Strawberry Bubbles

It's been a hectic week. It's Wednesday. The weather today is grey and gloomy. I'm in need of something simple, fruity and fizzy. Cue: the Strawberry Muddle. My love for champagne-based cocktails is eternal (hence the ode to Bubbly in the title of this blog), but when I'm making drinks, I prefer a no-muss, no-fuss, no-special-hardware cocktail. I made these last week for our Happy Hour at Home (which is becoming our Wednesday evening tradition) and loved them. They will be made again this evening after work, and enjoyed on our porch. The original recipe here requires more work and more sugar than I like. So, I adapted the drink to my tastes by skipping the whole simple syrup step and instead adding just a teaspoon of superfine sugar (available at most supermarkets) to each glass before muddling. This drink is everything a summer cocktail should be - bubbly, cold, lightly sweet, citrusy, and super easy to make.

Besos! xoxo

PS - Good news. According to this Forbes article, bubbly boosts brain power. Bottoms up!

{photo via}

Mr. & Mr. Bert-Ernie?

Now that the Supreme Court has finally gotten with the times and put an end to Prop 8 and DOMA, I've been wondering something: Will/Do same-sex couples change their last names? Who might take whose surname? Or, would most same-sex couples scoff at such an archaic tradition? Or, might they make new rules by hyphenating both partners' last names, like Mr. and Mr. Bert-Ernie (what are their last names, anyway?!)? My curiosity led me to Google, which had me clicking on this interesting article in The Atlantic. According to the author, same-sex couples are taking their partners' names and tend to have a conversation to decide which partner will change their name. She goes on to describe that gay and lesbian couples have definitely chosen to uphold this old tradition but for very new reasons. Fascinating, no?

Personal factoid: I always imagined I'd take my husband's last name, but had a strict stipulation. Even after countless courses in women's studies and degrees in sociology and repeated indoctrination from academics that wifedom means coverture, and that taking your husband's last name signifies women as property, I was still over the moon to become Mrs. Castillo. I'm more than sure my sociology colleagues raised an eyebrow at my choice to change my name. However, I see sharing a last name as a symbol that Flavio and I are a team. But here's the stipulation: Ever since elementary school, I knew I had to marry someone whose last name started with the letters A, B, or C as being at the front of the alphabet is strangely important to me. Often, assigned classroom seating, your place in the graduation line, etc., is based on your surname and I always saw anything below C as an unacceptable step down. So, when I met Flavio, I was relieved he was Ca-, a step up from my maiden name which starts Cl-. Fate! And I get to keep my monogram, which I like. Plus, it's a sexy last name. If he was Smith, I'd think twice.  (I realize I am totally Crazy.)

Related: According to this HuffPo article, the majority of US women still change their last names after marriage.

Would/Will/Did you change your name? Why/not?

{Photo: The best New Yorker cover ever.}

How We Picnic

When we lived in Spain, Flavio and I would pack a picnic of Spanish cheese, baguette, jamon serrano, and boxed wine and head to the Parque del Retiro in Madrid. We'd snuggle under the big shady trees with our books and a blanket, whiling away our summer days listening to the birds sing, chatting, reading, and kissing. Sometimes, Flavio would row me around on the lake. They were such simple, beautiful days and rank as some of my most precious memories.

Yesterday, we cruised up to Del Mar to picnic by the sea. We packed our bag with caprese sandwiches, some (cheeky, illegal) wine, and snacks, and camped out on the grass to enjoy the balmy summer weather and the blue-grey ocean view. The sun never showed up, but we didn't mind. We relaxed and reminisced about life in Spain, and other favorite memories. We read. We frisbeed. Guiri chewed her bone and barked unnecessarily at strangers. We watched dolphins play in the distance. We finished a bottle of Rioja.

This is my favorite part of summer.

Weekending

We crammed a lot of work and play into the last four days. After a patriotic breakfast at home on The Fourth, we lounged, then made a vat of our sangria, and headed to a friend's for a backyard barbecue. After too much drinking in the sun (my scalp got burned, dammit!) we were too partied out and dehydrated to even care about staying up for fireworks (I never care, anyway) and we were home and in bed by 10.

