Dominica

Welcome to Dominica. This beautiful island is located in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean. It is a lush island overflowing with nature and natural beauty. It is very undisturbed and is the perfect escape for the active individual. Hiking is the only way to see several of the island's unique sites. If water sports are more your thing, diving, snorkeling and whale watching are a few of the main events. We stayed at Jungle Bay on the Southeast corner of Dominica. This luxury resort offers guest a wellness and adventure vacation. 

During our time in Dominica, we had some memorable adventures. I hope these pictures give you a sense of the unique beauty this paradise has to offer. 

The tour guides and locals kept referring to the Champagne Beaches. I was confused because there are basically no beaches in Dominica. This volcanic island has mostly rocky shores. What I eventually learned was the Champagne bubbles are underneath the water. Best seen while snorkeling, these water bubbles come from the ocean bottom via volcanic springs. Here I am floating over the warm bubbles, they really tickle the skin!

When Christopher Columbus discovered Dominica, he returned to Spain and explained his discovery by crumpling a piece of paper and putting it on the table. It was the best way for him to describe the landscape of Dominica. 

This spot is called Scottshead. It is at the Southern point of Dominica where the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea meet. 

The country is basically a Garden of Eden. Every fruit and vegetable can grow here due to the consistent warm temperature and rainforest moisture.

Interesting fact. Over 25 Centenarians (people over 100) live in Dominica. That is one good blood line! 

Lots and lots of waterfalls.

Hiked to the Boiling Lake. This 6 hour round trip hike was the hardest thing I've done physically in a long time. It is the second largest "hot lake" in the world boiling at 200 degrees. 

Thank you Dominica for your undisturbed beauty, genuine kindness and love for life. 

Estela

My Dad and Stepmom were in town this week. With only one evening for a dinner, I made sure to pick a winner. Estela has been receiving a lot of good press lately (check out articles here and here), so I was excited to take it all in. 

Estela is located in the Nolita area of NYC just off of Houston & Mulberry. It is the brainchild of former Blue Hill Stone Farm beverage direction Thomas Carter and James-Beard nominated chef Ignacio Matos. This small plates style restaurant is meant to be enjoyed with others. The dishes are creative, full of flavor and extremely unique. 

First came Burrata with Salsa Verde over Charred Bread.

Next came Beef Tartare with Sunchoke. The Sunchoke was chopped up with the Beef which created a lovely contrast of crunchy and tender.

Moving to the heavier dishes we nibbled on Lamb Ribs with Charmoula and Honey...

...and then Quail with Grapes, Parsley and Ajo Blanco.

If we did not have enough, two more came. Here is the Ricotta Dumplings with Mushrooms Pecorino Sardo. The round disks on top are thinly shaves mushrooms.

And finally, Mackerel with Butter Beans and Nettles.

Needless to say we were stuffed. The food was delicious and the staff was extremely helpful and knowledgable. They also have an on sight sommelier available to help you navigate the expansive wine list.

Love catching up with family over a great meal. Estela is a wonderful place to splurge and order a lot or to share a dish at the bar with a friend over a glass of wine. 

Bon Apetit! 

It's those Wiseguys again.

In celebration of my mother and sister's birthdays, we headed to dinner at one of our SC favorites, Wiseguys (I wrote about Wiseguys back in December when I first started the blog). 

Fashion in Bluffton, SC is much more relaxed than in NYC. I find myself throwing on shorts and a tank most days over my bathing suit. With sweltering temperatures and thick humidity, you honestly want to wear as little clothing as possible. For our dinner celebration I chose a loose fitting maxi from Target with a beautiful crochet back (similar here). I couldn't help brining along my favorite Clare Vivier Foldover Clutch. 

Please notice the Flash Tattoo armband. With all the buzz around these things, I wanted to try them on my vacation. What I found is that they look great, but do not last very long, especially with suntan lotion, chlorine and salt water. My new Rose Gold Bow Ring is from Kate Spade. 

Wiseguys serves New-American cuisine and they are known for their steaks as well as small plates. We always go for a variety of small plates. 

We started with Smoke Salmon Bruschetta. The house smoked salmon was mixed with chipotle cream cheese, cucumber, red onion, and a citrus creme fraiche.

I'm not a huge Caesar Salad fan, but was intrigued by their Avocado Caesar Dressing. Nothing better than fresh anchovies on top.

Here we have Truffle, Parmesan, Bacon French Fries. Oh my gosh.

These nibbles are the Short Rib Stuffed Mushrooms. Braised short rib, caramelized onion, roasted sweet peppers were stuffed into jumbo mushrooms and topped with a gorgonzola cream and balsamic reduction.

Here we have the Prosciutto & Fig Pizzetta.  Fig confit, mozzarella, gorgonzola, prosciutto di parma and caramelized onion. It was just as good left over the next day.

Finally, Seared Sashimi Tuna Sliders with Truffle Aioli and Arugula on a fresh baked roll.

Too full, we opted out of dessert. I decided to just sing them happy birthday and give them big hugs. This little sign on the way out made me chuckle Sadly, it is a bit true.

Bon Appetit!

xoxo