RC, Author at loveRavayna

0 In style

an afternoon at the venice canals

Sometimes in life you’ve got to stop and smell the roses. These, in a yard along the canals in Venice, were amazing- they reminded me of the roses in my bridal bouquet. Sure, I’m wishing I was enjoying springtime in the Italian Venice, but Californian Venice has its own special beauty. The paths and bridges are shared by locals and visitors on foot and bike, and it’s a lovely place to go for a wander.

We spent some time in Venice after a tsukemen ramen stop, showing one of my college besties around. It was kindof shocking how it was broiling hot and sunny leaving our house in the valley, but cool and very windy out closer to the water and near the canals. The neighborhood is always so pretty though, that the weather matters not.

I’ll admit I was over-anxious to wear this dress. I picked it up at Anthropologie, and am a bit obsessed with the raw edge of the midi skirt and the slash pockets. But I was in between sizes, and opted up; this denim number has a far more flattering fit now that it’s been nipped around the waist and bust, and doesn’t have a saggy kangaroo pouch ?.

I’ve been so into changing up my jewelry game as my hair color evolves, and Rocksbox has been perfect for that. I put these Kendra Scott earrings and wrist chain on my wishlist, and was excited to see them show up in my mailbox! My stylist sent them with this sterling Gorjana lariat, and I was kindof in love with all of it. I couldn’t help myself- I kept the earrings when I sent the Rocksbox back yesterday! The deal was just too tempting. The retail is $85, Rocksbox price is $68, and monthly shine spend discount dropped them another $10, and so I added them to the collection. If you like jewelry, or mail, or free stuff, you should probably use my code RAVAYNAXOXO for a month of free designer jewelry signing up for a Rocksbox delivery.

denim midi // similar wedges, 2, flats // earrings // bracelet // lariat // nails

loveRavayna

May 20, 2016

0 In food

Mad for mango (and coconut rice, too)

It’s Ataúlfo mango season, and they are one of my very favorite fruit varieties. Mexican-grown, they are smaller, sweeter, and far less fibrous that the Tommy Atkins mangoes available nearly year-round at our local markets. I rarely purchase those bigger ones, but when Ataúlfos come in, I scoop them up by the caseful… it’s mango mania over here! I make big batches of mango chow (a Trinidadian sweet and spicy preparation) when food prepping, but most of the mangoes are devoured for dessert Thai-style- served on sticky rice, drizzled with homemade coconut cream.

Though Thai sweet glutinous rice is traditionally used in khao niao mamung (I stock up at Ranch 99), most any glutinous short grain rice will work. I have a bit of an obsession with forbidden rice, so I use that often- I love a blend of the two in this dish. If I can spare the time and effort, I steam the rices separately and then combine, as I did here. Cooking them in the same pot totally works, the forbidden rice just dyes the white rice during the process.

Ingredients

1 cup (200 g) sticky rice
1 can full-fat coconut milk, well-shaken, divided
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, divided
2 teaspoons (6g) cornstarch
kosher salt
two ripe mangoes (preferably Ataúlfo), peeled and chopped
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Preparation (adapted from Serious Eats)

In a medium bowl, cover rice with water by several inches and let soak at room temperature for at least one hour, up to overnight.
Drain rice, and place in steamer lined with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, making sure to level the surface to form an even layer. Bring water in steamer to a boil over high heat, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, place a small saucepan over medium heat and add half the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Whisk in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and a large pinch of salt. The coconut milk should balance between salty and sweet.
Move the steamed rice to a large heatproof bowl and pour coconut milk mixture on top. Stir well to combine, cover with plastic, and let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, add remaining coconut milk to saucepan. Return to simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with a couple of teaspoons of the hot coconut milk to form a slurry. Whisk cornstarch slurry into coconut milk and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt. Keep coconut cream warm.
For serving, plate coconut rice and arrange sliced mango alongside. Drizzle with coconut cream, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve right away.

loveRavayna

May 12, 2016

0 In home/ lifestyle

chickens and eggs

Our girls are huge, it seems! As far as chickens go, they are actually on the small side, but they have just grown so much, so quickly.

