Around South Beach

 

I’ve only been to three countries:

Canada, LA,

and Miami.

Larry The Cable Guy

 

One Hotel rooftop pool

 

The best remedy for the winter blues is to plan, or at least imagine, an escape to warmer climes. Miami is quick and easy for us, Northeastern birds, while also being a great destination for our young adults to explore on their own.  These family fun recommendations tend to skirt Ocean Drive simply because I’m not a fan of that part of town:

 

Faena Hotel is a distance from the maddening crowd, but you have to see the fantastic murals in their lobby by Juan Gatti (above,) their glamorous Living Room lounge (below,) and the live show at their cozy theater inspired by Europe’s grand opera houses.

At the opposite end of Faena’s velvet and gold plush interiors (which are so very much my style) but within easy walking distance to the action on Collins Ave, One Hotel is all about sustainability and being environmentally friendly. It has a vibrant lobby scene with a live band trio playing most evenings and–most important for the young ones–free WIFI.  If you stride past their rooftop restaurant and bar at night, you can have all the the pool’s lounge chairs to yourself, making a fabulous after dinner hang out for a quiet chat with family/friends or your kindle.

Time Out Market is a hopping food hall off Lincoln Road with a wide selection or food purveyors that allow everyone to take their time mixing and matching cuisines.  My favorite, Lena, cooks dishes on a wood burning stove and serves a unique combination of fresh burrata sitting on a slightly charred slice of pineapple–the memory makes me salivate as I write. They also have a couple of bars for alcoholic beverages as well as an oyster bar.

Chalan On The Beach is a very casual family-run Peruvian restaurant with the best fish cerviche, Pargo Frito (fried whole red snapper,) Lomo Saltado (beef stir fry), and mango, passion fruit or soursop smoothies.

Around 4:00 pm, park yourself at the waterside bar of Smith & Wollensky South Pointe to watch cruise ships parade by as the sun sets.

For a change of scenery, take a 22 minute drive to Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne for magnificent city views all around.

 

On Sundays, catch the fresh cut tropical fruit market on Lincoln Road at the corner of Washington Ave.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (top left) to share your Miami faves.

(All photos on this page are from Google Images.)

xoxox

 

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© Sharon Birke

Managing Member, DoubleSmart LLC

201 697 1947

Sharon@PowerfulGoddess.com

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Woman

Coming Up Roses

 

May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early!

My own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue,

so that I triumph even when I fall.

Alaister Crowley

 

 

Exciting new decade and new worlds of possibility to you! Among my resolutions is to refer to my sons and daughter as “young adults” instead of “kids” or “children” which they no longer are or should act like.  2020 marks their Defining Decade and because our culture loves to associate turning  21 with drunken abandon–any monkey can do that!–while headline news and social media are rife with people steeped in money and power who have grown old without growing up, can someone please tell me what qualities truly define an adult?

I feel relief as I wave them back on the bus to their respective colleges. I feel the need for a conscious shifting of gears when they are home for extended holidays while hanging on to dear charm, keeping irritation on a low simmer over the household dynamic that tends to revert to how things were when they were adorable little cutiepies. The transition is difficult for both sides entailing diplomacy and patience on thin supply as we shift from automatic overplayed roles to a reversal that isn’t fun for those who have relished being  given to and taken care of.  Small wonder the pervasive marketing of the myth of martyrdom with motherhood!

On New Year’s eve, I told them 2020 is a wonderful decade to plant their feet firmly on the ground so “No babies please.”  What I really mean to say is “No more acting like babies please” but even if they were to take me literally, any juggler knows better than to add another ball to one’s act before getting good at one ball first.  Perfecting the growing act takes while, so I’ll hold on to my rose colored glasses with tiny resolutions meanwhile:

Stoke a passion  Indulge a hobby or learn something new. Nothing is sexier than a woman with a glow in her eyes that comes from inner joy and purpose. There’s much that cosmetics and surgeries get credit for, but you can’t buy authentic beauty that shines from an inner light.

Make movement a part of your day Take the stairs (instead of elevators/escalators) to use the ladies room in the farthest floor of a building. Park farthest from the door of the office, gym, restaurant, grocery or mall. Let dance music move you while you’re doing chores or getting dressed. Stretch those quads while brushing teeth and use each door frame you walk through as a reminder to roll shoulders back, chest out, and chin up.

Check texts/email/social media only after meals  The diet mindset is best applied to our relationship with tech devices. As for food, you’ll never have to worry about weight if you eat regularly, choose fresh over processed, pass on gluten/sugar/liquor and eat your vegetables like mom always said.

Act with kindness  Do something random for someone you may not get credit for. Keep a running gratitude list of how you got lucky and feel blessed at least before bedtime to sleep happy.

Go someplace you’ve never been  Learn and experience something new, welcome new influences through a new club/group, travel and even reading a book can take you somewhere magical.

Give 2 compliments each day One for someone you live or work with. Another for the person in the mirror.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (top left) to add what being an adult means to you. Happy and healthy 2020 and make this your best decade yet!

xoxox

 

 

 

 

xoxox

Give the women you love the most unique gift

of elegant and timeless portraits with a

Powerful Goddess Gift Certificate

for a most memorable photo shoot for up to three people!

Buy Now Button with Credit Cards

© Sharon Birke

Managing Member, DoubleSmart LLC

201 697 1947

Sharon@PowerfulGoddess.com

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Woman