Juan Valdez

I didn’t really start drinking coffee till I went to Colombia to visit my grandmother during winter break in college.  My grandmother loved coffee and that would be our social event to go drink coffee together.  And Juan Valdez would be a place we would stop and have a cup of coffee together.

Juan Valdez Café will always have a place in my heart. Even though it is the starbucks of Colombia, there is cafe in almost every corner, it will always be special to me.  Maybe it is Juan Valdez himself and his donkey Conchita, or the fact that they brought my grandmother and I closer together. Or how it brings lots of people together to go out and have a social experience with someone and have a cup of coffee.

where I order

Juan Valdez steals a small piece of my heart with every sip of coffee I take.  It is that long distant love that is never forgotten, I think about it when I am away and how special a relationship we can establish if I lived in Colombia.  But I do know that when I come visit I will be able to go to Juan Valdez cafe, and start off where we left off.

sitting next to me

Juan Valdez and I

I do love my specialty cafes here in Los Angeles, but Juan Valdez cafe will always be unique to me and basically one of my first love of coffee in Colombia.

cool building I saw when I went to Juan Valdez

And Today is my dear friend Diego’s birthday!! Feliz Cumpleaños Diego!!

dedicated to my dear friend. Feliz Cumple! tqm.

Un beso.

At the moment I have no Internet so I have not been blogging. I can live without TV but without Internet it is a bit difficult for me. Without Internet I feel like this photo………

I should have Internet by the end of this week!
Besos!

Green (English)

vert (French)

verde (Italian and Spanish)

grün (German)

glas (Irish)

зеленый (Russian)

grön (Sweedish)

According to Wikipedia….

“Green is the color of emeralds, jade, and growing grass.  In the continuum of colors of visible light it is located between yellow and blue.”

Green

Green is the color of lots of things I love. Emeralds, trees, grass, nature, and leaves from a coffee tree.  Green gives me a sense of peace and tranquility.  While in Colombia when I leave the city Bogotá to any surrounding cities in the country side I am bound to be surrounded by the color green. This is when I become trigger happy with my camera. Not only do I get the eye candy of green pastures and green hillsides but I also get the treat of some good places for food and have a “Tinto”.  Tinto in Colombia means a small cup of black coffee.  If I were to order Tinto in Argentina they would bring you red wine just FYI.

Here are some pictures that make me happy on my way to Subachoque, Colombia.  Some will be similar but I could not help it, they all make me smile, and hey its Valentines day!

Cows with their grass

Picking potatoes

green hillsides

beautiful

Food Intermission on the road.

Pit stop on the way to Subachoque

snack

Arepa, queso, chorizo, y una lima.

Cafesito after the chorizo

con una bolita de queso

clouds

old streets

Tio abuelo. lo amo

My favorite green picture taken by me

Hope you enjoyed the green pictures. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day! Tell someone that you care for them whether its to a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, family member. This day is basically to stop your busy day and do something special for someone. Of course its good to do this everyday but why not have fun with this day. It never hurts anyone.

love

My traveling buddy with a cone in Colombia. 

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!

Un beso

Cuando voy a Colombia el domingo siempre voy al mercado de las pulgas en Usaquén.

The Flea Market!

It is a MUST!  Usaquén is a residential and commercial locality (district) in northern Bogotá, capital of Colombia.   Its contains most of the original buildings and streets.  And in these original buildings contain modern stores and restaurants.  Many tourist that go to Bogotá, usually end up there on a Sunday to buy gifts for people or bring back something “Colombian” home.  There is food, handmade items, colombian cultural artifacts, and of course coffee. It is my Domingo ritual!

original streets and buildings

Mercado de la pulgas

This is probably my favorite stand.

Arequipe. (dulce de leche)

My coffee place at the Mercado de la pulgas. Cafe Campesino.

freshly ground beans

Azucar

el flor de mi cafe

oops I spilled…..

I also love vintage cars

So if you ever get a chance to visit Bogotá, Colombia go to Usaquén on a Sunday. Buy something nice for someone or maybe just buy yourself something unique. I can’t wait to go back. Maybe this time I will not spill my coffee.

Un beso.

Some things throw us off track sometimes. Even though I am off track at the moment I do still drink coffee.  Coffee is my habit.

How long does it take for a routine to become a habit?

Here are some things I am off track, exercising 3 times a week (even though I exercised yesterday), painting more regularly, blogging more (yay today I am blogging).  But mostly not exercising regularly is what bothers me most.  When I start to workout more regularly I eagerly wait till it becomes a habit like drinking coffee or taking a shower.

I want to wake up and say “I can’t wait to work out” , not “I have to work out cause otherwise I will feel all my aches and pains”….

I must say I do always feel better about myself after working out. Endorphins!

But maybe this makes me more discipline the fact that I am doing something that I don’t want to do but know that I will be happy in the end.

Am I building character? haha!

a cup and saucer

Who wants to sign up for a 5K with me?

Un beso

I never neglect drinking coffee…but I do neglect to blog about it.

Its now the beginning of the year and I have been asked many times if I had a New Years resolution.

Ever since I was teenager, I always thought New Years resolutions were lame.

Its when you start to see all the gyms become packed, people stop smoking or  start to eat healthy, or to improve there attitudes.

But hey, why not?! It is a new beginning!

I started to think why is it lame if someone wants to start something good for themselves…. Is it because their resolution ends up being broken? And go back to their old habits?

Who cares if it becomes broken because at least for that period of time they were doing something good for themselves, it is a start. There is probably no difference of a resolution actually being completed if it was made January 1st or May 1st.  Or does it make that resolution stronger if made on January 1st? I don’t think so..

So here is my resolution to you!

I really have to blog more often. This past 2012 year I have been lagging, lazy and too busy on making time to blog. For all you bloggers out there you all know it takes time and effort to blog on a regular basis.

What is your New Years Resolution? Please share.

So there it is guys!

I must blog away…… xoxoxox

I do make time to get coffee before work.

Un beso

Happy Thanksgiving to all my coffee drinkers out there.

I know coffee got your day started in the kitchen for todays feasts.

start of your day.

Its wonderful to think that many families are gathering today in order to sit down and have a meal together. To let the children play, and the adults sit and catch up.

I know that we should be thankful every single day. But people get busy, and sometimes we need a day like this in order to take a pause of our normal routine lives in order to make the time to express our thankfulness.

thanksgiving flowers

After all the preparing and serving of food and dessert, there is nothing like waiting for that last drink of the day…which for me will be a cup of coffee. It will be like a kiss after a satisfying meal to sooth your stomach and heart.

<3

Happy Thanksgiving with love!

Un beso.

Sometimes we have a slow start when waking up…

Here are some questions I ask myself when that slow start is about it happen..

1. Why am I so tired?

2. Did I go to bed late? ….NO.

3. Why can I only open one eye?

4. Why is it so difficult to wake up right now? I was fine yesterday..

5. Ok let me give my self 5 more minutes then I will get up…(5 min pass) No, I just can’t get up!

6. What is my problem?

Lets write this.

Yes, It was one of those kinds of mornings. And now I am typing this all showered up, just finished my coffee and I tell myself…Now why was it so hard to get up when I feel fine now..

In these cases coffee does give you that extra push needed in order to get over this Wednesday hump.

The on switch is now on!

Happy Wednesday!

Un beso.