Once they made it out of the awkward teenager stage, they began to look totally different. Nugget is the fluffy-cheeked blonde, while Mimosa’s rocking the red mohawk. She looks a bit suspiciously roosterlike, but she’s definately a hen. Both of these ladies are supposedly Easter Eggers, but we think Mimosa is crossed with Rhode Island Red- her appearance and blush eggs are my clues, but I’m really just learning from Google over here.

I can’t even believe I actually feel this way about chickens, but they are really cute. They are adorably codependent- they follow each other all over the backyard and will call for each other if separated. They are especially adorable dust bathing – they fluff up and shake and roll and it’s pretty precious.

To be honest, apples aren’t falling far from the tree over here. These girls are assertive and opinionated, for sure! They’re more often that not a bit big for their britches- Nugget is happy to help herself to a snack, and seems very intent on roosting as high as possible in the yard, ideally on top of their cabin.

Sometimes they’re super cuddly, and other times they are having absolutely none of it, and will go squawking away. The chicken jailbreaking actually got a little out of hand for a bit, with frequent uninvited visits to the neighbors. Nugget even went for a brief swim in the neighbors pool, till David hopped the fence on lifeguard duty.

So to limit the chicken capers, we had a little wing trim session. I watched a few YouTube videos, and it was quick, easy, and totally painless to trim their flight wings so they can’t make it over our (rather tall) fence. You can spot Mimosa’s haircut in the above pictures if you look carefully…. it’s not exactly super even!

But I think the naughtiest thing that happened was the egg hidey-hole situation. After the first few eggs from Mimosa, and just one aqua egg from Nugget, they went on an apparent strike- no eggs for over a week. After a literal egg-hunt in the backyard, we found a dozen and a half eggs hidden in the wild sage!

Their eggs are pretty tiny- above with a quail egg, and an xl white store egg for a comparison. At first, some barely tipped the egg scale, but nowadays most are almost or into medium sized.

They’re obviously richly colored compared to the store egg, and stunningly more tasty. They make the most incredible carbonara, and scrummy fried eggs, and everything else. We feed the girls organic layer feed, lots of kitchen scraps, and plenty of treats and grit, so these are some spoiled chicks.

I’m clearly obsessed with these girls, so bonus windblown chicken picture (how hysterical are they?) if you made it through all this chicken chat!

LoveRavayna

May 8, 2016

1 In travel

trinidad boat day

While we were in Trinidad, we chartered a small boat for the day to spend some time on the water and go DDI, or down de islands. Motoring off in the direction of Venezuela, we headed towards the Bocas Islands in Dragon’s Mouth, with no real agenda but some good times in the sunshine.

Not gonna lie, things got fantastic real fast. Our boat wasn’t fancy, but it was more than plenty fun- that’s typical Trini style. The weather was absolutely stunning, 85 degrees, and the water sparkled in the sunshine.

The soca music was blasting- David and Craig make a hell of a dj team- and the drinks were cold. The islands rising from the sea made for a beautiful sight, and it was so lovely and breezy out on the water.

Erin and I attempted our very own Titanic moment- rather unsuccessfully, but we were surely entertained. My precious aunt Judy joined us for our boat day- she’s so sassy and so sweet, we all loved getting to spend more time with her.

We spent some time up in the captain’s chair, admiring the views. Wilderness and stunning beauty in equal turn, and as far as eyes could see.

We were very much into the private party aspect of the boat charter. With lots of fetes (big open-bar parties) upcoming, we were all reveling in the open air, considering it our warm-up for the crowds and madness that makes up carnival.

It was pretty much a great big party on that gorgeous water… and in it, too.

In between drinking and diving, I did a little sunning. Reality check: I worked on my tan for six seconds before I decided it was too hot, I was missing the fun on the back of the boat and that my swimsuit sleeves would leave awful lines.

So I tucked my sleeves into my bikini top and returned to the dance party. And on we raged…

It was noisy and rowdy and fun and fantastic, and we all had such a good time! We came across few other vessels, but the ones we did were all happy to join the party.

