December 6, 2019

around here

Claudia according to my phone, around here Asheville, family, friends, home, life, Winter 2 Comments

december

can you believe it?

we are so close to the end of twenty nineteen and the beginning of twenty twenty

twenty twenty

it seemed like a date that was so futuristic and so far to reach and now here we are

december has become a bit of a crazy month for us since Lily joined the nutcracker with her ballet school a few years ago

extra ballet classes (even on some weekends), nutcracker itself (two performances the week before christmas) and for the second year in a row, she will be participating in the big crafty (this saturday and sunday)

we are busy, busy, busy in december and before we know it, we are in west virginia and it is christmas

although i am always in awe (and complaining) of how quickly time goes by these days, once november comes, i always want to just fast forward to january when everything feels calm once again

everything just feels so overwhelming this time of year

maybe that’s another reason why i love summer so much

happy friday friends!

we spent thanksgiving cooking. just the three of us for the most part. it was great

how we spent black friday

Lily made a delicious mixed berry cobbler mostly all on her own and it was the best i have ever had

she flew in on thanksgiving night and for that we were all thankful. it had been a while

the best mirror is an old friend. twenty eight years and going

a beautiful sunday out and about in town

i was sick and spent a lot of time at home this week. there were rewards though. sunrise

sunset

dog walks

flowers help. always

so does hot oatmeal

post homework, pre ballet

November 12, 2019

around here

Claudia according to my phone, around here Asheville, autumn, birthday, fall, family, life 2 Comments

i’m currently sitting at our dining room table, drinking some hot tea, looking out the window while Lily plays with the neighborhood girls at a neighbor’s house

it’s a school day and she would normally be at school at this hour but what started out as a delayed opening, turned into a full on snow day from school today

mind you, there is no snow on the ground and when it was snowing, it was very light

this will be our fourth winter here and their call on snow days still blows my mind

i don’t understand and i probably never will

anyway, i decided since i never posted around here last week and pictures keep piling up on my folder, i’d share a post of very recent happenings

hope you are all enjoying this day

snow or not

this snowy morning (that’s a sarcastic joke)

at least she got to sleep in until almost 9am

yesterday at ballet

Lily turned ten and we have had the most time celebrating her

owning ten on the morning of turning ten

surprised her with a visit to the nail salon after school. her first time getting her nails professionally done. my fourth

we took her to her favorite restaurant where she had her traditional birthday dinner

we stayed with friends in belmont friday-sunday and went to the renaissance festival on saturday

tired and sleeping kitties from a super fun weekend

our camellia bush is loaded with buds and it makes me so happy

fall has fallen

beginning of fourth grade school picture when she was nine. because she is ten now

November 1, 2019

around here. halloween

Claudia according to my phone, around here Asheville, autumn, fall, family, friends, Halloween, life 2 Comments

this year halloween was celebrated for a week

it started last friday when Lily got dressed up to go to her halloween lock in at her gymnastics

then on saturday we had our neighborhood halloween party

and finally yesterday on the rainiest and coldest day of the season we finally went trick or treating on actual halloween

phew!

all fun but, dare i say that i am a little halloweened out???

happy friday and happy november friends

it is currently thirty degrees

temperatures have really dropped and will continue doing so for the weekend

we are staying in!

all dressed up for her halloween lock in

getting ready for our neighborhood halloween party

some of the neighborhood

with her bestie since first grade all ready to go trick or treating on halloween

October 25, 2019

around here

Claudia according to my phone, around here Asheville, autumn, fall, family, home 4 Comments

and just like that the end of october and halloween are here

this saturday we have our neighborhood halloween party and it feels like it was talked about forever and now here it is

i know i have said this before but i really do feel like this time of year goes by way too fast

there just seems to be one thing after another and before i know it, it’s a whole new year

anyway, we had ourselves a pretty easy week keeping busy with our regular every day routine

William has actually been in nyc since wednesday morning so it’s been just Lilian and i

happy friday friends!

