MoKa

A trip to Oman

2015-04-01T23:04:00.003+02:00

After a couple of days in Doha we went on a quick trip to Oman to visit our friends Gosia and Szczepan. They've been there for over a year and because we miss them a lot and because Oman is a stone's throw from Qatar (and most of all because I have the kindest and coolest brother who got us the tickets), we just had to pay them a visit. After just a few days in Doha we were pretty stunned at how different Oman is. We knew there were mountains but their size and colour...yeah, mostly size...made our jaws drop. The photos below don't give a true impression of magnitude of these mountains.

We were in Oman for only 3 days but thanks to Szczepan (Gosia had to work during the day), we managed to see a lot and every place he took us was really amazing. We are so grateful he was willing to show us around, we could as well just stay at home and indulge ourselves with some good food they ordered from a local restaurant. (we wouldn't mind either).

On the first day Szczepan took us to Jabal al Akhdar - Green Mountain, Oman's second highest point. The views were breathtaking.

The next day we saw a place that pretty much looks as if it were painted by an artist with too much ambitions. An oasis in the middle of a desert. It's called Wadi Muaiden, a valley full of palm trees, streams and tiny waterfalls. It all looks magical and made as feel like on a movie set. If it weren't for the fact that we had our 7 month old baby with us we would have surely discovered more of this incredible place Indiana Jones style!

Another incredible place we were taken to was Misfat, a village that was built on top of solid rocks, above a forest of palm trees, with houses built on several terraces. It looks more like a caribbean plantation and it is a self-suficient village with their own traditional irrigation system of falaj (water channel), carved through the rocks, that keep the village lush and green. Apparently, there are still people living there and relying on the water system.

We wandered through the maze of alleys and admired the architecture. We tried to take w few pictures but it was a but tricky since we were carrying Lara. Thank you so much Szczepan, it's definitely one of the views we will remember for a long, long time.

It was even hotter in Oman than it was on Qatar but boy was it windy. Here is our little trooper almost on the top of Jabal al Akhdar.

In the evening, just when we thought the day couldn't get any better, Gosia, Szczepan and Ewa took us to see one of the most beautiful sunsets, that we watched from a hill just above a palm grove.

No, no, we didn't call it a night after coming back home. We sat outside, ate great food, played games and felt so good. It was a short trip but thanks to our friends it's a trip we will never forget. Thank you so much guys! :*

Holidays in Qatar - Part One

2015-03-24T20:08:00.000+01:00

We are finally home after the best holidays in a long, long time. We still can't believe we were there just a few days ago and it makes us weep a little that we had to come back. We miss the hot weather (it was just perfect, hot, but not too hot), we miss the food, walking barefoot on grass, going to souq in the evening and spending our mornings by the pool. We miss absolutely everything. We are so grateful to my brother Andrew and Ela for having us and putting up with us for so long :)

Here is part one of the massive photo overload that's coming, hope you enjoy it.

Doha beach, surprisingly empty.

This lady had the time of her life in doha, more on that in a whole new post.

My eyeballs literally hurt when we left the flat for the first time in the morning (we arrived at night time). Hats and sunglasses were a must.

E.T not go home yet, it was very windy at times and we didn't want her to catch a cold.

Obligatory visit to one of the many, many shopping centers in Doha

Isn't this marvellous, Venice in Doha :)

My big girl, looking up to her cousin Stella all the time

First visit to souq. It was amazing. We've been to souq in Marrakesh before but it was totally different, old, crowded and a bit smelly.

We decided not to take Lara's pram with us. The wrap was more than enough.

Dinner at a turkish restaurant, our taste buds went crazy.

Ela, testing the wrap.

They both seemed to love it at first...wrap

So many beautiful things

Traditional bread baking oven

And the most delicious flatbread, hot from the oven.

Doha downtown at dusk

An elevator selfie of the six of us. We miss you guys!

No desription needed.

Pigeon house in Katara cultural village.

A golden Minaret.

Museum od Islamic Arts

The cutest and pretiest little bird Stella

Picnic

That's it for now. We are really excited to share these photos with you. We are so thrilled that we got to go on such amazing holidays. More random photos from Doha coming soon.

