Fashion's Night Out South Florida Preview....

Tonight is Fashion's Night Out ya'll and I'm uber-excited!

This will be the fourth year of the event and I'm proud to say that I've been buzzed shopping at the last three! Who doesn't like free wine, samples, deep discounts and posing in front of step and repeats?! It is, however, the end of a mini 2 year era with Sara and I attending since she moved away. You'll be with us in spirit darling!!!

Sara and I at FNO 2010!

While we aren't quite the originating NYC, there are oh so many things to do in South Florida tonight. Below is just my sampling...

Aventura Mall -

This has been our go-to spot for the last 2 years. It has been host to everyone from Project Runway designers to Jill and Bobby Zarin to Steve Madden and this year is no exception. This year Macy's is hosting a fashion show with Real Housewives of NYC Luann de Lesseps and supermodel Niki Taylor. Spend $75 at Macy's and you can meet them too! In years past (I'm sure this year is the same) the entire mall turns into a party. Every store has free food and drinks and you can walk around from store to store eating and sipping. Buzzed purchase anyone? More on Aventura Mall's event offerings here.

Bobby Zarin with us at Macy's in 2011

Aren't we cute!

Lala Couture - The ultimate girly Fort Lauderdale shop in the amazing Gateway shops (my favorite place ever) is serving up free champagne and having a sneak peak of all the fall trends. DJ in the house? Check! Be sure to say hello to Molly, the shops owner. She's super nice and willing to help you put together your new fall wardrobe! You can find out more about this Lala event here.

Bal Harbour Shops - Saks Fifth Avenue at Bal Harbour shops is serving up free shakes, burgers and custard alongside a high tech photobooth for your social media fix. Accessories designer Nancy Gonzalez will also be making a personal appearance at Neiman Marcus. Sweet! There are so many store events going on here that I can't possibly list them all... Check them out here.

And finally..... The FNO Event that Cari and I are attending tonight:

The District Factory -

Our favorite South Florida Jewelry designer and friend Susie Rekechensky will be there with her Phairytale wares. Local designers and vintage in my favorite part of town... Hello!? I smell a purchase coming on! I've been meaning to make it down to the District Factory for the last few months... What a perfect excuse! There will be 30 brands of apparel, vintage, accessories and a Rock the Block party with live dance and DJ's. Yes please!

Soooooooo what are you going to do for Fashion's Night Out?

Wednesday Obsessions... Or Free Netflix (Kind Of)!

In the summertime my movie watching and book reading goes on overdrive because of the extra free time on my hands. It's been this way since I was in high school. Call me a nerd, but I love being up to date on movies and have old classics under my belt...

OMG so many movies!!!

I bought a Netflix subscription back in 2005, but it kept getting more and more expensive and they would make you wait weeks, some times months for a new release. Andy finally convinced me to stop wasting $25 a month on the DVD's and Blurays that would just sit on our coffee table... sometimes for months...

I remember a few years ago when Shine a Light came out... I had that in my house for a record 3 months... 3 MONTHS!!! I never watched it... I recently did though and it was terrible (I'm just not a Stones freak I guess) but that made me think... I spent $75 for a movie to sit on my coffee table for 3 months! I could have purchased it 4 or 5 times over! I still have the streaming version of Netflix for my Appletv.  It's only $7.99 a month and for whatever reason I can't bring myself to cancel it.

It's been only over the past couple years that I've discovered a new **FREE** way to watch movies.....

Behold the Broward County Public Library System... Or as I like to call it FREE NETFLIX!!!

It's absolutely 100% the most amazing thing ever. Do you have a library card? Great! You're all set to get started! All you need to do is access the Broward County Library Catalog, search for your movie, place a hold and choose which branch to pick it up... Seriously, it's just that simple!!

The Broward County Library Search

The library staff will transfer, pick up and hold the movie for you. You'll get an email when it's ready and all you have to do is drive your pretty little self to the branch, go to the front desk and voila! It's yours for about a week! As a matter of fact 10 can be - 10 is the limit for checking out movies... Not too shabby!

My Holds... Don't Judge

Last year I remember watching What Dreams May Come and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... Two movies I had wanted to see since I was little... Crazy right? Who goes through childhood without seeing  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!?!

Of course this system works for any other thing that the library has to offer you too. Of course it could also cost you just a little cash money if you return the movie late. If you want it longer though, you can renew right from the website. When you're done with your item you can also drop it off at any Broward County library and they will return it to its originating branch. They basically do all the work for you!

Sooooo call me a nerd, but I love my free books and movies! Do you have any secrets like this to share? I'm all ears!

Wednesday Obsessions on Thursday....

Happy post 4th of July everyone, I hope you all got to bed at a decent hour last night. Nurse that hangover with some McDonalds at lunchtime... I promise, it makes it all better!

In an effort to get things back on schedule after said personal family crisis, I present to you Obsessions Wednesday.... on Thursday! Here's this weeks hump love list:

1. Slubby Shirts from Anthropologie -

If we've hung out in the past 3 months, chances are I was wearing one of these beauties. I now own them in black, white, yellow AND my latest addition - Grey. They are on extreme sale now (I just snuck out of work to buy one for $25!) They are oh so comfy and loose and come with these two huge pockets - Perfect for optional hands free iphone handling!

The only color left is the color I don't own, Go figure!

2. The app Quiption -

I love a good photo editing app... When I came across another blogger raving about this one, I had to see what the fuss was all about. It's pretty damn nifty! With pre-made amazing photo overlays you can create an inspiring piece for your twittering, instagraming, facebook pleasure in a flash. It is free and is available in the itunes app store! Here are some of my creations - 

Carpe Diem with my GCD flower back drop

I wish I was there too....

3. My new Hot Pink Sperrys -

Loving my Sperrys!

