Good Eats! -Miami Style- Tequila Chickas & CJ's Crab Shack

During my recent trip to South Beach I discovered some new FAVORITE spots to visit to eat, drink & be merry!!

Tequila Chickas has been a staple on the Ocean Drive strip since I can remember!

It's always one of the first places I pass on my voyage down the Ocean Drive strip because I usually always stay around Collins Ave & 15th/16th at either the Royal Palm (where I stayed this time) or the Loews Hotel.

Anyways... I never really appreciated the overall vibe to the place and the exceptional food that they serve there! Probably too busy heading over to Wet Willies (whose drinks have most definitely fallen OFF! -- but that's another post).


TC plays music for ALL to enjoy! I heard reggae and rock while I had lunch. :)


Not to mention (hello-the name is TEQUILA Chickas lol) their drinks most definitely hit the spizzy! :D

hey boo!
As you can see in the below picture there aren't too many wings left LOL! These have to be some of the best buffalo wings on South Beach... and trust me, I've sampled many!

I wish I had a pic of their Shrimp Ceviche. It is soooooooo good! No scratch that! Its GREAT!!!! I would definitely recommed that as an appetizer!

Another restaurant that I can't wait to visit again is CJ's Crab Shack!

They honestly do have the BEST spinach dip ever! Yes, better than Outback Steakhouse's lol!

Sorry, no food pics on this place. I think I was too focused on eating lol :)

But no fret, I head back to the beach for July 4th weekend! AAOoowwww!!!!! I can't wait!!! Last year the boo & I stayed in Miami the day before we left for our Caribbean cruise (can't believe I never posted those pics -- when I say the BEST time of my life -- ok wait, sorry, that's a seperate post too lol) anyway I was saying that I happened to catch the fireworks last year and promised myself that wouldn't miss it for the world this year! And this time I have a balcony room at the Fountainbleau hotel.... yeah..... the view doesn't get much better than that! ;)

Well, if you've ever been to Tequila Chickas or CJ's Crab Shack feel free to share what you think of their food. And if you have any other cool spots in Miami that I should check out please put a sister on.......................................

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Weekend Outings: Spacastle

Hey luvs... so I've been having some really cool weekend outings in the past few weeks but my picture taking game really sucks :p , so unfortunately I haven't shared alot of things with you.

Several weeks back a friend of mine, the lovely Hope, treated me to a day at the Spa (as a late birthday present). She was unable to attend my bday Spaday that I had at the quaint Body by Brooklyn Spa, so she decided to make it up to me and BOY did she out do herself! :)

She took me to Spacastle in College Point. It's on the most unassuming little corner in Queens but is it phenomenal!


Its sort of set up like a cruise ship on land LOL! Seriously. Once aboard, I mean inside, anything
your heart deires is yours with the simple scan of your watch!


They have pretty good food... and amazingdrinks!! Be sure to try the College Point Iced Tea!
(had me leanin! LOL).


There are enough spa services and pools to keep you occupied for an entire day, with 5 floors of luxuriation!


The ladies locker room alone has 4 mineral pools, 2 c0ld pools, 3 saunas and a steam room, not
to mention 4 large plushy couches just asking you to pass out on them...


My good friend Jasmine's bday passed last month (on the same day as my boo ;)) and we decided to spend a day marinating at SpaCastle.


Upon entering you have to remove your shoes.
We were starving like marvin as soon as we got there so our first stop was on the Second Floor for some grub.


I decided to keep the asian vibe going and enjoyed some shrimp tempura:The girls grubbed on burgers and fries
The second floor is also like steam room heaven lol....... mind you I've been here twice already and have never stepped foot in 1 of these rooms yet! smh
On the third floor are the outdoor pools:
These pools are surprisingly refreshing even when the weather is cold out.

Here we are enjoying 1 of the indoor pools:
(Counter clockwise - Leslie, Naimah, Michelle, Rashida & Jasmine)

Don't worry. If you don't want to be bothered with swimming and all the exertion that comes with pools there is a room full of recliners with little televisions attached so you can definitely get your couch potato on!

Jazz & Rashida

For the body conscious, they give everyone the same Spacastle signature orange top & pink shorts and this uniform just adds to the feeling of being a part of a special group of people that get to luxuriate all day long!!

the Bday girl!

Fun times indeed!

Hey, if you're looking for an awesome experience definitely try Spacastle. You won't be disappointed!

If you've ever visited Spacastle please feel free to leave a comment and share with us what your trip was like.................................... Read more!

What is OUR Legacy?

