Have you heard about the Coastal Grandmother lifestyle trend? Think Diane Keaton in Something’s Got to Give, where she has a fabulous beach house, dresses in neutral, natural fabrics, takes long walks on the beach, drinks freshly ground coffee, sips good wine, cooks simple but delicious food, listens to French music and, overall, enjoys traveling and living in the moment. Sounds good to me!

I feel like I check a lot of the boxes for this trend. Grandmother- check (times three!). Condo in the Keys- check. Likes to cook and have a cozy house- check, check. I don’t normally wear bucket hats or sweaters, however. It’s too hot for sweaters in Miami; my normal grandmotherly vibe when I pick up Wyatt from school is a long sleeved t-shirt, Lululemon leggings and a straw cowboy hat. Luckily, he’s too young to be embarrassed by my bad fashion choices.

This Coastal Grandmother trend was started by Tik Toker Lex Nicoleta and she notes the thing about this trend is you don’t need to be a Grandmother or own a Beach House to adopt the lifestyle. Anne Hathaway recently posted a photo on Instagram of herself wearing a bucket hat, big sunglasses, a white button-down shirt and khakis with the tagline: “I have been ready for coastal grandmother chic since before Tik Tok was born. May this moment never end.”

Elements of Style blog describes the trend as people who enjoy “relaxation, simple luxuries, free time, long lunches, farmer’s market, cold glasses of white wine and cashmere sweaters at a beach picnic.” Once again- the last part, not in Miami- but I like the rest of it. Lex Nicoleta even created a Spotify playlist for the trend at lexnicoleta. The decorating vibe is a “comfortable, lived-in space that is light and bright.”

Speaking of Coastal Grandmothers, I’ve been loving Grace and Frankie, the longest running Netflix series, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. It’s like the Odd Couple, but with women who have been left by their husbands to marry each other. It’s hysterical and I’m on Season 4 of 7 Seasons. The last Season starts now and has an appearance by Dolly Parton (remember the three of them in 9 to 5?) in the final episode.

I was happy I had the Keys and our boat, ‘Bout TIme, to quarantine to when I had Covid. The hardest part of having Covid was the isolation! I missed people, I missed human interaction, I missed my grandsons. Once I got it, Zeke and I hung out together. The only after effect I’ve noticed was being extremely tired. We both went to bed earlier than usual and took naps. This week I played tennis four days in a row, so I guess I’m back in business. It was hot out there though!

I read The Paris Apartment while quarantining for my Book Club. I don’t really recommend it- found the writing a little lazy- but it was a page-turner (or page clicker, as I read it on my Kindle.) Elizabeth in my Book Club had a lovely French meal at our Book Club meeting, with French wines, cheeses, a salad with berries and a delicious Coq au Vin du Blanc (with white wine instead of red), mashed potatoes and a Pineapple Upside Down cupcake for dessert. Tres bien!

Our next book is Atlas of the Heart, by PHD and TED talk speaker Brene Brown. It’s a large, pretty-cover book which touts: “Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience”. That’s quite a mouthful to be put on a cover! It seems to be an encyclopedia of human emotions. I’m not quite sure about it yet as I’ve just started- it is a New York Times bestseller. Stay tuned.

The day I tested negative, I read in the New York Times that more than half of all Americans have had Covid. This was discovered by finding the antibodies in their blood, so some who’ve had it never even knew they were positive. Most of the people I know have now had Covid at least once and more people are getting it daily. According to my sister Elise, a nurse, there is a new wave that is rapidly rising throughout Miami. I really thought we would be done with this by now, but sadly, we are not.

I cooked a lot when I had Covid, mostly out of boredom. I turned leftover ham into Ham Croquettas. A major project, but I froze the excess. I used the ham bone to make Split Pea Soup- my favorite. And I turned the Arugula from Empower Farms into Pesto. Did you know, you can use other greens to make pesto? Spinach, cilantro and parsley, for example, can all be used to make pesto. Changing the green, will of course change the taste. I love the traditional Pesto with basil, but it’s nice to have alternatives. I used the eggplant from Empower Farms to make my Josie’s Pickled Eggplant, something she always kept in her fridge to serve as an antipasto and sauteed the cute pittypat squashes for a side dish.

Since I was bored, I applied to be on Check Please! It’s a show with Chef Michelle Bernstein on PBS where three people from South Florida pick their favorite restaurant and the other two people on the show visit and eat there. After they’ve all tried the recommended restaurants, they get together at the end of the show and give their opinions. I recommended Shriver’s Bar-B-Que in Homestead, Island Grill in Islamorada (home of the Tuna Nachos) and Hobo’s Cafe in Key Largo. Fingers crossed I get picked.

We ate at Hobo’s Cafe in Key Largo last week because I craved a hamburger. It was a funny thing with Covid, my body told me exactly what it wanted me to eat. It wasn’t junk, carbs or sweets but iron (specifically beets) and protein (specifically red meat), so hence the burger. I wish my body would tell me what to eat on a Daily Basis, not just when I’m sick. I’m all ears, body!

I got the Sloppy Hobo Burger at Hobo’s; I cut it in half and took half home. It was a really good, but huge, burger that came with delicious, waffle fries! It normally comes with coleslaw, onion rings, sauteed mushrooms, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and potato straws on the burger and BBQ sauce on the side. I got the coleslaw and onion rings on the side, as it would have been enormous and too sloppy to eat. Our waitress told us there is a little old lady who comes in once a month and gets that burger and when she lifts it up to her face, you can’t see her anymore! She said she takes her a half hour to eat, but she finishes the whole thing.

And that is why she only comes in once a month!

said our waitress.

Another place I would recommend in the Keys is Avenue Subs, where we got our subs to take out on the boat. We got a Roast Beef Sub and an Italian Sub and they were both excellent. The roast beef was sliced thin and the meat was piled on thick! The only thing I would say is to get the sliced tomatoes and onions on the side if you’re not eating it right away, so as to not make your sub soggy. No one wants a soggy sub!

I heard from the editor of Coral Gables Magazine about my Morris Lapidus in Coral Gables article. It took me six months to write and involved a lot of research. He said it was “very interesting and very thorough.” He invited me to a Coral Gables magazine’s 4-year anniversary party at the Coral Gables Museum last Thursday. When I saw him, I asked if “very thorough” was code for “boring”. He said no and that he liked the article. I still have to write a Driving Tour to go with it and it’s an “evergreen” article, meaning it can be run at any time, since the information isn’t time sensitive. Fingers crossed again. Thanks to Jeanette Slesnick for the photo!

For those of you watching the Kentucky Derby, I hope your horse wins. Fingers crossed. And to all the mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

We all live in a Yellow Submarine.

The Beatles

Up Next: Josie’s Pickled Eggplant