autumn is absolutely glorious this year. outside

and inside

a selfie

all the portuguese memories that sit on our kitchen window sill

and in my phone

our kitchen is by far the most used room in our home

weekends are for sleeping in

weekends are also for finding new delicious places to eat at

i painted eight faces

Katya was already sent to her new home in seattle washington

and Bella was sent to her new home in st. paul minnesota

hat weather

leaf love

rebel girl

October 11, 2019

around here

Claudia according to my phone, around here Asheville, autumn, fall, family, life, My Art 2 Comments

this week we were all a little off trying to fight whatever little cold was trying to get us

we were all a little slower, a little achy and a little sniffly

but, we pushed on through and kept going with our regular routine

looking forward to the weekend so we can just take it easy and get some extra sleep

happy friday friends!

last friday’s happy hour with my favorite girl

our hibiscus keep on blooming and it always makes me so happy

obsessed with being a contortionist

we took Lily to the circus and not only did she dress the part but she found her second family

i took my things to the sunday market and sold a bunch of stuff

i also brought home a new pitcher (it was free)

orange season

panama city beach memories. so good!

miami dog who always finds the sunny spots

i started painting with acrylics this week. felt so freeing!

new stamp and blockprint by Lily. she’s slowly getting ready for the big crafty fair in december

September 27, 2019

around here

Claudia according to my phone, around here adventure, autumn, fall, family, lake placid, travel, traveling, wedding 2 Comments

last saturday morning William drove Lily and i to the greenville airport (1 hour away) where we got on a plane to d.c. and then on another to burlington vermont

once at the burlington airport, we picked up our rental car and got on the road for a two hour drive to lake placid new york where my goddaughter got married on sunday

half way through the drive, the gps took us straight to a ferry boat where we got on with the rental car

it was a twenty five minute ride on the water with the most amazing views and the nicest road trip surprise Lily and i have ever had

between all the leaves already changing up there and the ferry ride there and back, it was a beautiful and unexpected experience

a quick trip (back monday) but a super fun and memorable one

happy weekend friends!

although i am excited for fall, i hope these beauties continue to bloom

early fall morning light in a favorite corner

panama city beach memories. the seagull is my spirit animal

all the pretty veggies for making minestrone

that fourth grade homework life

that rainbow life

girls trip!

lake placid ny. not only was my goddaughter’s wedding beautiful but so was lake placid. we got to have a look at early fall since everything there is already changing

rehearsal dinner ready

wedding ready

so happy for my goddaughter!

wednesday afternoons with her bestie. post school and homework, pre gymnastics

September 11, 2019

around here

Claudia according to my phone, around here Asheville, family, friends, home, summer 2 Comments

i always think i keep up with what’s around here and then i look to see when the last post was and… well, it’s been a while

i still have so many summer break pictures to share

monument valley, grand canyon, sedona, vegas, panama city beach….

but as much as i’d like to stay in vacation mode, life just keeps moving forward

these days faster than ever before

at the end of this month summer will be over and it will officially be fall

i enjoy fall

but i dread what comes after it

it will also be four years since we moved from miami to asheville

four years!

it’s hard for me to believe it’s been that long

i still miss our miami life in the red house with the pool and our dear friends near

perhaps i don’t miss miami as much as i miss us in miami

and regardless of how good life is here, how great the house we live in is (we have paid our price) and how many friends we have, i still feel landlocked, like i don’t belong and want to head towards the ocean just about daily

asheville makes me feel the loneliest i have ever felt

it’s a feeling i can’t seem to shake off

even after four years

thanks for listening friends

hope you are all having a good week so far

flowers, flowers and more flowers. i don’t think i could (or would want to) live in a world without flowers. which makes winter harder than it already is