We were surprised at how quickly the time had flown when our captain advised last dips and drinks, since it was time to head back to land. We had soaked in the sun, and were toasty and tired as we disembarked, met our driver, and headed home for supper.

asos bikini, similar, 2, 3, under $50! | cynthia steffe shift, similar, 2, 3 | vintage earrings, similar, 2, 3 | erin’s bikini: vs, similar, 2, 3 | nail polish

loveRavayna

May 4, 2016

2 In style/ travel

WiW: a tobago morning

I tend to rise early in the morning when traveling. I’m a light sleeper and if you only heard my family’s typical volume, you’d understand why sleeping in is impossible. This morning in Tobago, though, roosters started crowing while it was still dark. I woke David to walk down to the beach with me- he’s no morning person but a great sport, and a sucker for good light.

There’s something about first morning light. The morning was misty, and the sun rises on the opposite side of the island, anyway. But even without a spectacular sunrise, that light just glows, and brightens the world so magically.

I’m sure it didn’t hurt that we seemed to be the only people in Crown Point that morning. We didn’t see a single car crossing the street to the beach, which was totally deserted. The tide was still pretty high, and I went from walking along the sand to wading in just a moment.

I’m used to chilly Pacific waters, so I’m always pleasantly surprised to find the water warm enough to tolerate. That said, this flowy maxi was not the easiest to manage after it had absorbed gallons of saltwater… shocker, I know.

It was so relaxing to stroll along the quiet beach, and just enjoy the peaceful morning. And when we did make it back to the condo, it was for mimosas with breakfast before heading back to the beach for the day with the whole group. Vacation in Tobago was really low key… and that’s the beauty of it.

vineyard vines maxi (similar, 2, 3, 4, 5) // sandals // ear jackets // bracelet, 2, 3 / Santa Fe necklace, similar, 2, 3, 4 // white polish

loveRavayna

April 26, 2016

0 In los angeles

modern art in dtla

I could spend hours in a good museum. The Broad is a very very good one, and it’s free to boot! It seems like I made our reservation to visit the Broad Museum a lifetime ago, but it just finally rolled around. In the typical mayhem that is my life, I had an early flight, landing at LAX just in time for David to pick me up and for us to head downtown for a morning of art appreciation.

I don’t fancy myself some great art critic, but I’m educated, open minded and appreciative of the artistic spirit. It may not speak to me, but I’m interested in it regardless. My view can be too literal for some modern art, but that wasn’t the case at the Broad- the collection is incredibly well curated, one of the best of contemporary art I’ve come across. Even the most absurd of exhibits had accuracy.

I adore art that really impacts- that makes you think. Some of the seemingly simplest works of art pull me to introspection. The installation of FEMA propane barrels was so intricate up close, and the Katrina kid in me will carry that with her always. The graphic art was almost pointed. I love when I want to inspect a piece of art up close, when it engages me that way, and the Murakami portion of the exhibit did just that.

I’ve been super-inspired by negative space lately, in design and art, so admired this divided embrace piece for a little while. It’s far larger than the picture depicts, with the green aspects the size of doors.

We’d seen Jeff Koons’ Tulips when it was on display in Las Vegas, but I’d only seen his other works in print. They are just giant, much bigger that I anticipated, pretty much embodying all things glossy shiny prettiness. Total picture bait too- we had to be patient to get these shots while there were high school field trips in house. Teenage girls are very vocal in their admiration of my hair, for what it’s worth.

I love how fun modern art is, and how truly creative it can be. Don’t get me wrong, I can spend hours among the Impressionists, but sometimes it’s just really enjoyable. After flying, and LA rush hour traffic, I was tired and cranky when we reached the museum, and it managed to turn my mood around quickly. And David loves museums a lot less than I, but we both really had a good time at the Broad.

The Broad is beautiful inside and out, but in a really approachable way. I enjoy the art in the random, like cleanly designed administrative offices (yes, I peeked). I swore every other person on the escalator was taking a selfie, then realized why when I stepped into the tunnel. And I loved the little voyeur window into the vault, an art exhibit in itself.

It’s probably the New Orleanian in me, but I always find myself enraptured when beauty and breakdown combine in art. Both Julian Schnabel’s The Walk Home and Urs’ Fischer’s untitled melting lamppost really drew me in.

Our tickets were for just after opening, so we were early enough to secure a spot to see Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room. There is a separate ticketing kiosk inside, for 45 second slots within the exhibit, but it normally reaches capacity for the day about 1 pm. We were paged to the exhibit about two and a half hours after we ticketed. An undulating LED light show in a dark mirrored chamber, inspired by the artist’s hallucinations, it was stunningly beautiful, stimulating and exhilarating, and over way too soon.

