Ariana M.'s Profile

This weekend, we are trying our hand at country wines! Today it was parsnip, tomorrow we'll tackle the rhubarb. We are living in England, and everyone is telling us these are really wonderful-- plus the ingredients are very inexpensive, so it will be a fun experiment. Next time, we'll go for elderflowers and nettles...

I recently moved in to a home in England with almost zero built-in storage. This was especially a problem in the bathroom. Fortunately, there was room for a big dresser, and this one piece has solved all of our storage needs for that room. The dresser was in our dining room in the last house, and so was a rug we moved into the bathroom-- I like mixing furniture up, not having a piece only work for one kind room.
Here's our result: http://and-here-we-are.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/british-bathroom-one-can-never-be-too.html
(This post also includes quirky tidbits on British bathrooms!)

I grew up in East L.A., and we kept a ton of chickens and rabbits. It may not have been technically legal. One of our neighbors, who was always calling the police on us (for example, for running a day care, since there were seven kids in our family) turned us in for having animals-- no roosters, though! The inspector was shown around the back yard as my mom gushed about how educational and healthy it is for children to be around animals and to learn how to take care of them. By the end of the visit, he just said, "Lady, let's pretend I was never here. And be sure you never get a rooster." Then, a few years later, we moved to the Philippines, where we had pigs, geese, turkeys, monkeys, parrots, goats... and chickens (including roosters.) The end. :)

Definitely nuts and string cheese. I know that I will let my kid have juice on the plane, and I don't want to add to the sugar buzz any more than that, since hyperactive is the LAST thing a kid on a long flight should be. Protein is our friend. Trail mixes are great, because picking out the favorite pieces is a whole activity in itself.

It's very pretty! Great work!

So lush and pretty-- nice job!

I have lived in the Philippines, the USA, Germany, and now England. The US is really the only place that was oriented toward shopping once a week-- everywhere else, getting food is just part of the daily routine. I loved getting up before sunrise as a child to go with our helper to the open market to haggle over meats and produce for the day's meals.

Now, I don't have to wake up early to get food, but I do have to make it part of my day. We only have one car, so I walk into town with a market trolley twice week for the open markets. I also go to my butcher twice a week. And, once a week, I visit an upscale grocery store to buy things like chocolate, wine, olive oil, and other items I wasn't able to find. If I wanted to, I could save all of my grocery shopping for the weekend, with the car, but I would have to buy mostly frozen, and way more boxed and canned items-- and it would be much, much more expensive. I like this way of life, but it would be hard if I worked full-time. Also, when it is pouring rain and cold, it really, really sucks to have to wrestle a trolley all the way to town and back.

I really love this home-- so warm, and refreshingly unstaged. My favorite idea is putting a child's finger painting inside a vintage gilt frame-- so clever!

Oh, and here is her room, which I think is a sweet reflection of her five year old self: http://and-here-we-are.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/into-mouse-hole.html

I loved seeing an apartment in London-- I appreciate the international tours, since my house is in England, and I am always curious about other places, as well!