I may blog about food, interior design and hikes, but travel is my heart. And I don’t just mean vacations; what truly inspires me is the kind of adventure that’s a leap of faith, and that’s what first drew me to Danielle Alvarez’s blog, Danielle Abroad. New York-bred Danielle made the bold move to go to Paris for graduate school and on her blog she shares an American’s musings on European culture.
Many blogs these days are so visual — and yes, Danielle’s photos of the City of Lights are beautiful — but what I love is that she writes — really writes — about her experiences, her pratfalls, her curiosities. Today she lends us some of that same expat thoughtfulness. Read on to see what routines have made this gal’s new home feel like, well, home.
I know there are plenty of uses for zucchini, but whenever I buy them, I draw a blank in terms of what to make, and they go bad before I know it. I’ve done the breadcrumb-coated baked zucchini chip thing and I’ve done the roasting with herbs thing, but I wanted a fun and different way to incorporate more zucchini into my life.
A lot of people made Ocean Beach sound like a dirty hippie commune with a flea-ridden dog beach. I can’t vouch for the dog beach because we still haven’t gone, but we finally explored the ‘hood known as OB this past weekend and guess what? I love it. It feels exactly like what I — and probably most other people — picture San Diego to be, what with the sun worshipers on the beach, board shorts-clad beach bums walking the streets and people of all ages getting around via bicycle.
OB seemed to have a wonderful mix of ages, couples and families with a nice beach, chill eateries and really great antiques browsing along Newport. In the seven months since we moved here, this finally feels like the quintessential San Diego experience.
Noelia Pahissa moved to San Diego from Barcelona in 2004 for her husband’s job and among her many packed possessions were a few pairs of Avarcas sandals, the kind both Noelia and her husband grew up wearing in Spain. It only took a few dozen compliments for Noelia to realize there was an unmet demand for the Spanish product in the U.S. market. Now the San Diego-based couple are co-founders of the Avarcas USA label, bringing handmade, eco-friendly artisan sandals to sustainable-minded Americans.
Today Noelia talks to us about biking the streets, a Sunday food tradition brought over from Spain and building sand castles.
Name: Noelia Pahissa Age: 39 Hometown: Barcelona, Spain Current City: San Diego, CA Professional title: Co-founder and co-owner at Avarcas USA; mom of a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old daughter
Before I moved to San Diego, I asked my mom to write down the recipes for all her greatest hits. I’d name them for you, but you’ve probably never heard of these dishes. That’s because there are so many North Indian restaurants in America but so few dedicated to South India, where my family hails from. It’s always a treat to share these recipes with friends and readers because these dishes don’t get the airtime they deserve. (Here’s a quick lesson: Chicken tikka masala? Saag paneer? Not a South thing.)
Rotti is a savory rice flour-based pancake made with onions, cilantro and cumin seeds. This was one of my favorite foods growing up and seems to be very specific to my family since none of my South Indian friends know it. (Though, please chime in if you’ve had one of these. I’m curious!) It’s super fast and easy to make, especially since it’s a very as-you-wish dish. Want tons of cilantro? Go for it. Like it onion-y? Go wild. Thick? Thin? The choice is yours.
Blogging often means photo shoots, set-ups, props and some serious foresight. But this weekend I reminded myself that not everything has to be a well-orchestrated big idea. I decided to shift from the macro to micro — quite literally. Here’s a little look at what happens when you capture impromptu moments and get friendly with your zoom function.
July was exciting. I covered Comic-Con and an Emmy event for Entertainment Weekly and watched the gay pride parade in my neighborhood of Hillcrest among other fun happenings, but this video recap is all about the little things: watching surfers at the beach, giving Teddy a new toy, enjoying a delicious ice cream sandwich…and crashing an epic July 4th party held in a penthouse apartment thrown by the most fabulous gay couple.
We recently hit the six-month mark in San Diego and to be totally honest, there are some things that I don’t love about this city. Lately I’ve been getting bogged down with all the negatives (as I see them), but I’m trying to snap out of it. I mean, it’s really hard to compete with New York City and international travel, so I can’t say it’s all San Diego’s fault — not to mention the fact that it’s been a mere six months.
What’s been helping me is to focus on what I do like. Here are six specific things that I think are so special and wonderful to San Diego:
