I'm lucky enough to consider my cousin, Brittany, one of my best friends- we are the same age, both ended up in Boston for college and now live the life as 20-somethings in New York City. Every year for the past 4 years, Brittany goes away with her girlfriends for her birthday, but I've never been able to go until this year! The decision for this year's trip was Miami, a spot I accepted graciously knowing it was the perfect excuse to escape the bitter cold of NYC.

We took full advantage of being away from the cold by eating at outdoor restaurants, sitting by the pool, and walking on the beach. When we arrived at The Mondrian South Beach (which we actually booked for cheaper on AirBnb!) on Friday, the weather was cooler than we had hoped, but we made the most of it. We headed to a highly recommended fun lunch spot called Bodega- a taqueria where you order through the window of a trailer, drink frozen margaritas from the machine, and sit at picnic benches outside. The tacos were everything we could have hoped for and the owner was generous enough to provide us shots of tequila on the house to get our weekend party started.

As usual, we spend the majority of our vacations EATING. So on Friday night, we ate at Katsuya, a Japanese restaurant at the SLS Hotel. Now, normally it's hard for me to eat at Japanese restaurants because it's mainly seafood and sushi, but I was lucky enough to find an amazing chicken and brussels sprout dish- to die for. But the real winner of this place was definitely the atmosphere- hip vibes, cool wall art, and a bar scene by the pool.

On Saturday, we lazily started our day around noon by grabbing food at Taquiza, another taco joint. This spot is known for its blue corn tortillas and they were amazing. One of the girls on the trip even had the courage to try the taco topped with grasshoppers! I stuck with my favorites- Al Pastor and Pollo tacos, an order of Elote, the classic Mexican street corn, guacamole, and a glass of delicious sangria. 

After eating, we walked down the road back to the SLS hotel for an afternoon pool party. Amazing tunes, bottle service, and all around great vibes for Brittany’s birthday celebration. 

After resting up for a while, we headed out to dinner and drinks on Saturday night. We ate at Havana 1957, where we tried some classic Cuban cuisine and split a pitcher of mojitos. Afterwards we headed back to Bodega, because besides being a taco spot, it’s a speakeasy with a secret doorway to an awesome bar scene. 

By Sunday we were full and exhausted, but the sun was shining so we took it easy  by heading to the beach with a birthday cake for Brit, where we took photos, lounged in the sun, and got attacked by seagulls. We figured that was our cue to leave, so we headed back to the Mondrian where we enjoyed our last few hours in the sunshine by the pool.

All in all, for a first trip to Miami I can’t say I was disappointed. It was a great spot for a weekend girls trip, with a lot of possibilities for enjoying it on the cheap. After the fun we had, I would definitely recommend it for a weekend with your friends, bachelorette parties, or just a little R & R. Best of all, it was a great excuse to celebrate the 26th birthday of my best friend and girl boss cousin, Brittany!