Some kind of Caprese sandwich

You guys all must know by now that I'm a terrible cook. I always mention it to people so they are aware before they taste something I make. I'm trying to master the culinary arts by experimenting. Today I made some kind of Caprese Grilled Sandwich with a terrible technique but I think that it worked at the end. 



My "Caprese strange but tasted good" sandwich.



First I worked the tomatoes: Diced them and mixed them with olive oil, white vinegar, onions, salt, basil, oregano and a little bit of garlic. Then, (this is probably not the right way) I used a two slice toaster to give the bread a little bit of color and make it crunchy.  Next put in the sandwich the slices of mozzarella cheese (I only had Gouda this time), the tomatoes and a lot of basil. Put in the oven or in the microwave for a couple of seconds to melt the cheese. And enjoy... It actually tastes good, and I made it up!

Post 100!

We have finally arrived to post #100! In commemoration we made a list of the top posts of "This is our life blog" according to the statistics. If you missed any of these posts check them out. We hope you enjoy them. 

A little Christmas craft. My handsome model. We're back. A hat for Ramon.  Welcome piano. All this JUNK mail! The paper plate...Not bowl. Quicker than I thought. Artichoke-Parmesan dip. Today's...branch. Another post about flowers. Cooking with melodies. Time for bed. Ella's bedroom. Make an inspiration board. Take note. Creative solutions. The enduring scrapbook papers. Outdoor family time. Recliner versus sofa. Saying goodbye to the apartment. Create yourself a logo. Say thank you with a note. Some stay, some go. So...  Clustering art.   The strawberry ice cream room.

Affordable fabric

Since I have decided to learn how to make new things, including how to sew, I wanted to make my own bedroom curtains. We went to the craft store and found this fabric, it was only $10 dollars for five yards. How cool is that?!

The paper plate... Not bowl

Some posts ago we talked about all the junk mail we receive every day and how we wanted to give it a new use. I had PLANNED to make a bowl out of the junk mail but since this is an authentic blog I'll be honest and tell you that I failed. It was taking a lot of time, work and glue for a bowl that was not coming out like I wanted.

My idea was to make a bowl like this one I saw at Barnes and Noble but it wasn't working. I ended up making a small plate. I'll give it some use anyways and will put my earrings and hair paraphernalia in it.

My handsome model

The hat is finished and I think it looks pretty good, although it doesn't have the length I thought it would, we ended up loving it as it is. I guess I'll have to follow knitting patterns for the next time. Anyways, the thing I love the most about this post is not the hat but my lovely husband/model, Ramon.

Ramon's hat.

I went crazy and posted a bunch of pictures of Ramon, I couldn't help it, he he! Love that guy!

Welcome piano

How could a pianist live without a piano? Well... for almost three years Ramon had survived without having an actual piano in the house and finally we got the opportunity to buy a good one in an affordable price. Welcome to your new home piano!

He is definitely a big piece in our small house.

A hat for Ramon

I am going through a crochet fever and find myself knitting most of my spare time. Right now I'm making another hat, this one for Ramon who seriously asked me to make one for him, seems that he liked the way the first one came out.

We selected together this kind of string for his beret, it has different colors that are perfect for a guy's hat.

All this JUNK mail!

We get a pile of useless papers in the mail that frankly we have no interest in. It seems that the previous owners of the house were subscribed to a lot of offers, catalogs, ads and fliers. For us is a waste since most of our mail goes directly to the recycling bin. Every time I go through the mail it hurts me to see all of this ink and paper that has been wasted.  It also seems a little unfair to me having to pay for the temporary termination of an "environmental damage", so I'm keeping my junk mail and will try make the most out of it. Nowadays there are many artists using waste as their art materials and I will try to follow their example an begin by making a bowl for my yarns.

The hat

Yesterday I promised posting the hat I was making and here it is. It didn't come out exactly like I wanted but I think is not bad for my first attempt in knitting.

I'm really excited for learning how to make accessories in crochet and I already have an order: Ramon asked me to make a hat for him with one condition, he has to choose the color of the string... no problem!

Crochet...ing?

Can you believe these are my hands knitting. That's right, I have been learning how to Crochet, something I never thought possible but I saw my mother in law knitting a sweater for Ella and that kind of started my engine. I thought I could make accessories I love, things like scarves and hats. Right now I'm making a hat and is almost finished. I will definitely show you the results as soon as I'm done.

My first test. The white hat. (Photo courtesy of my little helper).

At first it was a little hard for me I was really insecure about it and thought I couldn't do it, but then I got the "hook of it"... Got it? The hook of it! Anyways, stay tuned to see how that hat turns out.

We're back

We had been quite busy these days but now we're back! I wanted to make a visual post today but I already started writing. Here are some images of what has been happening these last days.

We have been spending great family time playing board games and enjoying our Christmas presents. Ella received many great gifts, among them a piano and a dream catcher. My Santa, who is actually Ramon, got me for Christmas our initials in aluminium (R. E. C). I just love them! I also did a deep cleaning in the house and prepared everything for our new year's eve guests. Got some nice flowers and prepared some of the meals for that night. We had a great dinner with friends and family.

Three peacock feathers

Yesterday we went to one of Florida's theme parks, like most children Ella loves parks and we got some free tickets so we had to go! In one of the shops I spotted beautiful peacock feathers and they were 99 cents each so I bought three, they're beautiful, but most importantly, they bring me back a very special memory. 

When I was little my mom used to have a peacock feather in her room and I always wanted to touch it, look at it or play with it. I don't know why it called my attention so much but for me it was a wonder. I guess I was surprised that such a peculiar feather could come from a peacock. Then I saw the peacocks extending their plumage and it was a much more peculiar rather beautiful thing to see. 

Get creative with your Christmas postards

Is so much better and more meaningful to create your own and original postcards. People know you took the time to make it and that makes it more special. Even better when they're personalized. 

Bill and mom have made these cards for friends and family, they're great!!! I just received mine in the mail today. They will receive one from us too but I didn't want to post it since they are readers of our blog and we wanted to surprise them.  

They recreated the famous painting "American Gothic". They improvised their costume and according to mom it was very quick and easy and a very fun thing to do too. 

Bill, mom, thanks again for the card!!!!!

A little Christmas craft

Yesterday Ella and I made these little Christmas tree ornaments to give to her teachers, she also made one for Abu (my mom). It was a very easy craft, and the best of all is that the main materials we used were a cereal box, a used red gift bag and some old cotton balls. No new materials and a very easy craft to hang on the Christmas tree.

Getting ready for guests

We are going to be visited by three Christmas ghost... Jejeje. Actually we are going to be visited by one of my long time friends and her husband and daughter (who is a charming little girl). They are coming to spend New Years Eve with us so I want them to feel at home and comfortable. I guess now is the time to do around the house some things I've procrastinated for some reason. I made a list of some of these things and others I have to do in order to get ready for that day.

For me is important that when my out of town dear guests arrive I already have: A clean house, food in the refrigerator, extra toiletries, and a plan of how I will be entertaining them, nothing fancy but surely all the conditions to have a good time together.