An Instagram Scavenger Hunt Birthday

Every year, when my husband's birthday rolls around, I rack my brain for the perfect activity to do.  He's not a kid (obviously) but I like fun.  And what better time to have fun than on birthdays?

I am kind of over the go-out-to-eat every single year thing (although sometimes that is what we do), and I want to make it something that is very affordable (so all can participate) and family friendly (since many of our friends have kids).

My two favorite so far have been glow-in-the-dark Ultimate Frisbee (30th) and now this year: an Instagram Scavenger Hunt!

(Yes, they are holding a frozen chicken right there. Frozen Chicken was not on the list.  

But bird was, and this totally counts.)

Throughout my life, I have done participated in different variations of photo-scavenger hunts: Polaroids in my younger years, digital pictures uploaded to a computer while in college and after, and then this summer in NYC I met up with a friend who created the perfect blend of modern technology with this kind of activity: Instagram-Scavenger Hunt!  (Nice one, Deanne!)

(Surf.  I was picturing waves, they found laundry detergent. HAHAHA!)

If you have never participated in a photo scavenger hunt of any kind, it is super easy and TONS of fun.  

1. Create a list of things to find.  They can be specific ("A Stop Sign") or open-ended ("Winter").  I put about 20 things on the list to give it good variety.  And for some reason, every single time I have a police officer on there.  I think it is an added challenge... unless you are like the little girl below ;)  (I also include things like "With a family you have never seen before" or "With a Trader Joe's employee". Any time you have strangers participate it makes it much more exciting.)
2. Get enough people together to have a few teams, but don't count yourself -- somebody needs to monitor the pictures.
3. Set the guidelines: Where do you meet?  What time do you need to come back together? (We did an hour and a half for this one -- and met up at In-n-Out.  WIN!)  Do you get bonus points if all of the people are in the picture and it is not a selfie (meaning someone else had to take the picture)?  
4. Get together, make sure the leader is following all of the Instagram accounts (and help create ones for groups that don't have anybody on Instagram), and then send them off!  One point for each item on the list found, bonus points for any of the whole group or whatever you decide, and ta-da!  Insta-party!

If you haven't had the chance to participate in one of these scavenger hunts, stop what you are doing and go organize one RIGHT NOW.  The cost is low, just any party favors you have for props -- such as these glasses and party hats, while the amount of fun is high.  From four year-olds to 44 year-olds, we had a fabulous time, filled with laughter and celebration.  So, GO, do it!!!

What are your fabulous ideas for birthday parties???

Will Smith and My World View (The Wednesday Files)

There are a lot of fun things about marrying somebody from a different country -- the travel (because having to spend a few weeks in Brazil isn't all that bad!), the sexy accent (as it can make even the most boring word sound exotic and fun), and the many festas and futebol games that brought into your life.  But by far, one of my favorites is being able to share important cultural gems with my man.

Things like why I said, "We were gettin' jiggy wit it out there!"

"Gettig' jiggy wit it?  They never taught me that in my language school..."

Nope, they did not.  And it is a shame.  Because you missed an important part of the American heritage.

This is where YouTube has come in really handy. I just share this and instantly he understands...

Imagine the days before YouTube.  I mean, obviously I remember them.  In fact, I remember them quite well.  The first time I ever saw something on YouTube must have been around 2006 when a friend wanted to show us all the Ikea commercials that were banned in the USA.  But not in Europe!  And so we had sat and we watched and we laughed, and then we watched some more and laughed some more until our sides hurt. What an incredible waste of time, right? But -- oh! -- it was so funny!  Today it is just a part of our lives, and one that I am grateful for.  I mean, how else could I have explained to my husband tonight why I started singing, "Well, this is the story // all about how // my life got flipped // turned upside down..." when he put his hat on sideways and started dancing around?

If a picture speaks a thousand words, a video clip must speak well over a million.

Noticing a theme?

Yeah. Will Smith and I apparently go way back, and he has shaped the way I see the world.