I woud be remiss if I didn't acknowlege the recent passing of two very influential people in the civil rights movement:

Robert Hicks & Dr. Dorothy Height


While Mr. Hicks was not as notable a figure as Ms, Height he was still very well known for his activism and the strides he made in his hometown of Bogalusa Louisiana.



Mr. Hicks was a member of the local NAACP and the Bogalusa Voter and Civic League. He won several major lawsuits, one which resulted in the desegregation of Bogalusa's public schools and the prohibition of unfair hiring tests and seniority systems at the local paper mill. He also filed a suit against the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing, which resulted in the prohibition of the construction of public housing in segregated neighborhoods in Bogalusa.

In another landmark suit that Mr. Hicks filed against the city and police department of Bogalusa, he obtained a federal court order requiring the police to protect protest marchers, and won a lawsuit that overturned officials' refusals to allow protest marches.

Now if that's not using the justice system to actually serve justice I don't know what is!!!

In response to numerous attacks made against him and his family by the Ku Klux Klan, Hicks motivated the formation of the Deacons for Defense and Justice, an armed band of African-American men who stood guard at his home and protected civil rights workers in the city.
(The 2003 Showtime movie "Deacons for Defense" was loosely based on this group.)


Robert Hicks and his wife of 62 years traveled the country, spreading the word about the conditions for black people in the South and encouraging people to travel to Bogalusa and other Southern cities to campaign for civil rights.

In his memoir, Crossing Border Street, (author/attorney/professor/activist) Peter Jan Honigsberg wrote about Hicks that:

"Even today I still think of him,"-- "He was determined to do what he had to do to change the South."

By conducting daily marches to protest racial discrimination by merchants and city government in a crusade Hicks thrusted the conditions going on in his town into the national spotlight!

To me, Robert Hicks exemplifies the concept that anyone can make a change. He wasn't a politician nor had the power that comes with celebrity but his voice was heard just the same. He was just a simple man determined to gain equality for his people and his life's work is inspiring!

R.I.P. sir!

Dorothy Height was a civil rights servant from her youth until her recent death.

She had to fight for her education starting in 1929, when she was denied entry to Barnard College (they had an unwritten policy of only allowing 2 black women into the school at a time and the quota was full -- smh). Dorothy went on to earned 2 degrees from NYU!!

Dorothy later presided as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years. In 1994 she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

She fought for equal rights for both African American men and women. Shout out to the Deltas!! Dr. Height was the National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority from 1946 to 1957, where she developed a leadership training program and remained active with the sorority through out her life.

She also organized “Wednesdays in Mississippi”, a conference which brought together women of all races from all over the country to engage in conversations and dialog during the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. Together these women went on to forged bold alliances to fight for advances in education and health care.

As the prolific writer that she was Ms. Heights wrote numerous columns, including the New York Amsterdam News in 1965. She published her memoirs entitled, Open Wide the Freedom Gates. It gave her personal perspective and details on the civil rights movement and told anecdotes of mentors she had in her life, including McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Many U.S. government officials sought her counsel, including Lyndon B. Johnson, when he appointed African American women to government posts and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he desegregated schools.

When Barack Obama was elected president, it was a dream come true for Dorothy, who was an honored guest at his inauguration on January 20, 2009. (Do you guys remember the elder woman seated on the stage? Well I remember seeing her but not knowing who she was -- now I do!)

President Obama called her "the godmother of the civil rights movement”, and that she truly was. When the President heard about her passing he said:

"Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality, and served as the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement, witnessing every march and milestone along the way."

R.I.P. madame!


The passing of these 2 great leaders (among the many many others that we have lost) really calls my attention to my own generation and what our call to duty is.

Do we not have any sense of responsibility or obligation to the generation coming after us?

We cannot possibly believe that our fight is over. That we have all that we need. That the black American is equal to the white American, or that regardless of color we do not have to wage war to repair our planet, all colors working together.

Brothers & sisters, whatever your passions are, go after them! Make sure your voice is heard and make sure you are saying something that will benefit generations to come.

We have to use this modern world for our betterment and not our demise. For example, if I can blog about shoe shopping I can damn well blog about racial profiling or green awareness. There must be some kind of balance in our conciousness.

We cannot honestly be as shallow as it seems sometimes. :( I REFUSE to believe that!

In the words of Dr. Height: "If the time is not ripe, we have to ripen the time."


Here is an exceptional compilation of photos & footage of those fateful 'civil rights' days taken by Bruce Davidson:

God Bless our ancestors and God be with us all!
XO
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Go-Getta Girls Unite for Bedrock Remix

So you guys know I'm all for female unity and variety in the game.

One of my FAVORITE (under appreciated) female rappers for yeeeeeaaarrrssss now Miss Rasheeda the Georgia Peach tapped a couple of her homies to put together the Bedrock Remix:




It looked like fun times on the set for sure.

