Makeup Artist

by Glamour Girls

I am an artist, whose medium is the human body, applying makeup for theatrical, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions including all aspects of the modeling industry.

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The Best GYM EVER!

Look, if any of you actually know me.. At some point we've talked about working out..it happens. I really do enjoy working out but as long as I can remember I've been in a gym(trainers, pools, incredible views, etc..) AND I HAVE ALWAYS HATED IT. I mean lets be serious running on a treadmill makes you feel like a hamster and although I may look like the one from a KIA commercial I most certainly am NOT.
I decided to do something about it as I always do. It just so happens that my trainer was going to be leaving the gym I was at anyways and well, I was going with him. It's been the BEST decision I have made in recent years.
3x a week on a beach or in a park we work out.. in the elements with and sometimes with out weights(mostly with) we run, stretch, and kick my sweet ass from here to kingdom come. What I realized I FREAKING LOVE being outdoors. It could be 100 degrees outside(which in Florida is a real possibility) I love it. Heres the thing with my trainer.. He's tough. I'm not talking push you down make you cry like Jillian Michaels. But I'll be darned if it doesn't hurt..

So my new favorite gym is the beach.. running, jumping the challenge of the sand plus at 7 am who can resist that beautiful sunrise. It always feels right to be there even when I have the worst mood (and again if you know its totes possible). Who would ever think that I could be happier than working out in the hot sweaty heat of the beach... not this girl. Im enjoying Jacksonville more and more every and one part is the beautiful Gym I get to use for free..

The Grape and the Grain Exchange

It was the first Saturday morning in town that is just STUNNING. Its so nice that I'm sitting outside enjoying a shaken passion tea lemonade from Starbucks. While i was reading my magazine enjoying the most beautiful day in WEEKS! i run in to a friend who says she is in the mood for a mimosa.. why didn't I think of that? But where do you get a mimosa in San Marco, on a Saturday Morning?

We ended up at that very cute, quaint and simple bar, Grape and Grain exchange . The bar which is a Speciality Bourbon, Wine, and Craft beer retailer. Sits on one of the corner blocks on a San Marco Block right next to Maple street Biscuit Company.

When you walk in to G&G(Grape and Grain) there is so much natural light from the 10ft tall windows with stool seating. The tall ceilings and wood crafted walls covered in specialty bottles of bourbon/whiskey, it feels like your are walking in to an upscale country store. To your right theres a lovely bar clean and white with aluminum red stools. The back of the bar is decorate and stocked with beautiful wine, beer, and balloon glasses.

The menu offers a wide selection of hand crafted beverages, beer and wine on tap, wines by the glass plus a cheese and charcuterie.

We decided to go with a wine by the bottle on the recommendation of the bartender. We headed to the cooler to pick a nice bottle of wine that was reasonably priced. They have EVERYTHING your wine filled heart could desire. Ranging prices from $10-$100 for a bottle a wine.(plus a corking fee, 1$ for beers $10 of wine). We chose a chilled white pinot gris. The staff was friendly and extremely knowledgable about the wines explaining the different flavor profiles and level of sweetness we could expect. We were going to do a champagne/sparkling wine but the ones we liked weren't chilled and as we all know .. You can't  drink warm champagne.

Three Pear wine ($12)has a pear after taste and is light and not too sweet is. It would be great with fish and light fare. 

So we sat down to try the meat and cheese platters asked about pairing with our wine.Based on those recommendations we chose our meats and cheeses. He was right, the pairings were phenomenal.

What I liked about this wine was that it was full of flavor and refreshing. This wine is following a new trend of screw top wine no cork to pull (makes it easy to open). Personally I would take this wine on a picnic with me. 

 We also chose a beer to try from the cooler

A Cigar City brewing, Florida Cracker is brought from tampa. 

Normally I am not a huge beer drinker but for the sake of trying local beer it went with it. It was like drinking a mimosa in a beer. The beer reminded me of florida summer. With hints of orange peel and vanilla up front then lead to citrus and a light flower flavor. I was pleasantly surprised and at 3$ a beer (plus $1 corking fee) it was an all around great choice that was picked out for me.

All in all my experience at G&G was GREAT. I enjoyed learning about about the drinks and bourbon  and trying some of them (forgot to take picture but i'll add them later).

Its definitely a place to check out and go on your own taste trial with the bourbons. I would check it out for happy hour. Sometimes on the weekend they have a acoustic band playing.

