May 17, 2019

a saturday night in miami with good friends and Sheila Hicks

Claudia everyday life friends, Miami, My Art, Sheila Hicks, spring break, vacation 1 Comment

one of the things i have always loved about miami is the art

it is everywhere

in the architecture, painted on large walls free for everyone to see, in so many art galleries and museums….

miami is art

after a day at the pool with the girls, i dropped them off at Savannah’s house for a sleepover and had a big girls night out in southbeach

it started with the opening of Sheila Hicks at the bass museum and it ended with a walk down memory lane through the hotels on collins avenue where i used to hang out back in the day

i miss those kind of miami nights

i saw more art and color in one day/night in miami than i have living here in asheville for the past almost four years

thus the reason why my soul aches living here in these mountains

especially in the winter time

happy friday friends!

Ugo Rondinone, miami mountain. entering the bass. i want to go see these in the nevada desert

Sheila Hicks. she blew my mind. and to make it all even better, she was present at her opening

my good friend Jane and i

a wonderful exhibit by the Haas brothers

all beaded

with my friend and ex co-worker Jocey at the shoreclub hotel where i worked at a high-end retail store for six years

at one of my favorite hotels, the national where we had a drink, took in some live music and the color changing pools

May 10, 2019

miami. spring break twenty nineteen. part two

Claudia everyday life friends, life, Miami, pool, spring break, vacation 0 Comments

our first morning at our airbnb, was spent at the pool with Savannah

it felt like old times

it felt organic and how things should be

me with the girls in water

it is how i think of Lily with her miami bff

i always think of them in water

after some much needed pool time and vitamin d, we went and grabbed lunch at a very familiar place to us

also surrounded by water

which also felt organic and what the norm should be

because being surrounded by water is what feels organic and normal to me

no matter how long i live in these mountains for, not a day goes by when i don’t long for that to be the norm again

happy friday and happy mother’s day to you mamas!!!!

views i miss waking up to

lunch at our usual with amazing views

April 25, 2019

miami. spring break twenty nineteen. part one

Claudia everyday life Beach, friends, life, Miami, ocean, spring break, vacation 4 Comments

two weeks ago (already?) Lily and i got in the car at 7am and drove 12.5 hours straight from asheville to miami where we arrived at 7:30pm

even though the car radio/gps system did not work and only my phone was used, even though Lily’s i-pad did not work the whole entire drive, we are badass road warriors who made the trip in one day by only making three quick stops

because long car trips are something we have done with Lily since she was one month old, she has always been a great car rider

that said, as she has gotten older, she just keeps getting better and better and road trips with her just keep getting more and more fun

so yes, we arrived in miami at 7:30pm on thursday two weeks ago and eighty degree weather and car windows down never felt so good

neither did that sweet miami air

our airbnb was not booked until the following day so we drove to surfside where we spent the night with dear friends

we couldn’t have asked for a better welcome and a better way to start our spring break

ps- not pictured: our trip to publix after we left our friends’ home, checking into our airbnb and a much anticipated reunion between Lily and her miami bff Savannah as well as friday happy hour in our old hood

welcome to miami

i met these two lovely people in 2002 when i interviewed with Min for a sales position at a high end jewelry store. she quickly not only became my manager but a good friend. their daughter was the same age as Lily is now when we met. 15 years of friendship later, their daughter is now 26

friday morning. i miss waking up to a miami jungle

breakfast

their daughter Lulu is a wonderful artist. she and Lily love doodling together

i have a thing with window sills….

the beach! the beach! the beach! omg it had been so long…. too long

post beach outdoor shower

hi

March 1, 2019

rebel girl. nine so far

Claudia everyday life 2 Comments

from the age seven to eight she grew almost four inches

from the age eight to nine she grew just a little over three inches

in our kitchen the other day she told me that she hates being a kid and that she can’t wait to be a teenager

we feel differently about this because i can certainly wait for her to be a teen

although, i have to tell you, she already very much acts like a teen these days

there is attitude

and mood swings

her favorite color is black

she hates the color pink

her body is changing and we talked all about its future changes with her pediatrician at her check up this year (period included although Lily has known about it for quite some years now)

her style is very much her own style and she knows quite well how she sees herself and how she wants to put herself out there to the world

like she always has

since she was very little actually

yet, despite all of these pre-teen growing signs, she still climbs into my lap every morning after she eats her breakfast and asks for snuggle cuddles in her bed before going to sleep at night

and all i can do is be there for her and try to hold onto every moment because time really does go by too fast

happy friday friends

January 29, 2019

christmas. twenty eighteen

Claudia everyday life Christmas, family, Lily, West Virginia, Winter 4 Comments

for some reason christmas feels like forever ago already

to tell you the truth, i had forgotten all about these pictures and the fact that i hadn’t written about it yet

Lily began her christmas break from school on wednesday the 19th and she and William drove straight to west virginia to go spend some days with family

because i was still working full time, i was originally supposed to be working during the holidays so they were to return on the 23rd and we were going to have a quiet family christmas at home here in asheville

however, my work schedule changed (i am no longer working full time) and because they were having such an amazing time with family in west virginia, i ended up driving there myself on the day they were supposed to leave

it must have been around november when Lily told us that she no longer believed in santa because all of her good girlfriends in school had told her he was not real

that she knew it was William and i who were the real santa

fair enough. she found us out

we told her that although papa and i help santa, his magic and the magic of christmas is indeed real

on christmas eve, surrounded by family, snow falling and with her smaller cousins believing and excited for santa, her views changed

out of the blue she felt excited about the magic of santa and just like all the previous years she could not wait to get home to her grandparents house, write santa a note and leave milk and cookies for him and carrots for the reindeer

i am not going to lie, it felt good to have her believe once again

it made me feel like she is still the child i see in her despite how big she seems these days

although i was less invested in celebrating the holidays this year, we had ourselves a magical white christmas in west virginia surrounded by family

the way we always have

January 4, 2019

feijoada

Claudia everyday life Asheville, feijoada, food, home, Winter 2 Comments

feijoada is something i grew up with as a kid

what is feijoada?

well, it’s bean stew basically

feijao means bean in portuguese

there are many different ways to make feijoada

with all sorts of meat, sausage…. my favorite way is to keep it loaded with veggies

the last time Drea and her family came to visit us, i cooked it as meal for us and she has been begging me to do a post with the recipe since then

so, this one is for you Drea

happy weekend friends!