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January 2, 2023

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About Me

I am Cristina - a Lisbon based Romanian writer in love with Victorian novels, comfort food and foreign lands.

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This post is not just about yesterday’s dumpling

This post is not just about yesterday’s dumpling dinner party. It is about rituals versus routines. About cooking something special, or using that nice tablecloth that you use only for guests, this time for yourself, about lighting a candle for the table next to your dinner, or having brunch in bed on Sundays. It’s about the enhancements that turn a routine like having dinner into an actual ritual. Whether it’s with friends, your significant other, your family, or just by yourself. Don’t underestimate the value these rituals can have. Now go, get yourself that special dessert, and make tonight’s dinner special. 🧁 🥟 ✨

#choiceofmagic #DumplingDinnerParty #FriendsAndFood #RitualsAndTraditions #GatherAndCelebrate #FoodieFriends #DumplingLove #DinnerPartyVibes #FoodWithFriends #SharingIsCaring #CulinaryTraditions #FoodieGathering #CherishTheMoments #CommunityFeast #FoodAndFriendship #DumplingDelights #EatingTogether #PartyWithPurpose #SavorTheFlavors #RitualsOfTogetherness #FeastWithFriends #MakingMemories #TraditionsThatBind #JoyOfCooking #DumplingPartyFun #FellowshipAndFood #EmbracingRituals #TastyTraditions #FriendshipFeast #DumplingMagic

Extra, extra, read all about it! I am back in this

Extra, extra, read all about it! I am back in this feed this Monday with some big news: the @choiceofmagic Instagram account is gonna focus on its original niche - FOOD. Wholesome, home cooked or enjoyed out in restaurants around Lisbon and abroad. But because I do love travelling, and know many of you do too - I´ve created a space for you to go and enjoy TRAVEL content too - and that place is the @choiceoftravel Instagram account. The blog will continue combining both topics, with a pinch of books, but I felt Instagram was really penalising me for being too broad in this account so I hope this solution will work better. In the meantime, enjoy this last travel themed video of me walking the halls of the Vatican in February this year, and see you on @choiceoftravel.

#choiceoftravel #choiceofmagic #travelgram #wanderlust #explore #travelblog #travelblogger #instatravel #travelholic #traveltips #travelgoals #passportready #travelinspiration #travelguide #travelingram #igtravel #wanderlusting #getaway #exploretheworld #portugaltravel #portugueseblogger #roma #rome #italy #vatican #visititaly #foodblog #foodblogger

Behind me, the Giardini Segreti di Villa Borghese

Behind me, the Giardini Segreti di Villa Borghese in Rome. In front of me, my dear friend Steffi, whose birthday we celebrated in Rome this February. She’s now probably the only person who has had “Happy birthday” sang to her in the Sixtine Chapel, by the guards.

This post is just to say that my Roman trip was magical, completely lacked planning, and as such resulted in zero content for the blog aside from this post and a short reel that’s coming up soon. 🏛️

#rome #roma #roman #romanholiday #villaborghese #giardinisegreti #italy #italia #bellaitalia #visititaly #wanderlust #travel #instatravel #travelgram #romanian #streetstyle #travelblog #travelblogger #colour #magictravels #choiceofmagictravels #ootd #portuguese #romanian #architecture

…and boy, do I carry a lot of magic with me. Sto

…and boy, do I carry a lot of magic with me. Story time: I want to believe that my love for books was genetically passed on to me from my great grandfather, Gheorghe. After he contracted malaria sometimes in the 1940s, my great grandfather had to leave his job of administrating the royal estates in Braila, Romania. He got a job as the librarian of Bucharest´s University Library, spending his years amongst books in postbelic Bucharest. Next came his daughter, my grandmother, Lucica, who absolutely loved books too. By the time I was five, she had read “Beauty and the Beast” to me so many times that I knew it by heart and as such learned to associate the words she was saying to what I saw on paper, teaching myself how to read before even starting school. My mom, Carmen, continued the legacy and due to what I suspect is a book buying addiction, needs to regularly purge our library, only to fill it back up in the space of months. Then come I, buying books wherever I go, only to then have A. build new shelves all around our tiny apartment, because I have a pathological need to be surrounded by them, just as my great grandfather, grandmother and mother did.

