The Mouse Hole Sticker

Cute mouse hole stickers for home and office.

Caprese Alla Mani

I love all things Italian and insalata caprese is one of them. This simple salad is the perfect combination of ingredients for a happy mouth. 

The other day, I broke the rule of simplicity of this dish and added a few extra ingredients to make it caprese alla mani. I wouldn't have done so but the baby spinach was soon going bad so I decided to incorporate it into my other caprese ingredients. 

Caprese alla mani is simply the basic caprese ingredients: tomato, mozzarella and basil incorporated with baby spinach leaves, butter beans, and pieces of prosciutto crudo (thinly sliced and uncooked). I would have used cannellini beans instead if I've had them in the kitchen. Of course, I added salt and extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar as dressing. 

It was the perfect combination for a heartier salad with extra source of iron from the spinach.

A belt that can save your life

For the adventurous: "Should an emergency survival situation arise, you now have over 100 feet of 550 parachute/survival cord that can save your life in countless different survival scenarios." (tiedowns, lashings, shelter building, friction fire making, fishing line and nets, splints, repairing equipment, tooth floss and many more)

Indian Wedding Ideas: for weddings or parties

Andrena Photography

I was inspired by my Indian Weddings post and decided to continue the research and create a post  offering Indian Wedding Ideas! Well, I didn't really decide, it just kind of happened because Indian Weddings are awesome. 

Anyway, You don't even have to have an Indian Wedding to incorporate some of these ideas and it doesn't even have to be for a wedding. How about an Indian themed party! That sounds fun to me. 

Personalized Indian Favors

Wedding favors are small gifts given in appreciation to the guests. The tradition is an old one originated in Europe. In weddings, a small trinket box was filled with cubes of sugar, which during this era, was a treasured commodity only among the wealthy and it was believed that sugar had medical benefits.

Ideas: elephant candle holders, Indian trinket box, incense, or elephant picture holders. 

Indian Wedding Dresses

These sari gowns are so beautiful with intricate details and patterns, and the inspiration for a design is endless with all the different colors and styles.

The Beatles Illuminated: The Discovered Works of Mike Mitchell

I love The Beatles. Who doesn't? I grew up with both a musician father and musician brother, so since very young I very much enjoyed classic rock and even became obsessed with The Beatles around age 17. Not that obsessed, I simply would listen to them whenever I could. 

I even took the Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool, their hometown, and visited some of the places they talk about in their songs, like strawberry fields, and a few bars where they used to play. Maybe I will share the pictures in another post another day.

Mike Mitchell recently released these photographs for auction.

Travel Destination: St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, Russia, the second largest city of Russia is an incredible place to visit. Russian culture is very unique. This city has a lot to offer and it was a great experience for me as a lot of things to do were artistic. From the largest art museum of the world, to dance performances, and amazing architecture, St. Petersburg was a treat. There are other things to enjoy like the Leningrad Zoo and the Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology Museum. 

I don't know if language is a barrier now, but it was when I visited in 2008, which made it a more adventurous and interesting trip. I did not stay at fancy hotels nor at good locations where it is probably easier to communicate and get advice about the city, but after a 10 day stay in Russia, I had learned how to read the Russian alphabet from pure survival instinct. It probably helped that I knew the Latin alphabet, which has a few similar letters. By day 5, I was using the metro like a local. 

Below I will show you a few good places and things to do if you visit St. Petersburg, Россия (Russia).

Hermitage Museum

This museum is my favorite in the world. It was founded by Catherine the Great and it is one of the largest and oldest museums of the world. 

Inside the museum. 

The Winter Palace

This palace is one of the six buildings of the Hermitage Museum and it is where the Russian monarchs resided. 

Cade Martin: Wonderland

"When you look at things differently, STORIES emerge. There is beauty in the everyday. And when PEOPLE learn to look for it, they'll find inspiration in the least likely PLACES. That's when the narrative in the situation and in the subject comes into focus. And even fashion is dull without the right STYLE." This is the first thing you'll read when you visit Cade Martin's website. A photographer that captures stories. 

Cade Martin collaborated with Design Army and the Washington Ballet and came up with these story-telling photographs. Titled: Wonderland. 

