Blog No. 7 of 2025

It’s Monday, I know this isn’t when you’re used to receiving my blog but, a busy Friday involving a road trip to Cape Canaveral, some work late Friday afternoon and finding a spot for dinner, precluded me from writing this.

Instead, you get the bonus of reading about a few new spots I discovered up here.

Nick and his bud Geno in their personalized Marlins jerseys enjoying the Fanfest.

Last Saturday we went to the Marlins FanFest and although I didn’t stay for very long, it was fun to walk around the ballpark with Monica, while Vance, Nick and his friend Geno enjoyed the batting cages and other fun stuff going on. Monica and I then went just a few minutes away from there and had an early (early bird really!) dinner at Doce Provisions, a cute spot in Little Havana I’ve always loved, and I’ve mentioned in this blog before. Note though, it’s located in the off-the-beaten path area of Little Havana, not on Calle Ocho. It’s got a really cute patio which is where we sat and enjoyed sangria and chorizo croquetas, tostones with guac, pickled chile and queso fresco appetizers. For our mains Monica ordered the ropa vieja and I had a very creative sushi type appetizer with crispy rice and fresh ahi tuna that was divine.

Superbowl Sunday was a quiet affair at our our house where I cooked up some wings, made chicken meatball sliders and pico de gallo and guac for chip dippin’. We ate and sat in awe as we watched the Philadelphia Eagles trounce the Kansas City Chiefs. What a blowout!

Wednesday night, Nick and I were back at trivia and although I failed miserably, it was a fun night and the quesadillas I had were yummy and abundant, Nick had the leftovers for dinner on Thursday night.

Speaking of Thursday, lunch this day was one of the highlights of my week since I had lunch at the Flanigan’s in North Miami with my sister Susy and her adorable grandson (and my great nephew!) Jojo!! That kid was the hit with every server, all of them stopping by to say hi and smile at him.

Friday, Nick and I packed up the car and headed up to Cape Canaveral to visit Vance and start shopping for furniture for our townhouse in Merritt Island. We made a stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch (of course).

Once I was done with some work, we headed out and drove to Cocoa Village. After walking around for a bit I decided I definitely wanted to come back during the day. We did stop in at the Bugnutty Brewing Co. where I enjoyed a half pour of the Suzy’s Red Belly Ale. We also ran into one of Vance’s co-workers who was there having dinner with his wife.

Dinner was a bit of a fiasco because we couldn’t find the spot that had been recommended to Vance so we ended up at a nearby spot called Florida’s Seafood. It wasn’t bad, I enjoyed my mussels and clams combo in a lemon garlic sauce with spinach and sundried tomatoes.

Waterfront view by Ryan’s Pizza & Pub in Cocoa Village.

My lovelies…

Saturday, we went shopping for furniture in Melbourne then headed back to the apartment and waited for Elizabeth to arrive. We then spent the afternoon in Cocoa Village where we had lunch at the waterfront Ryan’s Pizza & Pub. I had a tasty slice of veggie pizza and we all split the broccoli cheddar bites as a starter. The view is phenomenal and next time we go we’ll have to sit upstairs where my niece Nicole says there’s an amazing waterfront view. Now we know.

After lunch, Elizabeth and I set off to check out all the cute shops I’d spotted the day before. Our first stop was into Antiques & Collectibles Too, which we walked into before lunch when Elizabeth spotted a bunch of cute stuff. I ended up buying a couple of very cute dainty earrings.

We visited Desert Island Press where they have really cute stationery and a few printing presses on display that they use for workshops and kids’ classes. The store was adorable. I ended up buying a t-shirt. The owner and I chatted for a while, I told her I was from Miami and had just attended Tropic Bound and she told me Miami’s printing scene is a happening thing and one that she follows. It was a lovely visit.

We also went into Hello Again Books which is right next door and enjoyed browsing this adorable independent bookstore. I love their displays and the whole vibe of the place.

Lastly, we strolled into The Sea Witch of Cocoa Village where I picked up some incense and we looked at all the pretty crystals. Can’t wait to light my incense tomorrow, something I love to do while I’m working.

That night, we skipped dinner because we had such a late lunch but did meet my niece Nicole, her husband Tariq and their boys Ramzi and Mazen at our townhouse to show them around. They really liked it, as do we!

Finally yesterday, we all went back to the furniture stores and Vance bought the items we’d picked out yesterday for the townhouse. After that we headed back to the apartment and on the way stopped for lunch at Shells of Melbourne, a seafood restaurant whose name sounded so familiar and it turns out, Vance and I used to go to the one in Miami when we were dating and during our early married years. Sadly they closed but we remember it being really good and this one was too! I had the fish spread and we all split the conch fritters which were really good.

Sangria at The Fat Snook

Mexican street corn deviled eggs at The Fat Snook.

Farmer’s Market cavatelli pasta at The Fat Snook.

Seared scallops on banana polenta with bacon maple marmalade at The Fat Snook.

After saying our goodbyes to Elizabeth Vance and I decided to go to dinner at another highly recommended place The Fat Snook in Cocoa Beach. I was able to easily snag an 8 o’clock reservation. Wow! What a memorable meal and experience. The restaurant has wonderful ambiance, it’s very cozy and the food is outstanding. Our server was wonderful and we actually ended up chatting all night with the couple sitting next to us, snowbirds from Vermont. Just look at the photos of our meal that I shared above. It was the perfect ending to a nice weekend.

I’ll do my best to write my blog this coming Friday so you’ll have to deal with two of my blogs in one week. I’ve got a lot planned this week too with a play on Tuesday night and a South Beach Wine & Food Fest event on Wednesday.

But I’ll tell you all about those later! Have a wonderful week everybody and thanks for reading!