What is your story with books?

#bookstoread #whattoreadnext #bookrec #personallibrary #bookfriends #bookdesires #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #bibliophile #booklover #bookpeople #bookish #BeautifulBooks #booksaremagic #bookworm #fortheloveofbooks #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #fiction #bookquotes #goodreads #quotes #storytime #loveofbooks

A new blog post following January´s trip to Barce

A new blog post following January´s trip to Barcelona is up on the blog. Check out the #foodIlovedinBarcelona for some of my favourite restaurant recommendations. From breakfast and brunch spots, to iconic lunch and dinner restaurants, to fabulous tapas bars and cocktail and dancing joints, it’s all up there. And with a new Barcelona trip planned for June (because I cannot keep away from that fantastic city), expect the list of recommendations to grow soon.
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#barcelona #foodIloveinBarcelona #Barcelonafoodie #spanishfood #tapas #tapasinBarcelona #Barcelonarestaurants #spain #espana #visitspain #wanderlust #travel #instatravel #travelgram #romanian #streetstyle #travelblog #travelblogger #colour #sunny #exotic #tropical #magictravels #choiceofmagictravels #visitbarcelona

Moments from two weeks ago, when we stayed at @qui

Moments from two weeks ago, when we stayed at @quintadacomporta and recharged during a weekend of fantastic food, rides to the beach, reading in front of a fireplace, watching Tin Tin, getting the best massage I’ve ever gotten, and swimming our worries away. If you haven’t been to Comporta yet, make sure it’s top of list because they don’t call it “Europe´s Bali” for nothing.

#comporta #visitcomporta #quintadacomporta #portugal #visitportugal #troia #beach #troiabeach #beautifuldestinations #smallluxuryhotels #comportarestaurants #visitalentejo #wanderlust #travel #instatravel #travelgram #romanian #streetstyle #travelblog #travelblogger #colour #sunny #exotic #tropical #magictravels #choiceofmagictravels #ootd #portuguese #romanian

Throwback to last year, marvelling at the Mediterr

Throwback to last year, marvelling at the Mediterranean meeting the Taurus mountains in beautiful Turkey, which is going through such tragedy right now. I hope you can find it in your heart to join me in donating as much as you can to help the Turkish and Syrian people overcome such challenging times. I chose to donate to @oxfaminternational who is providing protection, water and sanitation, shelter and food support to the nearly 2 million people affected by the earthquake. I added a fundraiser button to @oxfamintermon (it’s the only Oxfam verified fundraiser I could find here), in case you want to help too. 🌍 🚑
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#turkey #antalya #mediterranean #taurusmountains #taurus #sosturkey #helpturkey #syria #helpsyria #fundraiserforturkey #wanderlust #travel #instatravel #travelgram #travelblog #magictravels #visitturkey #choiceofmagictravels

This is not a Valentine´s Day post. Well not exac

This is not a Valentine´s Day post. Well not exactly. It is not because I don´t care much for Valentine´s Day (if anything, I prefer its Romanian equivalent of Dragobete). And yet it is, because by now you surely know how much I love books. And I kind of half intentionally chose today to launch "the book diaries". Which is a monthly recap of the books I read in the previous month, something I used to call up until last year "the monthly book club". But since I actually want to relaunch the old book club conversations too, I thought I´d rebrand my monthly reviews. So there you have it - The Book Diary of January 2023 is now online and I´d really love it if you checked it out and got inspired by the books I read last month. Or if you just dropped me a comment telling me what you´ve read and loved in 2023 so far.
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#bookstoread #whattoreadnext #bookrec #personallibrary #bookfriends #bookdesires #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #bibliophile #booklover #bookpeople #bookish #BeautifulBooks #booksaremagic #bookworm #fortheloveofbooks #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #fiction #nonfiction #robertgalbraith #jkrowling #fivelovelanguages #dune #frankherbert #simonedebeauvoir #naomialderman #thepower

