Fun times in Chicago and South Florida

Here we are at the end of January already. I’ve been slacking in the blog department because I have been distracted by the beach, impromptu nights out and other fun Florida activities (hot yoga and cardio ballet included). Life is rough in South Florida!

Our two weeks in Chicago were busy and wonderful. We filled up on my brother’s fried turkey and other yummy dishes on Christmas. We couldn't resist Chicago style pizza or hot dogs during our time home either. The foods that we ate have us struggling to get back into shape for our upcoming cruise.

After the hustle and bustle of Christmas we took Shariq and Sabreena ice skating for the first time. We started off slow and we all fell a few times, but once the twins were comfortable, they really enjoyed themselves. Towards the end, they insisted on going around the rink without holding a hand or the wall. Way to go guys!!

 

 

Later that week we went downtown to see Pinkalicious The Musical at the Broadway Playhouse. The musical is based on a popular children’s book that Sabreena is obsessed with. The girls arrived in their very best pink outfits for the show and were greeted by the cast and autographs afterwards.

The next day we went downtown again for New Year's. We were lucky to have both of Hoor’s brothers, my brother and close friends join us to ring in 2012 at Nacional 27. We enjoyed an amazing three course Latin inspired dinner and we salsa danced a little in between the courses! The food was excellent and the company was even better. This goes down as one of the best New Year's celebrations!

 

 Before we knew it, it was time to head back south. These past two weeks have kept Hoor busy at work with trips to Orlando and Jacksonville. I’ve been keeping busy with getting our place ready for the many visitors we will be having over the next month. My parents, Ali, Zeenat, and the twins are coming this week to spend a few days in Fort Lauderdale before our Eastern Caribbean cruise. We are so excited to show everyone around and we have a feeling they will love it as much as we do!

Even though I still get homesick from time to time, I truly appreciate Florida more and more everyday. The sun, beach, and the gorgeous scenery never get old. We’ve met a lot of great friends and have done a lot in these past five months. We are looking forward to having more of our family and friends visit us this year. 

Sending love and sunshine from FL!

Four months and counting...

Happy Monday everyone! At the end of this week we head home for the holidays. It’s hard to believe that we hit our four month mark of living in South Florida already. Time definitely passes by quickly when the sun is shining each day! It’s hard to get anything accomplished because all we want to do is go to the beach and soak up the sun. I know, you’re jealous. Come with me and I’ll be your tour guide of Fort Lauderdale!

 

  

 

 

It only put us back $1000, but hey, now we are official Floridians! It was hard to give up our Illinois plates, but we finally got both of our cars tagged with Sunshine State plates. Driving around town we’ve found some hidden gems in Fort Lauderdale. Canyon, a Southwest Café nearby has ladies night every Monday. Specials include $5 Prickly Pear Margaritas and half-off appetizers. The Prickly Pears are my new obsession and the salmon tostadas are perfection! Thanks to Ashley I've already indulged twice!

On his way to one of his school visits, Hoor drove by a Chicago Bears bar. Hott Leggz has everything from crab legs to Chicago Style hot dogs (I decided to wait until I'm in Chicago to have my hot dog). We went to Hott Leggz last week to watch the Bears take on the Broncos. Although the game was quite depressing, we were happy to be surrounded by many loyal Chicago fans!

Finally, Café Vico is a family style Italian restaurant. Not only do they have amazing vegetarian and seafood ravioli, but the service there is outstanding. Oh, and they make delicious mojitos. I will definitely be going back to these three locations for my dining and drinking pleasure.

Aside from being foodies and dining at local restaurants, we have enjoyed cooking many dinners at home. I have definitely gone out of my comfort zone and ditched my go to recipes of tacos and spaghetti.  Our recent dinners have included Panang Curry, honey-mustard glazed salmon, rosemary chicken with grilled zucchini, and the list goes on. As much as I miss home, our new home is beginning to grow on me.

                               Happy Holidays from South Florida!

A Very Bhanpuri Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving came and went and Hoor and I survived our first Thanksgiving away from our families. The laughs we shared in the kitchen and during dinner distracted my homesickness. Thanks Hoor! We enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner here with a lot of yummy dishes, which later provided us with a lot of leftovers! It’s so hard cooking for just two people. Family, next year I'm hosting Thanksgiving here!

We Skyped with a lot of family and friends that day as my brother’s phone was passed around the table at the Bhanpuri’s.  That was the highlight of my day, other than not burning anything. Actually, I take that back, I burned my arm pretty badly when I was taking my first ever apple pie out of the oven. I’m happy to report that my arm is beginning to heal and the pie was delicious!

