The Top 5 was invited to the evening Jetport Food & Wine Festival to help kick off the Celebration Exotic Car Festival. Along with well over one thousand attendees, we enjoyed great food, drink, and hob-nobbing! And the best thing about it? It helped raise funds to support Special Olympics Florida and their athletes.
Special thanks to Amie Dugan for the invitation.
Mayor Buddy Dyer and the kids from PKZ recently hosted “Slam Dunk for the Children!” Decreasing crime and increasing FCAT scores sound like a win-win combination to us! Congrats to all involved. Now enjoy the highlights video as well as Mayor Dyer’s good sense of humor! 🙂
For other Mayor Dyer videos, visit the City of Orlando’s YouTube channel.
Filed under Amway Arena, Education, family, Fun, Politics, Resident done good, Sports
I treated myself to a facial at The Woodhouse Day Spa in Orlando. Sand Lake Road is around 20 miles from my house, and certainly there are closer day spas, but this one came highly recommended from my friend Lara. If it has been a while since you have been to this area of town, near Bay Hill and Dr. Phillips and often known as Restaurant Row, it has certainly transformed. I felt as if I were driving through West Palm Beach, rather than just the other side of Universal Studios. Wow!
The Woodhouse Spa
The Woodhouse Day Spa matches this ritzy neighborhood quite well, being located in the Dellagio Town Center. The spa itself has an upscale feel, light and airy in the lobby, but a dark wood floor hints at the calming atmosphere within. The spa is clean and friendly and I definitely felt whisked away from the frenzy of Orlando. I chose the Essential Purifying Facial, which included a head, neck, and arm massage, and so I was left feeling extremely relaxed and refreshed by the end.
One of the standards of a day spa is the offering of tea while you wait. The Woodhouse features Harney & Sons tea, which is certainly a respectable brand. I found myself enjoying the Earl Grey while reading a wonderful little coffee table book on Tea. A long-time tea drinker, I found this reading fascinating.
Origins of Tea
Knowledge of tea dates back to almost 5,000 years ago in the Chinese and Tibetan area. Legend says water had just been boiled when a few tea leaves blew into the drink of Emperor Shennong, changing the color. He braved a sip, being pleasantly surprised with its sweet taste. He later championed tea for its restorative properties. Tea quickly grew to other countries, but remained exclusive to the Far East until Marco Polo brought back this commodity along with silk and other goods. Of course, the growing of tea plants remained fairly secret until the British plied this information via the opium trade.
Popular Teas
All teas come from the same type of tea tree, the Camellia sinensis; however, the climate, soil, and watering all have an influence on the quality of the tea leaf. It is then the processing of this tea leaf that determines whether it is black, green, white, oolong, or other.
Black: Black tea comes from tea leaves being processed to stop the oxidation process, and then heated once again to preserve the flavor. Black tea usually has more caffeine than the other varieties, but its flavor is usually bolder and lasts longer.
My Favorites: Any of the Assam teas (from Northern India) and Lapsang Souchong (dried over pine bark for a smokey flavor…not for the faint of heart!).
Assam Tea Gardens in Northern India
Green: Green tea leaves are leaves that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. They contain less caffeine and boast several health benefits.
My Favorites: Gyokuru (grown in the shade to increase the chlorophyll) and Matcha (a powdered green tea, often used to flavor ice cream).
Traditional whole leaf green tea serving
White: White tea comes from the tips of leaves before they open…often still safely inside the felt-covered buds. Because of this, white teas are very mild and sweet in taste.
My Favorites: Silver Needle (from the Fujian Province and best when harvested between March 1 and April 1) and Ceylon White (from Sri Lanka).
Silver Needle white tea
Oolong: Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea that is processed somewhere between a black and green tea. These teas are often rolled into long curly strands or into small balls known as “gunpowder” tea.
My Favorites: Four Great Bushes and Pouchong (a light floral aroma).
Oolong tea rolled into curls
There are other types of teas: yellow, blends, infused, Pu-erh, etc. But, with a general knowledge of black, green, white, and oolong, you can start experimenting to see what type you find desirable.
