Category: Life in Photos

Life in Photos

a mysterious (at least to me) striped eggplant from the farmers’ market

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

this weekend was lovely. we discovered a little gem of a farmers market within walking distance. josiah and i walked there with aveline on saturday, and we plan to do the same next saturday. i just love farmers markets in the summer…the delicious scent of all those fresh fruits and vegetables, the feeling of the heat riding up from the earth under my feet.

we came home with peppers (including the hugest cubanelles i’ve ever seen), plum tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, snap peas, and a stripey-looking eggplant.

striped eggplant

i must confess, i’ve never seen a striped eggplant before. can anyone tell me what type it might be?  i tried googling eggplant varieties, but got conflicting information which confused me. i’m especially curious to see if this has a different flavor than the more traditional purple eggplant.

to prepare, i usually saute in olive oil, and then layer into lasagne — but this toasted eggplant tapenade has me thinking of lighter, more summery recipes. hmmm…

Life in Photos

open windows

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

the windows are open this morning, and the a/c is switched off.  there’s hardly ever a cool-down at night here, so the fact that it’s just after 10 am and still nice enough to enjoy open windows is really something. the hardest part of florida weather for me to get used to, besides the humidity, is the lack of a cooling overnight delta breeze! (you sacramento valley dwellers know what i’m talking about.)

bare baby feet - coral / salmon colored baby girl dress

aveline is freshly bathed, laying happily on her stomach playing with toys. and i..well, i just realized that i left my coffee in the french press.

off to rescue my coffee and thus the morning,
gina

Life in Photos, Poetry & Words

a quiet friday morning

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

surprised baby face offcenter in photograph

it’s friday. i woke up to grumpy little noises, an impatient baby reminding me she hadn’t eaten in three whole hours. i picked her up and walked into the living room — right into coral-colored sunshine. the rays had painted a bright swath down the middle of our living room, and were dancing happily against the edges of the window. i smiled. it’s been a long time since i thought a morning was actually beautiful. mornings and i aren’t the best of friends, but lately, we’ve grown closer and closer. i’ve been seen all the shadows of the sundial over the past four months. sunsets, sunrises, and all the faces of the in-between moon.

it’s beautiful, this life. this wild, great, unpredictable life. and it’s so full of hope. this morning i read jeremiah 46:26: But fear not thou, O Jacob my servant, neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

there’s so much comfort in those words. i read them over again, as the coffee filled the air and aveline leaned her velvety cheek on my shoulder. fear not. be quiet and at ease. none shall make you afraid.

happy weekend, dear friends. be filled with hope today, and face–without fear–whatever the day brings you.

baby hand grasping handful of blanket

plush lamb teething rattle on light blue background

Life in Photos

aveline alenka is 16 weeks old

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

baby aveline alenka - 16 weeks old

baby aveline alenka - 2 days old - hand crocheted cotton hat - lime green and pink

can you believe it? sixteen weeks already. i took the top photo this morning as she was lying on her quilt, looking at me with those huge eyes and impossibly squishable cheeks, melting my heart. she’s amazing. she babbles away non stop, and is becoming shockingly mobile (rolling and scooching and doing the worm).

she never stops moving. and she smiles dozens and dozens and dozens of times per day. she’s such a happy baby, and she’s growing up so fast. even looking at the other picture, it’s hard to believe she was ever just two days old. it seems like yesterday she was that tiny, but it also seems like a lifetime ago.

i can hardly remember what it was like before she was in our arms. i’m treasuring every single moment–even the sleepless ones.

Life in Photos

my first-ever ‘what i wore’ post.

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

what i wore: oaxacaborn blog feature

just over a week ago, dani of sometimes sweet shared about blogging goals, and encouraged others to set simple goals. around the same time, my mom emailed me a link to money saving mom‘s five necessary traits of successful bloggers. these two things really inspired me to start a more regular posting schedule, and incorporate more topics into my blog. so, here’s my first-ever what i wore post! i’m considering making this a weekly blog feature.

top: hand-me-down from my lovely sister
leggings: jcpenney clearance rack (they’re actually a dark gray, not black like they appear in the photo.)
hair: it’s been almost a year since i got my hair cut, so the sloppy bun has become a habit with me. just another reason i need to make an appointment to get this cut.

Life in Photos, Travel/Moving

happy mother’s day

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

this year, with a little tiny daughter of my own, i truly say the words happy mother’s day with more conviction, awe and admiration than ever before. so, happy mother’s day, mom. you’re the best mum a girl could ever dream of.

1980s in Oaxaca, Mexico  mom & i, great grandma/pa, grandpa in oaxaca, mexico

1980s in Europe mom, dad, andy & me in europe. greece, maybe? i’m not quite sure.