Father

2015-03-20T21:37:00.000+01:00

Valentine's Day

2015-02-14T12:20:00.000+01:00

It will sound super cheesy but we try to make everyday feel like valentine’s, we don’t go crazy with the celebrations, there’s no candelight dinner and expensive gifts. This time it was our first Valentine’s as a party of three (or four since we couldn’t leave Ginger behind). We spent half a day just wandering around Kazimierz (the jewish part of the city). The weather was gorgeous so it was just perfect.

We met our dear friends Magda and Wojtek with their cutest baby girl Matylda and Rudi who really hoped to be Ginger’s Valentine only she pretended not to care at all…typical woman.

Happy Valentine’s to you all!

Lately

2015-02-13T12:48:00.000+01:00

It has been super crazy over here the last couple of months. We’ve been working hard on Kangoo Wrap which is really great and I know it’s been only a short while but it has already given us huge satisfaction and it makes me super happy we can share the love for babywearing with others. We are also working overtime to wrap a few things up before our upcoming holidays (I honestly don’t remember the last time we were on holidays). Apart from all this we’ve been madly in love with our baby girl. No words can describe it really but somehow our love to her grows bigger and bigger with each passing day. She is such a wonderful girl, she is in this fun new phase where we understand each other perfectly (almost all the time) without words (obviously) and most of the time she laughs, smiles and just hangs out with us, doing her stuff while talking and singing to herself in her own language. Just now, as I’m writing it Kamil came to the room and asked if I miss her and I really do. When I put her to bed I usually just stay there for a while and look at her as she sleeps. I know I should cherish every moment of this stage. It’s scary how quickly the time passes.

Here are a few pics we took last week. Lara dressed in yellow and grey so we decided to follow along.

Star Wars Baby Mobile

2015-01-24T02:36:00.000+01:00

It’s never too early to start learning what the most crucial things in life are, right? That’s why we decided to educate Lara the moment she opened her eyes…with a Star Wars baby mobile of course. I know it’s not perfect but it’s made with love. I hadn’t really cared much for star wars before I met Kamil. I remember telling him-“star wars? have I seen it? well, it rings a bell but I hardly remember it” and the look on his face and the slight hesitation-“do I break up with her this instant or do I give a chance to this sad ignorant”. I was a quick learner, though, a padawan one might say and I quickly became a fan. It’s so sweet to see Kamil tell Lara all the exciting stories about Luke and Leia, while they both hang above her crib. Frankly, I am happy these are not pink hearts or colourful unicorns flying above her head, I’m happy it’s Yoda and Chewbacca. It makes my heart melt to see Kamil and Lara create this special bond.

Winter wonderland

2015-01-05T03:40:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago in Zakopane

Lara's first snow

2015-01-04T10:39:00.000+01:00

Although Lara didn’t care much for the first snow this winter and for the fact that this was her first snow ever we took her for a long winter walk on the second day of christmas. We had a wonderful time and Lara slept almost the entire time. At least we have these photos and a few more where we behave as if it was the very first time for us to see snow and this way we will remember for her :)

Christmas hot chocolate mix

2015-01-03T14:32:00.000+01:00

Because there have been no sign of snow in Cracow and it seems it will stay this way during xmas we’re doing everything to make this special time of the year feel at least a bit…special. We haven’t bought a tree yet but everything else is in progress. We’re working on christmas menu (extra difficult this year due to our meat free diet), decorating the flat with ornaments, listening to xmas songs and drinking tons of hot chocolate. I love hot cocoa every now and then before going to bed but this time I needed something more serious, a real deal, not some dull chocolate milk. Make this mix and I promise all the cold, windy december evenings will became so much cosier and more pleasant. And it’s hard not to agree that you simply need hot chocolate in your life.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

1,5 cup powdered sugar

1,5 cup powdered milk

1 tsp salt

2 tsb cornstarch

optionally 0,5 tsb cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or mix well with a whisk. Store in a big jar or divide between a few smaller jars and give to your best friend as a pre xmas gift.

Stay warm!

Moka has moved

2014-11-21T05:16:00.000+01:00

Dear friends! Our blog has been moved to a new platform and we are no longer going to post here. We will be more than happy if you continue to be a part of it and visit us sometimes at cupofmoka.pl We are still perfecting our new space and working on making all the previous photos look good again (most of them lost their good quality while being transferred to the new platform). Hope to see you all there. Have a great day!!!

