Tag Archives: mother

Feeling Nostalgic

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26

I loved reading everyone’s world-class titles! It seems we have a few world-class worriers in the house. Don’t worry I won’t make you fight for first place! But I do have a little challenge for you. The other day I was reading Joy’s blog and I came across a wonderful list to help you stress a little less and smile more: “25 Instant Pick-Me Ups to Get Happy Now!“

Visiting my mom's side of the family in Colombia.

On a random note, the other day I saw this movie with my mom called “A Talking Picture” directed by the legendary, Manoel de Oliveira. It was about a mother and a daughter taking a cruise from Lisbon through Mediterranean ports, and the Indian Ocean. The little girl’s mother was a professor  and she shared the history of those places, while actually experiencing them for the first time herself as well. There were some parts in the movie where there was a table of people each speaking their native language, yet the managed to understand each other. Their conversations were reflections on civilization. Anyway, the movie really reminded me of my adventures with my mom across Europe when I was little, and how I would question everything. It was just us two, until my mom met my step-dad of course!

The two of us in Bavaria!

Speaking of Germany…

Brötchen for breakfast

One half has melted butter, the other has the homemade macadamia nut butter I made with marmalade. Looking at the picture above I noticed that the strawberries look like obscenely large nostrils belonging to a happy bug-eyed somebody. On the side I had a bowl of Greek yogurt with chia seeds, sesame seeds, and strawberries.

My favorite half!

Homemade macadamia nut butter

When I was making this I blended the nuts till they got to a creamy consistency. Then I threw in some more for crunch–I’m a crunchy kind of girl!

More delicious bread from the Germany bakery.

My dad had also picked up a nutty, honey loaf. This bread is dense, slightly sweet, and just so tasty! One slice has macadamia nut butter with pumpkin butter (great combination take note), and the other slice has coconut oil + cinnamon. I haven’t had that combination on toast in such a long time! And I use to have it all of the time. In the glass I made a parfait of sorts with my favorite Greek yogurt combo lately but this time with apricots and blueberries. And who can forget the baby mango!

Then my sweet tooth politely reminded me that I really confectioner's sugar with coconut oil and cinnamon.

I was bursting at the seams with stuff I wanted to talk about, so I called my girl!

A lot can happen in a few days, and we hadn’t seen each other since Friday so that means we had to catch up on our thoughts on the World Cup. Our plan is to save up money to go see the next World Cup in Brasil. We already came up with a plan and I’m going to start learning Brazilian Portuguese seriously after I graduate in a year. We are also hoping that our easiest plan will work: date a soccer player. Oh, I have some in mind!!!

Kick that ball!

After a few hours of talking and making our appearance in our swim-suits and cover-ups, we headed back to my place for some popcorn and Sex and the City. Funny story. As soon as I got home and got out of my car, my over-up fell down to the ground. Imagine if that happened when I was getting up from my seat at Starbucks…

The next morning I remembered that I had something chilling in the fridge...

My friend also made key-lime pie out of scratch! I love that I’ve been able to feature some culinary delights by some of my favorite people in the world. Anyway, she said she was inspired by me and attempted to bake this dessert. I was so proud of her and seriously touched. She admits that she barely goes into the kitchen, so cooking or baking is a big step for her. She wanted my approval, and oh my goodness was it given! Key-lime pie is my dad’s favorite so she packed an extra slice for him. Uh oh! I hope he’s not reading this post because that would mean that I just spoiled his surprise for when he gets back from his business trip.

Dessert was followed by breakfast!

I made a bowl of oats that had some comforting things like apples, cinnamon, vanilla, and peanut butter. Of course, this bowl was enjoyed chilled! My mom has the week off so we dropped Matilda off at the groomers and ran some errands. We came home just in time to answer to our grumbling tummies.

Hey! It's me with my brötchen!

Step 1: cut your brötchen in half.

The assembly "line"

Step 2: get your fillings.

Alles auf Deutsch!

Step 3: assemble!

What a colorful meal!

I am very ready to eat my sandwich.

The winning combination: sun-dried tomatoes, muenster käse, fresh basil, avocado, yellow onion, and some freshly ground black pepper.

And try to remember to leave at least one brötchen in the basket. I’ll leave one for you, Neela!

And I can't leave out my vibrant salad--I haven't had kale in ages!

