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We kicked off our cruise vacation last month in the booming city of Miami. Shortly after flying into MIA, we caught the free shuttle to our hotel for the night, Whitelaw Hotel in South Beach. We had booked ahead of time for our one night stay at the Whitelaw, and our check-in process was completed quickly and efficiently with the friendly front desk staff. We were happy to arrive in our room, and quickly got settled in.
In general, I liked our room and the hotel a lot. The decor at Whitelaw is very unique, and gives the hotel and each room a specific personality that is refreshing when compared to the usual drab Holiday Inn or Marriott. The first thing I noticed after walking through the door was how hot our room was. Much to my dismay, the thermostat revealed that the air conditioning was already set on the lowest setting, and we would have to live with the current temperature. I did acclimate to the somewhat humid and warm atmosphere after about an hour, but I am not sure I could stand the underperforming A/C during one of the summer months. The room had two double beds separated by a mini-fridge/nightstand, with both beds facing a 42 inch LCD TV mounted on the opposite wall. The TV was a great feature, but we didn’t spend much time in the room watching it. The dresser under the TV had a stereo with an iPod dock, which was also a nice feature that we didn’t get a chance to use. 
The only other piece of furniture in the room was an antique-style chair next to the bathroom door, which made a good place for a laptop bag, or bathroom supplies. The floor length mirror mounted on the wall was useful and decorative. The white-painted hardwood floor, bright colored walls, and interesting drapery helped round out the eclectic style of the room. Right inside the door was a giant closet, the perfect place for storing luggage. The closet featured a very roomy electronic safe (big enough to fit my 13 inch widescreen laptop!), a feature I love to see in any hotel room. The beds in the room were very comfortable, although seemingly shorter than a normal bed, as my feet didn’t quite fit. The bedding was also very comfortable, and I slept reasonably well (despite the lack of adequate A/C).
The bathroom was very modern with large limestone tiles covering the floor, walls, and shower, and a glass vessel sink. While the bathroom looked nice, it unfortunately wasn’t 100% functional. If the sink faucet was turned on more than half way, the water jettisoned out of the sink, creating a very unpleasant puddle on and around your feet. The shower seemed high-scale at first glance, but had a shower curtain on a rod rather than a glass shower door, which wasn’t very fitting for the shower configuration. Because of the shower curtain issue, it was impossible to take a shower without once again soaking the floor of the bathroom (If all of the rooms have these water related issues, I imagine the housekeeping staff spends a majority of their time in each room mopping up the bathroom). Also, the shower was quite small and had no storage for shower necessities like soap and shampoo, so we had to use a portion of the already limited floor space to store our supplies. The bathroom door didn’t shut easily, possibly due to swelling of the door frame, or bad carpentry. When opened, the bathroom door made a loud high pitched squeal - which wasn’t conducive to un-interrupted sleep at night. Despite the problems, the bathroom was manageable, and it fit well with the style of the rest of the room.
The amenities provided at the Whitelaw were nice - starting with the free shuttle from the airport (despite the somewhat grumpy driver). The room had nice robes and toiletries available, as well as a good selection of mini-bar items including snacks on a shelf next to the bathroom door, and drinks in the mini-fridge. Free wifi Internet was available throughout the hotel. Free drinks were offered to hotel guests between 7 pm and 8pm in the lobby/bar, and the atmosphere at the bar during the “happy hour” was fun (obviously, tipping the bartender was highly encouraged).
The Whitelaw has somewhat of a reputation for being a party hotel, and the music in the lobby definitely had the potential to be too loud for rooms located near the front of the hotel - we were luckily in the back, and we weren’t disturbed by the volume and late hour of the music. Unfortunately, we were disturbed early in the morning by a trash truck in the alley outside our window, making more noise than I thought possible by a simple trash pickup. Yet another trash truck showed up about an hour after the first, making nearly as much noise as the first. The lesson learned was that noise pollution is a consideration for anyone planning to stay at Whitelaw Hotel, and if you are a light sleeper, you should probably ask for a room far away from the lobby (or party late enough every night so that the lobby music is no longer an issue).