I am not so sure that is a good thing, but it sure isn't a bad thing.  And now, thanks to the technology we have today, he can help shape the world of a Brazilian boy trying to understand this American way of life, one catch phrase or quick jingle at a time.


** Yes, I recognize that these are actually Vimeo videos, not YouTube.  They just embed nicer into the post.  But YouTube is my standard, go-to for important things like this ;)

// other posts on dual-cultural life //

Living in a Dual-Cultural World

We fly two flags at our home. Not literally, we don't actually have a flag outside our front door, but in essence, we fly two flags.

My heart bleeds red, white, and blue.  But it also bleeds green and yellow, and yes, a deeper shade of blue.

Although you just see little glimpses of this here and there, mostly in regards to food, you would probably never really know this by reading my blog.  I write mostly about food, and we eat mostly American food because, well, I do the cooking. And he does the eating -- of whatever it is I put in front of him.

But if you were to see us live our lives in the day to day, things would appear a bit more multi-cultural.

Conversations are about futebol and football, personal independence and strong family ties, of living the 'American Dream' while enjoying life like a Brazilian...

Passports are filled with visas both ways, and travel plans are made around the need to spend time in Brazil with family.


Things that just make sense to me don't also make sense to him (you really should wear more than flip flops outside in December!) and vice versa (showers are for night time, always).

"I love you" is pronounced chee-ah-moo (Te amo) and we go through a nightly liturgy of sweet dreams and boa noite's, back and forth, each of needing to speak the language of our heart for it to really count.

The truth is, we are not an American family.  Nor are we a Brazilian one.  We are mixed.  And that is wonderful.

Before we got married, people told us two things: (1) Marriage is hard, and (2) marrying someone from another culture, especially one who moved to the states only when we got married, is even harder.

We listened to them, and we took their words to heart.  But then we sat down, talked it over, and walked up to that alter knowing that the odds were not against us, because we knew something they didn't know: We did not have to choose a culture, we could create our own.  It didn't have to be hard; it could be whatever we decided to make it be.

So that is what we set out to do.  Take the good from both, throw out (as much as possible) the bad.  We all know by now (or should!) that there is no perfect culture, no perfect country, but there are great cultures, great ideas, and when you take that greatness from both and mix them together, you really do live that cliche': You get the best of both worlds.  Beans and rice with mashed potatoes.  And it tastes so good...

His and Hers: The tale of two biscuits

This week's Sundays with Joy recipe was jalapeno, chive, and cheddar biscuits.  I like cheddar and chives, but I am a little afraid of jalapenos.  Probably stems from the time my best friend and I decided that we were Native Americans and needed to go hunting and gathering... in our neighbors yard.  Picked up some good stuff, too.  Except for the jalapeno.  Darn thing was hot, made us cry, and then we rubbed our eyes with our jalapeno-juice-smeared hands.  Now the tears were really falling, and our noses were runny, and of course we tried to rub the snot away... with those same jalapeno-juice-smeared hands.

Let's just say I never went "gathering" in someone else's yard since.

Or let a jalapeno get anywhere near me.

But I decided I would be bold.  I heard, from Joy the Baker herself (the source of this recipe), that if you take out the seeds the jalapeno isn't that hot.  So bold I did.  And I had some jalapeno, chive, and cheddar biscuits.

You know what?  I can do jalapeno in biscuits!  I was just really cautious as I was take out the seeds... there was no accidentally touching my eyes at that moment.  No sirree, I learned that lesson years ago.

My husband, on the other hand, said, "NO WAY!"  He is a hater of all things spicy and is actually allergic to some peppers, so he was not even willing to attempt being bold with me.  When I asked him what we wanted instead he thought about it and then settled on kale.  He wanted kale biscuits.

Different.

But whatever.  Different can be done.  Besides, I still had my yummy biscuits all to myself anyway ;)

Since I was putting kale in there, a favorite Brazilian veggie, I threw in some other favorite Brazilian items: mozzarella and red bell pepper.  And some cheddar as well, because cheddar tastes amazing and everyone should eat it every chance they get, Brazilian men included.

