seems as though my start up disk is running out of space.

must get external harddrive ASAP.

this way I can still browse iTunes and buy & load up my 365's.

pssh.

Homemade Tomato Soup NOM NOM!

This is a recipe that I've been meaning to post for several weeks now...

This recipe is from I Sodi, a restaurant in NYC. The recipe is for 6 people, but you can always adjust it to your liking and however many people you're serving.

3 tbsp olive oil

3 large garlic cloves, minced

⅓ cup chopped fresh basil

2 tsp chopped fresh sage

1 ½ lb., ripe, peeled, seeded tomatoes, chopped (about 5 medium)

3 slices day-old white peasant bread, cut into cubes

3 cups water

olive oil and basil leaves for garnish

Heat olive oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic, basil and sage, and cook for about 3ish minutes or until the garlic begins to brown.

Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and summer for about 10 minutes or so, stirring consistently. Add your bread and water. Return to boil and reduce the heat. Stir, breaking up the bread a bit more with a wooden spoon (plastic spoons don't do the trick with this).

Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Laddle into bowls, garnish, blah blah blah.

First, I used a lot more olive oil than what the recipe called for (as well as basil) and instead of sage I used rosemary from my garden. The olive oil I prefer to use while making this soup was a seasoned dipping oil from Delallo's. The extra seasoning really made the soup worthwhile. I had also used bread that was I had pulled into pieces and kept in a paper bag for about 4 days or so. Next time I come across some good seasoned bread I will give that a go.

This is a great soup for me to make this fall, because I have so many tomatoes that are JUST NOW starting to really grow and ripen.

ENJOY!

My Transatlantic BFF

My Transatlantic BFF came to visit for a few days! It served as a great holiday that really tuckered my out in the end.

Her first American meal was at Cheesecake Factory, where she was served the biggest burger she's ever seen; however, it crossed her Cardinal Rule of Food by having some sort of mayo/sauce thing on the middle bun slice. She sure did eat a lot of it though and ordered a chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake (which I heard was pretty good to eat for breakfast).

Princeton, New Jersey served as our next location for adventure. We took a two hour tour or so on our way there, my Ima wanted to make sure to show her all the historical marks that created the birth place of America. (Side note: It was pretty amusing at times to see her slightly flinch when a large truck or something was coming on the other side of the road). Once we got to Princeton we had lunch at Panera's and then scoured Princeton Record Exchange for some goodies. L-M was so loved there that they didn't even charge her for a t-shirt or tote bag!

As we ventured away from PREX we stopped in Starbucks for her to try a Pumpkin Spice Latte (WIN!) and we passed by Paper Source drooling about what we could get our hands on. J.Crew was another place we went where I drooled because I watch items on the web site like I'm betting on them via Ebay... it's kinda sad. Anyways, we hit up Paper Source after J.Crew because we didn't have our drinks and they would have been in the way anyways, considering we spent a pretty penny in that place.

A highlight of the evening was our desert/dinner at The Bent Spoon!!

There was a proper tour of Philadephia as well: a cheese steak at Pat's, a walk through the Italian Market (not an official tour, just a walk), a walk onto South Street, a walk throughout Society Hill, which then lead to theLiberty Bell & National Constitution Center.

After being productive and doing historical things, we finally hit up Sephora & Anthropology. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to give details of either events!

In between all of this we laughed, we saw people we never expected to see, and caught up with about 3 years of life. I really enjoyed having a genuine friend around because, let's face it, you don't find them all too often. I cried when leaving her at the airport, but I was also excited for her as she continued her American adventures with One Great City!!!

And I can now start counting down the days (22) till my next holiday to my stateside homeland (New Mexico) to visit my tia. Unfortunately, my mind will be all sorts of confused because I will be in French State of Mind, while I normally speak Catalan with those who share my blood, and they don't speak my kind'a Spanish there!

my eyeballs are ready to shut on their own now... hope everyone has a great week :)

-b'ahavah

Proactiv Skin Care vs. Philosophy On A Clear Day

When I was 17 my nanny had picked me up from work one weekend and said that we were going to run some errands, so I had to freshen up at home and put on 'real clothes'. Not long after she said that we were at a red light, she turned my face to hers by the chin and commented, "We need to fix your face." I didn't take it personally, because I knew she wasn't talking about make-up. I didn't have any on and I never was one to have so much on that you have a line underneath your chin... my other grandmother did that in her later years so I knew better. She meant the spots that were on my face and were probably there because I was 17 and stressed about not being able to get to PREX to buy the new Death Cab for Cutie album or something.

Family members have always commented on how clear my skin is and that I'm very fortunate- my mom's side of the family has intensely bad acne and my dad doesn't have really clear skin, but my family members on that side are hit or miss from my understanding. So, I haven't really needed to use intense products to 'fix' my face or anything else, but I have used such products because I wanted to deter from having to fix my face and getting nasty spots.

Needless to say, while living in France I started to experience what it was like to have spots on my face about five years later than usual. I became really frustrated and realized that the Proactiv kits, as purchased by my nanny via QVC, that I've been using since I was 17 was no longer working it's magic (it also wasn't working much magic when I had to leave the house in the winter mornings and my face hurt so bad... it felt like it was on fire from how dry the products made my skin). I had a nice seven year run with Proactiv, honestly. But, it did come down to a science when my skin started to feel a certain way, when the weather was going to change (even when the humidity was going up and down), and when I knew that sleeping with a face mask on was necessary. I started knowing when I needed to wash my face with the products once a day, twice a day, or whether I needed to take a couple day break. (In the mean time I use Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo. I also used this to get the rest of my make-up off my face).

This past year after looking long and hard for a new face regimen, I finally found the most amazing stuff in the world: Philosophy's On A Clear Day. The foaming cleanser is so light and airy and you don't need to use a lot of it to make it work! The Oil Free All Over Acne Treatment is also light and dries quickly. The Oil Free Spot Treatment is great and really does take care of the spots and larger areas if you wanted to use it that way. The Retinal Cream is light and does the trick as the final layer on your face. I know, I know, it's a lot to put on your face in on sitting, but these are light products and they work miracles. SERIOUSLY.

I have a mixed oily/dry complexion and these products didn't make a difference with how my skin reacted. These products had also evened out my skin tone, which is great because it's nicer and clearer.

I know that Proactiv ships to international locations, so if that suits your interests you can certainly order. Philosophy can also be bought at Sephora, so you can order from either one, or just stop in to Sephora (really, who doesn't want to do that?!).

I can vouch for many other Philosophy products as well. They are delicious! I own most of their parfums too- Pure Grace is my absolute favourite and my casual smell.

I'd love to share more, but I have a guest from Scotland wanting to try out the Cheesecake Factory!