Queen City Cuisine

Hello my Beauts! I hope that all is well with you. I am excited to let you all in on a few of my newest favorite restaurant finds in the QC! At the thought of losing a staple restaurant like Las Ramblas, my very favorite, spanish tapas restaurant in Dilworth, I felt as though the owners - the masterminds behind Bonterra - had made a huge mistake taking this gem out of the neighborhood... after hearing the "agenda" I may be beginning to think otherwise. The once Las Ramblas located on Park Rd is now called Sunset Grille. It offers a wide range of comfort food from flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, and wood-fired burgers. Las Ramblas is not lost in the concept though... two of the best tapas dishes from the OG menu- now called "appetizers" are offered daily... The goat cheese cakes with apricot honey reduction, roasted garlic, and toasted almonds and the P.E.I. mussels. Las Ramblas is not gone for good though, do not be mistaken, the entire tapas menu is offered on Monday nights, including their signature Sangria, and a relocation/upgrade to LR is now in the works! Hopefully it will stay in the neighborhood!

On to the next... Southpark's newest sushi restaurant is amazing! Cyros Sushi and Sake Bar, located beside Rooster's on Morrison, began at Dean and Deluca Wine Bar in Phillips Place. If you have ever tried the Sushi menu at D&DWB then you understand the delicious and original concoctions that these talented chef's have been working into Menu's all over the QC. The Sushi chefs at Cyros have experience at Rooster's Wine Bar, PRESS, and Dolce Vita and have brought it all home to the newly opened Cyros. On a quiet Monday night at 9 pm on Sunday you can rarely find a crowd at any restaurant but Cyros was packed, the food and service was amazing, and was a perfect date night spot!

I will let you all find out for yourselves about these two but I think that you may be satisfied with either and those of you that need to visit soon, ahem... I can't wait to take you to one of these!

Enjoy!

- LB

A Day of Booty

Hi Beauts! Yes you read it correctly - 24, whole hours, of BOOTY! Starting tonight at 7:00 pm cyclist bike the infamous 3 mile Booty Loop, through Queens University in beautiful Myers Park, for 24 hours to benefit The Lance Armstrong Foundation. This is the 9th annual, 24 Hours of Booty, charity ride to take place in the Queen City. To participate the 1200 expected bikers can make the loop as many or as few times as they would like but the true devotees set up camp in Bootyville and only rest and eat when necessary and bike the 24 hours. Bootyville, located in the heart of the loop becomes a little city in itself providing food, music, camp, and even yoga classes to stretch out their weary bodies before hopping on the bicycle for more! Don't be mistaken though, everyone is welcome in Bootyville! LB hasn't ridden a bike since the 'ol toss and tumble in Boone on the way to class sophmore year but I am going to hop on the back of a certain someone's Ducati to see what the fuss is about! Hope to see you all there! Surrounding roads are closed off until 6 am on Saturday including, Queens Rd, Selwyn Ave, Queens Rd West, and Hopedale Ave !

Loves,
LB

A Trip to the Motherland and All I Got was This Lousy Tan...

As I scraped the bottom of yet another empty bottle of product I finally decided it was time to take a trip to the Motherland and pick up some new goods! SEPHORAA - Get ready for the always inquisitive Lizzie Bananas! As always I asked every Bleach Blonde - MAC employee impersonator - in there a trillion questions trying to find the best self tanner, hairspray, morrocan oil, and pimple treater in stock.. I have some bad news and some good.. Starting with the bad - Frederick Fekkai is NO LONGER sold at Sephora!! Good News - you can now find it at your local TARGET (not kidding). Bad News - I tried Kate Somerville's, Somer 360, self-tanner wipes... Major disappointment. They left me with little color AND average to be about 6$ a wipe.. LB would have to go through the whole box to get the bronze glow I am looking for in a tanner. Good News - The NEXT self tanner I will be testing out is our favorite Jailbird's, Li-Lo, Sevin Nyne - WILL keep you posted on the results of that review.

Hairspray - so, yes, it is very 80's of me but I realized that a little hairspray for shine and control has become my MO for curly days! I had been using Aveda's Brilliant hold and shine spray but it was leaving me sticky and tangled. I picked up Oscar Blandi's Lacca Hairspray - LOVE IT! It smells like Jessica McClintoch perfume and feels light like a shine spray but holds very well. It uses sugar for hold and honey for shine and is exclusive to the Motherland! 5 stars for this! I'm sold!

So Moroccon Oil- Keep hearing about how great Moroccon Argan oil is for skin, hair, nails, you name it! So I have dry skin, dry hair and I new that this may be a great product to have around for those super dry days! JOSIE MARAN ARGAN OIL. After hearing from my Lady Gaga wannabe sales girl that THIS was THE ONLY ARGAN Oil I should be using.. I must agree... It is just what I needed. After a long hot shower I applied the oil to my face, ran it through my hair, and finished by rubbing the excess into my hands. I woke up still feeling dewy and my hair was super shiny - cuticles conditioned too! A+.

