This place should get their own trophy!

Sometimes I find wings when I'm looking for something completely different...

Since the Publix ate my Albertsons, I have found myself sans a dry cleaner. And since my husband and I both live in uniforms, well, you get the picture.

So we took a drive around Palmetto and Parrish, looking for a new dry cleaners. Our adventures always take us someplace interesting; years ago when we first moved to Manatee County, we got VERY lost looking for the mall but found a good place for margaritas instead.

My husband found a little family dry cleaners off US 301 near Taco Bell. Of course, they were closed because we night folks do everything after dark. But the place next door, Trophy's Sports Pub and Wings, was serving up a storm.

"Wings!" I yelled. (And my husband was more than ready for a beer.)

Deceiving from the outside, this place had two pool tables, room for a band and lots of seating. They also had booths for families to sit down and eat - a practical thing since Trophy's boasts a full menu. I almost stole a bite of my husband's cheeseburger because it smelled soooo good with all the big slices of fresh onion and real cheddar melting down ... but alas, my recent quest for the area's Best Hotwings has already forced me to spend more time at the gym. I didn't want to push it.

Their wings are more than a meal, anyway! I love a good wingsauce that has flavor, not just heat! (and I didn't ask, but I swear their bleu cheese dressing is home-made.) And so crispy, without being dry. So they earn themselves a place on my Best Hotwing's list.

The ambiance is good, too. Kind of like walking into someone's personal sports memorabilia collection that got too big for its britches. Lots to look at here.

Trophy's Sports Pub and Wings, 1035 Hasko Road in Palmetto. Full bar, full menu, nonsmoking, live music on Fridays and Saturdays, karaoke on Thursdays and GREAT hotwings. (941) 981-3803.

Last Minute Costume Ideas

Well, it is the week of Halloween and I know there are some of us that just haven't gotten a Halloween costume ready yet. Every year I say I am going to plan ahead of time and somehow it just never happens. So I have brainstormed with friends for some really easy, somewhat innovative, last minute ideas. Oh, and they are relatively inexpensive also.
One year my mother-in-law dressed up as a cereal (not serial) killer. She wore a black dress and glued a bunch of little individual cereal boxes to her dress and all of the boxes had plastic knives through them. She even put some fake blood on the boxes. It was very cute.
If you have any long pj's you can always put them on with some slippers, put your hair in pig tails and carry a stuffed animal and go as a todder/baby. (thats what im doing this year)
A play on words is always an easy way to go too. A friend of mine came to work one year as "smarty pants" by safety pinning a bunch of smarty candies to her jeans. That went over wonderfully. I have also seen a "sour puss" (cat costume with a lemon) and "black-eyed peas" (a bunch of letter p's and a black eye on the person). Just to name a couple.
And last but not least...fun with boxes. You can be a lego, a dresser, a clock tower, a box of shoes. So many things!

Well, I hope this helps out any of you last minutes types, like me!

Your Local Shopper

Jenn
localshops1

A lost art rediscovered

We live in such a point-and-click, click-and-print, click-and-ship world.

I'm not complaining; it makes life a lot easier sometimes. But it is nice when you find someone who takes the time to design and custom make things, who makes sure that the job is perfect and takes lots of pride in their finished work.

It's even better when they're local.

I had a great find in Palmetto while looking for someone to frame some art work my husband just bought. He was a little stressed out about anyone handling the paintings, so it was such a relief to find Robin.

Framing By Robin, Inc., at 731 7th Street West, has been quietly designing custom framing right under my nose for the past 25 years. Robin considers herself a true artist, and when we got the paintings back, it was easy to see why!

She was able to find and match some very unusual framing to these paintings to make them great conversation pieces. And, she was patient with us!

Robin does not have a website; her phone # is (941) 723-1487.