Flor Larios

As I loved on Monica's Nacimientos board on Pinterest this morning I saw  Flor Larios lovely Holiday Card Set and knew I had to share her work with you.

Flor's work is something I have admired for some time now (I've told her before how much I love her :)... when I see it, I am filled with thoughts of love, motherhood and Christmas.

Christmas Holiday Card set by Flor Larios

Mary with Rosary by Flor Larios 

Blue Veil Madonna Holiday Greeting Cards

Mother and Child-Folk Art Print

Tea's Modern Mexico

Tea Collection has some seriously cute clothes right now. Have you seen?

Llena de cultura (full of culture).  Modern Mexico, appropriately named and inspired from their Mexico travels.

I love the colors, and at this moment feel like shopping at an outdoor market and having something yummy to eat from a street vendor. 

Secret Garden top

I have to admit I have never shopped at Tea before... but their love for other cultures and their obvious sense of style might change that...pronto.

Mercado Dress

Courtyard Tile dress

Dia de Mercado dress

I have only lightly started shopping for Jeremiah's back to school wardrobe. I'm really trying to hold on to lots of his current wear (because it still fits) so just want to freshen it up with a couple of cool tees and hoodies to start the new school year.  

Mucha Lucha Libre hoodie

Señor Azul tee

Jeremiah thinks lucha libre is awesome... I think all boys do. 

mariachis en barco tee

What clothing line are you loving right now? 

*no compensation of any kind was given for this post, just really loving Tea atm and thought I should share

puebla girl

I found these fun Mexican dresses for girls.  I think Audrey wearing a blue one... is in the near future...

Cute.

Colorful.

  Full of Culture.

and grow with your niña.

If you are loving it also... enter the word FIESTA at checkout (because we all love a good party) and get free shipping from Courtney's shop.

A bailar! 




*no compensation was given... just love the dresses!

The Virgin Rose

As I look through Madeline's shop, The Virgin Rose, I think of my patients and their families in the ICU.  I think of the small altars they place in the rooms, with pictures, crosses, saints, and unlit candles.  

I think about how powerful a small token can be during times of grief  and times of joy and can't help but admire, be inspired, and fall in love with the beautiful artwork that accompanies. 

Vintage Our Lady of Guadalupe on blue cross

Madeline's shop is full of unique Mexican inspired pieces. Every single one says so much... about death and ritual, life, expressing one self, Mexico and culture. 

I am so happy to show her off to you... and know you will fall in love with her and every single one of her pieces as much as I have. 

Sacred heart on wooden cross

About the artist:

  Madeline is a New Zealander living in Mexico City.  I can't help but fall in love with her story on how she got there because it's proof again that love has no boundaries. 

She met her partner at a Festival in Cannes, France, followed her heart across the world to Mexico to be with him and  has been there now for the last two years. 

                                             "a big culture change as you can imagine"

Frida Kahlo Box shrine or altar piece for the wall

About The Virgin Rose:

"I haven't been working since I arrived so I decided to use my creative side to keep me stimulated during my day's here and The Virgin Rose was born! I love the bright colors of Mexico and they have such beautiful arts and crafts here that I was so inspired to make some for myself. I then decided to set up shop on Etsy which was the best decision! What a fantastic community of artists and art lovers!"

Mexican silver tin mirror with sacred heart

About her art:

"I love producing all my pieces which are inspired by Mexican themes-Day of the Dead, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Frida Kahlo, Sacred Heart, Loteria, and I have many Mexican materials such as the tin nichos and tin sacred hearts which are a huge delight to paint and decorate! 

I'm constantly on the search for new materials and new inspiration, hence the large range of pieces I have in my store. I make every single piece of art with love and attention to detail and my customers are wonderful people looking for a little piece of Mexican art or just a lovely addition."

Turquoise blue and pink Mexican tin nicho

ceramic trinket boxes

Isn't all of this just perfect?  Madeline's expression of Mexico is special and shows how amazing it is to respect and love other cultures. Her love for Mexican culture is obvious.  You can read more about her inspirations on her blog.

Madeline has something special for you!

A giveaway!

She has made it specially for one of you...it's a surprise... just a small trinket to display in your home or make a beautiful gift for your amiga.

Leave a comment telling me your favorite piece or what you like about her art by March 18th 12pm. I will randomly pick one of you. And let you know if you win!

Good luck and always,  always be inspired!!!

*giveaway now closed:  Lisa is the winner!

A Winner!

Congratulations Alba!  You are the random winner of the Pieces of April giveaway!  

I can't wait to hear what lovely's you will pick!

(Audrey playing on the Disney Cruise)

Peruvian for dinner tonight?

I have another recipe to share from my Peruvian dinner outing. 

This is perfect for dinner this weekend. 

