I love this video for “Looking for Paradise” by Alejandro Sanz and Alicia Keys from 2009.
It’s such a feel good song that’s full of love and acceptance. Not to mention the fact that the video puts me in the mind of summertime and its backyard or rooftop parties and outdoor festivals.
The weather has been so wonky here in Chicago and I am personally ready for summer to begin. How about you???
Sipping Japanese Choya in the Park
It’s so awesome to finally begin to have a taste of spring outside! On my recent trip to World Market–my favorite store, of course– I was pleased to find that they have an alluring array of picnic-sized eats and drinks from all over the globe. And I do love eats and drinks! There among a bevy of dried Spanish chorizo, German cookies, French jams and bellinis were these lovely little bottles of Japanese Choya Wine with a bonus plum inside.
I thought it would be perfect to pair with a delicious to-go pack of Dolmas by Stuff’d. I really love stuffed grape leaves and these are very good. The Choya tastes more like sake than wine but I found it be very refreshing. Warning!!! The plum inside the bottle is very strong…the 50ml serving of Choya isn’t likely to cause intoxication, but the wine soaked plum definately will!
Wordless Wednesday: Saint Augustine, Florida
National Museum of Mexican Art
One of my favorite things to do in Chicago is visit the National Museum of Mexican Art, although admittedly, I don’t get there as often as I’d like. In general, Chicago is a very good value when it comes to cultural museums; in addition to the Museum of Mexican Art there is the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, National Hellenic Museum, Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, and the DuSable Museum of African American History, just to name a few. Each time I have had the fortune of visiting the National Museum of Mexican Art, I have found it to be an excellent mix of historical and contemporary/ current installations.
“El Jardin De Las Delicas” by Ruben Ortiz Torres
On a past visit, the museum featured exhibits centered around El Dia de los Muertos or the day of the dead, as well as, the history of African descendants in Mexico which stretches back to the Spanish slave trade. During this current visit, the work displayed concentrated on the theme of a blended culture between Indigenous Americans and the Spanish, both by adoption and by force. It also focused on the endangered status of the American Dream for today’s urban Mexican immigrants and descendants.
I forgot to ask the staff how often the installations change, but my most recent visit seemed to have entirely different artwork from the last. The gift shop, however, was still a familiar experience featuring an awesome bevy a brightly colored figurines, wall hangings and shiny objects of bling. Overall, I’d say, the National Museum of Mexican Art is an excellent way to spend any afternoon soaking up art and culture.
Here’s three things that make the National Museum of Mexican Art a must:
- The Value. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday and is free for everyone everyday that it is open.
- The Parking. While most museums in Chicago are located downtown with outrageously expensive parking, this one is located in the Pilsen neighborhood about a mile away from downtown and the parking is easy and free.
- The Neighborhood. Although I really didn’t get a chance to hang this time, the museum is close to some of best Mexican restaurants and elote, churro and paleta vendors that you will find… anywhere.
Mohop – Moped Flats $84
Whenever I pack for a trip, I find myself in a dilemma over which shoes to take with me. Pumps? Flats? Comfy wedges? I need versatility but I don’t want to be stuck with only neutral black and brown shoes to go with all my outfits. I’ve always thought “wouldn’t it be great if there was one pair of shoes that I could wear in a bunch of different ways with loads of different outfits?
Mohop - Mokobo High Thong $168
I fancy myself an inventor/designer of sorts, so for years, I have been working on the perfect pair of interchangeable shoes in my head. These shoes would have straps that you can tie in an infinite number of ways to create different looks. So I can’t tell you how torn I was when I discovered Mohop Shoes. I was partly excited and partly mortified, to put it mildly. Excited because the shoes are amazing, mortified because they are so similar to the shoes that I have been designing in my head all this time.
Mohop – Low Slide $124
Admittedly, with prices averaging at around $124, Mohops are a bit more high-end than what I had in mind for my own shoes. The shoes in my head are made for traveling and after having the experience of once leaving behind one shoe of my favorite pair of Ferragamo’s at while on a trip, I tend to not travel with shoes that I have paid over $100 for. However, there are some added benefits to Mohops that make them well worth the price.
- Mohop is a woman owned, eco-friendly company founded by the amazing Annie Mohaupt.
