Back at the beginning of the summer I had the opportunity to host a big birthday bash. It was a joint birthday party for my sister, Helen who would be turning 70 and my daughter, Amy Kikita who was going to be 29. Because we entertain so often, we have tons of dishes and silverware and vases and cups and tablecloths and all the sorts of things to ...
Lifestyle
Posts about everything going on in my life. Enjoy!
9/11 – Remembering
Eleven years ago today, the 11th of September, I remember awakening to the news that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. So odd and random. It was before 6 am here in Southern California and had to take my son, Adam to school. By the time I returned home, a second plane had crashed into the second tower and the real horror of what ...
La Virgen de La Caridad – A Personal History
September 8, 1961. My family had been in the U.S. for seven long months. There was still a longing for anything or anyone that reminded us of "home." We eagerly waited for news that the revolution had failed and that the new regime had fallen and that we would soon be heading back to all things familiar. The Catholic Archdiocese of ...
Wassup En LA? A Kickstarter Project
Do you love sitcoms? Do you miss real-old-school-laugh-out-loud-funny sitcoms? Are you as tired as I am about what passes for comedy on tv sometimes? Say hello to my little friends...There's a group of very talented Cubans who are producing a fabulous bilingual comedy called "Wassup en LA?" And I've been following their ...
90 Miles to Cuba – A (little) Giveaway
I was in Florida a few months ago for the KIA Fun and Forty Challenge from Miami to Key West. My time was pretty much booked (in the best way possible) with all the fun activities connected to the trip. KIA treated us to a fabulous dinner at A & B Lobster House in Key West, after which the rest of the group wanted to meander down to Duval ...
Island Girl
For as long as I can remember, summer meant finding a body of water to jump into to cool off. Simply stated, if it's hot and I see water, I want to jump in. Maybe this desire comes from having been born on an island. Surrounded by pristine and inviting blue everywhere always made me want to be a part of the liquid beauty. In Cuba, we spent our ...
Kikita, the Luckiest Girl in the World, Sees Ruben Blades in Concert
I very well may be the luckiest girl in the world. I'm sure there are other girls that think that, but I bet I can make a pretty good case for being the luckiest. (This is Kikita, by the way, Marta's eldest daughter. <-- That alone makes me pretty lucky, but that's not important right now ;-D) A little over a week ago, my timbales ...
I’m. On. Vacation. (via Instagram)
Every year, just like my parents used to in Cuba B.C.* (*before Castro), we enjoy spending a beautifully relaxing time at the beach. In this case, we're in Del Mar, California and the weather is perfect. If you follow me on Instagram, you would already have this information, but that's not important right now. Here's the ...
Twenty Years
Twenty years. It feels like a lifetime ago. Twenty years ago on August 8th, 1992, Eric and I entered into a pretty serious contract. Seriously. Any ceremony that specifically mentions "sickness," "poverty," and "death" as potential outcomes and non-deal-breakers cannot be entered into lightly. Before entering into this ...
“What’s for dinner?”
A few months ago when we had our kitchen painted, I had my painter-man do the top of the pantry door in chalk paint. Can I just tell you how much I love this? Sometimes we leave notes to each other, but the main function of the board is for menu planning. (And making me look über-organized when guests come over, which lately has been practically ...
