Before moving to London, there were a few things that needed to happen:
1. A trip home to see Mom and my sistahhhh.
2. A trip to Fort Myers to see the munchkin and my brother and sister-in-law
3. A trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
4. A cruise to the Western Caribbean with mom
5. Another trip to Fort Myers
This all took place over the span of 11 days. I had a great time with my family and it was great to spend some time with them before flying over to start school.
Alligator Alley
You know mom pulled over just so I could take a picture by the Everglades.
Munchkin using his new M&M straw
Fishing!!!
And I caught one too!
Hogsmeade Village at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Me and Mom! First day aboard the Carnival Imagination
In Cozumel
Dress up night!
Snorkeling in Cozumel
Shopping on Duval Street
After watching the show... It was inspired by several decades of American music
Our rained out Sail Away party
Back to Fort Myers!
Happy birthday to Tita!
He loves fishing and playing with that tackle box!
a. i already know i fell WAY behind on my 30 days of blogging. get over it. i'll do them sometime... maybe.
b. i've been MIA because i had a few big things on my plate. three will largely decide my future. one took a lot of sweat and pain...but mostly just pain... the last was tres, tres amazing (but more on that later).
c. i went home for some MAJOR r & r. i have missed my family so much this year and i loved spending my holidays with the people who i love most in this world. is there anything better than family? is there anything better than a child who wants nothing more than for you to just sit with him? is there anything better than making fun of mom for watching sabado gigante? better than watching harry potter with my sister while snacking on vegan carrot cupcakes? is there anything in this world that beats walking on a white sand beach with my mom, followed by pina coladas as big as your head? nope.
beautiful mom
those 2 minutes i walked in the water were absolutely glorious.
south beach is... exactly what i think of when i think of where i want to live long-term
if you like pina coladas...
d. the overachiever/wannabe chef in me decided i would prepare a christmas feast. thankfully, jessica insisted in making mom's delicious lemon-cream chicken supremes and saved me a ton of time, but the rest came from me with the help of martha stewart, cooking light and real simple magazines.
check it: apple bacon stuffing, vegan apple stuffing, barley risotto with porcini mushrooms and flat leaf parsley, vegan spinach artichoke dip, vegan sweet potato casserole, regular sweet potato casserole, chickpeas with tomato and spinach (for the vegan), and spinach salad with proscuitto, candied almonds, fresh mozzarella and homemade red wine vinegar poppy seed dressing. For dessert: vegan-friendly apple crisp.
yes, so obviously, i am still not sure what the blog will look like, and i think it bothers me more than anyone else. the computer is still not fixed, but never mind all that.
i had such a good week. last week, my very awesome boss let me stay over at their house while they went on vacation. my job was to puppy sit. i love that little monster. she is the sweetest little thing ever. so full of love and energy. i had such a good time walking with her through central park. it was such a fun feeling to walk into their house and have her cute little face waiting for me. i love her so much. i told my boss i am taking her with me for good. she laughed and said "yeah, right."
then last wednesday, my sister amalia and her boyfriend came for a visit. we did lots of cool stuff. thankfully, none of it was "touristy." there were lots of restaurants in the mix... some of them vegan, some of them not... my new favorite is caracas arepas bar. it's down near alphabet city, but i totally love that part of town anyway, so it was a treat to go down there. we also went to my favorite italian bakery, veniero's.
the weekend was filled with many birthday festivities. we went to one of my favorite thai places in hells kitchen. it's called room service. i really love the energy of that place. it's also really pretty inside, but the prices are so low... it was a win-win-win (since the vegans loved it as much as the non-vegans).
delighted by the sight of chocolate mousse cake and really well-dressed singing waiters
i love how happy i look in this picture. it's how i felt. and i love how happy lizzie looks too.
wonderful people that came to celebrate with me
a birthday trip to the guggenheim. most of it was post war stuff which i don't really dig, but they had a small gallery which contained some older art, such as cezanne, monet, manet, some pre-cubism picassos (beautiful!) and degas. it was so cool to finally see a real degas piece. his style inspired mine while i went through the advanced placement art program in school. i really love his use of color and medium. did you know that towards the end of his life, degas started going blind which is why his art often looks unfinished? he used bright colors, texture and dark charcoal outlines to make up for it. such beautiful work....
the kiddies made the birthday so, so special. they are good people with good hearts. so happy to have them here.
maya went to crumbs and got treats. they were a big hit at the party, and an even bigger hit with my mom, who got her own little box yesterday.
the wonderful people i get to call my friends. such inspiring people. lovers of peace, equality and all things beautiful.
more friends! these 3 are some of my favorite people in the world.
a birthday cake from little sister is the best present i got. it's been a while since i've had her around for my birthday and i loved having her here.
snaps to kristin for beautifully capturing the moment on the iphone. i know i often make fun of her giant iphone case that could withstand a nuclear blast, but i am grateful she got this picture~
also... this rain is driving me up a wall. i'm done with it. but watch this song... it made my day lighter and makes me think of summer.
i miss the gc so bad. may 7th. may 7th. may 7th.
{ps he wrote this with robbie (on guitar)}
ok, ok.... i'll stop calling him a baby now. remember my nephew? he is so big. and apparently, his schedule includes a whole lot of time spent making faces.
i literally laughed out loud when i saw this. so funny. i once told my sister in law that he reminded of me of stitch...she didn't like that very much.
precious.
a total carbon copy of my brother.
cutest thing ever. my brother, his son and mozzie the puppy.
he is the sweetest thing and he makes me smile. tonight, i gave him a hug, put him to bed, and came back to ft. lauderdale. i miss his cute little face already. it hurts my little heart to think that he'll wake up and try to find me and i wont be there. :( this is when i question whether living in ny is worth it. i just want to play with munchkin all day, everyday.
