Yummmmmmm!

WARNING: You may not want to read this post if you are hungry!!

Yesterday I went to "Gourmet in the Park" at Esplanade Park in Ft. Lauderdale.  It was an event featuring the Miami Food Truck Revolution, a collection of gourmet food trucks that tour South Florida (primarily Miami).  Luckily, I came across the event on Monday when I was looking for a new thing to blog about, and it turned out to be three blocks away from my work.  I debated whether or not to go because I have been trying to eat healthy lately, however I decided to do it "for the sake of the blog." :-)

I got the park around 5:30 shortly after it started.  There were about a dozen trucks stationed around the perimeter of the park, there were performers in the gazebo by the water, and people we starting to gather on the lawn with blankets (some even brought their dogs!).  I had read online you  Kona Brewing Company was providing summer brew beer for donations made to the Riverwalk Trust.  So I found the information stand for the Riverwalk trust and bought 2 tickets for $5.  In the end I only ended up having one Pale Ale, but I got some great information about future Riverwalk Trust events (including a cocktail event where you can bring your dog in Sept!) and it was for a good cause. 


I spent some time walking around and seeing what each truck had to offer.  I took a bunch of pictures of the trucks and looked at the menus.  There were a variety of cuisines (Mexican, American, Asian, Dessert) there was even a produce stand- but I didn't visit that one haha.  I decided that I wanted to sample a variety of trucks, so I took my time making a game plan.  Since I took so many pictures, instead of trying to creatively place all of them throughout my post, I'll stop to insert some of them now:

By the time I had figured out my first order, the event was getting more crowded.  I decided on Jefe's Fish Tacos and Burgers.  Annnnd, since it was part of the trucks name...I went for the fish taco.  At $2.25 it was a great deal, and very tasty! It reminded me of a La Verdad taco :-)  

By the time I made my second food truck choice it was getting very busy in the park.  The wait for each truck was easily 15-20 min.  In hindsight I should have made my decisions faster, but I stuck it out and waited 15 minutes for my 2 Kobe beef sliders from Cheese Me ($4 each).  It was worth the wait!!! The sliders had caramelized onions, were on a brioche bun, and topped with a choice of cheese (I went with American). SO DELICIOUS.

For my last stop I decided I needed some dessert!  There were 3 or 4 dessert trucks at the park, but I decided on Sugar Yummy Mamma.  I got one red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and one Oreo cakepop.  They were amazing, and a great end to my adventure.  Overall the whole event was a success, I got some great food, got to see a new area of Ft. Lauderdale, and found out about more events to blog about in the future!!  

Art Walk Las Olas....Finally

Statue outside of the Museum of Art

So it has been a crazy busy weekend and it took me longer than expected to post about the Art Walk.  But....I finally got around to it.  The walk was fun! I didn't really know what to expect, and since I was going alone I didn't know if I would be one of the only people actually going to all of the exhibits, but that wasn't the case at all.

Picture of an exhibit I got in trouble for taking,
ooops!

I started at the top of the street (the 100 block) at the Museum of Art.  For the Art Walk you got free admission to the exhibits, and there was a free t-shirt screening outside (unfortunately I hadn't brought a t-shirt and they didn't sell them).  There was also a live band, and drink specials!  I got my wristband for free admission and walked through the photography exhibit.  Then, I got myself a glass of wine, an Art Walk map, listened to the music for a few minutes, then started off to the next stop.

My memorabilia from the first stop

Gallery (I didn't photograph the art this time)

The next real stops were not for several blocks, I went into several art galleries in the next few blocks.  They were interesting and slightly pretentious (as art galleries tend to be).  But, I got a couple free glasses of wine and some cheese out of the deal, and I got to see some Piccasos' and Rembrants'.  There were street performers along the way, I tried to get a picture of the "green man" (who was exactly what he sounds like) but he was running too quickly down the street.  At one of the restaurants they were offering $5 dollar margaritas and 1/2 priced apps.

It was the perfect evening for walking down Las Olas, I had been expecting rain so I was glad it held off.  Finally, I had met up with a few people and we were planning on going to Rocco's Tacos a very popular taco and tequila bar on Las Olas, but the wait was an hour and a half....so we decided to go to the Floridian instead, one of the oldest diners (apparently).  That was the end of the night for me, although they did have independent films in the park after dark, like I said it was kind of a crazy weekend so I called it a night.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Art Walk, they run it once a month and it is always a little different.  They take August off, so I will have to wait to see what Sept brings!

EnCore!

