I was recently thinking about those delicious blackberry rochers I made a while back and thought it would be a great idea to adapt the recipe to a Summer fruit and a different type of nut. Since raspberries are currently in season, they are ideal for this type of sweet treat and even better with the addition of pistachio nut.
The idea kept popping up in my mind so as soon as I found some time for it, I rushed to my nearest shop and got the three ingredients I needed: fresh raspberries, good quality Belgian white chocolate and ground pistachios (well, those were whole peeled one but I finely chopped them for a similar effect).

From my trip to Florida a few weeks ago, I packed up a few things in my suitcase to bring back as gifts or things for us to enjoy at home.
Whenever I travel somewhere (especially when it's a different country), I like to get a selection of things to bring back and those things are usually food related, books and/or artwork.

Wonderful friends, sunshine, relaxation and amazing food. This is how I could sum up the holidays I spent in Tampa, Florida, a few weeks ago.
I actually only planned this trip a couple of weeks before I left. It was the third time I was receiving promotional emails from an airline with direct flights to Orlando from Dublin. I needed a holiday and I wanted to catch up with my best friend: the decision was made!
On our last trip to Florida, we had mostly been traveling outside of Tampa with our friends so this time, I was happy taking it easy and discovering more of this city itself (with the occasional little trips elsewhere). In no particular order, here are some of the highlights of this trip:

Hello there, long time no see! I just realised my last blog post on here was more than a month ago. During that long break and among other work and life things, I visited my wonderful friends in Florida and had a very impromptu trip to France (where I had to skip eating any of the delicious bread goods and pastries on offer, yikes very much! - it will hopefully not be a forever thing, still a 'figuring it all out' work in progress though...).
I did take a break from the blog but did not forget about it and prepared a few posts as well as collected links for Saturdays so here is a selection for today. Have a wonderful weekend!

- Something interesting: this article about meditation on Cup of Jo has definitely been helpful to me lately as I searched ideas such as mindfulness to relieve stress. The app Headspace made it onto my phone and as I am starting to use it, I can already see how good it will be for me.

- Something to dream about: I love collecting ideas for future travels and the more I read about trips to the Dolomites such as this one, the more I push it higher on my list of places to visit.

- Something delicious: those toasts niçoise made me quite hungry and the ingredients are already on my list for the long weekend's meal ideas.

- Something else delicious: the ingredients for this delicious sounding one pot creamy parmesan chicken with mushroom rice will also make it on my shopping list this week.

- Something to watch: this classic movie from 1979 is on Netflix at the moment. I rewatched it with E., who had never seen it, and I was reminded what an incredible film this is.

- Something to listen to: I am putting this song on my playlist before listening to it live next month.

- Something else to listen to: my friend introduced me to podcast My Favorite Murder when I visited her in Florida and this is seriously addictive (I studied criminology in college and I find those stories fascinating - despite being scared by my own shadow, ha!).

One of the things I love serving at a dinner party is a platter of various delicious cold things with a bowl of dip. You can find some really good store-bought dips but it is not actually that hard to make your own and it is also much nicer.
I became familiar with the idea of dips while living in Australia as I discovered entire supermarket aisles dedicated to this. And then every party we went to there always had a huge selection: spinach, corn, caramelised onions, artichoke, cheese, humus, beetroot humus, guacamole etc. the list could go on an on.

I do love having dinner parties where the main course is just a giant platter of cheese and charcuterie. To balance it, I add a few crudités (selection of raw vegetables) and a dip or two. As much as there are many many dips to choose from, I prefer to stick to just a couple I really like: humus and whipped feta. Those are easy enough to make at home rather than buying ready-made.

How was your week? I feel like mine went quite fast between juggling work, the blog, every day things and preparing my next trip (we're talking getting a visa, travel insurance, foreign money etc.). I managed to find good breaks to go stretch at my Pilates class, preparing meals while listening to the French radio and diving into a very interesting book before bedtime. It's all about finding a good balance sometimes!
Here is a little selection of links I collected this week:

- Something interesting: this story about a young girl having her portrait taken is truly beautiful and moving.

- Something delicious: I am really craving spaghetti carbonara after reading this blog post and seeing the beautiful photos accompanying it.

- Something else delicious: this recipe for leek soup and whipped feta might be of good use this weekend if the weather doesn't warm up.

- Something to wear: a French blogger I follow released a line of sustainable clothing with the brand Close this week and I have to say it all looks quite pretty.

- A film: I went to see this magical Disney movie last weekend with family members and it was very enjoyable, I was reminded of the type of movies I really loved watching as a child.

- A song: I have been listening to Arcade Fire quite a bit recently but especially this song from my favourite album of theirs.