Creepy Miami, 2011

When we arrived in Miami, we learned that the Dallas Mavericks were staying at our hotel for the NBA championships against the Miami Heat. We ran into a number of players and employees working for the Mavericks franchise. Low and behold, my girlfriends and I were invited to the over-hyped club Liv, which is located in the infamous Fontainebleau Hotel. Conveniently on Miami Beach, it's often featured on travel shows and hotel guides.

What nobody tells you about Miami (oh and other places as well, for sure), is that there’s some pretty sketchy, crazy looking people there. And I’m not talking about the half-naked drunken folks on the beach. I suppose the more diplomatic way of expressing this sentiment is, “there’s a variety of cultures and influences making their mark on the sunshine city.” However, this is not a diplomatic story running in the New York Times. This is one of the first REAL reviews of the Club Liv and the Fontainebleau Hotel—after hours.

When my girlfriends and I stepped out of the cab, I became frightened by the monsters standing out front and thought, “thank God there are so many exits and revolving doors to make our grand escape.” I couldn’t tell a boy from a girl, a hooker from a cab driver, and without tattoos covering my body or body piercings all over my face, I stuck out like a sore thumb. In fact, here's a picture with my girlfriends while at Liv. They apparently got the slut bitch memo but I was clearly their teacher chaperoning at the party. Oh, but the night gets so much better than that.

We were invited to Liv by an infamous basketball player’s money manager—whatever that means, because the guy slipped Megs a $100 bill for our cab ride back to the hotel, which did not cost $100 (we put it toward our dinner the following night—sucker). When we finally walked into the club, there were definitely an array of other scary creatures inside, but most of them were in our “VIP” area. Newsflash to people who think they’re VIP: if everybody is invited to the VIP area, then it’s really not VIP, regardless of a little stanchion segregating the LARGE VIP area. Soon, we were tipped that LeBron James’s dad was partying with us as well. Thank god one of my girlfriends is a television producer and was able to quickly call bullshit on that one, because I had no idea who any of these “famous” people were. Including the Kim Kardashian look-alike who came complete with her own butt-pads in place of a real butt implant (see picture below). To make this super fun evening even better, the worse house music I’ve ever heard in my life continuously played, and the D.J. quickly switched from song to song like a six-year-old boy with A.D.D. Just when I heard a tune I somewhat adored, the song changed. It was probably for the best as my feet stuck to the unlevel ground every time I tried to dance, because the floor apparently hadn’t been cleaned since Michael Jackson was alive.

After debating, no agreeing, about how much Liv nightclub sucked, we eventually made our way out of the club. But not before walking through the cheesy Fontainebleau Hotel’s high-end lobby area. A large and gaudy chandelier hung from above, as did some cheap—my bad, I meant chic—blue lounge lighting. At first, I thought I was at a Quinceanera, or that someone would jump out from behind one of the couches and try to sell me barbecue plates for $5. My girlfriends however, made me go to the bathroom with them for shelter, which was probably one of the nicer areas in the place. I assume this is because the people at Liv were clearly using the dance floor instead of the commode.

Thankfully, we made it safely back to the hotel, in one piece. I could tell that I wasn’t the only one thinking, “but they always make it look so nice on TV.” We were devastated to learn that Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, dropped six figures partying at Liv when his team won the championships. But we were really happy to know that at least everybody had a really good time and got to feel real important in his all-inclusive VIP area.

Teaching Your Kiddos Spanish? Check Out Baby Besos

Many of our parents and grandparents were taught as Hispanics growing up in South Texas, “If you want to prosper in the U.S., do not speak Spanish, do not teach your children Spanish.” Fortunately, times they have a-changed; parents can and should teach their children more about their culture. I met with mother-of-two and owner of Baby Besos, Victoria Herrera, who built a business that teaches other children and her own about being Latino with fashion and other child-friendly tools.

“After I had my second child, I realized I wanted my children to love and understand Spanish the way I love it,” explains Herrera. “I tried to find tools around the house to expose them to Spanish, but I couldn’t find anything. So I decided to start a business and found things from all over the country.” Herrera found books, CDs, toys, blocks, accessories and more. Inspired, she started making her own burp cloths, bibs, blankets, and clothes. “I brought items from all over, but I ended up starting our own line of blankets and bibs.”

