Blog Archives

Happy Halloween Ft Lauderdale!

10/31/2019

Happy Halloween Ft Lauderdale from a Foxy Lady... that just got caught...
he got me!

*special effects makeup by Nicole Bruno of All Dolled Up

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Reasons You Need a Girls Night Out

10/26/2019

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Have you been to one of the monthly Girls Night Out Socials? No? Are you looking for a reason to attend? Well here are five ways that having a Girl's Night is good for you.!

Girl's Night Outs are good for you- Here are five reasons you need to attend the next Ft Lauderdale women networking social hosted by Mandy Carter

1. You get to take off your "mom hat’ for the night
Being a mom is an amazing job to have. It’s also the hardest job you’ll ever enjoy! And thought we typically eat, sleep and breathe motherhood responsibitilites, it is so nice to step out of that role for just a few hours. Get pretty, have adult conversations, have some conktails, make new friends and just enjoy being a woman...not the mom.

2. You smile a lot on a Girl's Night Out!
If you watch a table full of ladies at a bar or restaurant you will notice tons of launghing and smiling. It is guaranteed that if you go out with just the girls, the laughs starts flowing. All of these giggle produce endorphins, relaxes your nervous system and makes you feel more positive about yourself and the world. And you will go home smiling.

3. You process and purge all of your woes.
Women like to talk through our worries, so if we haven't had a chance to chat it out in a while, then it builds up and turns into stress. We’re not necessarily looking for a solution--just the act of sharing makes us feel better.. A great Girls Night Out allows you and your girlfriends get to whine, complain, and share about everything and anything. You get to go home with a clear head, ready to relax.

4. You feel prettier after a Girl's Night Out.
Women notice things that the men in our life don’t. And on top of that, they actually comment on those things. Did you switch shampoos and your hair is fuller...someone will notice. Did the lash growth serum start to work...someone will notice. Is that dress perfectly fitting, you will get that great comment. Rockin a new nail polish, someone will ask you where you got it. You will leave a Girl's Night Out feeling like the rock start supermodel that you are!

5. You come home energized
Though you might leave with a a cocktail buzz, the great buzz will the be the energy that you gain from a night out with some positive women. Reminds me of school days with chaotic slumber parties full of gossip, laughs and nonstop high energy. I went home exhausted but exhilarated and couldn't wait for the next one. Similar thing happens with a Girls Night Out. You will feel recharged and reconnected with your feminine energy and power.

Fort Lauderdale Girl's Night Out Socials
These are all photos from the previous Ft Lauderdale Girl's Night Out "Turquoise Takeover" Social. As you can see all the women had a blast. The monthly networking socials are always fun. I would love for you to check out the upcomin,ing Girl's Night Out schedule and make plans to join us!
For an updated list, checkout our facebook events page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/ftlhousewives/events

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MANDY CARTER
Mandy manages the South Florida and SWFL Communities of Housewives In the City as well serving as the South Fl & Midwest Regional Manager. She is mother of two who loves to travel, shop and try new cocktails. In addition to planning events and blogging for Housewives In The City, Mandy Carter is a published writer, working model, freelance event producer & marketer at itsmandymichelle.com as well as a family travel columnist & blogger at Acupful.com.

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Florida in the Fall - Family Fall Bucketlist -

10/20/2019

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Family fall bucket list } Things to do with kids in Fall in Florida | Mandy Michelle Carter

After the initial back-to-school chaos, we can now breathe and have some family fun as we approach the holidays. In South Florida, we don't really have a drastic change in the weather nor do the leaves have a huge color difference I personally love bucket lists. Bucket lists are a great reminder to slow down, and take time to just enjoy some quality time with the kids.

I’ve got 15 awesome ideas for you to enjoy the fall season (even in Florida) with loads of family fun!

Decorate the house with fall decor
Bake an apple pie together from scratch
Create a thankful jar
Have a family picnic
Make pine cone bird feeders
Roast marshmallows
Build a scarecrow
Make Blessing Mix and give to friends

Blessing Mix recipe | fall family activity

Paint gourds
Eat caramel apples
Pick out new fall candles
Donate food to a local food bank
Visit a farmer’s market
Go for a walk in the woods
Plan Thanksgiving dinner (each family member picks two items)!

Fall is a wonderful time to take a moment with the kids to reflect on the year so far. Talk about what made it special. What else you’d still like to do. And what things each member is thankful for. It can just be a chat while walking or a serious toast at Thanksgiving. 2019 is almost over, enjoy the last two months making fun memories!

