#ThankYouMiami How-To: Giving Thanks Miami Style

No one knows gratitude like your favorite Miami blog, #ThankYouMiami. While we are proponents of giving thanks year-round, we are nevertheless fans of a day dedicated to being grateful. In our excitement for tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday, we have compiled a concise how-to on giving thanks "Miami style". Thanks to the melting pot of cultures in our beautiful city and the never ending summer weather, that means a menu that includes lechon and flan and holiday-wear with brighter colors and lighter fabrics

In keeping with our distinct outlook, Miami's local restos are offering an array of alternative Thanksgiving menus this year so, if you are not in charge of the turkey, more power to you - make a reservation! Cavalli Miami and Ceconni's in Miami Beach are offering prix-fixe menus, for $80 and $35/$45 respectively, with an Italian twist. Similarly, Oolite Miami has an extensive menu of Thanksgiving options that are 100-percent gluten free at $37.99 for three courses and a side. Don't want to eat out? Give your dinner your own twist by adding dishes inspired by other cultures or by practicing your Spanish over dessert.

Regardless of where you will be eating, celebrating "Miami style" also means rocking a look that only a Miami-an would dare to wear this late in the year. To inspire you, we put together three muy chic outfits using our favorite pieces currently available at Florida boutique Magenta Couture. The resulting outfits are simple, but distinctly Miami with their mostly white palette, touches of bright colors, and non-traditional pieces (A trench as a dress? Bejeweled shoes?). And, because we love you, we made sure all three outfits are equipped to hide even the largest of food babies so you can indulge without a care. Bon appetit and happy Thanksgiving!

Miami Style Holiday Outfit Ideas by thankyoumiami featuring leather pumps

MICHALSKY leather pumps
$290 - zalando.co.uk

Olivia Trench
magentacouture.com

Neoprene Beetham Dress
magentacouture.com

Essential Japan
magentacouture.com

Trousers 2P0852
magentacouture.com

Where will you be enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday? What "only in Miami" dish does your Thanksgiving meal include? How do you dress for the holidays? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!

#ThankYouMiami for Fashion - Fashion Meets Fine Dining

When we joined Pescecane Ristorante in Surfside to share a delicious Italian meal with other Miami fashion bloggers, we figured we'd seen it all. Then, in the middle of dinner, the dining room was converted into a runway. The restaurant's transformation was part of the its one-of-a-kind event series dubbed "Fashion Meets Fine Dining". In our lastest #ThankYouMiami for Fashion post, we give you the scoop on the new program that Pescecane started at their restaurant in collaboration with Love Shopping Miami. Read the excerpt below and click the photo for the full feature! We will keep you posted once the date of the next event is announced.

Were you there for the first "Fashion Meets Fine Dining" event? What was your favorite part? What is your favorite fashion event in Miami? What is your go-to restaurant for date night? For entertaining visitors? For girls' night out? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!

#ThankYouMiami for Miami Beach - Video Contest

It's a fabulous time to be a Miami Beach aficionado! The Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA), who previously brought us a Miami Beach photo contest in September, is looking to reward you for showing our beautiful city some love with the "Miami Beach Favorite Moments Montage" video contest.

To enter, submit an original video montage showcasing your favorite Miami Beach spots, scenery, and sights on MBVCA's Facebook page and e-mail a hi-res to photocontestmiamibeach@miamibeachvca.com by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 31, 2014. Other Miami Beach fans will vote for their favorite entries and the top 10 will be chosen as the semi-finalists for incredible prizes, including:

• First place: GoPro Hero4
• Second place: iPad Ai
• Third place: $200 Visa giftcard

Here are some of our favorite Miami Beach scenery snapshots from the #ThankYouMiami Instagram page to inspire your videos. Please scoll to the bottom for the full contest details.

