About: Cynthia

Gingerbread men are so much fun to make because the decorating possibilities are endless. Sure, you could always make a traditional gingerbread man, who is rather cute and irresistible with his plain sweet smile and buttons. But why not add a little personality with a range of facial expressions – curious, mischievous, deadpan, dour or dreamy.  Or, you could even go further … I was thinking of how I wanted to decorate these sweet little things this year, when itRead More ...

I’ve enjoyed sharing cultural holidays with my little girl over the past four years, but Día de los Muertos is one that I’ve held off delving into until now. I recently wrote about my daughter’s obsession with death following my grandmother’s funeral last year. But I felt that after talking so extensively about the subject of loss for more than a year now, I was ready to talk to her about the life of my father, whom she never gotRead More ...

  Her obsession with all things death began when my grandmother passed away last year. My then 3-year-old daughter Kalila had grown fond of Mamá Leonor, and I never really considered not taking her with us to the funeral. Just the year before, she had sat on my lap at my grandfather’s funeral, although I’m sure she didn’t remember. There were other small children there, too, and I had always grown up believing that children were just as much aRead More ...

I’ve had baby names on the mind lately, and at this late stage of my pregnancy it’s kind of hard not to. Every sharp kick, jab and foretelling Braxton Hicks contraction is a reminder to stop procrastinating and decide on something, anything, before delivery day. For my first pregnancy four years ago, it was different, as most first pregnancies tend to be. I was so excited that I basically peed on a stick and ran to a bookstore to purchaseRead More ...

  Bizarre cravings aside — like a few months ago when my intense thirst for something salty led me to slurp down pickle juice straight from the jar — this, my second pregnancy, has been marked mostly by cravings for the foods I grew up with and the wonderful and diverse sabores from all across Latin America: Tex-Mex enchiladas and chalupas covered in yellow cheese; chorizo con huevo breakfast tacos with salsa; tacos de pastor drizzled with chopped onion andRead More ...