Weekend Highlights

I was lucky enough to work with my good friend, Penn, from Blank Photos on Saturday. We had planned the perfect Melificent photoshoot so I can use some of the shots for my blog redesign, amongst other things! Penn has been my friend for awhile and I have always been certain of her talents, but those beliefs were solidified after working with her. I had such a good time and think she really captured my essence. She sent me this one teaser above, and I personally cannot wait to see all the others and share them with you all!

Sunday was a really proud moment for me. I have the pleasure of working with autistic children once again, and I cannot be happier to be involved in their lives, as well as those of their families. I formed a team: Team Melificent, and was able to raise $435 for the cause. I was also able to show support with some pretty amazing people: both my friends and family, along with my new corporate family. Thank you to everyone that participated: whether it was financially through a donation, or physically through joining us Sunday morning.  I appreciate it with all my heart! xoxo

GIVEAWAY: Pink Ghost!

I am lucky enough to know the lovely people behind the local designer toy store, Pink Ghost. We met after they opened a store across the street from my husband’s office and our friendship has grown throughout the years. Now focusing on their online store, they offer the best there is when it comes to vinyl toys, accessories, gadgets, bags and prints. Basically, it is a geeky wonderland, and one of you will be lucky enough to play Alice.

That’s right! Pink Ghost is giving away (1) chubby book & (1) mini figure of your choice to one lucky Melificent reader! To enter, visit Pink Ghost & comment to this post with which products you would pick if you were announced the winner.

A winner will be chosen at random a week from today, 3/1/11.
Good luck to everyone!

Weekend Highlights

My bestie, Elsie, and I gorging on our Cake Shakes from Sugar Rush!

Friday night I took my happy little butt right back over to the Tamiami Truckers food court. After a few fun tweets back and forth with Sugar Rush, Sweetness Bakery’s own truck, I had to make sure I swung by for these much gabbed about Cake Shakes. They sound just as evil as they taste, trust me. This particular shake was made with chunks of their red velvet cupcakes, ice cream and a mound of whip cream. It was all sorts of heaven encased in 500+ calories. Oof. If you have one serious sweet tooth, definitely grab one of these the next time you are in the neighborhood.

I was also really happy to see my buddies, Yellow Submarine, at the event. After chatting them up a bit, I was told they would be there every week from now on. So make sure you visit them and pick up a yellow burger…or a yellow dog…or an original sin. Or one of each. Whatever your little heart desires.

A Yellow Burger, in case you need further tempting.

I saw on the event’s Facebook page that they will be moving locations this week, which bums me out a bit, since I liked it being so close to home, and I hope the move is not too drastic. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it this time around as I have a friend’s birthday to attend, but I hope it is just as spectacular! Maybe one of you can bring me a souvenir? ;)

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Tamiami Truckers Food Court

Some of Miami’s best food trucks decided to pay West Kendall a visit once more this past Friday as part of the now weekly, Tamiami Trucks Food Court. As you all know, I attended the event last week, but I forgot to bring my trusty camera (blasphemy). This time, I made sure it was packed in my purse before heading out the door so I could share the yums with all of you out there in the blogosphere.

There weren’t quite as many trucks this time around, but felt like there were double the attendees! I was happy to see that friends had carpooled from Broward in order to attend the event, as our poor little West Kendall hood usually doesn’t get the attention it really should (I happen to love my neighborhood). Due to this, the lines were pretty epic. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities to have to wait an hour plus to get a burger, but in my case, it was well worth it.

My first stop was Dos Lokos. My hubs had tried them last week and could not stop raving for days. The fact that their Super Loko burger boasted a fried egg (amongst other goodies) sealed the deal. This burger was going in my belly. And that was a fact. After quite the hellacious line (I guess news travels fast), I finally got my dirty paws on my (altered) Super Loko. It was all sorts of wonderful. The multiple patties, the crumbled chips, that delicious fried egg. It was heaven. I’m currently stalking them on Twitter because I doubt I’ll have the willpower to wait for these weekly events. I bow down to you, Dos Lokos!

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SheCon ’11

So so so excited for this one! My new buddy, Becca, let me know that there was going to be a conference for female bloggers taking place in Weston, FL this year. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to jump in the proverbial water and go after my 2011 goals. Although I have to be completely honest, I am a little nervous. Selling myself is something that I still have not perfected, and although I am outgoing and really enjoy meeting new people, I can retract a bit when something important is on the line (damned anxiety). However, I am working on that self-confidence, and know I have something good going here. Right?

