cinco de mayo en mi terraza

I can see you sitting there in front of your computer, a curious expression growing over your face as you contemplate the title of this post. Your thinking, 'I thought Talley didn't have a terrace...just yesterday she posted about wanting a terrace...what is going on?' You caught me. Eeek. I do, I have a terrace, an itty-bitty-teeny-tiny-could-maybe-hold-three-people type of terrace. It looks out on the interior courtyard, where thankfully there is a large tree that provides a bit of privacy. I guess what I really meant to say yesterday is that, yes please I would like a terrace that is as large as my apartment and has an incredible view of the city-lake-alps. Perhaps I will just print an enormous photo of the city-lake-alps view and tack it to the unfortunately mustard yellow wall of our terrace. Then again maybe I could hang the photo we used for the photobooth at the wedding...did you see it? (click link and scroll down) Although without all of our funny friends in front of it, I'm just not sure I'd like it as much.

I'm still out here on the terrace enjoying the late afternoon sun that eventually finds it's way here. It is hot. It might just be time to give in to this incredibly summery weather and stop convincing myself that at any minute the skies will turn grey and stay that way until mid June. It is certainly a perfect day to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the day of guacamole, margaritas and coronas. I've eaten my fair share of guacamole already, but I'm saving the margaritas and coronas for later.

The terrace was the last 'room' to get any attention. I shipped the chairs and ottoman from the states with the rest of our furniture, and although they are looking a little worse for wear after a winter in our garden in New Haven, what's left of the the white paint looks nice against the dingy colors of the terrace - grey, icky yellow, more grey and black. Thank goodness for the leafy green of the trees in the courtyard. I bought a couple cushions for the chair and a little table cloth for the mini table that we have out there, which helped make it feel a bit cozier. I'm going to keep my eye out for an outdoor rug and of course a grill. I think Zach and I are going to buy a gas grill - whoa - such a grownup purchase. Really it was just the thought of pouring lighter fluid all over the grill that will sit right outside our bedroom that was less than exciting. Now we just need to figure out where to buy the gas for the grill that we don't own yet.
I love guacamole as much as the chips used to scoop it out of the bowl. Once again Switzerland befuddles me with their lack of basic groceries, like tortilla chips. There is usually a lone bag or two hiding in the chip aisle, hidden behind the Nature Paprika chips (bizarre flavor that tastes like bbq), but there is only ever one brand to choose from, and none of the ones I have found are as good as the thin and salty American Tositos. If you are reading this in your home or office that happens to be close to a grocery store, please, for the love of me and guacamole, go buy some Tositos!
Speaking of Tostitos, I'm toasty! I just had to move into this chair, which is still in the shade for a little bit longer. How is the weather at home? Are you having an unusually warm spell as well? What is really interesting about Zurich, is that although it has a similar climate to NYC (we didn't get nearly as much snow as nyc though), it is much farther North, so it is already staying light until around 9pm. At this rate there will be nights in the middle of the summer where it will still be light out when we are trying to go to sleep.
If only I could relive this bite over and over again. Well in truth I did. I relived it for as long as the bowl was full, but now it's empty and I'm stuck snaking on the peppers that are left.
Water now, margaritas later. I'm hydrating. Putting a lemon in my water is a way I trick myself into drinking the entire glass, it just tastes better with lemon.
Who says salami isn't part of the traditional Cinco de Mayo spread? This is my little Swiss twist on the holiday. I mean after all, how can you really have Cinco de Mayo without cheddar cheese? No cheddar in the land of cheese! We've talked about this I know, but I'm just making sure that you buy a block of cheddar when you go to the grocery store for your Tostitos and that you shave it over those new chips and put it in the oven and ta-da nachos! Cheddar cheese and nachos are not something to be taken for granted, I've learned my lesson. Zach can barely talk about cheddar. The mere mention of it and he gets the shakes and then consumes an entire round of Boursin in an effort to somehow drown his cheesy sorrows.
On my way back from the market today I came across a little plant stand and bought a variety of herbs for our terrace. I bought two little basil plants, one mint, one asian mint and one large rosemary plant. The next step is finding something to plant them in. I need to find some window boxes or just simple planters, but after looking around briefly today and coming up empty handed I'm worried the search will be more extensive than I was expecting. Perhaps a trip to Ikea is in order. I dread going, but it might be the only spot with a variety of options in an agreeable price range.

Happy Tostito eating and margarita drinking!