Happy Little Cottages By The Sea

Cottage Charm, Coastal Calm

December 2008

Lincoln Road- You never know what you’re going to see…

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Jeff and I have a tradition whenever I’m lucky enough to visit. On Sundays we go to one of the world’s best churches, Unity on the Bay http://www.unityonthebay.org/ If you’re ever in the Miami area , take time to visit this church on a Sunday- the energy and music will inspire you for an entire week- heck a year! After church we head over to Lincoln Road for a walk through of the Sunday Farmer’s Market and people watching. You never, ever, ever know what or who you’re going to see. Celebrities, locals, tourists and of course the holiday decor. Look carefully – these items are actually covered in Seashells…. A group of seniors had a field day with their hot glue gun and shells!!! Even spelling out Chabad.

We then had a new treat- I adore Cuban Food so we went to David’s which has been around for decades. On this street of hip and groovy places to eat is an old Cuban restaurant still as busy as it was when it first opened. I enjoyed a first- a Cuban Sandwich ( which I enjoy whenever I can ) but here they offer a choice of being serviced on regular Cuban bread or Cuban sweet bread! Of course I tried the sweet bread! And then we had a little coffee which is very Latin. Strong Cuban coffee with evaporated sweetened milk and sugar. Starbucks doesn’t‘ even compare! People line up everywhere for these caffeine goodies. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try and make this yourself! http://www.tasteofcuba.com/

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Meanwhile back on Tybee….

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Tybee is continuing her holiday cheer with two big events this weekend! Tybee businesses and residents will continue a tradition of lighting up the island to celebrate the holidays. Official holiday festivities will kick off at the annual “Lights on for Tybee” celebration on Friday, December 12 at 6:30pm. Mayor Jason Buelterman and Mayor pro tem Wanda Doyle will announce the official start of the event with the lighting of the Christmas tree at the new downtown roundabout.
There will be entertainment featuring local choirs, elves and more! It is even likely that there will be a surprise guest, all dressed in red and white, along with a coterie of helpers, showing up at this event.

The next day, Saturday, December 13 at 3:00pm is the annual Tybee Christmas Parade, hosted by that same surprise guest! A variety of festive participants will travel down Tybrisa Street to Butler Avenue and end at the Tybee Gymnasium. There Santa will join volunteers with the Tybee Island YMCA for all of its children’s activities, including time with Santa to let him know what they’d like to see under the tree in a few weeks.

Hopefully everyone who’s around this weekend will come out for the holiday fun.

Meanwhile back on Tybee…. Read More »

The River of Grass and a Key Lime Milk Shake!

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“Life here is abundant, but not always obvious.” This quote is found on one of the plaques at the Everglades and certainly defines what “the river of grass” as they call the everglades is all about…..
Another day of adventure and fun in South Florida when Susan and Chip took me to the Everglades National Park in Homestead, Florida. www.nps.gov/ever/ . I’ve been to the Everglades over on the Southwestern part of Florida, but never to the tip of the state. Such a great experience! We happened to start our walk on the boardwalk just as Park Ranger Frankie Aranzamendi was beginning his tour. Such joy this man has in his daily work! His excitement at showing us everything from a morning glory flower to the many birds nesting in the trees to of course the good old standard favorites- the alligators…. We followed Frankie for about 45 minutes learning such much about the beauty, grace and survival of this huge “river of grass” which flows through the state.

After our visit, we hit another major landmark in the area “Robert is Here Tropical Fruit Stand”. Robert has been selling local produce since 1960 and is a must see if you are ever anywhere close to Homestead. Not only does he sell all sorts of local fruits ( mango’s are his passion) BUT he makes a unique and spectacular treat- KEY LIME MILKSHAKES!!!!

I love all things Key Lime, but have never had a Key Lime Milkshake. Yum, Yum, Yum!!! We also purchased a variety of local fruit and Susan and I each selected an orchid. $15.00 for a large orchid plant with glorious lime green flowers! I can’t wait to get this home to enjoy!

Visit Robert’s website for lots of fun details. http://www.robertishere.com/ and check out some of his recipes. Here is one that I am planning to make soon as I get back home and have a proper kitchen with equipment ( another reminder to me to make sure all our mermaid cottages have everything you need to cook…. my little vacation rental is sorely lacking in kitchen equipment….)

