I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love me some Santayana Jewelry. Not gonna lie: their azabache has saved my life a time or two.And I'm not ashamed to say I also love love love! our very own Cuban icon Celia Cruz.To my everlasting delight, today Santayana Jewelers in Miami "le pusieron la tapa a'l pomo" as we like ...
Cuban-American Life
I hope you enjoy my posts about my crazy and wonderful Cuban-American life.
Post Solar Eclipse – Café La Llave Giveaway
4/22/2024: CONGRATULATIONS! We have a winner! Good job, Eva! Please contact me via email – send me your physical address so I can forward to Gaviña and they can send you your goodies – also put HEY MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG so I don’t accidentally delete your email. Buen Provecho and thanks for playing along! Editor’s Note: If Eva ...
REAL Snow: A Darby Family Adventure
Sebastian: “I really want to see REAL snow.”❄️ PomPom and Wella: “Say no more.” And we were off! So we packed up our snow gear and drove an hour and a half up to Wrightwood in the local San Gabriel Mountains and enjoyed a glorious 4 day family getaway.We rented a beautiful chalet via Air BnB and it was so worth it! The place was massive, yet ...
Dulce De Leche Cheesecake with Maria Cookie Crust
I am one of those dinosaurs that still enjoys leafing through magazines. (I know. Shut up.)Recently, Lucy and I were sitting in my living room perusing my stack of magazines with Max and Logan happily playing at our feet. Full disclosure: it was Lucy who saw an add in one of the magazines. “MOM! Maria Cookie Crust!” She declared authoritatively.I ...
Cafe La Llave Espresso Ice Cream
It's after Labor Day, which, if you're old school like me, means "put those white shoes away!" It's also supposed to be a time to ease into fall. Am I right? I'm laboring <-- see what I did there? - to bring you another entry into my "Cooking with Coffee" series. You can see the other recipes here: Espresso Coffee Cake and Espresso ...
Summer Café La Llave Basket Giveaway
UPDATE: AUGUST 2, 2023 - We have a winner! Thank you all for entering this giveaway. There will be a few more this year, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, congratulations to the winner: ****************************************************************************************** Rebekah ...
Cafe La Llave Espresso Coffee Coffee Cake
I should really start calling this series of challenges "Cooking with Coffee," but that's not important right now.Today I made a Coffee Cake, but not just any Coffee Cake. I made an Espresso Coffee Coffee Cake. What does that even mean? Well, there's brewed espresso in the batter and in the icing. It's a delicious and beautifully caffeinated ...
Hispanic Heritage Café La Llave Giveaway
UPDATE:10/24/2022 WE HAVE A WINNER!!WE'RE SO DELIGHTED THAT OUR WINNER IS LEONELLA ALVAREZ! PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH "HEY MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! IN THE SUBJECT LINE. SEND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS SO I CAN GET IT OUT TO CAFE LA LLAVE TO SEND YOUR COFFEE GOODIES OUT ...
Sweet 16
I started writing this blog 16 years ago and I'm all about celebrating this milestone. It's my Sweet Sixteen, people! And is there anything sweeter than celebrating with Cuban pastries? When I started writing this blog, I wanted to keep a diary of sorts, slightly like a journal, a place where I could document my family’s comings and goings. I ...
To Live Would Be An Awfully Big Adventure
•We kicked off our Darby Summer Movies last weekend with a delightful offering from my kids’ childhood: “Hook” with Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. 🏴☠️🧚🏻♀️🧜🏼♀️✨⚔️•Introducing this classic to my grandboys made it fresh all over again. And all the twenty-somethings present did their own version of Time Traveling. They were thrilled to ...
