Father's Day

"There are many different kinds of bravery. There's the bravery of thinking of others before one's self. Now, your father has never brandished a sword nor fired a pistol, thank heavens. But he has made many sacrifices for his family, and put away many dreams."

"Where did he put them?"

"He put them in a drawer. And sometimes, late at night, we take them out and admire them. But it gets harder and harder to close the drawer. ...He does. And that is why he is brave."

-- Conversation between Mrs. Darling and Michael, from Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Happy Father's Day to my dad, the bravest, smartest, kindest man I know.  xo

Freestyle Friday

How is it already Friday?  I'm definitely not complaining, but I'm also not sure where this week went.  I am on a self-imposed blogging schedule where I try to get on here 5 times a week, but this week was busy with work, a happy hour, after dinner walks, lots of Mad Men, and general relaxation and I'm definitely not complaining about any of that, so blogging was sporadic. I'm hoping the chilled out vibe continues into the weekend.

I don't particularly have anything of note to say on here today, but wanted to come on and freestyle it. That means, I'm not letting myself edit. Just enjoying my latte at Twiggs while I type whatever comes to mind. Here goes...

{my beloved Twiggs}

What are you guys up to this weekend? I'm hoping we go see a movie, maybe Gatsby. I'm in the mood for some campy Baz Luhrmann and I'm always in the mood for some Leo.  I know a trip to the movies doesn't sound particularly groundbreaking, but we haven't been in ages! I can't even remember the last thing we saw, and it's one of our favorite things to do. I gotta say, Flavio and I have had the weirdest experiences at movie theatres. The people are so unpredictable. And crazy. We always seem to sit by a weird laugher, or a loud chewer, or a nail filer, or a snorer, or a talker. When we were in Spain we sat by some guy who loudly blew on every piece of popcorn before eating it. So bizarre. Also, what are your thoughts on people who clap after a movie? I think it's sort of funny and sweet, but Flav hates it and gets tetchy when people start to clap. I mean, I get his annoyance - the actors aren't there, so it is a bit bewildering. Who are they really applauding?  It doesn't bother me one bit, and I always tell him to stop being such a grump about it. Final word on the subject: My favorite movie theatre is the world is Cinepolis Luxury Cinema. You order food and adult beverages from a touch screen and waiters carrying little flashlights bring sushi, sangria or other treats TO YOUR SEAT while you lounge in huge cozy chairs and enjoy the movie. The food is actually delish (think quesadillas, sliders, etc.) and friends, the whole experience is simply heaven. But be warned, once you go to Cinepolis, you're spoiled and other "regular" theatres will feel so ghetto. Anyway, if we go to a movie, and if we sit by a weirdo, and if people clap, I'll tell you all about it.

Alright, I need to do some work. Thank you for bearing with me through this nonsense transmission. Actual posts coming up soon.

Happy Friday. :)

PS: When I said on Wednesday that posts would be free of contrivance, this is not what I meant. Future posts will have more thought and organization. It's just that I'm vibrating on coffee, and wanted to say hi, and I couldn't stop my fingers from typing.

{Twiggs photo via}

On Balance and Apple Cake

My dears, you must make this apple cake.

I made it in celebration of Besos and Bubbly's 100th (!) post. In my very first post, I featured this same amazing rum-and-butter apple cake, and it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate today's little blogging milestone.

So, this afternoon, I baked said delicious apple cake, and left it on the counter to cool. It looked golden and perfect and round. I sniffed and admired it. I decided I'd walk the pooch to the park, then come back and take a picture of it in all its freshly baked glory. My husband had other plans. While I was out, he came home from work and tore into the warm cake, leaving the gaping hole you see above, and an irritated wife. I got snippy, explaining that I wanted to style the cake up, make it look pretty for the blog, but now he ruined it. He laughed, then said something so annoyingly true: But, I thought your blog was for you. Then joked, And I thought the cake was for me. :)

Blogging is new to me, but I'm finding that sometimes there's a difficult balance. I want to make things for this space that look pretty enough to share (no one wants to look at ugly pictures), but I also want to capture moments as they happen in real life - free of any staging. I went back to my Blog Blueprint to remind myself: The reason I started this blog was to have a chronicle of the life we are actually living, a true account, for me.  But sometimes I can't help but re-arrange food on a plate, or move the table into the sunlight, or style up the cake in an effort to take prettier pictures. And there's an impulse to try to make the photos on this blog look as perfect as they do in my mind. In the end, I'm not a photographer, and the photo above doesn't look very different from one I might try to fix up anyway.

Flavio digging into the cake is a welcome reminder to keep it real, to let things be, and to create posts free of contrivance.  That's the goal for my next 100, and beyond.

Cream of Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese

June in San Diego is wishy-washy. Some days are gorgeous, but most days at least start and end with our regional June gloom and a slight chill. Not to moan, I mean, Southern California is fantastic. But I have a hard time keeping up with the weather this time of year; is it hot, or not? June just makes my head a little spinny and the inconsistency leaves me craving something comforting and constant. For comfort and consistency, soup is my go-to.

