Mi Peru: Triple Fs (Friends/Family/Fun)

Yeah...so my second post of my trip to Lima, Peru during Summer 2013 has got to be about the crazy, drunken, fun that may or may not have happened while I was there....

But I think this little monster could attest to the fun:

My childhood friend Silvia surely made every pit stop in Barranco an adventure at every corner.  From lounges to secret clubs...it was really an adventure!

But friends and family was always there to pick me up after a long day out!

My uncles and my cousins loved taking me out even if we were doing a barbecue in the country or visiting musical fountains in the city.

Even Jazz and his crooked tail came to bid me farewell!

Saying goodbye to my grandpa is always a tearjerker. But on the good side, I get to see him again this year!

Bike Bar Party!

After an incredible boat ride with friends along the Ft. Lauderdale Intracoastal, hubby and I were in awe when we saw this little group of people on a bike!

Apparently this is called a Cycle Party....You can actually get a group of  8 to 15 of your friends to come out with you while you take a tour of the different bars and pubs in the Ft. Lauderdale beach area on a bike! 

But don't worry, you are not driving the vehicle, you are only just pedaling while drunk! 

I think this is a hilarious concept as you will be burning your beer calories as you pedal from bar to bar! 

Meanwhile, I find myself yelling...wait...this is not in Miami yet? WTF?!

via New Times

A Triple D and Guy Fieri Approved GNO!

I love a girls night out at a delicious restaurant. Lucky for me, my friends asked me to pick the restaurant for our dining experience! 

I would like to think I am the foodie amongst my friends since I always enjoy visiting new spots and trying out new restaurants that open up all over Miami. And well, Whisk is one of the restaurant that does not disappoint. 

Just ask Guy Fieri who was in Miami and visited Whisk for his show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives! 

Anyway, if you ever want to go to Whisk, I highly recommend going as it is a little hidden gem in an area called South Miami. The food feels hearty, homey, and it is just delicious!

And FTW...they have BACON WRAPPED DATES! 

My friend Carol ended up taking two orders of these babies to take home to her hubby!!

I JUST LOVE FOOD!

Runners tell all: The pebble in my shoe...

Hi y'all!
Today I'm linking up with Amanda @ The Lady Okie and Beka @ Sunshine to the Square Inch for their monthly link up, Runners Tell All! I am super excited to be joining them as I consider myself a runner! Although I have just started back at it...let me tell you, running is my life and during the time I wasn't allowed to run, I was uber jealous of those running in the street for the up and coming race events!

Today I want to tell you about the pebble in my shoe...
Lucky for me, the pebble has been getting smaller.

I'll give you my story because for the past year, I have dealt with what has been a major rock in my foot....plantar fasciitis.
I hate it. I loathe it. I despise it.
It keeps me from running, walking, dancing, and wearing the cute shoes that I love to wear.

I've seen more than a couple of specialists (doctors and physical therapists) that have poked, prodded,  flexed, stuck my foot with needles, rubbed ice, and even electrodes on my foot.

Looking back, it all started when I began training for my half marathon. I probably developed the pain because of poor stretching, too much mileage in short amount of time, poor shoe choices, and the extra poundage I added to my butt.

Well, think about it...extra poundage and I can't even run.  ARGH!!!

Either way...my hands-on physical therapist finally said that he will "allow" me to begin a run-walk program and luckily, I've been on it for the last few weeks. I am beyond excited! I haven't been able to run in over 6 months! It's been a real mood killer and worse when everyone and their mother was training for the ING Miami Marathon which was in February. It will take me a while...but I know I would like to be able to run and do this by the summer...

Morals of the story:
I will train properly by increasing my mileage slowly.
I will stretch before, after, and maybe even during my run.
Wear my cool sneakers to work if I have a plantar fascia meltdown.
Spoil my feet by resting them, roll over iced bottles or spiky balls, give them a warm epsom salt bath, elevate them and use "The Sock" religiously!

Have you had any serious training killers lately?

Got a story to share about your worst race experience or training or what you learn from it? You can still tell us about it! Clink on the image link below!

See you at the finish line!

What a lovely week!!!

Last week was certainly one to remember. I made a conscious effort to go running this week...I made a total of 4 attempts to run/walk! Which is great by the way, considering I've been sidelined for almost a year! I definitely see the difference on the scale and that makes me super duper happy! My goal is 20lbs so I can fit back into the clothes I wore two years ago....let's see how that goes!

And of course, if there is a win...there must be a celebration. Lucky for me, my dear friend Emily was able to have her dad babysit her little Ethan while she and I spent some quality time together sipping on Bellinis (Prosecco sparkling wine and peach nectar). 

Ethan is 21 months old and is such a stud! I couldn't resist his cuteness and surrendered my phone immediately to him. Little did I know, he was having a selfie party all by himself!

How has your week been so far???

Family Easter Celebrations

I hope everyone had a joyful Easter weekend!

My crazy family got together yesterday to celebrate Easter. This included family chats, Heat game, barbecue, egg hunt, and crafts with onesies. We usually get together at my aunt's house where the food and the sangria is always flowing.

My dad loves being the master of the grill. And here he is flipping "anticuchos". Which is what us Peruvians called a skewered meat...and I won't mention what kind of meat because that may be a little eewww to you ;) We also had corn, potato with huancaina sauce which is my favorite, and picarones!

Nowadays, we don't have a large group of kids that participate in the egg hunt like we used to, so my little nephews (5 and 9) must collide along with my youngest cousins (12) to gather all of the goodies.

Since we had so much left over fabric from my sister's baby shower, I ended up buying additional onesies and brought them for my aunts, cousins, and nephews to have fun with at our gathering.

My family is pretty creative and pretty patient. Considering some of the decorations were so detailed!! But alas, fun was had by all who came to the table!

This is Giancarlo. Poor little guy was exhausted after a day at the beach, then pool, then he tried his hand at crafts...he was so proud of the onesie we worked on together. I love him and his helicopter!

What kind of fun did you have this weekend??

Baby Shower Fun!

Last week I hosted my sister's baby shower at my house. Unfortunately, I have event planning anxiety, so everything leading up to the event was stress inducing, but I had some very good people helping out during the day.

However, I need to recharge myself with stress reduction fluids pre decor party!

My aunt was in charge of beefing up the decor for the "Mommy-to-bee" event and she did such an amazing job:

All of our family members (there are many of us) helped out by bringing one to three dishes to the party! We had peruvian ceviche, suspiros, butifarras, chicken sandwiches, sangria, ice tea...ohhhemmmgeee!

And I of course, had to have my way with a little onesie activity center where guests could create appliqué or iron-on designs on onesies. Thank you to Pinterest and my dear friend Jen for the idea!

The family and festivities continued:

Me, little D, and my mom

D and her work crew 

My cousin Francesco played barman!

Hubby and brother-in-law played valet men! 

The beautiful ladies of our family!

All of the stress was truly worth it!