There's No Place Like Home

Wow I'm not doing very well at keeping this thing updated am I? Guess it's been a busy few weeks..

Fortunately I was able to escape to Sarasota for some much needed family time and pampering over the weekend. My brother and I both got to be home for Mother's Day, which was a huge surprise to our amazing mother (my ears are still ringing from her squeals when little bro snuck in late Saturday - she wasn't expecting him home until this morning). Somehow in the less than 48 hours I was home I managed to soak up everything amazing in Sarasota and unwind a bit from hectic city life.

Siesta Key Beach

100+ SPF sunscreen... who even knew this existed?? What's the point of even going in the sun?

After minimal sleep the night before (who was I kidding about calling it an early night on a Friday?), I wasn't too thrilled to be up at 5 a.m. to catch my flight home on Saturday but it was definitely all worth the lost sleep. First stop was lunch at a cute little cafe, and next stop was definitely the beach (no I didn't use the 100+ SPF, and yes I'm sunburned). After a mini nap on the warm sand, Mom and I headed off to mani pedis, and then I was off to the massage that I managed to schedule at the last minute. With my newfound food obsession in mind, Mom and I decided to check out a "new" restaurant in downtown Sarasota (well new to us), Mozaic. SRQ friends, you must go. The menu and service was absolutely amazing.

Sunday morning we had a yummy Mother's Day brunch with my grandparents and aunt (Mom even bought Lox after I took her for the most amazing bagel of her life at Ess-A-Bagel). Great to see extended family in my quick trip and catch up a bit.

Brother/Sister love

After a little quality time by the pool, Dad took us out sailing. I have to say, I expected it to be much more relaxing then it ended up being... I think when I hear sailing I picture myself lounging on a huge boat, margarita in hand, watching the palm trees go by. Sailing is apparently much more than that, as I've now learned, and I managed to add a few new words to my vocabulary in the process (winch, tack, keel - who knew sailing had its own language). All in all, still fun to be out on the water with the fam.

The weekend ended with a delish Mother's Day dinner at our favorite (well mine and Mom's anyway) restaurant in Sarasota, Roy's.

As much as I love life in New York, it's always great to get away for a few days - especially when the getaway involves home and family. Despite getting up at 4 this morning (I'm on my flight back now, gotta love that in-flight wifi), I feel so refreshed from the weekend and ready to take on the week! Thanks Sarasota, always a pleasure. And it's exciting to know the next time I see my family will be in Buenos Aires! Counting the days until that trip... Until then, it's back to city life for this girl.

A Quick Vacation

Any New Yorker, no matter how much they love the hustle and bustle of the city, will tell you it is necessary to get out of Manhattan every now and then in order to keep your sanity. After living here a little over a month (does that even make me a New Yorker yet?), I jumped at the opportunity to spend the 4th of July with girlfriends the Hamptons. 

Beautiful sunset before the fireworks started.

Happy 4th of July!

Having grown up in Sarasota, I'm a total beach bum at heart. I love love love living in the city, but sometimes I just need to be by the water (I'm aware Manhattan is an island, but dirty rivers just don't do it for me). East Hampton even reminds me of where I grew up a little bit, so this weekend was very nostalgic and a nice change of pace from what I've experienced since I moved away.

Who knew kids even had lemonade stands anymore? This was way too cute not to stop.

Beautiful day at the beach.

Lazy day in the sun with a silly girly book = perfection.

It was nice having a change of scenery, but I'm glad to be back in the city, sunburned and exhausted. It was cool coming home to my apartment from a night away and truly feeling like I was back home. Even after living here last summer, I could never really call New York home... now I'm finally able to.

New Respect for Valentine's Day

I'll just come out and say it.  I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day.  As someone who is usually very happily single, this is the one day that throws it in my face how much "better" it would be to be in a relationship than to be alone.  It honestly makes me kind of nauseous to walk around town and see flowers and pink balloons and couples everywhere.

Naturally all of my single girlfriends (that number seems to be smaller than ever this year) share my feelings, and even some of my coupled-up friends dislike the holiday because of the pressure it puts on relationships.  And the one complaint that everyone always has is that it's too commercialized, simply a "Hallmark Holiday."  In years past I've been annoyed by a holiday that forces people to spend money to celebrate, however this year I think it's just what our economy needs.

While some couples surely cut back on the typical spending (homemade cards and personalized poems instead of long-stemmed roses and diamonds), one business which surely flourished was the service industry.  I'm positive every restaurant in town was booked solid all night, which these days is pretty rare.  

As someone who works in the service industry, I've seen first-hand what effects the economy has had on people's disposable income.  Sure, I joked at first that my sales would go up at work - people will come drink away their sorrows as things get worse, right?  Wrong.  As time drags on, our sales are dropping (I've noticed an overall dwindling in the amount of patrons downtown).  On the rare occasion that I go out to eat (after all, I'm cutting back too), the once-packed restaurants are almost empty.  That was certainly not the case this weekend.  

So if nothing else, I can appreciate the serious increase in business that bars and restaurants experienced this holiday weekend.  Thank you, Valentine's Day, for helping me pay my credit card bill this month.

Yes, We Celebrate Christmas in Florida

I realized shortly after starting my freshman year at the University of Georgia that being from Florida made me stick out like a sore thumb (well, being from anywhere but Georgia would really).  There are so many differences between these two neighboring states, and I honestly experienced a bit of a culture shock when I first got to Athens.  The accents, the pearls, the sweet tea - it was all very different from what I'd grown up with.  And I loved it, because I had chosen to go to college outside of Florida for these exact reasons.  

I was very curious about the Southern culture, and my friends were curious what it was like to grow up in Florida.  I got all kinds of questions...

"You're not a GATOR fan right?"

"You've never had sweet tea??!"

But I think that funniest, which I still get asked today, was "So, do you still celebrate Christmas in Florida even though it doesn't get cold there?"  There have been other variations of course... "But isn't it weird not to have a White Christmas?" (no, I've never lived anywhere that it snowed); "But you don't have an actual Christmas tree do you?" (contrary to popular belief, we don't bring palm trees in the house to put lights and ornaments on).  

I loved growing up in Florida, and never felt like I was missing out on anything by not waking up to snow on this special holiday.  It's interesting to see how different parts of the country (even different states) celebrate holidays differently.  Our family Christmas traditions include boat rides and outdoor cocktail parties, not snow angels and hot chocolate - and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Avoid Gift Cards this Season

I'll admit, I'm guilty (as many people are) of taking the easy way out when it comes to Christmas shopping and giving gift cards every now and then.  While I feel guilty  about being so impersonal, at least I can rest assured that the recipient will find something they like, rather than having to go through the hassle of returning something or worse - pretending to like it.  

I never thought about the risk involved in gift cards until watching this report on CNN this morning.  With the current recession, gift-givers need to be aware that by purchasing a gift card they are essentially paying cash for an IOU - in a company that may be not be around long enough for the gift card to be redeemed.  

CNN's advice? Redeem your gift cards as quickly as possible!