As we're nearing the holiday countdown and making all the preparations, I'm all about making lists. I have a book with the following lists:My Christmas List My Crema de Vie Recipient List My Menu List My Grocery Shopping List My Stocking Stuffer List My Christmas Card List My Decorating List My Christmas Tag List (The to/from kind) My ...
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Marta’s Christmas Gift Guide #2 – It’s all about the image
As long and as far back as I can remember, everyone in my family has had an old school "cafetera" sitting on the stove. There might have been a few years (waaay back in the day) where my parents used a sock-thingy to make Cuban coffee. But for the most part, the stovetop cafetera has always been the must-have Cuban coffee making ...
It’s Nochebuena! And everyone’s invited. Again.
My big, fat, Cuban family consists of pretty much the same people year after year. Except for the occasional birth, marriage, or divorce, I'm still related to the same people. It's still just "us." (Sometimes "us" can get to upwards of 40 people, but that's not important right now.) We Cubans have our BIG ...
Cuban Cold Remedy: Homemade Cuban Chicken Soup (and VapoRub on your feet?)
I'm sick. And so's Eric. *cough, sniff* We've got feverish-coughing-sneezing-and-hacking colds. *hack, sniff, achoo!* A good, old-fashioned snotty-stuffy-headed cold. And there are certain things one does when one is Cuban (or happens to live with a Cuban) and has a cold. Right now I'm trying to build up my Cuban Immunity Arsenal* (*or ...
Marta’s Cuban Christmas Shopping Guide: La Cantina
I am not the type to start decorating in November for Christmas. I know many of you do. I choose not to. I am patient when it comes to the festive home decor. I wait until about a week before Christmas to start. It's my own personal preference. I think it's just that much more magical, but that's not important right now. But I have ...
Giving Thanks. A lo Cubano.
Our Thanksgiving was a simple and lovely affair where everyone pitched it to bring food and drinks and desserts. There were only 28 of us for dinner and I wanted to keep everything simple, because as you know, my house is freakishly small. (As simple as is possible when those 28 people are Cubans.) So I pulled out my favorite Fiesta dishes ...
Our Favorite Orange County Portrait Photographer and Friend
I'm starting to think that I'm the last of a dying breed who waits until it's actually December (and usually half-way through!) to start decorating my home for Christmas. I explain that in great detail here. But that doesn't mean I don't shop or do all the other preparations that make Christmas meaningful to me. It takes a ...
Teaching Generosity?
As you know if you've been reading this blog for a while, we have homeschooled our kids. I often say that one of the reasons we have chosen to homeschool is that we're not as concerned about their academics as we are concerned about their character. We have attempted to teach them kindness, thoughtfulness, hospitality, and generosity - ...
Operation Pedro Pan. It’s been 50 years and the pain is still present.
When I mention to someone that I've just met that I'm Cuban, the first thing they do is recall the only other Cuban person they've ever met. Then next thing that happens is that they ask me if I know them. Most of the time I don't, but being Cuban, we do manage to find connections in the oddest places. See this story. Just ...
It goes both ways.
The weekend is over and it's Sunday night. My sisters and I have hired a lovely Mexican gal to live in with my 97 year old mom during the week and she takes weekends off at which time we take turns hosting Luza from Friday to Sunday. Now that she's 97 it's getting more complicated to pack her up and take her for a weekend, but ...
