Three Cheers for the Ladies!

Tonight I met up with some of my favorite girlfriends, Neha and Kelsey, at the Miami Art Museum for cocktails, live music, and some light perusal of the art halls and inspired gift shop.  (Note: If you are ever inclined to buy me anything, head straight to your nearest art museum gift shop!)  The bustling event - spackled with a tropical Miami spring rain - took place for young professionals in the non-profit sector, of which my friend Neha is a member.

Neha (pictured far right), being in the same 1st year class as my fiancee, was one of the first people I met in Miami and continues to be one of our dearest and, yes, most magical friends.  After her entrepreneurial and eco-friendly endeavors drew the attention of The Miami Herald and the South Florida TV news, she's now entirely too famous to be seen with me, but thankfully continues to do so to (I think) keep her street cred.  Her "Raise the Bar" non-profit organization is truly the kind of activism Miami desperately needs to head in the green direction.  THREE CHEERS!

The equally exceptional Kelsey, with her marvelous coral-inspired apparel (pictured, well, take a guess), is not only deep in training for the Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Marathon, (bless those superhuman legs of hers), she's a mere couple months away from leaving us for Duke's Med School.  THREE CHEERS! (....Plus a heartfelt *sniff*)  I promise to come visit her at Duke or "The Cape" (whichever one's closer?) for, if nothing else, her enticing hug+backrub combo.

After MAM, Kelsey, Neha, and I met up with another fabulous lady by the name of Laura at old-school-carwash-turned-retro-restaurant Andiamo Pizza** at Miami's 55th St. Station.  Laura (pictured far left) and I have not spent tons of time together, but she, shall we say, had me at "Hello."  This master of snorkeling, sailing, Public Health, and overall adventurer is also about to leave us for med school at Ponce in Puerto Rico.  THREE CHEERS! (....Plus a heatfelt *sniff, part deux)

When we four get together, we rarely stop talking, laughing, or eating.  And that's why I love them.  I had a moment, after the table had been cleared and check paid for at least 30mins and still plentiful conversation being had, where I just looked around and was SO GRATEFUL for these remarkable women in my life.  So I told them.  :)

**Very Important Pizza Sidenote: Meaning "Let's go!", the word "Andiamo" just happens to be my favorite in the Italian language, and Andiamo Pizza ranks almost equally as high in my book (Frommer's agrees, as well as most diners).  Though I still need to try Archie's - and though no pizza in the states has ever tasted as good at the ones around The Boot - this one's hard to beat.  Except around 2AM, Pizza Rustica usually hits the spot pretty, pretty good.