MSN Monday: The One With The Camera Cord

Coco says: I have my camera cord with me if you want to upload things

Nuxa says: the thing is my camera requires a special camera cord

Nuxa says: your boy came over and showed me his, but it’s too big

Nuxa says: whoa…..

Nuxa says: that’s what she said

Coco says: ahhh, ok

Coco says: haha

Coco says: nice one

Nuxa says: not even intentional

(Two minutes later…)

Coco’s Boy says: that is what she said, amazing!

oh happy day

22 years ago today, a beautiful baby girl was born into this world. Little did the world know what a spectacular young woman that baby girl would grow up to be.

That baby girl grew up to love cardigans, pineapple gum, and hot dogs. She grew up to have millions of freckles and the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. She grew up to be clumsy, forgetful and slightly spacey. She grew up to love indie music, dance parties and girls nights.

That baby girl grew up to be the best friend a girl could ask for. She grew up to be the perfect shoulder to cry on, the most excellent partner-in-crime and the most supportive, most caring, most loving young woman.

And I know that in a few short months, this young woman will be the best teacher a student could ask for. She is going to make a difference in the life of every child who is blessed enough to be in her class. She is a remarkable young woman today, and she only gets lovelier as the days and years go by.

To my housemate, best mate and soul mate: happy birthday.

Amo-te,

Nuxa

yay for history of gender

We’re busy cramming for an exam on Thursday afternoon so no big blog posts from us until then. For now, here are some links we’ve been liking lately:

From Nuxa:

Etsy – Those of you who have never seen or heard of this online crafting phenomenon, run, don’t walk, to rifle through this gigantic cache of hand-crafted goods. You can find everything from painted signs to vintage clothing to Barack Obama’s face on a pair of earrings.

The Sartorialist – This well-known blog (recently profiled by Penny) showcases the personal style of random people they find on the street.

MadeByGirl – A sweet home inspiration blog.

Ellipsis – A daily devotion to the girl she loves. Pure poetry.

From Coco:

The Vintage Cookbook Trials – Great if you’re looking for an old-school recipe or wondering whether Gougère with Chicken Livers is worth eating.

Aesthetically Pleasing – Beautiful photos with very few words needed.

Ultra-Condensed Movie Reviews – She watches them so you don’t have to. Anna’s condensed version is often funnier than the real film.

Contrariwise – A site devoted to literary tattoos. Some are breathtaking; others make you cringe. Either way it’s inspiration.

And now back to our studying…

(Photos taken from Life Archives)

change

More beautiful pictures for this Easter weekend. My mom went back to the Lincoln Memorial yesterday afternoon to see a concert honouring Marian Anderson, who sang there in 1939.

 

 

Marian Anderson, a woman of colour but more importantly, a celebrated opera singer, had performed in major concert halls in Europe, Philadelphia and New York– even for royalty. But when she arrived in Washington, she found herself barred from Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. She wasn’t even allowed to move her concert to a school auditorium.

Instead, she sang at the Lincoln Memorial– in front of 75,000 concert-goers, both black and white, 70 historic years ago.

 

 

Since then, Washington has stopped being a segregated city. It has seen countless marches for civil rights, influential lobbyists of every colour, and the nation’s very first (but not last!) black President. 

 

 

My mom put it best: “I love my last shot – these 2 children were playing away at the top of the Memorial, oblivious to the significance of the event. Their play symbolizes the changes that have occurred in 70 years…”

 

 

-Coco

here comes the sun

My parents went to the Lincoln Memorial this morning for the Easter sunrise service and they sent along some photos. My mom is a really talented photographer with a great camera– I like to think I got my tiny bit of photography skill from her.

 

 

 

 

 

They’re not edited yet, but you get the idea. I’m so looking forward to being in DC for the summer, stealing my mom’s camera until I save up for a new one, and popping into random tourist spots at dawn/noon/dusk/whenever to get some good shots.

-Coco

why didn’t you tell me I was in love with you?

It seems like everyone in the world, whether they’re celebrating Easter or Passover or just the weekend, is relaxing and having a lovely day. And I am stuck inside working madly on a huge paper due by the end of tomorrow. The topic itself is interesting, but I’m such a perfectionist (and procrastinator) that it’s taking me much longer to write than it technically should. Oh well. Think of me as you continue with your carefree existence.

