Outdoors

YES! We have been spending a lot of our time outdoors. The weather is at its best; the rain has finally left, leaving behind a beautiful carpet of green and flowers everywhere. Our little yard is getting spruced, the table, the chairs, the canopy ready for the long afternoons. On earth day we planted some flowers, geraniums on the balcony, bright colorful flowers by the kitchen window, and I got my long awaited sunflowers too! I get to cross # 17 from the list!


We also splurged on two lounge chairs for the garden. Now we do as the Italians do, we sunbathe every chance we have and clearly we are getting a little bit of our Californian color back. I was fading away to snow colored whiteness... winters are long around here... But Spring is here to stay, unlike last year when everybody was talking about having an early winter- or Dutch weather- when it did not stop raining for the whole month of May, and then it kept on raining for the whole month of June... Not something I want to remember.

The chairs are placed facing our gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps, which can be a bewitching scene. I am making mojitos to celebrate the weather (#38), so far I am buying the mint at the market, but come the new moon, we will be planting our herb garden (#34) to keep us stocked for a while. I only wish I had an ice dispenser in my fridge... HA! Keep on dreaming, she says!

Reading Sense and Sensibility, and wondering how things are going to work out for all involved. Listening to Macaco and loving it. Getting ready for my trip to Barcelona where I will meet with four of my childhood friends. Loving life and running.

Still Winter

Still in the midst of it. Still discovering the quiet between the quiet. Still blue.

If we are to believe the groundhog, we still have a long way to go until we enjoy Spring weather, colors and sounds. I am restless.

But I have to concede to the fact that I am enjoying some aspects of the season. I am discovering a taste for creative cooking. All that time indoors, surrounded by hungry people, with the right ingredients at hand; I am undertaking subtle risks. I am not successful every time, but I am happy most of the time. I will say this is a good recipe to fight the Winter blues.

My latest adventure was initially conceived to participate in World Nutella Day 2009. I will share my wild, calorie powered, delicious recipe with you on February 5th. The official Nutella Day.

Why don't you come and join in the fun? See you then.

I am back!

It is difficult to come back to a blog after a couple months of nothingness...
I considered the option of just letting it lie as it was and to never look back. I also thought about how liberating it would feel to not obsess over what to write every day. Yet, I still have so much to write about, and I enjoy doing so. Then what to do?
I am still thinking about change, a new format perhaps? A change of content?
All I know is that I will focus on La Cucina di Nicola and our traveling adventures on this blog, while I will start a new blog just for my creative side (not too many words, mainly images.)
We are busier this school year, and I find my free time slipping away in a blink of an eye. I need structure to make things happen, hence my new blog. It will be my virtual sketchbook, a place for my ideas to take place. Somedays it might be an interesting place to visit... For now, it is up, and I am happy.
I will be back soon with some posts about our LONG vacation.
It is good to be back.