Great Orlando tea houses to try: Infusion Tea in College Park and Dandelion Communitea Café in Little Vietnam.
Filed under Fun, General Info, Just for Me, Restaurant Row
Bublé…Bublé…Bublé…Bublé.
Said fast and repeatedly, his name matches the sound of my heart beating quickly all day on Wednesday (March 10, 2010) in anticipation of seeing Michael Bublé in concert at the Amway Arena.
The excitement had been building inside me since I first purchased tickets for my sisters and their “hubby” dates and for my own husband and myself as Christmas gifts. I’ve been patting myself on the back for three whole months for coming up with the perfect gift…dinner for the six of us at Houston’s and this sure-fire winner of a show! Great gift, huh? It’s even better when you know a special little story behind it…
Michael Bublé represents a very meaningful link for our family. Our father, who passed away last August, adored Michael’s music…so much so, that we played Bublé ballads at his funeral. “You’re My Everything” speaks volumes about our dad; its upbeat lyrics and pop sound are just so “him” when he was at his cutest and sweetest. He also adored Michael’s jazz renderings, but, more than almost any others of his songs, Daddy loved the Sinatra-influenced numbers. What a treat to be able to see our father’s musical hero in person!
But, there’s more… March 10th was also the anniversary of our dear mother’s passing. She’s been gone for four years now, but we celebrate her life and all that she was every minute of every day. We know that she and our father dance in heaven to Bublé’s songs and certainly were dancing and smiling down at us while we sat mesmerized in the Amway Arena.
The opening act of the show was an a cappella group whose style is dubbed “vocal play,” called Naturally 7. Wow! They used their voices to create the sounds of different musical instruments, and the results were incredible. One fellow even replicated an entire set of drums! Their singing harmonies were fantastic, too! One song, in particular, stood out for us because of its amazing beat but pure sweetness — “While My Guitar Gently Sleeps.” The first tenor, Rod Eldridge, hit the most incredible high notes at the end of the song that I have ever heard! I would go to a lone concert by Naturally 7 any time…any place!
To say that the audience was “warmed up” by the time Michael Bublé appeared is a complete understatement. The excitement was palpable. When he reached the stage, he started out “hot” and only got hotter — in every way! He is adorable…charming, witty, great looking, and someone most women would love to take home! (I imagine his new fiancee might not be too happy about that!) And that voice! He opened with “Cry Me a River,” and the arena exploded!
This was the opening night of Bublé’s “Crazy Love” tour, and I believe Orlando is really crazy in love with him! The concert sold out back in December, and the arena was completely filled! Michael gave us lots to hold in our hearts — Billy Vera and the Beaters’ “At This Moment,” “Mack the Knife,” “All of Me,” Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love,” “Georgia,” “For Once in my Life,” and on and on. I stopped writing song titles when he did a tribute to his boyhood idol, Michael Jackson. Bublé sang “Billie Jean,” strutted and danced a la 
Jackson, and it was so cool! Unbelievably, he ended up down in the audience! He made his way to a small stage in the middle of the arena floor, followed by throngs of fans with cell phone cameras, and actually sang “Home” in the middle of the crowd! He obviously loves being so close to his fans, grasping hands, smiling for photos, and making personal remarks to many.
What a treat! From start to finish, it was a magical experience for my family. The stage was glorious, with special lighting effects and backgrounds, big video images of Michael (live, of course), gorgeous colors and patterns, and a very slippery looking, angled floor on which he danced and displayed his quite talented footwork! I would have totally wiped out on it!
I’m still patting myself on the back for thinking of this great gift for my family. The best part is…it was a wonderful gift for me, too! I’ll never forget it.
Posted by longtime Floridian and guest blogger Mary Margaret Bowen, Vice President at Park Maitland School • Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother • Artist, teacher, computer geek, photographer, collector of antiques, art, and memories.
Filed under Amway Arena, concert, family, Fun, Guest Blogger Extraordinaire, Music
I got to scratch one off my “bucket list” last night when Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band came to town, transforming Amway Arena into Margaritaville for a sold-out show. In the 40 years Buffett has been performing, he has compiled a great songbook and perfected a marketing machine that allows him to charge $136 for a lower bowl ticket and $45 for a t-shirt. Nobody’s complaining, though, because Buffett puts on a great show, embracing his audience like an old friend.
