this wedding was filled with so much tenderness and sweetness, I often think of the bride and groom and smile… the bride is a dream client – the kind of bride who months after her wedding, still takes the time to thank me and wish me “continued success in creating bliss and wonder for all lucky enough to have you do their wedding!”

so this wedding reception took place at the famous fort charles in port royal, jamaica. i was excited at the opportunity to bring the softness and charm of love to a place such as this, steeped in history and full of strong character…. enjoy our transformation:

fort charles as is

fort charles the pussbackfoot way

so, i think it turned out beautifully, but let me know what you think. and remember you can keep up with us on twitter!

xx

some months ago pussbackfoot had the pleasure of creating a fabulous eco-friendly tablescape, on invitation from a great eco-lifestyle magazine E.C.C.O. our designs were featured in their january 2010 issue.

i know some time has passed since then, but being eco-conscious is always stylish, so we thought we would share some of those images with you… in a post to follow we will share how-to tips on creating your own fabulous eco-tablesetting for your home!

in the meatime…

if you want to stay in the know with pussbackfoot, click here subscribe to our blog.

xx

goat hill is a perfect place to create love, refresh love, make love official, and spend the first days of love their too! with amazing views of the sea, magical sunsets and sunrises, its perfect for a celebration, especially your wedding. and the best part about organically beautiful places such as goat hill, is that it allows you to cheat on your budget…for example a host of candles alone, if you choose, is enough to give you a staggeringly beautiful wedding setting!

while i was there i envisioned a dreamy fun-filled wedding weekend! a night-before cook-out games night, a sunset ceremony, and a day-after fun day right there by the pool, all against the back drop of the coolest caribbean breeze and the ocean… no matter where you turn, where you go, the view of the ocean is there. seriously!
oh, and the elevated hot tub, set in cut stone, is a perfect place for the edgy bride who wants to “trash her dress” too the day after the wedding.

i have already started dreaming of going back there with family and friends, for no other reason that to share this heavenly place with those i love the most!

as usual, glowing photo credits to MY favourite photographer, sandor!

xx

here are 28 of my favourite everyday jamaican gems. maybe we share some in common or mabe you can give one of mine a try. please leave a comment and tell us your favourite.

1. statement necklaces from baubles and threads
2. alia michele bags
3. wrightstyle shirt dresses
4. a full body massage at eva spa centre
5. donna patricia lavender juniper spray and pimento essential oil
6. starfish oils ortanique scented candle and “sweet jamaica” bar soap
7. photos from picturesfromjamaica.com

8. bin26 wine bar
9. special appleton reserve cocktail created by lovejoy at medusa’s
10. the book club at bookophilia
11. l’acadco in concert, especially amanyea stines and kaalil aaron vereen

12. a tony wilson 6:00pm dance class
13. oysters at the beach, or at a friend’s house
14. tarty lemonade mixed with brown sugar
15. red rose tea with condensed milk from my locally made ceramic mug
16. hands in clay bumpy head girls by robert campbell
17. gene pearson masks
18. jerked pork and turn plantain from mannings hill jerk centre
19. seafood chowder from norma’s
20. dusk at home. maybe just because it means i am home.
21. calaloo by elisso designs
22. friday mornings at papine market
23. spin class at shakti
24. early morning walk/jog at the dam or mountain spring
25. coconut jelly in a bag from the coconut industry board
27. yam chips and salsa from peter’s principle
28. old fashioned jamaican hot chocolate. (add a cinnamon stick in the mug for glama-puss style)

these are some of my simple treats….what are yours?…leave a comment and tell us what you love….

this is the last post for this “28 days of love”, but i am happy to say that we have already started make plans for next year’s “28 days of love” and a special event later this year as a prelude to that… prepare to be a.m.a.z.e.d.

finally, thank you thank you thank you, for sharing your time and snippets of your lives with us… and please remember to subscribe to our blog so that you can stay in the know.

live in love. and always… make it. personal. idyllic. wow.

more love,

one of the ways i bring in love into my life on a daily basis is through the people i choose to share my time and space with. one thing they have in common is that they try to live in love, honesty, giving and gratitude. they are my biggest fans even while they challenge me, and that is the way i like it. making me stronger. making me better.

and then there are the other less complicated things that i do to treat myself, to imbue a jolt of loveliness in a mundane day…like a an early morning jog while the sun rises, bright yellow roses or stark white stock blooms in a simple cylindrical vase, or coming home to the beautiful orchid blooms that my mother and my mother-in-law have loved and cared for and passed on to me to enjoy. or turning up the music ridiculously loud as i drive around, blocking out all the “noise” around and listening to whatever it takes to soothe or uplift my soul…and that can be anything on any given day, sometimes its cirque du soleil, beethoven, alanis, amy winehouse, alicia keys, movado, kartel, serani, or etana, and sometimes its the just the sweet voices of my girls singing along to “shoo fly, don’t bother me”. then there’s turning every shower into a spa experience with delicious smelling soaps and oils. and if i am lucky at the end of the day i steal a moment with a glass of wine and browse one of my dozens of magazines or coffee books (the stack (x2) goes as high as my bed head!) with my favourite scented candle or essential oils burning. and then, there is one of my sweetest treats, that i don’t do nearly as often as i should…picking up my bible and enjoying His word, basking in the peace and joy that only He can provide…you know what, this list is so long its crazy. there are just so many little and big ways to love yourself no matter how hectic you find your life to be…and after writing it i appreciate even more the beauty of my life…again i float a little higher. and retrospectively, since this post took days to be completed i know exactly why the plan to invite someone to share with you about loving yourself didn’t work out…because having done it myself has me loving me more!

