Hello Monday and Hello Miami Beach!

 

Hi Friends and Happy Monday!  I am here with Sarah 

 and we are glad you are here!  If you blogged about your weekend, grab our graphic above and link back up with us below!

I am coming off a long weekend with some besties.  We headed to Miami Beach for a few days and it is just what the doctor ordered!  Here is what it looked like...

Wednesday

I worked during the morning and got caught up on all of my administrative work.  Then we left our house around 3:30 and started to make the rounds.  Rob picked the girls up and brought us to Logan Airport in Boston.  We decided to leave Wed night as it was cheaper AND we would have the full day on Thursday to be in the sun!

 

First I texted this pic to the ladies...it was a miracle that I could get just a carry on to work and another miracle that it actually zipped- ha!

 I went for casual and comfort- Lilly Leggings, Black Tank and brought a Black Cardigan too

Here we are....toasting a girls weekend first....

 and then waiting to board!

SO GRATEFUL for these ladies in my life- they even got me my plane tickets so I couldn't say no to this getaway....always taking care of each other!!

 

On the plane...

 

 Once we landed in Miami three hours later, we took a cab to the nearby Holiday Inn and crashed for the night- we were in bed a little after midnight- not bad!

 

Thursday

 

We were up bright and early.  We checked out and Ubered to our final destination- The Fountainebleu Resort on Miami Beach- it was so beautiful and a perfect location for us! 

 

We were so early that our room was not ready.  There was a huge financial services conference going on....the resort was packed!  We went exploring for a little bit...

While we were sitting outside for a little bit...a dragonfly landed on my hand :)

 

This gelato looked amazing...

 

Laurel and the Champagne Vending Machine!

 Then we were off to our excursion- we headed to "Little Havana" for a Cuban Food Tour which was outstanding!

 

Marcella, Our Tour Guide and her assistant Melanie were wonderful

My very first empanada...just thinking about it right now is making my mouth water!

 A Cafecito- like an espresso- so strong- served with brown sugar- very good!

 

Next stop was to a cafe for a Cuban Sandwich and Mojito- both amazing!
 

At the next stop, we tried a coquette- yummy

The tour was also full of some great history and we enjoyed seeing different murals and learning the meaning behind them.  We also visited a cigar shop where we observed cigars being made.  I brought one home for Rob called "Sweet Lips." :)

and then we stopped at a stand for a "Guarapo" which is essentially freshly squeezed sugar cane and water- sweet treat!

 

and our final stop was a little bakery to try a "Pastelito" which is a traditional pastry filled with guava jam and cheese- it was INCREDIBLE!

Oh my was everything delish!  We ended our time in Little Havana by popping into a pub where we enjoyed some traditional mojitos and yucca fries out on the patio

When we got back to our resort, our room was ready so we headed up and were blown away by our beautiful view!  Laurel is now in the travel industry and since she mentioned that, they upgraded us for free to an oceanfront room with a balcony!

We thought we would be stuffed after the food tour but after several hours we got hungry and had an amazing impromptu night.  We hadn't made a dinner reservation so Laurel called one of the restaurants in our resort called Hakkasan- a London restaurant with Asian fare.  They could accommodate us so once our bags arrived, we got ready quickly and headed downstairs.

We were wow'd- the atmosphere- the food- the service- the wine- all incredible!  We shared a rice dish with sauteed beef and truffle, sauteed green beans, a shrimp dish and some dim sum (my first ever) and one thing was better than the next!  We also found a new favorite wine- Talley Chardonnay!

Then we had a nightcap at the lobby bar which was hopping!

and we played around with Snapchat of course- ha!

and then Cass snapped this pic of me facetiming and chatting with Remi my sweet boy- we were laughing so hard- ha!

We noticed that as the financial services peeps were leaving, the "Tik Tokers" were arriving for another conference- no joke- such a stark contract of clientele!  The rest of the weekend was filled with peeps all over filming everything and constantly!!

How beautiful is this place though?

We crashed hard!

Friday

First thing, I snapped a pic of the sun rising :)

Cass, Beth Ann and I headed down to the lobby cafe for lattes and hung out in the lobby as we slowly woke up.  Laurel opted to sleep in. 

Snapped a few more pics in the lobby because I was obsessed with the decor.  Such a historic property

 

Then we headed up to get ready for a day in the sun!  We camped out at one of the hotel pools and it was a great day.

 

When we headed back in later in the day, we saw the masses of "Tik Tokers" including this Bo Peep character- I texted the pic to Diana but she didn't know her- we were cracking up!

 

Back in the room...had to snap a few more pics of the view!

After getting ready, we tried to find a happy hour before leaving for our dinner reservation but everything was closed which was so weird!  We settled on the lobby bar again for a cocktail

We are all decked out for dinner here....

and then we headed to The Matador Room for dinner- one of Laurel and Tom's favorite restaurants- though we had to wait to be seated, 45 minutes after our reservation it was worth it.  We got to sit outside on the patio for dinner- it was lit up beautifully.  We shared a few different dishes and everything was delish!

 

While we waited to be seated, we enjoyed some wine in the lounge- loved the pics of all of the matadors on the walls :)

After this, we headed back to our hotel but not before some major belly laughs in our Uber with "Mikhail" I am still cracking up!

We stopped at the lobby bar and caught up with some folks we met at the pool but I really needed to go to bed so the girls walked me upstairs and I crashed...they went back downstairs for some more fun.

 

 

Saturday

 

We were up bright and early again for coffee and decided to indulge in some breakfast for our last morning there- oh my gosh the almond croissant and tomato quiche were amazing :)  As you can see, we ate very well!

 Then we headed to the beach!  It was hot and sunny on this day.  It didn't take us long to heat up and want to be in the water...truth be told I was the only one to get my whole body in- it felt like heaven to me :)

 

Then we headed to Cote, the poolside restaurant at the resort and had the most amazing lunch!

 

 

After that, we hung out by the pool for a bit before heading up to get ready for our final excursion- a sunset cruise!

This did not disappoint.  It was a perfect evening on the water and we learned where so many famous people have homes in Miami too!

 

 Then we hadn't made a dinner reservation because we thought another impromptu night might make for the perfect finale and boy were we right!  We lucked out and got a table at Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen....I have been dying to try it and it was soooo worth all of the hype!  If you can get there in a nearby city DO IT.  You won't regret it!

First, the atmosphere is so fun and lively!

 

Check out the little pitchforks in the lighting!

The service was impeccable and the food TO DIE FOR...no exaggeration.  We started by sharing the lobster risotto and when I tell you it tasted like my grandmother's, it is true.  I have not tasted the dish like that since I was in fourth grade...I got obsessed...so much so that I started down the rabbit hole of googling this recipe and think I found the right one so I can try and replicate it

Then our meals were just beyond amazing...I got the Chicken Scallopini...Cass and  Beth Ann got the Short Rib and Laurel got the salmon..we also shared the potato puree...we tried everything and were just amazed!

Then we shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding for Dessert

 

We headed back to our hotel to crash since we had to be up so early...a few more shots...

Sunday

We were up by 4:30 and left the hotel by 5...we boarded at 6:55 and took off around 7:30.  We landed in Boston around 10:30 and Steve picked us up.  I was home by 11:30....and immediately started snuggling with my sweet boy (Diana was at dance and Rob and Eva were at hockey)

I am so so grateful to have had this little getaway and quality time with my besties.  I don't take these times for granted.  Yes of course we loved the food and wine and beach and pool BUT our favorite part was spending precious time and making more memories!  Love you all XO

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