{lounging, 4th of July}

{sangria, soaking}

We both worked on Friday (I only have one month left of summer classes!) and Friday evening we enjoyed cocktails poolside at our friends' amazing house. After my boo-hooing on here about not having couple-friends, we all of a sudden met three great couples we love. Maybe there's some truth to the idea that sending requests and specific energy into the universe (or in this case, cyber space) actually does bring you what you want. We met this couple at CrossFit and had an absolutely lovely time at their home. We got into a great midnight, tipsy-in-the-jacuzzi conversation about isolation among peers and how most people 50 and under don't really want to converse or interact. Instead, we're so distracted by technology that we retreat into "iDistraction" to avoid any true human connection, leaving us diminished and alone. I was referencing this New York Times essay, which I think everyone should read. Our friends have this fascinating sociological theory that the recent trend in stark, warehouse, garage-chic, so-loud-you-can't-speak bars and restaurants (think Bar Basic, Blind Lady Ale House in San Diego) are another way people can be out in a "social" setting, crammed together in a public place, but don't have to interact at all. The music is so loud and the acoustics so bad that you truly cannot speak to the person next to you. And most people are busy looking at their phones, anyway. It's all so isolating and strange. What is the world coming to? Anyway, it was a great night full of meaningful interaction and re-affirmed my hope that there are still smart, cool friends to be found.

{hydrangea, kept me company as I worked Friday}

You'll be thrilled to know that much of Saturday was spent cleaning and running errands. Saturday evening we took Guiri to the park. Then she hung out while we enjoyed a light dinner al fresco at Cafe 21 (I highly recommend this farm-to-table restaurant, friends).

{having a ball}

{seafood salad, Cafe 21}

Sunday morning we all slept in and then walked down the street for brunch. Later in the day we packed a picnic and headed to Del Mar for some reading, play and relaxation by the sea. It was a fun and restorative day, even if it was bathed in northern San Diego's warm, grey marine layer. We were home in time for our evening walk and the inland sunset.

{bloody mary, Heights Tavern}

{surfers, Del Mar}

{red fence, yellow house}

{inland sunset}

Happy Fourth, Yankee Babies!

Oh, long weekend is here at last! To celebrate, and to observe the Fourth, I woke up this morning excited to create new traditions. Fourth of July has never been my fave, but I realize all holidays are an excuse for spending time with the people we love and they give us fun things to look forward to. So, when I excitedly asked Flavio what he thought our Fourth of July tradition should be, he said: Cake!  But cake at 7AM seemed wrong, so we settled on a red, white and blue breakfast. And here we have it - possibly our new tradition for the Fourth: Dutch Babies with berries. We're renaming them Yankee Babies, of course. And they were accompanied by mimosas, of course.

Have a fun weekend!

{a patriotic treat}

{serve with a squeeze of lemon}

{mimosas}

A weird night...and my favorite Egg-BLT!

{over easy and delicious}

So last night, in an effort to leave my comfort zone and try something new, I went to a writers' workshop. I was hoping to freewrite, share my work and get some constructive feedback on how I might become a better writer. The theme of the night was "selling out" and to my disappointment, the majority of the evening was a vocal brainstorming session (read: a support group) on the reasons people continue to slave away at jobs they hate.  It seems a lot of people are really unhappy at their mind-numbing and/or stressful jobs. Why? Most of them said they want the security. I don't know. Security over happiness? I've been there. Life is too short. Security is an illusion. Do what you love. Anyway, it was depressing. And then just 20 minutes of writing at the end, sharing, and no feedback. It was sort of a waste of time. The highlight? Hanging with my friend at the workshop and then coming home to my husband who'd received a bunch of versions of this text: HELP. When I walked through the door, Flavio delighted me with wine and one of my old favorites: egg and roast bacon on sourdough with lemon-dill mayonnaise, tomatoes and spinach. Heaven. The E-BLT, and some uplifting dinner conversation, totally made up for my weird night.

PS: Did you ever read this Onion article? One woman mentioned relating to it at the support group workshop. It's hilarious. And sad. Do most people hate their jobs?

Summer Infused Water

I'm pretty sure I'm part camel. I don't drink enough water and I must be storing reserves of it somewhere in my body.  It has been crazy hot lately and I know I need to up my water intake, so this weekend, I decided to get creative with water.

I'm fussy about water. I can't have it too cold and I don't like it tepid, it has to be just right, and if it tastes good, I know I'll drink more of it. In an effort to get in my 8 glasses a day, I spent some time infusing water. I experimented with three different flavor versions (strawberry, citrus, and cucumber) infused them for a couple hours in the fridge and then strained and poured them into individual bottles for easy access. I'm enjoying them and feeling good; they help me pretend I'm at a spa. Infused water would also be a great addition to the table for summer entertaining. Bottoms up!