When Buffett walked on stage, the first thing he did was kick off his flip flops, then he performed barefoot the rest of the night, bouncing and hopping around the stage as if he were hanging out with us in a beachside bar in Antigua. Weather permitting, it’s hard to catch me in anything but flip flops, but weather was definitely not permitting last night and I had to dress for court earlier, so I was feeling pretty out of place wearing khakis and a tailored shirt in a sea of sharkfin hats, parrot heads, Hawaiian print shirts, and LED-equipped sombreros.
A Buffett concert is a kind of mental health barometer. (Translation: If you aren’t having a good time, you probably need to book a session with your psychiatrist!) Last night, it seemed we were all in sound mental health as the whole crowd was on their feet dancing throughout the show.
The Coral Reefer Band was stellar – 4 percussionists (including outstanding steel drums and bongos), 5 guitars (including a pedal steel guitar for Buffett’s country-flavored songs), solid keyboards and a trumpet for punch. The set incuded some lesser- known songs and all of his greatest hits – “Come Monday”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, “Changes in Latitude”, and of course “Margaritaville”. The band also performed covers of Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Southern Cross”, Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl”, and what had to be the stand-out of the night, Bob Marley’s “One Love”, which was preceded by a moving music video of the song being beautifully performed all over the world, from three women 
standing in an empty field in India to a small band playing on balconies in the Soweto ghetto.
Buffett did a lot of reminiscing during the show, often referring to his Florida-Alabama roots and displaying a real affection for Orlando. The video screens played several shots of Buffett surfing and paddleboarding, and he jokingly recalled how he and his buddies in Mobile used to hope for hurricanes so they could get some decent waves to ride. By the end, I had decided Buffett was my new hero, something the rest of the adoring crowd had figured out years ago. Who else can make smoking grass and drinking beer seem like a wise choice and a strategic career move?
Posted by guest blogger Spencer Rhodes, a Central Florida native. In addition to practicing law, Spencer is a long-time Jimmy Buffett fan.
Filed under Amway Arena, concert, Guest Blogger Extraordinaire, Uniquely Florida
The Central Florida Top 5 is honored to have been chosen as one of Chevy’s Girls on the Go! When I heard the Southern Chevy Dealers would be giving me a Chevy Traverse to drive around for a whole month–yeah, I know! What are they thinking?!– I didn’t even need to ask where to sign.
You see, I’m a working mom whose day job is an English teacher at Park Maitland School (the most magical, fabulous place in the world) and who moonlights as the editor for the award-winning Top 5 Blog and website. Start with both of those and add in toting teenagers around town to swim practice and school, grabbing grub at the grocery store, running errands, and then getting back home in time to meet my hunky hubby for dinner, well…you get the picture: I get in a whole lot of mileage zipping around town!
Yep, life is always interesting in the Auer household! So, I hope you’ll enjoy coming along with me for the trip, as I blog, tweet, and post videos about my traversing in the Traverse… ’cause this is how I roll!
My travels start next week, so in the meantime, tune in on Twitter! I promise you’ll enjoy the ride!
Filed under family, Fun, Girlfriend Getaway
The Top 5 spent a rainy afternoon at the courthouse in order to attend Brian Feldman’s wedding. A highly acclaimed Orlando performance artist, Feldman is known for his–shall we say unusual?–performances and this one was no different. This event was designed to protest the ban on same-sex marriage. Feldman wanted to demonstrate the absurdity of the law allowing almost perfect strangers to marry, yet denying committed partners from marrying simply based on gender. So, days earlier Feldman picked Hannah Miller, a very accommodating stranger, to meet this afternoon at the courthouse and become united in holy matrimony.
A crowd of around thirty people showed up to support the event. The Orlando Sentinel’s Elizabeth Maupin and Orlando-based blogger Mark Baratelli were reconizable, as was Thomas Thorspecken of the Analog Artist, who recorded the event in pencil and water color.
