My favorite Portuguese products

Although I have not been a huge fan of Portuguese cuisine, there are some products that I wish we had in the US.

Let me just start by saying that I have been known to eat an entire can or two of black olives by myself in one sitting... Yup! I love em, and Portugal has the most delicious olives of all colors!

There are also these:

A coffee named after me! Of course I actually have yet to decide weather this coffee is indeed better that other brands but I'll keep you posted.

I have never experienced such delicious tofu as this!

It is made in the same style as the cheese here in Portugal and it is wonderful!!! It is good cold right out of the package or cooked.

 My family used to fry small bits of pork to serve with beans and such (it's called chicharrones.) I have missed that since I became vegetarian six years ago. Last year I discovered this tofu and it is the perfect substitute! Needless to say I will be packing some of this in my suitcase when we leave.

This is what we had for dinner tonight:

I was adventurous and threw together some simple ingredients: Sauteed onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and corn with a bit of curry, lots of turmeric, salt, crushed red pepper, garlic, and cumin. I threw in some black beans and it was delicious on top of the tofu with fried potatoes on the side :)

And of course we can't forget the most important meal of the day...

 For dessert we had Amarguinha com sumo de limao natural. Almond liqueur with fresh squeezed lemon juice. Another favorite product that might just make it's way into my suitcase.

That's all for today folks! Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading!

Next time I'll show you Lisbon!

Coimbra

Our trip to Coimbra...

The picture above pretty much sums up what we did in Coimbra. We soaked up the shade on a bench in one of the gardens :)

Coimbra is not a very big city, but it has the biggest university in Portugal and it was about the last place of interest that we had yet to visit so we did.

We got lost driving around a couple of times but managed to find this view of part of the city and the soccer stadium.  

And like any super old European city, Coimbra has an aqueduct which is actually kind of small in comparison to others that I have seen. 

 Above is one of the ponds from the garden that we visited. I meant to take a picture of the lotuses but my camera failed... later we saw a giant green from swimming in a pond that was below a bridge we were standing on.

An obstacle course was set up in part of the garden:

While it was tempting, we came across the course when it was already too late in the day to even think about trying the coarse, but maybe we will go back!

One of the first obstacles is a giant skateboard on ropes!

This picture was not taken in Coimbra but I like the decorations in one of the little towns that we passed on our way.

While we were on our way back I snapped some pictures of something I find entertaining.

 And here is the sign we saw as we left this town:

"NO MONCALVA ALLOWED!" haha of course this just indicates that you are leaving the town but I laugh every time I see these.

That is all I have for now... Thank you as usual for reading!

And I will leave you with a beautiful sunset picture taken from the rooftop:

 

Style

The style in Evora and what I bought around town...

I have seen a lot of jumpsuits here in Evora. Mostly younger women wear jumpsuits or skinny jeans with a t-shirt during the day and sometimes shorts. Last year I remember being shocked at the amount of people in pants when it was 90+ degrees outside, but this time around I have seen a lot more shorts.

Here is what is in the windows in the stores around town (forgive me for the glare it was midday when these were taken.)

I have only seen girls in dresses like these in clubs at night. Young women never seem to wear sun dresses or skirts during the day. I have seen older women wear patterned dresses that go below the knee but not to the ankle not unlike dresses that my grandmother owned although probably more modern.

The patterned pants in this photo are pretty typical. I have seen a lot of young women in loose fitting patterned pants or a jumpsuit with the same style pant made of some comfy looking jersey-knit type material. I have also seen young women wear "rompers" which are exactly the same as the jumpsuits but with shorts instead of pants

One of the main products of Portugal is cork. There are shops all around town that sell a whole bunch of things made of cork including the purses you see above. They also have wallets, hats of every kind, and postcards, all made of cork.

While I was walking around taking these pictures I found this retro singer sewing machine. I believe the sign says it has been restored to new.

And yes, I found one of these too! Because what would any touristy spot be without a custom penny making machine!

There are a lot of China shops around town where you can find almost anything for cheap. They are ridiculously bigger than they look. You walk in and see a whole bunch of touristy things, clothes, jewelry, sunglasses, phone chargers, etc. All packed together in a tight space and then you realize there is another room, so you walk back, and from there you can see that there are a few more rooms it is crazy! You name it, they have it!

This is the cork purse I bought here last year that I still love very much although the corners now have holes in them :( It was the only cheetah print one that I saw and I am happy I snatched it up because I still have not seen another one like it.

I found this faux leather jacket on sale for 12 euros in a store called Pull and Bear the first week I was here this time around.

I also found these adorable leggings on sale at the same place :)

Next time I'll show you a bit from our trip to Coimbra last weekend and maybe some of out apartment... I am working on finishing a cotton dress that I started a long time ago perhaps you will see that too!

Thanks for reading!

Around Evora, Portugal

A walk inside the city walls...

Evora is a small walled city and all of the roads within the walls, and some outside of the walls, are cobblestone.

This is the main square Praca de Geraldo. A few cafes have outdoor seating in the middle of a roundabout like street. Here is where a lot of tourists have lunch and locals have coffee. When you ask for a coffee in Portugal you will likely get a tiny cup with one shot of espresso unless you ask for bigger. I have come to like the tiny cup of espresso with just  a touch of milk which is called a pingo or pingado.

