Pink Quilt, Summer Purse and Ybor City in Tampa

It's Pink and Sightseeing Saturday again so don't forget to visit Beverly at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/. You will be amazed a all the pretty pinks circulating around Blogland today.

Last weekend, I took a break from babysitting our newborn grandson and his brother.

John flew to Tampa for a meeting so I drove to the Bay area to pick him up from the airport and spend the weekend with him.

On my way back to Fort Myers, I passed by a Marshall's and a Ross and naturally, I had to check them out. I never come out empty handed when I visit those stores and I am sharing 2 items for my Pink Sat. contribution.

I bought the printed quilted throw from Ross, only $12.99 and I really love the colors. I thought I would use it for a tablecloth on our game table to create a springy tablescape when I get back home. It is also reversible. Pink, yellow and blue flowers and green leaves on a white background on one side and green and white stripes on the other.

The canvas Tommy Hil. purse came from Marshall's for $19.99. It's mostly green and orange but it has a pink interior and on the plaid pockets. I think it is perfect for summer and spring but I couldn't even wait for those seasons to come so I am using it now. After all, weather here in FL right now feels more like summer. We already have the air conditioner on.

Now, back on my Tampa trip. The meeting was in Ybor City so after picking up John from the airport, we went there and checked in the hotel. The location is very convenient because it is only a block away from shopping and restaurants and very close to 7th Ave., which is recognized as one of the "10 Greatest Streets in America". I love the old paved roads.

After checking in, we walked to find a place to eat. We ate at Iguana Grill and Bar. I had a grilled blackened mahi with mango salsa and fried plantains and John had a Caesar salad with blackened mahi. We enjoyed the food so much that I forgot to take pictures.

While John was at the meeting, I drove north of Tampa to my other daughter's house to pick up AJ. She was ready to spend the weekend with us too.


We went back to the hotel to pick up John after his meeting and then we went to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center to watch Wicked. AJ loves this Broadway and everytime she hears it is playing, she calls us and asks if we could see it, again and again. We have seen it twice in Tampa and twice in NY. John bought her the book. It has really nice pictures of the cast and the script and she was following the script while it was being acted. And for $50 to be donated for a good cause, you can have a poster autographed by the entire cast. Of course, AJ had to have that too. She was so excited to have pictures taken with the Munchkin and other casts. She wanted a pic with Elphaba and Galinda too but we could not find them

John's daughters and the 3 grandkids also came to see us. We all walked around Ybor City downtown while John was in a meeting again the next day.

Ybor City is a charming old historic town in Tampa founded in the 1880's by cigar manufacturers. It used to be occupied by multi ethnic groups mostly Spaniards, Italian and Cubans, who rolled millions of cigars annually. After World War 2, they started abandoning the area and it got neglected for decades. It was finally redeveloped into a popular night club and entertainment district.

We went to the marketplace and they were having a craft show. We also visited the Ybor City Studio. The kids had a great time playing and walking around and listening to music.

Here's another of my pink contribution. Zoe is wearing pink! Isn't she a cutie?

Ybor City is so alive at night so if you are looking for a fun night life, it is the place to go. I did not take pictures but all the night clubs had long waiting lines outside as we passed them.

After the meeting, we took the kids to the Florida Aquarium. I will show you pictures of that next Sightseeing Saturday cause this post is getting too long. Thanks a lot for coming along.

And thanks to Beverly for hosting another fun Pink Saturday!

I hope you all have a nice weekend!