HALLOWEEN WEEKEND IN MIAMI

I think Halloween is one of those holidays that you have such high expectations for, but it never really lives up to them (I feel the same about New Years Eve too). You get all dolled up in a costume, plan to go to some wild party or bar, but then it just turns out to be like every other night. Fine, but not the wild excitement you had hoped for.

This year, I decided to do something different. Since I had to be home for my birthday (to VOTE), I decided to head to Miami with some friends for the weekend before, which also happened to be HALLOWEEN! Leading up to the trip many of my friends decided they couldn’t make it, but my friend Kim (her birthday was the week before) and her friend Ruby were in, so I knew we would be in for some FABULOUS fun, fun, fun!

My flight was early (like ridiculously early) on Thursday morning. I slept, wrote, read my magazines and arrived in Miami excited for a fun filled weekend. Kim and I met up at the airport and caught a shuttle to the Catalina Hotel. Cheaper than the others on hip Collins Ave, the Catalina is a bargain and still totally fun and FABULOUS. We checked in and got settled. I had hoped to head straight to the beach, but sadly it was colder than I expect (in fact, it was colder than in LA).

We decided instead to cruise the famed Ocean Drive. We stopped at a hip Cuban spot and gorged on empanadas, croquetas and Caipirinhas to get us in the Miami mood (even though we were draped in winter duds, my toes were still freezing)!

We returned to the room to defrost and rest up for our first night on the town. We dolled up in some swanky dresses (topped off with jackets) and headed to the new Gansevort hotel rooftop bar. We had a couple drinks under the stars, but it was way to windy (like a tornado) and my skirt kept blowing above my head. So,.we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Kim’s friend Ruby.

She was prepped and ready to party, but my stomach wasn’t feeling so hot (UGH!) so we stopped for some pizza on the way to the club. Yum! Pizza always settles the stomach ☺. When I was all full up, we went right next door to Roc Bar (which was less than fabulous), then we hit the newly re-furbished Mynt Bar where DJ Felix the House Cat was rocking the house and Go-Go dancers dressed as kitties whooed the crowd. We danced and mingled (It’s easy to make male friends in Miami! Haha!) Lastly, we headed to Mookai for some more dancing (I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open let alone get my groove on). Miami is like NYC or Vegas where the party just keeps going and going and going, but eventually a girl gets tired, you know! Kim and Ruby were still raring to go, but I returned to the room to rest my weary head and tummy. Gotta rest up, because tomorrow is Halloween!

We woke to another cloudy and chilly day in Miami (where the hell is the sun?) We ate breakfast at the hotel (they totally skimped on the bacon), did a little shopping on Lincoln Road, then back to the hotel where I found a sweet spot to write in a cabana by the pool. Yes, I can even be (semi) productive in Miami! If the sun was out I may not have gotten too much done, but with clouds in the sky the pool was a perfect spot for a little writing.

As the sun went down, we prepped for the evening and dressed up in our costumes (Ruby – a devil, Kim - a referee and me – a bumble bee). We hit the hotel happy hour, then a low-key sushi spot. After dinner, we cruised Lincoln Road where people were mingling about in wild costumes (but nothing like the stuff you see on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood).

We had drinks in the lobby of the Delano Hotel, then met up with my Miami friends Eric and Ariel at The Florida Room for a little dancing and ogling cute boys (Halloween is dangerous because if a guy looks cute in his costume that does NOT mean he will look hot out of it). Then to we headed to Set Nightclub for more and more and more dancing with costumed masked men.

I usually reach a point in the evening where I can’t take any more. I just want to be home snuggled in bed with a piece of pizza and a bottle of water. Kim and Ruby were ready to party all night long, so I was done WAY before everyone else. I spent the end of the night (early morning) crabby and yearning for pizza and a bed. When I finally got my wish I ate WAY too much (pizza and chicken gyros) and went to bed stuffed and greasy! YUCK!

I woke still full, so the girls rolled to breakfast and me and my chubby belly rolled out to the beach (Yeah! The sun finally came out!) The girls joined me and we soaked in the rays, dipped in the ocean and drank frozen lemonades till the sun once again hid behind the clouds. I napped by the pool, wrote in my quiet spot and then prepped for another evening on the wild town.

We started the night with dinner at Sushi Samba. YUM! I gorged myself on the yummiest coconut rice and unique Kobe beef sushi rolls (just how I like my sushi… without fish). After a short walk to digest our meals, we went back to the Gansevort roof top bar. Although the view is gorgeous, the wind was blowing a bit too hard, so we headed out. Then the rain started! UGH! We took cover at The Red Room at The Shore Club where my friend Bryce joined our entourage. After a couple drinks we headed back to Set nightclub to get our grooves on. I danced till my feet ached and worked up an appetite for a slice of pizza (I have no self control in the wee hours of the morning). I chowed down as I walked back to the hotel to hit the hay.

I woke Sunday morning with hopes of a sunny beach day, but no luck ☹ We braved the inclement weather for some coffee then watched TV snuggled in our hotel beds. Ruby and I ate lunch at a spot called Ocean’s Ten then headed back to the room to laze around some more. The minute the sun peeked its head from behind the clouds, I leaped into my bikini and hit the beach. I basked in the sun till in was low in the sky, then the girls and I got dolled up and hit Nikki Beach, the Sunday beach party hot spot. Go Go girls danced in the sand as we sipped Caipirinhas (so yummy)! It was less crowded then usual due to the weird weather, but still fun.

As evening rolled in, we rolled over to my favorite pizza / Mediterranean spot and share a Mediterranean platter (hummus, salad, feta, YUM!) and some pizza (I can’t explain my excessive pizza intake on this trip! I don’t think I have ever eaten so much pizza in my entire life!! Haha!) Still cold and rainy (and I had to be up early for my flight home), we opted for a TV night. We watched episode after FABULOUS episode of House and went to bed.

The next day, I hopped an early flight so I could get home in time to celebrate my birthday (I’m 21 again and again) and VOTE (Yeah!! So excited for our new President Obama!!)! WHOO HOO!

Even though it was a bit chilly, rainy and windy MIAMI was FABULOUS, the pizza was beyond FABULOUS and HALLOWEEN was OK too ☺