The hotel is in an ideal location - 2 blocks from the beach, and centrally located in the art deco shopping area of South Beach. We were happy to go exploring around this unique and fun area in the evening, without having to travel more than a few footsteps out of our hotel lobby. We had fun looking around at a few stores and walking to the ocean before succumbing to hunger. As you can see in my previous review, we found a great pizza place in the area, and had a good dinner back in our room. I was also able to quickly locate a CVS pharmacy, in order to purchase 11 days worth of soda to take aboard the cruise ship. Unfortunately, we only had the one night to check out South Beach, and I am sure we missed a good portion of the night-time sites and experiences - I look forward to going back at some point to explore the area more in the future (we did find the time to walk to the beach in the morning before heading to the port of Miami, and it was beautiful (see pic)).
Overall, our stay at the Whitelaw Hotel was good, and I would recommend the hotel to anyone interested in staying in a unique South Beach hotel - as long as you can secure a cheap enough price (we paid $79 for the night), and deal with a few quirks in your room. Also, I have to warn you ahead of time that I was charged $19 for mini-bar items that we never used, after we left the hotel. After a few phone calls I still haven’t received a refund for these charges, but I am confident that I will in the next few days. If I don’t receive this refund, I will update my review to reflect the fact that I was ripped off and accordingly drop my rating, as well as contest the charge on my credit card - let’s hope for Whitelaw’s sake that they do the right thing.
Whitelaw Hotel (Miami Beach, FL): 
3.5/5
Have you ever stayed at the Whitelaw Hotel? Have you visited Miami Beach? What hotel did you stay at? What did you think of the area?
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Crystal and I started our vacation today, with a flight to Miami. We are staying at the Whitelaw Hotel in South Beach (review coming later) for one night, before we depart on a Panama Canal cruise. For dinner this evening, we did a quick search for a local pizza place, and quickly found Pizza Rustica, a block and a half away from our hotel. I normally might skip over reviewing a quick meal while on vacation, but this pizza was so delicious that I decided to jump online for a minute, put the vacation on hold, and tell you how good our pizza was (sorry, no pictures - maybe I’ll add one later?).
The service was good, I placed our order over the phone, and it was delivered very shortly to our hotel without any problems. The delivery man did his job, the phone was answered quickly, and our order was fullfilled accurately. We ordered a large Hawaiian pizza, and it was quite a bit larger than expected (18 inches?), much more than the two of us can eat, for $20 delivered. The price was reasonable, when factoring in that we are in South Beach (a bit pricey), and this was a large quantity of very delicious pizza.
The pizza itself came topped with smoked ham, pinapple, and diced tomatoes. There were a lot of toppings, and plenty of cheese. The toppings were all very fresh, and tasted great. In particular, the crust was very satisfying, with a good balance of salty sweetness. The pizza tasted so good, that I probably over-ate - but I don’t regret my actions.
Anyway, I need to get back to vacationing - so just know that if you are ever in South Beach, you should check out Pizza Rustica, you won’t be disappointed.
Pizza Rustica (Miami Beach, FL): 5/5
5/5
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We have three cats. One is a troublemaker, one is lazy and fat, and our newest (an orange Persian) is extremely cute and is secretly a vicious hunter. They are all unique and lovable in their own way, and I can’t imagine not having them around… but, as anyone who has ever owned a cat knows, they love to sharpen their claws. The corners of our couches are proof that our cats aren’t conscientious about where they sharpen their claws, despite a plethora of cat-scratching-specific items we have placed around the house. Until moving into our new house, we have managed to battle the misplaced scratching pretty successfully (if you ignore the damaged couches) - but we now have a staircase, the newest exciting cat-endorsed scratching post. No matter what we do to convince them otherwise, our cats love scratching the carpet on the stairs, and it is extremely frustrating. Our most recent attempt to stop the destruction of the stair-case carpeting is a product we found at Petsmart: Soft Claws, nail caps for cats.
What are Soft Claws?
Soft Claws are small, round-tipped, claw-shaped covers designed to be glued over your cat’s claw - removing their ability to use the sharp nails underneath for destruction. They are touted as a great alternative to de-clawing, and they don’t hinder a cat’s normal detraction of their claws into their paws. I picked up a pack of 40 clear Soft Claws at the pet store for about $22 (they also come in pink, purple, blue, and red). They also have a variety of sizes, based on the weight of your cat. With 4 destructive claws on each paw, the pack of 40 claw-covers is plenty to cover all 3 of our cat’s claws, with enough left over for replacements later. The package also came with two small re-usable bottles of adhesive, for gluing the caps onto claws.
The Application Process
Of course, the big challenge with a product like Soft Claws is to enlist the cooperation of your cat in order to glue the covers onto their nails. As you can imagine, most cats don’t really like the idea of you fondling their paws, and jamming pieces of glue-covered plastic onto their claws, especially if they are as grumpy as our first cat, Ebony. The application of the Soft Claw nail caps is certainly not as easy and calm as the photos on the packaging would make it appear, unless you have previously drugged your cat, or they are incredibly mellow. Ebony absolutely hated being held, and we had to wrap her in a towel in order to control her movements during the process. She whined constantly, struggled, scratched, and did everything she could to make it impossible for us to glue the caps to her claws. After she gave up some of her fight, we were able to get one paw covered, but by that point we were exhausted, and we let her go.
Application on the other cats wasn’t as bad, but definitely wasn’t easy, and therefore we only did one paw for each, the first time around. Our troublemaker, Cyrus, spent a great deal of time after we finished with his paw, licking his claws, and attempting to remove the caps - which he did quite successfully. I believe that 1 out of 4 of Cyrus’ caps came off in the first 2-3 days. We later found one of the removed caps on the floor, split down the middle. This basically proves that if your cat has the drive to remove these caps, they can and will. Thankfully, our most ferocious stair-scratcher, Ebony, does not have the drive to remove her caps, and they are still in place. Also, I should note, our cats were very angry with us for at least two days after our attack, apparently they don’t easily forgive unwarranted harrassment. Now we just need to build up the courage and energy to tackle everyone’s second paw (and the re-application of most of Cyrus’ first paw - maybe more glue this time?).
Summary
As I’ve explained, so far we have had mixed results with the staying power of this product, and the application process can be a nightmare depending on your cat’s personality. Soft Claws are also quite expensive when you consider what you get: two tubes of glue, and 40 tiny bits of plastic. Given the destruction they are capable of preventing, though, they are probably worth the money and the hassle for most people. Just covering Ebony’s first paw has caused her to not scratch as often as she used to, and I am sure that at least with her, the second paw will be a success as well - so we have had a partial victory. Also, when they stay on, Soft Claws appear to work very well for their purpose.
Have you tried Soft Claws before? What do you do to prevent your cats from scratching? Do you have any other product suggestions for us to try?
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A good, quick read. While it may be a young adult novel slightly geared towards teenage girls, I enjoyed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Firstly, it is set in a 1984-ish post-apocalyptic world, and it just so happens that I love all kinds of post-apocalyptic fiction. Secondly, it is written in an engaging, fast-paced, and addicting style.
Ignoring the romance sub-plot, The Hunger Games presents itself as a graphic and bloody adventure, following the bad-ass heroine Katniss Everdeen through her survival of the yearly ‘Hunger Games’ - a no-rules, televised contest reminiscent of ancient Roman gladiator battles, with a helping of nature survival thrown in for good measure. While some people may not appreciate the violence and conflict, they define the book, and set it apart from most of the nonsense that is usually found in the young adult novel category - I would say that it barely fits into the young adult categorization.
One thing I didn’t like about The Hunger Games is something I found out in the last chapter - the story doesn’t end with this book, and it is rather the first in a planned trilogy. It’s hard to be patient, especially with such engaging writing, and a semi-cliffhanger ending. Thankfully, this is merely a trilogy, and doesn’t require the patience that the Harry Potter series did. Another thing that detracts from the story for me, but probably not for most people, is a lack of explaination for many of the technological accomplishments described in the book, such as unseen television cameras and microphones located wherever necessary, and seemingly magical supplies capsules that float down directly to the games’ contestants locations (I was reminded of the supplies that show up exactly when you need them in a lot of shooter video games). Thankfully, the writing more than makes up for these nit-picky shortcomings, and I dare say that nearly anyone will find The Hunger Games an enjoyable read.
Have you read The Hunger Games? What did you think? Have you read any of Suzanne Collins’ other books? Would you recommend any of them to me? How about any good post-apocolyptic fiction?