I'm going to need Toya to cut it out with the rapping, "Gumbo Baby" lol.... okay. And I actually like the girl Lola Monroe's verse. I like her as an artist (checked some of her work out some months ago on youtube and was impressed). I think she has a story to tell... well I guess time will tell with her.

So.......................... what do you guys think?

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"I'm the Real Deal, you can tell by my Heels"

Now you guys all know that I LIVE for a mean shoe! Oh you didn't know?.... yes honey! I eat sleep and talk shoes all day ;)! Honestly, I don't care if it's comfy or not, (pricey or inexpensive -never "cheap"! *side-eye*) tall, short, wedge, stilletto or in between... I LOVEEEE SHOES!!!!

During my recent trip to Miami I got the pleasure of meeting a girl after my own heart. The Lovely Liz Ariza, Founder & Editor in Chief of MissMeanShoe.com!

Her site is sooooo cool!!! It's all for the love of shoes and you can find everything from the latest trends that celebrities are rocking to free shoe give-aways chile.

And it actually pays to be a member of this site as you also get the perks of special promotional discounts just for being a follower of MissMeanShoe.com.

So go check her site out today if you like a meeeeean shoe! ;)



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Be Careful What You Wish For...

So............... I got my Invisalign trays today... and all I can say right now is OWWW! :-(

Everyone that knows me knows that I've talked about getting invisalign for over 5 years now. It honestly consumed my thoughts lol. Not that I think my teeth look bad, but there are some spaces here and there that I want to get rid of.

But I had no idea they would feel this uncomfortable!!! I mean duh, I'm moving around the teeth in my mouth; is their a painless way to do that? I highly doubt it. And I know I should have expected some discomfort but I really didn't LOL! :p

I think I was so caught up in what the end result would look like that I completely overlooked the reality of what I would have to endure. Guess I just have to get used to having something constricting my teeth for the next year or so. Yup! the dentist says that I'll have to wear them for 12 months.

The trays must be worn every day for at least 20 hours each day! And if you leave them out for more than 3 hours one day... then that day doesn't count.

(must remove while eating!)

So after every meal i will be doing this............

yeah yeah yeah I know we're supposed to brush and floss after every meal anyway but who the heck really does? lol
You know that awesome taste marination that takes place in your mouth after you eat a really really good meal? Like Ihop for example, long after you've eaten you can still taste the silver dollar pancakes, scrambles eggs & cheese and hot chocolate you had for breakfast. Well...... I won't be able to do that. :/ Right after my last bite -----------------------------------------> BRUSH!

(I must admit tho, these things really force you to have excellent dental hygiene :))

So I left the dentist's office with three trays that I have to switch out every 2 weeks:

TRAY 1-----(2 weeks)-----> TRAY 2----(2 weeks)-----> TRAY 3!

When I'm all out of trays I go back to the dentist to make sure that everything's coming along as scheduled (and I get the next 3 trays). Meaning, I'll need to check in with the dentist every month & a half for the next year.

So........ that's my current plight! If you have any questions feel free to ask away and I'll share any info I can on what the experience is like. Also, if you have any tips on how to reduce the pain, etc. PLEASE put a sister on :) ........

UPDATE: This is day three and I am actually getting used to the weird feeling in my mouth. It DOES get better with time. HOWEVER, if I am switching to a new set of trays in 11 days does that mean that my pain will also start anew? ugh!! :(

Stay tuned guys........................................

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Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal

Hey guys... so I just want to show my respect and take a moment to acknowledge the major loss that the Hip Hop community experienced today with the passing of Guru, of the legendary group Gang Starr. I always loved the sound of his voice. It always came across mellow and laid back yet the lyrics he delivered always shined so bright with truth & precision - Not to mention Premier's beats complimented his sound perfectly!!! Guru definitely brought something original to the game and he will be greatly missed!! :(

Here's one of my favorite Gang Starr songs:



R.I.P. Read more!

Quote This

One of my facebook friends (King Matthew) posted something today that caught my attention. It was a deep statement regarding people's growth and the process of leaving the past and transitioning into our present/future selves.

Sometimes we need to make changes way deep down inside to truly grow. On the outside we may seem to be dressing the part of someone doing well for ourselves however if there is no change on the inside then what progress has truly been made??

Superficial change does not change the state of the soul.