I have never ever ever owned or thought about purchasing a pair of boat shoes. That is until the other night when Andy and I went to Off 5th Saks at Sawgrass in search for the perfect birthday gift for little Sam Edelman. In the midst of my retail therapy, I came across these beauties at a steep discount. They are hot pink and make such a fun statement - Did I mention they are Sperry Topsiders?! I'm officially a South Floridian! At $25 for a $90 pair of kicks, how could I resist? Now I fit in with all of the other nautical beauties.... Sweet!

Hope you enjoyed this weeks faves - Another mama update will be out soon!

Currently Obsessing Wednesday....

In an effort to place some sort of structure on this blog one day of the week at a time, I've decided to make Wednesday the day of the week I get to share with you the latest and greatest things I'm obsessing over.

Since the day IS Hump day, here are the things I would like to hump share this week:

1. Viggle -

A big huge thank you to Mr. Dennis Tagliarino for getting my hooked onto this one. I say that in a semi-sarcastic, but very appreciative tone. I'm almost halfway to a free Kindle Fire! Yes ladies and gentleman - FREE! Viggle gives you rewards for watching TV, plain and simple. Think Shazam for TV shows. Log into the app, let it listen to your TV and get points. That's it! You can also watch ad's or play trivia games to earn points. While my Kindle Fire is 375,000 points you can redeem at 7,500 for $5 gift cards to Chili's or Starbucks. Have an iPhone? Download the free app here. FUN!

2. The artist SHAG -

I swear I live in a teeny tiny little bubble sometimes.When Andy and I went to Disney in February, we came across this amazing piece at the Disney Fine Art store. We were so disappointed that they were sold out of the prints and failed to write down the artists name. So for months we tried to track down the above print and were in luck last week when Andy finally found it! Shag (Josh Agle) does the most amazing retro vintage inspired artwork. Back in 2010 he did an entire collection for Disney World, Land and Cruises. From original pieces, to prints, to coffee table books and so much much more check it out - There is even a Shagmart for your purchasing pleasure!

3. This Anthropologie Dress -

Couldn't you just die? I die. At $248 I'm try try trying to make it til it goes on sale... Unless Sara lets me use her birthday coupon :) Jk, It's just sooooo me, I mean click the link - it's GORGEOUS! You know you need it when you've been obsessing over it for days and then your best friend Mrs. Doopiemoo (who doesn't even know you're obsessing over it) forwards you the anthro email saying "I think you need this dress"

Yep!

15th Street Fisheries... Yum!

This past Sunday Andy and I were driving around checking out a few different events in the area and decided to have lunch at one of our favorite places in Ft. Lauderdale - 15th Street Fisheries.

We've been coming here since back when we were dating... (Insert Awwwwwwwwwwww) and it's just such a staple to the Ft. Lauderdale area. Fresh seafood on the water - What more could you ask for?

View of the docks from our seat at the bar

We were surprised at the 45 minute wait for lunch since we arrived around 2:00... Late lunch crowd. So we just sat at the bar.

The food here is excellent! We've never been disappointed. I always get the crab cake sandwich. It comes with fries and a great dill sauce - So yum!

Another must try is the Bloody Mary.... This ain't your grandmama's bloody mary - don't go without having one! It's like a meal in a glass, and at $10 a piece I guess it should be!  It's got the celery stalk... But also an olive, a pepperchini and a HUGE shrimp.... My mouth is officially watering.

Is this not the most delicious thing you've ever seen?

On Yelp, there are a lot of people saying it's touristy. I've really never noticed it being touristy until we noticed the water taxi stop - other than that it's kind of hard to find, down a back street. More of a locals place to me... You can pull up with your boat, fill up gas, get bait, have a meal, etc.

Inside Bar Area... Don't ask why there's a dozen eggs on the bar

They have free valet if you're driving up, which helps because of the location. There's definitely limited parking.

The only thing bad I can say is that it gets super crowded when the weather is nice and can take a while to get a table... But well worth it once you do. Sit outside! You can also buy bait to feed the Tarpon with. Great for kids!

I should also mention that we were able to score a free beer for Andy for checking in on foursquare - see, that whole rant on social media does prove beneficial sometimes... FREE BEER!

You can check out my Yelp on Fifteenth Street Fisheries here or take a drive down on a nice day and enjoy the ambiance!

Wednesday, but last Wednesday...

A week late, but hey it's Wednesday again! Last Wednesday Cari and I ventured over to Pembroke Gardens for some drinks, shopping and candle sniffing... yep...

Behold Village Tavern.... Home of Wine and Dine Wednesday - Half-Price Wine and Dine Wednesday mind you... Score!

This place can get a little crazy with winos as you can see:

Village Tavern Bar Area

We had a great time in our own little world enjoying our half price bottle of wine and flat breads. We've both been here before (together and separate) and have to say that the food here is ok... O.K. It's definitely the wine that drew us in. Village Tavern has a pretty extensive menu covering all bases, there is sure so be something for everyone.

After dinner we proceeded to shop around the center (which is beautiful, despite it's location in the middle of nowhere) Perusing Banana Republic, Z Gallerie and the Yankee Candle store, we each picked up a few purchases.

Of course after shopping we headed right back to Village Tavern for another glass of wine. There is a wine store in the plaza that we considered... but then remembered Half Price Wine! I will definitely say it's great in that at least there's no catch with this deal, it's just that - half price everything on the wine menu.

It can easily turn two business talking chicks into this by the end of the night....

Doopie Moo's and GCD out on the town...

Cari is modeling the newest rope bracelets in her line. She was generous enough to give me a sneak preview and samples...Woohoo! All of her creations can be purchased here.

For more info on Wine Wednesdays you can click here.

For my Yelp's on the locations featured - see here - Village Tavern, Pembroke Gardens.