Rubik's Cube Food

I have never seen this in real life, and just recently saw this online for the first time. I was immediately attracted to the idea, a colorful Rubik's cube salad. I would like to attempt this one day. 

This Latvian style caprese Rubik's cube looks tasty. Made of tomatoes and latvian cheese malpils, which according to the artist is like mozzarella but saltier. 

Tilt-Shift Photography: Real Miniature Worlds

Tilt-shift photography creatively creates miniature worlds from real places and people. The angle of the camera changes the perspective making a photograph of a real place seem like a miniature scale model. So interesting and cool, isn't it? Enjoy these photographs below and the cute tilt-shift video at the end. 

Vintage Suitcase Furniture

Lately, photographs of vintage suitcases have been catching my eye. Since I like all things about travel I found this idea of vintage suitcase furniture very appealing. 

If you have old suitcases that you don't use anymore because you rather pull your luggage than carry it, below you'll find great ideas to repurpose those suitcases. I don't have any old suitcases but I would even go buy some at a thrift or vintage store to create some awesome vintage suitcase furniture. 

You can learn how to make this coffee table right here!

Leather suitcase chair. Spotted here. 

Pinecone Lamp

Is it me or is this pinecone lamp amazing? 

Russian designer Pavel Eekra created this Crimen pinecone lamp which "consists of 56 plates and screws,without an internal frame due to rounding forms plaques form gaps through which light passes. Boards themselves are also slightly transparent, this creates a particular pattern of light from the outside and downward bright light."

Beautiful Photography by Honey Tree

I came across these Honey Tree photographs by Lupen Grainne and thought they were beautiful. They feel very light and the use of filters and the colors create dreamy and peaceful scenarios. 

2011 NFL season kicks off

Although I grew up in Mexico City, I am a big fan of American football. It is a love that definitely came from my family who all love American football and would gather for the Super Bowl. Don't get me wrong, we love soccer too. 

My team are the Dallas Cowboys, I don't know who in my family started that but all I know is I root for them. I do know that "the largest crowd in NFL history was recorded at the American Bowl game at Mexico City August 15, 1994, when 112,376 people attended the Governor's Cup game between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers." Maybe that has something to do with it. 

Anyway, I'm sharing with you a couple of cool NFL maps to get your study on if you are a wife or girlfriend of an NFL fan. In my case, my sweetheart got more into American Football because of me. I'm excited! Welcome back NFL!

Who's your team? Do you watch the NFL?

Amazing Home Libraries

I still believe in books. I admit I read online but I still love books and flipping through pages and seeing how far along I have read. I still carry a book when I travel, they have always been great airport and airplane companions of mine. 

A Tribute To Trees

The abundance of trees in this planet is ideal for beautiful photographs, there are so many kinds too. We have fat and skinny trees, and tall and short. They can be green, pink, red, white or a combination. And we have holiday trees as well. Inspiration is endless when it comes to these mysterious and beautiful creatures of nature. 

Trees can be so old and live through so much, they are something special. It is like they have a soul and can feel the presence from their surroundings.

We are small as grains of sand

So, you might be wondering what the picture above is. Well, that little fuzzy ball on the left is us, Earth,  and you might guess now that the tiny dot on the right is the moon. 

Aerial Land Carpet

LandCarpets are modern living rugs designed to mimic aerial views of farmed and nature landscapes from different regions of the world as seen from an airplane.

Really Cool World Map Print

I love this print. I would totally frame it and put it up in my home office or even in the living room. I love traveling, I love the world, I love culture, and I love these pattern designs on each country that look like different pieces of cloth. 

Wooden Ship Toys

These beautifully designed wooden ship toys are inspired by three of the largest cargo ships in the world and today's technologies. With oil rigs, satellites, and container ships, Papa Foxtrot is looking to bring back the classic into the new.

Exploded Flowers

Hydrangea

These series of photographs were created with the hands of artist and photographer Qi Wei. He deconstructed different flowers and laid down every part of them from every single petal to the stamens and pistils showing radial symmetry and relative surface area.

Lotus

Qi Wei says: “Of course, the incredibly ordered world of flowers lend itself to this technique wonderfully. My layout is slightly different in that I try to show (as far as possible) the relative positions of the petals, stamens and pistils with each other so that the radial symmetry is preserved and the flower is recognizable, but only just so.”

Gerbera