“Art is a humanitarian act. Art should be able to effect mankind, to make the world a better place.” -Jeff Koons

loveRavayna

April 23, 2016

0 In travel

salt and sand: a tobago beach day

I wouldn’t call myself a beach bunny, and I can be picky about where I swim, but I do love the sunshine on my (well-protected!) skin, salt in the air, and sand in my hair. And the beach at Pigeon Point, in Tobago, is one of the the closest to paradise I’ve found on this earth- warm, crystalline waters just stretch as far as the eye can see. It’s serious beach bum inspiration.

In past years, we’ve taken glass-bottom boats out to the Nylon Pool, a pretty little tide pool on the Buccoo Reef. But we’ve noted the deterioration of the reef and the destruction of the coral from the crowds over the years, and felt guilty about our contribution to the damage. Destroying the environment can take some fun out of the experience, so we decided to skip the group tour and just enjoy the beach instead. Absolutely perfect weather, a cooler of Carib and some rum runners perfected that plan.

One of the best part of our carnival trips is best friend time. It’s a royal pain having your friends a plane flight away, but par for my course. So I’m practically beside myself to have Erin with me for long enough that we actually get over the excitement of being reunited. We have the best time together AND wear the same size… it’s vacation partner perfection!

It feels like serious gravy that we love each other’s husbands, too, and that they are good friends as well. It makes for a very fun group.. on the beach and pretty much everywhere else!

We rented umbrellas and chairs, and reveled in the fact that there were only a few other families out on the beach that day. Most people go to Tobago to recover after carnival madness, but schedule conflicts dictated a beach pre-party for us instead. I adored escaping ahead of the crowds, and having places practically to ourselves.

I also had too much fun disturbing that peace…. like Craig skipping rocks. I hatched an ill-fated water tackle plan, with humorous results. I imagine it looked like birds flying at a window, but it felt like hitting a warm laughing wall.

similar bikini, 2, 3, 4 // vintage kimono- similar, in pink, darks, under $30 // sunglasses, lust! // ear jackets // white nail polish

And y’all know I don’t believe in missing meals. So when a roti shop stop was suggested on the walk back to the house, I was all about the curry goat (plenty pepper, please). And let’s be real- only seaside in the rural Caribbean is a sandy bikini appropriate restaurant attire. Viva vacation!

LoveRavayna

April 20, 2016

0 In style

WiW: white and brights

There’s nothing I love more than the little white dress for spring. It’s a total classic for a reason. I’m planning on dressing LWDs up and down as long as the weather’s warm… and I can keep them clean. (I’m the messiest girl alive, but this is handy.) I first went on a white dress kick the spring David and I were engaged, when I bought several white options for showers and such. I guess bridal white was my gateway drug? I just adore the comfort of dresses, the versatility, and the blank slate of the white against brightly colored accessories.

Though some people are fussy that we’re already having heat waves, I’m a big fan of the summer sunshine. It seems like all of Los Angeles is in bloom, and I’m loving it. This wall of bougainvillea is blooming just down the street from our house, and is so gorgeously flower-full that I insisted on grabbing a few shots there. I know bougainvillea is technically a weed and all, but the girly girl in me can’t help but love the profusion of pink. And while I didn’t plan to match my lipstick, I wasn’t mad about it!

I chose this handbag as one of my Paris souvenirs, and I’m still pleased with my choice of bright cobalt color and polished gold accents. Its color scheme inspired my accessory choices, vintage golden layers and polished yet colorful baubles. I consider a neutral sandal a summer essential, especially to wear with white, and these wooden ones are so comfortable and surprisingly lightweight. But in all honesty, my hair is fading towards a silvery opal shade, and it’s hands down my favorite accessory lately.

SHOP THIS LOOK Jessica Simpson dress (similar, 2, 3), Volatile sandal-clog (similar, 2, 3), Galeries Lafayette purse (similar, 2, 3, 4), Kendra Scott earrings and cuff, vintage necklace (similar, 2, 3), lipstick, nail polish and my fave glitter polish.

loveRavayna

April 16, 2016

0 In travel

a trini girl, an island intro

If you’ve met my mom and heard her voice or eaten her cooking, you can tell she’s a Trini. Though I’m Trini-born as well, being raised in the US means most people don’t realize that. But if you’ve wondered about my year-round-tan or curves, heard my pepper mouth or the soca music playing, that’s the Trini in me coming out.

