Miguelina

Home Food

This post is for my neighbor Karen, who tagged me for this meme, which was started by a local company (makers of the best marshmallows in the universe) to publicize a good cause. I also dedicate it to Neil, because he clearly needs help ordering at his neighborhood Dominican diner.

I'm pregnant, so when I was asked to tell you about the foods that remind me of home I couldn't stop at one meal. Nooo, I have to tell you about a what a perfectly comfort food DAY would look for me. Because this baby is hungry.

BREAKFAST

Pan de agua (no need to toast it) with butter and honey. Chase it down with a glass of morir soñando (literally: To die dreaming. What a way to start your day!)

MID-MORNING

Cafecito de greca - I need my coffee.

LUNCH

Arroz con habichuelas and caramelized plantains. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that this was my childhood lunch 80% of the time. We'd usually have some leftover Dominican cake for dessert. (So sweet!) More cafecito.

AFTERNOON SNACK

Batido de lechoza with some Yaniqueues.

DINNER

Mangù with my mom's onion and tomato sofrito on top. Dessert would be dulce frio.

Woah. That's a lot of food for one day. I guess it's a good thing I live in a place where the produce guys don't know what a ripe plantains is. (No, it's not a banana.)

honest food

I like to eat. I like food. I like it a lot.

But I like Food. As in real food that is made from edible ingredients - things that will probably spoil eventually and will need to be cooked. Simple ingredients taste best to me.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not a nutrition expert or a strict health nut. I can eat a Big Mac. I'd rather have almost anything else, but I don't think an occasional mass-produced burger will kill me. I can appreciate a Twinkie for what it is - not exactly food, but a food product that is darn tasty in its own way. 

You know what I really like about Twinkies? A Twinkie doesn't claim  to be food, or at least nutritious food. 

(Actually, I don't eat Twinkies. I think they're pretty bland. But I love Mallomars.)

What I think is unforgivable is when fake food pretends to be nutritious. Did you know that the first ingredient in a Strawberry Nutrigrain bar is high fructose corn syrup? It's also the ninth ingredient. This, in a product that calls itself a "nutri" - "grain" bar.

That pisses me off almost as much as those "fruit juices" and "milks" you get in vending machines - have you ever read the labels? Yep, high fructose corn syrup is invariably the second ingredient -- after water.

Why do these food companies even pretend they're selling food? Why not inject corn-derived sweeteners straight into our veins?

It's past the point of ridiculousness.

The Truth

I own an iPhone. I own a Macbook. I also have an iMac g5 sitting on my desk, it's very pretty. If I get bored of my computers, I can always borrow my husband's Thinkpad. He also has a Blackberry Curve I use from time to time.

But all I really want is an old-fashioned manual typewriter.

Rockstar

We're back from our Christmas vacation in Miami - as evidenced by the many pictures of pink flamingos and festive decorations on this post.

(These work better when it's cold outside - in Florida, the candy just sliiiides down.)

It doesn't matter how many times I've driven on the Rickenbacker, I always do a little gasp on the approach to Miami Beach and fall in love with my hometown when we're headed back home all salty and toasted amidst the palm trees swaying in the warm December breeze:

My mom's Christmas tree:

I can guarantee that I will NEVER have a snowman on my tree - because I have a foot of snow outside my door AT THIS VERY MINUTE and you can't pay me to make one. I guess you always want what you can't have!

Of course, there was more to our vacation than Nochebuena and the beach. I also got to hang out with fellow latin superstar Diego Marquéz:

This being Miami, Diego was salsa dancing with his handler as I brought the kids over. My son wanted nothing to do with this culturally accurate Diego. I think he prefers the Nick Jr. version.

All in all, a wholesome family vacation.

And then there was Rock Band.

My brother and SIL are known for their Rock Band parties. They’ve told us about how they and their friends dress up in their best rock star finery and all about the “Battle of the Bands” competitions they wage. Competitions over a VIDEO GAME. That’s, like, a step beneath a Star Trek convention, except that there’s beer involved.

We not-so-secretly laughed at their geekiness. I mean - a video game party? COME ON.

But then they invited us over to see what all the excitement was about. We picked up some Miller Beer (not Miller Genuine Draft, mind you - we picked up “the champagne of beers” otherwise known as “the cheap stuff“) and showed up at their house. What we found was my brother tapping away at a plastic drum set-looking thing, a plastic guitar at his feet and a mike on the couch.

He was, in his words, ”warming up.“ HA HA HA.

