Weekend Recap : Localtopia 2015

[ A great crowd came out for the second annual Localtopia. ]

On Saturday, G and I ventured to Williams Park in downtown St. Pete to celebrate all things local—to eat, drink, shop and listen to—at the 2nd annual Localtopia. It was a beautiful, 70-degree, blue sky day. The Florida sun was shining and the community was out en masse to support small, independent businesses and local makers of all kinds. The park was packed, and while at times it was a bit difficult to maneuver around all the attendees, plus their strollers and dogs, and the lines for the ATM and (massive!) draft beer truck rivaled Disneyland at times, it was wonderful to see hundreds of people come together under the banner of Keep Saint Petersburg Local. The festival showcased more than 100 vendors, many of which we were first introduced to at this Localicious event last October. After surviving the long lines to get cash, beer and food, the hubby and I had a fantastic time browsing the expansive marketplace—and we even picked up a few goodies along the way! 

Here's a few photos from our afternoon, if you'd like to see...

Gift Ideas for Hard-to-Shop-for Men

Sunday is my brother's 28th birthday (Happy birthday, Patrick!) and since he doesn't read this blog (aforementioned shoutout null and void), and his gift is supposed to be delivered today anyway, I thought I'd share what I got the guy:

A Man Crate! 

A what, you ask? Basically, a manly version of a gift basket, without the wicker or ribbons. The wooden crates (or ammo cans, or tactical bags) are packed with snacks, gadgets, gear, and even retro video games, if that's what your guy fancies. The novelty of these gifts really is in the packaging though. The wood crates are tightly sealed and shipped with a crowbar. You can even pay extra for "wrapping," meaning the good folks at Man Crates will completely cover the cardboard box your gift is shipped in with sticky, silver duct tape. You know, just for the hell of it, to make it that much more difficult for the recipient to open. Men like a challenge, yes?

Part of me wishes I had sprung the 10 bucks for the duct tape cocoon, but alas I cheaped out. I'm sure Patrick will still get a kick out of opening his Man Crate with a laser-engraved crowbar. There are tons of crates to choose from: jerky and meat gifts, personalized gifts, hot and spicy gifts, sport and hobby gifts, even, uh, zombie preparedness gifts (a fave of "The Walking Dead" fans, I'm sure). I ended up choosing the Slaughterhouse Crate (pictured at the top of this post), which is filled with six packs of jerky as well as snack foods.

My brother, like most men I imagine, is notoriously difficult to shop for. The fact that his birthday is less than two weeks before Christmas only compounds my gift-giving woes. (Full disclosure: I'm still trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas!) He doesn't love getting clothes, though I have successfully bought him shirts and sweatshirts in the past. He likes video games, but I never know which ones he already has (not to mention I don't like encouraging sitting in front of the TV or computer screen for hours on end), and his other hobbies (computers and shooting/fishing) are a bit out of my price point.

My brother always appreciates beer, though I learned he doesn't want to make it. I got him a home-brewing kit (by Mr. Beer) once and it just sat in the box, unused. For his birthday, I considered sending a beer gift and there are countless options out there, with buckets of beer and fun accessories (some customizable) from BeerGifts.com, Half Time Beverage, Craft Beer Connect, Home Wet Bar, Gourmet Gift Baskets, Gift Tree, Red Envelope and Give Them Beer, which is based right down the road from us in Pinellas Park, Florida.

In case you have a hard-to-shop-for man in your life, here's a few of my favorite beer gifts that I may or may not get for my brother (a girl's gotta keep some things a secret).

Clockwise from top left: Best with Beer snack basket // Wooden Six-Pack Holder with optional engraved plaque // Conceal and Carry Bottle Opener Key Chain // Stainless Steel Growler (or, similar personalized option) // Beer Nut Snack Mix in a beer can // Humphrey Bogart Quote Leather Koozie // Mighty Magnetic Bottle Opener with optional initial engraving

And now I'll leave you with something completely un-manly, but I don't care: a photo of Patrick and I on my wedding day. Love you, bro!

Do you have any tough-to-buy-for guys in your life? If so, please share any tips and tricks or go-to gifts in the comments below!

Livin' Local in St. Pete

When I found out that Keep St. Petersburg Local, a nonprofit advocate for small, independent businesses, was hosting its first-ever Localicious week dedicated to eating and drinking local, I knew I wanted to participate. From Oct. 12-19, Localicious featured tons of fun events around St. Pete highlighting locally-made food and drink, as well as restaurants, brewers, growers, markets and makers. My hubby and I ended up setting aside Saturday afternoon to explore LOCAL BUDS: An OctoBEER Farmer's Market at Green Bench Brewing Co. in downtown St. Pete. More than 20 local businesses were vending at the farmer's market, and in addition to their standard wares each featured a "beer-centric" collaboration with Green Bench. Think beer-infused soaps, candles, wearables and edibles.

GT and I had a blast wandering through the market, browsing the booths, Green Bench brews in hand (in the cutest commemorative glasses). I loved seeing the work of indie makers, and even mingling for a few minutes with the creatives behind the brands. And we definitely supported small business on Saturday, leaving with several kraft paper shop bags in our hands. After we had our fill of the OctoBEER market, we walked a few blocks to fill up our tummies at another local institution: Engine No. 9. The popular burger joint is cozy (read: small) but we lucked out and scored a table right away-- right before the evening rush. A crowd waited outside while we ate our juicy burgers (the Border Line for me, the XXX Burger for the hubs), considered by many to be the best in Tampa Bay. 

This livin' local thing? Not too bad. Not bad at all.

Check out the local, handmade goodies we found (and bought) at the farmer's market...

Weekend Recap : Stein Time at Oktoberfest

On Saturday evening, the hubs and I ventured across the Howard Frankland Bridge to attend Oktoberfest Tampa at beautiful Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, which is set along the Hillsborough river in downtown. 

The 5th annual event is the largest Oktoberfest celebration in Tampa, though it wasn't as large or crowded as I anticipated. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and GT and I had a great time. Since he had duty Friday and Sunday, it was nice to just spend time together, chat, watch silly beer games, listen to live music, and drink lots of bier, of course. My hubby had two steins (that's 2 liters!) of Oktoberfest, naturally, while I, being not much of a beer drinker, had a half-liter of Hefeweizen before switching to a German Riesling. What can I say? I'm a wine girl.

But perhaps my favorite part of the event was taking in the gorgeous sunset and city views. Wow. The clouds do some incredible things here in Florida. And the University of Tampa campus (across the river from the park) is simply stunning.

My other fave moment from the night? Playing corn hole and beating my husband by a landslide!

Since GT wasn't thrilled by the idea of an $8 bratwurst, we bid Oktoberfest auf wiedersehen (yep, I'm busting out that German I learned in high school and college) and walked across the street to a wine and beer bar called Taps for a very late dinner. Fueled by booze, we made somewhat unwise dining decisions and shared completely unhealthy but totally delicious and quintessential bar food: hot pretzel with spicy mustard and beer queso nachos with salsa fresca and chicken. 

I'd love to return sometime since the lounge-y restaurant had a great vibe and the rest of the menu looked equally tasty (and not as artery clogging).

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too! And since today is Columbus Day, it may be a three-day weekend for some of you. GT has the day off (he actually has most of the week off; it's his birthday week!) so we may go explore some more... I'll end with a shot of the almost-birthday boy acting a fool for my photographic benefit:

I told him to run through the fountain outside the park and I'd take a photo. This is what he did :) He may be on the verge of 30, but he's still a kid at heart.