Organic Chicken Breast with Honey Blue Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:
For the chicken breasts:

4 whole organic chicken breasts 

2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Touch of olive oil 
Salt and pepper (to taste)

For the saikio miso sauce:
2 cups honey
2 cups apple vinegar
8 tbs aji amarillo paste
3 cups saikio miso paste
1/2 cup olive oil 

For the honey blue cheese sauce:
1 cup honey 
1 lb blue cheese
1 1/4 cup apple vinegar 

For the vegetables:
Root vegetables (fresh veggies of the day such as baby carrots, potatoes, etc)
5 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 tbs pure honey (for glaze)
2 tbs butter (for glaze)


Preparation: 
Chicken Breasts:Marinate the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, chopped garlic and touch of olive oil. Grill them until cooked and golden brown. 

Saikio Miso Sauce:In a pot, mix the honey, apple vinegar, aji amarillo paste, saikio miso paste and olive oil until sauce boils. Cool down.

Honey Blue Cheese Sauce:Blend the blue cheese, apple vinegar and honey in a blender. Season the root vegetables with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast them in the oven at 300°F for 20-35 minutes. Glaze with honey and butter. The smaller the vegetables or vegetable pieces, the faster they will cook.

To Serve:Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon of honey blue cheese sauce then place on the roasted vegetables. Final touch, add the saikio miso sauce to the chicken.

Serve with Quinoa. 

Serves 4.  Que Rico!

*Aji Amarillo paste is a yellow Peruvian chili paste available in Latin supermarkets. You may also use any chili paste of your choice.

*recipe given to me by The National Honey Board.  No compensation given for sharing ( :

street cart vendor

(on our recent trip Cabo)


We filled our baggies up with nuts, lime and chile.

Dinner at Mo-Chica and a Recipe (Peruvian Ceviche)

I was recently invited by The National Honey Board to a Valentines Day dinner at Mo-Chica in downtown LA.  A Peruvian restaurant.  We were fortunate to have Peruvian Chef Ricardo Zárate cook our lovely meal.

 I love learning about cultures through food! And tasting a tiny bit of Peru was amazing.  Chef Zárate  aims to use locally sourced, seasonal and organic ingredients.  This I love.  And will definitely be returning.

My favorite was the ceviche.  I have the recipe to share along with a couple more in upcoming posts and know you will enjoy all the dishes as much I did.  I would have loved to share my own pictures...but ofcoarse...I remembered my camera and forgot the batteries!

with Chef Zárate and Catalina 

This would make a very lovely start to any romantic dinner!



Sea Bass Ceviche

Ingredients:
For the ceviche sause:
1/3 cup honey
4 garlic cloves
1/4 red onion
4 stalks of celery
1/8 lb fresh sea bass
1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup coconut juice
1 tbs aji amarillo paste

For the ceviche:
1 lb fresh sea bass, diced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 tbs chopped cilantro
Red serrano chili (to taste)
salt & pepper (to taste)

Preparation
In a blender, blend all the ceviche sauce ingredients together.
Mix the ceviche sauce with all the ingredients of the ceviche and them marinate for 15 minutes before serving.
Note: Aji Amarillo paste is a yellow Peruvian chili paste available in Latin supermarkets. You may also use any chili paste of your choice. You can substitute the serrano chili for jalapeño or habanero chili. 


And a drink to enjoy your ceviche with:


Bee's Knees Cocktail
this tastes lovely ( :


Ingredients
1 tablespoon Honey
1/2 shot (2oz) gin
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice


Preparation
Combine all ingredients and ice and shake vigorously. 
To avoid the honey from clumping.  Add a tad bit of hot water until the honey is dissolved then continue with recipe (this makes 1 serving).


Enjoy

Happy Valentines Day!


*no compensation was given for sharing.  I was invited to Mo-Chica for a lovely dinner and want to share the recipes.  (they are yummy).  
photo credit: The National Honey Board

It's Valentines Day!! (A Giveaway from Pieces Of April)

Dia del Amor y la Amistad.

I hope all of you are having a lovely morning.  

Kip, the kids and I had a special evening last night filled with enchiladas, movies and chocolate lava cakes.   

I got up early this morning to make Jeremiah homemade waffles, strawberries, and generous amounts of whip cream on top.  He loved every bite!  I am sure his teacher will love me for loading him up with all that sugar before school. 

I have a special treat for you today.  A giveaway from a most lovely shop that I am so very excited to share with you. 

I fell in love with April's pieces as soon as I saw them.  Every single one speaks amor and amistad. 

April is a fellow Latina, a 3rd generation Texan, from Mexican descent.  A fellow dog lover, who is raising her new puppy to be bilingual. ( :  She not only makes beautiful things, she tweets, gets on facebook and blogs too.

Bird is the word note card set

April has spanish note cards (love) to say hello, send a get well message, or let someone know how much you love them.

Peacoat Navy Blue Flower Bouquet Ring

Mediano Chrysanthemum Ring 

 Her jewelry is delicate, sexy, stylish and beautiful.  Her rings keep calling out to me.

