zip odes already for this year’s festival.
I’ll also reveal that lately, I’ve been contemplating finding a way to publish my collection of public art articles I’ve written over the years. The inspiration comes from arts journalist/critic Elisa Turner who has become a close acquaintance through my work with Artburst, and who recently published her collection of articles for The Miami Herald and other publications in her book “Miami’s Art Boom.” I’ll admit, her approach was well thought out and strategic but perhaps I can accomplish something similar, just on a smaller scale. My Artburst Editor wrote about Elisa and her book, you can click here to read.
My nephew Chris with his award, congrats!
That’s Tariq, Nicole’s husband in the black backwards baseball cap with son Mazen in front of him and his brother Ramzi is across the table aiming his cue.
And that’s all for this week. Now I leave you with some great family shots of my nephew Chris receiving an award and another of my niece Nicole’s kids and husband at a pool hall in Puerto Rico. They’re spending Spring Break week on the Boricua island.
Next week I’m gonna try to make it to the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair before it ends on April 5th and I’m excited about the films I’ll be seeing at the Miami Film Festival next month.
I hope you have a great weekend!