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It’s definitely fall. Cold days, Halloween decorations everywhere, shorter days, and of course, leaves - thousands of yellow and brown leaves, all over my lawn. In the back of my mind I knew the consequences of buying a house is a neighborhood full of mature trees, as well as the consequences of buying a house with 2 huge cottonwoods in the back yard. Of course, my dread at raking huge piles of leaves wasn’t a major concern when buying our house, but I did know it would eventually be added to my list of chores. Unfortunately, that time has come.
On the plus side, I have recently enlisted a weapon into my yard work arsenal, a Toro “Rake & Vac” Electric Blower Vac (Model 51574). I picked it up at Home Depot for $50, and I spent an extra $5 on the extended warranty. I chose the cheapest of the leaf blower/vacuum combo units available. It is an electric blower/vac, and requires that I drag an extension cord around the yard to use it. Unfortunately, the battery powered units didn’t have vacuum capabilities, and the gas-engine powered units weren’t worth the extra cost or future maintenence concerns. The 51574 model was a compromise, giving me vacuum capabilities, as well as a cheap price. With 210 mph air speed, and 2 speed settings, the “Rake & Vac” is plenty powerful as well. It is also advertised as having the capability to shred 8 bags worth of leaves into one bag, and it comes equiped with a quick-release latch, making the switch between blower and vacuum mode quick and easy.
I’ll start off by saying this blower/vacuum was well worth the money, as long as it lasts through the end of leaf season. Just today, it reduced 2-3 hours worth of raking into less than an hours worth of blowing and vacuuming. The work was much less labor intensive as well (the last time I raked the yard I think I strained my shoulder with the repetitive motions). I will have to buy a longer extension cord in order to reach the far corner of my yard (my 50 foot cord doesn’t quite reach), but thankfully, extension cords are useful for a variety of things. I was surprised by how easy it is to blow the leaves into a large pile, and I was happy with the performance of the 210 mpg wind speed. Actually, it may be a little too fast on the highest setting, because I was accidently blowing our landscaping mulch out of the flower boxes. The unit weights 5-10 pounds, and is easy enough to carry around the yard for 30 minutes, while blowing the leaves into a pile. The only frustration while using the blower, is the constant need to struggle with the extension cord.
Once the leaves are piled, it is time to use the vacuum and shredding capabilities of the 51574. The vacuum is pretty powerful for a cheap electrical unit, but I would prefer to have better suction. There were multiple instances where leaves clogged the vacuum tube, and the vacuum process is a bit slower than I expected due to a lack of suction. Small sticks and clumps of leaves are eventually pulled up the tube, but if your yard is full of small cottonwood sticks, like mine is, it is definitely slower than a pile of pure leaves. In the end, though, it is better to have somewhat weak vacuum capability, rather than having to bag all the leaves by hand.
The impeller (chopper) is quite powerful, despite being made out of plastic. Some of the larger sticks got stuck in the impeller area of the machine, and required that I stop vacuuming to remove them, but for the most part, sticks and normal yard waste in addition to leaves were chopped quickly, thoroughly, and without problems. I am actually surprised that the plastic holds up so well against sticks, and I am pleased with the chopping performance overall. I think the claim of reducing 8 bags worth of leaves into one bag is nearly substantiated. I was able to reduce quite a large pile of leaves (maybe 6-8 bags worth), so that they fit with room to spare into one of my 32 gallon trash bins. The shredded leaves will make a great addition to a compost pile, once I’ve figured out where and how I want to start one. I am also pleased with the provided zip-up bag - it holds in a lot of the dust and all of the chopped leaf debris, and is sturdy and easy to empty. Unfortunately, it is impossible to keep some leaf dust from getting all over yourself, your clothes, and the machine itself, while vacuuming/chopping, but the bag seems to hold a lot of extra dust from flying out into the air. The bag also has a shoulder strap on it, making it easy to carry the unit with the extra weight of the chopped leaves.
All around, the “Rake & Vac” 51574 seems sturdy, well built, and does it’s job well. Despite being a bit slow at vacuuming, the 51574 has a cheap price point, and quite a few features that are nice and work better than I expected. Although I will likely only use this appliance for a month out of every year, I am happy with my purchase, and if you need a solution to a leaf problem, this Toro is a good blower/vacuum unit, and you should consider picking one up.
Toro “Rake & Vac” Electric Blower Vac (Model 51574): 4/5
4/5
Have you ever used a blower/vac? How was your experience? Do you have any suggestions for a leaf blower newbie?
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