A photo posted by ThankYouMiami (@thankyoumiami) on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:32am PST

A photo posted by ThankYouMiami (@thankyoumiami) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:07pm PDT

A photo posted by ThankYouMiami (@thankyoumiami) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:26am PST

A photo posted by ThankYouMiami (@thankyoumiami) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:12am PST

The "Miami Beach Favorite Moments Montage" video contest is open to anyone 18 years of age or older as of November 4, 2014. Only three (3) entries may be submitted per email address/per person. Entries must be a compilation of video clips only and must not include any still photographs. All footage must incorporate Miami Beach city scenery, i.e. you may spotlight your favorite hotel under the circumstances that Miami Beach city, shore, water or skyline is featured. For more information, please visit the MBVCA Facebook page.

#ThankYouMiami How To: Lunch Like A Local - Coral Gables

Every day at lunchtime we "can't even" like it's nobody's business because we're either fruitlessly looking for a new lunch spot in our neighborhood or we're lost in someone else's neighborhood without a clue of where to eat. We're sure you can relate - so, to help us all, we're starting a new "Lunch Like A Local" series that will expand our lunching horizons no matter where in Miami we find ourselves, starting with Coral Gables. If you would like to share your neighborhood's favorite lunch spots, shoot us an email. Thanks to you, there may be one less "hangry" Miami-an roaming our streets!

For our very first Lunch Like A Local feature, we tapped our good friend Jamison Goldberg for his Coral Gables lunch savvy. Jamison is a Doctor of Physical Therapy that treats patients at Select Physical Therapy a couple days a week, but is primarily focused on growing a Coral Gables-based biomechanics and orthotics lab called Ergodynamic. Since Jamison works for a developing company, his lunch plans vary greatly from one day to the next. "Luckily", he says "Coral Gables has something to offer me whether I'm busy, need a relaxing break, or have doctors and clients to entertain." Today Jamison shares with us his four favorite Coral Gables lunch spots:

1. Patagonia

244 Miracle Mile

(305) 640-8376

Patagonia is a gourmet Argentinian delicatessen that serves cold and hot sandwiches, empanadas, traditional Argentine entrées, and espresso. Also available are a meat market and a deli section with olives, peppers, pasta salads, etc. I walk to Patagonia when I need some relaxation, but don't want to take too long of a lunch. My go-to meal here is a cold sandwich and a "Patagonia" empanada with an Orangina, which I finish up with a Cortado.

2. Frenchie's

2618 Galiano Street

(305) 442-4554

Frenchie's is where I go when I'm craving French cuisine. I opt for the French onion soup for my appetizer and vary my entrée depending on whether I'm looking for a heavy meal, like the Croque Madame, or a light(er) option, like the Duck Confit Club with Frittes. You can visit here with confidence knowing that you'll be happy no matter what you choose - after all, Frenchie's was named the Best French Restaurant of 2013 by the Miami New Times.

3. Su-shin Izakaya

159 Aragon Avenue

(305) 445-2584

Sushi is that one food type that can go spectacularly right or horribly wrong depending on the place. I can vouch that Su-shin Izakaya is worth your trust and its four star rating on Yelp vouches for my good taste. The Beef Gyoza and Shrimp Shumai are great appetizer options. The Dragon Roll and Spider Rolls are my go-to entrées, but they also offer a variety of other Japanese dishes.

4. Swine Southern Table & Bar

2415 Ponce De Leon Boulevard

(786) 360-6433

50 Eggs proved with Yardbird Southern Table and Bar that they do Southern comfort food and homemade cocktails well. Swine proves that they can replicate these concepts well. The menu here is always changing, but my mainstays are the Deviled Eggs, the Black Angus Burnt Ends and the 12-Hour Slow Smoked Pork Shoulder. I recommend coming here for a mid-afternoon meeting or when you plan to enjoy a nice long Friday lunch.

What are your go-to lunch spots in Coral Gables? What do you get there? When do you recommend going? Was there a restaurant that you would have liked to see on this list? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami! If you would like to share your neighborhood lunch spots with Miami, contact us to be featured in an upcoming post for this series!

