national treasure

trip out on this superman-like cave found deep beneath mexican soil in naica. gypsum + water from hot springs = selenite. the cave's chambers are so huge, a car can drive through! these formations are so unique, scientists are petitioning the mexican government to claim unesco world heritage status to protect them for future generations.

be careful what you wish for

in light of the new season that is upon us, i, like the blooming buds on tree-lined streets that surround, am emerging from transition. i now live in athens, georgia. it's official! and i am proud. when i first got swept up in love and realized the impending challenge that was ahead of me - getting very involved in a romance that was headed south, the deep south that is, i was a bit skeptical, i have to admit. although i now know to trust in the universe more than ever, and all it brings, i still never in a million years envisioned myself living in georgia. what the hell? i had total faith in the man behind the plan, but there was still some undefinable irking inside - my whole life is in so cal - and after all the years of travel and adventuring off into the unknown, for some reason, it was unsettling to think that now that i got my cake, i have to move to the other side of the country to eat it, even though both of our families and many friends are in the greater l.a. area., and start a whole new life there. oh woes me!





so i packed up everything (almost) and stuffed it into a 6x7x8 cube and off it went, my car having left days prior on a massive enclosed 18-wheeler. miraculously, all made it, mostly unscathed, and i am all the better because of it. my mind skips back to the frame of a tai chi posture: "change is difficult", and the voice of master zi rings in my ear, explaining the challenge of leaving the old behind and shifting our weight to what is new. and then i remember all of the times when i would wish to run off and get married, move to a farm (of the glamorous sonoma sort), leaving the often hectic or humdrum and sometimes risqué l.a. lifestyle behind to have babies and make pie and jam. so far, i seem to be right on schedule, only i landed in this most quirky concoction of southern hospitality meets college frat/sorority house culture and pub-lined streets, with the roots of the beginnings of alternative music and deep mountain hippie food coops and a damn good restaurant and sustainable agriculture scene to boot.

i now believe more than ever in the power of words and how when you direct your intentions and put energy behind them, the world is your oyster and magic really does exist - we are truly the creators of our reality. just believe.

gorgeousness

when the beauty is so perfect, it hurts
via the vamoose





why i must make it to iceland





where i want to sink into ecstatic bliss
via canvas

season of miracles

today is the autumnal equinox. my favorite time of year is upon us again, bye bye summer. but i have to say, I sometimes almost catch myself feeling a little jipped that i never got my fill of hot summer nights and sea breeze days at the beach in sunny california. actually, who cares? despite the fact that the season whizzed by before I could blink and that it was probably the most unseasonably cool summer, i have to say it was a god-sent and i am not complaining by any means. my worst fear having moved to the cottage with all of my stuff stored in the shed was that the 100 degree + days would destroy and melt everything i have in there. so the overcast and cool days we had were actually a miracle.


another miracle was that my sister Joana finally finished her training in Seattle and is now ready to launch into the work force full-fledged and harvest what she has sewn for 17 years. we celebrated together on a trip up to the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula, totally magical and breathtaking vistas at what seemed like the edge of the universe. and so i got my sunshiny summer days in washington state, go figure.















but the grandest miracle of all this summer was the miracle of LOVE that has entered my life. and this time, it's for good. my prayers have been answered and i am blissfully content knowing that my path is unfolding in all the right ways.





i am bubbling up with excitement for what this fall has in store. the creative juices have been percolating and are soon ready to overflow onto the scene! thank god for miracles and the magic they bring. happy fall.

the yoga of letting go

life is a miracle. ever since i moved, i have been confronted with nature and its ways head on and it has given me a new perspective, like through the eyes of a child discovering something for the very first time. it is no coincidence that i made my way to summer solstice the week before i moved. honestly, the last thing on my mind was gearing up for a full blown camping expedition in the high desert in new mexico, but naturally, the major lesson that unfolded for me there was the yoga and meditation all week long. and i'm not just talking about sitting on a sheep skin under a huge tent holding mudras and chanting mantras for several hours in a row. i am talking about the meditation of having to weather the elements, get down and dirty pitching a tent, being ok with the dirt and dust constantly blowing into every crevice and crack, carrying all of my toiletries to and from the showers via the porta-potties and keeping everything held in tact, warding off insects and creepy crawlies from the tent at night - to name a few. it literally makes you slow down and feel and experience this earth and what it means to be human.







