Kirsten shares her expertise on fun in the pub, fun in the studio and tons of fun in the sun. She knows how to kick off spring break season right! Come back next week for a video recap of all the shenanigans.

Joshua Kohl has a kind smile and a frank manner. His wife, Sarah Asmar, has a generous smile, a warm energy and a playful sense of humor. It’s a pleasure to interview the vivacious couple and I am intrigued by their backstory: Sarah and Josh were introduced to each other by a mutual friend named Maria D’Amato who happens to be performing the role of Desdemona in Otello. Maria’s boyfriend Dimitrie Lazich will be performing the role of Morales, and Josh notes that he and Dimitrie used to eat lunch [...]

After a very successful 2011 on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch, nine additional new businesses will be added to the popular shopping and dining center over first few months of 2012. Soma, a national franchise owned by Chico’s, will open in March. Soma sells lingerie and intimates for women and will open right next door to Chico’s. Premier Sotheby’s International Realty will replace Prudential Palms beginning March 1, and J-Pan Sushi will replace Saijo Sushi. The American Shore Trading Company will soon open in the former Little Bookworms’ space. “The addition [...]

People rarely think about the time and attention a chef puts into planning a restaurant’s menu. After all, how hard can it be to create a list of the items being served? In reality, the days of a legal-sized sheet of paper with a listing of dishes are gone. Today’s chefs see their menu as an extension of their culinary vision: something that reflects their restaurant, skill and creativity—not just a list of dishes! Although it sounds simple and rather mundane, the planning of a new menu can take months [...]

Kirsten and Blonde Out of Water drop in at MarkAngel Salon to show a peek of the royal treatment they received there on Valentine’s Day, then Kirsten shows us the sights and sounds of Saturday’s show at the Cock & Bull Pub with Room Full of Strangers, Villanova Junction, Physical Plant and Buffalo Wizards. Finally she takes us to a lush luau at Blue Que Island Grill. Where will she go next? Check in Friday to find out.

When folks ask me what it was like going to New College, the one thing I’m always able to say is, “It was the kind of place where there was such a concentration of unique, independently-spirited and creative people that it was easy to take them for granted. It only hits you when you leave school and start to hear about the wonderful things they’re doing out in the world.” Perfect case in point:  Marina Williams, a fellow “Novo Collegian,” has beeen working for years in Sarasota’s neighboring city of [...]