It seems that your invitation to the 89th Annual Academy Awards celebration didn’t arrive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate!  You can put on the Ritz by hosting an Oscar party at your Orlando apartment.

Experts suggest that you serve smaller bite sized foods and serve Oscars inspired cocktails. Here are a few ideas to inspire you.

Meatball Sliders: Turn store bought meatballs in to something extraordinary by slicing them and serving them on fresh rolls with aged comté or fontina.

Oven-Roasted Shrimp: Instead of boiling shrimp, try roasting.  Roasting brings out the shrimp’s natural sweetness.  Purchase peeled gulf shrimp and serve with a tomato pesto sauce.

Bananas Foster: Easy and impressive bananas foster is a great Oscars dessert.  Simply slice a few bananas and sauté until caramelized with brown sugar and a bit of butter. Deglaze the pan with a quarter cup of rum and stand back!  Serve with a scoop of gourmet vanilla ice cream.

Oscar Cocktail: This golden cocktail will surely set the mood.  2/3 ounce of peach vodka, 2/3 ounce of peach puree (or syrup), 1 lump of sugar, 1 teaspoon of grenadine.  Place the cube in the bottom of a champagne flute, add the grenadine, peach vodka and puree, stir and top with champagne!

Decorate with gold and black, ask your friends to dress up and maybe add a red carpet to the entrance of your Orlando apartment for the perfect Academy Awards party!

There really is nothing like Super Bowl Sunday.  Whether you tune in to catch the game, watch the commercials, marvel at Lady GaGa’s half-time performance or are just looking for a chance to eat good food and cold beer, this is the night to get out at some of the best Super Bowl parties in Orlando!

Bloodhound Brew

Bloodhound Brew throws one of the best Super Bowl parties every year!  This year you can celebrate with an all-you-can-eat buffet, drink specials, over 30 TVs, plus one super large (like we mean really large) TV, prizes and fun!  Don’t miss it!

Majesty of the Seas – 3 Day Super Bowl Cruise

Why celebrate for one night, when you can do it for 3?   Board Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas for a 3 day cruise and Super Bowl party!   With TVs and food, plus football fans, this is a party to remember.  There are still rooms available, but don’t wait!

Downtown PourHouse

20 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801

With lots of TVs, great drafts and good food, this place will be hopping on Super Bowl Sunday!

When the weekend comes around it is time to get out and have some fun!  Here is a short list of some of Orlando’s hottest night clubs, located not far from your apartment.

BackBooth

37 W Pine St, Orlando, FL 32801
Website

Located only 1/2 mile from your 420 East apartment you will find BackBooth!  With local musicians and national acts playing almost every night, it is no wonder this nightclub is one of the hottest spots in Orlando.

The Beacham

6 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Website

Is it a concert hall or is it a nightclub?  The answer is yes to both!  This hot spot turns in to a late night dance hall with some of the area’s best DJs once the sun goes down.

EVE Orlando

110 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Website

There is so much going on here, but all of it spells F-U-N!  Choose between the lounge, the night club or the balcony!

Get a jump on the weekend with this trampoline parks near your apartment in Orlando.

Sky Zone Trampoline Park

Outer Limitz Trampoline Arena

AirHeads Trampoline Arena Orlando

Have you ever wondered how the tradition of dropping a ball at the stroke of midnight began?

It began in 1904 in New York City when the new owner of the New York Times decided to celebrate the New Year and to show off their new offices.  They threw an all-day street festival culminating with midnight fireworks.  At midnight revelers cheered and celebrated with rattles and noisemakers.  The city later put a kibosh on the fireworks display and thus, the origin of the dropping of the ball began and the annual New Years Eve bash began.  In 1907, Ochs, the owner of the New York Times commissioned the building of an electric-lit ball to be lowered on a flagpole on the roof of Times Square!  The ball has been dropped ever since, with the exception of 1942 and 1943, when wartime light restrictions forced its cancellation.

The first-time ball was created using Incandescent light bulbs and wood and iron.  Today the ball has over 504 Waterford Crystals, halogen bulbs and spinning mirrors!  The ball weighs over 1,000 pounds.

People have been celebrating the start of each for over four thousand years!   Most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31^st, New Year’s Eve, and include common traditions such as parties, champagne, special foods, making resolutions, watching fireworks and the dropping of a ball at midnight!

In Orlando, we celebrate New Year’s Eve by dropping an orange! Yep, to honor our rich agricultural history as a leading supplier of citrus, oranges in particular!

So, where can you watch this orange drop?  Church Street is one of the hottest spots in Orlando on New Year’s Eve!  Head down for a lot of free events or buy tickets to one of the many celebrations!

Tickets and information

You can also check out the Attic Nightclub will be throwing their annual New Year’s Eve party again this year.

Website

It’s almost Christmas, time to deck the halls, sing fa la la, attend a Christmas show and get ready for a new year!  It is Christmas time in Orlando and while we might not have snow, we certainly have the holiday spirit.  Get out of your Orlando apartment and check out these local holiday favorites.

Singing Christmas Trees

You still have time to visit the Singing Christmas Trees at the First Baptist Church, 3000 South John Young Parkway, Orlando, 32805.  Since 1980, this Orlando holiday tradition has been delighting spectators with their singing ornaments.  This year there will be two forty-five foot trees decorated with over 300 singing “ornaments” and over 250,000 lights, all in synch with music from the choir and 50 piece orchestra!

There are still seats available for December 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th.

Miraculous

This modern twist on the story of Jesus’ birth will have you giving a standing ovation!  Don’t miss this upbeat holiday performance on Monday, December 19th at the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater.  The show starts at 7pm and the cost is $30.  Find out more.

Christmas at the Leu House

From now until January 2nd you can take a tour of the Leu House Museum which is decorated by Orlando’s best designers!  1920 North Forest Avenue, tickets are $10 and you can find more information online.  This is a great way to spend an afternoon and get in the holiday spirit!

When  it comes to holiday performances you might be thinking “bah humbug”, you just can’t sit through another performance of A Christmas Carol, the Nutcracker, Miracle on 34th Street, or even another magical Disney performance!  We hear you, and we think we have a suggestion that will bring holiday entertainment up a notch or two!  Why not check out the Trans Siberian Orchestra?

This holiday tradition has been selling out across the nation and brings the holiday spirit to a whole new level! The Washington Post describes their performances as “Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall.”

This full orchestra brings Christmas to life with their heart pumping Christmas classics, elaborate concerts, a pyro, light and laser show, and a full string section.  The show includes video screens, moving trusses, and animated effects synchronized to music.

This is not the holiday classic of your parents generation, but if you bring them, they might be wishing it was.

Buy tickets for the December 17th showing, but don’t wait, the concert typically sells out!