Here’s a short video of the ceremonies:
Regardless of any of our fans’ individual beliefs about marriage, the Top 5 loudly applauds Brian Feldman’s passionate stand for love!
Filed under Just Plain Weird, Resident done good, Weddings
My family headed down to the Lake Mary/Heathrow area to Colonial TownPark to support the American Lung Association of Florida-Central Area. What a treat!
First off, the weather was sunny and cool (albeit a bit a windy!) and secondly, the cars were great! Colonial TownPark was the perfect setting: intimate yet roomy enough for cars as well as the crowd. And, we were surrounded by great boutiques and restaurants, such as one of my all-time favorites, Dexters. I will be excited to see just what the final estimate of attendance for this event ends up being…it felt like thousands of people showed up! Check out the Top 5 video below:
I’d like to give a special thank you to the American Lung Association of Florida staff, who invited the Top 5 out to the show. And, readers, please visit the Cars for the Cure website now, where you can make a donation to support healthy lungs.
Like many parents, I am attempting to raise a child who is a well-rounded, well-adjusted teenager. I am fortunate that he is generally in a happy-go-lucky mood most of the time, except when he gets overtaken by some surly, sour-headed, evil spirit who sits grumpily on our couch for hours at a time playing X-Box, snarling at all non-virtual persons who come within his vicinity.
But, for the most part, he is growing up as I would like, all except one area: Altruism. Apparently, there isn’t a single drop of it in his blood.
Now, of course, this is totally my fault as a parent. We started off strong…I remember when he was five and wrapped up some of his never-played-with, barely used toys and gave them away. He was so proud of his generosity. But, it all went downhill from there. Perhaps it is a result of being an only child? Perhaps it is that he rarely sees his parents doing much except for the annual end-of-year-tax-deduction giving? Perhaps this materialistic-driven world is working against me?
Now, my son isn’t exactly as spoiled as he sounds, as he only gets “wants” on his birthday and Christmas. Anything else he “wants,” he has to buy for himself. And, my son gets no allowance, but must clean windows, etc. for money. He is also an expert numismatist, scrounging the bottom of cars, under beds, raiding Grandma’s purse. He keeps all his coins in a big jar that we take to the local Publix to have counted and changed into bills. He is pretty choosy in spending his money, researching the best deals on the internet long before he buys.
But, when my husband told him he must set aside 10% (for the easy math) to go to charity, well, that pile of money never seemed grow very much. (Think more like 0.01%.) Somehow he just couldn’t bring himself to part with the money when there were X-Box games to be had!
When he was a fifth grader, I remember one of his friends, a sweet little boy named Ryan, saying, “I’m not having presents this year at my birthday party. I want everyone to bring a toy to donate to the needy.” As my heart melted at Ryan’s declaration, my son said disgustedly, “Why in the world would you want to do that?”
Yep, not only is there no altruistic blood in my son, but there’s not a single altruistic bone in his body either!
Whatever the reason for my son’s anti-philanthropic attitude, I am attempting to turn the tide. During the recent cold snap, Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida tweeted they were short on blankets. “Aha!” I thought. A prime opportunity to teach my son how important it is to help others in need!
So, we took his jar of coins, emptied it out for around $60 at Publix, drove to Walgreens where they had two blankets on sale for just $7. We bought 14 blankets total and then began driving to the Coalition.
My son was torn, because he knew he was doing the right thing, the important thing, the politically correct thing, but deep down he was really upset about his money disappearing. To his credit, though, he didn’t voice his anger, but rather sat resolutely silent as we drove the streets of Downtown Orlando.
As we approached the Coalition, there was a large group of men gathered on the street corner, standing around talking. Grocery carts toted some of their belongings, and mismatched coats, hats, and shoes presented a rag-tag collection of individuals. I observed my son as he eyed them. We turned into the center, which was very crowded due to the cold weather.
We carried the blankets inside, and my son still didn’t speak but rather noticed the different assortment of people: young men and women, grandparents, middle-aged citizens, and even several children.
Afterwards, my son was quiet for much of the ride home. I finally asked what was on his mind. “There are kids my age there,” he said, and suddenly I realized his silence was not out of a sense of loss for his money anymore, but rather for those children.
