Art & The City : Jim Reynolds' CityScapes at FMoPA

Last week, the hubs and I ventured to downtown Tampa to cross off another item on my spring bucket list: visiting the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. On the first Friday of every month, the museum stays open an hour later than usual and features an exhibition opening, a social hour, a lecture, or all of the above! After looking over FMoPA's list of current exhibitions, I was particularly interested in seeing photographer Jim Reynolds' first solo show, "CityScapes," so when I discovered that he would be giving a talk last Friday, May 1, it was the perfect time to go.

Reynolds' focuses on capturing vibrant, energetic and interesting images of the New York City landscape. His work in "CityScapes" is fun to look at, and a bit surreal even, as he likes to play with the angles, reflections and transparency found in the Big Apple's buildings. As someone who loves photography and architecture, not to mention NYC (our soon-to-be backyard!), I was enraptured by Reynolds' images, as well as his lecture. It's a treat to hear an artist talk about and explain the thought process behind their work. I'm excited that I'll soon be able to experience for myself the magnificent city sights he captured with his lens.

In addition to the exhibition, I enjoyed simply being in the FMoPA space, which is a work of art in itself. Located inside The Cube at Rivergate Plaza, the museum galleries occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors of the airy, six-story atrium building. Coincidentally, the geometry and views in "CityScapes" sort of echoed those found in The Cube. Since the sides of the square building boast dozens of large windows—with peek-a-boo views of downtown, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and the University of Tampa—the light and shadows inside the impressive interior are constantly changing, and I got a little thrill watching the sunset fill the space with a beautiful peachy-pink glow right before the museum closed.

A mini tour of the museum and the "CityScapes" show, after the jump...

Hello, Clearwater : An Evening at Sugar Sand Beach

This past weekend we happily dog/house sat for a couple of friends. After all, they watched Cali for three weeks while we were in California! The least we could do was take care of their (big!) beloved goldendoodle Nelson for three days. But before dog duty began on Thursday, the hubs and I journeyed to Clearwater for a midweek date night that consisted of a quick calligraphy photo shoot on the beach, a low-key dinner at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill, a look at some amazing sand sculptures at the annual Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, followed by a moonlit walk on the shore.

Grouper is a local favorite here in Florida and Frenchy's is known to have some of the best around. The popular eatery has several outposts in Clearwater but Rockaway Grill is the largest, and right on the beach. Even though it was a Wednesday evening, there was a 20-minute wait to get a table and while we didn't get a spot on the open-air, beachfront patio, we did get front-row seats to the night's live band. (It would have been wonderful to see the sun set over the Gulf, but perhaps it was best we weren't on the patio since, while we waited outside the restaurant for a table, a gull pooped on my arm! That's good luck, right? Fortunately, there was a beach shower right next to us. Phew.)

When eating at a restaurant for the first time, I like to try what the establishment is known for, the house specialties. Having done a little research beforehand, I knew exactly what to order at Frenchy's. The hubs and I split a half-order of the Garlic Crab Fries, since Alton Brown described the beer-battered fries—which are tossed in garlic butter and parsley and topped with garlic aioli, Old Bay and snow crab—as "food crack." For our entrees, the hubs had the grilled Mahi Mahi Sandwich while I had to have the fried Grouper Sandwich (hold the provolone). I washed it down with the dangerously delicious Rum Runner, a frozen crimson concoction made with Virgin Island Dark and 151 rums, banana liqueur, blackberry brandy and tropical fruit juices. It was good and strong. While G and I often dine out at high-end restaurants and we tend to cook gourmet fare at home, it was fun and kind of refreshing in a strange way to eat low-brow grub like fried fish sammies.

After dinner, we headed over to Pier 60 for the main event: the Sugar Sand Festival, named for Clearwater Beach's nickname. The sand there is so white and soft and really does look and feel like sugar! But what's more impressive is what master sand sculptors can do with it. This year's festival featured a fairytale theme. As G and I walked through the 21,000-square-foot exhibit tent, we were in awe at the size and great detail of the sand sculptures, created with more than one thousand tons of sand. And, having grown up on Disney and fairytales, I truly enjoyed the enchanting subject matter. Because we visited after sundown, changing colored lights helped illuminate the sandy scenes; not always great for photo-taking, but it did add to the festival's fantastical feel.

