~~~ Vero is for Sweeties ~~~ Vero Vine ~~~ Vero Beach, FL

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Chelsea’s by day, Havana, by way of New York, at Night. Very Vero. Very sweet gems full of “sweet” treats for the Sweeties in your life any day of the year. Treating the sweet people in your life and reminding them of your love is pretty paramount on Valentine’s Day if you want to stay out of “the dog house”.

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This year February 14th falls on a Saturday and you can bet Vero’s restaurants will be packed, so get a plan together. You can also hope for loads of Valentines in your inbox or mailbox, but you may be disappointed. Why not release the pressure to be all about love and treats on Valentine’s Day only and consider surprising Sweeties with treats early this year. Good surprises keep you out of “the dog house” anytime of the year.

Here are two wonderful Vero places to procure Sweetie treats:

Chelsea’s by day. Chelsea’s on Cardinal is very well known for its delicious, gourmet food and top-notch service. If one of their gourmet meals is a bit beyond your diet or budget, consider some of their other unique and well sourced offerings.

You could fill a gift bag, box or even a monogramed wine glass with sweets such as Daprano Chocolate Hearts; Yum Earth Organic Pops; Bang Candy or Simple Syrups; The Crispery Crispycakes; or Koppers Fruit Filled or Candy Coated Chocolate Sea Shells. For a chocoholic dessert treat how about the Love Bites or “Gracies” Teenager Mousse.

Among their treats for your Sweeties that last a bit longer you will find Rewined Candles; Stonewall Kitchen Soy Candles; a great selection of cook books; “Capabunga” an inventive reusable wine cap; the Murchison Hume “Best in Show Pet Care” line as well as soaps and creams for the human animal. Don’t forget to pick up a colorful hand towel as a special wrapper for your treats.

Chelsea’s wines (including sparklings) cover all price points and include very interesting selections that you may be hard pressed to find elsewhere. “Location” wines created by David Phinney with Orin Swift Cellars in Napa are great red blends from local grapes from places around the world. David chooses not to reveal the grape varieties and the blends that make these tasty reds. Chelsea’s currently has location wines from Spain and Italy and more than half a dozen from Napa.

Wandering through Chelsea’s brings back memories of a trip my father treated me to in New York City. The delis and gourmet markets seemed to be bursting with treasures for all your senses, just like Chelsea’s.

Speaking of New York City, South Beach in Vero is home to a quaint hotel, The Caribbean Court. Havana Nights is hidden here up some very steep, tiled steps (or take the elevator) and it is quite an intimate and romantic “New York piano bar” kind of place. Dim lights, a grand piano and tropical decor remind one of Rick’s American Cafe in “Casablanca”. Francois, Manager of Havana Nights is a pleasure and is planning some new Romance Packages – keep your eyes peeled.

One of the true treats of Havana Nights is the music offerings many nights of the week. The charming and talented Bobby Gangloff (originally from Sarasota Springs, NY) drives up from Jensen Beach on Mondays & Wednesday evenings to play the piano (beginning around 6) and sing. He is highly skilled in serenading Sweeties with the likes of Sinatra, Van Morrison and “Satchmo”. The other Tuesday, Bobby made a special appearance to play at acoustic guitarist Neil McHugh’s Birthday Bash. They were joined by a previous neighbor of mine on the harmonica and the place was humming!

Happy sweet treating………

Sherry Nist

Sherry Nist joined VeroVine.com as a writer, strategizer and promoter of Vero Beach's first and only digital grapevine in August 2014.In 2011 she founded eMedia Connections, a social media marketing & public relations consultancy while living in Charlottesville, Virginia.She is a "serial" entrepreneur who grew up outside Washington, DC, surrounded by technology and mainframe punch cards as the daughter of an IBM Systems Engineer.

Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Sherry lived in Mexico City for two of her elementary school years; this began her love for language, culture, Spanish and the adventures of living abroad.Sherry graduated with a BA from the University of South Carolina Honors College in Columbia, South Carolina with a double-major in Economics & International Studies.After graduation, her wanderlust took her to Steamboat, CO;San Francisco, CA; Beijing, China; Washington, DC; Nyack, NY and both Fredericksburg & Charlottesville, VA for the last 15 years.She moved to Vero Beach to stick her toes, permanently in the sand in early 2014.

Sherry's professional work experience has been in the Finance & Wireless Telecom worlds.Her skills include training/teaching, writing/editing/publishing, strategic planning, regulatory affairs, technical & consumer marketing and foreign languages.Spanish and Mandarin Chinese are her specialties.

When not creating, writing and roaming online, Sherry enjoys her two teen daughters:Josephine, 21 & Camille, 18; surf fishing for the "big one"; greens & beach golf; walking Vero's beaches; biking & swimming; shooting photos on her smart phone; hanging at Waldo's & Dario's and socializing/exploring all over Central & South Beach.