and so, the last thing i want to share with you is about my experience at an industry seminar. its one of those moments that you expect to be fairly trite, but depending on your perspective, you can experience it in a different way…i had the privilege of meeting simon t. bailey, author of a transformational book, “release your brilliance“. he gave an amazing talk and after i thought i should buy his book and why not have him sign it since he was there… “aiesha, never stop believing that you are in the right place at the right time”. how many times have i heard that or a similar version before? many. but this was the first time i “got it”. for me that translates to being content with where you are, so that you can experience more in the moment and therefore see clearly to move forward to a higher place…of love

and so i say to you what he said to me…please believe that you are in the right place at the right time… and do us the favour of showing yourself love, so that our lives too, may be made brighter by your light.

more love,

in our last week of “28 days of love” we go beyond love in our personal relationships, and explore love in other fundamental ways. whether its our lifestyle or simply the comforts we surround ourselves with or at the very top of the list, love of self, from which ultimately, all other forms of love are given life.

today is all about the love of work, because working is one of the few things that most of us cannot escape, so i think its important to find a way to love what we do; or better still, take a bold step and do what we love. so…

step into the work love affair of andrea + bookophilia…

my love affair with books began …
when I was young and every week my grandma would take me to a huge bookstore in glasgow. i had never seen so many books and we would spend hours in the aisles reading. i was instantly in love.

the moment bookophila was born i was…
i was sitting on the patio at my friend’s house in jack’s hill overlooking a beautiful panoramic view of kingston at sunset. we were swapping ideas about an arts space that would encompass all forms of art – music, theatre, visual arts, literature and even the culinary arts. later on, that is the vision that i tried to express through bookophilia.

and i knew that bookophilia was the one when…
when i closed the door at the end of that first day and felt a feeling of pure satisfaction and joy…i knew that this was the right decision for me.

a bookophilia soundtrack would include …
bob marley’s “three little birds…” and of course a special track mixed by dj sawandi with some jazz, samba, reggae and worldbeat – reflective of the cultures, tastes and backgrounds of all of our customers.

books that inspire my work love are …
“the power of intention” by wayne dyer
“the four hour work week” by timothy ferriss
“the seven spiritual laws of success” by deepak chopra
“execution” by larry bossidy and many, many more.

at the start of the work day i feel …
excited, full of anticipation and all the new ideas that I want to try out. this job is an opportunity to be creative and I love that.

i knew i wanted to wake up to bookophilia everyday when …
hmmm… every single day? did i mention that i’m a commitment-phobe? (laughs)
i evaluate the relationship with my darling on a regular basis. if i’m happy and feeling joy in the present moment then we continue.

my most memorable moment at bookophilia is…
one friday night, we had a live cuban band that was fantastic. the audience sang along with the songs, then created a poem by passing around a sheet of paper and each person wrote a line. then afterward, people spontaneously formed a circle and were dancing meringue in the store. i mean, there was so much warmth and love in the air – it was like a family gathering or a party, definitely not your typical night at a bookstore!

I love books because …
because i just do! love needs no rationale, it just IS.

this is a love story that delights me and inspires me. i wish the same for you…

and if you missed the opportunity to submit pictures for our love exhibition please go ahead and submit your photos to us at love@pussbackfoot.com by Wednesday, February 24. (see here for submission guidelines).

more love,

i hope your valentines weekend was filled with extra sweetness and love, with friends and family, and all that makes you smile. our girls made the most adorable cards at their pre-school which was just the sweetness i needed…it was a bunny made almost completely from hearts!

and so today we share one more story from the heart to keep the love glowing…

from the heart of sarah
love means… giving of yourself selflessly without expecting anything in return

my love soundtrack would include…
sade
bat for lashes
fuerza bruta soundtrack…this list can possibly never stop…

first kiss …hmmmm…somewhere close to the ocean…I remember it being salty

my perfect date involves… a yummy meal or a great show/movie .. actually … both! *smile*

we finish each other’s...dessert *smile*

favourite jamaican romantic hideaway … so many…Jamaica is such a romantic place once you get out of kingston *smile*

i’m always telling my love he is…passionate, honest, dedicated to anything he loves

what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for love … allowed it to win me over even when I was terrified of being hurt by it

love is beautiful. enjoy its glow.

