31 August 2014

Holidays! Yay!


Officially on holidays, enjoying walks amongst pine trees on the way to the beach,


or ocasional naps after lunch on a shady place,


marveling at pink, warm, scented sunsets,


and indulging on whatever I feel like doing. No time. Just one moment after another. Bliss.


* the beautiful drawing/watercolour on one of the last photos was made by J :-)

28 August 2014

Made it! (sweater mending experiment)

Inpired by all these beautiful ideas, I decided to start a mending project on a sweater that became (almost) irrecoverable after being the main course of the meal of a (very large) family of mots!!!! Can you see some of the larger holes they made?


Here's the result (I haven't blocked it yet so its still a bit wrinkled):
 
 
(not for the 'faint hearted' to wear, I suppose, but I am very happy with how it came out :-)

27 August 2014

Recently enjoyed things

1 - Walked to our favourite beach and sipped a lemonade by the sea.



2 - Window-shopping-walk in the area of Princepe Real.


3 - Surprised by a 'special' delivery in a box!


4 - Re-starting some missed activities... sketching, writing... and reorganising the new office space :-)


Just a couple of days away from going on holidays!!! Yay!!!

26 August 2014

Treat of the day: Vegan Truffles

Yummy, healthy, beautiful AND delicious, what more can we ask from a desert? Its a really easy recipe. I normally make a big batch and freeze most of it, so that every time I crave for 'chocolate' I just get 1 or 2 truffles!


VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

1 cup hazelnuts or almonds peeled and soaked in water overnight (this step is really important as its meant to release toxins and help digestion)
1 cup dried dates (cored)
1 spoon of raw cocoa powder
1 spoon of tahini
1 tea spoon of spirulina or clorela (optional - only if you want to make these beauties a 'detox' desert as well)
Agave or rice syrup - add to taste
Grated coconut and poppy seeds (to cover the truffles)

Mix all ingredients and blend them in the food processor until you get a smooth paste. Mould small balls and wrap them either in coconut or poppy seeds (or both!). Place them in the fridge for 2 hours. Eat and enjoy!

(they can be kept in the fridge for a whole week or in the freezer for quite a long time)

25 August 2014

Favorite places



(you can never be bored living with a cat - be prepared to find her in the least expected places!)

24 August 2014

Mini holidays in Sintra - walking up to the Palace of Pena

The last time I visited this palace was a long time ago. This time we hiked our way there, through the beautiful meandering green Sintra woods. We took the least known shortcut and found ourselves literally imersed in green beauty.


Upon arrival there was time to sketch na rest, before entering the palace itself.

 

It is such a nice space - cosy and exquisite at the same time. 


The sorrounding gardens are breathtaking, we spend lots of time enjoying them.