Rows of exclusive reptile skin handbags by B. May line the shelves of Rue, a new boutique on the second story of the Mira Mar building. In a room next door, resort wear by Vineet Bahl hangs on clothing racks. Located above street level and surrounded by professional offices, Rue isn’t the easiest store on Palm Avenue to find, but those who do will discover merchandise not seen anywhere else in town. “Everyone who comes here just says this is so different,” owner Natalie Rue Morgan boasts. “It’s not like other boutiques, which I’m happy to hear.”

Morgan opened up the small shop on Dec. 3, just over a year after moving here from Indiana. This marks the second time Morgan has started a fashion boutique. She ran N. Rue and Company in Indianapolis from 2009 through 2011, but closed that store after some admitted business mistakes. “I thought I was going to be in that space forever, thus I spent money as if I had forever to make it back,” she jokes. Unlike the vintage merchandise she would buy in Indiana, Morgan keeps a small inventory in stock at Rue filled with contemporary lines, many with small designers. A few of those designers she has met, including womenswear designer Sean Monahan, who keeps a showroom in his New York loft where Morgan has visited. She also has spoken with line like B. May that have been in Sarasota before but needed a new exclusive retailer in the market.

Her first foray into retail was actually as a buyer for convenience store chain Crystal Flash Petroleum, but fashion has dominated her professional life for several years. Between the openings of N. Rue and Rue, she covered fashion for Indianapolis Monthly, and she has visited fashion shows to build a network of industry contacts and to stay up on trends.

As she gives a tour wearing a Hemand and Nandita dress also available for sale, Morgan explains that she would someday like to be in a traditional first floor shop but feels she can build a loyal customer base where she is at. To bring guests in, she has held special events with local women’s clubs and other organizations. Rue now operates Tuesday through Saturday—hours are posted on a ground level sign by Caragiulo’s. 

‘Tis the season to deck the halls and pack on the pounds, right? We all give ourselves permission to indulge during the holidays and we’re content to slide into the New Year with a little extra padding and ten to fifteen pounds of built in New Year’s resolutions. As a food writer, it’s difficult for me to make healthy choices because I eat out a lot and tend to be far more relaxed about my diet when someone else is preparing my food. This year I’m determined to curb the seasonal sampling and begin paying attention to what I’m eating before 2016 officially rolls in. The fact of the matter is that we’re blessed to have fantastic restaurants like Bijou Café that offer sensational food that won’t break your budget or tip your scale into despair. My friends know that I love to eat at the bar–I feel less guilty about ordering an appetizer and it’s always fun to chat with the bartender. I love the Shrimp Piri Piri at Bijou Café the dish features American-harvest shrimp in a piquant sauce of cayenne, garlic, and lemon, which is served with creamy South-African style grits. I’m South African and love the creamy grits (we call it ‘pap’) but I like to get the Shrimp Piri Piri with sautéed spinach instead. The meal is inexpensive, tasty and healthy–and that’s something to feel merry about.  

Bijou Cafe, 1287 1st Street, Sarasota, 941-366-8111.

Neal Communities has broken ground on Villa Amalfi, a gated community that will provide residents vacation-style living in the North Sarasota.Villa Amalfi, situated on 18 acres at the corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and Honore Avenue, will consist of 92 maintenance-included villas. A pool, spa and cabana are at the centerpiece of the community’s vacation lifestyle. 

Neal Communities

London Bay Homes started construction of its first single-family estate model home in Spice Bay, an 8-acre gated community of only 14 homes on the southern end of Siesta Key.The two-story Mandeville was designed to showcase views of the Intracoastal Waterway. The waterfront model will offer covered outdoor living areas and terraces, second-floor balconies and under-roof and open-sun terraces displaying sweeping water views. 

London Bay Homes

Attorney Peter J. Krotec, a partner with the Sarasota law firm of Syprett Meshad, has been recognized by the American Institute of Legal Counsel as a 2015 "10 Best" attorney in Florida, in the practice area of Family Law.  Rated AV-Preeminent by the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, Krotec has been practicing marital and family law in Sarasota since 1989.  

Syprett Meshad