Mango Cake

Ingredients: 4 eggs 1 ½ cups sugar ½ cup vegetable oil 1 cup honey 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon nutmeg 2 cups mango, diced ½ orange rind, grated ½ lime rind, grated 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans ½ cup raisins

Directions: In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy: beat in sugar, then oil; gradually add honey. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and nutmeg. Mix well and add to mixture in four parts. Stir in mango’s, grated rinds, nuts and raisins. Bake in lightly oiled and floured large bundt pan in moderate oven (350) 40 to 45 minutes or until edges separate from the pan .

Topping:

When the cake is still hot, spread topping evenly over cake . The topping is very easy, a container of Cool whip with shredded coconut mixed together. Or use about 1cup sifted powdered sugar blended with 1 tablespoon orange juice to make a glaze when cake is cold. Cover the cake. The longer the cake sits ( and is refrigerated) the better it tastes! I have a feeling this cake is very much like the cake the owner of Castaway Cottage makes- her coconut cake, but I’m sure going to try this and see. Can’t imagine it won’t be delicious!

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Yoga on the beach- a daily addiction

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I’ve discovered that Yoga on the Beach is also offered at 5PM nightly. Much more my time, though I do have to say that to be up first thing on the morning to greet the day on the beach is pretty spectacular. The 5PM crowd is very different. The yoga class last night was myself and a man about my age who looked ageless. He told me Yoga has been a daily practise for the past 30 years and will be his life journey until he dies. In yoga you’re not supposed to compare yourself to others, but I couldn’t help but sneak a little side long glance during class to watch him- completely effortless in all the yoga moves.

The cargo ships were leaving the port, the big jets were flying out to Europe or South America, the almost full moon started to rise and those clouds that only seem to live in Florida along the coast were moving across the sky. The very end of yoga where you’re supposed to just lie flat on your back and relax was always something I could never quite do. Last night it was truly a gift- just to lay flat, look up at the sky, feel that tropical breeze blowing from the ocean…. amazing.
At the end after we all wished each other peace, the ageless gentleman looked over at me and thanked me for joining him on his yoga journey for that day. And told me to be proud of myself because I’d taken the time to connect to a bigger journey just by showing up for class. I’m going back tonight. Don’t want to miss out on what will happen next!

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Danny and Max hit South Beach

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Ah, the life of a dog. A new place means one thing, great new smells! But we’ll get to that… We’ve arrived at our Miami South Beach vacation rental, a wonderful old art deco apartment building on Washington Ave, south of 5th or as it’s called SoBe , which is the newest area of South Beach to be saved and restored. Every street you walk down is another old art deco building being renovated and made into a restaurant, a club, condo’s or a shop. This is also a true neighborhood with locals who live here year round ranging from the old Jewish men and women who’ve been coming to Miami Beach for years , to the young Latino’s from all parts of South and Central America to the Europeans who winter here… Just a fascinating mixture of people. There is a dog park and a community garden- all right there next to a very hip and cool restaurant serving sushi! I love being in such a tropical urban setting.

The vacation rental I’ve selected covered most of my criteria for a rental- high speed Internet, pet friendly with no limit on size and best of all, in a great location. Not a mermaid cottage ( lush bedding, lots of extras, detailed info on the destination) but just fine. I realize not every place can be like ours and I am getting some good ideas…

We’ve already walked the entire neighborhood which includes Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant http://www.joestonecrab.com/ one of my all time favorite restaurants. Danny and Max have made friends with the Joe’s valet guys- one of which has a picture on his cell phone of his own black lab named Negro- when I raised my eyebrows, he said with his heavily accented voice “you know, black in Spanish“. The dogs have literally smelled every bush and tree possible, but one of the reasons why I take the dogs on vacation is because when you have a dog, they have to be walked. And when you walk, you get to know the neighborhoods , the ends and outs and all the people. I just love it!

My friend, Susan and I went to a party where you bring your “stuff” that doesn’t fit or isn’t something you need or want or just cleaning out your closet. About 15 ladies brought their goodies, we put these out on tables and people when thru the stuff , drank wine, enjoyed munchies and visited. Whatever wasn’t picked up by one of us will go to a woman’s shelter to help dress the women there. Great way to finish my first night.

Stay tuned for our daily South Beach Adventures!

Danny and Max hit South Beach Read More »

For Reservations

  • 912- 658-0714.
  • diane@mermaidcottages.com

For Questions

  • (912) 313-0784
  • diane@mermaidcottages.com

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