What did we discover?  Kale biscuits -- they sound weird, but they taste GOOD.

You know, I believe in that whole 'what's your is mine and mine is yours' mantra in regards to marriage.  Except for these biscuits.  Both were great, but I guarded mine and he guarded his.  I guess we can say, once again, Joy's recipe was a success.  And so was mine.  SCORE!

For the jalapeno biscuit recipe, get yourself a copy of Joy's fabulous book.  

For the kale biscuit recipe, here you go:

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk + 1 teaspoon of white vinegar mixed to make buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1 large handful of kale, chopped small
olive oil
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
Coarse sea salt for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

2.  In skillet over medium heat. saute kale in small amount of olive oil until just tender, about 3 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 of the milk combo and egg. In another small bowl, toss together the kale, cheeses, and bell pepper.

3. Add the butter to the flour mixture and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the flour resembles coarse meal.  

4. Toss the kale mixture into the flour mixture. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the milk and egg mixture all at once. Toss together with a fork, making sure that all of the flour bits are moistened by the buttermilk. Dump the biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, just enough to bring the dough together.

5. Pat the dough until about 1 inch thick.  Cut the dough into 2 inch squares. Gather the dough scrapes, pat into a new circle and cut more squares. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.  (You can use a round biscuit cutter if you are fancy like that.)

6. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheets, brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle them with the sea salt. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. You can eat them straight from there the next day, or reheat in a 350-degree oven until warmed through.

COST: $4.89   Cost per biscuit (12): $0.41

The Wednesday Files

You know, I have been sharing a lot of food posts recently.  Which makes total sense seeing as this a food blog after all.  But sometimes I want to share something else.  Like pictures.  Or memories.  Definitely random thoughts that I have, as they float through my head often.  And so I am starting The Wednesday Files. 

This is where I will dump all my non-food stuff, and let's face it -- food stuff as well.  What can I say?  I like food!  For awhile I was doing the What I Love Wednesdays and I really enjoyed that, so you will probably see some of that thrown in for good measure.  The difference is it will not be only that, but really whatever I want it to be. 

BBQ - It Does a Heart Good
This past weekend found my husband flexing his super cooking muscles.  While I am (becoming) a master of the kitchen, he is a master of the grill.  Every time (like every time) some of our friends has a reason to barbecue or party we are invited -- and so is our little mini-grill.  ($25 bucks at Target, yo.  Two years and a little bit of rust later and it is still serving us well.)

Yay for friends M & C being pregnant and giving us a reason to celebrate!


Mother's Day
Mother's Day has come and gone, and there really isn't that much to say about it when your mom is no longer around and you are not a mom yet.  It has been 10 years since I have had a mom to celebrate on Mother's Day.  It doesn't make me sad like it once did, but it doesn't seem like that much more of a day than the rest.  However, I do stop and reflect on my mom and her hugs and brownies.  There were a lot of things she didn't know how to cook, but she could make some mean brownies.  And her hugs and kisses were the best.  I hope my future kids will one day look back at their time with me and be able to say the same thing about my affection toward them.

Food So Good...
that it disappeared. 

I made a variation of these last night:


/source/

but then they tasted so good we didn't stop to take pictures.  They were gone in a flash... I guess I will just have to do it again to share with you ;)


Full House
We have been blessed with a lot of guests recently.  First was my friend Caiti, whom I love immensely.  She was just there for a night, but we cooked, enjoyed each others' company, and wished we, too, had the ability to dance while watching the new Footloose.

That would be Caiti on the far right with me next to her.  Yes, we have different clothes. 
But we were living in a different place.  I think this might possibly the most current picture
I have of us... six years old.  I think that is because when we spend time together we
are too busy chatting to take pictures.  Something to fix! (Kosrae, 2006)

Then we had Rachel and Jon come for an evening.  College friends who have become life friends.  Actually, Rachel and I went to highschool together for one year, but we became actual friends in college.  And Jon and I went through college -- and the education department -- beginning to end together.  The three of us are all teachers and share lots of classes and memories throughout our years.