Lastly, I picked up a product that I had the chance to try a month ago when visiting my favorite Kelly women at the beach.. (NO SLEEP TIL BK.. THANK YOU FOR THIS) The Boscia Willow Bark Breakout Treatment is AMAZING! My first experience it wiped out a nasty little pimple in 2 days.. it literally brought it to the surface and i peeled it off like dried toothpast 48 hrs later. no scar, no red mark!! I always feel like I am fighting a little guy right around my chin area and am always looking for the quickest remedy. I have reviewed the PTR in the past and thought it to be wonderful, but Peter, You ain't got nothin' on this one.. Thanks again Bets for introducing me to this one.. it's found a permanent spot in the regimen!

Well Gals, this is all I've got for today! I hope that it is helpful for any of you looking around for the best of the best products..

Thanks for tuning in!

xoxo,
LB

Say Goodbye to our Gals in Hollywood

Oh Boohoo, I am soo down right now as I watch the last episode of The Hills... EVER. We have known little Kristin Cav since she was but a mere tween... and LO, well Lo has always been the mirror image of my little LeLe... Why Brody, Why must you break all of our hearts with these odd girls like Jayde Nicole and Avril... eeek! As much as I used to think Stephanie Pratt was the biggest iD on the planet, and Audrina to be just a little trashy.. I will miss their company. They have been friends to all of us and LB will cry for our girls and guys and long for the always confused gaze of Frankie, as he becomes increasingly perplexed by Spencer's antics.

As bummed as I am about the ending of an era, I am really excited about a few upcoming things in the world of LB! I am having a Kettlebell Workshop this Thursday evening at 6:00 pm at the Lululemon Showroom located at 1318-A9 Central Avenue Charlotte, NC 28205! If you are unsure of where that is I will explain.... If you are sitting on the porch at SOUL.. our favorite Gastro Lounge... then look to the left at the brick buildings with archways.. it is back there with the signature Lululemon stylized A logo on the door, behind the Junior League Warehouse and right near Bang Bang salon. Got it? Great!! I can't wait to see you there. If you would like to facebook me for more information or to RSVP then please do so! I hope you all can make it to this Complimentary class!!

xoxo,
LB

LUNA BOGO Event!

Hi Lovelies,

So many of you have not come in to LUNA to take advantage of the Denim Buy One Get One Event! Shame on you!! You will be needing AT LEAST 2 pairs of jeans in 2 months and until July 10th we are literally giving them away! It really is the best of what we have to offer, especially for staple jeans, We have J Brand Lovestory, Heartbreaker, and 12" pencil legs - Paige Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills in Barcelona AND Mckinley, Seven Rocker, Morrisons, and all basic bootcuts and flare, and so many more styles to choose from all in full size runs! So the deal works like this. You pick 2 pairs from the jeans we have set aside as part of the sale and you get the less expensive one FREE! 100% discount, yes, just FREE. So stock up for next season now because, Honey, I am already shopping for Fall and so should you... I know, I know, it's July but if you don't think that I am going to see if Nordies will let me put the Jeffrey Campbell Woodies Clogs on Layaway then you don't know LB! See you at the store Beauts!

xoxo,
LB

Give me more Kettlekore!!

Hi! I am thrilled to be into week number two of our Kettlekore classes! It is such a great experience to teach people about Kettlebells and develop a class that incorporates all of the training that I have recieved over the past few months! We have done everything from Chi Gong to Yoga, Kettlebell relays to jerk squats. This week is an exciting one and a great time to join the class! Kettlekore is ongoing and you are welcome to sign up for the introductory offer at any point in time. Classes are held Tuesday and Thursday Mornings at 6:30 am and Saturdays at 8:00 am. This Thursday there will be a 7:30 pm Yoga class that is complimentary to all Kettlekore members. Also, this Saturday we will be having a really cool outdoor class in place of Kettlekore and KettleHell, bringing the two together, at the Asana Bootcamp Series held in the Earthfare parking lot! You can register for this series at Asana Activewear of Charlotte's website or sign up for Kettlekore to attend! Let me know if you have any questions and please tell your friends, family, and coworkers about KETTLEKORE ;) Email me at elizabeth@advancedtrainingconcepts.com if you need anything or register www.advancedtrainingconcepts.com/kettlekore

Loves,
LB

LB's Cinco Pesos Yoga Class

Hi Fit and Fabulous friends!! I want to let you all know that I will be having a $5 Yoga class at Advanced Training Concepts this Thursday on June 10th, 2010 at 7:30 pm. It is my first real class that I am instructing so you all can be my practice while I work out the kinks! Please try to make it - the address is 1607 Montford dr Suite F behind Jet's Pizza. Bring a mat, towel, water, a block or strap if you like and an Amigo or two! Expect a nice, light, workout, a deep stretch, and a fun playlist!! Hope to see you there!

xoxo,
LB