Fine Arts, Fresh Fruits for Brunch and the Warmth of a Real Mug :)

I have a foodie cousin from San Jose, California, who came to visit us a couple weeks ago. He made me discover a charming little brunch place in Arlington, close to where he was staying called Cassatt's Café. Cassatt's Cafe, named after the American painter Mary Cassatt, features monthly showings of work by members of the Arlington Artists Alliance. When we were there, talented young artists as young as seven years old were showcased all over the walls. This place is a true gem and a great half way point between our D.C suburbs and the city.

My family got to reunite with a long lost cousin. My fingers finally got to get their scarce public display of affection with a real coffee mug. My tongue got to savor real fresh fruits laid over delicious crispy French toast along with my Café au Lait. I felt like I was in Montreal again. Things you take for granted when residing in the city....

In our distant suburbs, most coffee shops close when you finally put your kids to bed and all the coffee is served in a disposable paper cup. Coffee is meant for people who need to wake up, in a hurry and on the go. I truly missed the charm of a tiny coffee shop, wrapping my hands around a warm ceramic mug, see and feel the latte foam without that plastic lid and get a latte mustache all over my upper lip. I missed being able to admire Art work while enjoying a fresh light brunch with fruits that didn't come out gooey from a can. It made me realize how I miss city life more than I thought. You will now see me more often in that little spot. It's definitely worth the extra twenty minute drive. :)

Full Tummy

At WHAT point do we know that were are truly close to someone?

I am one of those who have flash chemistry with people, but that never was an indicator of closeness...I just open myself up easily and that often leads to an illusion of a true connection. But what really determines closeness? Is it the amount of years of friendship? The amount of things we know about that person? How much we told to this person? How many memories we built with this person? Is it about the most talking we do or more about the most experiences we share together? I could think of a friend that could correspond to each different question...but then again, I'd assume we'd be truly close if he or she felt the exact same way as well, which we don't always know necessarily. Some people I don't really consider my close friend, but I ended up being one of theirs. I thought relationships all had to be exactly reciprocal but I learned it wasn't the case.

Sometimes we invest a whole lot of energy on a person but we didn't mean the same thing to that person. I spent too much of my life trying to determine who is a better friend, but in the end, it's about how we feel during each circumstances with that friend and if they bring us positive energy during that time. Like I say often, people come and go and some return and never really left. What matters is that I am grateful for everyone who IS there, near or far, at the moment or silently present, but would show up at the right time. My friendship tummy is full and I feel so lucky to be this well surrounded. :)

Paper Heart & Garlic Love :P

Yesterday was our eighth wedding anniversary. We didn't have a sitter on that Tuesday night so we stayed home and are planning to go out on the week-end instead. As we were discussing all our past memories built over the years, after eleven years of being in love with each other, we were browsing through Netflix and stumbled upon this indie movie called Paper Heart.

It was such pleasant surprise! The movie embodied every essence of what I want to transmit and all the vocations that this blog has.

This movie is about Charlyne Yi, playing as herself, who embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject that she doesn't fully understand: Love.

I won't give you any spoilers but there was a quote I really liked in this movie: "Everybody wakes up with a bad breath"... It's just unfortunate that the story is fictional, after all those rumors about Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi dating in real life. They are JUST friends. Well...their chemistry was truly believable. :)

Ice Cream Sundays and Cinnamon Pretzels ♥

It has been eleven years that we melt for each other like ice cream. Every Sunday, I dread being apart from him during an entire week and look forward to the week-end to spend all the quality time we can together. A lifetime does not even seem long enough to get to know each other and do what we need to do together. Some people would call it too fusional. We call it organic. :P It is easy to be together. It is harder when we are apart.

It is hard to believe that is has already been eight years of blissful marriage and eleven years since we first met. It has been eleven years that my life has completely changed and that I understand how it truly feels like to be loved in its purest form.