We shyly watched him and them more people arrived. And they brought strobe lights, and a bass guitar, a mic stand, and a smoke machine that was synchronized to the music. Let me repeat that - the strobe lights AND the smoke machine machine were synchronized to the music. And the music was loud. And my brother’s TV is like 100 inches big. And I drank some Miller beer. And some orange juice. Spiked with Malibu.

I think don’t need to tell you what happened next:

(That's me in the scarf. You know, the one taking the lyrics to "American Woman" a little bit too seriously.)

(But, guess who got a 96% score? THAT'S RIGHT.)

Rock on, man.

Let me just tell you this: If you are Of A Certain Age you will find yourself wailing ”Living on a Prayer“ and ”You Oughta Know“ and the Rock Star software will tell you that you are awesome, so you will want to sing ”Creep“ and ”Buddy Holly“ and OMG THEY HAVE JOURNEY AND JIMMY BUFFET! and you will have to be forcibly removed from the microphone.

Ahem.

Which is fine, because then you will play the guitar on Bon Jovi’s ”Dead or Alive“ and you will believe that you’re Ricky Sambora. And you will declare to the world that you ARE A ROCKSTAR.

Belt tightening: It's all relative

You're probably aware of the economic gloom gripping the world - unless, of course, you're not. It seems that no one is immune, not even Vogue, my beloved purveyor of guilt-free frivolity. Whenever I feel guilty for buying something for myself, all I have to do is pick up the latest issue and tell myself, "At least I didn't spend $900 on flip-flops," and go on with my life.

This month's issue has a helpful piece called "The Economists" where their editors show us that "being chic without breaking the bank is, indeed, possible." I was intrigued (how could I not be?) so I took a look at it. DUDE. Do you know what they call "budget" shopping? A $500 per item limit. That means that you could spend $495 on sunglasses and $350 on flowers and $310 on a cuff bracelet and $475 on (gorgeous) green flats and they'd still consider it "budget shopping."

I love you Vogue, I really do. But don't jump on the frugal bandwagon when you don't have a clue. I'll stick to looking at your pretty pictures for inspiration and go elsewhere for budgeting advice, thankyouverymuch.

The video below gives you a taste of what they're talking about. It's unintentionally hilarious.

At the other end of the spectrum is Target. I'll confess, I'm not a big fan of Target (too much stuff and way too many people in one place.) But it was hard to miss the 5-piece luggage set on sale for $49 on the cover of their Sunday circular:

$49! What a deal! Too bad you'd have to be an idiot to travel with so much luggage these days. Don't you have to pay a check-in fee of $15 per bag - each way? Better spend your $49 towards one decent carry-on. Because - surprise! This set is nothing but junk.

The Perfect Red

Tuesday mornings are the one day a week I have a sitter - i.e. the only mid-week day I can get some work done. Some days I'm so spent I just greet her in my PJs, hand over the kids and let them fend for themselves as I collapse back into bed and pay an exorbitant hourly rate so I can get some sleep.

And then there are days like today, when I greet her at door ready to leave the house in a black 50's skirt and B&W striped tee (my husband said I look like a cross-dressing mime - I do not!); days when I leave the contacts in the case and wear my nerd glasses (-6.5 right eye, -5.75 left eye - yes I'm blind) and I head out the door to get my first pedicure of the year.

Is there anything more decadent?

Probably. But I have small kids, and at this stage in my life it's about as good as it gets.

I always spend WAY too much time reading the names of the OPI and ESSIE bottles at the nail salon - tempted by new colors and funny names like "Argenteeni Pinkiny," "High Maintenance," and "My Chihuahua Bites!" But I always go with my favorite color, a red so sexy and classic and candy perfect that today a stranger at the coffee shop where I'm working asked me for the name of the color.

Because we're friends, I'll tell you guys too: My go-to fail-safe pedicure color is Opi's Chick Flick Cherry (see it on another woman's toes here because I don't have a camera with me.) Trust me, it'll look awesome on you.

Tell me, what's your favorite polish? Maybe I'll try it next time I get a pedicure...

Florimania

It all started with the tulip bulbs we planted last October:

When I got the coupon offering $25 worth of free bulbs, I thought "why not?", and sent in an order for the cheapest bulbs in the catalog: 50 red tulips for $24.99. As an added bonus, they said they'd throw in a few "fancy" types. They weren't kidding:

When the bulbs arrived in October I bundled up Sebastian and we planted the bulbs in front of the house. We had a fun, if frigid, afternoon digging in the dirt and promptly forgot about our tulips until they made their presence known in the earliest days of spring.