It wouldn’t be Easter without one of my favourite movies, though. My sister and I love watching this classic at Easter, so for now I’ll have to be satisfied with a few fun clips.

 

 

 

And since I’m reminiscing about traditions I share with my sister… here’s some bonus Lawrence Welk!

 

-Coco

we wonder this weekend…

As Coco mentioned in the previous post, I am home for Easter this weekend. And the best part about being home this weekend? My family’s Easter traditions.

My family is Portuguese and Catholic, so Easter is KOBD (kind of a big deal) around here. We spend the morning and afternoon of Good Friday baking Portuguese sweet bread (folare), and then spend the evening distributing it.

My mama makes sweet bread every Easter, and she tends to make anywhere between 15-25 loaves. Everyone, from friends to neighbours to family, loves folare. So she has to make enough to go around.

It’s one of my favourite family traditions. Folare is absolutely delicious, and it makes the house smell heavenly.

And making it with my family is always fun. Mainly because Mama makes it, and the rest of us act as taste-testers. We all know our roles and we play them quite well.

So in light of Nuxa sharing one of her family traditions, we now ask you: what is your favourite family tradition?

hostesses with the mostest…es?

Allow me to point out that without the ellipsis, that would have read like “most testes.” I assure you that the writers of this blog are, as advertised, meninas (menina means girl in Portuguese– we never did clarify that) and do not possess any testes, let alone the most.

 

Anyway! Nuxa is at home baking delicious folare with her Mama while I am leisurely studying for an exam tomorrow, so I thought I’d take a little break (I haven’t started yet) and start the crafty/design portion of our blog. We’ve been planning to include lots of posts on pretty things we find, plans for decorating our new apartments, etc, but between school and everything else going on, we’ve put it on the back-burner until summer. You can look forward to seeing some nifty flea market finds, our inspiration for future homes, and a few (hopefully successful) DIY projects starting in May. Yay for fun content!

 

For the last two years, Nuxa and I have found ourselves forced to stay at school and study instead of being able to go home to celebrate Easter with our families. Some of our friends were in the same boat so we decided to host a potluck Easter dinner, complete with roast, asparagus, Portuguese sweetbread, and of course lots of wine. Since we’re always on a budget, our centrepieces last year consisted of wine bottles, our dishes, and our friend who was studying abroad for the semester– we set a place for my laptop and Skyped with him until he passed out due to too much cheap French wine.

 

It was a delicious dinner, but the table’s not all that aesthetically pleasing. Which is why, this year, in lieu of an actual dinner, I have compiled some cheap, easy, cute ideas to add some flair to your next cozy dinner party. They’re also ideal for brightening up an unused kitchen table.

Fabulous photos of centrepieces after the jump!

sorry for the absence!

As you may have noticed, there are two meninas writing this blog. And because of that, we pride ourselves on posting at least every other day, preferably every day. We know what it’s like to want more, more, more from every blog you read, and we want to give that to you.

That being said, sometimes our lives get crazy, and this is the craziest time of all– exams. So bear with us for the next three weeks and we’ll soon be back to normal. You can also expect even more detailed, original, and creative posts since we’ll be off working our menial admin-type jobs and we’ll need an outlet for our boredom.

To make up for our prolonged absence, here are some more pictures of the puppy:

 

He’s a bit scruffy-looking post surgery/deathly illness, but boy has he got his spirits back!

More pictures after the jump! (we wouldn’t leave you hanging after just 2!)

MSN Monday: The One Where Coco Was Pregnant

Coco says: you should have seen the look she gave me when her boyfriend hugged me at the end of the night

Nuxa says: seriously?

Coco says: yeah

Coco says: it was weird

Nuxa says: that’s so ridiculous

Coco says: she’s ridiculous

Nuxa says: you were preggers! what are you gonna do? pick up her bf?

Nuxa says: *sigh*

Coco says: hahaha

Coco says: yeah

Coco says: slash I’m madly in love with my own boyfriend and don’t need hers, thank you very much