After our lunch, the princess was ready to be picked up from the groomers.

Everyone knows her at the store and she gets extra treats just for being so cute!

Cutie patootie with her updated summer-do

Hi evewybody!

These puppy paws are waving good-bye till the next post!

I just got an idea! Going back to the delicious key-line pie my friend made… what if me and her have a weekly dessert night. Then we alternate who makes the goodies every week. What traditions do you have with your friends?

Ketchup

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24

I have quite a few things to catch you all up on!

First off,

Matilda, my mother, and I sleeping together in my twin-size bed

Our breakfast for her last day in town.

What was served? I made oatmeal with cinnamon and a bruleed banana + shredded coconut for my mom. She also wanted some of the bread we had gotten from the brasserie with sunflower seed butter. I opted for an end piece with marmalade and butter. I also tried a Heart Thrive. This time it was the raisin flavor and it was so good! It was delicious alone and crumbled over vanilla Greek yogurt + persimmon + cashew butter. We both had cups of warm pumpkin spice soymilk with pumpkin spice! We just dilly-dallied around the apartment and took Matilda on a walk.

Mom's breakfast

And mine

Then lunch time rolled around…

Gluten-free pizza crust with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, portobello, and goat cheese.

After we got ready, we were off to the studio!

Wishing I didn't have to spend my last day with my mom at the studio.

But before I dropped her off at the airport we were able to meet up with one my bests for some coffee.

Beautiful smiles all around!

All three of us

Being silly

I was sad when I dropped my mom off at the airport but luckily I’ll be flying down to Florida tomorrow till Sunday!

Lazy Sundays

I had a Rudi’s Organic English Muffin – these are so good! One half with cashew butter and the other half with Creme of Almonds and Dates spread. I also had vanilla Greek yogurt with marmalade and some slices of bananas. I also saved some banana slices for my English Muffin. My sweet tooth was calling my name that morning and I had a Marzipan candy and I tried a Newman’s Own Organic dark chocolate peppermint cup. This one was so good! I did some things around the apartment and spent most of my day painting.

More pizza!

Yummy dinner

I had some of the baguette from the brasserie with basil pesto, and a mock tuna made with soybeans. I also had a sliced up a carrot and look at that beautiful persimmon! I’m glad I decided to cut it that way.

I tried someone's favorite nighttime snack.

Well not just someone, but I tried Jessica’s favorite! Warmed up applesauce with cinnamon, melted chocolate chips, a crumbled graham cracker, and since I didn’t have almond butter I just used cashew. Girl, now I know why this snack is at the top of your list.

Spreading the love on Monday.

What a great way to start a Monday – with heart-shaped goodies! I tried the date Heart Thrive that morning. The date flavor wasn’t as intense as some of the other flavors I’ve tried. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed off. I had it over vanilla Greek yogurt, a sliced banana, and cashew butter. Mixed in with everything else it was good, but alone I didn’t really like it.

Baguette action

This sandwich was composed of: a beer-brat Tofurky sausage, homemade tomato sauce, red onions, and relish. Yum! I love using a baguette as the bread for a sandwich.

I obviously couldn't get enough!

So later on I snacked on some more with a baked apple + cinnamon, goat cheese, and honey!

I also got an incredibly sweet package in the mail!

From one of the sweetest girls around, Mitri! Her package warmed my heart and kept a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Little delicious treats and wonders tucked inside.

Thank you so much! Don’t you love acts of kindness? Especially through snailmail! Since Tuesday was around the corner, I spent most of my day kicking major booty in the studio. Tuesday = my final critique of the semester!

Breakfast on-the-go

This is why bars are perfect sometimes! I tried the last 18 rabbits granola bar – Haute Diggity Date. This was incredibly delicious and is right up there with the first one I tried. The one that made me think, “this is what a granola bar is suppose to taste like.” Thank you for sending me these bars to review! I am so glad that I did because I will definitely find myself getting these in the future.

So now I will share with you what my piece for this semester’s final critique looked like. Now keep in mind that being there in person is an entirely different experience – as is with most art. I also had a Nag Champa incense burning which definitely added to the piece itself. I had originally wanted to set it up in various open fields and document my interaction in the space. Then I realized how little time I had, and I was debating doing a performance piece with it instead. However, nothing specific came to mind and I never force myself into anything when it comes to my art. So I just let it be, but I will set it up outside and film that in my leisure time.

