Jamming To The Beat in MoBay

Jamaica, vibrant island filled with laughter, music & amazing jerk!

Freshly returned from a long and well deserved weekend from the Island of Mr. Marley and I cannot wait to go back.

 Its people, its food, its drinks, its temperature, its everything is a dream. Our hotel was amazing

Although on the pricier side the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall hotel, and adults only all inclusive resort is amazing. from its employees, to the rooms it is worth every penny. Here's is what you get for what you pay:

• Personal-private 24hrs butler service
• Top quality restaurants
• Private-adults only beach
• Your own beach as well as pool cabanas
• and an amazing staff ( make sure to look for precious & shorty they are the bests!)

Do not forget to venture out into town and pay a visit to Scotchie's so you can have the most authentic and delicious jerk chicken you would ever try; or hit the Beach Hut, so you can have a freshly caught fried fish while you soak your feet at the shore.
let's not forget the Iberostar Grand Hall provides you with free shuttles to each of these locations.

Until meet again!
XO

Who Rule the World? Girls!

Tomorrow Manala Yousafzai turns 16 years old, but instead of celebrating it with a grand party as we are accustomed to, she will delivering a set of education demand which were written by youth to the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon.

Who's Manala you may ask? She is the Pakistani child who was shot by the Taliban back in 2012; Manala was only 14 then and returning from school along other classmates. After her horrific ordeal, Manala has come up stronger than ever, and is fighting harder, and speaking  for the more than 60 millions kids around the world who are not partaking on education. Manala courageously speaks for thousands, if not millions of girls of her own country who are desperate to be able to attend schooling but cannot for whichever reason.

I believe in the right to an education, I believe in the freedom of been able to make that choice, and I am blessed I live in a country, and a culture in which women are treated equal as men. Many girls who live in many of the countries that encompass the middle east do not. Research shows that in many areas / cities of the world  (Pakistan for example) only 1 in every 5 students is a girl. Reasoning for this you ask? there are many! Some girls might live in areas where there are no schools, or the fees are so high that in some circumstances parents can only afford to send one child to school and boys are the favored ones. However the main reason is because girls are discriminated due to their gender and denied even a basic education.

How would you feel; if you were not able to have such simple yet significant right to education? If it was stripped from you just because of your gender? Join Manala Yousafzai and many others on the fight to end Women Education Discrimination. We cannot all standwith her on the United Nation Floor, but we can all show we stand by her by signing the letter to the Secretary -General Ki-Moon. Signing this will show your support and demand for education rights around the world. Its easy and non time consuming, by clicking Stand with Manala you can make your voice heard.

On a separate note,  Golbal Citizen Organization is a great organization who also support s the Stand With Manala Cause. Every year the give a free concert in the CP great Lawn to not only thank its members for the great effort they make but to also bring awareness to the various causes they represent around the world. If you join, you can earn points whcih can be cashedin for ticket to the concert, trust me its a great event, Check them out!

Until next time!!

XO!

Falling in Love with Krakow

Poland was not entirely in our mind where travels was concerned, yes I wanted to see the main cities and its surrounding history, but for no longer than 2 days. However 2 of our besties were getting married in Krakow and doing it Polish style for 3 days. So hubby and I decided we would spend 5 days in Krakow; and below is a peak to our experience.

Eric & Alicia Wedding in the Market Square!

There was a time in which Krakow was a very populous city. It harbored a medley of cultures from Gypsies to Jews & Catholics; this all came to an abrupt stop during the years of Nazi occupation and its infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Auschwitz-Birkenau 

Krakow is not only one of the oldest city but one of the most culturally as well as political cities within Poland. It is city that beams with restaurants / cafes / pubs / and amazing people which make Krakow the new Eastern Europe Bohemian Capital. Krakow is a party city, perhaps this is due to the many (and I mean many) universities that surround it, bringing in thousands of young blood into its many neighborhoods? However Krakow also is a city full of history.


Their Market Square which seats in the middle of the city its full of life (day & night) with its magnificent cafes, flanked by St. Mary's Basilica will provide you with vast entertainment. Other famous areas such as the Kazimierz (Jewish Ghetto) District and Podgorze district will not only feed your belly but also your mind.

 St. Mary's Basilica & The Market Square 

 One of the many Obwarzanki olish Bagel) stands


Krakow has its fault, and it can be melancholic city because of its dark chapters in history; yet needless to say, it is a rewarding place to visit. I felt in love with it, its people, its hearty food, beers, and definitely its Vodka.

So make time and visit Amazing Krakow.

Nostrovia!!!

XO

" Sea" The Thai Experience... NOT!

I've heard great things about Sea Thai in Williamsburg, BK. And I had walked pass its Meatpacking location many times; however I had never (and will never) stopped and enjoy a meal there.

