Rag Curls and Nostalgia

Yesterday I decided to try rag curls in my hair, for the very first time. I actually got the idea years ago from my pal Rosy. I made lots and lots of tying strips by cutting up an old shirt I didn't need anymore...

I decided to Youtube rag curl how-to's (one of my favorite go-to sites for how-to's and music!). While on Youtube, I cant not search music vids! So I searched the song in my head. A song that reminds me of my mom. She would sing this song aloud often since I was a child. Then I did my makeup trying to keep it inspired by the 40's 50's the best I can.

The lipstick looks red but it is actually a delicious orange(y) color. An orange that shimmers and was closer to the reds family, an orange(y) red. I attempted false lashes and failed miserably as I don't have the right glue.  Oh well.  I tried and tried until one of my eyes watered and got  irritated..I too was irritated! So I skipped them and curled my lashes like crazy and coated them "generously" with mascara.  

I started with damp hair and  by the time I took the rags off, my hair was completely dry. I had no idea what it was going to look like. It was so puffy! But I played with it running my fingers through it. The curls were so tight- tight as in very curly and as in, I was diggin' them. I  have to add the song playing in the back round as I gussied up.  This one's for my "Oli".  I wonder if she hit the dance floors to this song in her day...

I don't think I had ever heard the actual version in it's entirety till this day.

Have a great Wednesday everybody!

p.s. I love my dressing robe!

Sandra

Pepito's Way

Buttered Rice with Corn

Remember my "Your Way" post? (I will be excepting those till time indefinite). Today's post was not sent to me but since its my brothers way- I remembered it on my own. While preparing and then eating this rice, not only was I reminded of my "handsome stud muffin" brother but it was also a  flashback of the early 90's.  I was a teen in high school (yes, that puts me in my thirties) being taught how to make rice by my mom. And to shake things up a bit, with corn added to it- which, if I am not mistaken, the idea may have come from one of my dear aunts(reminding me also of her). Back to my story, My older bro Jose, a.k.a. Joser and Pepe to our parents or when referring to him when speaking to our parents- would have me make this for him.  He was quite a fan...not sure how much he likes it now, but it will for ever remind me of him and the those days when I often made it per his request. Love ya Stud.. I thought of you during every delicious bite <3

Really, it was delicious!

Sandra

Yellow

My favorite color combo for Spring...yellow and gray! I like gray combos. I like gray with orange and green... those are the colors you'll see in our home- except for our kitchen which  sorta has a red theme going on due to a red mixing bowl set and red crockpot*smile*.  I bought these yellow shoes at a Target*sigh*  when visiting friends in Riverside because the shoes I was wearing were killing me...these are very comfy and yellow! The top, well it's actually a dress, I just put a tweed(ish) skirt over the skirt part  because its not yet weather for it. I bought the dress last summer, a summer "honeymoon dress" that actually never got a chance to be worn. Why? Well I was supposed to have been able to fit into it by my honeymoon.. my target outfit if you will, only that didn't quite pan out. =\  It will get plenty of use this Summer.

I miss Target and I think I will google search the nearest Target because I recently found out that I am actually only about an hour away from the States. Road trip to a Vermont Target? Sounds good to me!

Sandra

Strawberry Cobbler...whaaaat?

I took a million pictures of the strawberries. I like this one.

Strawberries,Blackbarries,Raspberries, they're all still on (super) sale right now...So we buy. We buy and buy. They are huge these strawberries...and delicious. Since our kitchen looks like a berries packaging place-there's so many- I come up with ways to enjoy. Today, it was cobbler- I experimented.

And might I say it was one of the BEST experiments I have come up with..I come up with quite a few that are not so great- like a couscous dessert fail...eeeesh. I don't post those.
Have a great weekend!

Do you think you might want to try my "successful" experiment? If you answered  yes...

careful of the fingers

I confess, I am not the best dicer. If you too are lacking in the the knife skills department, you just might find this tutorial helpful

And  click here to find tips on how to chop onions without tears.

