Birthday Celebrations: The Food

It's definitely not a secret how big of a foodie I am. So, of course, I had to go out to a good restaurant to celebrate my birthday. In fact, I went to two: one on Saturday evening and one on Sunday for lunch––although this event is unrecorded because dumb me left the camera at home! But when I went for dinner with my family to one of my favourite restaurants, called 100 gramos, I did manage to shoot some yummy pictures. In case you're wondering, it's my favourite restaurant because every dish is served in a 100 g portion, which means they are small enough so you can eat at least 3-4 and try lots of different things.

Of course, I had to eat more than what a normal person eats, and overdosed myself with no less than 9 different dishes––without counting bread, tea, and birthday cake! Here we go...

I started with a delicious strawberry juice, which was as good as it looks!

Then came some pain brioche, which was mostly eaten by my mum, who could basically live out of bread!

The first actual dish to be served, was a bowl of fried eggplant...

...followed by some cold salmon slices with oranges and olive oil.

Then I had some crab terrine with toasts...

...and a Spanish tortilla with Iberic ham...

...shrimp salad...

...and shrimp soup with coconut milk...

...followed by chicken wings.

Then came dessert, starting with chocolate ganache and Baileys ice cream...

...and followed by a lemon cream with vanilla ice cream

After all this food, some tea was required, which I drank while they brought the check in this oversized cookie!

And then I was ready to blow the candles off and eat some cake!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Celebrate Valentine's Day -- Single

Valentine's Day tends to be rejected by anyone who's single. For some reason, if you don't have a beloved sweetheart, all the hearts in the air might seem a little disgusting. But this doesn't mean you can't  have a great time celebrating love. You can love yourself, your friends, and your family. Who needs a man (or a girl, whichever you like) to feel happy and fulfilled?

1. Have A Romantic Date With Yourself

My first idea for Valentine's Day celebration is having a romantic date with yourself. This is something I really enjoy to do every once in a while when I'm tired and don't want to go out on a Friday night.

You'll only need your favourite PJs, some old movies you enjoy (my personal favourites tend to be chick flicks I enjoyed as a teenager –say, What A Girl Wants, 500 Days of Summer, and all that stuff). Get a box of chocolates, and order your favourite food. A good glass of wine is optional.

Get inside your bed, and have the best time you could have ever asked for. When you wake up on Saturday, you'll only be able to smile for the great time you had with yourself on Valentine's Day.

2. Go Out With Your Friends

Yes. Friends are the best things that could ever happen to us. They love us unconditionally, and we love them back. So what better than celebrating endless love with one of your best friends? I bet at least one of them is single. Or if (s)he isn't, (s)he still might be willing to celebrate Valentine's Day with you.

You can have a tea party at home, go out to your favourite restaurant to have dinner, or go to the movies. And if you're more creative than I am––which you probably are––I bet you can come up with a thousand more ideas. Maybe you could even do something you haven't done in a long time. If I were to do this, I would bring my friend Felipe, who now lives in Canada, and drink mojitos at home.

3. Enjoy A Spa Evening

This one is probably my favourite idea. And you don't even have to go to a real spa––although I sincerely recommend you do it if you prefer that!

If you'd rather stay at home, you can just pick your favourite beauty products––I strongly recommend any type of products that has a smell you enjoy––, light some candles, and love yourself. Depending on what you enjoy more, you can have a bubble bath, soak yourself in Cocoa Butter, or use some hair treatment and get your nails done. Whatever you choose, make sure it makes you feel like you're being loved and spoiled!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

My dad's birthday was on Wednesday, and my sister and I decided we should make him happy for the day. So we made a a reservation in one of our favourite restaurants––Harry's Bar––and invited him to lunch.

He's absolutely a meat person––I guess I didn't learn to eat from him––so he ordered baby-back ribs. I was so tempted to try them that I asked for a bit... And they were just amazing! The barbecue sauce was made with guava––a tropical fruit that has a sweet flavour––which made the sauce really soft and delicious. Plus, it had a unique taste!

My sister and I decided to share the Harry's Bar Ravioli. These are filled with crab and salmon, and they have Bechamel sauce with some tomatoes. They're so delicious I could eat them every single day of my life!

We also ordered some asparagus with butter as a side to share. One of the things I like the most of this restaurant are the side dishes. They're made to share, so they're huge. And if you have a bigger appetite than we had that day, it means that you can actually try different sides –and trust me, they're all delicious!

Finally, we ordered chocolate cake with nocciola in the inside and vanilla ice cream. This was a bit of a sugar overdose –especially considering we were having Birthday cake later on that day– but absolutely delicious. I could never eat one of those by myself, but when you're sharing with your family it gets better!

After going back home, we sand Happy Birthday to my dad and let him have his birthday wishes. My wish for him is to be happy, and I hope he was that day!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: New York, Day 6

On my sixth day in New York, Diego and I went for lunch to The Smith, in East Village.

For a starter, we ate the most delicious fried calamari. I loved them because they had spicy tomato sauce, which was something completely new to me. I don't know how common this is, but it was no less than a new food adventure in my life.

Then came the grilled chicken paillard, which was probably one of the best combination of chicken-salad I've ever had in my life. The chicken had this truly unique grilled taste, the salad was fresh and the dressing was absolutely appropriate!

We were full after lunch, but we definitely wanted some dessert. So we went all the way up to the Upper West Side, where we had dark chocolate chocolate chip cookies at Levain. We actually shared one, since they are monstrous! If you've ever had them, you might understand why: their size is just completely out of normal! And so is their taste: best cookies ever!

We went back home walking, taking our time to digest all that food. We went to Lincoln Center and enjoyed the water fountain, and had a good night sleep before the weekend. I'll explain more about it on my next post, but my weekend was the most exciting I've had in a while, so that's why this day was more of a relaxing type of day!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: A Day In Versailles

Versailles. If there's a reason why I'd loved to be a real life princess it's to live in this magnificent palace and be able to play hide and seek with my royal friends in the gardens. I wouldn't be sad if I had Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon as my dollhouse, or if I could go horse riding in the backyard...

This museum/palace is a place I loved from the first moment I stepped in when I went there for the first time. I loved (and I still do) how you feel like you've been taken back in time when you see al the decorations, the sculptures, the incredible luxury...

But one thing I also adore about this place, is having hot chocolate in Angelina. It's the absolute perfect break in the middle of your visit to the museum, to recharge energies and be able to fully enjoy the Musical Fountains in the gardens!

So, when we went to visit Versailles (my sister probably loves it now more than I do), we had to stop at Angelina! And we had to drink the super classic (and even more delicious) hot chocolate! However, since it was lunch time, we needed some proper food before. We had an Angelina club sandwich and spaghetti with caviar. After this, we were ready for dessert: hot chocolate, tarte chocolat and a mont blanc. Absolutely perfect!

By the end of the day (and despite the huge amount of calories we had for lunch), we were a bit tired, so we decided to go back to the hotel early. However, I then spent the night out with an old friend, watching a football match. I never realise how much I miss him until I see him. And this time I realised that I do wish I could spend more time with him more often... It's a shame we live in two totally different continents!

Bonne nuit,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio