SAVE THE DATE

Cheryl Gowdy & Vicki Halmos 
Invite You To

A Beautiful Evening of Beautiful Delights

a benefit for the Center for Creative Education

  

November 22, 2013 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Featuring 

Irina Grammatina Handpainted Silk Scarves & Tunics

Irina Smirnova Photography

Nzingah Oniwosan  Jewelry  

Bonnie Roseman's BLT collection
Mars  Sublime Antiques & Vintage Jewelry

  

20% of all proceeds will be donated to the Center for Creative Education

 

 

CCE merges ART and ACADEMICS

We bring learning to life by engaging children in hands on, multi-dimensional learning. We use visual, performing and language arts to enhance student's knowledge of traditional subjects. So painting, music and dance are used to increase mastery of literacy, math and science. It's creative and it works!   

  

Special thanks to Michael Price Photography!  

Well Worth It

Met a few friends for dinner & drinks at this highly suggested place by my longtime HS friend Freddie "Prophet" Parra (of K7) right before the place opened. Since then people like my life sisters Karen Suazo & Angela Torres as well as music Producer Jellybean Benitez & radio personality Alexie F gave high recommendations on the spot & the food.

 Fridays has 2 for 1 drinks at the bar. Try the Sangria Blanco. And please definitely end your meal w/the chocolate flan. The food is amazing, the atmosphere was nice. Music after 11pm when on the guest list. Note: Jellybean Benitez also performs once a month at the spot. 

 I especially like the fact that celebrities & regular people can congregate and it not be a media circus. Had the pleasure of meeting record executive & establishment owner Gungie Rivera who was nice enough to buy a drink for my guest & I. 

 If you are in the NYC area, head to the Bronx & check out Babalu Restaurant & Lounge 3233 East Tremont Avenue Bronx, New York 10461

A Northwood Favorite

If you are looking for something basic in the form of a burger.... you have come to the WRONG place....Relish is anything but basic. 

Opened in 2010, Relish is a unique experience of casual dining for people with a gourmet palette. 

Not only do they have the commonly expected beef & turkey burgers...they have duck, wild mushroom, black bean, buffalo & even kobe w/foie gras burgers just to name a few. But what gives this place it's name is all the delicious relishes to top your burgers...20 to be exact.  My favorite is the sweet & smokey bacon.

And if you are a regular you already know about their notorious addictive milk shakes... Each shake is topped with an edible garnish that enhances the experience. This is worth cheating on your diet for. 

So if you plan to be in the neighborhood, for Art & Wine Promenade, art or antique shopping, or just passing thru....stop in to RELISH...you won't be disappointed.

401 Northwood Rd, West Palm Beach FL 

The Radiant Child

As this is my 3rd time seeing this movie, I really am starting to realize that this purposely was brought to my attention. Jean Michel Basquiat, like so many of us artists, was a tormented soul who was brilliant. The Radiant Child was a simple documentary with a complexed formula. 

 So many of us artists only true request is to be accepted for what we are put on this earth to do….We want to be appreciated….respected. & we can also be embraced by our idol, that’s just icing on the cake. 

 I know there is a definite reason this story keeps coming onto my path.... I am still trying to read the signs & I will eventually figure out what they are. If there is any art documentary you need to witness in your lifetime…. This one is definitely it.

West Palm Beach's Best Kept Secret

Courtesy of Irie Island Cuisine and Bistro

We had been saying we would check out this location for months. I must say we have been missing out on this grand location for well over a year. Irie Island Cuisine and Bistro is one our best restaurant discoveries this year. Not just for the food, but for what it stands for. The location is ran by a brother, sister team with mom in the kitchen. How simple is that? You know if Mom is cooking, you cannot go wrong! It's a combination of Caribbean & American cuisine. The family is so humble. Loved them the minute we met them. 

Having a conversation with the male of the team Orien, you can see how appreciative he is to be part of the community & proud he is to introduce them to what his family's specialty is. Not to mention the prices are just right. 

 So when you go to lunch on Clematis in West Palm Beach, FL make sure you & your colleagues drop by this great establishment. 

 Irie Island Cuisine and Bistro is located @ 

 106 North Olive Avenue West Palm Beach, Florida 

 open Monday-Friday 8am-7pm 

(561) 650-8111

Unchained Melody

Watching a flick about slavery one should usually feel uncomfortable.....So I went into the theater to see Django Unchained, making sure that I would NOT feel awkward about the subject matter, use of language or even the much anticipated notorious Tarantino gore.

 I have to say once I got past that, I was able to enjoy the movie. I will admit that I felt a little guilty about grinning from ear to ear. As if Jamie Foxx's actions were getting even w/the slave owners of my own family....SMH 

 So many people would give negative comments about the movie because it was created by a non-person of color. But I say...OH SO WHAT...it's entertainment....And not for nothing, if Quentin Tarantino rewrote our (black) history, chances, our ancestors may have had a different outcome.

Les Mis was Les Nice

As a native New Yorker & a theater arts English student in HS...plays & musical were always something I loved. But often times, I wouldn't get to see certain plays because they were always sold out. Such as CATS & a Chorus Line for example. Les Miserables was no exception. I left NYC & got married, never to see this event. 

 So fast forward to Christmas 2012. A great opportunity. Usually when a movie is over hyped in the media, I tend to be turned off as such, that I do not waste my time seeing it. I'm glad I broke my rules this time.

 I really loved this flick. And despite the garage band sound of Russell Crowe's voice taking a risk of turning the film into an SNL parody, that did not stop me from enjoying the rest of the casts harmonious ensemble of treasure. Anne Hathaway & Hugh Jackman were able to make me cry as soon as they hit that first note. I thought to myself, maybe the director wanted us to be repulsed & sympathetic at the same time w/Crowe's character by using his poor vocal range to make us cringe each time. 

 I will not give it away to those of you who do not know the historic story line... it does make one weep throughout though. I heard a few people around me, which didn't help me hold it together whatsoever. And the visuals were a mixture of cool visual cinematography but throwing in the look that it was indeed a play sorta speak. At some points I did feel as though I were looking at stage props in a theater & not a movie screen. 

 Introduce you children to a new world of movies minus the obnoxious 3D effects, Imax & vibrating chairs & give them a little taste of culture. There are war scenes, some violence & yes death (including of youth). But if you give them the back-drop of what war really is, w/a little history of the French Revolution.. maybe they will possibly be more inclined to open up a book. Or at least Wiki what the French Revolution was on Google.