Read. Watch. Listen. Inquire.

We recently traveled to Cocoa Beach for a little birthday vacation for my fiancée - April 9-12 were the dates. I had already booked a room at, what I thought was, a great place to stay on the beach and we were planning on a romantic/fun weekend. We had a great time but a horrible stay. First, we checked into International Palms Resort late Thursday night because we both got out of work around 6p.m. So we were ready to relax and for drinks. We get into our room and the door doesn't close all the way unless you really slam it - STRIKE ONE . The door actually looked like someone tried prying the door open and the key card sometimes couldn't be read because the battery pack kept falling out. Nightmare! The room was decent though and so we went down to the beach bar for a few drinks. Let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the drinks themselves - it was also a short walk through the dunes to the beach so it was very ideal. But the restaurant/bar was very dirty. ...

Coming soon...review on international palms hotel and conference center in cocoa beach. It's NOT going to be a good one!

I went to One Spark last night to support local entrepreneurs and check out what they had to offer. If you don't know what One Spark is here's what the website has to say: "One Spark is the World’s Largest Crowdfunding Festival, designed to connect Creators with the resources they need to bring their ideas to life. From April 7 - 12, 2015, artists, entrepreneurs and innovators in Art, Education, Health & Science, Music, Social Good, and Technology will display Projects in a 20-square-block, multi-venue gallery in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. One Spark is the community behind great ideas. It’s your chance to submit and decide on the next big thing. It’s the opportunity to get involved, be inspired, connect and collaborate." I believe it's on its third year and I think it's a great opportunity for people to get their name out there - if not to get the funding but at least for branding purposes. It's set up in downtown Jacksonville. The streets...

The Vampire Diaries - First off, Bonnie is back! Second off, this is Elena's (Nina Dobrev) last season!!! She posted on her Instagram over the weekend saying that, "I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime. I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger. I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there's still so much more to come before the season finale in May. Elena fell in love not once, but twice, with two epic soul mates, and I myself made some of the best friends I'll ever know and built an extended family I will love forever." So, so sad for TVD family and fans. I used to watch her on Degrassi, so I've been watching her from the beginning and will keep on watching for whatever she does in the future. Good Luck!! Watch on ...

I'm going to try and post once a week about what happens on the shows I currently watch, which are a wide range of shows. Maybe you watch them too and we can talk about it, or maybe you don't and you'll be like...oh? that looks like a really interesting show... or maybe you'll hate all the shows I watch ... either way I'm going to try it. Here's some of the shows I watch in no particular order (Part 2 coming soon): Glee (series finale last Friday, March 20) -I have loved this show these past 6 seasons. The actors and characters became a part of me and who I am. I'm sure it was like that for everyone who watched the show, forever known as Gleeks! The last episode ended in the best way possible - a tribute to the beginning and where it all began and an ending that showed where they are now. It was absolute perfection and I loved that they threw in a "Don't Stop Believing" number from the first season and with Cory Monteith. Cue the tears! Thou...

Just finished reading the last book in this trilogy by Deborah Harkness. If you like witches and vampires - and I don't mean the sparkly kind - you should definitely pick up this series. It's not just about fictitional creatures, but about love and politics and the struggle to survive in a world that doesn't understand the differences between people and culture. And for Diana Bishop, who struggles with keeping her career as a historian separate from her powers, learns along the way that she is who she is and she shouldn't change that at all. I love the characters in this book and the story that it holds. And it all began with A Discovery of Witches. I am currently reading the new Amy Tan novel. I have a strong love for books about World War II, the Holocaust and Chinese Folklore. I grew fond of Amy Tan after watching the Joy Luck Club, and all of her books are just as amazing and her storytelling abilities are something I aspire to be.

This past week my fiancé and I made a little trip to the St. Augustine Distillery . It's been open to the public for a year this March and we just happened to come across it while on our way to the winery . Needless to say, it was a great discovery. The distillery is in a former ice house. When you first walk in, you punch in a punch card because today you are going to get some work done. Next you watch a film about the history of the distillery. All the products that go into making the vodka, gin and bourbon are all from local farmers and whatever is not used is recycled back to the farms for animal food. Walking through the wooden double doors into the distillery was like walking into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Our tour guide, Lou, was the kind of tour guide you want on a tour of a liquor distillery. He was witty and dressed the part. After watching a short video about the distillery, the owners, the farmers and the process - all of the items that go into the liquor...

The Carrie Diaries - the prequel to Sex and the City , tells the story of Carrie Bradshaw as a teen and how her story began. I started watching the television series on Netflix, not when it first aired on the CW, which is the dilemma for me, because it only had two seasons and now I'm addicted to these characters and the story and it's all over. I enjoyed watching Carrie grow up, and AnnaSophia Robb plays a young Sarah Jessica Parker very well, and I think Parker agrees . I don't know about you, but watching Carrie begin her writing career makes me want to write a lot more - hence this blog and my new course in travel writing on MatadorU. Carrie follows her dreams always and it makes me want to do the same. She is aspiring, and even when things don't go her way, she finds a way to get what she wants. Maybe it's because it's on television and things always have a happy ending, but it gives me some sort of energy to write and write to my hearts content about...

So I haven't been on in a while and I am sorry. Been very busy, but I just finished The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith - and it was AMAZING!!! Same great characters with a new case to solve. I love J.K and I love her alter ego as well. Now I'm reading the final book in the All Souls Trilogy The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. So far it's really really good. It's piecing together what was left off in book 1 and 2 and bringing forth new secrets that may prove to be helpful or not to the main characters Diana and Matthew. But we will see, we will see. I just don't want the book to end. Why do all good books have to end? I hate when they end, it's like saying goodbye to a friend. But then again, you can always reread and reacquaint yourself with your friends any time you want to, and that's always good for me. I must have revisited Hogwarts a thousand times and it never gets old, though it does get sad at times, mostly towards the end. Tissues are always n...