#ThankYouMiami for Memorable Birthdays - Localeur

Miami is an amazing city. But, with everything it offers, it can be an overwhelming city for visitors who are unfamiliar with the area. Enter Localeur, an Austin-based company, whose mission is to help travelers get the inside scoop of where to eat, drink, and play on their website and app. Earlier this year Localeur tapped #ThankYouMiami to share our local expertise with their audience. In our latest recommendation, we share the four spots that made our latest birthday muy memorable. Click on the image below to discover how you too can have a birthday that is "SO Miami" and make sure to keep an eye on the #ThankYouMiami Localeur page for future recommendations!

What is your favorite Miami venue for celebrating your birthday? Why? Do you have a special birthday tradition? A favorite place for picking up your birthday cake? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!

#ThankYouMiami for Miami Art Week - Your 2014 Itinerary

Every year on November 1, as America's favorite retailers kick-start their holiday advertising, the world's elite (i.e., art collectors, the rich and famous, Miami locals) begin planning for a magical season known as Miami Art Week. The week centers primarily around Art Basel Miami Beach, the self-proclaimed "winter meeting place for the international art world" that takes place the first week of December at the Miami Beach Convention Center. While attending Art Basel Miami Beach is a must during Miami Art Week, your itinerary for the week should also include a healthy mix of the satellite art fairs, gallery events, parties (in the name of art, of course), and a visit to Miami's newest hotspots.

To help guide you in the right direction, Société Perrier has compiled a list of what's new, new, new in lodging, food, and nightlife around town. Read the excerpt below and click the photo for the full feature.

Was there a new spot that you would have liked to see in our list? What new hotspot are you excited to check out during Miami Art Week? What else are you excited to see, taste, or do? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!

#ThankYouMiami x The Falls Miami Giveaway - #GiveThanksForFashion

We are thrilled to announce that SoulOfMiami.org is back and better than ever. We are even more excited to announce that our first post on the improved and faster site is an amazing giveaway courtesy of The Falls Miami. The prizes are to die for and totally timely since we are a few short weeks from a holiday shopping emergency so click on the image below to get the scoop on how you could be our lucky winner! And, if you win, please take us shopping with you.

#ThankYouMiami for a Sense of Community - The PopUp Dinner Miami

As locals, our greatest honor and responsibility is to show outsiders that Miami is more than meets the eye. We want them to also appreciate our city's non-nightlife assets, like a thriving population of leaders and innovators and a burgeoning sense of community. These concepts are difficult to convey within our day-to-day because they manifest themselves in small, seemingly insignificant moments. However, large events such as this past weekend's The PopUp Dinner Miami, organized by Handmade Events and presented by Acura, help to illustrate them more concretely.

The all-white outdoor dining event, which was the first of its kind to take place in our beautiful city, brought the Miami community together under a common theme and purpose: to indulge in music, food, and wine. By its very nature, it created a sense of unity, of community that was reinforced with memorable moments like the synchronized lighting of sparklers.

Whether you are a Miami local or visitor, we hope that our latest article for Société Perrier helps you see what we see in Miami - the depth and beauty beyond the 99-cent postcard image. We know that, at a minimum, you will enjoy the stunning photos captured by local photographer Fernando "Holiday" Vargas. Click the photo below for the full feature.

Did you go to The PopUp Dinner Miami? What was your favorite moment? What food and decorations did you bring? Do you have any suggestions for those who want to attend similar events in the future? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!

#ThankYouMiami for Fostering Creativity - Fashion Meets Art

One of Miami's charms is its ability to bring people from various cultures together and spur their creativity. That's what happened when Viviane Chiffrin, a Martinique-based designer, Anouck "Noon" Jourdaa, a Miami-based French pop artist, and Stephanie Hasham, a Curacao-born designer, joined forces to put together a ready-to-wear fashion show for French Weeks Miami. The result? A one-of-a-kind collection of unique dresses and handbags featuring Jourdaa's vibrant artwork painted directly on fabric. How Chanel Spring 2014 of them, no?