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October Charity Spotlight: Glam-a-thon by Heather Bling

10/17/2019

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Ft lauderdale Housewives In the City Charity Spotlight for October | Glam-a-thon Breast Cancer | Mandy Carter

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Which we kicked off with the Pretty In Pink Party at YOLO on October 1st. Click here for the full event recap and photos.

Are you familiar with the Glam-A-THON™ Revolution?
Having selected the Broward Health Foundation as its local partner for breast cancer initiatives,
Glam-A-THON™ has donated $502,000 over the past six years to benefit the Lillian S. Wells Women’s Health Center and the Lisa Boccard Breast Cancer Fund, with all proceeds helping to fund free mammograms, diagnostic testing, and other needs associated with those undergoing breast cancer treatment. Join the Glam revolution with your donation to one of the Glammy Participants, Heather Bling - a Housewives In the City member and Girl's Night Out featured business.... and help South Florida to Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye®.

Support a Housewives In the City Glamathon participant | Heather Bling

DONATE HERE

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Saturdays at Shooters: Free Yoga then Brunch!

10/13/2019

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Want a fun and healthy way to start your weekend? Well, I have found the perfect way to spend the morning. Set your alarm, grab a yoga mat, and head to Shooters Waterfront restaurant.

You will have a relaxing and beautiful view as a local yoga instructor, Taryn Allen, offers free Yoga every Saturday, Dozens of people are starting their Saturdays by relaxing their mind and expanding their flexibility, strength and positive energy. This hour-long session takes place on the intercoastal dock... if you have never dined here...it is BEAUTIFUL!

But that's not it, afterwards, yoga participants receive a complimentary mimosa and five dollars off their popular brunch.

$5 off Brunch at Shooters if You Take the Yoga Class!

The Weekend Brunch is popular at Shooters, so definitely a perk of yoga to get the $5 discount and early seating right on the water! My personal favorite: Avocado Toast!

Saturdays at shooters Waterfront Details

Date: Every Saturday Morning
Time: 8:30-9:30am
Address: 3033 NE 32nd Ave
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308
Website | Facebook | Instagram

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October is ALSO National Disability Employment Awareness Month

10/9/2019

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In addition to the well known Breast Cancer Awareness month, I recently found out that October is also National Disability Employment Awareness Month. If you are not directly affected by a disability then it may be something you don't think of often. So it is important we take this time to recognize our co-workers, kids classmates, neighbors and family members who are disabled, we must accept that they want to be fully included in their communities – just like anyone else.

I was introduced to the best-selling book, Butterflies and Second Chances: A Mom’s Memoir of Love and Loss. and I want to share a profound excerpt from the book: "After Elizabeth's Passing," reveals a mother’s special needs journey of sacrifice, dedication, and the life-altering adjustments a special needs parent has to make when confronted with the unthinkable—the loss of a child. But most of all, it reveals love and an extraordinary mother-daughter relationship that flourished without words in the darkest shadows of adversity.

National Disability Awareness Month | Butterflies and Second Chances by Annette Moines

Below is an Excerpt from Annette Hines’ book, Butterflies and Second Chances: A Mom’s Memoir of Love and Loss