As we met, Herrera began emptying the contents of her bag, first pulling out a blanket made with the traditional, bright floral hand-embroidered Mexican dress. “This is a dress that my grandmother would’ve worn. Now that I have a daughter I want to pass on a tradition of that dress. But I created the blanket with a modern twist to it.” While the pink Mexican dress adorns the middle of the blanket, it’s made up of several bold fabrics and materials like purple mink with raised polka dots and colorful cotton flowers. “Raised dots are good for a child’s motor skills,” says Herrera. “It’s good for them to feel different textures. But I also make other mainstream blankets that are still a little bit bolder than your normal baby blankets.” Herrera unfolded a two-sided blanket with cute zebra print and soft mink on one side, and turquoise and black flowers on the other. Perhaps it does not include the Latino flare of the blanket made with the Mexican dress, but it is still loud and proud; it is still Latino.

And it’s probably the Latino influence in her garments and accessories that captures people’s attention and won Baby Besos a business award from the South Texas Women’s Center. Herrera pulls out more contents from a bag she also sells, and low and behold, a bib with a giant Virgin Mary on one side and the color red on another, emerges. We are meeting in the Starbucks in a more—how do I be diplomatic about saying this?—less Latino side of town. The conservative Texan in me had to joke, while looking over my shoulder, “Well perhaps you can use the red side when you have more conservative guests coming over, and the Virgin Mary side amongst Latinos.”

Herrera even sells dyed cloth diapers with embellishments, a pink shirt that says, “You’re giving me Ojo,” and a boy’s onesie with the words, “No Hablo” written on an etch-a-sketch. She also sells an array of baby blankets and other clothes with images from the famous Mexican game Loteria, like “El Apache” or “La Luna.” In addition, Baby Besos is growing. They’ve just partnered with Carrizo Project, a company that heads to Honduras to teach women how to sew and be self sufficient. “They are literally in the mountains of Honduras sewing!” Herrera excitedly explains. “And they teach the women confidence. I started selling their bags, and 100 percent of the proceeds are sent back to Carrizo Project in Honduras.” Herrera sells them as diaper and baby wipe holders. “But you can use them for other things like spoons and baby food,” she adds.

To see more Latino-centric items or to go shopping, logon to BabyBesos.com. They have everything from $5 onesies to $90 blankets with their average price running from $15-$25 an item.

Austin: Day Trip to Dress Shop

Dress Shop is no longer one of Austin’s best kept secrets. Tourists from local hotels were stopping by during my visit to check out the infamous store owned by the, “Dress Evangelist,” Leslie Gandy. “We carry dresses that are both ‘of the moment’ but will last for a long time,” explains Gandy, “we do have our fair share of college and even high school customers-but the dresses appeal to the many professional women who work near us, as well as tourists of all ages looking for a fun purchase on their visit to Austin.”

Opened in August 2009, Dress Shop remains the first women’s retailer on Congress Avenue in over a decade. And what better way to announce that a woman can join the ranks of men, than by opening a women’s boutique in a historically male-dominated business area? As if Gandy’s message isn’t clear enough, her dresses are literally the perfect fit, as they’re designed for a real woman and not for the double-zero-diva modernistas have become obsessed with hating. According to Gandy, “we really advocate looking good. The hour glass dress is flattering and fits really well. Our dresses are made of many different [and forgiving] materials, like knit and stretch. We also carry an array of styles and designers, such as Yoana Baraschi, Bon Bon by Micah, Suzie Chin, and Maggie London.”

Dress Shop’s price point ranges from affordable to expensive, as there’s a look for every occasion: casual, cocktail, sundress, work dress, etc. In addition to carrying dresses, they sell all the pretty little things and accessories that accompany them. Necessities for, “no more wardrobe malfunctions,” as Gandy likes to call it, includes original Hollywood fashion tape, disposable nipple covers, silicone nipple covers, deodorant removing sponges, plunge back bras, and more. However they carry more fun necessities and accessories such as, sequin encrusted handbags and jewelry galore, like sparkly bracelets, peacock feather necklaces, gold and silver earrings.

The clutch bags are my must-haves, as I found myself jealous and fantasizing about them within moments of leaving the shop. I’m also still pining away for the timeless polka dot sensations and the Audrey Hepburn-inspired dresses. Today I’m considering re-modeling my closet area—or even the rest of my house—to look like the interior of Dress Shop itself. The shop’s vintage aesthetic with colorful splashes of black and white, baby pink, and exposed brick, features an original Durham Tobacco ad from 1896.

About the owner: A Texas A&M alum, Gandy left her home state to live in New York City, where she honed her sense of fashion. She worked for Us Weekly Magazine, focusing on celebrities and style, and became the marketing manager for Macy’s. She met her Longhorn husband in the big apple, who convinced her to move back to the lone star state and share her knowledge and passion for fashion with the rest of us. Her mother owned a similar shop in the 80s in Texas City. For more on Dress Shop, visit their site, facebook account, or stop by IRL.