🍰 With Valentine´s Day a week away, why not ru

🍰 With Valentine´s Day a week away, why not run to the store and buy the few ingredients necessary for my sister´s delicious cheesecake with pecan nuts and caramel topping? Whether you´re baking it for or with someone you love, or just making it for yourself, I am sure you´ll love it as much as I loved seeing her do it for me! 💕💕💕
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*note: you can also find a Romanian version of this recipe on @povestiaromate ´s page, in the Deserturi highlight. It´s originally theirs and is only featuring here as part of the #guestchefseries.
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Ingredients
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For the base:
180g shredded digestive cookies
75g brown sugar
90g butter
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For the cream:
800g cream cheese
200g sugar
150g cooking cream
one and a half tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
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For the sauce:
100g pecan nuts
100g brown sugar
half a tsp cinnamon
60g cream
80g butter
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(Instructions following in the comments)
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#homemade #foodporn #foodie #instafood #foodgram #nextbestfoodie #foodblogger #foodblog #foodphotography #foodstylingandphotography #foodstyling #choiceofmagic #cheesecake #caramel #caramelcheesecake #cake #cakerecipe #valentinesday #romanticdinner #dessert #sobremesa #festivedessert

I can buy myself flowers, but I’d much rather ju

I can buy myself flowers, but I’d much rather just fly myself to Barcelona and go for a stroll amongst the lavender at Park Güell. And even though I went there looking for Gaudi´s beautiful mosaics, I was so so impressed by the landscaping of the park. From the lavender to the palm trees, and the way they embedded with Gaudi´s masterminded architecture, Park Güell was one of my favourite parts of Barcelona.

Have you been? What did you think of it?

#barcelona #parcguell #parcgüell #gaudi #spain #espana #visitspain #wanderlust #travel #instatravel #travelgram #romanian #streetstyle #travelblog #travelblogger #colour #sunny #exotic #tropical #magictravels #choiceofmagictravels #ootd #portuguese #romanian #visitbarcelona #antonigaudi #architecture

Don´t be fooled by my big smile, I was actually j

Don´t be fooled by my big smile, I was actually just clenching my teeth at the many pigeons in Parc Güell, because birds absolutely terrify me. The top of the Sagrada Familia in the background, Gaudi´s beautiful tile mosaics, the blue sky, and being with my family in such a beautiful place really made up for it, though. 🐦

Now tell me - what´s your next destination? ✈️ 🚂 🚙

#barcelona #parcguell #parcgüell #gaudi #spain #espana #visitspain #wanderlust #travel #instatravel #travelgram #romanian #streetstyle #travelblog #travelblogger #colour #sunny #exotic #tropical #magictravels #choiceofmagictravels #ootd #portuguese #romanian #visitbarcelona #antonigaudi #architecture

One of my happiest and euphoric moments of 2022 wa

One of my happiest and euphoric moments of 2022 was on the 6th of July at around 6pm, when I stepped upstairs in the Shakespeare & Company book store in Paris. Watching all those people cuddled up in the various armchairs of the reading area, and finding an armchair for myself, where I sat and went through some of the books in this pic (all except for Purple Hibiscus were bought at Shakespeare & Co), filled my heart with a sense of pure happiness which we only experience every now and then in life, and desperately want to cling on to. By now I have read all of these books, but since I never published this picture, and really treasured that moment, I thought it was time to share it.

Tell me about a moment you experienced this euphoric happiness lately! ✨

#bookstoread #whattoreadnext #bookrec #personallibrary #bookfriends #bookdesires #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #bibliophile #booklover #bookpeople #bookish #BeautifulBooks #booksaremagic #bookworm #fortheloveofbooks #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #fiction #shakespeareandco #paris #parisianbookstore #elifshafak #gertrudestein #janeausten #francoisesagan #chimamandangozi

Check Out My Latest Posts

Food I Loved in Barcelona

February 21, 2023

Book Diary of January 2023

February 14, 2023

Sissi´s Delicious Cheesecake

February 7, 2023

What I am currently reading

join my magical bookclub

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