I have been doing pilates on and off for the past 6 years.  Thanks to Phyl London, my favorite and irreplaceable pilates and fitness trainer in Boston, I have become addicted to pilates and deemed it necessary to find studio when I moved down to Florida. So, my second new thing was to try out a pilates class at EnCore Pilates.  Besides being a good workout, I figured I could meet some new people!

However,  I did not find EnCore right away.  Finding, or actually attending, a pilates class turned out NOT to be an easy task!! The first week I moved down here I joined a gym.  I tried a few out (L.A. Fitness and Bally's specifically) and ended up joining Bally's because it was about 1 mile from my apt, cheap, and they had a pilates studio.  When I joined i told them I was interested in pilates and asked for some more info, they told me someone would call me.....never happened.  Then I signed up for an orientation on the sheet outside the studio.....no one called.  THEN, I went on a Saturday (when they have a intro class) and stood outside the door until someone came over....NOPE!  I finally just asked for a price sheet and left, figuring if no one is going to the classes it wouldn't be good or fun anyway.  I stick to cardio and free weights now at Bally's... along with watching the strange outfits that people in South Florida wear to the gym, work boots and collared shirts really?!?!

EnCore is great! They offer a complimentary first class for any of the classes they offer (Pilates reformer, Xtend Barre, Yoga, Zumba, and pilates mat).  The studio is clean and welcoming.  The staff is friendly and knowledgeable.  They offer online scheduling and a range of class times from 6:30am to 7:30pm.  Best part for me is they are about 3 blocks from my office so I can go before or after work!!


I signed up for a Pilates Circuit class, a mixture of reformer and tower machines.  It is not traditional Stott Pilates, which is what I did with Phyl in Boston, but very similar.  I think its called Power Pilates?? But the reformer is set up almost identically, and it was easy to follow.  The studio has a very wide age range for clients, some of them would make great cast members on "The Real Housewives of Boca" haha.  That being said there definitely is potential for meeting people.  My second adventure was a success!

I signed up for 10 classes, and best of all its CHEAPER than Bally's would have been anyway, WIN!

My next post will be about the Art Walk Las Olas on Thursday.  Should be a lot of fun, they offer drink and food specials at all of the Las Olas restaurants and bars.......and art of course :-)

My first new thing!

So I decided to start off slow, haha, it is Sunday after all.  I went to Barnes and Noble early today (obviously not my new thing) and got the new Cooking Light Fresh Food Superfast cookbook.

My friend Liz had recommended the Cooking Light cookbooks over a year ago because the recipes are good, easy, and have pictures so you can see what the finished product is supposed to look like.  Superfast sounded even better than fast because I am VERY unmotivated to do anything strenuous after I get home from work in the evening.  As of right now I am not much of a cook.  I can make eggs, pasta and baked chicken....but that's about it.  So I figure its time to learn!
I picked out 2 recipes, a chicken dish (I said I was starting slow...lol) and a dessert.

Just as the book described they were both SUPERfast!  The chicken (once defrosted) took about 15 min from start to finish.  The recipe was a prosciutto wrapped chicken breast.  I took the chicken and wrapped it in a slice of prosciutto, with one sage leaf inside, and battered it with a salt, pepper, and flour.  It was cooked for 10 min in a saucepan.  It tasted pretty good (maybe a little salty, but def had flavor).

The dessert, Mississippi Mud Pie Cupcakes, were simple. The recipe used "no pudge" brownie mix as a cupcake batter and then added chocolate kisses and mini marshmallows as a frosting.  The end result was kinda gooo-y(??) but delicious!!  They definitely taste better than they look.

Soooooo, this was my first new thing, and I think it was a success.  Both attempts came out edible and I didn't burn down the apt (baby steps)!!  For the first few weeks I plan to make one of my new things a recipe from the cookbook, just to get in the habit of cooking.  Keep checking back for my next adventure!!

The plan...

So, I have have been meaning to start this blog for several months now.  I came up with the idea while I was still living in Boston, probably as a result of some kind of quarter-life crisis, but my procrastination got the best of me and I never really got around to setting it up.  Now that I have moved to a new city, have only ONE job (unlike the double life I used to lead), and have NO friends, there is no time like the present to actually get this thing going!

Here's the plan... My goal is to try, attend or simply do three new things a week.  It may be going to a new restaurant, trying a class, seeing a play, cooking a meal, joining a club....you get the idea.  Some will be ongoing and some just one time deals.  I will be reviewing and commenting on these attempts as they happen and providing pictures when I can.  Should be fun!!