Soft pretzels

In the 19th century, southern German and Swiss German immigrants introduced the pretzel to North America. Many handmade pretzel bakeries populated the central Pennsylvania countryside, and the pretzel's popularity spread. Actually Pennsylvania today is the center of American pretzel production for both the hard crispy and the soft types of pretzels. Picture this: Philadelphians consume about twelve times the national average. 

Having a pretzel in a cart in NYC is a staple right? But I have to tell you that my pretzels are so much better! Some traditional pretzels, sprinkled some salt, or with some sugar and cinnamon, cheese, herbs… your choice! Delicious! Specially right after the oven.

Chicago: the steel city

Oh Chicago! The wild steel city! Best known for being the "Windy City" but actually not being the windiest city in the United States! Well, that is another story. Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States and it was on my list of places to visit.

It seems that there are some cities like Lisbon, Chicago and San Francisco that had always pass through enormous damage and got through with it... Chicago has suffered a huge fire back in 1885 but the city rise from the flames and became becoming one of the most virtuous and glamourous city. Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest and most dense and it had the two tallest towers in USA: the Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower.

Enjoy!

Be strong New Orleans!

Seven years after New Orleans suffered a catastrophic flood damage from hurricane Katrina, 'rude' Isaac is now causing widespread damage too. You have probably  seen many images of New Orleans struggling with the storm; So I thought I could show you the other face.

New Orleans is such an interesting and unique city. The funny thing is I felt that this city was familiar to me; I would say that is kind of a Richmond, but fancier. It’s not like a tall and modern city like New York or Chicago. New Orleans has soul and history.

La Nouvelle-Orléans was a french colony back in 1718 and its name came from the French city of Orléans. Although the city remained under Spanish control from 1783 until 1801, Napoleon sold the territory to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

New Orleans (often called NOLA, New Orleans Lousiana) has this distinct French Creole architecture that I really like, it is the birthplace of jazz (how cool is having your lunch/dinner  with the sound of jazz?! Love it!) and it is also famous for its cuisine and its annual celebrations and festivals like Mardi Gras (Carnival).

I think the pictures show what I’m trying to explain ;) Enjoy!

September quote

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August-inho! ahah

Dear August,

It's always so nice to meet you! You always bring me joy, you never disappoint me :) This summer has been really different, I didn't go to the beach, I didn't spend a weekend with my beautiful sisters in Coimbra, I didn't eat a single Olá icecream (lol), not even lupins and beer with friends, or barbecues with the family... oh man! 4 months for Christmas! almost :)
But as you may know, I went with my handsome boyfriend for a trip. For an awesome trip: Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and New Orleans. I will show you the photos next week, I promise!

Check the posts from August in case that you're in vacations and you missed them.

August quote
treat number 1

treat number 2

a break in the treats
treat number 3

treat number 4

|soblushed| at Carytown
10 days, 5 cities

and the answer is...
Capture the colour

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Capture the colour

Inês by I'Monnet Photo nominated me to take part in a contest named Capture the Colour. The details can be found in the competition page of the TravelSupermaket‘s site, but in short here are the rules:

• Publish a blog post with photos that capture the following 5 colours: Blue, Green, Yellow, White and Red.
• Nominate 5 fellow bloggers to take part in the contest.
• Due date: 29th August 2012.
• First prize: 1x £2000 to spend on travelling / 5x iPad3.
• Judges: Ken Kaminesky, Abi King, Dave & Deb, Christine Gilbert, Daniel Nahabedian

Dear Karkova from downtowndiaries, Ana from tapasnalíngua, bellisgirl, Joana from JS photography and estilistabracarense, do you want to join me? It's not so hard, just dig in your photos and I'm sure you'll find photos suited to this contest. The prize is awesome!

So here they are :) I hope you like them!

PS: Look at Inês photos here!

GREEN

 BLUE

YELLOW

 WHITE

 RED

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and the answer is...

If your answer was NEW ORLEANS, CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS and GRAND CANYON you are totally correct :)
So, how awesome is it? 1 to 10! Pretty awesome, f***ing awesome or just slightly awesome?



PS: Aren't they cool my fridge magnets?

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10 days, 5 cities

If it was the trip of my life? Well, probably! At least from my 26 years old... This adventure here in USA is really turning dreams into reality. I mean, I never thought living in USA in the first place but then having the opportunity to visit all of these cities (that you see on the movies ;) ).. It's just amazing!!

Pick american cities to explore could be quite exciting, right? The problem is deciding which ones to go :s

Last year when my boyfriend came to see me, we went to Boston, New York and Washington DC (check the posts if you missed them). This time, we went crazier: we visit 5 cities in 10 days!
So now the question is: what cities did we went? Can you guess? ;)

|soblushed| at Carytown

Another collection of photos for my album, this time the background is the lovely Carytown! 10 blocks of cute and lovely stores, boutiques, coffe shops, restaurants.. definitely with a european twist :) Carytown is the place for nice events and festivals such as the watermelon festival, food and wine festival, french film festival... Is the perfect place for a frozen yogurt and a movie at the end of the day. Carytown has also a couple of grocery stores in which Elwood Thompson is my favorite one. It's a really cool this local organic food market.

treat number 4

Put your hands in the air if you like marshmallows!! Yeah! These little sponges have always intrigued me! I'm not a fan of marshmallows "au naturel". I actually prefer them roasted... The flavor is so different! It's so gooood! ;) When I was young, there was a candy cart near my school, where we used to buy candies and 'tripas doces' (a  typical dessert from Aveiro: it's like a crêpe, but more moist and rare and you can choose the filling you want in it!!). Back then, there was an option: tripa with marshmallows, a very innovative thing by the way...

Now, the question is: am I able to do marshmallows from the scratch? Almighty God of the candies and good things, help me in this tough duty! 

PS1: Thank you K. for lending me the heavy duty mixer!
PS2: The marshmallows look a lit bit ugly, but like my friend said the beauty comes from within :D
PS3: Next time I have to leave the marshmallow mixture cool down a little bit more that way the chocolate doesn't melt :s