We came as a group of 8 (for an 7:45pm reservation) this past Saturday. We wanted to provide a vacationing friend with a great fun, tasty Thai food experience that was also not too deep in the pockets. When we were been taken to our seats (on the 2nd level) the floor was so slippery with what looked like a mixture of water and oil that our guest of honor felt; our hostess only reaction to this was to turn around look at her and say sorry the floor is wet! not an we are sorry.

Once seated we decided to start with two bottles of wine, our waiter proceeded to serve full glasses of wine to every one in the table, and forgot to serve two of us. When he was informed of this he proceeded to say I am sorry but there is no more wine in the bottles; you need to order more. Mind you 1 bottle yields 5.5 servings and we had ordered two bottles for 8 people. Now I am not asking for the waiter (or any waiter) to be a master sommelier but I am asking that you know how to properly open a bottle of wine and in which manner to serve.

Once the menus were presented to us, we were rushed to order the food. The food looked delicious, and the selections were plenty. We ordered approximately 9 appetizers to share and not one of these were bad; the night I thought started looking up. Once our entrée arrived it was a chaos, side orders of Jasmine rice were missing, and when pointed out to the waiter he said we needed to pay for them although it clearly stated in the menu it was part of the dishes ordered. We went ahead and ordered the additional rice with the additional charges anyways.

I ordered the Ginger Herbs Fried Rice with Shrimp. Hubby ordered Roasted Rice T-Bone with Papaya Salad & Coconut Sticky Rice. The highlight of both of our dishes Ginger (for me), roasted rice crusted steak (for hubby) were the focal point and the reason why we ordered said dishes, trust me when I say it was the worst experience. Mine lacked ginger anything and his was only a powder rice sprinkled on top type of steak. Now; I can only really speak about my dish and that of my hubby (which I ate from) which were not good at all; but our friends also felt their dishes were not up to part, and were either too salty or lacked any of the highlighted seasoning. Oh yes our waiter was not really present at our table more than 2-3 times in a spam of 3 hour and 20 minutes.

Dessert was one thing I was looking forward; I love me sticky rice and mango any day. We ordered their Chocolate Fondue Pot, and two Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango sorbet. Well their fondue was great, and I can say I would have again; however the sticky rice and mango never arrived, and when we had the chance to flag our waiter down and informed him we were still waiting for it; he left and only brought back the Coconut Sticky Rice in a bowl, with no sorbet. When asked were was the dessert his response was, " we don't have more sorbet, so only the sticky rice".

Needless to say; its a place we would not visit ever again food was mediocre, and the service non existent. The Meatpacking is one of our favorite hangout spots, but the restaurant is a dark spot in a otherwise area were food is taken seriously.

Until next time!
XO!

Peter Luger; a Brooklyn Landmark

Peter Luger. The name alone invokes  images of an steak house era long gone; where the main attraction was the good almighty Beef.

During my college years, as a Hospitality student Peter Luger was talked about as the hero of the perfect piece of steak. Many of my then classmates would make a trip to the restaurant located under the Williamsburg Bridge, but for some strange reason I was always unavailable and until a few days ago
I was amazed how I had yet to make my way there, but as the saying goes: "better late than never"

Anyhow here are my thought about the legend;

• It is as old school as it can be. There is only waiters; (as in male) not waitresses. However I think they are very friendly, detailed, and quick when recommending menu classics to newbies and taking orders.
• The only card accepted is their own Peter Luger Credit Card, so make sure you bring cash, or you will have to run to the ATM and pay a $5.50 fee withdrawal.
• We came on a Monday; and every table was packed to the brims. There were wall street types in fancy suits as well as tourist with  the New York Travels" vacations book type of look. SO don't feel that you have to be super dressed up if you don't want to.
•  Prices are not what I expected. I mean I  thought we would have to shell out a large amount; specially after the amount of food / drinks ordered; however our share (hubby & I) was under $200.00 which included tips.
• Menu is old school, very old school. You find nothing modern, and I am glad we didn't. German fried Potatoes, Thick slabs of crispy bacon, & creamed Spinach were our selected sides, and I can have them again and again.
• Steaks, were not what I expected; and for that  I am happy. They pride themselves on serving the best steak, not the best seasoned steak. You see, at Lugers you get to taste the meat itself, not its components. The meat was tender, juicy and utterly delicious.
• Make sure you make space for their Sunday Ice Cream. It is to die!!!

Yes; there are people who have tried Peter Luger and came out disappointed ( too expensive, not great service, mediocre sides, etc). But I truly believe they came expecting a STK or Quality Meats kind of service when in reality I say: "Why fix it when it ain't broken?" what Luger offers has nothing to do with the service or sides but just with its Great steaks. And if you came to eat meat, then Luger is the place for you.