- Each pair of shoes has soles which are created using sustainably sourced wood.
- The sandals are handmade in Chicago.
- They are incredibly comfortable due to their ergonomically carved footbeds.
- Each pair comes with 7 interchangeable sets of ribbons in an organza pouch — which is perfect for packing.
- With each order, Mohop includes 7 inspiration cards with step-by-step illustrations demonstrating just a few ways to style your sandals .
Mohop – Moped Mid Wedge
Mohops can be purchased at stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle as well as in Canada. They can also be purchased online and via their Etsy shop, where, if you are a girl with a slightly larger foot, you can catch a great bargain from time to time.
I have a pretty average sized foot, so I will have to shell out the full price and even though I love a deal, I am sure they will be worth it.
Meanwhile, I suppose its time to suspend the shoe production machine in my head, which will happily leave more room for dreams about Paris travels.
How about you, do you own a pair of Mohops? Do you love them?
Tuesday Tunes: Early Morning
I heard this song for the first time just a few days ago when Katherine from Mumbai shared it on her blog. I am most certainly NOT a morning person. In fact, it could be said that I am an anti-morning person, as I generally find myself going to bed as the sun is coming up.
Although, it has been proven that I am waaay smarter in the wee hours of the night than I can ever hope to be in the early hours of the morning, I often worry that I am missing out on valuable morning time sunshine. I really adore the sun, well not direct sunlight per say–direct sunlight makes me want to nap like a fat lazy cat. Perhaps its safer to say that I prefer to spend time in a room bathed in sunlight, but not enough, I suppose, to compel me to get up any earlier than around 10:30am or so.
Sometimes I wonder about the worm catchers of the world and what they are up to while I am sleeping. Maybe they are happily dancing around like the folks in this video. Katherine kindly takes the time to summarize the lyrics from the song which are in Hindi on her blog. It is taken from a Bollywood movie with a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets the girl again type theme, that she has quite a lot to say about.
I love the upbeat energy of this song. I have been listening to it continually over that past few days, so I thought I’d share it. I hope it gets you up and moving this morning. As for me, its nearly 5:30 am and I am just about ready to climb into bed for the night…er… morning.
So tell me, what do you think of the song?
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PS. I posted this yesterday or at least I thought I did. I even got a “like” or at least I thought I did, but somehow it managed to not only disappear but it reverted back to the original unrevised draft in my Dashboard. It even says that it was published on April 16, 2013 @ 5:28 in my sidebar!
What is going on here???
Sometimes I feel like WordPress is trying to drive me batty!!! Believe me I don’t need any help in that department.
Elephant side and chess tables at World Market
It has been a while, so I was excited to get out to one of most favorite places to shop, World Market. Whenever I am there, I always find a gazillion things that I love… no, literally, a gazillion things. It did not hurt that it was buy one get one FREE coffee day. Seriously, I would walk a mile in tight stilettos for their Sumatra and Costa Rican blends.
While I was there, I decided to shop around to see if there was anything else that I like and boy was there a bunch! World Market is one of those stores that if I had unlimited space in my home and unlimited credit on my visa, I would totally be like – snapping my fingers and demanding “one of EVERYTHING!,” the same goes for Pier 1 Imports, too.
Beautiful Buddhas
This season, World Market has a wonderful array of amazing items from India; peaceful Buddhas in every size, chess tables with carved elephant shaped legs and side tables, book shelves and room dividers decorated with colorful images of Ganesh. I was also pleasantly surprised at how on trend the brightly hued necklaces and accessories are this year, there are so many items that I just can wait to wear.
A bit of global bling
Turquoise shell necklace only $24.99!!
Speaking of items that I can’t wait to wear— Holy Kaftan, Batman! — there were so many gorgeous and relatively short (which is a good thing) kaftans in amazing colors that I literally started to salivate for summer. Say goodbye to those boring Berkenstocks that you usually see worn with touristy kaftans, these kaftans are cute enough to wear with my favorite strappy Calvin Klein shoes and crossbody bag!
Kaftan cuteness at World Market
Hope you get to World Market soon to snap up som great finds. Let me know what you get!
Hand carved Indian figurines
