Olive pits...

I want one of these! Not ony for pistachios and olives...but a big one for eating shrimp! What a perfect place to put those shrimp heads. Why didn't I think of this?

Ps: Are you brave enough to eat the shrimp head? They say it's the best part...

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¡Quiero uno de estos! No solo para los pistachos y aceitunas, pero uno grande para comer gambas también...el sitio perfecto para todas las cabezas. ¿Porqué nunca había pensado en esto?

Pd: ¿Te atreves a comer la cabeza de gamba? dicen que es la parte más rica...

(via Kitchn)

beige rebajas

Round one of some of my rebajas compras-with some silly pics...when life gives you bad lighting play with the flash and the mirror ;)

I love the cut and matierials of this shirt from Zara. Comfy and modern with the transparent bit on the back.

And my favorite new necklace from Misako. The little people are too cute...they move and are copper!

Unas de mis compras de las rebajas. Unas fotos locas jugando con la luz y los espejos.

Me encanta el corte y la mezcla de telas en la camisa de Zara. Es cómoda y moderna con el toque transparente en la espalda. Y este en mi nuevo collar preferido de Misako. Las personitas son monísimas-se mueven y son de cobre!

summertime...

On my wish list for summer: round tortoise shell wayfarers, cute Dr.Schollsy clogs from Zara, and a perfect day on a palm tree lined beach.

Ps...I think the last time I was as sick as I have been over the past few days was when I was on the beach in Venezuela drinking Gatorade instead of caipiriñas and eating crackers instead of empanadas. I'm hoping the next time I'm on the beach I'll be on either at an Italian castle with friends on the Mediterranean or on Fuerteventura...wearing all of the above.

Pss...for your enjoyment coming soon to Jamonlandia: it's pig head and filloa season in Galicia...Carnival is just around the corner!! And booo...it's the end of rebajas-time for a summary of my reduced price treasures!

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En mi lista para el verano: gafas de sol wayfarer redondos, sandalias retros de Zara, y un día soleado en una playa con palmeras.

Pd...creo que la última ve que estuve tan enferma como ahora, estaba en una playa tropical en Venezuela tomando Gatorade en vez de caipiriñas y crackers en vez de emapanadas. Espero que la próxima playa que veo este o en Italia con unos amigos o en Fuerteventura...llevando todo lo que ves ahí arriba.

Pdd...solo para ti próximamente en Jamonlandia: es la temporada de cabeza de cerdo y filloas-Carnaval esta por venir! Y lastima...es el final de las rebajas-lo cual merece un resumen de todos mis gangas!

Parabens!

Happy birthday bestie!! Can you believe we've been friends for almost a quarter of a century?? That explains why even with an ocean apart we still end up buying the same clothes, jeje...

Here's to a wonderful birthday with many, many more wonderful memories (and cupcakes) to come in the new year!! besitos!!

Feliz cumple a mi mejor amiga!! Es increíble que llevamos casi un cuarto de siglo de amigas! Eso explica por que hasta con un océano de separación seguimos comprando la misma ropa, jeje...

Te deseo un cumpleaños muy feliz con muchos muchos bonitos recuerdos (y cupcakes) en este nuevo año!! besitos!

study abroad...

EF - Live The Language - Barcelona from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

Ahhh...this brings back sooo many memories of being a college kids and dreaming of living abroad...who's have imagined my dream would come true?? Such an amazing ad campaign by EF tours, and I'm proud to say the Spain tour my Best teaching friend and I took 10 great high schoolers on was with them! Well worth it! Check out all the cities...

Tantos recuerdos de soñar de España en la uni...y ahora el sueño hecho realidad! Una campaña genial para estudios en el extranjero de EF tours-también reconocidos por ser la compañía que usamos mi amiga y yo para llevar a 10 gran alumnos del instituto a España! Valió la pena!

(via Black Eiffel)

Love

Happy valentine's day. Hope it's wonderful! Aren't my tulips lovely?

Feliz día de san valentine. Espero que sea maravilloso. Son preciosos mis tulipanes, ¿no?

Write? Join!