We moved to the States when I was three, and I didn’t return to Trinidad until I was grown. But now, we make the journey home every few years. Coordinating with our best friends and family members, we plan our Carnival vacation for months in advance, and count down to our two weeks away. Trinidad allows us to relax and rage unlike no other, share our time between poolside and parties, and all of the sunshine and soca music anyone could ever want. I’m looking forward to sharing our vacation with y’all, and introducing you to my Trinidad.

We flew United from LAX to Houston, where our best couple friends met us for happy hour, and the next 6 hours to Port of Spain. With a late-night landing, Customs took forever, but you might as well get on Trini time from the start. We headed to our house to greet family, eat and sleep, and then headed right back to Piarco Airport for the first flight in the morning, the island-hopper over to Tobago for a few days by the sea.

With our Trini trip in mind, I had gifted Erin this weekender and scored one for myself, too! A ton of my girlfriends have (and love) this bag- with good reason. It’s carry-on compliant, but expandable, and can hold everything you’d ever need comfortably. Beloved Thread did an amazing job customizing them for us. (That said, I’d be buying us these if I was shopping now.)

The flight to Tobago is only 35 minutes on a wee little plane. I’ll honestly say that we spent longer drinking piña coladas in the open-air Tobago airport bar waiting for our rental van than we did in actual transit. After a short drive to our condo, we beelined for the backyard pool- I’d worn my bikini under my romper, so I couldn’t strip and sunscreen fast enough. Erin and I turned on the soca, and it was promptly poolside playtime, complete with a dance party and braid bar, while the men made a store run. It was vacation time and we were beyond ready to relax and soak in the Trini sunshine.

weekender (also loving 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), F21 romper (similar), Target bikini (similar, 2, 3)

Our condo was family owned, and the location was perfection. When you can hear the waves from where you stand, it’s no hassle to walk down to the beach for the afternoon. So when the men returned with supplies, we packed the cooler and did exactly that. We had the local beach mostly to our little family… David and I, our besties Erin and Craig, my mom, my auntie (her sister) Sandy and her husband, my uncle Winnie. We made quite the crew visiting Tobago, and would only grow upon the return to Trini mainland.

As the sun started to dip, we walked home from the beach. We had a nice little cocktail hour, cooling off and cleaning up for dinner. We loaded up the party van for a local seafood restaurant- there’s not much on Tobago. We toasted with sangria, and laughed over grilled lobsters, shrimp, fish, and veggies. We all turned in early that bed that night… we had lots of vacationing up ahead of us!

loveRavayna

April 12, 2016

0 In lifestyle/ los angeles

a disneyland date

Walt Disney said it best, “Disneyland is a work of love.”

And when spring flowers are in bloom and the sun is shining bright, it’s hard not to feel the magic in the air! A few weeks ago (when I was still a brunette), we drove to Anaheim for a weekday Disneyland date, and it was a super fun time.

We’re fortunate enough to go to Disneyland several times a year, since we live only about an hour away. We’re no fans of theme park lines (like anyone is?) so we also wander, people watch, and eat. And when it comes to Disneyland food, Dole whip floats (pineapple soft serve and pineapple juice) are my absolute favorite.

I’m generally pretty flexible about which rides we hit- I’m up for whatever lines aren’t too obnoxious. But I’m a total five-year-old at heart, and I have a total weak spot for the teacups. It’s a must-ride, every time. David spins it so fast, and I love it!

And no day is complete without some shenanigans. No luck at hitchhiking in Cars Land, but some skipping and dipping made me giggle.

We had our cute friend Nicole join us, and we had such a good time with her- we always do! When she wasn’t cracking me up, she was behind the camera for the majority of this post’s images. But we were Minnie twinning, so I made sure to have David grab some shots of us, too.

We made sure to instagram a shot of our ears, to help raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Every hashtag of #shareyourears garnered a $5 donation, in honor of Disneyland’s 60th birthday. A total of 2 million dollars was raised to grant wishes for terminal kids, and it’s nice to have played even the tiniest part.