The Mixed Feelings of February
Should we celebrate Valentine's Day even though it's cheesy? Do I mourn or cherish my dad's birthday? Do I romanticize the rain, or dread another day cooped up in inclement weather?
I have been with my husband for almost 22 years. When I say this to people, they stop listening and start doing math. No I was not a teen bride, but we did meet before my twentieth birthday. We dated for six years, were engaged for two, and have been married for thirteen. We never really celebrated Valentine’s Day or bought each other gifts. For most of our dating years we were too broke to pay premium for showing affection on a specific day.
Enter our children. Valentine’s Day is big cause for celebration at schools and, apparently, at home. We were asked who would be attending our party. We then went on to explain that it would be a family event and that the requested friends (who do not have kids btw) would most likely be celebrating their love together (and alone).
My kids are too little to have had broken hearts, and have not accrued the bitterness that comes with a few Valentine’s Days spent alone. Their excitement has softened our own feelings about it, and now we truly enjoy celebrating the love holiday as a family.
February was a month for negotiating many mixed feelings with what is happening around us and in my own heart. My biggest challenge is that so much of adulting feels like a gray area, and in moments like this I relish in the simplicity of my kids’ universe. Flowers were bought, love notes were written, and heart-shaped things were unapologetically gifted. Plus, couldn’t we all use more amore right now?
With love,
Camille
We’re on for cheering Fernanda Torres and I’m Still Here this Oscar Sunday!! If you are a Bay Area local you can order some Brazilian pizza from Toast Pizza or get Coxinhas from Flying to Brazil. At home, here are a few recipe ideas for a Brazilian spread to manifest a win:
Brigadeirão (but green and yellow sprinkles)
Tiny B Chocolate opened their first store in San Mateo! Support this Brazilian woman-owned business by visiting or ordering online.
If you are a woman in 2025, and you love oysters as much as I do, this tote was made for us.
Mission Chocolate has been restocked! Revisit my date to the store in Sao Paulo here.
My season for leather and lace is almost ending (hello spring!) but a few things (like this top) may stay in rotation for a flowery romantic seasonal transition.
We launched our spring collection in the shop and I am obsessed!
I have a four year old who recently carried a bucket of popcorn so large he needed both hands to hold it. And yet, he dropped one single kernel on the movie theater floor and desperately rushed to eat it before I could stop him. Send help.
As I write this, I can maybe safely say I have dodged the latest round of illnesses in my house. Winter is brutal for families, with all of us bringing in bugs from multiple schools, shared transportation, travel, and all the enclosed spaces we occupy.
How did my immunity make it? These may be my famous last words before I jinx myself, but here are a few things I recommend for winter health:
Be religious about a sleep routine. I like these Olly Immunity Sleep gummies and this Egyptian Licorice Tea for pre-bedtime.
Up fruit & veggie intake. I use Revive Superfoods pre-prepped blends for my morning smoothies. All I do is add collagen/protein, almond milk and blend. Use code GUI2634190 for 60% off your first box.
Open windows and air out the house often.
Embrace the Scandinavian advice to spend time outdoors no matter how cold it is.
Enjoy heat therapy like saunas or my personal workout of choice hot power yoga. Heat helps sweat out toxins, raises your heart rate, and stimulates the lymphatic system. And when you are a tropical bird, it feels extra amazing to feel warm.
Eat healthy foods for comfort, like warming stews, soups or a lovely plate of Brazilian rice and beans. Beans are so rich in vitamins and minerals and support the immune system. This recipe will freeze 4 batches and leave you ready to go!
I sat at one of my favorite restaurants in Ipanema last April at the counter facing the street. Motorcycles zipped by and a group of gentlemen playing a little samba stopped in front of me hoping for some spare change. I was having lunch with a Tia, not my real aunt, but one I was gifted in this life thanks to my dad’s childhood friendship with her. I melted and confessed I didn’t know what I was doing back in Rio again, for a fourth time, without my family. She told me that she returns to Olinda often, and that when she does she feels connected to her own father. “Perhaps you come here to feel closer to your dad and to a time when the memories are happiest,” she offered. I had not until that moment connected my inexplicable draw to return as part of my grieving process. Considering this entire project was born after his passing, on a trip I never meant to take, it seems so obvious. In The Carioca Kitchen I find comfort in sharing some of my most cherished childhood memories, many from my little Rio kitchen growing up. My dad would have celebrated his 72nd birthday this month, and I finally documented his signature Mac & Blue cheese recipe to celebrate him.