And right now we have Julia and her husband Toby visiting us all the way from Austria!  Yes, we have gone international, folks.  Julia and I were together in the Marshall Islands for a school year and we haven't seen each other since.  How fun it is to see how life has happened between then and now!  (Then = both single, free-floating through the world.  Now = married, jobs, roots.  Different phases, both good.)

Julia (on the far left) and the rest of us ladies getting to be/pretending to be American again for a weekend while
living in Ebeye.  We have Austria, Burma, the Philippines, and the US represented here.  (Kwajalein, 2007)

Carpe Diem

Met my man after work on a recent Friday, fancy-pants on and make-up looking great.  "Ready to go on a date, Babe?" I asked, knowing full well that he was really ready to come home and zone out after a long week in the office.  "Um, ok.  That sounds good," he mustered.  "But why?"  "Carpe diem, my love, carpe diem."  And so we went.  That day was seized and it was great.  I love being married to this man!

Burritos, Sunshine, and Victory!

If you haven't figured it out by now, let me give it to you straight: we love the beach.

It doesn't really matter if we are on a tropical beach in Brazil or a NorCal one with slightly lower temps.  Ethier way, that is where we are the happiest.  What it does dictate is the type of clothes you wear while you are in the water.

Or out of the water...


 (These girls are slightly overdressed compared to what we see on Brazilian beaches, huh?)

But if there is sunshine and sand along with the sound of crashing waves, we are there.

You know where else we might be?  Eating Mexican food. 

See that smile on his face?  A smile as he has a burrito in right hand and horchata in his left?!  A few years ago the corners of his mouth would have been pointed in the other direction, but today he holds that Mexican food in his hands and smiles about it.  In fact, he was the one who suggested Taqueria Vallarta II this time, although he says it was just because he knows I like it. 

Oh well, that really doesn't matter.  We were eating it and he was smiling.  You know what this means?  I do not need to live a Mexican-food-free marriage anymore. 

You know what that means?

Victory!

Him & Her: The anatomy of a couple

My husband and I are an "us".  And I love that.  Together we are a young couple, enjoying life and sunshine.  We are a family -- a little family, but a family.

But we are also two individuals.  There's him --

and there's me --

Notice how incredibly cool his list is.  Surfer?  Drummer?  These two words scream, 'Not boring!'  (And that stuffed snake around his neck?  It was handed to him by a five year old, and he was very obliging.)

My list, however, is a bit different. 

Reader.  Writer.  Photo-taker.  Not quite in the same category as surfer, huh? 

Oh well.  I am cool by my own right.  It just doesn't look like that on paper.  Good thing paper doesn't define me.

At least we have the last one in common.  Being a goofball trumps them all.  And we are so darn good at it!

Sometimes we switch rolls, though.  Like last summer when I  tried, and succeeded, at getting up on the surfboard.  Need proof?

I look I am going fall over, huh?  That's because I did right after this picture was taken.  But I don't care.  I am up.  On a surfboard.  Am I a surfer?  No way.  But I can surf...

This past weekend my husband tried on one of my hats and made some pizza.  Luckily for him the dough was already made by our friend and all he had to do was roll it out and put toppings on it.  Still, he did it!

Is he a cook?  No way.  But he can cook...

Way back when we were first dating, like first dating (maybe 1 week into it) I was in his mom's kitchen making soup with her (BTW, I was staying with his family in Brazil when we started dating.  We joke around that his mom fell in love with me before he did, but I think it really is true...).  I needed some onions to be chopped and so I asked him to come in to do it, and he did.  I didn't think much of it until his mom said, "Eh necessario uma americana para fazer um brasileiro ir para a cozinha."   (It takes an American woman to get a Brazilian man into the kitchen.)  HA!

