Good bye old bathroom!

"Bless me, for I have sinned, it's been a year since my last confession blog post."

Well, one thing is for sure, I'm never going to be the blogger I planned. All the great stories about travel, decorating, and time with family and friends are still whirling around my head in a big tornado-like funnel. And every once in a while, a little bit seeps out when the tornado touches the computer keyboard, like today.

(Truthfully, I just sat at the computer to complete some work that is due soon, and this is a better way to spend my time.)

For over a year, we have talked about re-doing our bathroom.I have cut out magazine pages, saved pictures on pinterest, and photographesd materials and signs at home centers and show rooms. Then, we decided on the crew to do the job. Now, there is no going back.

White, clean, bright subway tiles were easy, but glass tile accent or a whole wall? Could I commit to blue? Those who know me well will laugh at this: it's my favorite color. It's ok for vases, dishes, and toes (yes the little piggy types), but none of those is permanent. Tile is permanent. One contractor said, it's your bathroom, you're going to spend the money, get something you like! So, I took Aldo's advice (not his remodel quote) and it's going to be a blue glass tile wall. Something I love!

Bathtub and toilet? Nick can pick those out, as long as they are good quality and easy to clean.

The cabinet! How many hours of visiting show rooms and websites have I logged? Only my ipad knows for sure. So, I decide the cabinet will be attached to the wall, grey, with a natural stone counter top and under mounted sink. Walked into the showroom and bought cherry wood with a thick white porcelain top with molded sink - yep, it's important to research, price, and narrow decisions, so you can walk in and buy the first thing you see. (Maybe the research is just meant to identify what you don't want).

I will catch up on the rest of the choices later. Here's a before picture, for a little bit of horror. Now, I need to go clean the washroom before the construction guys show up to gut it out on Monday!

 

Happy

Ugliest grey day, looks like rain is going to beat the sun trying to break thru the clouds. 

So I decided to bring sunshine inside - with music! Poor Nick has now heard Pharell Williams' Happy song nothing less than 12 times! But so what, he's good at blocking me out, we're married after all, and isn't that what husbands are supposed to do? Actually, that's not it at all, he's just incredibly tolerant. 

I found this great website! 24hoursofhappy.com! Guaranteed to change your mood and get a spark out of you! 

Don't like that song? Then find one that you associate with happy and get there! Because life is too short for anything else!

And that's my wisdom for the day! 

So, if you will excuse me, I will get off this blog and continue cleaning and laundry while I sing happy some more!

Thanksgiving 2013!

This past summer, on a visit to Miami, my mother gave me a stack of boxes to take home. The boxes contained her china. I'm just holding them for safekeeping, until my nephew is ready for holiday tables with his own family. Until then, I will be all too happy to store them and occasionally use them.

This is not her original china, that one was left behind in Cuba. This one was purchased at Wieboldt's over 40 years ago. I remember that we used it at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter as I was growing up. There was a lot of pork, rice, and beans served and enjoyed on those dishes. But the best part was the people who shared the holiday meals, my grandmother, uncle Armando, and brother in law Arsenio - unfortunately they are no longer with us, but are part of such great memories. Then there were other family members and friends. 

For this Thanksgiving, it was my pleasure to cook for my sister, nephew, and husband, and to use those dishes again. I've paired them with simple, inexpensive glasses from a dollar store - the color was perfect! The aubergine crystal vase is not the best match for the table, but part of my husband's family memories and I wanted him to see something that brought him great memories. 

I won't bore you with the menu, but it was tasty, even if I say so myself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I will be joining Tablescape Thursday for the first time - use this link to see amazing tablescapes by very talented people!

http://betweennapsontheporch.net

Healthier dinner with friends...

Weekday dinners are easy. No pressure of a big weekend event, regardless of how many people. For us, it's almost always with the same couple. Their schedule is very flexible, so whatever day I'm off, we can usually cook up something to do.

Tonight, it was a healthier dinner - all fresh ingredients from Caputo's market: salad with grapes and Gorgonzola, grilled chicken that barely took 15 minutes to make, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes with garlic. No bread! Not a single crumb of it... That's really big for this group, and I didn't even miss it.

