Capital biking

Photo by Josh Bassett 

I was never one to really love biking.  You might gasp, but the truth is that I was more into tomboy sports as a kid, especially those that required balls.  Touchball, baseball, kickball, throwball, you name it.  And when we didn't have a ball, we would make one up.  With duct tape, packing tape, newspaper and gift wrapping tape. 

Photo via 

I now I live in city where everyone bikes everywhere.  The Capital Bikeshare program is a hit, and one of the{stupid} reasons why they kicked out our last Mayor (this was costly mistake!)  But now, we are all thinking how did this city managed without bikes before?  The truth is that our biking program is one of the most successful in the country.  Mayor Fenty smartly allocated resources for infrastructure like permanent bike lanes and biking protocols for riders.

Photo by Joe in DC 

And to think that many opposed this program as costly, unnecessary, and yes, elitist.  I love bikes, and just wish I was brave enough to ride them. 

Photo by Josh Bassett

Last three photos by me.

In the kitchen

{Spring mix avocado, gorgonzola and fig salad}

These figs are sprouting everywhere on our street. I just noticed it the other day. Then I read somewhere that these particular trees are common in urban DC. So it gave an idea! A delicious dish, refreshing, and light that I can prepare using figs. It's so simple. NO measurements required.

Ingredients

one bag of Spring mix greens
one avocado
a few bits of diced onion
a handful of crumbled gorgonzola
a few bits of pine nuts
a few bits of cilantro leaves, chopped
a handful of dried figs, sliced

For dressing:  Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar at a ratio of 2:1.  Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  If you wish, a squirt of lemon juice gives is a kick. 

Buen provecho!

When in NYC

Hi everyone.  As promised I have a few pictures I would like to share from our weekend trip to NYC.  Thanks to my sister-in-law who took these photos because I was enjoying myself so much I forgot to take pictures.

Like I told you on this post, we spent Sat. afternoon in Manhattan walking around the Village and Soho, the neighborhoods where my friend Yanil works and plays from.  As a fan of Sex and the City, we took pictures at Carrie's brownstone.  Remember Big's late night visits and how they would sit in his car?  This came to mind when I was walking up "her" street. We also came across a small sidewalk sale, more like junk than anything else, but the man attending the sidewalk was a former dancer from Cuba who had emigrated in the 50s, before the revolution, and we naturally stroke up a lengthy conversation about NYC rent, Miami Cubans and life in the 60s.  He was helping his friend get rid of some of junk and told us that this 80 year old friend only pays $250 a month.  Talk about rent control!  I guess that's the beauty and surprise of NYC, that you can pay $3,000 for a one bedroom apt in Greenwich and live next to an old man who pays only $200.

Zen Sushi

Yanil and I at Washington Square (homage to Henry James)

We grabbed lunch at Zen Sushi, a place in the East Village where you order food from the menu and pay only 50% when the bill arrives.  I ordered a Spicy Salmon roll and the Zen roll, and the total was $8.  Only in NYC!

My mother and Anadel

My brother and Anadel

This was one of my favorite gardens.

There's an English garden.

On Sunday, we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and spent a lovely afternoon relishing the 80 degree weather one last time.  Emilu took a nap in the stroller as we walked from garden to garden looking at poison ivy, a variety of herbs and at turtles in the small pond.  I definitely recommend the Garden.  It's much bigger than the US Botanic Gardens in DC. Plus they have a Japanese garden, complete with koi fish and turtles.

Emilu napping ( i love her when she does this)

At Owls Head Park watching the sunset.

Something caught our attention, I think it was another dog,

Anadel, my sister-in-law, my mother, Emilu and our dogs, Piki and Pia.  The sun is going down.

Next time I would like to visit the Brooklyn museum to soak myself in NY's history and culture. If you would like to enjoy NYC from a local perspective, instead of a tourist, this mini guide is a must.

A piece of Summer

Emilu and I went to Target today to stock on cleaning supplies and wandering the aisles we ended up at the outdoor entertainment section.  The bursting colors of Summer were just too awesome to ignore.  It reminded me of that movie Spanglish and their beach front/vacation home.  Although their awesome California style residence was very nice too. You can visit the homes at Hooked on Houses, a fun website that provides house junkies a fix of the most beautiful homes on the screen as well as tours of celebrities' homes. 

The Malibu Beach House, Spanglish, 2004

I took pictures of some of the shelves filled with outdoor accessories.  I had to be fast because Emilu started crying because she doesn't like her stroller that much.  She needs to be entertained all the time, like her mother.

I dream of a nice backyard in the future where the family can spend quality time.  Meanwhile I love the pretty designs out there.