my postcard to guylaine

4 years ago I went to Italy.
4 years ago I was reading an Elle Québec at the beach in Forte dei Marmi.
4 years ago I cut out an article about her.
4 years ago I went back home to check out what her blog was all about.
4 years ago I told my friend about it.
4 years ago, Dodo started looking at many other blogs.
And then it all started...really started.

Thanks Guylaine for the great, great, great discovery.
I owe you and that's why I am sending you this card!

*** And Dodo, thanks for the continuous inspiration. :)

coconut flan

this is what I am making tomorrow night for my guests :

I'll let you know if it was good...
 Manjar

• 3 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can coconut milk (not to be confused with coconut water)
• 1 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened.
• prunes.
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar

1. Add all the milk and corn starch to a medium sized pan. 
2. Dissolve the corn starch completely in the milk. This is really the most important step. You want to mix until the corn starch is totally dissolved otherwise you're going to get nasty corn starch lumps.
3. Add the sweetened condensed milk and the coconut milk and mix until everything is well incorporated and dissolved. 
4. Turn the stove top on to medium heat and start stirring. You will probably stir for a good 20 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. 
5. Mix until the mixture starts pulling away from the bottom of the pan.
6. Remove from heat and mix in the coconut flakes.
7. Put in your favorite serving dish and let cool completely. If the dish is shallow it will cool faster. However, if you put it in the fridge it really should settle and be ready to serve within 1/2 an hour.
8. While the manjar is cooling make your prune sauce. Add the prunes, water, and sugar to a small pan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool completely. Serve on top of the manjar.

from this website:  kitchencorners.com

shopping with mateo

he is such a good sport!
he hides in the clothes, comments on pieces saying : c'est beau ça maman and is even ready for a photo session in front of the mirror while waiting for his momma to finish browsing around....

three weeks to go

my hospital suitcase is almost ready, the baby clothes are washed, the room is almost done, the crib is up again...and the belly is huge!

don't have the new car yet

but bought a cool key chain while waiting for it.

alexandra

I find it so hard to talk about other things than Mateo on this blog.
He is an inspiration.

But I am always looking for new things to photograph and this one caught my eye right away.
Alex came back from a birthday party this weekend with sparkly fingernails.
So girly. So beautiful.

a beach suitcase is always the best suitcase

In the last years, I really realized that I was a sun and heat worshiper.  Luc B introduced me to trips in the sun and my year in Costa Rica confirmed that I am the happiest when it is hot outside. 

I have also learned that you can never have enough summer clothes and when you see beach clothes that you like (even if you find this piece in the month of September when it is raining) you should always buy it because you definitely WANT to have a beach suitcase possible. Beach suitcases for me are the best. They make me happy.  They remind me of a pirate's treasures.  You open them and wow!

When I am in the plane travelling down south I often think about the loss I would feel if my suitcase disappeared.  What would I do without these treasured pieces? I really do have my favourite clothes in there. Even if I would get money to replace all the things in my suitcase, it could not replace my attachement to some special pieces, like the polka-dot pareo I bought with Jojo in Playa del Carmen, the red bikini I bought with Claude, the shiny hearts earrings I bought for the wedding, the white linens pants Claudette bought for me almost ten years ago, a turquoise top that is a bit stained but that I still like from Banana Republic,  the pyjama top that I wear as a real top...

Today I found a scarf that I will put in my suitcase...in a year (or less) from now when I go to the beach with my three men.

skeletons!

Moms are sometimes proud of weird things, like me being proud that he likes skeletons like I do!
I asked him to choose between three balls today and this is the one he chose ! Good boy !
He has a picture of one in this room too that he likes to look at. :)

want to find a cute apron like that

and improve my baking skills.
My cooking skills are not bad the baking needs to be improved...
All sorts of cakes are on my list.

two important cravings

of this pregnancy...
ice cream and beer !

i wanna be a gypsy

When I was growing up in Germany, I saw gypsies down the road who lived in caravans like this...
It has always fascinated me.
Then later on, I saw some movies by Tony Gatlif that mesmerized me. 
The colours, the bohemian lifestyle, their dark hair...all this resonates in me.

I also had a girlfriend, Alexandra, who had a caravan like this in her Oma's backyard and I spent summers sleeping there with her.
They are really good souvenirs.
We would play with our dolls, sleep in old blankets and at night listen to her drunk uncle coming back from Gasthof Grunewald. Morning come, we would have breakfast in the "real house" but most of the time, I wanted to eat at my grandparents since Alexandra's grandparents were butchers and I did not like all the cold cuts they would eat all the time...I would prefer to go back home and have fresh bread with jam.

And today, when I saw this picture on my friend's blog, it gave me chills.
What if I could have one in my backyard for the summer time?
My secret place where I could leave my crayons, favourite books, music...Where I could have lunch, write, nap (okay, not nap since I don't nap)...Where Mateo could play alone, or with me, or with dad, or with his friends...
Wouldn't that be nice!!!?
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!!!

M, can you help me find one?

at the airport with tante jojo

He had a ball !!!
His eyes were wide open the whole time !

pogos

I must admit : our son likes to eat junk food!
Fries, chips, chicken nuggets, ice cream, cookies...he never says no.
Daddy made him try pogos and he kept saying : Hum, c'est bon ! (like the first time he took a sip of beer!)
Thankfully, he likes good stuff too!

you like the new haircut?

No, Mommy did not lose a bet with Daddy!  She thought we could try a different hairstyle for this tropical delightful weather.
We brought Junior along and asked for the same haircut!

at the zoo