Cromleque dos Almendres (stone circle) - near Évora

A nap in a forbidden place is always better

A Blog I like: "A ervilha cor de rosa"

Quilt inspiration: how beautiful are these?
Rosa Pomar is the author of the blog, and a very active researcher of the portuguese crafts.
Worth checking out here.

Where's Wally?

When I saw these photos I realized that I was hardly walking around unnoticed as italians don't use red than much.

Arab sweets

My favorite One is called Sfouf, it is a traditional sweet almond cake from Lebanon.

I asked the the (spanish!) shop owner where I could find a good recipe and she gave me the one bellow. She said this sfouf recipe was easy, delicious and authentic. I'll tive it a try.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups semolina flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pine nuts

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round baking pan. In a small bowl, mix semolina, flour, turmeric and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add flour mixture and oil and beat with an electric beater at medium speed for 5 minutes. This step is essential, do not use any shortcuts. Pour into a prepared 9 inch round pan. Sprinkle top with pine nuts. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 35 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out dry.

Alfama, again

Mia: watching the pigeons fly by

Mia loves to sit in the back of the house (where we hang clothes to dry, iron them, store or tools etc) and watch the pigeons fly by. The pigeons serem to like teasing her and fly really close to the window. She goes nuts!

Warm sand & sunset

There is something special about these last days of summer. The beach to ourselves, the cool sea breeze. The best thing to do is to take a nap, just barely awake to savour the moment...

New Addiction: fusion food

A mix of japanese, chinese and thai flavours. So good!

My favorite beach in the world: Guincho

Patterns rule my house

Mia likes to stretch on this couch, preferably over my clothes (which shouldn't be lying there by the way),

I like this very old fabric so much I can't decide what to do with it. Meanwhile it is the perfect background to organize old photos...

A Blog I like: "Bluebird Vintage"

I love the photos in this blog. The author, James, lives in Nashvile, USA and has great taste for vintage stuff and beautiful kids. Visit her blog here.

Inspiration: the Best thing I read this week, Alice's wisdom

Handmade: socks in process

I decided to use all the leftover yarn from previous projects. I'm quite happy with the result so far!

Red day in the city

Campo dos Mártires da Pátria

Today I passed by a monument in Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, dedicated to a medical doctor - Dr. Sousa Martins - born in 1897 and renowned for his work amongst the poor in Lisbon. After his death, a secular cult has arisen around him in which he is thanked for "miraculous" cures. These are the stone plates lying at the feet of his statue, each with a special thanks or intention.