Motherhood Mondays: Sleeping in Denmark (this made my jaw drop!)

We talked last week about taking kids outside to play every single day, even in cold weather. Well, listen to this...
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Mussels and Martinis

Do you remember how I raved about the saucy and sensual garlic shrimp in Oahu's Kahuka region?

While I would gladly fly 5,000 miles to repeat that delightful culinary experience, I have found a similar lusty substitute close to home.

I normally avoid I-95 like the plague, but I would happily drive 40 miles to Fort Lauderdale for some of Timpano's mussels and martinis.

My mouth waters like Pavlov's dog on the northbound journey.

The black mussels arrive on a sizzling cast iron skillet coated in sea salt after being roasted in extra virgin olive oil. As if that wasn't enough, a bit of drawn butter for dipping adds a touch of lusciousness. Crusty bread sits waiting to sop up the juices and you'd swear -- once the skillet cools down and nobody's looking -- that you'd lick it after the bread runs out.

The tender mussels are waiting to be ravished, sitting inside pearly shells, heady with the briny fragrance of the sea. This dish transports me to some wild, rugged seashore.

The martinis are perfection too, generously poured and shaken to a very cool, crisp temperature.

This simple but seductive repast can be enjoyed at table or in the Sinatra bar, which features a lounge area with live jazz. Timpano's is a sophisticated joint, but it's warm and casual enough that you can forego your seafood fork and slurp in all that mussel goodness by hand. After all, no meal is truly sensual without it being a little sloppy.

There are so many textures to this dish -- the hardness of the shells, the softness of the meat, the silkiness of the butter, the coarseness of the salt -- all of this makes it so fun to eat. Go here on a date and if the two of you aren't horny by the end of this dish, you'd better be calling your doctor for some help.

Oh, and the rest of their food is pretty damn good, too. But for me, even just the mussels and martinis are worth the schlep.

Timpano's Chophouse is located on Las Olas Boulevard and offers a great happy hour, Monday - Friday 4 to 7 PM, featuring $5 bar menu and 1/2 off select liquors, wines and bottled beers.

9/11 Remembered from Abroad

On the morning of 9/11, I was in the centuries-old Spanish city of Segovia. A friend and I had just visited the castle, where my imagination roamed wild, thinking about Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand giving Columbus his orders to explore the alternative spice route to the west that would lead to the “discovery” of a wholly different continent.

It was here, I mused, that America was born.

We then walked around this hilltop city, still stuck in its medieval form, walled in with cobbled stoned streets and broadcasting its even older Roman heritage by the aqueduct that stands strong.

So well preserved is history here that all thoughts of modernity escaped my mind. 9/11 would be a rude awakening from this mental vacation.

At 2:30 PM, we were having lunch at a hole-in-the-wall next to the cathedral. Amid the wine and food, one thing kept us with one foot in the 21st century – a very anachronistic and annoying television. I figured the tube was hanging on the corner of the bar because Spanish people are soccer freaks and watching matches is compulsory citizenship.

But a soccer game wasn't on TV. It was 8:30 AM in the U.S. and like most people, I could not believe what I was seeing. None of the towers had fallen yet. But I would see it all, thousands of miles away from home.

Shaky, clammy, heart racing, floor under me crumbling and sinking: a full-blown and real panic attack ensued. I was completely disoriented and all I could think of was that I needed to call home.

This was before I would ever consider carrying a cellphone abroad. And thanks to the delicious Spanish tradition, every single store in town was closed until 4 PM for the obligatory extended lunch and siesta.

It was an excruciating wait and somehow I managed to polish off my lunch mechanically, but I could have been putting steel bolts in my mouth, honestly, I wouldn't have known the difference. The wine helped but didn’t properly soothe. Every nerve in my body was raw yet I felt disconnected from my surroundings.

We eventually found a pharmacy that sold calling cards. My friend had to buy it for me because I couldn’t make sense of what the clerk was saying. Coins were dropping from my hands. I handed the money to my friend and she took care of the transaction.

I also struggled to remember phone numbers and my friend had to dial for me.

Not surprisingly, phone lines were jammed.



I smashed the receiver onto the hook and just walked away. I simply gave up. There was nothing I could do and I let the feeling of helplessness guide me, trusting my family was ok.

We wandered aimlessly around the streets in a surreal haze. I remember thinking about all the bloody history of this city and how its Roman aqueduct still stood strong.

“America is a young country,” I kept telling myself. “We don’t have ancient monuments.” This was the only thing that could anchor me. Buildings can fall but people can rebuild and be strong.

I had to spend an extra two weeks in Madrid because I couldn’t get a flight home any sooner. My Spanish friends and acquaintances were very sympathetic but in general there was a feeling in the air that Americans deserved it and that we finally got what it means to have terrorism in your own backyard.

This only reinforced my sense of what it means to be American. As much as I loved my Spanish roots, I was not going to give up on the land where I was born.

And even though I felt my world fall apart that day, it was those old stone structures of Segovia that gave me some sense of hope.

Beachy day

Toby and I are playing hooky for the rest of the week and heading to Fire Island with these guys. We're excited to nap on the beach and maybe grill some burgers. I have more posts coming up, if you're in a blog reading mood. :) xoxo P.S. Have you ever been to Fire Island?

Travel fantasy: Maine cottages

How's this for a romantic travel fantasy: A weekend at the Cabot Cove cottages in Kennebunkport, Maine. You stay in a private cottage, and breakfast arrives at your door each morning. For the rest of the day, you hike to lighthouses, swim, sail, go whale-watching, drink wine in Adirondack chairs, and eat lobster for dinner. Wouldn't you love to go with your partner? :)

P.S. Maine-scented perfume.