Hey guys! Diego has been busy starting up a new online journal dedicated to all things literary in Spanish, Galician, and English. We are looking for contributors in any way: fiction, commentary, critique, photography-anything that inspires you. Little by little I'm getting the majority of the content translated to English, as for now most is published in Spanish or Galician, but we'd love to have an American voice too! I know you are talented writers and artists with opinions and ideas...so check out the mission statement and website link below, join on facebook here, and send us your work!!

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Contraportada is an online magazine (www.contraportada.com.es) dedicated to new journalism, fiction, criticism, and commentary inspired by the great American periodical magazines. The goal of Contraportada is to publish truthful, honest, and independent journalism whose focus is on the international reader, especially the reader looking for something that current media isn’t providing. Contraportada wants to give a voice to writers who love writing but can’t find a place to write, to people interested in a project where the most important thing is the writer and the text, or to anyone who has something to say.

As an internet magazine Contraportada will make the most of the elegance of the written word and the technology of audiovisual communication, and there will be no limit on freedom of expression-as long as it’s not used at for gratuitous insults. Contraportada wants to revive the social function of journalism as a service of and for the citizen and not for economic interests o politics.

With that in mind, Contraportada is starting as a small project. To put it simply, because we haven’t got money we are looking for people who are interested in being a part of our team of independent non-paid collaborators. We need writers in any language, designers, artists, or whatever else you might propose to make the project dynamic.

Contraportada hopes to grow so that in the near future we will be able to recognize the work of our team and collaborators by paying for their involvement.

We know better than anyone that journalism costs money, even writers need to eat, so we hope that interested individuals, organizations and public or private institutions might see the need and public interest in the journalism found at Contraportada and might contribute, as they may, to help us. From the start any investment will be destined first and foremost to pay our collaborators for their work and involvement.

You are invited to be a part of the project, because Contraportada will be what you want it to be.

To become a part of Contraportada send your text, article, commentary, or critique to:

redaccion@contraportada.com.es

For more information, questions, suggestions, or if you would like to advertise on Contraportada, please send an e-mail to:

info@contraportada.com.es

PB cups

Oh man, have to post these so I don't forget about making them sometime (this blog is turning into my online recipe file). They look soo easy, and any American abroad can tell you that peanut butter anything is greatly missed. Speaking of peanute butter, I can only find one brand here, Capitán Mani, and I do like it. Anyone else out there found or tried any other brands? Ohh and where the recipe calls for graham crackers, just use digestive cookies, and I'd probably change the muffin tin size to baby size, don't want to get too crazy.

Tengo que bloggear estos para no olvidar de hacerlos en algún momento (poco a poco esto se está convirtiendo en mi archivo de recetas). Pero, bueno. Parecen super fáciles de hacer-solo cambiaría el tamaño del recipiente a uno más pequeño. Cualquier americano fuera de casa puede decirte como nos extrañamos el "peanut butter". Solo encuentro una marca por estos lados, Capitán Mani, y me gusta. ¿Alguien fuera de USA a encontrado otra marca buena? Y una cosita más, donde la receta usa "graham crackers", hay que sustituir unas galletas digestive.

(Thank you Design*Sponge. Gracias D*Sponge)

Lavendar Patio

This must smell so nice on a summer evening. And that vine covered wall...I love it.

Ps...some of the trees are already flowering here!

Este tiene que oler increíble en una noche de verano. Y esa pared cubierta...me encanta.

Pd...¡ya están floreciendo algunos arboles por aquí!

(via Design*Sponge)

Skylights

The first time I went to Diego's house I was surprised by how many skylights there were. His room and the entire top floor of the house didn't have windows but skylights. Since then I've noticed they are everywhere, a way to use all the space possible wisely. No dark attics here. Every now and then Diego and I dream about fixing up our apartment...I imagine a bathroom something like this upstairs. Aren't the skylights pretty?

La primera ve que vi la casa de Diego me sorprendió la cantidad de tragaluces que habían. Toda la última planta tenía tragaluces en vez de ventanas. Desde entonces me he dado cuenta que están por todos lados, una manera de usar bien todo el espacio. No hay áticos oscuros aquí. De vez en cuando Diego y yo soñamos de reformar nuestro piso...y imagino un baño comos este en la segunda planta. Son ideales los tragaluces, ¿verdad?

(Thanks Cup of Joe)

Indie Princess

Some music for the day, the Spanish version of all those breathy frenchy ladies. The diosa of Spanish indie-Christina Rosenvinge. Enjoy!

