Snow and a pinkish touch

 

Am I glad that I planted the bulbs last week.

And those little hints of spring from last Monday?

I hope they will survive the 'truckloads' of snow that have been falling lately, because this is what it looks like outside since Tuesday:

 

 

A winter wonderland!!

 



 

 

 

Last weekend I wanted to bake something but didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Surfing the net, I found these oreos on the blog of Fraulein Klein

Shop bought oreos and a homemade filling, I added a bit of pink food colouring too as we had some guests who would appreciate a pinkish touch :)

You can find the recipe here

 

They disappeared in no time...

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with sunshine & snow...

... & some skating maybe?

 



Hello, I'm back!

 

Well, hello again! Welcome to 2013. Welcome to Abacaxi & Hortelã!

It's been a while!

 

Enjoyed a short break during the holiday season.

 

Of course I prepared a nice diner for my parents and some friends for Christmas Day.

I chose for a bit of an unusual combination of colours to decorate the table: aubergine (eggplant colour) and turquoise.

As I was the cook, I, unfortunately, didn't have time to take pictures of the food I prepared...

 

 

But this was on the menu:

 

Trio d'amuses: goat cheese/apricot bite, mascarpone/macadamia nut crème brulée & quick roasted scallop with sesame seeds and soy sauce

~

Beetroot soup with wodka, sour cream and mint

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Filet of duck breast with roasted figs and a red wine - forest fruit syrup

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Monk fish with mango salsa, mashed parsnip/potato, grilled green vegetables

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Lemon cheesecake with speculoos and blue berries

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Coffee/tea & some sweet little indulgences

~

 

Yes, it was pretty good if I may say so myself ;)

 

 

 

And between Christmas and new years Eve we visited Berlin...

But that story will have to wait till next time :)

 

Have a great new week in this New Year where everything is still possible!

 

 

 

 

Another garden party!

 

And last weekend it was time for another party in the garden!

The weather was gorgeous and so, late in the afternoon, we received about 20 friends at home

 for what will probably be the last BBQ of this season... unfortunately ;)

 

Apart from cleaning, preparing & cooking I love to do some tablescaping!

Not that easy if you have to fit in 20 people on your  terrace.

But we managed!

 

This time I chose red tablecloths... with little white polka dots,

napkins in white with little red polka dots (I used them here too),

white flower bouquets, mix match of red & white china.

Lovely food, nice company, latino music, samba, salsa and aché :)

 

See you soon again!

 

 

 

Morning Tea

During the week it's difficult to find time for a get-together with friends, especially in the afternoons. And as I liked to have an Afternoon Tea, it seemed impossible to organize. But then I came up with the idea of a Morning Tea (why not?) and so it happened!!



Victoria sandwich cake with forest fruits

 

 

A lovely sunny September morning
'Brabants bont' (the red & white checkered tablecloths are typical for the region we live in ) on the tables, all kinds of china, various drinks, lots of sweets (homemade) & friends to join the party!

 

It was such a beautiful day! Sun, friends, food, what else do we need?

 

A day on the water

Some weeks ago, a long weekend, an extra day off (Pentecost is a 2-day holiday in the Netherlands) and gorgeous weather. So we decided to spend some time on the water, on the Loosdrechtse Plassen, with a bunch of friends, food & drinks :)

Lovely houses... wouldn't mind living there!!

Lovely kids too :)



We were not the only ones... very busy 'traffic' on the lakes, but that could not spoil the day, absolutely not. It was a lovely day, should repeat it soon!

Wishing you all a great start of the week!

Take care!

'Matar saudades' in São Paulo!

After two and a half years away, we finally went back to our second home country:

Brazil

To São Paulo, to be more precise!

And although the weather was not that great, we were warmly welcomed by these colourful Zinnias in bed & bathroom:

5 Hours of time difference... which resulted in waking up pretty early the first couple of days

On the bright side: we could fully enjoy the days we were there!!

Luckily we had some sunshine too!!

And I just couldn't get enough of all the tropical flowers and the lush green!

Ohhhh, how I'd missed that!

We stayed with friends and their back yard was a wonderful place to relax:

Ruth, Frank & girls: thanks so much for your hospitatlity!!! We really loved to stay with you & be sure that whenever you are in the Netherlands... there's a home for you in the south!!

Apart from meeting many friends for coffee, lunch or diner (...), I also went back to a community center in one of the 'favelas' (slums), where I was involved as a volunteer:

I was so happy to see everybody and even more happy to see all the improvements!!

A week is too short, but it definitely was good to be back...

Pre-Easter diner

 Last Saturday we invited some friends over for diner.

And because Easter already entered our house, I decided that the table needed to be

decorated in the Easter theme as well.

 Plain white table cloth (just some fine details embroidered),

many transparant glass vases and candleholders

 Greenish-white Snowballs (Vibirnum)...

 and bright pink Gerberas

Napkins in the same colour combination.

 Quail eggs & little feathers.

Too busy eating to take pictures of the food ;)

Wishing you all a great start of the week!!