I couldn't let us leave the beach without a quick moonlit stroll along the shore. Clearwater Beach is truly beautiful and I can see why it is such a popular place to live and vacation. 

Hopefully we can make one more trip to Clearwater before we leave to explore more of what Sugar Sand Beach has to offer.

Weekend Recap : Arts & Eats in St. Pete

What a fun weekend it was! Perhaps a little too fun, since I feel like I'm in recovery mode over here, making for a not very productive Monday. (Though, to my credit, I have managed to do a few interviews for another freelance story assignment my former editor sent me; yay!) If I had to sum up our weekend in three words it would be these: arts, eats and drinks. We only have six weeks left here in St. Petersburg and I am determined to make the most of our time and cross off items on my Florida bucket list (which I've added a few more must-dos to). 

To that end, on Thursday night we went to downtown St. Pete to check out the Museum of Fine Arts, which offers discounted admission on Thursday nights: $5 after 5 p.m. We browsed two of the current exhibitions—"Monet to Matisse" and "Life's A Beach"—and quickly explored some of the museum's permanent collection before running off to meet friends at Red Mesa Cantina for a birthday dinner. On Friday, the hubs and I had a little date night, starting with drinks at The Canopy, The Birchwood's gorgeous rooftop lounge (which I previously wrote about here and here), and then dinner and dessert at Annata, the tapas-style wine bar where Jen and I had a fabulous girls' night back in February. I knew G would love it as much as we did and Annata didn't disappoint; it was just as delicious as last time. On Saturday, we laid low, cleaned the house, and the hubby slow-cooked a pork shoulder for hours to make us Hawaiian-inspired teriyaki pulled pork tacos for dinner. 

Yesterday, Sunday, we ventured back to downtown St. Pete for the annual Mainsail Arts Festival in Vinoy Park (a few snapshots, above). Unfortunately, the heat and humidity were a bit too much to bear, coupled with a strong gusty wind that kept blowing my dress, shawl and hair this way and that. (I wore the complete wrong outfit for the occasion. Don't you hate when that happens?) So we didn't stick around long and instead sought refuge and cool drinks along Beach Drive. First a late lunch at 400 Beach, followed by leisurely drinks (again) at The Canopy and then a little champagne (for me) and oysters at the Sundial's newest upscale eatery, Sea Salt. 

Now you know why I'm feeling a little sluggish this Monday. But, I have to say, it was all worth it.

I'll be back with more on our visits to the Museum of Fine Arts, Annata and Sea Salt, later!

Our First Married Valentine's Day

Did you have a nice long weekend? Ours was fairly low key, spent chilling on the couch watching TV when not running errands, but we did get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner on Saturday night, for our first married Valentine's Day. G surprised me that morning with a beautiful bouquet of pink- and peach-hued tulips, my favorite flower next to dahlias. (I may have dropped a couple hints over the past few weeks, ooh-ing and aah-ing whenever I saw a bunch of tulips at the store. He's a good man and picked up on my not-so-subtle cues.) He then made us a delicious lunch at home, a chicken pesto risotto, and we exchanged gifts. 

Though I told G that we should keep gifts small this year since we have lots of travel expenses coming up, he took to heart my longing for a new, large, sturdy purse and bought me a big beautiful bag—complete with fringe! He said he thought it would come in handy when I fly to California, since it can fit my laptop, kindle and wallet with ease. Men, always thinking about function and practicality. But it is truly a gorgeous bag and I was even more impressed to hear that he went downtown to browse small boutiques to find it. G's card also came with a sparkling layered necklace. He's such a good hubby. I, on the other hand, did keep my gift simple. To encourage his new hobby, I ordered him two unique, hand-forged guitar picks from UncommonGoods: a glass glazed stoneware pick (in ocean) and a ridged glass pick (in surf). G tried them out and was pleased with the look, feel and sound, so I'd call it a success. 

After opening presents, I finished one more surprise for him: homemade chocolate truffles. (I'll be sharing the incredibly simple recipe later this week!) We ate a couple that afternoon, and a few more after we got home from our Valentine's dinner at RumFish Grill in St. Pete Beach, and we finished off the plate by Sunday.

Photos from our day, if you'd like to see...