This Wednesday, Chiffrin, Jourdaa, and Hasham's never-before seen collaboration will debut in the Miami Design District during a runway show that will also feature Chiffrin's Caribbean-inspired Extreme Chic collection. Lucky for you, the full event will be live streamed here so you can mix yourself a rum cocktail and join us from the comfort of your own home. Just make sure to tune in at 8 p.m. as the designs are revealed. You may recognize a few faces both on and off the runway!

Jourdaa's work in progress as she paints her artwork directly onto dresses designed by Chiffrin.

The finished product is true to Jourdaa's style, whose "work celebrates the joy of being a woman by blending playful sensual women with semi-abstract shapes that are part of her everyday life."

Chiffrin designed a special dress for Jourdaa that she will wear especially for the event.

Jourdaa's dress, which is also part of the Extreme Chic collection, will also feature her own work.

During the event, Jourdaa will live paint this dress for the 200+ guests and audience viewing from home.

Don't forget to tune in this Wednesday, November 12 to live view the show! During the event, you can also follow us on Twitter @ThankYouMiami for behind-the-scenes updates and to live chat about your favorite moments with us!

#ThankYouMiami for Dining Experiences - Earl's Kitchen + Bar

In a faraway suburb called Kendall, a drive from Miami's metropolitan core, is a large enclosed shopping mall known as Dadeland Mall. As University of Miami alumni, we remember it from our college days. Dadeland was our go-to for formal dresses and for window shopping in times when we had a modest student budget. For the past couple of years, despite having a more ample bank account, we have not been back. We blame it on the fact that we're South Beach locals and we rarely leave "The Beach".

This week, we discovered exactly what we've been missing by not visiting Dadeland: Earl's Kitchen + Bar. The burger and beer joint of Canadian origin opened its southermost location at the luxe wing of the mall in March of this year and has been going strong ever since. This Fall, Earl's is supercharging their menu with dishes developed in collaboration with guest chefs like Top Chef alum and former Miami resident Jeff McInnis. A flurry of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options from the creative mind of Cameron Bogue, Earl's Director of Beverage Operations, bring the dining experience full circle.

Here are the five menu items you cannot miss:

1. Cabin Fever. Leave it to the Canadians to incorporate pine cones into cocktail culture. Bogue's interpretation of a Penicillin successfully marries Crown Royal, tawny port, ginger, lemon, pineapple, moondog bitters, and a bowmore-soaked pine cone for the perfect Miami fall drink. Photo courtesy of Earl's Kitchen + Bar.

#ThankYouMiami for Fashion - Faux Fur in the French Quarter

Per the Miami norm, our fashion HQ at SoulOfMiami.org is currently getting a little work done. But these photos from our recent trip to New Orleans were begging to make their way onto the "internets" and, since Miami is between two cold fronts, we figured you could use inspiration for a cool weather look. Alas, today's post for our #ThankYouMiami for Fashion column is solely being posted on our site.

This look begins with a dream three years in the making. That's how long we've been looking for the perfect faux fur or fluffy jacket. We've tried on hundreds and hundreds of jackets, never finding "The One" - until last week when we set foot at The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk in New Orleans. There, nestled amidst the Fall/Winter fashions of Forever 21, was the faux fur jacket of our reverie (similar here and here).

We bought the jacket on our second day in town and found an excuse to wear it every day of our trip. It was definitely overkill for the mild weather, which was in the low 70s and sunny, but from the covetous and confused stares we received it was apparent we looked fabulous. Moreover, the jacket proved super versatile. We shot two looks with the jacket for the blog - this one, which was perfect for exploring the French Quarter, and another that was perfect for a night out on the town and will be featured in a future article. For other ways of styling a faux fur jacket, check out the snaps from our NOLA trip on our Instagram page.

Faux fur jacket and hat - Forever 21

Lavender open back tank - PacSun at The Falls

1969 boyfriend jeans - The Gap

Sneaker wedges - Steve Madden
Photography - Bradley Wells

What piece of clothing are you desperately searching for right now? What is the one item in your closet that can take your outfits from good to fabulous? What is the one outfit that can turn a boring day into an amazing one? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!