(Via Momfilter)

Travel fantasy: Rock Restaurant

Wow, how's this for a travel fantasy: The Rock Restaurant is an amazing seafood shack perched on a rock in the Indian Ocean. Depending on the tide, you either walk, swim or row a boat to it!

Who's game?

P.S. More dream vacations...

(Via Honestly, WTF)

Pinhole Press vacation book

My darlings, we love taking vacation photos (who doesn't?) but then we never really look at them again. They're just stuck on our computers. So! We decided to make a Pinhole Press photo book with our England vacation snapshots, and I love love love the way it turned out. The paper is really soft, the photos look gorgeous, and it's amazing to have a little book of our vacation. Alex and I have read through it like fifty times. :) Here are a few of the pages...
Anyway, it was easy to make and it's so wonderful to have; now I'm dying to make litte photo books for all our vacations and events, including every Christmas break and our wedding and honeymoon. Thought I'd share! xoxo
P.S. Inspired, I also made some thank-you notes to have on hand at home, using a photo Amy Merrick emailed me of her flowers. :)

10 most amazing public pools

Have you guys been swimming yet this summer? I'm hesitant to swim in NYC's public pools (tons of kids, floating Band-Aids), but my jaw dropped when I saw these ten public pools around the world. Can you believe they're open to everyone?

Above are: Australia, England, Berlin and Austin (it's a 1000-foot-long pool, not a lake!).

The filming of Breathless

Last Friday, after I posted this smoochy photo from Breathless, I stumbled upon these amazing behind-the-scenes shots of the film, below. Have you seen the movie?
(The third photo above shows the cinematographer Raoul Coutard shooting a scene from a rooftop!)

Dutch subway slide

Leave it to the Dutch to install a slide in a subway station. Commuters are encouraged to use it if they're running late, and the official name is a "transfer accelerator." At night they play Bach. How rad is that?!

P.S. How long is your commute?

(Via Pop-Up City)

Maria's Florida Keys Favorites

The Eden House boutique hotel in Key West definitely lives up to its name.

I recently hosted this year's fourth annual SxSe, a South Florida social media retreat and tweetup, in the Florida Keys. The location turned out to be perfect for the event and if you weren't able to attend, that doesn't mean you shouldn't pack your bags and enjoy some of my favorite Florida Keys spots on your own.

So here goes, just some of many reasons I love the Florida Keys.


Alabama Jack's knows what grows well in gardening zone 10. This backcountry restaurant is close by, right at the border of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties on Card Sound Road, but it's a world apart from the 305 mindset.



Something amazing happens at the Seven Mile Bridge. Miami becomes a distant memory. It's like stress gets scrubbed off your soul by a giant spiritual loofah.



Reading, Key West style, at the Eden House.



I dare you to not fall into blissful sleep in this cozy, tropical nook at the Eden House.



Conch Carpaccio, served with capers, bell peppers, Parmesan cheese and a heavenly lime vinaigrette at Café Solé, is worth the 180-mile drive. The menu boasts: "So tender and delicate it will make you cry." It will do more: raw conch is said to be an aphrodisiac.



No snivelling is allowed at the legendary Green Parrot Bar. Actually, that should be a rule at every bar in Miami, too. I like this bar so much, I brought a tank top like the one the bartender is wearing to add to my "Favorite Florida Bars" wardrobe collection. Oh and Green Parrot also has a cool blog.



No visit to Key West is complete without a dark and stormy from Bahama Bob Leonard at the Rum Bar inside the Speakeasy Inn. That's Gosling's black rum and Barritt's Ginger Beer, two great exports from Bermuda.



The Pirate Museum may have moved to St. Augustine, but even the bathroom tile is swashbuckling at The Rum Barrel on Front Street. Catch live music, grub and grog upstairs on the rooftop terrace.



Key West's best late night snack is a big fat Cheesesteak sandwich from Mr. Z's, made to order by this fine gentleman. Seven bucks gets you 12 inches of meaty goodness and yes, I mean the sandwich.



One of my favorite strolls in Key West begins at Mac's Sea Garden in the Historic Seaport. Actually, there are several bars and restaurants here, so it's more like a long, leisurely walk on a short plank.



Just in case you can't function without your shot of diesel, stop by the Cuban Coffee Queen next to Mac's Sea Garden.



Nobody gives you shit about cocktails to go and nobody acts like a dick head. That kind of thing would never fly in South Beach.



Fried Key Lime Pie at Porky's Bayside BBQ in Marathon. It's as scrumptious as it looks.



I almost don't want to share Rum Runners Holiday Isle with you. I want it all to myself and my friends. Nothing beats a cold one sipped in the crow's nests at this dreamy beach side bar.



If you do go, make sure you let the world know you were there.

Got more Florida Keys favorites? Share in my thread at the Miami Beach 411 travel forums.

Travel Fantasy: Lighthouse

Would you like to spend the night in a lighthouse? The Saugerties Lighthouse, a couple hours north of New York City, has two cozy guest rooms. You hike a half mile through the woods to reach it, and then you can sit on the water, relax and drink wine in the evening. The town of Saugerties also has great restaurants, so you could go out to dinner and then sneak back through the woods at night!

P.S. More travel fantasies...

(Thanks, Momfilter)

Back from England

Hi, my darlings! We got back from England last night, after a wonderful, dreamy, windy, sunshiny week visiting our relatives in Cornwall. I keep gazing at this photo, which my cousin took while we were on a boat to the beach. I wish I could beam myself right back there. :) How was your week?

P.S. My own work/baby juggle post is coming up today. Thanks to the amazing mothers last week, and love to you all! xo
(Comic by Dagsson)