still alive

I swear it, I am still alive.  I'm super busy working on a project that I hope to be sharing with you guys soon (so excited!), and I can only spend so many hours in front of the computer before my eyeballs start bleeding, so the blog has taken a bit of a back seat lately.  But I am alive and well, truly.  And if you need proof, follow me on Instagram, where I have finally set up an account and am chronicling life's little pleasures in a less wordy way.  See you over there?

big day

image from what katie ate

I see no reason not to shout this from the highest mountain tops: It's my birthday tomorrow!

I have no big plans, I think this year I will be snuggled up with Husband eating all sorts of decadent things and watching movies or something of the sort.  But sometimes quiet cozy celebrations are the best kind.

I do have a few birthday wishes, but like one does with all the best ones, I'm going to keep them to myself so that they come true.  If and when they do, I will let you know.

In the meantime, dear reader, go and eat a piece of cake on my behalf.  The more the merrier!

summer colors

Last time I did a pinterest roundup winter was still desperately hanging on, and it was obviously affecting my mood.  But it seems as if joyous summer colors have finally seeped their way into my subconscious.  Amazing how the weather and the seasons can affect us even in the way we are attracted to color and texture. 

As addicted as I am to pinterest, sometimes I forget to go back and actually look at what I've been obsessively pinning.  When I finally do it feels like I've found treasure; I'm like a magpie admiring all the shiny bits in my nest.  This time around I was so delighted to find all the pops of pink and fresh green in my collection!

Have you noticed any trends in your own image collecting lately?

going bananas

I try not to bake anymore, because it's just like Field of Dreams: If I bake it, I will it eat.  Ok, so that's not exactly the quote from the movie, but the prophecy gets fulfilled in much the same way.  The other day however, I was forced to bake.  Forced, I tell you.  The bananas made me.  The sneaky guys looked bright yellow and cheery, but inside they were mushy, ripe way past their prime.  I refused to let them go without putting them to work so of course I did the only thing I could: I made banana bread.  With chocolate in it, cause chocolate makes everything better.

The look so innocent don't they?  Never trust a banana...

Make some chocolatey banana mischief yourself...

fantasy giving

It's my mama's birthday today!!!  I wish I could give you an entire field of poppies to celebrate.

I also wish I could give you...

cool tones

It is almost June.  Usually we'd all be moaning about the heat by now, but last night Husband and I actually had to wear our winter coats out on our date.  I'm not complaining though, I'm sure there's plenty of heat headed our way, soon.  Plus, I love that I get to wear all those spring layers that have such a small window of usefulness.  Meanwhile I've been pinning more subdued as well, cool, muted colors and comforting textures.  I know some of you are following me on pinterest, but I do like to curate a small selection here every so often as well.  And if you're not following me yet, get on it! Love to see you over there...

colors & textures

image sources available on pinterest

Every once in a while I like to share some of my recent pins, in case you're not following me yet over on pinterest.  Pinterest is one online addiction that I think is truly good for me.  In the midst of even my most hectic days, it slows me down, refills my creativity, floods my senses with colors, textures, tastes, and travels, all from the comfort of my laptop.  Are you addicted? Are we following each other yet?

(ps - if you're on other social media platforms as well, so am I! Twitter here, and facebook here.  Just saying.)

green tea, blue nails

On a bit of a health kick lately: exercising lots, eating really well, going to acupuncture, trying to slow down and relax, and drinking tons of green tea.  Makes me so happy to finally put my turkish teapot to good use.  Every afternoon I fill it up and it never seems to stop bringing me joy.

Another bit of joy...

pinning away

image sources available via pinterest

Just thought I'd share some pins of late.  Little bit of everything.  Come on over and join me there!

last minute lite

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

Still doing your christmas shopping?  Yeah, me too.  And if the last gift guide seemed a little too dignified and mature, if you want a little more frivolity in your choices, here's another bunch of ideas to make sure everyone on your list ends up smiling...

postcards from the bay

Everyone knows that one of the best things about San Francisco is the food.  And everyone knows to go to the Mission for quick and delicious mexican.  But sometimes I worry when I see people going to the wrong ones.   Sure, you could go anywhere and get a delicious burrito, but if you want a taco that's out of this world, that will make you roll your eyes back into your head in ecstasy, you need to go to La Taquería at 25th and Mission.  And you need to order the carnitas taco, dorado, with everything on it.  Dorado means they lightly fry one of the two corn tortillas, melting the cheese into it and leaving it toasty and crisp while the other one remains soft and supple around it.  If that doesn't sound amazing to you, then feel free to order whatever you want, or go to whatever taco place catches your eye, but we cannot be friends.

I literally dream about these tacos when I'm in Madrid, and apart from seeing family and friends, La Taquería is my favorite thing about going back to SF.  It's not just me, this is award-winning stuff.  If you're in San Francisco try it for yourself, and let me know if I'm not right.