more love,

valentines day is tomorrow! but we don’t need much of an excuse to have a good time here in jamaica, so most of us are celebrating for the entire weekend. why not take advantage of the extra time, so we can celebrate in different ways with friends, with family, with crushes and with loves?

pussbackfoot has collaborated with jamaican culinary experts, kerry jeter in los angeles and nigel spence in new york to bring you a few special recipes to help you do it all…

so you decide to have early cocktails with friends tonight because fun times are always sweeter with your girls and with your boys, try…
the man eater
with gin, peach schnapps, rum, tequila, vodka

forbidden love
with vodka, pomegranate, orange and lime juice

love on the rock
with mango juice, sorrel, rum and triple sec

glama puss tip: to make your drink beautiful just choose one of the fruit ingredients cut a wedge or a thin slice, even some seeds or an edible flower (most are) and float in the cocktail. remember to choose interesting glasses and sometimes it doesn’t have to be a glass depending on the drink, you can use a bud vase, a small candle holder…get creative!

after early cocktails you can celebrate by having a quiet dinner, or enjoying tapas at a lounge or nightclub and then dancing the night away. whatever you choose, we wanted to help you with ideas for the morning after, to help you extend the moment for as long as possible.

the morning after
have breakfast in bed or hop out of bed, throw the duvet on the living room floor with lots of cushions and pillows and create an inside picnic, while slipping into your favourite sexy comfy wear and playing your favourite tunes. pussbackfoot recommends etana the strong one, gentleman, tesanne chin,taurus riley, beres hammond,freddie mcgregor, sara tavares, miles davis, billie holiday to name a few …

classic french cuisine chef, kerry jeter suggests indulging in the following yummy platter…

mango bellini
fruit salad
crepes suzette or stuffed french toast (stuffed with cream cheese and strawberries)
banana bread
toast

how to make:

mango bellini
with mango juice and sparkling wine

crepes…and believe me its easy

4 1/2 oz cake flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 eggs
* lightly beat second egg using only 1/2 for the mixture
1 Tbs. unsalted butter (melted)
1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
pinch salt

optional
1/2 tsp brandy
1/2 tsp grand marnier
1/2 tsp orange zest

batter
put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
let sit in refridgerator for 45 minutes to an hour to get rid of air bubbles.

crepes
warm 8″ to 10″ non-stick pan and just barely coat the bottom with butter. remove excess butter with paper towel.
ladle 1 1/2 ounces of batter into the pan (enough to thinly coat the pan). swirl pan to get and even coating of batter covering the entire surface of the pan.
cook over medium heat until batter starts to set. then flip and cook on second side.

storage
layer crepes with parchment in between layers
will last in the refridgerator for a few days and for a few months in the freezer.

serving suggestions
berries, powdered sugar, and whipped cream or sweetened mascarpone cheese or
caramelized bananas or apples cooked in brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and rum

banana bread
1/4 lb. or 1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
grease and flour loaf pan.
sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda
add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and set aside
cream butter and sugar in seperate bowl.
add beaten eggs, mashed bananas, zest, and vanilla to butter mixture
stir flour mixture into batter
add milk

pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour until knife inserted comes out clean.

i am sure you will enjoy.

slow down. make sweet dreams. make beautiful promises of love. take in the moment. enjoy. never ever forget….promise?

more love,

nigel spence is a renowned jamaican chef. he trained at the culinary institute of america and is the owner of ripe, a jamaican restaurant in new york. he has appeared on major tv shows including food network, martha stewart and air jamaica’s “island stylee” programme. click here for more on nigel.

kerry jeter is a jamaican living in los angeles. she is a graduate of the california school of culinary arts le cordon bleu and specialized in classic french cuisine. she has worked at some of l.a.’s hot spot restaurants including wolfgang puck’s vert and at ortolan under chef eme.

a very special thank you to all of you who shared a piece of you with us… as kira williams says “love is a verb, a choice that begins when you open your heart…”. i haven’t heard it more beautifully said….please enjoy the video and the collage!

more love,

this dreamy place on earth is Jamaica Inn in St. Ann… understated charm and pure soulful bliss. There are not many places where you can fall asleep to the humming sound of the ocean, step off your own oversized verandah onto the sand, enjoy delicious jamaican cuisine with the backdrop of the sea… and just refresh and indulge… in every way! (if you’re wondering what all this sweet spot talk is about, click here)

so, this week is chocked full of fabulousness as we give you the dish on loving…pussbackfoot style! be prepared to be treated to fun and soulful gab about experiencing love in different ways, a little “love on the rock”, enjoying the morning after, and living it up with friends!

and, of course, the unveiling of the “28 days of love photo exhibition“! please remember to send in your favourite photos of love by tuesday, february 9 (love@pussbackfoot.com). the more we have the more love we feel and we cannot ask for more than that. i am so thrilled that so many of you have already shared your moments with us. it is going to be AWESOME!

more love,