Tiny Tuesday! Baby Meerkats

Source: Aachener Zeitung, The Weather Channel.

How about these little guys? They were rejected by there mother at a German zoo, but zookeepers have worked around the clock to make them the healthy little fur balls you see here. More pics on Bust! 

Tiny Tuesday: Hood Buns

There are a lot of bunnies in my neighborhood. I sometimes take for granted how head explodingly cute they are because I see them everyday.  I like to feed them my expensive strawberries from the farmers market. Kurt likes to disrupt their clover munching by gently tossing a frisbee precisely in their direction, just to see them scatter. Mule likes to eat them. Harold thinks he's one of them. This Tiny Tuesday goes out to all my hood buns. 

Tiny Tuesday: Glasswing butterflies and other cool see-through creatures.

Glasswings by Malcom Mee on Flickr 

It would be super cool to be transparent. Not in a figurative way, but like one of those old school see-through swatch watches where you could see all of my gears turning. It would be gross, but at the same time, people just wouldn't be able to look away. Or what if I could just have transparent hair like a polar bear. They have pigment free hair that reflects light! Here is a list of intriguing transparent animals. Clearly, glasswing butterflies wear transparency best. Sorry Barreleye, but you're creeping me out. 

A Mini Guide to Tulum, Mexico

Boca Paila Road

A few people have asked for suggestions for places to eat and see if they visit Tulum. Here a few more photos of our trip, along with a brief rundown of our favorite discoveries.

Dinner time at Hartwood

The cutest little liquor store. 

This stretch of road between the beach and the jungle is where Tulum gets its rep for being a crunchy yoga paradise. Here you'll find open air juice bars, yoga studios, boutiques, and ocean-side bars with beds on the beaches. You'll see VW buses driven by dreadlocked European transplants, shirtless long boarders, and ageless women who wear bathing suit bottoms as pants. The white sandy beaches, with their shores studded with kite surfers and fishing pelicans, are absolutely perfect.









Hartwood - (Boca Paila Road, km. 9) I'd been wanting to go here since I tried their recipe for agave-glazed pork belly with grilled pineapple. The restaurant is just a scattering of candlelit tables in the jungle, and everything is prepared fresh and by hand, without electricity. Their menu changes daily, because they only use fresh, local produce, meat, and fish. I think this is the most fantastic meal in Tulum.

El Tobano - (Boca Paila Road, km. 7) This place is as homey as a palapa roof restaurant in the jungle can be, with mismatched wooden furniture and chalkboard menus. Perfect for breakfast. They serve fresh, simple Mexican dishes from organic ingredients, along with a few other comfort foods fresh baked bread and homemade yogurt.

Mixik - (Boca Paila Road. km 5) We loved this boutique for handicrafts and other treasures. Compared to other touristy roadside shops in Tulum, Mixtik has a more carefully curated selection of art, textiles, pottery, and knick-knacks. the prices seemed better here, too. Mixik was featured in New York Times. They have two locations, one on Boca Paila, another on Avenida Tulum.

Caravan de Hacienda Montaecristo - (Boca Paila Road, Km 7.4) Beautiful, locally made scarves, leather sandals, bags and accessories. Everything from this company is made by them from they ground up; They tan the leather, weave and dye fabrics, embroider - the whole shebang. Read more about them, here.

La Troupe - (Boca Paila Road, Km 7.6) Stylish linens, clothing, scarves, and accessories. Mostly handmade in Mexico.

Cesiak and Sian Ka'an - At the very end of Boca Paila, you'll enter the gates of Sian Ka'an, the nature reserve I mentioned in this post. Definitely check it out, if you're looking for a quiet secluded beach away from the tourist drag.

Chedraui - Not exactly a cool, hip place, but this was our grocery store of choice when stocking our villa's kitchen with groceries. These trips generally yielded cocktail supplies, doughnuts and avocados, but what else do really need? Whatever it is, this super-sized mercado will have it.

Scenes from our stay at Villa Luminosa.

Our neighbors at Casa del Perro Feliz. / The villas are located on a private road through the jungle. 

Crab skeleton friend / Casa Cenote Dive Shop

Drinking Sol on the balcony of our villa. / Our awesome travel companions, Nick and Megen!

We rented one of these beautiful beach houses with three other couples. The cost was about $400 per person for a seven day stay. I think that's a killer deal considering that I SLEPT IN A PRIVATE BEACH MANSION. Our house (Villa Luminosa) had a pool, rooftop terrace, courtyard garden, and it's own private beach. There was plenty of room for a big group or family, with lots of hammocks, beach chairs, and quiet nooks for relaxing. We were among a group of 50 wedding guests staying in rental homes in this area, and when visiting friends during the week, we noticed that all of the villas were as fantastic as ours.