My daughter Elizabeth was the love of my life.
I know most people say their husband or their wife is the love of their life. But for me, I know it was her. Elizabeth just totally got me, and I got her. We spent a lot of time alone together, she and I. She was a good daughter. Even though she was so disabled, she was incredibly powerful in her way, and so good to me—and good for me.
She taught me so much, and not in that stupid, goofy way that people like to say. She really did help me learn about life. For one thing, she brought me to this great profession that I love. I get to meet so many awesome people because of her.
After Elizabeth passed, after the parade of people in our house, suddenly everybody was gone. The house was empty. A crew came and took away all her medical equipment. They removed her hospital bed, her medicines, everything. It was weird. Then I had to go to the funeral home and pick out a casket. I couldn’t even think. I don’t really remember much about it. It felt so surreal: what am I doing here, picking out a coffin, what am I even supposed to be asking for?
All in all, it felt like the longest week of my life. We buried her on Friday, four days after she passed. It was raining outside, and I remember waking up that morning and thinking that I just wanted it to rain forever. I never wanted the sun to shine again. It felt right somehow, appropriate, that it was so cold out. It was the kind of November cold that just sits in your bones and makes you hurt, you know?
When we buried her, I thought I was ready. I was so full of myself thinking about how smart I was that I had made all these preparations and how I was going to be ready when the time came. I wasn’t ready. I’m still not ready.
In the months after Elizabeth died, in fact for a whole year after, I was like a dead person, just walking around like a zombie. I still did my job; I connected with people. But it was all a charade. I struggled every morning just to get out of bed and go to work. I remember spending a lot of time that winter lying on my bed, doing nothing, just staring at the ceiling. Mark, my husband, took up the slack in terms of keeping the household running, getting Caroline, my other daughter, back and forth from school, calling in laundry service, having meals delivered. He was amazing. Me, I just couldn’t get up. It was like my arms and legs and head were all so heavy, weighing me down. It took so much energy just to lift myself up out of bed, get my clothes on, and get out the door.
People had stopped visiting. For them, it was all over. For me, it was still such a difficult time. I couldn’t think. Grief is funny that way, how it hits you. It’s not always about the crying. It’s not like you’re in the same excruciating pain and agony that you were. But the grief is still there, it’s deep, and it impacts you in other ways: it interferes with your memory, your ability to think and process information.
Grief comes like the ocean: it crashes over you like waves, then retreats for a little while, then comes back again. In the same way that the waves reshape the shoreline, my grief would slowly reshape my life. It’s a very gradual transition, just like with the seascape, but very powerful. It is the process of becoming something else.
At some point, almost a year after Elizabeth’s death, I was able to get my footing again. The sand had come back and the tide had gone out. The waves weren’t as strong. Whereas earlier, I felt like I was drowning, now the ocean was calm and I could catch my breath. I started to think clearly again, and to try to rediscover who I was in life and why I was doing what I was doing.
But then I started to question everything about myself. If I wasn’t Elizabeth’s mom anymore, who was I? The relationship had defined me for so long, almost my entire life. I had her right after I graduated from law school. It had been school, school, school, school, school, married, baby. My whole identity as an adult was being Elizabeth’s mother. Without it, I was lost. I started to perform a kind of inventory of self. Yes, I was an attorney, but did I still want to do that kind of work? Did I want to get another job instead? Did I want to shut my practice down?
I was also a wife. Did I want to stay married to Mark? I loved him, but part of me wanted to just sell everything, shed all the trapping of my previous life, and move away with Caroline. I know how harsh that sounds, and I’m certainly glad I didn’t do that, didn’t act on those impulses. But at the time, I just didn’t have anything left. As devoted as Mark had been to me, I didn’t think I had it in me to love him the way he loved me. I was struggling just to love Caroline. It’s awful, but it’s the truth. I was struggling to feel anything at that time.
My family—my mom, my sister—were there for me during this time, but they also kept a distance. Everyone did. I get it now: it’s just too painful. As much as people say they want to help, the reality of losing a child is just so devastating and traumatic that it’s too much to engage with. It’s a psychological hurdle and most people can’t make that leap. Unless they’ve been there themselves. I had known several people in my life who’d lost their children before me. I had been to their funerals. The beautiful thing is that every single one of those moms came to Elizabeth’s wake and funeral. They all showed up for me, because they knew. They’d been through it too. But they were the exception. The natural instinct is to turn away, and that’s what a lot of people did.
I was surprised at the number of friends, or people I had considered friends, who didn’t reach out after Elizabeth passed. They were there for me during her active dying phase. And then right after, people came for a while to pay their respects. But then it was all over so quickly. Everybody just went on with their lives. I couldn’t understand it. Was I also supposed to move on so quickly? How do people do that? I couldn’t wrap my head around living without Elizabeth in my world.
