A Brief Distraction from Paradise

Well, we’re back from Miami, and sadly, we didn’t blog as much as we would’ve liked! But we can’t say we thought too much about it…if there was ever a place that could tear us away from the computers and hecticness of everyday life, it was Miami. It’s a beautiful and exciting town – and we made a pact this would be the first of many trips!

This is just a little bit of what we saw once we got out away from The Standard. We wanted to see a little bit of architecture. And that we did. Some highlights…


This crazy “living room” was an art installation that sat on an intersection down in the Design District. Looks like we missed it in it’s glory, as you can see that there’s some kind of construction going on – it looks like items have been removed and there’s a fence around it now, but it is quite something to see. We like that we caught a man walking in front of it, you can get a sense of scale.

Also near the area on Biscayne Blvd., there are old, run-down 1950’s motels with some pretty cool signage. It’s probably better at night, as thy’re neon signs, but you get the general idea (and again, Carrie’s got a thing for cool signage):


After we saw all the poor, sad motels of yesteryears, we saw a classier lady – the Bacardi Building. Pretty amazing:

We weren’t exactly sure what this was right next door to the Bacardi building, but it sure looked cool:

That concludes our mini architectural tour. We could absolutely kick ourselves, as we didn’t capture any of the most amazing parts – and that was the Art Deco! Seriously, South Beach almost seems like a movie set, the buildings are all pastel and colorful – and they are so well maintained that they almost look like facades. They were amazing.

This was by far our favorite though:

This is the exterior of the Standard Miami – it used to be this old spa called The Lido. It’s so cool they kept the exterior unchanged, it’s pretty groovy.

p.s. This one is for the Subcat crew: we caught a shot of the famous tattoo shop, Miami Ink (for those who do not know, Miami Ink has been a show running on TLC for 4 seasons now). No tattoos for us, but the place sure was hoppin’ and lots of people were hanging outside trying to get a peek in:

Day One, part I

It’s tough to try and explain Miami, so we’ll just save that for another entry! All we know is we definitely haven’t ever experienced a city like this before! Everything here is beautiful – whether it’s a poolside view, a person serving you a drink, or a building in general, it’s got style. We are very impressed.

On Day One, we are holding fast to our goal, and that is chillin’. At a place like The Standard, they make it pretty easy! There are places to chill all over the place! We liked the little wicker beds you could lie out on in the green grass:

And the hanging chairs you can relax in:

But our favorite part was just being out at the most gorgeous pool we’ve ever seen!


The pool is awesome! When you look out on it, the line between where the pool stops and the bay begins is nearly impossible to discern. And, you look up above you and there are the hugest clouds all around you, just like this:


It truly is an adult playground.

Of course, this wonderful setting called for a cocktail! We headed on over to the cafe and took a seat bayside to enjoy more of the view:

Pink Chairs!

After the cocktails, we snuck in a little more time by the pool:

And tried to be as cool as everyone else in Miami:

Now we have to go get pretty for a very swanky Dinner at Blue Door – more later on that one for sure!

We made it!

We have finally arrived at The Standard Miami, and we’re in the process of just trying to keep our mouths from gaping wide open. This place is so cool and it’s gonna be an awesome week! A few mishaps along the way – Carrie barfed all over the Enterprise Rental Car shuttle thanks to some bad guacamole and tacos. Everyone was really nice about it, but Carrie is still feeling a little queasy. Nothing a soak in the pool can’t cure, we suppose.

Also, being the sweet husband that Ed is, he arranged to have red roses and champagne in our room when we arrived! He thinks of everything!

Now we’re in our suits and lookin’ to explore. Much more to come!!!


Poor Kitty

Our pretty kitty Ricki had to have surgery on Monday – she tore the ligament in her left knee (yes, cats have knees!) and had to have a pretty heavy-duty operation. She made it through the surgery just fine, and now the toughest part is the recovery. She’s doing a million times better than the day before, but – that darn cone around her head! Besides making her look so sad, it also gets in the way. :( Cool pink cast though, huh?

For those of you that may not know, she tore the ligament in her right knee last October, just two days after Ed & I got home from our honeymoon. The crazy thing is, she has the exact same injury – but in THE OTHER LEG!!! The best vet in the world, Dr. Toledo, says he’s NEVER seen this happen to a cat in the whole time he’s been practicing veterinary medicine. What are the chances??? Dr. Toledo says it’s a very rare injury for a cat to get, this kind of thing usually only happens to dogs.

We have no idea how she did it (either time) – and her doctor says that an injury like that does not happen from impact, more from quick movements. If we had to guess, she probably did it while racing upstairs to her favorite destination: the food & water bowls. We’re just happy that she’s on her way to recovery.

Get well soon, Ricki!

Go Mom!

Everyone knows about Ed’s mom’s way with people and the impact that she’s made on so many people through her work at the Stramski Center, a part of Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach. Tonight, she was awarded with the very prestigious Geraldine A. Stramski Spirit Award – and she and her associates on the Cleft & Craniofacial Team were recognized in a big way tonight by the Steel Magnolias at their huge annual gala.

This was the real deal – a fancy black tie affair complete with silent auction and martinis that flow through ice blocks!

We had the pleasure of spending the evening with a bunch of family and family VIPs. Ed’s mom, Ed, Carrie, Shannon, Ed’s aunt and uncle, Elder Yang (a dear dear friend of Ed’s grandmother), and Ed’s mom’s best friend Kathy and her husband were all present.

Ed is real proud of Mom!

Us and Elder Yang!

Carrie and Shannon

It was awesome to see Ed’s mom get this recognition – she got some good screen time on the short movie they made about the honorees, and her acceptance speech was wonderful – plenty of people complimented her on her words afterwards and she was quite an eloquent speaker!

Way to go mom! We’re so proud of you!

Some more pics from tonight…

Uncle is at his post capturing every moment!

We won carwashes tonight at the silent auction!!

The award and the bouquet we got for mom:

See the complete album here.