I tried a summery table with patterned dishes in light colors, but it looked so bland... Then, I added a strip of beach looking fabric, and it's almost like sitting at the edge of the ocean. Almost, but the real thing is so much better.

Arroz con Pollo

This was never one of my favorite dishes, especially when Mami made it with whole pieces of chicken. Never liked dealing with the bones and skin. Eventually, she switched to lean pieces of chicken breast, almost shredded, and my love for Arroz con Pollo grew. Like most Cuban dishes, I get to enjoy this only when my mom cooks it. But I could make it myself, right?! Not usually... I'm not that ambitious, or that talented, in the kitchen. Yet some times, I even surprise myself. 

After returning from a trip to Miami, I find myself craving Cuban food more often. This happens after every trip. I try to be good and not gorge during the trip, but in reality, I want to eat pastries with guava, ham croquettes, and 'Moros' every day until the cravings wear off. 

Our last stop before coming home was a beautiful evening and morning visiting Charleston, SC. In Charleston, I bought a bag of over-priced yellow rice and a rice serving spoon. I believe one must buy some souvenir at every city, regardless of practicality or cost. Two weeks later, the spoon is still in the gift box, the rice unopened, but "yellow rice" consumed my mind and waiting taste buds. In a Cuban household, yellow rice is not really yellow, it's white rice, made yellow thru spices and can be made with an array of meats or vegetables.

This past Thursday, I made yellow rice, my version was pretty close to 'Arroz con Pollo', and came from a food website recipe and what I think my mother puts in her rice. Real Cubans would probably find all sorts of things wrong with my version, but quite frankly, I made it for me, and shared with my husband and good friends. Soon, I will try guava pastries...

Road trip with Nick

Well, it's almost summer and we've already been on the road and back. And this post is going to be about places I remember and new memories made.

 It 's absolutely my favorite thing to do... Get in the car and drive. Well, actually, Nick drives almost all the way there, and I spend most of the time playing games, dosing off, and reading a map - yes, I mean a real map! Although the GPS makes things rather brainless, nothing builds the excitement of what's around the corner better than a map. For us, the ultimate destination is often the same, but along the way, I try to make things interesting, and just a little different from last time.

May 2013 took us back to Florida. Miami, to be exact, by way of Tampa. We were out 13 days, my longest vacation in 16 years. Hesitant to even request so much time off together, I was pleased to see my boss just said ok, and have a good vacation!

We started out late as usual. Nick always says we're leaving at 4am, but I set the alarm for 5, and we leave at about 6. After a couple of weeks of working too many nights in a row, and making and checking list after list for work and home, and the trip, I finally get to relax on the road.

Our first stop was Nashville, TN. I had heard of a full size replica of the Parthenon. I expected it to be in Athens, GA, and we almost went out of our way to see it a couple of years ago, but it would have been a waste of time. Nashville's Parthenon is in a beautiful park, with mature trees, and old swings, and jogging paths. It houses the statues believed to have been in the original prior to pillaging and theft by  Barbaric tribes and not so barbaric Brits. Museums in Britain have a greater collection of Greek statues and pieces of architecture, than Greece - but that 's part of another story.

We missed seeing the inside, arriving about 15 minutes after closing, but now we'll have something for next trip. We've been to the real Parthenon, stole a little bag of the white rocky soil, and took countless pictures, trying to avoid even more countless tourists. That trip was full of wow! and ah! and OMG! yet somehow, maybe because our expectations were more reserved, this Parthenon's setting was more calming, and left more opportunity to reflect on what it would have been like, to be there amongst the gods, thousands of years ago...

Tax Day come and gone

Another day off and reason to celebrate! Taxes are done, done, done! One more of those things I put off over and over. Then, I finally start, get in the right mindset, and don't stop till I'm done. Uncle Sam will get just a bit more off our hard earned money, but he'll get it on time, with all the correct detailed forms, and in return, we hold on to a box full of perfect little receipts and logs.
So, that task done, no time to cook (as if I ever planned to today, LOL), and Nick is all to willing to go out for dinner. But next week... Next week I'll cook, set a nice table and share again.
For Maria, I'll post the potato leak recipe soon.