Sandra

First Abner post

Midnight Thursday. Up at this time is pretty standard form me. I pay those bills, I plan our home supplies inventory and our groceries. Groceries are my thing- I have special spots to shop. I make a list... This somewhat new for Sandra. We make a conscience effort in buying produce from local shops or farmers markets-green like that. Our proximity to Plateau, Mont-Royal and Ontario St. makes it easy. My poor wife at first did not understand all the walking but its necessary; It keeps us healthy and every dollar counts, so we hunt for deals at home and then walk to the different spots. When I first met Sandra I weighed 240 pounds on a 6'4 frame it 'looks' alright but it didnt feel alright; I couldn't run as fast and as far as before. So I changed my diet, started working out again and lost 25 just by adding more greens in my life. I never paid for a gym subscription, I never owened more than 4 dumb-bells. Most of my workout is body-weights. I dropped another 15 pounds, bringing my weight to 200lbs. Finally, with some adjustment I got married at a whopping 195. My secret...Dedication to good nutrition. In my quest to find the best information on food and heath out there, I stumbled upon:

• Great blogs like Summer Tomatoes 
• Great scientist, Brad Pilon
• Best weight free trainer,Craig Ballantyne
• Books like Fast Food Nation, In Defense of Food
• Movies like Food Inc. which was eye opening for Sandra and I.

In changing my eating habits, I have come to appreciate even more how great Jehovah truly is. All those foods with great flavors, yet in an imperfect world. I can only imagine the taste of red bell peppers in paradise- until then...

Buying REAL foods...that REAL people grow locally as much as possible.

By Abner

It's really not that bad

Nope. It's not very consistent but thats okay, plus I have my trusty rainboots. And don't worry, the numbers are written in Celsius (metric system-ugh!)so 12 is actually about 53°F. See not so bad, ha! Cali now knows what it is to be in the 40's and 50's. If I am not mistaken, I have heard that this winter was just freezing. So I remain a happy camper...and still dig the month of March. Good night. Sandra

Cute HOot Print

Isn't this Simply Baby  poster by  Hoot Design  just the cutest?  I may not have, nor am I expecting, but I do love all things(cute) baby! 

Sandra

How's the weather?

I posted all kinds of great things about March...it was - key word being 'was' so nice out plus the days are longer...I was just so happy. This Sunday it all changed. It was cloudy and cold...by the afternoon there was frozen rain..I don't know what to call it...it wasn't really snow snow  because it melted as soon as it hit the floor. Yesterday was chilly. Today is a rainy day. But I will look on the bright side...Its not as cold as it was in January and the rain will make the grass green again...yeah thats what will happen. Today is a day that I have pretty much just hung out on the coach but it is here that I sat as I finished preparing for todays meeting and communicate with you lovely's.

I made raspberry compote the other day. It thickened a bit after cooling so we use it with peanut butter in our sandwiches. I also made a lot of it with strawberries that were also on sale (I forgot to mention that  the raspberries were on sale) so we stocked-up- thats why I made the compote so I can make the most of them before they went bad. So the other day I craved Strawberry milk, the kind I had as a kid with good ol' Nestle Quik..I don't know why but I did. And a good thing I had made that compote, I strained some of it to get the delicious syrup of it into a glass of cold milk. Took care of that craving real good. There is really nothing you cant make yourself that is out there in stores... well, not everything.


Sandra

Atole de Elote

Where I lived in Garden Grove there is a Salvadorian restaurant that has the yummiest Atol de Elote. I didn't know they served it (don't think its even on the menu) until  I went with some of my cousins one day. My cousin Evelyn ordered it. She let me try hers...it was delicioso. I really liked it...I like sweet corn anything: sweet corn tamales(con crema), corn bread, sweet corn itself or in the form of this corn based thick drink- atole- making it a double corn drink.

Walk back from Pharmacy

Last of Winter part 2 from Sandrita Gonzalez on Vimeo.
I zoomed in on our building on Rue Sherbrooke. It's tall compared to the others!  I also zoomed in on a deep puddle, those sometimes can be hard to avoid. And of course people bike in the snow...some get their bike parts swiped, not cool.

Winter walk to Pharmacy ( A short film)

A very very short film... you might say

This is one of the last snowfalls of the winter. I had to run to the nearby pharmacy for Swiffer pads and kitchen trash bags. I don't know why I hadn't thought of using the video function on my camera for capturing more of my little winter outings around town before... I always forget and well, I didn't on this day. =o)

Do I dare say I miss the snow? I kinda do. But not the cold. Definitely not the cold!

Ahoy Matey

I can catch up on my posts now!  I couldn't upload pictures from my machine for weeks- way too long! But I tried yesterday,and it worked. This makes me very happy.  Let the Blogging- go on!

My friend Karinne and I made another cake. Yes another one because months ago we made..well we really tried to create a pirate fondant cake. This time we whipped up a...

Thats right, a treasure chest (that is what you guessed, right?).  The first time we attempted the fondant cake thing, we didn't have much to work with. We only had gold food coloring, I think, which gave us an orange color. We were very limited. Also, this time we used vanilla nut flavoring to add to the fondant...it made it taste quite yummy. This time there aren't any ruffles or pleats at the bottom of the cake... the first time, I had trouble draping the fondant over the cake nice and smoothly. 

