Francophile in the West

Last weekend and half of this week saw me in Miami Beach, Florida for another work conference. The conference didn't start until Monday afternoon, so I decided to fly out a couple of days early and spend the weekend exploring the city, since I hadn't been to Miami before. It was a great time! Miami was humid, muggy, and mostly rainy during my trip, but it was a lot of fun to visit and see a new place. I wandered around Miami Beach on Saturday and said hello to the Atlantic with a walk along the beach. On Sunday, I took the bus over to downtown Miami and spent the day along the waterfront and in the amazing Wynwood neighborhood. Enjoy some photos below: Miami Beach Some of the Art Deco building facades on Ocean Drive, in South Beach. The architecture was gorgeous!! 'Twas a blustery winter day at the beach, but still warm, and quite nice to be by the water. "... with eyes like the sea after a storm." :) Downtown Miami The Freedom Tow

I'm officially 27! As with each birthday over the past several years, my birthday was once again an extended, multi-week celebration of life and all the joys of living it. I'm beyond pleased with how my twenties have been going, and why not send my gratitude to the universe by celebrating being alive and being healthy, and by spending excellent time with friends and family?? One of the first pre-birthday adventures was an excursion with my good friend Christy to see The Lion King  musical in downtown Denver. What a fabulous show! The opening scene was pure magic, and the costumes were gorgeous and fantastical. We loved it! I would absolutely go see that show again and highly recommend it! Julie Taymore (the director/costume designer) is a genius. Thanks for the great idea and invitation, Christy! The weekend before my birthday, three of my bestest, oldest friends from high school flew from Portland to Denver to spend the weekend with me! It was great to see them, cat