Have a happy weekend

The weekend started great for me.  A friend from NY is arriving today and we'll spend the weekend catching up since we haven't seen each other for so long.  We used to be neighbors back in Miami, and there was a time when we were both single and casually ended up staking Friday nights as our own especial night to watch foreign films, and prepare yummy salads, which we accompanied with wine.  I have to say, I miss those nights.  We must have watched together under 100 foreign films, fulfilling an empty desire to travel the world, know other cultures and fall in love in different languages.  How about you?  Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy this Summer weekend, and stay well hydrated.  I have enjoyed this week's links so much, especially the articles, and I hope you like them too. So have a happy weekend.  See you back Monday!


DIY:  Neon painted boxed-out totes

DIY mini felt boxes

the farming Summer (i love every post from Kate)

world's 10 most famous streets + world's strangest and unique streets

can't wait to try this sweet, gooey recipe

this article made me angry  (this is unacceptable)

crazy about no heat curls

why women can't have it all (unless you are superhuman or self-employed)

this story is haunting in a upBeat-les way!

Summer: Jacagua Hills

Remember the quiet Sunday we spent on my uncle's hillside home?  Well, I took pictures of almost everything. The hummingbird shots were taken this same day while the bird was humming alongside the pool. The post on the preparation of tuna tartare showcased pictures I took this same day. And finally, the pool photos, where Emilu decides she wants to come out of the pool by herself were also taken that day. Here are the rest of the pictures. It was a splendid day. Sunny and bright, even as the city below was covered in a torturous haze.

In the kitchen (with Instagram)

Today I don't have any recipes to post, but oh boy, aren't these photographs so enticing and brilliant?  The amazing food stylist and world traveler behind them is Marte Marie Forsberg, who runs a blog called  Le voyage creatif.  I recently started following her Instagram feed, and have never been so inspired on the subject of food and travel.  She's currently working on a assignment titled, 60 days of lunch, where she Instagrams snippets of her lunch, and so far she's gone from Milano to a town in Sweden and back to Olso, her howmetown. Her pictures tell a story about her day, her travels and her love of food.  She's like a personal travel guide with an amazing eye for food.   If you don't start following her Instagram, you will be missing on some of the most impressive and artful photographs.

All photos by Marte Marie

Spotted: Kollection note cards

Kollection is a new online stationery shop with sophisticated, yet affordable stationary.  The kind you want to get for all your personal correspondence.  They also have wedding stationary, and even, a men's collection.  I really do see myself writing a note in one of these.

>

First a hand, then the whole heart

As you can see I'm still going through the pile of pictures from our vacation in the DR. This set of images I took one day during lunch in my mom's apt. My grandmother had lunch with us almost everyday. It was our time together, and one of the most fulfilling hours of the day. After lunch, we'd have coffee and dessert, and Emilu would play on the floor until her nap time. Then we'd all take a little siesta (I never could). That was my time at the computer. When we first arrived, Emilu was shy and introverted toward my grandmother. She always is. I think her white hair  makes Emilu distinctively suspiscious. But, my grandmother never acted dissapointed by her reactions. She would tell me that children raised by their mothers, especially around this age, are more attached and more suspicious of strangers.  She would even tell me not to let her whimper when she'd see her.  My grandmother is acutely distressed by babies' cries, especially when they are avoidable.  So, everyday we would set out to modestly have her interact with my grandmother on her own terms.  And my grandmother, who's wise and patient, would entice Emilu with small gestures, little by little, day by day, until she finally gave her a giggle, then a hand, and finally, the day before last, her whole heart.

Have an spectacular weekend

Source: followgram.me via Patricia on Pinterest

The weekend is here. Yay!  I cannot wait to start up the grill again and cook some shrimp and salmon.  I have this plan of spending the entire weekend on my patio sipping cocktails and eating smoky food.  Maybe we will squeeze in the art gallery, although we hate to go on weekends because it's just too crowded, but might make an exception for Joan Miro's The Ladder of Escape exhibit currently touring the National Gallery of Art.  It's the only time my husband can visit it.  And you?  Any exciting plans?  As always, here are a few links from around the web that I have truly enjoyed. 



amazing farm dinner in pictures,Part 1 and Part 2


now i can do laundry in these and be totally happy


this photographer's London flat (out of this world)

down memory lane with this 1964 high school yearbook

my mom doesn't read my blog (funny, true story)

wishing I was in this park

or visiting this part of the world in detail!


incredibly clever and yummy food type!

where to get stuck in Italy? (Milano, of course)

these cuties need you, won't you help in any way?

