Les bons temps sont tuer me

Before reading this post Click Here! You need to be in the right frame of mind...

Watching this video  gives me a sense of nostalgia, not because I surf on any sort of regular basis (in fact not at all in about 4-5 years, and I was about as good then as I am now...not so great), but because the music and water remind me of all of the fun I've had and people I've had it with! Nostalgia can make you feel a bit sad at times *big sigh*; until that is, you sit back and enjoy the precise moment in which you find yourself. As I reflect on this week I can honestly say I am truly blessed...

...We have meandered  the backwaters of Lover's Key with my parents...

...Ventured to Plant City to make Strawberry Pie with  Hinton Farms strawberries...

...Enjoyed the days getting longer by grilling out in the evening...

...and explored Sanibel Island with our new friends Val and Luke!

...Keep the good times coming, because they haven't killed me yet!

L'art d'inspiration

I recently read this article about a woman who physically attacked a painting of one of my favorite (and apparently quite controversial) artists, Paul Gauguin. I get that the manifestations of his inspiration are/were potentially offensive, but you cannot deny that Paul Gauguin was a talented man...however flawed he may have been. I look past what some may call depraved focal points in the man's art, rather I admire the beauty and color he used. He let the setting in which he was living inspire him (well once in Tahiti)...shouldn't we all be doing that?

Here are a few things that have been inspiring me this week:

Pan de Jamon- My husband, Jorge is originally from Venezuela. Not that we often channel his roots there, but it does make for a good opportunity to make some delicious food!

Fort Myers Downtown & River District Farmers' Market- The weather is Southwest Florida is beautiful 90% of "thyme" so it is easy to take a 10 minute trip downtown with Hobie and explore the Farmers' Market, which is set on a riverfront park. Could it be more picturesque?

Clean Closets- Mis en place Monday rolled over into Tuesday and Wednesday as well, but I couldn't be happier to have sifted through our belongings and make some decisions about my wardrobe!

Hobie's "just woke up" face-

Lapins et Carottes, Hobie et les crêpes

It's that time of year when everything is bright and fresh! For many of us it breathes new life into our cliche New Year's Resolutions of "losing a few pounds" or "getting healthier", after all if you live in South Florida bikini season has been here for quite some time. If you're anything like me...well, even if you're not like me you more than likely enjoy the occasional pancake. The only problem with the pancake is after you've stuffed yourself with 3 or 4 (or 10 or 12) you feel bloated and uncomfortable, not to mention the fact you're hungry again in 45 minutes. As a mother I am trying to instill good eating habits in Hobie (the kid eats anything so it's not hard). I don't want him to develop a habit of filling up on simple carbs that will just disappear (or worse that won't), but at the same time I want him (and me) to enjoy foods like pancakes! So I have come up with a solution-someone else probably already thought of this and I just happened on it out of desperation- instead of making pancakes out of refined ingredients, why not make them out of whole foods?!

Here's the story- Hobie et les crêpes

Getting towards the end of the week also means getting low on groceries for the Guevara family. One day this week I was rummaging through the lack of breakfast options for the hungry monster in the high chair...I saw celery, spinach, endive (which yuck by the way), potatoes and a whole slew of other useless items. Then I opened what I thought would be an empty produce drawer and there they were bright and beautiful, the answer the Hungry Monster had been waiting for...carrots! I thought to myself,"Ok, I can steam these, cut them up and add them to oatmeal?" Or why not get fancy and blend them together with the oatmeal, throw 'em on the griddle and whammy pancakes?! Honestly it couldn't have worked out better! Hobie loved everything about them and the best part was that he could practice eating finger foods!

Lapins et Carottes-

Still inspired from my morning victory I decided to carry out the carrot theme for the rest of the day and so was born the bunny I made for Hobie.  Constructed from a Martha Stewart pattern and brought to life with old suiting fabric and embroidery floss, this simple bunny (whom I have dubbed Hobs) adds a lovely hand crafted touch to mass produced mania that is Hobie's toy collection!