Weekend Recap : Saturday Morning Market

This weekend the hubs and I were pretty productive in terms of crossing items off my list of fun to-do's, also known as my fall bucket list. We finally visited The Chihuly Collection (but more on that later). And we picked up the ingredients necessary to make a simple apple tart, though Sunday ended up being dedicated to football, of course, and barbecue: We turned our leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce into a BBQ glaze (loosely following this recipe) and slow-cooked a pork shoulder for eight hours to make pulled pork sliders. So, the tart didn't get made—yet.

But we did make it out to St. Pete's Saturday Morning Market. It took some time and patience to get there—turns out there were a lot of other events happening in downtown St. Petersburg this past Saturday, including a boat show, the annual Santa Parade and Snowfest—but we eventually made our way through the congested city streets and parked with still plenty of time to browse the weekly market.

Today is all gray skies and sprinkles, but Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny fall day; a perfect day to walk around the outdoor bazaar filled with farm-fresh produce, ready-to-eat and take-home treats, handmade artisan goods and wares, and much more. We picked up some gourmet dry pasta (rosemary garlic linguine), homemade dog treats, and dried herb seasonings that make delicious olive oil dips and rubs for meat. G ordered up some pad thai for lunch and, just before we left, we both got a fruit smoothie to cool down (pineapple-mango for me). 

Though we didn't buy any that day, I loved looking at all the beautiful produce. We look forward to going back in a week or two and doing some grocery shopping. Nothing better than fresh-picked fruits and veggies, don't you agree?

Here's a look at our trip around the market...

(Fun) Weekend Goals

[ Christmastime in St. Pete. ]

Sightings of tinsel, twinkling lights and other festive holiday decor. Carols playing on repeat in my head. The fact that I've already begun my Christmas shopping. Attending St. Pete's tree lighting last Friday night. All of these things are making me feel like winter is here, and making me reflect on those fall bucket list items I have yet to complete. Luckily for me, the first official day of winter isn't for a few more weeks (Dec. 21, if you're wondering), not to mention it still feels like autumn here in Florida, so I still have some time to check those fun to-do's off my list.

A quick recap of what my fall bucket list entailed:

• Make a hearty soup from scratch. (Specifically, this chicken stew with butternut squash and quinoa.)

• Visit The Chihuly Collection. (I already have the tickets, just gotta go!)

• Explore the Tampa Bay area. Done, but we could definitely explore more! We attended Oktoberfest in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, visited Oxford Exchange not once but twice (and even another time just for the delicious coffee), walked around the University of Tampa campus, and even went to a Buccaneers game.

• Pick our own fall veggies. (Unfortunately, we missed our chance and the farm is closed. We'll have to wait until spring.)

• Browse the St. Pete Indie Market. Done! I'd like to check out the much larger Saturday Morning Market in the heart of St. Pete next. And we can get fresh-from-the-farm veggies at the market; a good second to the above item.

• Bake an apple pie/galette/crostata. (I did make a pie for Thanksgiving that had apple in it, but this apple fan still wants to cook up the real deal, with no pumpkin or pecans competing with the Granny Smiths for attention.)

If the hubs and I are super proactive, we could probably accomplish the soup, the galette, and the visits to the Chihuly exhibition and Saturday Morning Market this weekend. But maybe that's too ambitious? I'll let you know how I fare on Monday.

Because we also need to get our own holiday tinsel and twinkle... before Dec. 21.

Do you have any fun plans for this first December weekend?

Weekend Recap : Guavaween & A Bucs Game

We had an eventful weekend, with Guavaween, a Halloween party in historic Ybor City, on Saturday night, followed by (too-early-if-you-ask-me) tailgating on Sunday morning before the 1 o'clock Buccaneers game. Still tired from all our fun, let's cut the words and rely on pictures.

A few scenes from our weekend...

 Mr. Gangsta and Mrs. Flapper make their entrance at Guavaween, at The Cuban Club in the historic district of Ybor City. Needing costumes in a pinch, I recycled the outfit I wore to a 1920s-themed NYE party two years ago and added a white boa.

 The hubby proving he's a beer-shotgunning champ while tailgating before the Bucs game. We were hanging out with GT's Coast Guard crew. Of course, the hubs had to show his San Diego Chargers pride, even in Florida!

 Enjoying the crowd, the sunshine, hot dogs and super-sized frozen drinks at the game.

Hoping you had a wonderful weekend, too!