La Liberte's in BA

Sa 12.15.12

• Jake's parents, Mary and Paul, safely arrived!
• we spent the afternoon resting up, and opening the suitcase of treasure...
• they sure know how to make hosts happy:

see all those Christmas movies!??!?!?

• later that evening, we chose to take M & P to one of our favorite restaurants, Artemisia, which happens to be organic and pescetarian(?) (remember when I blogged about it here?)
• Paul ordered a delicious pasta-less salmon ravioli, and Mary, quinoa and yamani croquettes...always accompanied with an abundance of fresh veggies!

Su 12.16.12

• we continued the good eats the next morning for a late brunch at El Malvón (our 2nd return visit!)...
• here's Paul enjoying a good cortado, good bites, in a good setting

• we later enjoyed a stroll around the Palermo parks, including the rose garden: 

• the rest of the afternoon was spent brushing up on some Spanish over snacks and vino:

Paul is very focused as Jake soothes himself with wine

the spread

• tonight's dinner: homemade empanadas!
• followed the carne recipe from my Vino Argentino book, which we all thought turned out well
• here we are, all pitching in with the twisting and sealing of the empanadas:

• Jake seemed to have got his twist down the best:

that's my boy!

• we also maybe made these delicious snow capped Christmas cookie delights:

recipe here (gotta love Martha)

M 12.17.12

• Jake's off to work, and before I headed to school, I ran M & P around like crazy
• first stop: Full City Coffee House, to not only enjoy a killer cortado (seriously, you have to try it)

Mary saying, hey! where's my special leaf design? 

• but also to pick up a bag of their fabulous Colombian beans
• then they let me drag them to a greenhouse to buy  herbs, pots, and soil
• guess what Mary did with these? You guessed it, beautiful new addition to our patio
• after my afternoon and evening classes, I met the crew at Pizzeria Guerrin for some extra greasy, cheesy, gooey pizza...had to have them try the fugazzeta, faina, y moscato!

Tu 12.18.12

• Mary and I made some thumbprint cookies
• M & P walked with me to see the two schools where I teach, then they continued on to Recoleta Cemetery
• when I got home from school, we rolled out the springerle cookies

Martha strikes again!

• M & P recreated this delicious Giada mushroom lasagna that we had made at our apartment in Chicago the year before...it was to die for then, and it was to die for now!
• thanks for cooking!

W 12.19.12

• tonight was our La Cabrera night...and this photo explains it all:

Th 12.20.12

• M & P took the bus with Jake in the morning to check out the downtown area...Puerto Madero...

• ...and to join him for lunch

F 12.21.12

• depart for Patagonia (see later posts)...

fast forward to...

F 12.28.12

• return from Patagonia
• rice and veggie detox dinner from "out-to-eat-overload"

Sa 12.29.12

• R & R
• leather outlet shopping (Mary got the cutest red leather jacket!)
• late lunch at Café Crespin in Villa Crespo
• I think we finished our game of Phase 10
• and made some mixed drinks:

our mix-master concocting up a storm

Su 12.30.12

• THIS happened:

can't get enough of those Voulezbar medialunas!

• then we were off to the Sunday San Telmo market

• pit-stop for refreshments (SUPER hot day)

• and a late-afternoon choripan sampling

that little place around the corner from Plaza Dorrego...mmm...

M 12.31.12

• New Year's Eve consisted of...
• more leather shopping, this time for a birthday boy's (ahem...Jake) leather messenger bag for work
• walking through new neighborhoods
• and dinner out at Primi Piatti, where we enjoyed a nice meal, with the special treat of outdoor dining...not often do we get that opportunity on a New Year's!

• then the moment came that I had been waiting for...smores

• soaked in some patio time...with delicious, sticky smores, and champagne and fireworks at midnight
• here are my awesome nighttime firework photography skills:

you really gotta look for it...
Jake got a good laugh at my many failed attempts to capture the fireworks :(

• a HUGE thanks to M & P for taking the long journey south to visit us...thank you for the help in the kitchen (Mary, Jake misses all of your dish washing), thanks for all the goodies and herb-planting, thanks for your patience with us, and thank you especially for the wonderful memories!
• we had a blast exploring Patagonia and BA with you, and loved having family here to celebrate Christmas and the New Year
• you're welcome back ANY time! ;)

(the following posts will show our adventures in Patagonia...)