When we had a luncheon at a local restaurant on the Friday morning after she died, the place was packed with friends. But strangely, I don’t remember who exactly was there. Many of them didn’t stay in my world for long after that. There were lots of cards and gifts. People sent these strange things to put out in my yard, ornaments to hang on the trees, little poems and angels and wind chimes.
I smiled and thanked everyone who gave me those gifts, but I didn’t want them. I put them all in a box, and they’re still sitting in that box. I haven’t opened it since, but maybe one day, it will be time for me to pull them out. Back then, I wasn’t ready. I did what I had to do to put up a brave face and keep up with appearances. But it would still be many years until true healing came.
It wasn’t until the spring of 2015, the second spring after Elizabeth passed, that I started to come alive again. What changed? The turning point was when I attended a grief group—put on by Children’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute—for parents who had lost their children through illness. The team at Children’s had been trying to check in with me, calling and emailing, for a full year. But I just wasn’t ready to talk or engage. I never answered, but to their credit, they kept trying. Then, one day, they sent me a note about the grief group.
Something about this invite struck a chord with me. I had almost tried something similar in the past, a group that the hospice had sent me to. But when I had gotten there, I couldn’t do it. I had stopped and turned around—partly because I was terrified, but also because I realized I didn’t want to hear about kids who had died from suicides and car accidents and the like. Those are terrible tragedies, of course, and I feel for the families, but I don’t totally relate. They are a different kind of loss. It took me a while to figure this out: all loss is not the same.
Also, at that point I was still just pissed off. Back then, the hospice group had given me a little pamphlet to read, and it was just crap. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to hear that kind of stuff. And there was a certain value in my feeling pissed-off. It made me happy in a way. It was a step in the right direction. At least when I was pissed off, I wasn’t numb. But when the invitation to the new grief group arrived, it was the right circumstances and the right time. Don’t get me wrong: I was still pissed, and I was definitely the angriest person in the group. I had the roughest edges. But the fact that the other parents had experienced the same kind of loss as me made a big difference. Those parents really touched me.
Not only that, but I got to reunite with some of the amazing hospital personnel who I had lost touch with: my social worker and my nurse practitioner. It felt good. Everyone else who had been part of my world—the network who used to help me take care of Elizabeth—was now gone, all the teachers, all the nurses. I had no more Perkins people, no more healthcare people. Everything was just over. Done. So to see the social worker and nurse practitioner felt like a glass of water in the desert. They were almost the only ones left who were still part of my connection with Elizabeth.
But of course, there was also Mark. He came with me to the grief group and was able to listen, but it was also the first time he was able to talk and be heard. Because he was the newcomer to our situation and the Best Supporting Actor, he never felt like he was able to claim the tragedy for himself. Finally, he was about to talk about it in that group, a full year and a half after Elizabeth died.
I never knew how he felt. Shame on me: I never asked him how he was doing. And even in that group, he talked maybe 20% of the time that I talked. But I got to have a little window into how he felt, and particularly how hard it had been for him to see me so hurt and crushed by life. That group was so good for him; he got so much out of it. They were able to tell him things that I hadn’t been able to say, like just what a wonderful person he was.
The grief group changed me too. It was amazing in so many ways. We had different readings every week, and not all of them were slam-dunks but they were always thought provoking. We also each got a little bottle, and would add a new layer of colored sand each week, whatever color we chose. We did that for three months, and at the end we all had these beautiful bottles: a collage of colorful sand in different layers and different colors.
The layers were not all the same depth and they were a little intermingled. But the whole project connected with me, like I was developing my own new shoreline. As art, it was imperfect, and always changing. Some weeks the sand would be black, some weeks pink or gray or brown or white. But I always felt like it represented what I was going through during this process of creating my new seascape.
It wasn’t just about survival. It was a process of transformation. Through it all, I became something different and awesome. I still have the bottle to this day. It sits on top of my piano. Mark did one, too, and his sits next to mine.
It may have taken me a while to get in the groove of the grief group, but once I did, it was just what I needed, to let it all go and talk freely. It couldn’t have happened earlier, until all the right pieces were in place. But now I had this group that I could really relate to, this tragic club of parents who had lost their children to disease. What an odd kind of community: it’s a group you never expect to be a part of, and you certainly never want to join—but there it is. Thank God that they were there for me, that they understood and wanted to listen. I didn’t have that anywhere else. Healing doesn’t come in a linear fashion. Rather, it shows up in patches, like puffs of smoke. You catch a piece of it and start to feel whole again, but then it evaporates. There are starts and stops. But like the ocean, eventually the angry waves subside.
It marked the beginning of true healing for me. Finally, it was my time. I was ready for it, and I came out of the experience that spring with a renewed passion for my life.

