"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles."
~ Audrey Hepburn

4.04.2011

We May Have Lost the Battle...

The days have been long around these parts.
I only have class nine hours a week and neither my internship
nor my extracurricular classes have begun. In order to combat boredom, 
I have been in search of fun, free activities around Santiago (I am trying
to save money so that I can enjoy my (potential) trips to Peru, Argentina, and Brazil!).

Last week (I think...), after dreaming about cookies from NYC's famous Levain Bakery
(which I have never actually visited), I decided it was time to get baking. Although
the recipe for these cookies is top secret, there are tons of imitations floating around the 
internet. I have made these cookies a few times before and they are TO DIE FOR. 
This time, I used a recipe I found on a food blog called Love from the Oven
One of my roommates, who is from France, told me that these are the best cookies 
she has ever had in her life. I suppose I can chalk these up as a success :)





Another day, my friend Jade called me and asked if I would like to go to a
 large, outdoor market with her, called La Vega. Although you can find fresh fruits
and vegetables on most street corners, La Vega is supposed to be one of the
 best in Santiago and is also supposed to have delicious fruit smoothies.  
As I have been experiencing withdrawals from Blenders, a chain in Santa Barbara
that has the best fruit smoothies EVER (and I used to work at Jamba Juice, so that
is an educated opinion!!!), I was very excited to check this place out!






While they did have a wide array of fresh fruits and veggies, I think I will stick with the
 fruit stand around the corner from my house. I suppose I am a little bitter because our 
smoothies ended up being super gross... (the lady actually added an entire carton 
of milk to the blender, which made our "smoothies" into flavored milk). I did buy some 
yummy grapes and nectarines, though! And Jade had a field day because she used
 to work at the farmer's market in Goleta and she missed the atmosphere. 



Not gonna lie, a lot of my time here has been spent catching up on 
Gossip Girl (Dan & Blair?!) and The Office (*yawn*) and KKTNY (I miss Shango :( ).
Hey! I can't spend every day climbing mountains and playing with penguins!!!
Jade and I decided to get out of the house the other day by bringing some reading
material and homework to a nearby park and having ourselves a little picnic. 
I brought grapes (from La Vega!), a chicken wrap, and homemade brownies. 
Jade brought a few oranges and some almonds that a friend sent her from
the farmer's market she used to work at in Goleta. We read half-heartedly and
 ended up just chit-chatting the afternoon away. It was really nice. 






This means I accomplished goal #020: Have a picnic.

But thennnnnn. I get home, check Facebook, and see that my sister and 
her friends had a full-on picnic by a lake that put my lazy afternoon to shame. 



photos courtesy of Samantha Holt's facebook page :)
Dear Michelle & co:
Although I am impressed and incredibly jealous of the 
pleasant afternoon you held, I wanted to warn you that I
 will be coming back with a vengeance! My challenge, 
should you be willing to accept, is A PICNIC WAR. 
Best 2 out of 3???? xoxo Marcella

4 comments:

Katy said...

haha yay!! i'm so honored to be in your blog. i'd say that your picnic wins, since ours was cloudy and not even remotely exotic! a picnic in a different country is way cooler.

Bryan Murray said...

Remember when we went to the farmer's market in Goleta?? Entering shameless link to my blog here:
http://bryanmurray58.blogspot.com/2010/03/brevity-is-essence-of-wit-i-recently.html

La Vega looks (Miley Cyrus voice) pretty cool. A little more intense than the one we went to. FYI, if you ever see a fruit called Durian, just run. Run far away and don't look back.

I hate to say it but Michelle's picnic does look like it dominated yours. Quite the spread. And that giant tub of cheeseballs reminds me of one of the best openings to The Office ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YBGyzY6O3U&feature=related

Stop hating on The Office too! Will Ferrel is coming!!!

Marcella Alyssa said...

Haha Katy you are funny. And a liar! Yours was way cooler.

Bryan - what on earth is a durian?

Bryan Murray said...

This should explain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o_1qillkJs&feature=related

But I guess they're mostly in Asia :(