What's for dinner - Spaghetti with zucchini, basil pumpkin pesto and tomato salsa

2014-10-29T06:20:00.000+01:00

As a breastfeeding mom I need to eat healthy. Cooking only for myself has always been a pain in the neck but when I have somebody to feed it’s enough for me to feel motivated. I’ve always loved cooking for Kamil, mainly because he loves everything I cook, literally, he’s such a sweetheart, even when something is really terrible he’ll go all ‘mmm’ and ‘aaaah’. I love him. Lara hasn’t really tasted my cooking yet but she’s a happy little monkey and being on mama’s milk only diet has served her well. I must say our eating habits are generally way better now. We try to care about what we eat so that first of all we’re all healthy and also because we want Lara to have good eating habits from the start.

I found this recipe on my new favourite blog the other day, the girl is crazy, she cooks such amazing food that I want to try it all out. And here is what we cooked last night only with a few small changes. It’s no longer gluten free but still very, very tasty and healthy.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti pasta

2 medium zucchinis

2 ripe tomatoes

For the pesto:

big bunch of fresh basil

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

3tbsp grated parmesan

s&p

For tomato salsa:

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled

2tbsp good quality olive oil

salt

Instructions:

Cook pasta al dente. Julianne zucchinis until you reach the seeds inside. Fry zucchinis on a tbsp of olive oil for max 1 minute, set aside. In a blender place roughly chopped basil, roasted pumpkin seeds, minced garlic and parmesan. Blend well and add olive oil, salt and pepper. If it’s too thick add more olive oil or a drop of water. Chop tomatos and mix with olive oil and salt.

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl and serve with pumpkin seeds, pieces of parmesan and drizzle with olive oil.

Vegan pumpkin pancakes

2014-10-27T12:50:00.000+01:00

Believe it or not these babies were a total improvisation when I opened the fridge this morning and there was almost nothing inside, except for pumpkin which I had baked yesterday and a carton of rice milk. Fortunately google can help you with everything so with a cup of coffee I sat down searching for breakfast ideas including pumpkin. Last time I made pancakes I promised I’d never do them again (burnt pan, stink etc., etc.) but since we literally had nothing else to eat we decided to give it another try. They were vegan because not a single egg was to be found anywhere near the kitchen and to my surprise you really don’t need eggs in your pancakes. Honey which we used instead of maple syrup isn’t very vegan but you can skip it. So here is what you need for super delicious vegan pumpkin american style breakfast pancakes.

1 cup flour

1tbsp potato flour

1 cup rice or soy milk

1tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1tsp apple cider vinegar

1,5tsp sugar

3tbsp pumpkin puree

cinnamon (optional)

1tbsp coconut or regular oil

Sieve all the ingredients until smooth and fry until golden on both sides. I didn’t use any oil for frying but feel free to do so.

Serve with maple syrup or honey and jam.

Enjoy!

Lately

2014-10-20T04:06:00.000+02:00

We’ve been having so much fun enjoying probably the last days of warm weather. We’ve been going out a lot, eating some really good food (we’re trying out food from all the new food trucks around the city), meeting with friends and working. We need to wrap up all the photo shoots for our website and hopefully we’ll have all the shots by the time winter comes and freezes our butts off.

But inbetween photoshoots and all the other things we’re busy being madly in love with our precious girl. Lara is such an adorable little person, she smiles almost all the time and her good mood and joy are always a good start to the day.

Here are a few rather random photos we took while visiting my parents a few weeks ago and some more we took while out and about here in Krakow.

Life lately

2014-10-06T07:24:00.000+02:00

Life lately…has been good, really good. What can I say, I love being a mother and my little family of four is more than I could ever have asked for. Our little girl is simply the coolest kid on earth and she even motivated us to move our asses and do stuff, I mean really do them this time. We are about to launch a new website and will post it here so you’ll have a chance to see what we’ve been working on. In the meantime here is a few snapshots so that it’s not only about me bragging.

yet another lovely trip with roxy and michal, walking your dog it way more fun when it’s in places like this

someone left his pants just lying there in the forest

in case i forgot to mention…baby wraps are the best

and hot tea from a flask is the best

working hard on those muscles

but boy it’s so exhausting

she loves to read inbetween naps

these two are going to be best friends, i’m sure

little morning get together with my dearest friend Gosia

and testing new wraps with my bestie lara

i’ve been working hard on my autumn wardrobe

and going to kamil’s birthday dinner last week

Hope your life lately was also pretty damn good.