Algo de música para empezar el día, la versión española de todas esas frencesas sin aliento. La diosa del indie español, Christina Rosenvinge. Disfrútalo!

Bagels!

I know, it seems like all I talk about is food but Sunday evenings has turned into baking time for two reasons: it keeps the house warm and is delicious. Last nights plan-breakfast baking. Chocolate muffins-no real art there. They were so easy and turned out well. But, the big challenge was bagels. You can't find them in Santiago and everynow and then on a rushed morning, picking one up instead of a croissant (even though I do love a croissant!) sounds ideal. Sooo...I got on Internet and found the easiest recipe and while chatting with my mom made some lovely little bagels. I even got crazy and put some salt and cheese on a few. They were actually not that difficult...and well worth the time and well enjoyed as breakfast this morning. I feel like a pro now.

Ya lo sé, parece que siempre estoy hablando de comida pero las tardes de los domingos se han convertido en noches de hornear-por dos razones: mantiene un calorcito en la casa y comimos algo delicioso. Anoche decidí hacer cosas para desayunar. Empecé con muffins de chocolate-nada de manjar es eso. Me salieron muy fácil y buenos. Pero el reto de la tarde era hacer unos bagels. Aquí en Santiago no los encuentro y de vez en cuando en una mañana de prisa me gustaría tener la opción de o croissant o bagel. Entonces...me metí en Internet, encontré la receta más fácil y mientras hablé con mi mamá por teléfono hice unos bagels deliciosos! Hasta experimenté y añadí sal y queso en algunos. La verdad es que no son tan difíciles de hacer como había pensado, y vale la pena invertir el tiempo en hacerlos. Desayuné rico esta mañana, y me siento todo una profesional.

Fresh

Hey snowbirds...hope the snowday in the states has been restful and warm and creative and productive inside your cozy homes. I've been working...but before lunch, since it was a beautiful day here, I took a walk through the Praza de Abastos to buy an avocado for lunch and dinner. The market was buzzing today, surprising to me as usually it's busy Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. The fish stalls were packed and everything looked so bright and fresh...and strangely enough I even caught myself thinking..."yummmm"!Anyway, I really wanted to finally share this funny milk machine. I guess getting the cow to the city is difficult, so instead, for 30 cents you can get a reusable class glass milk bottle to fill with a liter of fresh dairy milk for 1 euro. It was closed today...but I'm thinking maybe Friday we can take the night off and wake up early Saturday morning to try it out. Have you ever seen one of these?

Also, I know Mr. Groundhog Phil didn't see his shadow (good news for you blizzard folk) and supposedly winter will be shorter...and in Spain legend of the Candelaria holds that if it is sunny on Febeuary 2, winter will be longer (bad news for us and our electric bill). But I think the French get it better than all of us celebrating today with a crepe party! Now you know what to make for dinner!

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Hola guapas...espero que las de EEUU esteís pasando un día de nieve genial productivas creativas, tranquilas, y calientitas en casita. Yo trabajé todo el día, pero pasé por la Praza de Abastos antes de comer para aprovechar del solazo que hacía y comprar un aguacate. El mercado tenía bastante vida hoy, me sorprendió porque los días con más gente son los martes, jueves, y sábados. Los vendedores de pescado y mariscos tenían muchísimo producto y todo tan fresco y bonito que hasta me encontré a mi misma pensando en lo rico que se veía todo!

Pero, lo que realmente quería enseñaros es la graciosa máquina de leche. Me supongo que traer una vaca a la ciudad podría ser difícil, entonces pagando 30 centimos compras una botella de vidrio y por un euro la llenas con leche fresca de la máquina. Hoy estaba cerrada, pero igual podemos levantarnos para aprovechar el mercado el sábado. ¿Habíais visto una de estas máquinas alguna vez?

También, sé que Sr. Marmota Phil vio su sombra por lo cual significa que el invierno americano durará poco (suerte para vosotras!), y también otra leyenda español de la Candelaría dice que un día de sol el 2 de febrero es un invierno largo (malo para nosotros), pero lo mejor de todos en lo que celebran los franceses hoy...día de la crepe! Ya sabéis lo que hay que cenar hoy...