halloween weekend

We had a pretty busy weekend. Cousin Hans visited us and Saturday we stopped by the Rally to Restore Sanity at the Mall and it was crazy. Around 200 thousand people were there and we spent 30 min trying walking one block.

Afterward we found a good Spanish restaurant at Adams Morgan called Churreria Madrid. A traditional Spanish bar and restaurant, serving basic but good fare. The croquettes, the soup and the paella were yummy.

Saturday nigh we had so much fun with our costumes and walking around at Georgetown. We had an great Halloween!!!

p.s. Ohhh and Dilma Rousseff is the new president of Brazil. I am so excited!!

Our wedding at Style Me Pretty

We are so happy, our special day was featured at Style Me Pretty today.

Check the full article: SMP -Brazilian Beach Wedding

{yummy} quinoa tabouli salad

I love eating whole-grain salads. They are simple to put together — just cook your grain of choice, cut up some of your favorite vegetables, and you’re most of the way there. Dress your salad with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and you’re done. Yummy!!!

Quinoa-Tabouli- Salad makes a great meal all to itself, and it’s also a great sidedish or potluck contribution. With lots of crunchy vegetables and a lemony dressing, it’s fresh and light, with a little bit of surprising zing from cilantro. I love it!

We just cooked it last night together... It was so delicious, you should try!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
2 cups water
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup red and/or green bell pepper, diced
2 medium-sized tomatos, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
2 carrots, grated (optional)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C. cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 cup Juice of lemon
1/4 cup pistachios or walnuts (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Add a 1/4 teaspoon salt and turn heat to high. Once boiling, immediately turn heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for another 15 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Place cooked quinoa into a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic, onion, pepper, tomato, cucumber, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, optional nuts, optional carrots,1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper, to taste. Mix well with a spoon or fork.

Serves: 4 mains, 6 or 7 sides

camping with love {and your love}

Have I commented here about how much I love camping? When I was young I used to camp a lot with my friends, especially close to the beach. Since I moved to U.S. I have just camped once, I went to Ocean City with a few girlfriends and it was fun. Johannes and I got a tent as a wedding gift and I love it. Now we just need to find the perfect occasion to use it. I was checking some websites and found these lovely pictures. And YES, camping can be colorful, dreamy and really, really special.

{Photos from Juicy Bits.}

love this {jewelry storage}

I was researching at internet some good jewelry storage ideas and i found these gorgeous pictures. I love them all, specially the vintage mugs and the armoire. It looks so bohemian, so special, like you will find a nice treasure when you open the little doors.

And more great pieces...

1 - Birdcage Jewelry 2 - Vanity Tray 3 - Mirror Jewelbox 4 - Square Shaped Nesting Boxes 5 - Birdcage Wall Jewelry Holder 6 - Filigree Jewelry Hook

Pictures from: UO, Martha Stewart, Decorology, Shelleyrodgers, madebygirl, apartment therapy.

Mini Photobooth Print by Kiki & Polly

A lovely wedding with lot of tea ccups, vintage napkins and lace runners.

Before and after: cute new sofa.

It was the music i danced in my wedding.

Jellybeans?

Great DIY Pom Poms.

Heroes of History, Heroes of Fashion

War isn't what it used to be. Nowadays, the objectives of warfare are morally ambiguous at best, and they make you wear ugly uniforms (the images I see from Iraq and Afghanistan have led me to believe that the armed forces issue Oakleys). During the French Resistance things were very different. Back then, the most dapper men across the country got their hands on some bootleg submachineguns and banded together to fight for freedom. Take, for example, the young Norman in the picture above, lounging against an automobile without a hair out of place. His rolled sleeves are the only gesture he has made towards practicality. His shirt is open a few buttons at the neck and his wonderful trousers drape themselves luxuriously over a handsome pair of leather shoes. He holds his STEN loosely, knowing that bringing it to his shoulder to aim it would force him to break his pose.

The contrast between him and the American crouching behind him could not be starker. The Yankee wears the uneasy expression of a man who knows he is out of his element and his league. He holds a map in his hand as if to apologize for being so lost. His cigarette, which might have lent him a much needed touch of cool, dangles uselessly from his fingers as he fiddles with the map and his Colt.

But not all of France was noble during the occupation. Behind our hero we see two gendarmes, dressed as bellhops, lounging coquettishly against a bullet-riddled storefront. Have they any care for their liberty or appearance?

Homeplace

My grandmother, matriarch of my father's family, owns a bed and breakfast in Vermont which is the Mecca for that side of my family. We got to spend a few days there over labor day weekend.

I got to be reminded of some things that consumed my imagination as a child. Reading them again, I think I probably won't share them with my children.



The house is located in a 100-acre wood. I'm not the world's crunchiest person, but sometimes natural things really touch me.

Jeri, part II

Jericoacoara was another world for me.

Manu has been there eight times. She grew up with the same sun and the same ocean, so I imagine her sense of a wonder wasn't the same. It was phenomenally beautiful.

We stayed in the "House of Sand", which was, appropriately enough, full of sand.



We spent our days touring the national park that surrounds the town.

We searched the mangroves for sea horses.



We took crazy dune buggy rides punctuated by beer breaks.



We sat in lagoons and sipped on juices.



Sometimes we hovered briefly in mid-air above the crystal clear water.



Sometimes we boarded down the dunes into cool freshwater pools.







When we were done with our tour, we would comb the tidal pools for marine life.



Or dance in a sarong.



Or visit an arch.



Or just hang out in the wading pool on the roof.

{yummy} manu artichoke pasta salad

Isn’t it amazing how you can make new friends with the internet, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Skype, or any other websites or programs that are available? Couple weeks ago I met a reader of my other blog for a lunch together. We exchanged some emails for a while, she was moving to DC, found my blog and we decided to meet at my apartment. We talked a lot, had some bruschetta and a artichoke pasta salad which I created the recipe.

So this is a recipe of a pasta I made for our get together. Great for parties, but you can easily scale back on the servings if you need to make less or more.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry whole wheat twist pasta (cooked, rinsed with cold water and drained)
• 1 c grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 8-ounce can ripe black olives, cut in half
• 6-ounce can artichoke hearts, cut in pieces
• 4 oz block of fresh Mozzarella, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• Basil, a bunch, coarsely chopped
• 1/16 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/16 c olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tps salt

Mix the first five ingredients in a large bow. Make the dressing by mixing the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt. Store in a jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to serve, add the basil leaves and Parmesan cheese, drizzle the dressing, and toss.

Simple, easy, colorful, delish! ♥