Annette Hines, Esq. is the author of Butterflies and Second Chances: A Mom’s Memoir of Love and Loss. She is a powerhouse advocate for the special needs community. Not only has she founded the Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts, PC, specializing in special needs estate panning, where special needs families compromise 80 percent of the firm’s clients, Hines brings personal experience with special needs to her practice, as the mother of two daughters, one of whom passed away from Mitochondrial disease in November 2013. This deep understanding of special needs fuels her passion for quality special needs planning and drives her dedication to the practice. For more information, please visit, https://specialneedscompanies.com/ and connect with her on Facebook, @SpecialNeedsLawGroup.

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Have you Dined at The Riverside Market & Tarpon River Brewing

10/8/2019

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I recently shared on the Ftl Housewives Facebook a great article from The Atlantic Current. READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY ATLANTIC CURRENT HERE It is the story behind Julian and Lisa Siegel, who are owners of The Riverside Market and Tarpon River Brewing. I love both of these places ALOT. And the love is for more than just the great beer!

So here are some details about these two places:
The Riverside Market
address: 608 SW 12th Ave

Tarpon River Brewing
address: 280 SW 6th St, Fort Lauderdale
Follow them on Instagram @TarponRiverBrewing

The Riverside Market- known for its "self-serve massive beer selection", is actually my FAVORITE Fort Lauderdale spot for a Turkey Rueben that I can pair with one of my favorite beers or try something new because Riverside Market is South Florida's largest selection of craft beer available! Oh and their breakfast croissants also something I have at least once a month ;)!

And Tarpon River Brewing is home to our annual Girl's Night Out Holiday Sip & Shop Social. Photos below are from last year's event, but we have the date set for this year: December 19th! So if you have been planning to try this awesome brewery then here is this perfect time to do it with your girlfriends while gathering your last holiday items! RSVP HERE FOR THIS YEAR'S HOLIDAY SOCIAL AT TARPON RIVER BREWING

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Breast Cancer Awareness Girl's Night Out Pretty in Pink Party at YOLO - Event Recap + Photos

10/2/2019

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Ft Lauderdale Pretty in Pink Party at YOLO hosted by Mandy Carter

The Fort Lauderdale Girl's Night Out Social for October was all about raising awareness for Breast Cancer! We had a talented sketch artist, jewelry, local boutiques, cocktails and more! It was great to see so many new women joining the event for the first time, I was blown away that over 250 people joined me at YOLO on October 1st all in PINK!!!!

SWAG: Thank you goes to Bluemercury (located on Las Olas Blvd) for being our Swag Bag Sponsor this month. If you were one of the first 50 to check-in you got these fabulous bags filled with beauty samples plus other items from additional local businesses.

Ft Lauderdale Featured Businesses

A big component of Girl's Night Out is showcasing and supporting local small businesses. Below is a list of all this month's featured businesses along with their social links. Keep these women(and man) in mind when seeking jewelry, clothes, gifts and services. Supporting small businesses really does make a difference and when women support one another great things happen!

Mary Kay by Jaqueline & Amanda
Ruby Ribbon by Susan
Radius Financial Group
Essentials Boutique
Sketch Artist: Robert
The A to Z Boutique
The Bling Club

Pretty in Pink Party Photos

Thank you to the sweet Donna Paul of DP Studios Photography for capturing all the smiles and pink from our party! And thanks to Julie Dinda from Radius Financial Group for getting all the fun photos in front of the beautiful artwork created by Paola Gracey.

Ft Lauderdale Girl's Night Out Pretty in Pink Party at YOLO hosted by Mandy Carter

Ft Lauderdale Housewives Girls Night Out pink social at YOLO | housewivesinthecity.comftlauderdale

Ft Lauderdale Pretty in Pink Party at YOLO hosted by Mandy Carter | #ftlhousewives #ftlauderdale

Breast Cancer Charity Spotlight:

This month the spotlight was on Breast Cancer Awareness in General. And one of our very own Woman Business Owners who is actively involved with Housewives in the City is very involved in helping raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer Research through her campaign to "Kiss Cancer Goodbye.". Please consider supporting her in her Glamathon Goal of raising $3,000.

Donate Now

SAVE THE DATE Next Month: Nov 6th

If you missed this month's event, I hope you can make it to the next one on November 6th at Public House. We will have a super fun theme: A Gatsby Thanksgiving!

RSVP NOW!

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Happy Halloween Ft Lauderdale!

Reasons You Need a Girls Night Out

Florida in the Fall - Family Fall Bucketlist -

October Charity Spotlight: Glam-a-thon by Heather Bling

Saturdays at Shooters: Free Yoga then Brunch!

$5 off Brunch at Shooters if You Take the Yoga Class!

Saturdays at shooters Waterfront Details

October is ALSO National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Have you Dined at The Riverside Market & Tarpon River Brewing

Breast Cancer Awareness Girl's Night Out Pretty in Pink Party at YOLO - Event Recap + Photos

Ft Lauderdale Featured Businesses

Pretty in Pink Party Photos

Breast Cancer Charity Spotlight:

SAVE THE DATE Next Month: Nov 6th

Hi, I'm Mandy!

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​$5 off Brunch at Shooters if You Take the Yoga Class!

​Saturdays at shooters Waterfront Details

Ft Lauderdale Featured Businesses

Pretty in Pink Party Photos

Breast Cancer Charity Spotlight:

​SAVE THE DATE Next Month: Nov 6th

Hi, I'm Mandy!

Subscribe!

Archives

Categories

$5 off Brunch at Shooters if You Take the Yoga Class!

Saturdays at shooters Waterfront Details

SAVE THE DATE Next Month: Nov 6th