I find myself having to teach my mom how to do the Mashed Potato… you’d think it would be the other way around, but my mom has no dance skills. The woman can craft away, but she lacks coordination. It’s kind of fun though. She needs a dance to show her camp kids and this was the easiest thing I could think of (other than the Twist, but that’s for the second act). I came up with a mix of footwork and arm work to make it look like a cross between the Dee Dee Sharp video below and the Just Dance challenge.

Last night, I watched PBS’s “A Breakfast Special” and it got me thinking about the most memorable breakfasts I’ve had. I LOVE breakfast, but I don’t really have a proper, full breakfast very often. My breakfasts typically involve a small bowl of almond milk and cereal with a side of jammy toast. Usually, full breakfasts are tied to special occasions in my home—birthdays and holidays, but especially my mom’s special Christmas breakfast with the works. Sometimes I’ll bake something up for breakfast and serve it with coffee. For the most part, I stick to the same tried and true breakfast/brunch places. These include South Miami’s Sunset Tavern & Deli Lane, where they have some of the best grits I’ve ever had and the ever delectable “Challah Egg Melt”. It’s a understated, relaxing place to have a fresh-air brunch on a Sunday. John Martin’s is another favorite, lots of fond birthday and lazy Sunday memories there. They make a great full Irish breakfast, and a mean Eggs Benedict and French toast croissant.

Then there’s the Indigo at the Riverside Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, where the brunch menu always changes and they bring your latte with a swizzle stick.

I also have some great memories of croissants at the Vie de France Bakery on Main Street in Miami Lakes, short stacks at the IHOP by the airport, and pancakes at the now dearly departed Joffrey’s. Most of these memories are associated with good company as much as great food… I think a great breakfast companion can make an Egg McMuffin seem like the most memorable breakfast. The last “best” breakfast I had was a short stack and eggs at the Original Pancake House in Doral on a lazy Saturday after an unsuccessful antiquing trip to the flea market. Delicious.

Went to the Antiques Roadshow event at the Miami Beach Convention Center yesterday, but it was a bit of a letdown… I didn’t realize until we were about to leave that guests are not allowed to bring coins or paper currency, so the stuff that my mom and grandad wanted me to take was useless (not that we thought it was worth anything, but we wanted to hear the stories behind them). Had to go back home and scavenge for something to take because they won’t let you in unless you bring an item or two. In my haste, I absolutely forgot everything about my antique books, and decided to grab a couple of old toys instead. Of course, these are vintage, rather than antiques, but I thought they might still be able to tell me something about their history or the market for them. I guess they really aren’t into anything that wouldn’t be classified as a proper antique. I took a 1990 Holiday Barbie and a wooden toy bear (that I thought was a dog and still do) that I received from a penpal in the USSR (yes! BEFORE it was Russia et al.) when I was a kid. The Toyguy just looked at the bear and told me what I already knew about it. It’s a Russian toy, a bear. Er… yes, I know (except the bear part, it looks like a dog. I insist.). Meanwhile, the Doll appraiser said my doll would have been worth more a few years ago, but the market is just not buying them now so it has less value. Oh well. My bchan took in some comics, but they don’t really look at comics so they clumped him in with Collectibles; they just told him to look up the value online.

We were really just looking to see what it was like at the show, thought we’d be able to see some neat things, but it’s really just guests being hustled from line to line, a lot of ticket punching, and being scolded like 5-year-olds for going too near the filming area.

At least the event tickets were nice, they’ll make for very pretty bookmarks. Next time, I won’t bother entering the drawing for tickets unless I have something that is properly ancient.

Always something exciting in the mail… or anxiety-inducing… but this time it was definitely of the exciting variety . My tickets for the Antiques Roadshow arrived! My b-chan and I entered and we both won so we’ve been excited about this since we received the emails letting us know that the tickets would arrive two weeks before the show. I wasn’t planning to take anything but it looks like that’s one of the requirements to get in… so I’m wondering if I should take my 1st eds of Gone with the Wind and I Capture the Castle or some of my Holiday Barbies from the late 80s/early 90s??? I invited my grandpa to tag along and use my extra ticket, so he’s already figured out what he’s going to bring. Hrm… I may have to do some closet scavenging.

