Feira Municipal

SWEET ~ the cupcake shop and more!

 Yesterday we toured Andressa´s shop called ´Sweet`.

Look at the amazing detail on this cake decorated like a tea party!  (you can enlarge the photo by clicking on the image)

It was amazing to see the kitchen where all these beautiful, delicious things are created!  It was so impressive!

And not just cakes, cupcakes and cake pops but also beautiful chocolates!!!  So pretty you wouldn´t want to eat them but a pity not to eat them!  The workers here are truly artists!

Look here at just one sample pan full of sugar decorations!!!  I am very glad I was not here to order a birthday or wedding cake, it would be so fun to look at all the choices but impossible to choose only one!

At the entrance of the store, there is a wonderful cafe where you can enjoy a coffee and eat something sweet from the menu.  She also sells tea and homemade jam.  To see more of her creations, visit her website at:  http://www.andressasandri.com.br/  Thank you for tour, Andressa!

Museum of Contemporary Art

We spent some time at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

This was my favorite piece!

They have free concerts in the theater area to the left.

Zila´s Paintings

These are favorite ones from the park in the center of Campo Grande, at night and in the day.  I have seen it at both times and immediately recognized it when I saw these paintings.

And of course, this is the chic Kako (Claudia, Zila´s daughter).

Í want to change the world using butterflies´ the poet Manuel de Barros.  Zila painted this mural in a park near her home.  One evening we walked in this park for nearly an hour.

Cashews!

Who knew this is where cashews come from!  I must tell you that I am learning a lot on this trip.  I had no idea there was this fragrant, sweet assessory fruit to the actual cashew nut.  The fruit is called acajú.

Happy 4th of July from Brazil!

We are having lots of fireworks here in Campo Grande tonight!  It is not to celebrate the 4th of July but when a goal was made in the soccer game!  Unbelievable!  It seemed like you could hear the entire city cheering!  The Corinthians won 2 - 0!!!

My First Kako Couture!!!

Zila´s daughter, Claudia or Kako, is a fashion designer.  We stopped by her steamstress´ workroom, I bought this dress/coat just needs a nip and a tuck here and there to make it look more awesome!!  I love the fabric, buttons, belt.... I love the design, I love just love it!  To see more of her collections, you may visit her website at:  http://kakocouture.wordpress.com/

Birds in Campo Grande

A toucan in the neighbor´s papaya tree!  I have seen toucans several times.  I love how they hop from place to place and of course, I love papaya so I think they have good taste in food selection! 

A macaw in a tree downtown.  (If you click on the photo, it will open in a large window.  I am not taking time to crop the images for the blog.)  Macaws are usually seen flying in pairs.  Early evening is a common time to see them.  They are all colors, the blue/yellow seen here and also green, red and blue. 

I see this yellow bird just about every time I look out my bedroom window (that is where I took this photo from).  I know his sound very well and actually, if he wanted to come inside, he could.  There are no screens on the windows or doors and they are always open except when we close up at bedtime.

Capivaras

In the center of the city, there is a wonderful large park.  Inside the park live a group of capivaras.  They are the largest members of the rodent family.  They live near lakes and rivers.  Capivaras give birth under water and can hold their breath under water for a long time.  This one of their best self-defense mechanisms.

There were about 40 in this group, many babies!  They eat grass and make these little squeeky noises.  I would not same they are tame but they are tolerate of human being fairly close to them.

I love them!  They are very peaceful and gentle.  I am so thrilled that I was able to see them there in the park on two separate visits.

Mom is home from Argentina!

Zila´s mom is a warm, charismatic, joyful, energetic, loving woman!  She is busy all the time in the house, she loves to cook with tango music playing. 

Mom brought me this beautiful scarf from Argentina.  She has that kind of golden touch, she can make even an ordinary napkin look beautiful or having fresh bread with coffee seem like tea with the Queen.

Yesterday morning, mom gave me a coral necklace that she has had for a long time.  She told Zila not to be jealous!  I will treasure it always.  Now I will try to find some earrings to go with it.  So special, thanks Mom!  It means a lot to me and all of you that this is my favority color - corals, peach, pinks...

This is Mom making me a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast, this is a very common breakfast food.  They make it using a pudgy pie iron.

Mom only cooks with fresh ingredients.  She goes shopping nearly every day.  Yesterday we went to 3 different markets to get all the things she wanted and needed.  Each market specialized in something different.  A couple fruits that are quite expensive here are apricots and black cherries.  Black cherries are 50 cents each!  And they were not very fresh, quite small, soft and old.

OMG!  It was something to see!  After shopping, Mom put on her baking hat and apron and got busy making a lot of things!  Wow!

Here we are ready for a delicious family lunch.  On the left is Zila´s brother and 14 year old nephew.

After lunch, mom began baking again, this time she was making cheese bread.  She doesn´t measure anything, just a little of this and some of that and two eggs and then adds a third egg.  Then she is happy with the texture of the dough.

Yum!  Fresh little cheese bread bites!

Coconut Milk

Dad could not find his machete to open the coconut so he improvised and used his drill instead to make a hole for a straw! 

Mani/Pedi Day!

We had manicures at the house.  The manicurist came here on her scooter.  I almost fell asleep it was so relaxing.  A manicure is only $5, tipping is not customary.  Ahhhhh.....  is a vacation.....

Claudia´s Radio Interview

I spent much of my day with Claudia.  She had an interview on the radio this afternoon about her fashion couture, the inspirations for her designs, etc.  I´m just going along the ride with everyone, everywhere, anytime before midnight.  After that, I begin to fade and lose my zip!  Can´t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Claudia´s Boutique

Zila´s daughter, Claudia, is a fashion designer and has her clothing displayed and for sale in a charming boutique called JULIA. 

Of course, they offer espresso for customers while they are browsing.

I bought a shirt and dress that I LOVE!  They really special because they came from JULIA!