Weird that I've only written about soup twice on my blog (here and here), as I really like to make it. One of my favorite Sunday rituals is to brew my morning coffee, then throw on a pot of yum. While we snuggle under blankets to watch movies, sip coffee and laze the morning away in our jammies, veggies and broth are slowly working their magic in the Le Creuset. The smells of that week's stewy delight fill the house and by lunch time, we've got a treat. And bonus, soup is the gift that keeps on giving. It makes a quick re-heated meal, and tastes better after each day.

So many soup recipes, so little time, but Cream of Tomato with Goat Cheese is an old favorite. Flavio hates regular tomato soup. "Too sweet. Too tangy," he groans. But years ago in a French cafe we had a cream of tomato soup with chevre, we both loved it, and decided to re-create it at home. (He's right; regular tomato soup can be too acidic and overly sweet if not done right.) This tomato soup with chevre is a favorite in our house.  It's the kind of thing you'll want to anchor with a good salad, crostini, or grilled cheese. The fresh tomato and basil scream summer. The creamy goodness fights June gloom.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP WITH GOAT CHEESE

Start by making Ina Garten's amazing Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup. (It's Monday night and I'm too lazy to type it out here. We follow her recipe closely, except we double the garlic and go easy on the cream.)

When you're ready to serve the soup, break up and drop in about half a log (or more, depending on your cheesy preferences) of Trader Joe's Silver Goat Chevre (we like the Garlic and Herbs version). Stir until the cheese is melted into the soup. Serve hot and top soup with julienned basil leaves.

Weekending

{Calabria}

I mentioned it Friday, but time seems to be speeding by faster and faster lately. Guys, we're already more than half way through 2013! Kind of crazy, no? So, this weekend, I focused on enjoying every minute. On Saturday, we dropped Guiri off at her furcut appointment and then had leisurely coffee and conversation at Caffe Calabria (hands down, best coffee in SD). Later that day we took our girl and her new 'do to the beach. I'm still shocked by her summer cut, but I'll get used to it. Something had to be done; she was shedding like crazy. Doesn't she look tiny without all that fur? 

{Summer 'do, at Ocean Beach}

Our Sicilian friend surprised us by dropping off a fresh baguette and her dad's amazing homemade tomato aglio, which we enjoyed with wine. How can something as simple as tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and black pepper be so good?! Tastes like summer, and it totally made our Saturday evening.

{aglio}

{Saturday night, tired, she likes to sleep belly up}

Sunday we cooked, watched movies (finally saw Silver Linings Playbook which was good!), then went to Lucha Libre for burritos (hands down, best burritos in SD).  We finished our relaxed weekend with an evening stroll around our 'hood. 

{burritos, Lucha Libre}

{After dinner stroll}

{Loving all the bougainvillea lining our street}

Hope you had a lovely weekend. xo

The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

If today were your last day on earth, would you have any regrets? I would. I've been thinking about this question lately. Maybe because time seems to be hurtling forward, faster and faster each year, and I want to make sure I'm living my best life. Probably because I read this beautiful blog post about the regrets of the dying, and it's stuck with me since. Working as a hospice care nurse, Bonnie Ware had the chance to speak with many people in the last days of their lives, listening to their regrets as they faced their mortality head on. Interestingly, the regrets had nothing to do with wishing they'd finally gone sky diving, or had taken more splurgy vacations. Instead, she writes, "When questioned about any regrets they had, or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again."

Here are the top 5 regrets of the dying, as told to Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I recommend you read her post, as she explains each regret simply and beautifully. She reminds us that happiness is a choice and prompts us to ask ourselves: Do you have any regrets so far? What will you change before you die?

Wishing you a toes-in-the-sand kind of weekend.

{Photo of the Amalfi Coast via}

Glamping

I love camping and am pretty used to roughing it, but by the end of our last camping trip to the Grand Canyon, I was struggling with a need for some girly pampering. I had my dry shampoo (a life saver when camping!) but by day 5 without washing my hair and sweating under my bandanna, my head was covered in a matted tangled straw I could barely brush. My skin was glazed in a grime of sunscreen, bug spray, sweat and dirt and I spent mornings using facial cleansing towelettes all over my body to try to get some of the crud off. By day 5 of being dirty, I was daydreaming about a long, hot bath and a massage. I was daydreaming about glamping.

We were lucky enough to glamp on our trip to Kenya in 2007. After roughing it there for about a month, we splurged on 4 fabulous nights at Little Governors' Camp in the Masai Mara. It was amazing to sleep tented, but with all the pampering one could imagine. Below is a pic of Little Governors', as well as some of my dream glamping destinations. Ahh, nature on a silver platter...

{Little Governors' Camp, Masai Mara}

{top photo via, all other photos via}

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