Catherine Weitzman jewelbox

I stumbled across this amaaaaazing jewelry designer a few months ago. With influences from Hawaii, it's clear what the designer's inspirations are. The sea, nature, the elements. Although I haven't purchased any of her designs as of yet, I keep coming back to her perfect website. And while we all know I have an addiction to bracelets (the more the better) I also find that her necklaces and rings are simple and elegant as well. Hmmmm, maybe a "Happy November" present to myself soon??? Oh online shopping is such an addiction, and delicious designers and websites like this one only add to the high.

Check out for yourself:  http://www.catherineweitzman.com

A few of my obsessions.....

Filigree Cuff

Ganesh necklace

Urchin necklace

Ruby fade bracelet

Octopus ring

Keishi pearl bracelet

Coral Basket with Turquoise

Jellyfish necklace

Shaker necklace

Urchin Ring

Coral Cuff

SPOTTED! Pablo Escobar. In Wisconsin.

Alas, it is none other than one of Peter's notorious friends, after a wild night at Ricky and Dana's wedding reception! Clad in cheese hat and the groom's oversized Miami-esque shades, and possibly wearing pink socks, Victor looks amazingly like a certain cartel lord's twin. Was it all the drinks we had that night? Or just the unshaven appearance of Victor eating pizza, wings, and fried green beans while drinking out of the homemade "roadie" he crafted with the help of a very large butcher knife and Dasani water bottle?

It is quite possible that 90% of us at the Greenmill (Bar that is) post reception have this sexy photo in our phones. Victor at his finest, after he knighted Ricky with the cheese hat during his best man toast.

A humorous end to the weekend. And probably one of the loudest, most intoxicating (pun intended) parties to hit ever hit Eau Claire Wisconsin.

Thank you Ricky and Dana for having such a wild wedding weekend. We all had a blast, minus the fire alarms at 2 am at the hotel.

Greyhounds to go.

Some of the more "normal" guests at the wedding

OMG the movie was about FB

I left the movie theater last night feeling content. For the first time in a long time, I saw a movie that was worth seeing (i.e. worth my $10.50). Behold the Social Network. I'd been dying to see this film since the previews came out a few months ago being that I am part of the "original" facebookers.....(remember when you actually had to have a school  email address ".edu" to join?) Oh the good 'ole days before they sold out to the general public.

The movie goes into detail about how manic Mark Zuckerberg started the database/social networking site while being an absolute nerd at Harvard. Emphasis on the NERD aspect. Whatever. However ugly the kid might've been, he was an absolute genius and computer nerd who managed to completely shut down the Harvard computer servers during a night of binge beer drinking and computer coding while building the site "Facesmash.com" (where you rated the hotness of girls against each other).

The actors were phenomenal and believable. And the amount of screwing over each other was fascinating....It's amazing how litigious people can be over intellectual property even in their twenties. Beyond that, it's pitiful how dumb Harvard kids can be while signing incorporation documents only to see their beloved social network shares being diluted and diluted....

I found that I didn't want this movie to end. Was it that it narrated through an important and time-consuming part of my life? How many hours did I spend on facebook in college exactly??? Um, I plead the fifth.

At any rate, it was such a well done film, I would see it over and over again. Greed, betrayal, money, sex, it's all in there. All I can say is poor Eduardo.....just wait and see what happens to him. And get ready to laugh during the AE Pi Caribbean Night party. It's entertaining.....were there ANY girls there?

Zuma

I had the fortunate experience of going out to dinner for one of my colleague's retirement at a fabulous new restaurant in Miami about two weeks ago. Zuma, at the Epic Hotel.

It. Was. Fabulous.

Zuma is a Japanese tapas type place, that also serves sushi and other interesting items. A few things I tried that I would've steered clear of otherwise sans my present company, were Uni (sea urchin roe, yes I know what you're thinking) and Tofu. Now this was the very first time I had tried tofu and I will say I was pleasantly surprised. Being from Kansas (aka a MEAT EATER), I had my reservations, but Steve (who's retirement we were celebrating and also an avante garde foodie) told me I wouldn't be disappointed. He was correct. Now I don't know where these chefs found this tofu to fry but it tasted amazing, the flavors were spectacular and the texture was like goat cheese......smooth and creamy. NOT how I thought tofu would be at all.

And the Uni (that mysterious looking sea urchin roe), well......let's be honest, it kinda smelled like low tide. And the fact that the membrane was around the roe, made me think I was eating some sort of intestine or something. But once again I was pleasantly surprised and was glad that I was finally branching out of my steak and potatoes ways.

Some other things we sampled (amongst the bottles and bottles of cold sake and wine we drank) were:

Seabass Sashimi with yuzu, truffle oil and salmon roe
Spicy Yellowtail roll with serrano pepper and wasabi mayo
Beef tenderloin with sesame, sweet chile and soy

A few other things worth mentioning: the ambiance was amazing, the service was outstanding, and the place was packed for a monday night! And apparently there is no recession in Miami, because this place was not cheap.

So far this is my favorite Asian/Japanese restaurant in Miami. And another plus.....I always love an eatery that switches out my white napkin for a black one since I'm wearing a black skirt. JACKPOT!

Visit Zuma online....

beauty and the beach

How amazing is technology if I can blog while in the comfort of my lounge chair on the beach in marco island???? Ahhh, satisfaction.....

What is it about the beach that makes it so simply intoxicating?? Is it the sound of the waves? The smell of coconut infused sunscreen products? Or just the thrill that you can laze about like a lump on a log for hours?

The beach here is so different than miami beach. Most notably, I see more fabric included in ladies swimsuits. As I gaze around here like a stalker, I can't help but notice the amount of full coverage bikini bottoms rather than the minuscule Brazilian styles that grace the bums of the miamians. My friend tara once told me though when I was considering my first purchase of a nonexistent bikini bottom that "less fabric on your butt actually indeed does make it look less larger." While it took me a moment to examine this "finding" of hers, I actually think there is something to this....

When you cover your behind with enough fabric to swaddle a newborn baby, you're going to look like you're wearing an adult diaper. If if you're worried about the volume your rump takes up, take this advice from my late grandfather "fat looks better tan."