Balancing on itself

Mitri’s beautiful box of goodies found its way into my piece! Can you spy it?

Watercolors on fabric + burlap

Interesting angle the stripped branches made.

The whole experience was meditative for me, and the environment I built is meditative as well. What a great place to relax…

Where do you all like to go to relax?

p.s. check out Katie’s amazing giveaway!

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance

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– Oscar Wilde

Ladies and gentlemen step right up! Wait a minute. This isn’t a circus! But you are more than welcome to come and read.

Hmm… where did we leave off? A-ha! After my breakfast fit for a king princess I got ready to venture over to the Farmer’s Market. I packed Matilda some treats since it was going to be a long walk.

I wore a skirt I found at a vintage punk store in St. Marks.

And some red shoes for a POP of color.

Then we were off!

Looking for the goods.

I had a couple things I was looking for: kale, persimmons, and winter squashes. They only had kale so I whipped out a quarter and paid. It was funny because the lady just held the bag in her hand and she mentally weighed it. Then I just went browsing around the other booths. On Sundays the Farmer’s Market has mostly artisan and vintage items.

I love those shopping bags that say "Thank You" all over them. Thank you thank you thank you!

On the way home I decided to walk a different way and I saw some pretty neat things.

There were plants in each segment.

A sushi restaurant - I think they're trying to be a best-kept secret.

My little nugget.

Pumpkin kale soup + toast + cashew toffee

I mixed in some coconut oil and my leftover sweet & sour lentils in the soup to make it heartier. On the toast is the delicious medley jam Holly sent me, and I had some plain slices with butter. Sometimes I just want simplicity. Maybe I’m coo-coo but often times I’ll eat things plain because I don’t want to forget what it tastes like. I feel like if I forgot what something essentially tasted like then that would interfere with my knack for thinking of flavor combinations. Anyway, I also munched on the cashew toffee, and I realized that it’s read “Christine’s” and not “Christmas” (what I previously thought).

Afterwards lunch I felt like shopping. I got something so I can be a Russian snow-bunny. I got a lot of painting done as well, and went to the grocery store to get some more things.

Faux fur can be chic too!

Lazy Sundays call for lazy dinners.

I roasted some kabocha (finally found one again) and carrot slices. I put coconut oil on half of the kabocha chunks and sunflower seed butter on the other half, but I drizzled all of them with maple syrup. The roasted carrot slices were delicious and I just put sea salt on them! I also baked a Barbeque Sunshine burger. I really enjoyed the distinct flavor this one had! I definitely tasted the smoke flavoring, and it’s really interesting to see the combination of ingredients they use to get that barbeque flavor. I topped it with my favorite BBQ-sauce.

Well, right now it’s a rainy Monday morning and I’m about to head off to finally get a rain jacket! I always say I will, then don’t and then it rains. But before I go I’ll leave you all with this morning’s breakfast.

Woke up to a little love.

I tried the Apple Heart Thrive this time around. I had it with vanilla Greek yogurt (ridiculous sale price=me stocking up), apple sauce + cinnamon, Newman’s Own Organic dried apples, and crunchy peanut butter. So far the one quip about these Heart Thrive bars is that they are drier than I prefer. There’s  nothing wrong with the flavor, just the dryness factor. Atleast I’ve got things like coconut oil and nut butters to moisten them. I also have to make a note about Newman’s Own Organic dried fruit. They are awesome! They’re not overly dry how some dried fruits can be. There’s still a chewiness and plumpness to them.

Okay so I hope you all have a wonderful beginning to a fabulous week! I know everyone must be excited about Thanksgiving break and getting to enjoy all the seasonal eats. My mom is flying into town on Thursday and I can’t wait for some mother + daughter + Matilda time! Not to mention, it really helps turn away any winter blues when I hang out with someone (my mom) that thinks I’m the coolest girl on this side of the galaxy. My mom is like a ray of energy and can make anyone feel special and cared about. She also loves herself and what’s not to love? It’s only natural that as her daughter she’s given me plenty of her infectious injections of self-love and acceptance.

What do you all have planned for Thanksgiving Day? Any recipes you’re trying out or recommend?