Those stiff stalks peeking through the last bits of ice and snow gave me hope that Spring would come and give us glorious days like the last few we've been enjoying round these parts.

Spring is here, and our home has surprised us with the absolute beauty of the plants in our front garden and backyard. My allergies are KILLING me, but we definitely have a "Spring Garden" and I love it.

I love flowers. I really, really do.

We moved in last summer, when all that was blooming was the huge Rhododenron in the back of the yard, and I remember how boring I thought our yard was. I envied the neighbors. So I've spent the last few days buying plants that will extend the flowering season in our little corner of the world. I'm not a natural gardener, so I've been educating myself and thinking about what I want. So far, I've planted white peonies and white hydrangeas in the hope of creating a moon garden we can enjoy while grilling dinner under the stars.

Let's see what happens come July. I'm hopeful we won't kill anything. For now, I'm enjoying reading under the intoxicating fragrance of our baby lilacs.

Spring dressing

This morning we went outside (without coats!) and saw that the tulips we planted last October are starting to push their thick green leaves from the ground. It's officially Spring (HALLE-FRACKING-LUJAH), and my thoughts have finally turned to my closet.

Why is Fall the big fashion season? I don't know about you, but I go into sartorial hibernation once the ground freezes. Yes, I know that there are beautiful scarves and boots to be worn - but in reality I end up wearing the same boots and coat everyday. With our messy winters, they end up being the practical waterproof ones. I eventually lose interest in what's underneath because knits are too hot in heated rooms and other materials are too light to wear outside.

(I know I sound like Goldilocks. Shut up.)

Also, the wearing of socks makes me grumpy. I can't feel stylish in socks.

But now that things are warming up, I'm excited to start shopping again - and the first thing my mind turns to are dresses. Easy, breezy, pretty dresses! I don't know why so many women refuse to wear dresses - I think that it is much easier to put one on in the morning and slip on some flats or sandals. Two simple steps and you're dressed for the day.

So yes, I wear dresses when its warm because I'm too lazy to bother matching pants to a shirt. And shorts? I avoid them like the plague. They're the warm-weather equivalent of socks.

I have two requirements for everyday dresses:

1. They must be machine- or hand- washable. No matter how cheap the dress, I drop it like a hot potato when I see "Dry Clean Only" on the label. (I have small children.) "Hand Washable" is acceptable only because I trust my washing machine with my delicates and it's never been a problem.

2. They must be easy to wear. If the dress requires specialized undergarments it's relegated to the "special occasion" pile.

The first place I go to for comfortable casuals is J. Crew and, as usual, they have plenty of options:

(J. Crew - where the pretty never stops.)

I'm definitely getting this beauty from Anthropologie and I'll probably wear it with flip flops to keep it from looking matronly:

It's as easy to put on as a t shirt or cowl neck sweater, but SO much better, don't you think?

But other than J. Crew and Anthropologie, it's been difficult to find machine-washable dresses for everyday wear. This is the best I've been able to find so far:

They're OK I guess, but I need something a little more exciting. Retro prints, bright colors, SOMETHING. Can you guys help? Have you found any awesome, machine-washable dresses you can wear to the grocery store?

Oh Mad Men! I think I love you!

I know that the show is already a HUGE hit, and that what I'm watching is an encore of the first season - basically microwaved leftovers - but I'm so glad I finally found this show! I love everything about it: The story lines, the flawed characters, the suspense, the cheating and melodrama.

It will come as no surprise that I also just like the way the show looks (talk about some serious glamour!):

 

I also thank my lucky stars that I'm a married woman living in 2008 and not in 1960. The End.

Rhymes with strange

Cup of Jo blogger Joanna Goddard wrote this really  fun article where she interviewed people who only wear one color. It's fascinating, really, reading their explanations for why they do this. I shook my head in amusement at some of their responses, but mostly I was impressed by the level of dedication shown by these people. For example, the "blue" woman buys Chanel and Louboutin shoes and colors them herself.

(I'm not going to lie to you, that made me cry a little.)

I fell in love with some of them ("brown" man gave two completely reasonable explanations for his color choice - It's impossible to clash when you wear brown and it doesn't show dirt) and I wanted to put the "green" lady in my pocket and take her everywhere I go. She's that cute.

Jo wanted to know what color we would wear if we had to wear only one.

"Well," I thought, "I'm nothing like these wacky artsy types! I wear whatever I like, of course!"

Then I thought about the last three things I've purchased:

It's a slippery slope.

Images: New York,JCrew, Yogitoes, BabyJogger