So, bring your empty stomach, and prepare to eat some great beef. And remember, bring cash!

Until next time!

International Women Day!

Today is the International Women Day.
I know there is at least one woman who in her own way have taught you something valuable and served as an inspiration, which in turn has helped you become a better and stronger woman, and even how to enjoy those unexpected moment in life. I have been blessed to have a dew of them enter my life and in one way or another have help me navigate this world with a smile always on my face. so today I want you to help me celebrate her and all the women of this planet who have inspired & helped you be a stronger woman today!

To the women in my life, I say keep on being inspirational to me and many others!

Embrasing My Natural Side

If you ever met me, you would never imagine I am a natural curly gal. You see for many (many) year I spent the majority of my Saturdays mornings and Wednesday late afternoons heading to the hair salon so my hair can be washed, put in rollers and the blow dry. I go to a Dominican hair salon, as ( I hope I don't offend any other salons out there) my hair its a tad hard to handle. I have lots of hair, enough so that if it was possible I could uproot half of it and provide it to someone else and still have enough scare hair dressers around the tri-state area! and the few times I have entered a non ethnic hair salon expert their faces after wetting my hair is always priceless!

So, after setting a bet that I could and would save $2200.00 under a 3 months period, I set to to the task of cutting out a few necessities, and hair salon visits 2x a week was the most logical one to axed as it would save me about $100.00 a week (oh yes Dominican salons are inexpensive starting at $50.00 per visit)

This was a gigantic deal for me, as the last time I had let my hair curly I was at the beach in Dominican Republic and proceeded to blow dry my hair as soon as I reached my mother home.

So, the bet started the last week of September, and although I had to spend some money to get my curling maintenance products I can say I not only saved the bet amount, but surpass it by  a cool $1000.00 total.

 Before & After

And yes, I do get my hair blown out every few weeks, however I have learned to finally embrace my natural hair, and if I must say so myself it has given me an exuberant amount of extra sex appeal lol

Below are the only two products I use in my hair, they prevent it from frizz and conditions my tresses at the same time. Although not inexpensive, trust me when I say a little goes a long way.

They are available at your local Target Store

oh how I wish they were in existence during my college years!

Tell me, have you embraced your  natural side yet? If so what's your curly ritual?

Until next time!

XO

Bring on the Suffle!

Souffles are one of the most scary desserts to make, but they could not be easier to do, trust me!
If you have not given it a thought, I encourage you to give it a try,  and use the recipe I found at I Breathe... I'm Hungry... a blog full of delicious low carb & gluten free recipes that would make you hungry just by reading them!
SO last night I tried the recipe at home and although the top was a bit crisp (hence why not my own pics) it was totally delicious, so much that hubby asked me if it was a pre-mixed package (as if!) AND you know what the best part was? they are only 57 calories; which is great because due to our hectic schedule we tend to eat quite late at home (7:30pm-9pm) and try to make it as healthy as possible without forgoing flavor; we are a culinary - hospitality home after all!

Raspberry -Molten Chocolate Souffle picture from www.ibreatheimhungry.com

This also would be the perfect dessert for a girls night in event, it would go perfectly with some Cava or Prosecco. You would be the low-carb-delicious dessert goddess!

Let me know how it comes out for you, perhaps your top would not be as crispy as mine?? lol

Get the recipe here!

Until next time!

XO

A Day of Tuscan Food

Many times we (hubby & I) like to re-live certain times/memories from our previous vacations by re-creating a dish, and this time around we were feeling a bit nostalgic about Tuscany.

The Tuscan region is known for its deep rooted history of wine & food, and one of our most memorable dishes was at a small organic farm and vineyard called Fattoria Poggio Alloro whilst overlooking the wonderful vines and San Gimignano in the distance. We had an amazing freshly made Tagliatelle with a Rabbit Ragu (yes Rabbit) and an organic Chianti which I proceeded to buy large quantities to bring home of. I truly recommend you stay here at least for a night, it is quite the experience!

 Click Here for Fattoria Poggio Alloro Site

So, here we are with our last bottle of the Vin Santo Chianti, and the idea of re-creating the dish came to life. Now, I wish I could say I had anything else to do besides running the dough by our pasta maker lol but we all know this is the hubby forte while mine is eating it all.

We did not have Rabbit, but made our version with a few lovely pieces of short ribs we had a day prior. Wait, does helping shred the beef for the ragu counts as creating the dish? If so I guess I did!

It as an amazing cold Sunday afternoon meal which reminded us of the wonderful adventure we lived under the Tuscan sun - even if only for a few days.

Here's a simple yet delicious homemade Parppadelle & Beef Ragu Recipe

 

So tell me, do you have any memorable dishes to share?

Until next time!

XO