Posts from — September 2010

It’s been raining everyday in Miami since August, which led me to create a “rainy days” playlist on my iPod.  Today, inspired by the stormy weather hovering over us, I thought I’d share 10 of my favorite songs from this playlist. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Feist: 1234

2. The Jesus & Mary Chain: Happy When it Rains

3. The Libertines: Don’t Look Back into the Sun

4. Cindy Lauper: Who Let in the Rain

5. Tokyo Police Club: Tessellate

6. Travis: Why Does it Always Rain on Me?

7. The Doors: Riders on the Storm

8. The Realistics: Tiny Avalanches

9. Bright Eyes: Lua

10. Voxtrot: Sway

During my last trip to the grocery store I bought some gorgeous red pears.  That same day I ran into this recipe while reading one of my favorite blogs.

My red wine poached pears smelled amazing while simmering.

After they cooled off, I cubed some of the pear slices and added my favorite plain FAGE Greek yogurt.  It turned out to be an amazing dessert.

For the longest time now, I have been taking in inspiration from others through the internet.  I even dedicated a whole post to this topic a while back.

Most of the blogs I follow have an element of crafty design or decoration to them, and most of these bloggers make their own everything. I mean, from beautiful food to arts & crafts, to repurposing old items around the house, to turning garage sale junk into very cool decorations…the list goes on.  I specially enjoy seeing all those before and after pictures, and can only imagine the sense of accomplishment!

In light of all this, I think it’s time to get my own hands dirty.  It’s time to see if I actually learned anything from seeing and reading all about these do-it-yourself projects.  Could I, by myself, potentially turn old unwanted items into brand new beautiful objects?  Could I really tackle an upholstery project all on my own?  Am I capable of spray-painting my way into a prettier-looking home?

Well, my friends,  it’s time to find out! Over the course of the next few weeks I will be tackling a few projects of my own around the house, and I can’t wait to tell you all about them. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that this story will have a happy ending! xo

I think the idea of adding fresh fruit to salads is genius.  It adds a hint of sweetness and always makes the salad more colorful.  I used to only add green apple slices to mine – before the fig phase – and most recently I experimented with melon.  Yes, melon!

So this is what happens when you mix watercress, Campari tomatoes, cucumbers and melon…

I used lemon, olive oil, sea salt & pepper for the dressing (this has become a habit of mine).

I also needed a bit more substance (a.k.a. protein), so I foil-wrapped and baked a salmon fillet covered in Rosemary, and it was the cherry on the top.

The result? A mélange of flavors that’s both sweet & savory, and delicious!  I hope this inspires everyone starting their Monday diet today!