Have a great week!

Wednesday is the new Saturday

2014-09-27T15:59:00.000+02:00

It’s so good to have a freelance job, you can have weekend in the middle of a week. And that is exactly what we did. We have friends who have a lovely house near Cracow so every time there is a chance we ruthlessly invite ourselves for dinner, or just to hang out or to hang out and then have dinner or…lets face it, it’s the coolest when we visit and stay for almost two days. It was a blast, we had sushi, played board games (while both babies slept, aren’t they angels?), listened to music and played with our girls. Me and Magda had our babies only four months apart so basically we had our girls at the same time. It is wonderful to see them both hang out in one crib, they’ll surely have a great reminder when they are our age and good friends.

waiting to be served

that’s how you’re treated at our friends’ house, coffee IN bed

Kamil does not look creepy at all in this picture and he does not look as if he was strangling Matylda either

Everything turned out ok and there were no victims

chilling out while grown ups prepare breakfast

…and one hell of a breakfast it was

now time for a stroll

…along old train tracks

…with all four of our babies

i love carrying Lara in the wrap

mommies and their babies

gathering some wood for the fireplace, there is nothing you can’t do while carrying your baby in a wrap

some seriously tired doggies, they were close to being friends for a short while

and last but not least…

What's for dinner - Vegan chickpea pancake with lentils

2014-09-22T10:44:00.000+02:00

Chickpea flour pancakes with veggie lentil filling

Now that we’ve just about quit eating meat we’ve been trying to find healthy substitutes and recipes that will be a good source of proteins, fiber, etc. This and the fact that I’m breastfeeding was very motivating. I found this recipe the other day and it was just ideal. I bought chickpea flour online and it’s been sitting there waiting to be used. Surprisingly, it’s easy to cook and really delicious. I recommend this recipe to those who want to make their vegan diet a bit more interesting and tasty.

What you need:

For the pancakes:

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup sparkling mineral water

0.5tsp salt

0.5tsp turmeric

2 tbsp olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 30mins

For the filling:

1 cup of red lentils (cooke according to the package instructions)

0.5 small onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 ripe tomatoes

small zucchini (or bell pepper)

spices (I used sweet paprika, curry and cayenne pepper but the original recipe includes cumin)

Chop and fry the onion and garlic, add chopped tomatoes, zucchini and all the spices, cook until soft, add lentils and mix together.

Recipe from here

Weekend in pictures

2014-09-14T13:30:00.000+02:00

This was one gloomy and ugly yet lovely weekend. We went pumpkin hunting again. We try to do it every year before fall. This is the post from last year and the year before. It’s nice to have different family traditions and now that we have Lara we’ll definitely carry on with this one and hopefully many more. Our little girl needs lots of good childhood memories in the future and it’s never too early to start collecting them, right?

This year we only purchased edible pumpkins. Did you know that almost all of them are?

So, lots of recipes with pumpkin are coming this fall.

I think I’m a little in love with pumpkins, aren’t they all pretty?

We spent the rest of saturday at my in-laws’, the weather was dreadful but we somehow managed to have a bbq and we insistently sat on the terrace until dusk, although it rained a little.

Sunday morning was even prettier and Lara decided to wake us up at 7. We took a long, refreshing walk through the fields and it felt like on the set of Twilight.

Lara didn’t care much for Twilight or that mom and dad were playing hide and seek on a field of corn.

The rest of the day was pleasant though. Unfortunately, my hair stayed just s dreadful as the weather before and is in desperate need of a cut.

Luckily, candy coloured nails are always a good distraction.

We took another walk and breastfed on the way.

And the sweetest part of this weekend was seeing Lara with her cousin Nina together. It got me teary-eyed when Nina helped me take care of Lara, she handed the diapers, helped choose new set of clothes, stroke her hands and cheeks and kept an eye on the dummy. I love this little girl and I can’t wait to see them both play and make some trouble.

Weekend with friends

2014-09-09T05:32:00.000+02:00

It was one of our goals to go out with Lara as often as possible. We want her to socialize and see the world. Who cares that all she can see at the moment are outlines ;)

We paid a visit to Wojtek, Magda and their baby girl Matylda last weekend. The weather was perfect so we spent every minute outside eating some absolutely delicious food. Starting with sweets and pastries with insanely well prepared grilled food following later.