Check it out what King had to say:


"A BUTTERFLY IS A BUTTERFLY BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY CAN DO, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE WINGS. IN ORDER TO EVOLVE FROM A CATERPILLAR INTO A BUTTERFLY, YOU MUST BUILD STRENGTH FROM SHEDDING YOU'RE COCOON. MEANING SEPARATE YOU'RE SELF FROM THE PPL, PLACES & THINGS FROM YOU'RE PAST. NOT FOREVER, JUST UNTIL YOU'VE LEARNED HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY FLY. IF NOT YOU'RE JUST A CATERPILLAR WALKING AROUND WITH PRETTY WINGS ON YOUR BACK".

King usually has very interesting / encouraging / inquisitive postings up each day, that serve as great debate starting points (even tho I'm certain that he doesn't think alot of his views are debatable -- I beg to differ).

He is a personal trainer so for you ladies are looking for someone to motivate you physically as well as mentally I would recommend King's services. You can contact him via facebook here.

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SPOTLIGHT: Mz. Streamz

Okay so I know I always talk the most ish about there not being any rappers in the game right now repping for the ladies. So I figure what better way than to do my part in helping this issues than to start spotlighting female artists that I think deserve to have more noteriety.

The first artist to be featured in the "Spotlight" is a femme fatale that I ran across in my daily youtube travels.

Her name is Mz. Streamz and while I'm sure not 1 New Yorker has EVER heard of her she is most deifinitely making a name for herself in her hometown of B-more as well as in ciphers all along the East coast.

In the below footage Mz. Streamz discusses why she thinks there's a barrier preventing female Emcee's from getting in the game:



"Proteges and creations never make it far"


She is the first ever female grand prize winner of 92Q's freestyle battle. Mz. Streamz won all 6 weeks in a row to earn her place at the top!!
Here's a taste of how she was giving it to them dudes week after week.... shorty goes hard!:




So what do you guys think about her? Does she have skills and that special something it takes to make it big in the industry?

Just don't forget where you heard about her first! Read more!

Cutie Pie Alert: Chyanne Savannah-Rose Brooks

Show Chyanne Brooks some love and vote for her in the Great American Photo Contest provided by GAP Kids.

I can't lie, they make voting pretty complicated BUT hey, anything worth winning is worth the trouble.

Miss Chyanne is in the running for the grand prize of $2,500 (and the beginning to many great opportunities!). Can we say College Fund start up money! :)

SO click on this link to vote for Cheyanne and hook a baby up!!


And if you have or know of a little one that you think should be a part of this contest you can submit their photo here.


Good luck to all the Cutie Pies! ;) Read more!

Be Seen Being Green!!!

So... once again, here's the event I'll be working on in Miami this week. It's hosted by our favorite free spirited 'girlfriend', the beautiful Persia White!

For those of you wondering how to begin living a sustainable life check out the below tips by Persia:

She's something else right :) Read more!

This is why I LOVE HIP Hop!! (Part 2)

GWININ!! GWININ!! GWININ!!!!!!!!

Okay so barbies sit down, Spartans stand up! The girl Keys is at it again!! LOL

Looking much cuter in this video too might I add (she definitely got the memo!)

I'm not mad!

Go Get it Girl!:

"If yall want the game back I'm telling yall to send her /

This accident is fatal this is no fender bender"

lol this is starting to get real gooooodddd....... *eats popcorn*

UPDATED:

Here's some footage from a Spartan and her views on the beef between the ladies:

So.... who do YOU guys think the winner is (so far)?? Keys, cause she's ready for battle - or Nikki cause she's getting her coins regardless!?!

to be continued..........................................

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Be Seen Being Green College Music Tour

I truly believe that God works in mysterious ways.
I recently saw a very informative documentary on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; an enormous mass made up off pieces of plastic waste that expands from just off the coast of Cali to China.... yeah I know.... WOW!!!
This plastic cap is floating around in our ocean and it was created by all the plastic waste that we humans dispose of irresponsibly everyday.
Check out this clip from a segment on Good Morning America that explains this extremely unfortunate phenomenon:

It' s really just depressing.

After learning about this sad sad reality I was really at odds as to what we were going to do to fix this poblem. But just like they say in the above clip it has to start with our small personal choices and how we address the issue of all the plastic we use on a daily basis.

So when my friend, the awesone Sharra Dade of 3D Platform, tapped me to assist her with a

really cool Green event (that' just happens to have Fab & Trey Songz on da bill, woot!) I

just couldn' t resist!!

Ah an let' s not forget a great excuse to head to South Beach! lol Can you say business &pleasure! :)

Check this out:

But all jokes aside I am truly interested in starting to do my part as part of the solution! I believe it' s called Sustainable living.

I also really look forward to working with the 3D Platform team and getting an inside look at all

the things that go into putting something like this together. Hey you never know, it might be a

good fit for your girl! ;)

Stay tuned loves.... interesting things sure to follow............

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