PS- nearby is Mitchell's ice cream.  Go there afterwards and stuff yourself even more with some of the crazy flavors they have - ube, macapuno, avocado, lucuma... or my absolute favorite: mexican chocolate (deep dark chocolate with a touch of cinnamon).  Yum.

fruity

Summer fruit!  One of the best things about this time of year, don't you think? Strawberries, pears, apples, nectarines and donut peaches (a new discovery for me!) all pictured here from my fruit basket back in Madrid.  But I just realized I have yet to eat any watermelon this year.  Must rectify soon.

granola

Remember the trick I showed you for peeling hazelnuts?  This is what I needed it for.  Homemade granola!  Head on over to Dragon's Palate for the full details and how-to.

Serve it up with milk or yogurt, or just toss it back by the handful.  Delicious and healthy; I'm officially addicted.  Do you ever make your own?

roasted and skinned

Yesterday when Husband asked what I wanted to do today, I answered, without hesitation, "Learn something".  I surprised even myself.  So today, after a mega kitchen-cleaning, I tackled two brand new (to me) recipes.  The actual results will come later on this week once I've had a chance to go through the zillions of photos I took through the process (learning photography while learning to cook: super fun, but ridiculously time-consuming), but I thought I'd share a quick tip that helped me today.

I actually learned this trick from my dad years ago, and while I haven't needed it in at least a decade, it came to me today in a flash as I gazed down at my (mistakenly purchased) raw hazelnuts, and I was so glad to have remembered.  You roast the nuts without any fanfare, on a tray in the oven, but then  magic lies in a damp cloth.  When the hazelnuts come out of the oven, and the skin is all crackly, toss them in the wet cloth and roll them around in there.  The dried skin will just flake off and stick to the fabric, and you will be left with beautiful delicious naked hazelnuts.  Magic!

a few more photos (because I can't help myself) over at Dragon's Palate.

lemon bars

Been a while since I've shared a food post here.  The colder weather is making me yearn for baked goods, so I thought this would be a good time for my favorite lemon bars.

Tons more photos and the recipe on our food blog here.

 

high altitude weekend

Mexico City doesn't quite look like this anymore, though to be honest the only part I saw at all was the Casa del Lago in the Chapultepec forest, where we were performing and teaching.  It was a whirlwind and utterly exhausting; we basically flew 24 hrs to be there for only 48, and the madness of the supremely disorganized festival combined with the jetlag was pretty brutal.  Add to that the fact that Mexico City is at an altitude of 2240 meters (7350 ft), which I had no idea about until someone saw me shaking after the performance and said it was normal.  I was glad to hear it actually, I'd thought maybe there was something seriously wrong with all of us!   I will say though, that as far as the food goes, these mexicans really know what they're doing.  Every single meal I had in Mexico was finger-lickin' delicious.  Chicken gorditas, tacos dorados de arrachera, hamburguesas de camaron... amazing.  All in all, it was a wonderful trip, made so not just by the food but by the lovely ladies that I got to share it with.  I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time, besos a todas!

mini (birthday) cakes

Yesterday for Husband's birthday we had a movie marathon at the IFC Center, which is an amazing place.  If we lived here you can bet we'd be members and go every other day.  We also stopped off at Baked by Melissa in Soho and got one of my favorite nyc treats: mini cupcakes!  

The pink lemonade flavor was the best in my opinion.  How do they get so much flavor and moist goodness into such a teeny tiny morsel?  Check out all the out-of-this-world flavors:

See that quarter on the bottom right?  Yup, these are seriously tiny!  And amazingly delicious.  Even if you're not a cupcake fan (I'm looking at you mom) you'd love these.  And if you're not in nyc, good news, they ship nationwide!

first things first

My first day home has been filled with lots of catch-up time with my mama, watching crappy tv curled up on the couch with the boyz, coffee from Starbucks, a naked burrito from Qdoba, and trips to Target and Walgreens.  Some of you may laugh, but really truly, these are the first things I want to do/eat/shop when I get here.

I found some great stuff at Target including a super supple t-shirt that feels ridiculously expensive and a fun printed cropped blouse that is unlike anything else in my closet.

drapey modal t-shirt (got mine in black) and cropped boxy floral top

a few more of the day's all-important purchases after the jump...

sunday brunch

In case anyone out there was wondering what to make for sunday brunch, may I offer up a suggestion of blueberry pancakes?  I posted them this week on our food blog, but I thought it was worth mentioning here too.

I think most people don't realize how wonderfully quick and easy making pancakes from scratch can be.  This recipe is super simple, and I use whole wheat flour and agave syrup (instead of sugar), so they really are pretty healthy too.   So if you're thinking you might want a little something extra at breakfast tomorrow, give these a try.

mystifying magnum

Have you guys seen these Magnum ice cream ads directed by Karl Lagerfeld?   What the hell is going on here?  Is this for real?  Are these tongue-in-cheek?  After watching these I feel lost in an alternate reality, and can come up with no reasonable explanation for the existence of these strange commercials. 

there's two more surreal ads in the series...