This series of events happened to take place right before the Coalition’s 4th Annual Celebration was announced: An Evening with the Men in Blue.
This event pays tribute to the Orlando Magic for over 15 years of dedicated support of the Coalition and to recognize their extraordinary contributions to the community. (What a great example for my son!)
Presented by Baker Hostetler LLP—the firm of Ryan’s dad ironically enough…no wonder Ryan already has such a developed sense of altruism!—this event will feature an exclusive show by Blue Man Group. The evening will begin with a reception hosted by NBA City Restaurant, followed by the Blue Man Group at the Sharp Aquos Theatre.
When my son heard I was attending this ultra-cool event, he said excitedly, “Can I go?” I explained that I was there covering the event as “press” in order to blog and tweet about it, and so he couldn’t go. But, we made a deal: If he found a way to support a group—and I told him he had to be the one to decide what he wanted to support and how he was going to support it—then I would definitely take him to a similarly exciting event next year. He readily agreed.
Is this bribery? Maybe. Will this encourage a philanthropic attitude and somewhere along the way it might become a real altruistic feeling within himself? Hopefully. Only time will tell. (Teenagers…they are more difficult than they look!)
If you would like to join me for this special evening on Thursday, January 21, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. at Universal CityWalk, tickets and sponsorships are still to be had.
Sponsorship opportunities are available at varying levels, starting at only $150 for an individual ticket. You can contact Debbie Leon at 407.426.1265 or debbie.leon@cflhomeless.org for more information. Be sure to check out the An Evening with the Men in Blue Facebook event page.
As for my son, time will tell, but hopefully he will take note of the good work the Orlando Magic does and perhaps begin to do some himself!
Filed under Charity, family, Fun, Resident done good
When you first arrive at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, one of the most dominant aspects is the Rocket Garden. Here, real rockets tower into the sky, pointing upward as if a constant reminder of the ultimate goal: SPACE.
The massive rockets allow you to see just how large an undertaking the space program was when the US first set its collective mind on reaching the stars. Enjoy this video for a glimpse of the Rocket Garden and then the Early Space Exploration Center.
Next we got an opportunity to eat lunch with an astronaut. I absolutely loved this! First of all, the food was much better than my family would get at home. [Note: I don’t cook.]
Next, the audience was kept small in order to give an intimate feeling as Astronaut Sam Gemar made his rounds, patiently answering questions, shaking hands, and kissing babies. [Okay, he probably didn’t kiss anybody.]
We shared our table with a family from South Africa who brought their three young boys to KSC. Gemar spent quite a bit of time with us, sharing his incredible knowledge. Fast fact: 1 in 15 astronauts are killed in the line of duty. So, yeah, they deserve our utmost respect!
Gemar then gave a brief general Q&A session, where the favorite question was whether there are aliens in space. He explained that he hoped there were, as space is a pretty large place, but as of now we had no aliens on Earth. To which a boy of about four years old loudly exclaimed, “Yes, there are aliens on Earth!” [Note: Could have won $10,000 if I had caught that on video…too funny!]
After lunch, we were greeted by Lesley Llerandi who graciously drove us around the property to see some exciting things up close:
Some of these close-up stops are available to the public for a slightly elevated tour price; it’s well worth it!
We ended at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. This was my husband’s favorite stop. It gives you a great review of the historical importance of the early space program, which was nice for my son and nephew to hear. Then you get to see the actual launch control of the first missions before moving on to see a real Saturn V rocket…larger than a football field in length! Whew!
All in all, the Top 5 was so honored to have been shown around Kennedy Space Center. Not only do we recommend it as a “must-do” stop for tourists, but for any locals, if you are like me and have never been before, be sure to do yourself the favor by visiting this Central Florida gem. And, if you have already been , I strongly recommend going to see what’s new.
It’s hard to keep in mind in our magical city, where so much make believe is fantastically brought to life, that Kennedy Space Center is the real deal. It’s our history, our present, and our future!
Filed under Shuttle, Space, Tourist, Uniquely Florida
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