Ginger has a lot of fun when visiting as she has a whole forrest to run around in. She was so exhausted later on that she picked the best place to rest (obviously).

Kamil

Monika is taking some dancing classes from out friend Gosia. She’s a pro!

our baby wraps seem to be liked by everyone! Love it!

Sunday

2014-09-07T22:12:00.000+02:00

It's been a lovely Sunday. The weather was gorgeous so we spent it mostly outside. We went to Targ Sniadaniowy (breakfast food market) in the morning because sundays like this call for a special breakfast. There were macarons, good coffee, onigiri, panini, brownies and raspberry cake. It was a very good morning. Lara enjoyed every bit of it, too and did not cry at all, bless that little nugget.

Iced coffee with cardamom

2014-08-28T19:38:00.001+02:00

I refuse to acknowledge that summer is nearly over. Even when it is cloudy and cold outside we make ourselves a cup of iced coffee to make it go away. I have a feeling it's thanks to us that good weather keeps coming back, it's the coffee, I know it!

To spice things up a bit we added some ground cardamom to our regular brew and thanks to its unique aroma it turned out really delicious. But if you're not a fan you can use any other spice that inspires you, cinnamon, ginger, cloves or even anise if you like it.

What you need:

2 shots of freshly ground coffee

1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom

ice cubes

almond or regular milk

agave nectar of brown sugar

Prepare the coffee, you can use french press, moka pot or coffee machine, in all three cases mix coffee with ground cardamom before brewing. Pour coffee into glasses and sweeten to taste, add cold milk and fill up with ice cubes. It's that easy! Enjoy!

Getting the hang of it

2014-08-19T22:00:00.000+02:00

It has already been over 3 weeks since Lara was born. Time sure flies fast! We're getting used to this new and exciting situation pretty easily I might say. Obviously there are moments when both of us feel tired after a night of countless cries for food or a diaper change but in the end Lara's one little smile gives us all the energy we need to go on. It really is amazing!

Before she was born we promised ourselves that we would try as hard as possible to continue living our lives the way we used to and treat Lara as an extra companion in our everyday endeavours. Below is a little glimpse into our recent little walks around town. The baby wrap is absolutely ingenious and makes carrying Lara a pleasure.

Lara's nursery

2014-08-11T16:09:00.000+02:00

Finally, after several months of renovation, we can show you some bits and pieces of our new home. Obviously, we're starting with Lara's nursery because it's the prettiest room in the flat. We're very proud of it especially that we totally improvised. We knew we don't want pink and we knew we must be careful not to make this room look too boyish. And... not to brag but apart from both beds we had the pleasure of making, painting, printing and sewing everything else. We absolutely love how it turned out! A perfect little corner for our future explorer.

thank you aunt Karo :*

and the before version was...

4 years

2014-08-07T16:29:00.000+02:00

It's been 4 years since I married my best friend.

It's been a wonderful time.

And...it's just getting better and better.

I love you to the moon and back Kamil.

Little family photo shoot

2014-08-05T19:54:00.000+02:00

Time flies like crazy and Lara is almost two weeks, we had to capture the four of us when she's this tiny. Of course, we couldn't forget about Ginger. She's been nothing but super cool with the whole new baby situation.

She is here

2014-08-01T13:03:00.000+02:00

Our precious baby girl is finally here with us and we are overwhelmed with love and joy. She is perfect and she is more than we could have ever asked for.

Lara turned 1 week yesterday but the day she was born seems like yesterday. It was a magical day, it was a perfect day and I would do it over and over again just to relive the moment when she was placed on my chest and I could feel her warm body and we could both hear her first little cry. It's undescribable. My labor went pretty well, it took only 6 hours so the pain didn't knock me down (it takes some time before they can give you the epi, which, by the way, I will be forever thankful for). I am so proud of myself, I did it. Kamil was a real help, too. I cannot imagine giving birth without him by my side. He rubbed my back, fed me, gave me water between contractions, he danced with me and held my hand...And then he became a father, he was so proud and I loved him even more. We became a family of three and we were so in love.

Here are some pictures Kamil took that day.

Waiting, still with a smile on my face :)

At some point it was slightly boring, for me, too :)

Oh the epi kicked in.

And a few hours later this happened...

First walk

Snuggling in bed is now my favourite thing

Showing Lara her room for the first time

For those of you who wonder how Ginger is handling the new situation...

Welcome to the world little love!