We woke early the next morning to head to Miami for some holiday shopping and by early I mean 7 AM. I’m sure we bypassed a lot of craziness by sleeping in. When we arrived the mall was pretty busy, but we were on a mission to find some great deals and we did. We also found a lot of suitcases, not for sale, but suitcases that were being pulled around by every other shopper to store their purchases in. I even had my toe and ankle taken out by careless shoppers and their suitcases. They didn’t even say, “excuse me” or “sorry.” Hoor had a similar experience at the outlet mall the next day. Florida, I’m beginning to think you are not a very friendly state. Not only do you have to be a vigilant driver on the road here, but you have to be in the same mindset when you shop at the mall!  

During the holiday weekend we were also able to fit in two beach days! It was a little breezy, but still beautiful! The weather here has been one of the most discussed topics on the news in South Florida. 



A windy afternoon at Fort Lauderdale Beach.

A cold front moved in earlier this week leaving us with temps in the mid-70s during the day and 60s during the evening. It is quite comfortable for us, but Floridians who have been here for some time are layering up and beginning to wear sweaters and boots! This cracks me up! But who knows, maybe they’re laughing at me with my sleeveless dresses and sandals in the dead of winter.

South Florida is ready for the holidays! We even had snow!

                                   

Visiting distant lands, going home, and a night out in FTL

Earlier this month Hoor visited China for ten days. I can't believe he's walked on the Great Wall of China four times! He traveled to Beijing for four days and spent the rest of the time in the capital city of Zhengzhou in the province of Henan. Henan is famous for being the birth place of kungfu and is an amazing city in the heart of the country. Hoor has promised to post some pictures of his travels on the next blog post, so keep a look out... 

While Hoor was in China I flew back home to spend some much needed time with my family and friends. During my time at home I enjoyed walking to school in the mornings with Shariq and Sabreena while they filled me in on all of the happenings in Kindergarten. I also had a chance to visit my cousin, Alifia at Northern Illinois University. Ah, to be in college again! Later that weekend, we went to cheer on Shariq’s basketball team, the Elgin Longhorns. Ali shared plays with the semi-interested 6 and 7 year olds as he tried to coach them to a victory. The game was very entertaining because not everyone dribbled as they moved down the court. Coach K has his work cut out for him!

                    I definitely indulged in all of my favorite comfort foods that I avoided in Florida. Among my favorites were fettuccine aIfredo, Portillo’s, nihari, halwa puri, and deep dish pizza from Giordano’s. Why is it that all the good food is SO bad for you? My eating habits even forced me to dabble in P90X! Ok, let’s be honest. I spent more time swearing at the TV. Ali, good luck to you, but I’m going to stick to my regular workout routine.


Alifia and me at our family brunch

Although I was sad to leave, I was excited to return to warm and sunny South Florida to see Hoor. Our first week back was pretty uneventful. As Hoor struggled with his jet-lag, I struggled to understand what went wrong with Kim's Fairytale wedding. Most nights Hoor was asleep by six. During this time I caught up on all of my celebrity gossip.

 He was back to his normal self by the end of the week just in time for the Fort Lauderdale Trolley Loop. The trolleys took passengers to various drinking establishments in downtown and on the beach. The money raised went to local charities. That night we met up with some fellow Chicagoans!

We had so much fun checking out local hot spots and sharing stories about adjusting to life in South Florida. We ended up at a piano bar. It was no Howl at the Moon, but they played everything from Biz Markie to Elton John and we were entertained! We spent the rest of the weekend shopping for our Thanksgiving dinner. This year it will be just the two of us!



Halloween ~ My favorite time of year!

I love everything about Halloween! Dressing up, eating candy, going to haunted houses and watching scary movies are just some of my favorite things about the end of October.


I knew being in Florida would be a different Halloween experience for us. I'm sorry, it just isn't Halloween without a traditional fall. Instead of cooler temps and falling leavings, we had nonstop rain the entire weekend, but that didn't put a stop to our Halloween fun! On Saturday we drove down to Miami to see The Addams Family musical at the Adrienne Arsht Center. This was my first Broadway musical and it was an excellent experience! We had great seats and we truly enjoyed the show. The actors and actresses played their parts well and provided a show with jokes, songs, and dances that didn't disappoint! 

Later that night we decided we would head downtown for a Halloween block party. I dressed up as a member of LMFAO's Party Rock Crew and Hoor dressed up as Tiger Woods. I practiced shuffling to get into character and Hoor, well, we won't go there! The costumes that night made us laugh, wonder, and stare. We saw everything from Siri to Natalie Portman's Black Swan character to a Mammogram machine and a lot of other crazies!

Every day I'm shufflin'!

I was fortunate enough to fly home to surprise Shariq and Sabreena on Monday and go trick-or-treating with them. They were dressed up like scary vampires. Actually, Sabreena made it clear that she was not a scary vampire, but a pretty vampire. Look out Bella Cullen!

Alifia joined us for virual trick or treating!

Trick or Treat!

Smartie Pants with her parents!