I have so much to be thankful for. I am deeply grateful for all those hours of pillow talk, watching him fall asleep or him watching me, and then getting twisted like a cinnamon pretzel all night and waking up by his love and warmth. I love how he felt like he was part of my family right away, from the first second I met him. I love how we still hold hands and kiss passionately. I love our comfortable silences, our eyes constantly smiling at each other whenever they meet. I love how we joke together, laugh together and even cry together. I love how we inspire each other to think, learn, share, create and grow. I love how no matter how deep asleep he is, he would hold me or kiss me in his sleep when he feels me getting closer to him. I love splitting every dessert with him until the last hot fudge drop. I love how we play music, dance and are playful together. I love doing mundane things like getting the groceries with him. I love commenting and making recurring inside jokes with him and how we finish each others sentences. I love how we still say thank you to every little attention we pay to each other. I love how I can be a little girl, a woman, a mother, a wife, a friend, a goofy dork or a sleazy temptress with him at any time. I love how we know to never hurt each other. I love how fresh it still feels, but how our souls seem to have known each other for eternity already. I love how even when we are apart, we are still together. I love our little cupcake we made together, the result of our tender love cake batter. But mostly, I absolutely am grateful to the Powers That Be for sending him to me.

Happy Wedding Anniversary and Happy Anniversary of the day we met to my dear husband, lover, father of my children and mostly, my best friend. ♥ ♥ ♥

A Very Special Serving Dish ♥

Gaetan Tyler was a very talented tailor who worked on multiple projects at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens De Montréal. He used to live right next to our convenience store and became very close to our family. My mother would get her traditional Cambodian corsets made by him in exchange for some groceries that they would tally up against the costume construction cost.

Gaetan is the one who made most of my curtains, duvet cover and shower curtains in my entire house. Everywhere I look, I think of him. He was instrumental for helping me build this cozy home. He will be greatly missed. He left this world a couple years ago already and I only found out nearly a year after, since my mother didn't want to upset me. I had no clue he passed away as I moved to the D.C area,

so I never really had full closure on what truly happened to him.

As our wedding anniversary is approaching, my heart and thoughts go to him even more. He also made all of my seven wedding dresses and traditional corsets. (*this post is more difficult to write than I expected....sigh). I miss him. As a wedding gift, he offered me a very valuable serving dish that was passed along for generations in his family. I felt so honored to have received this crystal serving dish, with a silver rim and loaded with symbols for a prosperous mariage. If I recall his words correctly, the fish, olives, the rose and the root represent romance, fertility, prosperity and health. As his life partner and him didn't plan on adopting any children, Gaetan decided to pass along his family tradition to me so I can pass it on to my own children later on.

May your soul rest in peace my dear friend. We all really miss you, but thankfully, we are surrounded by your astounding work all around us, along with many fond memories. :)

This was a song he used to hum to me often while coming to our store...

Celestial Shredded Wheat

Have you ever driven on a country road and notice those huge shredded wheat that must have fallen from the sky? (That's what I liked to believe at least)...I first had the chance to admire those rolled up hay back in 2003, when I just moved to this area. They bring so much peace to my heart and I can't help but smile whenever we drive by them. They would lay there, a whole bunch of them in such a graceful and artistic way, scattered all over a beautiful green field and sometimes, there were cows nearby, just to add even more charm to the landscape. I always thought, along with the cows, that they were the closest to the freshest cereal bowl they can be. Fresh milked cows with gigantic shredded wheat. I digress...but since it's Spring again, and they were back out, I thought I could share my amazement with you all. :)

Expiration Dates

I love how nowadays we know when everything we consume will spoil and become rancid. I know how long I have to eat all that Costco yogurt and cheese we bought. I know how long to keep my milk once it's opened and once it turns bad, so it's no surprise. It's expected.

If only relationships could come with an expiration date displayed from the start...Wouldn't we be more appreciative of what we have if we knew exactly when it would end?

I don't know if I am the only romantic one out there. So romantic that I expect ALL of my relationships to last a life time, and I make dramatic conclusions that they must have not been "meant to be" when those relationships and friendships end. Why did I think they could all last forever? Oh yeah, blame it on those cheesy charms and friendship bracelets labeled, "Friends Forever" which were so popular when I was growing up...

The truth is, friends come and go. People come and go. And even those who never leave us will end up going, us being mortals. So instead of dwelling on the lost ones, I realize now that they have reached their expiration dates probably, but I still can cherish the good times we had. Some rare relationships will last a lifetime, but it was unrealistic of me to expect or even hope to preserve all of them. Even the best ones out there can leave, depending on circumstances. It doesn't even always require a conflict for it to end. I just wished that I would know which would last and which wouldn't. Especially when I enter every new profound relationship with the willingness and eagerness to make it last a lifetime....