5 cheese Baked ziti= epic dinner

Lately, I have been craving some ewwy, gooey, cheesy, delicious pasta.. Now this is my recipe for an EPIC recipe for 5 cheese baked ziti.
First off I do not consider myself a gourmet chef or anything in that realm. But I do know GOOD FOOD, and I know what I like to eat! I have plenty of friends who are super foodies and kind of amazing when it comes to teaching me about new foods.

So first things first, supplies:
- large mixing bowl
- spatula(mixing spatula)
- casserole dish
- cutting board and knives

Now that you're set up and ready to go here are your ingredients:

- 15 oz. tub of Ricotta
- small package of goat cheese (Ile de France has a 1$ off coupon right now)
- trianlge(small) Parmigiano-Reggiano A.K.A parmesan cheese
-cottage cheese(normally I'm not a huge fan of this cheese but WOAH! it helps with binding and texture)
 -2 cups of mozzarella cheese (separated)
- 1 large egg
-1 med/large white onion
-1 cup of mushrooms(optional)
1 box of ziti or Mostaccioli pasta
-5 basil leafs
-1 bay leaf
-2 cloves of garlic
-3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
-2 cans of diced tomatoes (I bought Delmonte basil and oregano)
-1 can of tomato sauce again I used Delmonte
-1 can of tomato paste
- salt and pepper for taste
-1lb of ground chuck 80% lean (feel free to use chicken or turkey it works the same way)
-1lb of ground mild Italian sausage
-1/4 cup of red cooking wine
-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
-2 tablespoons cup of sugar (It sounds crazy but well its not just trust me here)


WHEW! while you are at it grab the kitchen sink its going in there also!

so here we go grab your mixing bowl and lets start combing some cheeses this will be your filling to making creamy cheesy ziti!

combine and fold together with spatula:
3/4 of the 15.0z. tub of ricotta cheese
1 cup of mozzarella
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 cup of cottage cheese
1 small entire package of goat cheese.
1 large egg
(salt and pepper to taste)

now set this delicious mixture aside

SAUCE TIME!

start by using a large sauce/ soup pot heating( med/ high heat) your 3 to 4 table spoons of olive oil.
while the oil is heating up go ahead and start by dicing the medium onion, and mincing the 2 cloves of garlic. Your oil should be hot enough now to place both of these items in they'll begin to sizzle. You'll want to let them start to caramelize a little not to too much sitting frequently. Once the onions and garlic are caramelized add in your meat choices, remember the combination of the of the sausage( they make sausage style meat in chicken and turkey) will help add flavor to your dish. You will want to make sure the meat is fully browned before going forward.
Once your meat has browned you are going to want you are going to drain any fat that is remaining, don't worry if any of it is a little stuck to the pan thats what the wine is for. Once all the fat is drained go ahead and add some wine to the pot  about 1/2 -1 cup of wine to deglaze the pot. On medium heat lets start adding all of our tomato products (sauce, diced tomatoes, paste). Add your bay leaf and Italian seasoning start stirring it gently with a kitchen spoon bring this to a simmer (it should be bubbling a little). Lets chop up our mushrooms here and add them in along with salt and pepper to taste.

Nows the time to lower the head to a low/med simmer. We just want the flavors to blend and be delicious it should be a little chunky.

So I personally am not great at cooking pasta or making it al dente. The box says to bring water to a boil the pasta with water and wait 10 mi till firm? So thats what I did. I'll let you be the judge of your own pasta, I like mine a little firm since it's going in to the oven covered in sauce. 

After your pasta has come to the cooked-ness your happy with, remove from the stove and drain also run some cold water over it(this helps stop the cooking process so your pasta isn't mushy).

The bowl you have had sitting to the side with the cheese comes in to play now. Combine the cheese mixture and the pasta. Why? you might be asking yourself? This way all the pasta gets fair play in the cheese.

** start pre heating oven to 375**

After the  cheese are all combined ad 2 cups of the see mixture to the bowl this way its becomes gooey and its not just noodles covered in cheese.

In your casserole dish put two spoonfuls of the sauce thats heating on the stove in the casserole dish (spread it evenly) you want this layer so that the pasta doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the dish.

start scooping out the pasta mixture in to dish smoothing it out evenly across the dish. Once its all in there add the remaining part of the sauce on top smoothing as you go. Use that remaining 1 cup of mozzarella on top of the sauce. The oven should be preheated to 375 degrees. 

Bake for 10-15 min till golden brown it should look like this (i put the oven on broil for a minute or two just to create a crust) 

Personally I wanted to dig right in. But contain yourself. Let it rest for about 5 min then go ahead and tear it up.

ENJOY!

The 3 D's Dinner, Drinks, Dancing! a good night out.

There are soo many options for ladies night. The decision really comes down to what side of town to adventure to, I have a favorite, San Marco square. Now I know it might not be the place you are thinking of with all of the Ladies night events and bar hopping that takes place on Thursday nights. From the St. Johns Town Center to Jax Beach(reviews about those to come)and over to Riverside, there are a plethora of things to do why San Marco?

 But here's what I enjoy about INDOCHINE. If you are familiar with the historic area of San Marco then you know the  "Old Square One" bar/lounge, well its been taken over and renovated. Welcome to the newest place to have happy hour and ladies night . Up stairs you have an amazing Thai fusion restaurant(review to follow) and, downstairs in the beautifully decorated bar, this is where happy hour and ladies night takes place.

When you first walk up to Indochine you're almost taken to another world, the entrance is beautifully decorated with red paper lanterns in the open space patio. Once you walk in the GIANT wall art of BUDDAH that stands at least 10 ft tall is stunning. The bar which is decorated in red Thai writing paneling has a 360° view of the entire room and just incase you're in the mood to have quick bite down stairs before you start dancing the night away, you can. On one side of the room there are cozy elevated booths lit with little candles, and on the other side bar top tables. 

Behind the bar is where the magic is happening for ladies night theres no cover and ladies drink free. They also have a signature drink menu. (not included on for ladies night). The bar staff is incredibly friendly, attentive, knowledgeable about drinks and pairings. Definitely a place to check out for a good Thursday night.

What are you eating at 2am?

 Soon!...We are going to have some amazing options to choose from. The application process is supposed to have a quick turn to allow food trucks in or around Jacksonville Beach. The Jacksonville Beach city council voted(5-1) this past weekend to allow food trucks in this prime real-estate area. I don't know about you but as of right now there are limited options for 2 am food, or even walking around Jax beach on the occasional bike ride (aka Go Food).. We have all been there standing in line at the Ritz's delicious hot dog stand, but really what else is there at the time? Yes I am aware of pita pit, five guys, and waffle house or denny's, but really what else? I'm talking quality, gourmet fun food!

The food truck movement over the past couple of years in major cities (i.e. LA, Austin, Miami, NY,Seattle) has exploded, and now  JACKSONVILLE is in those ranks this is HUGE!! I might not be able to speak for everyone else, but the possibilities are endless. Food trucks offer up fun, casual setting for upscale eats. I know that I can't wait to get a great bite of food on a warm day or night. Although this is only a pilot project for a year I can't help but think this is going to be AWESOME!.. 

I have my personal FAVES, Happy Grilled Cheese, On the Fly, Gourmet Aviator.. and personally I'm looking forward to seeing what other food trucks pop up.. This is already looking like a great year. Once these new trucks start showing up I guarantee you will see me there 

Food trucks heading to Jacksonville Beach after council approval | jacksonville.com

What It's about?

    So it has been a while since I last blogged.. Whoops, life happens. So here is what has happened in the past year. I moved from Miami and couldn't be happier. I left a city of commotion and craziness to live the simple life. A couple of bumps in the road later, and a couple of different jobs later I finally feel settled.

     You maybe asking yourself what is "Trending First Coast" going to be about? Well I am glad you pondered.. It's about life, events that are taking place here, FOOD, fashion hits and misses, and the fun of coastal living here on the first coast. I have lived in this city most of my life having moved around here and there but, I always come back. I realize more and more I do LOVE big cities, but what I love more is southern charm mixed with a big city, thats what Jacksonville offers. Most people don't know that Jacksonville, is literally the first coast of Florida. Here are a couple of random fun facts about this lovely city. We are the largest city land mass wise, over 800 miles of area, we are home to the oldest skate park in America (Kona Skate park), and we are also the birth place of some amazing musical talents such as: Lynyrd Skinner, Limp Bizkit, Yellow Card, and Red Jump Suit Apparatus. But we are SO much more! We are a community full of interesting people, art, food, fashion and we ARE EVER GROWING, and I have every intention of bringing that light.  I am excited show all you the outings, events, trends and everything beautiful on the First coast.

This is me,  ill be finding new places to eat, drink, and shop.. As it warms up in this city I will be adventuring around town, and once all the festivals its on!

You can follow all of mishap and adventures here and on instagram: instagram.com/jcardona85