South Beach, China Grill, Lenny Kravitz

This weekend was just what the doctor ordered! After a long week out of town for business, I was so ready for a relaxing, yet exciting weekend. I did have a great week with my coworkers in a somewhat chilly PA.

Wednesday started off with a meeting, followed by a meeting, then trailed by a meeting. When lunch came around, I was more than ready to break out of the office for lunch with my two new co-workers. Becky recommended Xcilantro, and who could say no to a restaurant with such a great name! It was great – the name and the venue! The ambiance was very contemporary…white with accents of lime green. Nice! I ordered the corn chowder, recommended by the waiter (who, in turn, was also a chef there) along with chicken enchiladas and mole sauce. The corn chowder – delish, not too creamy. The chicken enchilada or I should say the mole – not so much. I never had a mole before and figured I should be daring, maybe portraying a good impression on the ladies. Both Janelle and I bit into the mole and were like, “no-le”. Other than the mole, I would totally recommend this spot. After lunch, we took a stroll (towards the car) and didn’t make it far beyond three storefronts when we came upon this great frame shop (as in glasses). Becky and I both share a love of cool glasses, so I figured a super quick browse before going back into the office wouldn’t hurt. Browsing turned into loving, and 15 minutes later I scored myself some super cool red-colored cat eyeglasses! (Mind you, I was not in need of glasses, but did say I would look for a pair of wire-framed glasses since I had 4 pairs of plastic frames – make that 5 now). I love them – no regrets!

Thursday, Sarah showed me around a great little town, Media PA. We drove around checking out the area (who knows…I may live there one day…) and I gawked at the FABULOUS Trader Joe’s on the main street (in a building that used to be an old armory). The houses are beautiful, old, and full of character. Lunch at On A Roll was delicious and then back to work we went! Wednesday night I dined with Amy at Theresa’s Next Door. Delicious mussels, a burger, and great conversation ensued. I am on a mission to find her some cool master bathroom designs.

Shower inset at the Loews – thought of Amy and her quest…I may “borrow” this idea too!

Friday – one day closer to my Lenny concert – went by quickly and uneventfully. I had lunch with current and one old coworker, followed by work and then a flight home!

Saturday morning couldn’t come fast enough! We packed for us and the boys – they were going to Grandma and Grandpa’s for the night – yay!

Arriving at the Loews Hotel, we noticed that the weather was not optimal for a poolside nap, so we relaxed in the comfy and simplistically modern room for a bit. Lack of packing lipstick brought us out of our room and onto Collins Ave. The weather was yuck, but the people watching and art deco architecture made up for it.

As we were passing by the Diesel store, my husband decided he needed a new pair of sneakers (he apparently never heard of the concept of washing one’s sneakers in the washing machine…) so 20 minutes later, he was walking out of the Diesel store in a new pair of (white…uy) sneakers. We did eventually hit Sephora, where I scored a nice lip gloss and made friends with a sales associate who loves Caudalie as much as I do (score – 2 nice sized samples of their eye cream which my new friend said he is “obsessed” with. Can’t wait to try it!)

On to dinner – China Grill. We started off with a refreshing sake and cucumber-infused drink, lobster pancakes, and calamari salad. I could have passed on the pancakes and eaten the whole calamari salad myself! Dinner included short ribs (succulent), drunken chicken (same), and vegetable fried rice. We could have done without the rice, as I think my eyes were WAY bigger than my stomach and I also have a soft spot for rice (odd, I know).

On to the BEST, the BEST part of the night….LENNY KRAVITZ!!!!!!!

I was so excited – kid-less for the night, great dinner, Parker dress bought especially for this special night, new shoes (that I ended up hating by the end of the night…don’t wear new shoes to a concert that you are going to be standing and dancing in the whole time – ask my poor toes), and now LENNY!!

The concert was at the Fillmore, a beautiful, intimate venue that I would definitely visit again…any seat was ideal. The opener was a singer named Rafael who, from conversing with our seating neighbors, used to be in the group Tone Loc. Don’t hold that against him, his new group is talented. The music was a mix of Motown, big band, and R&B. Great opener, but now on to LENNY!

He was so freakin’ amazing…he is so talented. He is personable and cute, and amazing and fabulous…I could go on and on. His new album, Black and White America, is a little off his beaten path, but one to at least a sample on iTunes. I loved his song, Black and White America – as he was singing, a slide show of his childhood streamed behind him. Old photos of his mom and dad, him as a child, then growing up – proving that we live in a Black and White America. His father – Sy Kravitz a Russian Jewish NBC television producer, and Bahamian and African-American mother – Roxie Roker, most popularly known as Helen Willis in the 70’s TV hit The Jeffersons, brought Lenny up in NY on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His music career began at the age of 3, banging on pots and pans – look at him now!

The show was spectacular. He spoke to us, the audience, as if we were his friends, saying how one of his goddaughters chose to be at his show that evening instead of Cody Simpson’s concert; joking that he has risen to the ranks of Justin Beiber and such.