so i get back from new mexico and the very next day, after not having packed a single thing, moved to my now so-called abode - and i have brought the roughness and toughness of camping with me and it has kept me sane and able to cope with these otherwise unsuitable conditions that i have and continue to undergo. firstly, i now live in a shoe box and my bathroom is a match box. fine. i have down-sized to a third of the space i had before. fine. sent all of my fall/winter apparel and shoes to my parents' until there is need for them. fine. let go of clothes i no longer wear or need. hmmmmmmmm. a little harder. and then came the fleas.... and the spiders. WTF. the previous tenant mentioned the spiders and since i lived in a basement and co-habitated with the daddy-long-legs, i didn't even think twice about it. but when i started seeing red spots on my ankles, then shins and calves, i knew there were critters invading my space and immediately i flashed to the previous tenant's adorable pooch and the random cats in the back of the property and realized there are fleas doing jumping jacks in my pad. not cool. now i commiserate with those little guys, those furry friends of ours that suffer, especially now in the summer heat. and then coming home to gigantic charlotte's webs every night spun across my entrance. WOW. now that is a sight. i just stand there and stare at this miraculous event. how the hell does it get clear across from the tree to the pillar, clearing at least 3 yards of free-fall? ok, i thought it was just one night when i was lucky to have a flashlight and thank god for it because otherwise, i would have walked straight into it's bull's eye. but it is every single night, at approximately 8:45pm to be precise, that these creatures come out to spin their dinner's fate-ridden tomb. who will be the sucker to get entangled next?



not me. i have learned to slow down, observe and reflect back on all of the signs the universe has given me as warnings and to listen to my inner voice telling when to watch out. little did i know that Anastasia, a book i read a few weeks prior, would be my guide book to really getting back in touch with all things natural and god-given. we are a collective breath, all interwoven out of the cosmos, and although the bites suck (pun intended) and having to embrace arachnids was something i hadn't planned on, i get to hear a sweet bird sing her song every day, see butterflies dance and prance around, and look out of my bathroom window to see glorious purple trumpets. when we learn to let go, the universe indeed takes care of us. and that is why a little discomfort at the end of the day makes life the beautiful miracle that it is.

ode to iceland

beauty...





meets the beast

reinventing the wheel

it escapes me how time has whizzed by since my return from India, not a single blog entry to be found since and here we are on the dawn of 2010, only a few days left to go....



through the highs and lows of wonderment in the Himalayas and the Golden Temple and being down for most of the season as a result, it seems like i have finally found a renewed vigor and am AMPED for this new year to be rung in!



in a nutshell, what i got from my voyage to the other side of the planet, is that less is more, quality always over quantity and there is always something new to be found in the tried and true.

most recently, i just returned from a most sacred Christmas of laying real low in Seattle with my family at my sister's apartment overlooking Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier in glorious sunshine and 40 degree weather - so much to have been thankful for, even though i got slammed with a nasty cold/allergy attack. it was a blessing in disguise as i loved every minute of pajama and tea time, reading Spontaneous Evolution by Bruce Lipton and being with my family and eating none other than my Mom's famous stuffed cabbage rolls, polenta and salata de boeuf, sans boeuf, Romanian-stylie.

so far, we have this tradition every Christmas and no matter where we are in the world, my Mom brings the goods with. i wonder how i will ever take over this culinary extravaganza one day when my Mom won't be around to make the magic happen. and that is why i have come to the conclusion that "making it your own" is just as beautiful as keeping to the strict tradition.

i have already improvised one of the staples in Romanian cuisine - mamaliga cu brinza si smintina - polenta with cottage cheese, feta and sour cream. basic peasant food, really. and add a soft boiled egg and you've got a meal. so homey. in the spirit of comfort food with a twist, i have come up with my own version of this that only takes 10 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to eat!



-Pre-made polenta from Trader Joe's - 2 or 3 1/4 inch slices - sauteed in olive oil in a frying pan until ever so lightly crisp on top and bottom
-steamed lentils from Trader Joe's, just add some red wine vinegar, sea salt or himalayan salt, fresh lemon juice and olive oil and mix in a bowl
-place polenta cakes on top of lentils
-scrambled, fried or sunny side up eggs, whatever your mood on top of polenta
-top with the bomb ingredient: Mediterranean cheese style yogurt from Trader Joe's - this is like magic - the cottage cheese and sour cream taste all in one!

what i love about this reinvention is the lentils. and the kick from the lemon and vinegar is the key to what makes it so great - the traditional preparation is so heavenly fattening and to-die-for tasty, but tends to be really heavy and fatty. the acidic layering on the texture of the lentils cuts the heaviness of this dish and scrambling or frying the eggs is so much quicker than trying to perfectly time soft boiled eggs.

i know 2010 holds unbridled creative potential and i definitely intend to take everything to new levels of exploration, in all realms of creative endeavor!!!

portland inspiration

here's the run down of the highlights:

*Stumptown Coffee (OMG)



*the Southeast Clinton neighborhood:

*Limbo Inc. (wall of herbs)

*Press Club Cafe (lunch - prosciutto, egg and brie croissandwich)

*Broder Cafe (breakfast - aebelskiver!)




*Savoy Tavern & Bistro (dinner) - same owner as Cafe Broder

*Detour Cafe (brunch - cardamom french toast!)




*the Pearl District (Downtown)

*Ace Hotel (lobby hang out)

*Clyde Common (Ace Hotel restaurant - lunch!)


must do on my next trip:

*Selby (antique district)

*Living Room Lounge Cinema (have your cocktail or coffee in the theater tableside)

*Stay at the Ace Hotel


great finds:

*Eat Shop Guides (awesomely presented little books on the most important information one needs to know when traveling: food and shopping!)