Staying in your own villa is great for when you want to pretend that you've abandoned your life in a landlocked town to move to a tropical paradise. Not just for vacation - In my daydreams, I'm an fluent ex-pat who paddles a kayak to work, only occasionally wears pants, and rolls deep with an entourage of newly spoiled, half-feral, small-headed dogs. The peak times for these delusions are in the mornings, when you can stare out the window, practicing the few Spanish phrases you know in your head, while drinking coffee and spreading mashed avocados on toast. It also helps that most villas come with a resident beach dog, scraggly but sweet, who drinks pool water and escorts you on walks along the beach.  Did I mention that the villa had a live-in staff? With the stealth and quickness of ninjas, they occasionally appeared from their adjoining apartment to provide fresh towels, take out the trash, and rake the beach. Lavish, right? I almost fainted.

The villas are located down a private beach road, about 15 minutes from town. Within walking distance, there are a couple of beachfront restaurants, a cenote, and a small dive shop that offers the most affordable scuba lessons, snorkeling, and fishing trips in Tulum. Kurt recommends the scuba. He went two days in a row, and weeks later, he wistfully asserts that, "Scuba is the only thing I care about now."

Kurt's new friend from the Kekas stand. 

Sugar cane juice!

Nick and Hilary

Endless quest for snacks. 

The town of Tulum is located a 5 minute drive away from the touristy beach road. The main drag, Avenida Tulum, is lined with restaurants, shops, banks, pharmacies and produce stands. Here you'll find lots of delicious street food and my favorite treat ever, paletas. My husband has a habit of wandering alone into the neighborhoods of the places we are visiting, on the hunt for authentic, local snacks served from carts, bicycle baskets, garages, grandmother's living rooms ... If there is something good to be eaten, he'll sniff it out! Tulum did not leave him disappointed. Instead of eating where the tourist crowds are, the trick is to look for the largest crowds of locals. 

Flor de Michoacan - This palateria sells a spectacular assortment of homemade palateas (Mexican popsicles) in flavors like chile mango, rice pudding, and toasted coconut. They also have fresh fruit juices and ice creams. The lady who runs the place might be the sweetest person in Tulum. We bought her paletas several days in a row. There is a cute, shaded patio in the back, too! 

Jugo de Cana cart - A woman turned her VW beetle into a sugar cane juice bar. She built a hand-crank cane juicer into the back seat, and juices fresh sugar cane for every drink. I really liked the bitter orange ginger-aid. This is my favorite street vendor concept ever.

Carmen Barkey (Near corner of Osiris & Av. Tulum) - This bakery has delicious warm croissants, baquettes, cinnamon rolls, and classic Mexican pastries. Yep, I tried them all. 

 

 

Up next, I have ideas for a couple of day trips you could take around Tulum. Then I PROMISE I'll be done talking about Mexico and will return to life in Kentucky, where it is just as humid but not as pretty.

Related : Cesiak and Sian Ka'an / Hand Lettered Signs 

Tiny Tuesday : Baby Animal Ultrasounds!

In case you needed to know whether you should think these are weird or cute, the answer is cute. These ultrasound photos were taken for a National Geographic documentary by Peter Chinn. More photos can bee seen here.

Three!

Today, we've been married for three years. Three little years, but there have already been so many sweet moments, good stories, favorite traditions, ongoing jokes, and amazing adventures all over the world. The best part is, we're just getting warmed up. Thank you, dear. I love you. I love us!

Tiny Tuesday: How baby swans get around.

Photo credit: BNPS.CO.UK for Daily Mail via Pinterest

How cute is this mom swan carting around six babies beneath her wings? Unfortunately this is the closest I'll ever come to getting that sort of treatment. 

SWAN FACTS: A baby swan is called a cygnet. A group of swans is called a bevy, or wedge if they are in flight. Swans have "teeth" - jagged parts of their bills used to catch and cut fish. They're not really teeth with nerves and sockets, more like chompers. Most swans can't wait to sink their chompers into you, because if you haven't noticed, they are mean as shit.

Recipe Box: Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins

Here is a muffin recipe worth waking up early for, especially on a cool spring morning with a steamy cup of coffee. Fresh berries and buttermilk are always a winning combination, and the subtly sweet batter is compensated with a crusty layer of cardamom sugar baked on top. You could make these with any type of berries, but the trick here is rich, quality buttermilk, fresh eggs, and butter. As always, dairy products have my heart.

Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks 

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks made hers with huckleberries, and topped them with rose petals and cinnamon sugar. She also suggests mixing in toasted seeds, nuts, or dried lavender flowers. I'm pretty  keen on trying rose sugar and a dusting of crushed pistachios on my next batch. 

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 medium ripe, mashed bananas
240 ml buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup berries, plus more for topping
Cardamom sugar (3 tbsp sugar combined with 1 tsp cardamom)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack positioned in the center. Line muffin tins with papers. (I skipped the tin and used silicone muffin cups.)
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, combine mashed banana, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Stir until blended and uniform.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over dry, and mix until just combined. Fold in berries. Do not over-blend.
5. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full, sprinkle with more berries and a generous dusting of cardamom sugar.
6. Bake 25 minutes for standard-sized muffins, until golden-brown (40 min for extra large muffins).

Makes about 1- 1/2 dozen