I usually do a ton of shopping when I’m in Miami, but this time I restrained myself and kept it low key.  Our trips always include a visit to Sawgrass Mills, an outlet mall housing over 300 retailers, near Fort Lauderdale. It’s the seventh largest mall in the US, so you can see why we spent the entire day there. Here’s what I got:

Next we went to the Saks Fifth Avenue outlet. There were so many great pieces to look at, I didn’t know where to begin. I left with a grey leather Rebecca Minkoff cross body bag – for under $100 and a pair of Kate Spade for $50.

I celebrated my 23rd birthday this past Monday and I’m feeling extremely old. Instead of doing the usual what-am-I-doing-with-my-life and over analyzing everything, I took a more appreciative approach.

I remembered how grateful I should be for everything I have, and reminded myself of all that I’ve accomplished this past year. I was also reminded of what amazing friends I have, when my birthday plans didn’t exactly go as I had hoped. My family was also great – taking me out for all the Italian food I could eat (my favorite)! I’m always on the hunt for good Italian food, and will eat it whenever I can.  I fell in love with the food and culture even moreso when I was in Italy a few years ago. We went to a couple of restaurants over the weekend, Terroni in Toronto, and Goodfellas in Mississauga. At Terroni, I had Agnolotti alla Lilli, which is ravioli stuffed with spinach, ricotta and pecorino, and topped with sage and parmigiano. The next day I devoured a wood oven pizza (kidding .. I could barely finish 3 pieces) from Goodfellas, called il Bosco. It had a pesto spread, sauteed mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. I was still eating leftovers a couple days later .. seriously, I can’t get enough.