Brazilian nights and a Bathroom makeover...

Chicago is a pretty fabulous city...known for an abundance of cultural pursuits..... Something 

  cool has been kept under wraps...or I'm just not in "the loop" (pun intended)...anymore! Luckily I have a brother who lives in the city who keeps me plugged in for things that he knows I will love!

 Every Summer the City of Chicago lays out a wooden dance floor in one of it's hundreds of parks- this one is just south of the Art Museum, across from the old Congress Hotel along Michigan Avenue.

Every Thursday through Sunday they have bands.. representing all different styles of music.. play for free...food and drinks are available for purchase as well. In early September we attended Brazilian night...I love Brazilian music and dancing as the sun set in such a setting was pretty magical...

 The evenings begin around 6 pm. with dance instruction from professionals in that evenings genre...the band comes on around 7:30-8 p.m. and that is when the fun begins!

You can see the Willis Tower through the trees as the sun sets....

The crowd on the evening we went was eclectic and a lot of fun...all ages welcome...

 Still groovin' from my night in the City...I decided to make my downstairs powder room a bit more groovy too! Here are the "before" shots...taken quickly as I started to disassemble the space...

and here are the "afters"...4 coats of high gloss dark teal paint later...and...

Voila'....the new updated powder room...I plan to make this a gallery space as I collect more Art...

I am also getting a new rug...maybe something like this...still thinking it over...

I found this antique brass umbrella stand and decided it was the perfect container for tp....

 I painted the original shelf in the space a high gloss white so that it would "pop" off the dark teal. I added some brass accents, some antique books with the right hues and a pair of framed etchings.

I hope you are having a relaxing weekend! XO Emily

Eating Well on the Ecuadorian Coast...

Ecuador’s food is health food… compared to food in the US… even Ecuador’s fast food is prepared fresh.

Many mistakenly think that Ecuadorian food is something like Mexican food. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Ecuadorian food is European if anything but blended nicely with Andean traditions… so it is very healthy. Here is an example... Fanesca, an Easter holiday soup made with 12 grains, fish, egg and avocado. This is quite a famous dish served this time of year...doesn't it look delicious?

On Ecuador’s coast, you can get seafood right from the fishing boats when they come in, like these at San Clemente. Boats like this one are dotted all along the coast.

The Humboldt Current creates one of the world’s most productive nutrient-rich waters that rise along the coast. This is a perfect condition for abundant plankton which leads to an eco region with huge schools of small fish like anchovies and sardines.

The cool waters of the Humboldt Current provide a constant supply of food for big fish such as Dorado (also called dolphinfish), barracuda, blue and black marlin, yellow-finned and long-finned tuna, snook and many other species including very large shrimp!

There are no high fat, fast food franchises exept in large cities in Ecuador. This is as close to a fast food as you’ll get in most smaller towns and villages...

Fruit is vine picked ripe and really cheap… every type… tropical and northern… apples, blackberries, cherries, strawberries and pears. Many products sold in the local markets are organic like this sign in a Cotacachi market... “productos organicos here.”

Prices for fresh seafood are cheap..$1.00 per pound at local markets.

The national drink of Ecuador is herbal tea… not espresso cafe… real infusions made from the fresh plants purchased in the market. Much healthier… even medicinal!

Here is star anise great for making Tea-Masala.

Another traditional shamanic purification tea to be drunk and bathed in is one part sweet pepper pictured here (called black cardomon in the US)

Boiled with cinnamon bark and chamomile..

 They drink wonderful, healthy welcome drinks… alfalfa juice with mango....

and mango juice with blackberry....

   coffee breaks include quinoa puddings…

Toasted corn...

 and gooseberries and hand made chocolate dipped, coconut balls. Even the coconut is fresh and hand shredded.

Quinoa "welcome cake" is a specialty....

A typical high protein meal, quinoa, avocado and shrimp.

Here is a variation on the theme… shrimp… with quinoa and vegetables “al dente” in a carrot sauce.

Organic Swiss cheese is produced locally as well.

Are you hungry yet?

(Merci':Gary Scott and Mademoiselle Sherry)