30 March 2013

Remembering Sussex: lunch @ farm coffeeshop and fluffly sheep

As I was browsing through our summer holidays photos, I came across these and remembered a wonderful day spent in the East Sussex area, in England, as we were visiting some very good friends.
It was lunch time when we arrived at the farm shop, drawn inside by the amazing smell of homecooked pastries. Our noses were quite right and of course we couldn't resist to try some of them!


We had veggie pastries straight out of the oven, with potato salad and also tomato and spinach salad.


It turns out we couldn't resist desert, and so I ate a delicious raspberry sponge cake (one of my favorite english cakes)...


... and J had a marvelous chocolate brownie!


We then, took a digestive walk through the barns, where all the sheep (and baby sheep) seemed happy and healthy.


Mummy-sheep wasn't so happy when I got too close to her babies to take a picture...

Remembering... India

Vibrant colours, intense aromas and friendly faces. This is what I remember the most.


Hot humid days and chaotic traffic are the second things that come to my mind....


I certainly will never forget the huge markets, offering a huge mix of products (everything you can imagine and more).


As I recall now (sitting in a confortable couch at home) even the tough nights sleeping in airports, always in excellent company, were... part of the adventure!


The strongest point in India, its uniqueness, is the spirituality present everywhere, everyday. 
This photo was taken in a tiny-tiny sort of coffee shop in a small town called Mapuça. Even there, in that God forsaken place there was an altar on the wall.


It is surely an experience to repeat someday.

La Boulangerie, by Stef - a new bakery in Chiado


We ate lunch here and loved it. The salmon bruschetta was marvelous, the bread is freshly baked several times a day (still warm) and the salad was beautifully seasoned with a delicious vinagrette.
Great decoration as well.



Inspiration: the best thing I read today... Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver, "New and Selected Pomes, Vol 1"

29 March 2013

Handmade: taleigos (or bread bags)

I made these two "Taleigos" with bits of leftover fabric I always keep in a box. They are multipurpose: I use them to keep what I am knitting, to carry stuff when I travel... Very handy!

A gift from afar: handmade lace from a souk in Dubai

A wonderful gift, brought from the souk in Dubai, was given to me recently. The lace is handmade by muslim women, and you can buy as many meters as you like. So much work. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.


Today I bought the first strawberries this year.
Delicious with soy yougurt (plain), cereal and corn syrup.

28 March 2013

Masking tape - Japan's new addictive product

I couldn't believe the extent of Japan's addiction to masking tape. That is, until I found the blog "Hello Sandwich" - tons of ideas of what to do with MT. Surprising and surreal (in a good way).
Oh how I would love-love-love going to Japan!

27 March 2013

Barcelona, day 4 (our last day this time)

1 - "Sevilhana" shoes and dresses, for kids, sold on the Ramblas
2 - Table and chair in our Hostal's pateo
3 - Hot and yummy Paella in a Tapas bar in Barrio Gótico
4 - We went again to the Flea Market... Its really worth going!
5 - Scrumptious arabic sweets ( sold in many tiny shops in the center of town)
6 - Everywhere we sat, J would make a (beautiful) drawing!
7 - This is what I ate for lunch today in a restaurant called UDON: rice noodles sushi
8 - Beautiful Spring/Summer colection at COS (I adore this shop)
9 - "La Pedrera" one of Gaudi's famous buildings.

26 March 2013

Barcelona, day 3

1 - Guess what? Vinyl heaven for J
2 - Graffitty, everywhere but contained to specific areas (as it should be)
3 - Multi-colored glasses - I want one of each!
4 - Public (mineral?) water fountains througout the city
5 - Candle shop with more than 100 years old in the Barrio Gótico
6 - Bakery/Patisserie with typical pastries - me, drooling...
7 - The famous spanish "alpergatas", summer collection 2013
8 - Beautiful jewellery design
9 - Traditional "tapas" in a very old and typical tavern (we had to go in and try)
10 - Impressive Catalan architecture, everywhere
11 - A toast with organic handmade ice cream popsicles (soy, mint and chocolate)
12 - Resting on Mies van der Rohe architecture, in Montjuic
13 - Taking in some blue sky (storing some for rainy days)