our neighborhood divas the day before starting school

first day of fourth grade

second day of fourth grade

santa fe memories

sunrises

and sunsets

he turned forty two

last summer in spain with my family memories

lazy weekend mornings

and not so lazy weekend mornings

back to lots of home cooked meals

ropa vieja

tuna nicoise

taco torte

panama city beach memories

homework

besties since kindergarten now in fourth grade

Lily is back to art class after school on tuesdays

green errands

i’ve been painting lots of dresses

billie eilish everything

pre school dog hangs

and after school dog hangs

a favorite green corner

a car selfie

post dinner family walks

a day at lake jocassee

August 13, 2019

bandelier national monument

Claudia everyday life adventure, bandelier national monument, family, friends, new mexico, summer, summer break, travel, traveling 4 Comments

i am writing this post from a couch in panama city beach overlooking the ocean

Lily and i have been here for almost a week (sadly today is our last full day here)

being on the beach has been the best soul filling way to end this summer break

we miss William and wish he was here but understand that he doesn’t care for the beach the way we do

that said, we are thankful for the opportunity to be here

it’s after 9am and Lily is still sleeping

it has been that kind of summer but it will soon (too soon) be over when she starts 4th grade next monday

we have had a wonderful summer

two weeks at home, one week in the mountains of west virginia, two weeks in the desert of new mexico, arizona, utah and nevada, two weeks at home and one week at the beach

a little bit of everything

beach was a last minute add on but a must

for me it is not summer without beach time (it’s just the way i was raised. beach=summer)

while in santa fe, we drove out to see bandelier national monument

the 33,677 acre monument preserves the homes and territory of the ancestral puebloans of a later era in the southwest

most of the pueblo structures date to two eras, dating between 1150 and 1600ad

being there was a surreal experience to say the least and a once in a lifetime experience we will forever remember

if you would like to read more about it, please do so here

August 2, 2019

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Claudia according to my phone, everyday life family, friends, life, santa fe, summer, summer break, travel, traveling, vacation 2 Comments

this year for our family summer vacation instead of heading towards europe or the ocean, we headed west towards the desert

a little out of character for this ocean girl but for some reason, those desert vibes were calling me

and i am so glad they did

santa fe is filled with so much beauty!

i loved the architecture, all the details around it, the art, the colors, the food, the weather…. eighty five during the day, no humidity and cool nights

so many things to do in town and so much to do out of town too

hot springs, hikes in beautiful national parks, all under a gigantic blue sky!

and the best part?

our miami friends got to come meet us and we got to spend some much needed time together and as a family got to experience something new

it was a week filled with santa fe memories i will forever cherish

happy friday friends!

ps- i took a lot of pictures with my phone. this is a short instagram summary of our trip. we also went to the georgia o’keeffe museum and to Taos. we tried going to the georgia o’keeffe house/studio however tickets were sold out for the whole week we were there. next time!

our airbnb was pretty awesome

after dropping our bags off we quickly went out and stocked up the house with all sorts of fresh goodies

coffee mornings in santa fe

shopping on canyon rd

there are beautiful details everywhere you look in santa fe and i fell in love with every blue door i saw

fell in love with all the windows too

and all the details….

there were many matching outfits

celebratory times for being all together again

many delicious meals

a trip to the rio grange gorge

many outings around town

a trip to bandelier national monument

jemez hot springs

laundry down time at home

a night of amazing flamenco at el farol

and meow wolf

my santa fe souvenirs home in asheville. so many fun things to see and buy there!

July 24, 2019

west virginia

Claudia according to my phone, everyday life family, life, summer, summer break, West Virginia 4 Comments

hello, hello, hello!!!

you may have noticed that it has been very quiet around here

we just returned from a two week trip out west and i didn’t take my laptop with me (or either one of my cameras. shocker!)

anyway, we are slowly adjusting to our regular home life and the eastern time zone

i have tons of phone pictures to share and i hope that i actually get to because i’ve been pretty bad at that (i never finished sharing our trip to spain last summer….)

prior to heading out west, we had the most wonderful week with family in west virginia

it was the perfect getaway to start us on our summer vacation mode

hope you are having a great week and a great summer so far!