This cake was fun to do... We didn't spend too much time on it, so its not as nice and neat as it could have been , I think.

This was the first fondant cake trial, come check it out...

Coat Check

I didn't have to speak much while volunteering at coat check. But I did speak a little, which means I got to use the little bit of French I know. It was good times. We will not be posting the video I had previously said I wanted to post, not here anyway. I will upload the video so that it is private and I can send it to you personally- just let me know :D

From the counter

Just smitten

AC

Happiness

March- I kinda love you. So far the only thing that has been a bit of a damper was the time change over the weekend...but even that didn't result in such a bad thing...I just fell asleep earlier on Saturday since we had to be up nice and early for the circuit assembly- which was great!

 All though the assembly  was in French, I found I understood most of it! I see my progress. I jotted down notes! Everything I understood, I wrote it down in Spanish- the language in which I have always known to take my notes.

 Abner had a chance to go upstage and be part of a demo. He did so well. So happy for him. And I caught it on film, so as soon as I get a cable thingy to upload it to the computer, I will share it with you. Strangers would approach him and ask if he, well, I will let you see the video, dont want to give it away. I'm sure he wont mind. I hope not...

Abner and I also got to work the coat check for a half hour  on Sat. and  on Sun. We both really enjoyed that. Coat check? You may ask yourselves. Yes, coat check. Cool ha?  A first for me at an assembly hall. You hand in your coat and or accessories and you get a small plastic disk with a number on it and you may come back to get your belongings whenever you want.  But I'm sure you already knew how a coat check works ;)

This change in the weather and recent activities have really put me in an extra happy mood, and thats now, in 40-50 degree weather!  Imagine when Summer arrives...happiness overload.

Bonne journée


by Sandra

How to Frittata

A few months back I found a neat site on one of my favorite things, food! Its called Hungry Nation

I've been wanting to make a frittata.  

This niffty video will help me... It may help you too.

"Where is Cosimo's house?" I have to say, I dig the name.

I think I wants me a Turkish coffee grinder... to grind non coffee things. I want many things food related.

Spring is in the air

We don't have to pile on the the layers of clothing to stay warm when we go out anymore! Awesome. I am so glad. There is only so much winter one can handle. Especially this Southern Cali girl. On Sunday, we were getting ready to step out for meeting. I had my regular shoes(heels) in a bag, in my my hand. I will explain why:
I wear my "winter boots," (really they are just my rain boots) when I step outside. Once I get to the hall, I change into my regular shoes in the mud room (it does get muddy in there). But before I slipped into my trusty boots, I looked up at Abner- he was thinking what I was thinking- I didn't need my boots!  My boots can now be put away... somewhere in the very back of my closet.
And now when I cook dinner... there is still bright daylight shining through my windows and into my kitchen as I prepare wholesome hearty meals- most days. Wonderful, beautiful daylight, I love you! Its something small I know, but after months of days getting dark at 4p.m., it makes me happy in a BIG way.

I found the image for this post here

View From the West Side

When I look out my window I get a view of the city and of  Parc Mont Royal . This picture is a view from  the top of  Parc Mont Royal. This is only a small piece of the beautiful view  from atop of Mont Royal. I chose to post this one because it includes the the building in which we the Charles reside.  I know which window and patio is ours, on the left, 3rd down from the top. Oh yeah, and thats the Stade Olympique. If our apartment was on the other side, the east, we would have a view of the stadium and thats about it. 




*Not my picture

Your Way....take two

Santropol Sandwich. Delicioso.

I REALLY do want for you to send in those special recipes.( *scratches her head thinking.) What to do to get them? A friendly reminder :). Plus I will throw in a "my way" (and the Santropol's way). I now eat my sandwiches by skipping my  usual  honey mustered, I now like to spread some cream cheese. Thats right, and that takes care of the spread and the CHEESE!  I got the idea from Santropol, a resaurant here in Montreal that specializes in (creative) sandwiches. I say you try it and think of me- and the restaurant where I got the inspiration from. I will also include my dads way of eating his Caldo de Pollo, some of you may already now this. He actually slices up a banana and dumps it right into his savory bowl of chicken soup/stew. I know, you've heard of adding it to cold cereal..but soup?!  I like to do it too, just like my daddy, and that reminds me of him. 

Please, share with me "your way", send it to me via email, write it in the comments below this post, call me with it, something. 

Did I say PLEASE?

:)

Oh and when I later post about these recipes that you share with me; I wont say who they are from if you don't want me to. Or, If you prefer  I not include it in my posts, that too is okay. Just let me know.

Sandra