Winter is perfect in Miami! Every day is sunny but cool, dry and crisp like fall (minus the leaves to rake!) and there’s the vast, inviting ocean to linger by…at least for the next few months. Lately, we’ve been juicing red grapefruits and oranges every morning. The change of seasons here are mostly experienced on our plates. We’ve been stocking up from our local orange groves in the hopes of staving off the season’s colds and flus. Q isn’t ready for citrus fruit yet but he gets plenty of mashed ripe bananas, avocados and pears or stewed apples with cinnamon. Key lime pies are scrumptious too at this time of year. I also love warming up the orange rinds. It fills the whole place with that lovely, festive aroma of the holidays!

‘New Day’ from Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys

This year I haven’t planted any indoor amaryllises or narcissi since we’re not sure if this’ll be our last winter here, but we’ll try to make it just as special though if it is. Nothing kick starts the holiday season and all its preparations without the right music! Alicia Keys’ newly released album has been my go to for bangin’ anthems this month. Visit her official website or select the image above to learn more. Also, from Dec. 5-9th, the biggest thing happening in town this month is Design Miami and Art Basel Miami. The Miami Project will be holding their first annual art fair this year in Midtown Miami in the Wynwood Arts District to coincide with the two other events. Designers and artists from around the world will be showcasing their finest and latest works.

The scene is vibrant and there are lots of design inspirations. Baby Q loves getting out into the fresh air and watching the world go by. The ladies just love flirting with him, especially now with his big mane of honey-colored curls. He might not get the art but he loves the vibe. These venues are great for him and us too really with all the hubbub and space to lose ourselves in. It’s also a great excuse to head out for lunch or dinner afterwards to try out one of the new restaurants in town. For Thanksgiving lunch last week, we headed downtown to DB Bistro Moderne. The staff were pleasantly surprised to find a baby, or the only child there for that matter, that could stay for two and a half hours in a fine French establishment and behave so well. It helped that the restaurant supplied the same Stokke highchair like the one he has at home. They even had a large DB bib on hand for him. We were flanked by an older couple on our right that was doting on him and a table of gorgeous women to our left. He actually sat straight up to the sounds of their heels entering the room and turned and gawked as they passed to sit down! We’re going to have to work with him on the ogling part though! In the end, it seems like he’s inherited mommy’s naughty and daddy’s “il cattivo” genes! 1500° in South Beach at the Eden Roc Hotel is next on our list.

G keeps on promising me that, one of these days, he’ll finally start making his own furniture for us. We’ve just got so much on our plates now and really it’s the best time for us to be “on the road” before Q needs to settle down for preschool. For now, we’ll just be admiring design from afar as our things are kept safely in storage. We can’t wait to set up our belongings in our new place so we can finally start hosting our family and friends, but work comes first in this chapter of our lives that we’re in now. We miss our family all the same and appreciate their support regardless. Everything we’re working so hard for now is so that we can be closer or at least together again one day. Onto this rocking lounger above by Sam Maloof, isn’t it fabulous! This is where function and design meet. There’s definitely no shortage on style here! These exquisite pieces are handmade with materials such as American walnut by he and his team. Maloof’s designs will be one of many that will be on display at Design Miami next week.

And while we’re on the subject of style, I’m loving Tory Burch’s 2013 resort wear collection. Her clothes are classic with a mix of eclectic touches and just enough edge to keep things fresh and modern. She also supports entrepreneurship for women with her Tory Burch Foundation. Another cause we love to support especially during the holiday season is No Kid Hungry. Tory’s blog is one of my favorites too for style inspirations. I’ve also been liking Gallivant, a blog G recently turned me onto. We wish you an inspirational holiday season and hope you have a lovely and happy too!

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