SOUTH BEACH ~ MIAMI

SOUTH BEACH is one of the sexiest, most FABULOUS destinations in the world. I could never live there (I absolutely love LA too much), but I have always have fun when I visit.

I have never been to Miami in the summer and let me tell u… It’s HOT!! And I mean that in all senses of the word. HOT people, HOT parties and HOT (and humid) weather! Thank heavens for my YUKO Japanese hair straitening which kept my hair tame and the clear, blue ocean that kept me cool.

The ocean in Miami makes me never want to go in the LA Ocean again. Why is the LA ocean brown, murky and freezing cold and the Miami Ocean clear, blue and warm? (Yes, I realize they are two different oceans, but they connect somewhere right?) I spent the days floating in the ocean getting pushed to and fro by the soft, relaxing waves.

When not in the ocean, the next best respite from the heat and humidity is the pool (any pool)! Now I am not a pool snob, so the pool at the Catalina Hotel (the hotel that La Perla had set me up with a free room) was delightful. Floating around on a floaty bed or an inner tube in the cool water could cure any heat overload (or hangover for that matter).


I have to say the best pool award goes to The Shore Club (Sky Bar by night). It’s huge and hip and has the best people watching. Gorgeous bodies, celebrities and me :) I sunned with Kim K. and sisters, sipped Tequila (ok, I pretended. I HATE tequila!) with T.I. and his wife and played in the pool with Caroline D’Amore (Hot LA model and DJ) and her sister. The Shore club pool is the place to see and be seen (and stay cool)! I also love the SEXY Delano pool (for drinks and a dip) as well as the Ritz Carlton pool because it’s HUGE and has a live calypso band (perfect for my synchronized swimming routine! HA!)

Miami brings out your SEX appeal. There are gorgeous, model types everywhere, dripping with sweat from the heat and everyone wears the skimpiest clothes and works it like they are on the catwalk. I don’t care if you are short, tall, skinny or curvy, in Miami everyone works what their mamma gave them and I am no exception. I save my skimpiest clothes for Miami (and Vegas) and I strut with my head held high, shoulders back like I’m the sexiest creature around (It’s all about confidence, ladies!!) It’s fun to really embrace your sexuality here. (At home, most of the time I’m a sweatpants clad, pig-tail wearing shlub).

In Miami everyone parties hard (like New York, only with less clothing on). I love LA where last call is at 1:30 and I am safely tucked in my bed no later than 3am. In Miami the party goes on all night and like LA there is a hot spot for every evening. Tuesday we started at the Delano for cocktails (Where Dennis Rodman took a liking to my friend Kim C.) then to Mynt followed by Mookia (where I danced on a banquet with my favorite Miami model / friend, Kiera!)

Thursday we started at the Victor hotel roof top bar (where I flirted with cute bartender Bryce) then hit Mansion for Kim K.’s Princess Party (I usually hate Mansion because it’s so huge and you can get last at every turn, but when you have a table in the VIP section it’s not so bad). Friday, the after party for the Ashley Paige fashion show was at Prive (where I mingled with Jaselin from America’s Next Top Model. She is adorable). Later in the night, I danced on the bar and made sexy eyes at Eduardo, a gorgeous male model. (Not a bad night at all!) Saturday after the fashion show at Set, we hit Dek 23, a small, but fun club where DJ Clue was able to sneak in pizza for me to stuff myself with and I also bumped into Danny, a contestant from the TV show FAME that I worked on many moons ago.

I usually try to control myself from eating late night food, but sadly I had no control in Miami and most of my evenings ended with me stuffing my face with pizza, chicken kebab pitas (I love that pita joint on 20th and Collins. I ate almost every meal there) or Cuban food (Mmmm… potato balls and croquettes). God, I love to eat!

SOUTH BEACH is always amazingly fun. I got a fabulous tan, fell in love at least twice, maybe partied too hard AND very happily boarded my plane Sunday to return to LA. Now I need a vacation from my vacation!!

THE COFFEE BEAN

I’ve decided to start off this NEW blog with the most FABULOUS place of all (and the place I spend the most time)… THE COFFEE BEAN! For those of you not lucky enough to be in a state that has one of these coffee chains, (I believe California and Hawaii are the only ones), you are shit out of luck ☹ Sorry! This place is the epitome of FABULOUS.

THE COFFEE BEAN is so much more than your local coffee house (or Starbucks). Not only is it the place I get hopped up on Caffeine once (ok… sometimes twice a day), the Coffee Bean is an experience! I can sit on the outdoor patio for hours writing on my computer, reading a trashy magazine or chatting with random locals (and the occasional homeless passers-by). Maybe it has some thing to do with the weather (In LA the sun is always shining and even in the winter its warm enough to sit on the patio) or the nice people that fill the seats (Some may call LA fake, but I like the smiling of out-of-work actors staring back at me while sipping their caffeinated beverage of choice).

Now, I have to admit I usually don’t partake in the drip coffee (I prefer 7-11’s coffee with marshmallows), but the selection at the COFFEE BEAN is awesome. Most days I get an English Breakfast Tea latte (Piping hot tea, frothy skim milk and their special vanilla powder). If I’m feeling wild I may switch up the teas (vanilla tea, carnival matte, toffee roobios) or if it’s hot out I may go for an Ultimate Vanilla Ice Blended (A coffee milkshake type of deliciousness blended to perfection with chocolate covered coffee beans and that awesome vanilla powder). What ever your little heart desires, Coffee Bean will whip it up to perfection!

I gotta give a shout out to my favorite Coffee Bean locations. First place goes to Santa Monica on Main Street. This is my CHEERS (you know… where everybody knows your name) only they call me ROSS (Chudney is asking a lot of the nice girl behind the counter to type into the computer or scribble on my cup). They know my drink of choice and are always super chatty and fun. The locals that share the sunny bit of the patio are super cool and they brighten my every morning. Peanut even has a friend there (a very large dog named Cody).

Coming in a close second is the Sunset Boulevard location near Sunset Plaza. The best patio by far with the fire pit and heat lamps and sun hitting every corner! There are always gorgeous out-of-work actors and models writing screenplays (or staring at computer screens hoping to look smart and worthy of selling a screenplay). I too type away on my computer while keeping one eye peeled for my husband-to-be (or lover of the moment). I think it would be very romantic to fall in love over a tea latte on the patio of the Coffee Bean.

Third place goes to the Malibu location on Cross Creek. This Patio is huge and gets the most sun. At any given moment you may be sipping coffee (or tea) next to a sweatpants clad celebrity or a Pepperdine (college) Hottie. This Bean has one down fall. Once one of the employees was bad-mouthing my mom (not knowing who I was) and I called him out on it. Now he glares at me every time I come in and calls me “MS. ROSS” in a snide way (and he was the one being MEAN not me! I was standing up for the amazing woman who birthed me. Grrr… makes me mad again just thinking of it).

I want to give and honorable mention to the Waikiki location on Oahu, Hawaii. I only visited it once, but who doesn’t love a Coffee Bean on the beach! Aloha!

The Coffee Bean is a place of joy, a place of Caffeine and ultimately the most FABULOUS coffee shop in the world… Bold statement? I think NOT!