Mediano Duo Bobbies

I love these bobby pins to wear with a ponytail, jeans and a cute top.  

Gray Skies Bobby Pins & Earring Set

One of my favorite things about her shop...she custom makes her tags.  Just let her know what words you want...and she will happily print for you.  A personalized gift is always special. 

Hola Bonita  

Don't you just love?
April has a special promotion going on right now, enter coupon code AMOR15 to get 15% off  your order in celebration of Love day.

Giveaway: April is giving one of you a $40 gift credit to anything you like from her shop!  Super! I know!  Leave a comment by 12pm  Friday February 25th.  I will randomly pick one of you and let you know if you win.  

To win, do any one of these:

Visit Pieces of April and tell me what you would get if you win

Tell me what you would write on your personalized tag

Tell me how you will be celebrating Valentines Day

....or leave any message you want! ( :

Happy Day friends!

*no monetary compensation was given for this post.  I am absolutely in love with April and her shop and wanted to share with you.  April is letting me choose one piece from her shop as a gift for showcasing her. 


*entries now closed.  Congrats to the winner!

"A Eme O"

For my little Valentines:



Andrea Echeverri

Perfect song to listen to while making love you cards with my two "little loves" here at home. 

Acai Seeds

This bracelet has been part of my daily wardrobe since returning from our Disney Cruise.  Lovely to wear on dress up or my most often casual days.

I got it on one of our sans kids outing (a comedy show) while on the cruise.

My drink for that night:

a most yummy Eco-tini

VeeV Acai liqueor, triple sec, agave nectar, ginger, and freshly squeezed lime juice (served with a souvenir Acai bracelet).


So, I'm in love with Acai jewelry right now.

Like Tania's darling Peruvian inspired Acai Chocolate Raspberry earrings.

I'm thinking perfect Valentines gift.

What is your favorite piece of jewelry right now...what are you wearing?

I'm back.....

It seems so long.  Since my last post.  Iv'e missed writing.  Most of all reading all of your lovely blogs.

We just returned from a family vacation.  Disney Cruise... to the Mexican Riviera.  It was worth every hard earned penny we spent.  The kids had SO much fun.
I spent my week media free.
Enjoyed my family.  Food.  Mexico.  And seeing Mickey Mouse ofcoarse. ( :

Life is back to normal now.  Clothes are washing.  Jeremiah is supposed to be doing homework in his room.  Audrey out for a run in the jogger with dad.

And frozen lasagna from Trader Joes in the oven.

Tonight will be my first night back to work.  Iv'e been loving all the sleeping at night, and really need to pull myself together to get through tonight.

I'm still working on cleaning my life out.  And have a guest post I would love for you to read.

Hope everyone out there has their hearts filled with love today ( :


*Lot's to tell from our cruise.  Leave me a comment, or send me an email if you have questions about cruising.  I learned so much, I wish I would have known before leaving.  
*More posts to come soon, now that my life seems a little cleaner ( :

Thanksgiving 2010

We had Thanksgiving with family.

My aunt and uncles home.  A small place, no fancy dining room to hold all of us inside, but perfect patio for laughing, eating and acting silly with loved ones.  Lights, candles and silverware, and lawn chairs. ( :
It was perfect.
I'm thinking... Chocolat ?

I am so thankful. 

I had dinner with scrubs on... ready to leave to work from the party. 

I hope you had a lovely and family and thankful filled day too. 

Madres by Alejandra Oseguera

These beautiful breastfeeding and babywearing pieces are by Alejandra Oseguera, a very talented Latina artist.   I fell in love as soon as I saw them.  

You can visit Alejandra's website or Etsy shop to see more beautiful Latina inspired art. 

Her Day of the Dead paintings are perfect.

Recipe for Churros (yum)

(via albantzar [itziar])

A leisurely look through flickr led me to this photo.  When I saw it, I quickly filled with childhood memories and memories of seeing my own littles fingers filled with sugar and cinnamon.

This led me to look for a recipe.  I think that time of the month might be near since I'm searching the internet for desserts ( :

Here is an easy one I found via Que Rica Vida.

Churros


Ingredients:
vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of sugar
3 1/4 cup of Bisquick Original mix
1 cup of hot water


In a large pot fill 2 to 3 inches from pot with oil and heat at medium heat until thermometer in oil reaches 375. 


In a deep plate mix 3 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon.  Put aside. 


In a large bowl mix the Bisquick, hot water and one tablespoon of sugar with a spatula until completely mixed. 
Add mixture to cake decorating bag with star formed tip with a 1/4 opening.  Squeeze 5 inch long churro over oil, you can cut the ends with scissors. 


Heat them till golden brown, about 3 minutes and then drain on paper towels. 


Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over churros. 


Serve hot and with hot chocolate. 

And send me one too!

*recipe thanks to Que Rica Vida.  I was not asked or given any compensation for posting this.  Just having a churro craving ( :