Kitchen wishlist

Completely lusting over these kitchen and pantry items from Terrain.

Modern Mug, $24
Botany of Pattern Dish in Sale SHOP House+Home at Terrain, $7.95
Teak Measuring Spoons in House+Home KITCHEN+TABLE Kitchen+Cooking..., $32
Striped Washcloths in Sale SHOP House+Home at Terrain, $14
Meyer Lemon & Lavender Jam in House+Home KITCHEN+TABLE Pantry+Food at..., $10
Mason Jar Pendant, $398
Emerald Swing-Top Canister in House+Home KITCHEN+TABLE Kitchen+Cooking..., $10
Organic Lavender Flowers, $12

Keeping our cool

We are not melting yet.  Today's temperatures in the Northeast are hazing above 100s in some areas, this is how we are keeping our cool here in DC. Lemonade and tropical fruit bar are the perfect, refreshing snacks while soaking in the kiddie pool. Cheers and keep it cool!

How are you keeping it cool?

Chef Carlos prepares tuna tartare

My cousin Carlos is a self-made chef.  He loves cooking, and giving certain established dishes a funky twist.  On one of the weekends during my vacation, he decided to make tuna tartare with a Caribbean flair, knowing well that I'm a vegetarian, and not knowing that well, that tuna is one of my favorite fish, which I eat sparingly due to its high contamination with mercury, and its recent enviromental unsustainability.    But, I must warn you: I got so caught in the process of taking pictures (rookie me!) during its preparation, and then savoring the final result, that I forgot to take pictures of the served tuna. 

He uses orange juice instead of the traditional lime juice, and adds miso paste in lieu of wasabi. He also prefers celery over scallions, to give it more bite. We spreaded it over toasted casabe chips.  It was heavenly!

Ala de colibri

I have so much to learn about shooting photographs. I got this hummingbird in the frame, but was unable to shoot at a slower speed, because let's face it,  I'm still very intimated by the manual position. But I will keep at it. In the meantime, isn't this one a cutie? The hummingbird in the Spanish speaking world is referred to as colibri or zumbador.  There's a song titled Ala de Colibri by my all-time favorite Cuban songwriter, and buddy Silvio.  Psst, who am I kidding?  (The day I can introduce Silvio as a buddy to my friends will be the day I fly like a hummingbird). Ala de Colibri is a song that calls for the acceptance of all human beings as equals. 

Kids Zone: Ceative playtime

Kids play with the darnest things. When I was a child we played elastic band, a game where two kids get inside a long (35") elastic tied at the corners and held by their ankles.  A third kid jumps inside the loop doing a variety of tricky jumping steps as the band gets higher and the game gets harder.  We'd play for hours on end, and sometimes when there was a shortage of kids we would use chairs to hold the elastic in place. We also played with marbles and the game of STOP, with paper and pencil we would go down the alphabet writing all the things we knew with that letter and adding points.

There's an undisturbed innocence when you watch children play with the most creative and organic things.  I always said my kids would play with toys and things that sparked their creativity and curiosity.  I'll do my best when Emilu starts playing seriously.

{Images via HipHip Hooray}

Summer: A day at the pool

On our last Sunday on the island our uncle (dad's brother) invited us to spend a quiet day at their home, in the hills of Santiago, a place called Jacagua Hills, just outside the city. We barbequed, bathed in the pool, and then had lunch al fresco.  More pictures of that day will be posted separately.  Emilu had a blast.  She clearly enjoyed the water, and the view is just as fantastic.  Getting out of the pool was a huge deal.  She wanted to do it unassisted. Mission accomplished.