I am also really looking forward to the panels, as I’m going to be learning a lot of very useful information about how to make my blog even more successful, interesting and focused. If you are a female blogger looking to network, learn and have some fun with fellow blogettes, check out SheCon. Have I mentioned it’s FREE?

If you are attending or thinking of attending, let me know in the comments!
I am hoping to be able to meet more local and not-so-local ladies in the blogosphere. I love working with others and maybe some fun collabs are in our future!

2011 Walk Now for Autism

Credit: Flickr user Ames2880

I know I usually post about sunshine and rainbows on this blog, but every now and then, it’s time to get serious. This would be one of those times. As you know, autism and both the children and families it affects are very near and dear to my heart. For this reason, I am participating in the Autism Speaks: Walk Now for Autism in Key Biscayne on Sunday, February 27th. This year, rather than just ask for donations, I wanted to make it more of an event. I would love for those interested to join my team, Team Melificent, in the physical walk. If I get enough parties to join, I am planning on making team tshirts, so that we are really seen as a collective unit fighting towards a cure.

I hope some of you can walk with us, or at least donate to this important cause.

For those of you that may not be familiar with autism or other pervasive developmental disorders, please educate yourselves here.

To donate; click here.
To join our team; click here.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Weekend Highlights

Credit: Facebook

My excitement reached max capacity last week when I discovered that their would be a huge food truck rally basically in my backyard. Although these kind of events happen around South Florida often, they never make their way to my neck of the woods, West Kendall. Much less, of this magnitude. Twenty trucks were advertised to attend – twenty. I didn’t even know we had that many trucks! Needless to say, I spread the word like wildfire on both Twitter and Facebook and began to brainstorm about which trucks would be in attendance.

When I arrived at the location (12975 SW 137 Avenue), I could not believe my eyes. There were cars parked for what seemed like miles and an impressive crowd meandering around a serious group of gourmet food trucks. I instantly felt like a little kid in a candy store. I didn’t know which truck to visit first and was just overwhelmed with goodness. I decided my best plan of attack was to choose the trucks I had not yet tried at previous events. My first stop was Cheese Me. I had their mac ‘n cheese pancakes. Sure, that may seem gross to some, but trust me, they were all sorts of heavenly. Of course, it was the worst option for my sensitive and cranky stomach, but I knew deep down inside that it was worth it. Worth every cheesy bite of awesome.

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Weekend Highlights

So I’ve been aching to see Black Swan since teasers first started to pop up around the web several months back. I waited patiently throughout the limited release (Miami was not included) but I could no longer wait when it was finally open nationwide. The hubs and I decided to have a date night, stopping at The Pasta Factory first for dinner (yums) and then headed to the theater. Wowza. I thought the flick was amazing – I especially loved the way it was filmed: so raw and gritty. Natalie Portman was spectacular. She really embodied the role of what I believe was a paranoid schizophrenic hell bent on being perfect at her craft. So hell bent that she embodied her character, in some pretty interesting ways. As my husband put it, this movie is not for everyone as it can get pretty intense, but I think it was truly a work of art.

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Lovable Friday!

1. DIY Bold Painting

I have a lot of empty wall space in our new home as we have only been living here for 6 months (can’t believe it’s been such a short amount of time), but we have been keeping our eyes peeled for some nice art pieces to fill that void. However, after seeing the beautiful painting Jen Ramos of MadeByGirl quickly cooked up on her own, I am thinking of investing in a canvas and paintbrushes. How gorgeous and powerful is this artwork? I adore the modern simplicity of it. And what’s better than saying “I did that” while giving home tours to friends and family?

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Weekend Highlights

Thanks to Yelp, the hubs and I scored free tickets to see the epic Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the American Airlines Arena on Friday night. Although I wasn’t too familiar with their tuneage, I was ready for an all out rock with your cock out experience complete with pyrotechnics, head-banging and extreme effects. Although that’s exactly what we got, we found ourselves a bit bored mid-way throughout the performance. I think this was due to the drawn out “story line” that took place throughout the show, narrated by an over-enthused man. Unfortunately, these narrations would sometimes outwear their welcome by dragging on for sometimes 10 minutes at a time. However, when they rocked, boy did they ever. I just wish there was more of it.
For your chance to win tickets to amazing local events or just be exposed to everything Miami has to offer, follow YelpMiami on Twitter!

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