Went to see Jim Gaffigan at the Hard Rock last night; the b-chan won tickets (lady luck strikes again! and she brings entertainment). It was my very first stand up show and it was great fun. Yep, he did the Hot Pocket bit, and no, it doesn’t get old. He also imparted some wise words of wisdom… when you are at the gym waiting for the treadmill, just run in place behind the person on the machine .

After the show, we wandered around the casino and the shops. It’s all very convenient for shoe emergencies (or instances of shoe torture). I now own a cute pair of Roxy flip flops that I must keep Didymus away from, as he loves the taste of fresh flops.

Tonight, we’re off to see Carmen at the Arsht–another pair of free tickets. Hooray for free entertainment! Will avoid torturous shoes this time.

Went to check out the Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe on SW 95th and Sunset Drive and was very pleased with the cupcakes and the fun atmosphere. Sweetness is a lovely, whimsical confectionery, coffee, and tea shop that serves a range of homemade cupcakes, gourmet deserts, gelato, bonbons, and a variety of drinks. The shop is inviting and decorated with a charming melange of sweet treat inspired art.

Today was the shops’s Grand Opening and the place was bustling; fresh cupcake trays just kept coming as the treats on display quickly ran out. The bchan and I picked four of the tasty looking treats–he chose Thrilla in Vanilla and Key Lime Pie, while I chose the Borracha and the Guayabera (my Cuban is showing). These were the mini size, which was just right for a quick treat. I especially liked that they do not pile on an overwhelming mound of cream on their cupcakes; I prefer to taste my cake and this was a nice balance. The cake itself was moist and flavorful, my bchan’s first comment was on how lemony the key lime tasted. My Borracha (rum-infused pound cake with meringue) and Guayabera (guava-filled guava cake topped with cream) cupcakes were a great combination and the guava on the inside was a pleasant surprise, bringing out the guava flavor of the cake. All in all, I loved my sweet shop experience

My Auntie Em and her friend, Mariel, created this neat Facebook page (Toys on Film) to document the daily misadventures of their designer toys. I was tickled by the idea and so have started posting some of my own toys to the collection.

One of my dearest friends sent me this on that social networking site that keeps us busy when we should be doing other things…

I’m not quite that bad… I don’t think… but I do have a mild panic attack when I think my books are under threat.

Had an unexpectedly artful weekend . Auntie Em hosted an impromptu ornament crafting event on Friday night with lots of felt, thread, needles (luckily, no pricking of my thumbs), and glue.  I had no idea what I was getting into when she asked me over, so I had no plan whatsoever for my ornament making, and no clue what materials I would be working with. It was all very experimental, but I managed to make three ornaments that look like something, even if they are not perfect.

The first ornament started out as a puffy, stuffed crown but it soon became evident that it was too small to be a proper crown. A flower it is, with little dewdrops. The bee was my one true success; it is exactly what I wanted it to be. The third one is a mystery object. I tried to make a teacup, but it’s more of an ice cream cup than anything else.

Was a fun little project and I would like to make a few more ornaments, though I haven’t really had a tree since Didymus’s disastrous first Christmas. Maybe one that looks like the chubby critters I drew yesterday during my afternoon of sketching with the b-chan.

I seriously need a better scanner, everything always looks shadowed.

Had an action-packed Halloween in Marioland with the b-chan

A few months ago we settled on Princess Peach and Mario as our couple costume of choice, so I begged my mom and gran to make me a costume, as nice Peach costumes are rare. We wanted to have nice homemade costumes, rather than pre-packaged deals, so it took some hunting and creativity, but we managed.

After some wig difficulties, and having to repaint the b-chan’s Mario ‘stache, we made our way to the Grove for a bit and then continued on to the Hard Rock Casino.

There were a bunch of Marios and Luigis at both places, but no Peaches so we were original in that respect (there was an intersting Mario Kart costume, a guy as Mario with a little kart made from an old cooler). Lots of Asian tourists wanted to take their pictures with us, and a few little ones as well.

pictures ahoy!

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