This time it wasn't an American woman but an American friend that got him in there.  But look at him!  He is like a pro!  Sure, he had some help, but so did I with the surfing.  And I must say, Caleb's dough with Paulo's toppings made a great pizza. 

Looks like we are rubbing off on each other...

And that's why I created a blog... Now I get it!

Scene: Husband and wife, sitting in a waiting room.  Husband absent-mindedly flipping through through a magazine; wife looking through her latest issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart, list and pen in hand.

Wife: So, which sounds better: beef kebabs with butternut squash and onions and a side of cooked arugula OR halibut with an avocado and pineapple salsa and the same side of arugula?

Husband: Huh?

Wife: Ok, I said (enter dramatic sigh)... which sounds better?  THIS (points) or THAT (points again).

Husband: Oh, that (points down at a picture), for sure. 

Wife: (Scribbling down on her notepad)  What else do you want to eat this week?

Husband: Food.  Maybe mashed potatoes. 

Wife:  Yeah, I got that.  But what kind of food?  What do you want with the potatoes?

Husband:  Babe, isn't this why you created your blog?  You have all those recipes right there, and every week we go through the same thing -- what to eat with mashed potatoes?  Here (hands her his iPhone) -- use your blog.

And use her blog she did.

Which would be why now she is getting off Blogger and heading into the kitchen to make Greek Style Chicken with Pickled Onions, Tomatoes, and Tzatziki... instead of peeling potatoes AGAIN.

Brilliant, I tell you, brilliant.

One Thousand Days, Millions of Reasons

Disclaimer:  This blog post has nothing to do with food.  Nada, zilch, nothing.  Being a food blog, I thought it is important to let you know that up front.  However, I do have a really great recipe at the end, one that everybody can enjoy.

This weekend we headed up to Yosemite to spend some time in nature with friends.  Not only do I (along with the rest of the world) love Yosemite, but it holds very special memories for me.  As a child I attended summer camp there and enjoyed my days shooting bows and arrows, riding horses, making a lots of new friends, and trying scary-to-me things like rock climbing walls.  Later I returned there to be a camp counselor and had the most fun and exhausting summers of my life under the tall trees, breathing in the sweet scent of pine.  A few days before we headed out I realized that we had been married for 992 days. (I like doing random math problems, what can I say?)

992?  Wow, that is incredibly close to 1,000, I thought.  And being such a good sounding number, I decided we needed to do something to celebrate our 1,000th day of marital bliss -- and yes, it really has been bliss.  But when I looked on the calendar, I realized I would be in the middle of the trees, surrounded by people, and nothing "special" in sight.  Ah, but Yosemite is special, right?

What a beautiful place to be!  Much better than a restaurant or downtown somewhere.  So, on the morning of our 1,000th day I took my man on a walk with me to show him around.  I showed him the rock where I took my first photography picture (rather than snapshot).  It was still there, just as it was over 16 years ago when I was a twelve year-old kid taking photography class at summer camp. 

That first picture, taken on film, developed in a dark room, looked something like this... but blurry and slightly off balance.  And with awful lighting.  Yeah... basically it was terrible.  My pictures may have improved over time, but the rock remained unchanged.  We kept walking, passing next to the tall trees that covered the sun...

Finally, we took a seat and I handed Paulo a box.

Nope, I didn't get him shoes...

I gave him a jar.

And on that jar were the words, "I love you," written in Portuguese.

Inside of the jar, however, were many more words... reasons that I love him written down so that he could know.  There were so many that I came up with, but I ran out of paper at 50, so it stopped there.  That's OK, though, there is still room to add more.  And yes, I can definitely add more!

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE (according to Tiffany):

Mix equal parts of communication, patience, and forgiveness together. 

Add a heaping teaspoon of a sense of humor and another of a willingness to be a student of the passions of your partner. 

Blend together with some sugar and spice and everything nice, and enjoy.

(Remember to make a fresh batch everday to have the best results.)