Here is what I had for lunch in the square a week or so ago. It is impossible to be vegan here when you are eating out and nearly impossible to be vegetarian. I ordered this ensalada de queijo because it was the only vegetarian option on the menu that besides a sandes de queijo (which is essentially grilled cheese.) As you might guess, the salads are quite lacking! There are a couple of specifically vegetarian restaurants in Evora which I am thankful for. And yes, those are french fries, or batatas fritas, you see on the other plate :)  

Above you can see some of the Roman ruins within the city walls. This is the temple of Diana. And I happened to be passing by as some tourists were being given a carriage ride a perfect photo op!

Here is one of the streets that is pretty typical inside the wall. There are a lot of one ways that look very much just like an alley way but people drive fast down them as if its no big deal. The Portugese word for cobblestone street is paralelipipido (not sure if I spelled that one correctly.)

It is a bit more challenging to find street names here. For the most part they are on the sides of buildings in small towns like Evora and I think it is even that way in Lisbon which is the capital. 

In my last post I said I would show you some Portuguese style but that will have to wait until next time because I have run out of patience with the internet device I am using.

Thanks for reading!  

My hoop space with a view

I gotta say I am a pretty lucky lady!

Not only am I married to the most amazing, loving, sexy, handsome, man but also, this...

is my hooping space for the next month.

That's right, Ha uma piscina no telhado!

There is a pool on the roof :) and as you can see there is plenty of space around for me to throw my hoop in any direction I please. And, for some reason, it seems there is never anyone at the pool.

we have a great view of the countryside since the apartment we are staying in is located outside the city wall.

 

 And  a view of some of the city. All of the buildings are pretty old since this is a very old city. They all have the red shingles and are painted white usually with a portion of the bottom painted blue, grey, or yellow.

There are a lot of abandoned buildings around. The main thing that this city has going for  it, it seems, is tourism. There are a lot of historic attractions and fun gift shops inside the walls of the city. The economy does not seem to be booming here (just as everywhere else!) But there is a university in the city as well.

In the distance you can see the cathedral. I am not sure, but I think there is only one big cathedral here. Shortly after posting this I remembered there is at least one other big cathedral in the city walls but the one in this picture is the one that I went in last year. 

Well folks that is all for today. I am going to grab some lunch and more pictures... Tomorrow I will show you some Portuguese style :)

Thanks for reading!

New subject

What happens when you are done with your wedding dress?...

Next project?...

Since I am out of the country for the next month or so I will not have much sewing to blog about. Unfortunately I could not bring my machine with me although I do hope to work on a few things by hand and I will certainly share those creations with you!

I am currently in Evora, Portugal so I figured I may as well share some of my experiences while I am here.

This is a panorama of the view from our rooftop the last time my husband and I were here. Last year, starting in April, my husband spent 4 months here for work and I was here 3 of those months.

Portugal is a very beautiful place and there are a ton of things to enjoy. I will keep this post short since I don't have anymore pictures for now but next time I'll show you my new hooping space and some cool sights around the town :)

Thanks for reading!

Recap and what not to do

Here is a recap and some final pictures of my dress

The final product:

top detail

By the way whoever got us the portable  wine cups in the red box thank you!(there was no card attached.)

side detail

Back detail

The back after the wedding (One of the pick-ups was accidentally taken out and there are a couple of holes chewed in the organza thanks to a certain evil cat >:()

top detail

My advice and what I would have done differently:

If you are planning on making your own wedding dress it will be easier if you:

1. Try making any kind of formal dress that requires boning. Specifically if you have never made a formal dress and aren't sure how to structure it. I would suggest buying any pattern and going through the steps so that you understand how formal dresses are made.

2. Work with the fabric you will be using on your dress before you start your dress. Even if you just make a little hand bag out of the same material, it is good to get a feel for what the fabric is like.

3. Make sure you are using the right kind of thread and needle for the material. This will save you a lot of headaches!

4. If you have never worked on a specific element that will be on your dress practice first! (ie. zippers, buttons, beading, etc.)

If I could do it again I would have...

1. Used panels for the top part and the zipper would have been in back so the dress wouldn't have looked so bulky from the side. Instead I used one big piece of taffeta underneath one big piece of organza and put the zipper down the side so that I could get the diagonal gathers.

2. Pinned a lot more when I attached the organza to the taffeta. I pinned a lot but not enough! There was too much organza which made the dress look bulky :(

3. Paid more attention when I was attaching the bottom organza to the top so as not to catch pieces that should not have been attached. I accidentally sewed more organza right where the beading is along the front than I intended which made the dress tighter in that area. Instead of taking those stitches out and trying again, I sewed the beading on and squeezed into it which made the dress look even worse from the side than it already did.

4. Spent more time on it!! I really wish that I would not have waited so long to put the lining and zipper in because then I could have had more time for everything else and some of my mistakes would have been fixed.

5. Planned on putting boning for structure in and done it right from the beginning. I did end up adding boning to hold my dress up but I should have done it right and added the boning to my lining before attaching the lining to the dress. This would have saved me such a headache! 

6. Lastly, I would have kept my dress far far away from my sisters' room mates' cat.

I hope my blog is helpful to at least on person out there! I think I will continue to blog about my sewing adventures for those interested in hearing about them :) I am out of town until further notice so until I make it back to my sewing machine I may just post about hooping :)

Side Note: hooping is fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liKA_7UXfp8

Thanks for reading!