Cafe Carolina

01/01/2024

08/13/2022

😂

01/02/2022

Wishing everyone a bright and blessed new year! May abundance, success, joy, and a bit of magic find each and every one of you. Thank you for all your good thoughts and well wishes after my last post. I'm doing much better and work on the cookbook has resumed (yay!). Cheers! 🍾🥂

12/02/2021

Dear friends of Cafe Carolina! I can't believe how much time has passed and how much has transpired in the world!! I hope you all have been staying healthy. ~ A happy belated Thanksgiving wish, and, certainly, we can give thanks every day 🙏. Also, Happy Hannukah wishes if you're celebrating 🕎. Now, the news you've all been waiting for... progress on the cookbook was stalled because I was busy with school - first, a year in an MFA program, which I dropped out of. After some months of soul searching, I enrolled in a year-long certification program to become a hypnotherapist. Yup! As fate would have it, the year turned into 1.5 years because of two extended leaves of absence to help attend to my father's illness. And then, finally, in August I graduated with honors as a C.Ht (certified hypnotherapist). Unfortunately, shortly afterwards, I hurt my back and am only now able to think clearly past the pain and discomfort. :( The good news is that work on the cookbook will resume shortly, and I'm excited (and embarrassed) to say so. My apologies; I never meant for this to take so long. But I'm determined to see it through. I've learned not to make promises I clearly can't keep, but... a Spring release sounds hopeful. 🌼🌼📖 🔪🍕 May you all be blessed as we move into an unknown future. 💖

12/31/2020

A joyous, prosperous, and magical New Year to everyone! The "Glücksschweinchen" or the "little lucky pig" is a German tradition we follow (my mom is German)--they are gifted at the new year as a token for a good year to come. May this little fellow bring an abundance of blessings and good fortune to all your days.

12/27/2020

Greetings, one and all! I hope your holidays have been peaceful, magical, and safe. Our celebration was very small, not the 40 or so (and growing) extended family members of previous years. For the first time ever, I believe, I cooked the Christmas meals. Up to now, the cooking had been left in the very capable hands of my aunties. I did miss their awesome cooking. ~ ~ So, here I am again with my all-too occasional update: As ever, school has kept me busy. However, as I've had to take another leave of absence to care for my parents again, I am truly hoping that by the end of January I just-just-just might have the cookbook finished--whew, I hope so, because that's when my LOA ends, and classes will take up a lot of time again. I'll graduate sometime in June, if I'm lucky. (I ended up leaving the MFA program after 1 year, mostly due to finances. Instead, I've enrolled in HMI and am learning hypnotherapy. I was skeptical at first, but now I'm quite enjoying it, and have successfully hypnotized many people (mostly classmates), to my surprise and delight. At some point in the new year, I'll be needing volunteers to help me fulfill practice hours--stay tuned if you'd be interested! Everything is now done over Zoom, including hypnosis. Yes, it works.) ~ ~ Wishing everyone a truly joyous and blessed new year free of tribulations and worry. Whatever this new Age of Aquarius and the "new normal" ends up looking like, may it bring abundance, contentment, happiness, enchantment, resilience, and abiding good health to us all. Cheers, Isabella. 💝

06/11/2020

UPDATE + THROWBACK THURSDAY
Hello (im)patient friends! Another update is in order. I know I said I was hoping to have the cookbook done by end of May, but I estimate it is about about 80% complete! I've been working diligently on it these past few months while on leave of absence from school, but classes start again next week. I'll continue to forge ahead, of course. I feel very sheepish having to report this news, so please forgive me. - I've heard from some of you that a pdf would be fine; others would prefer an actual book. So, this is one of the "obstacles" I'm trying to figure out, while also keeping in mind costs and delivery method. - I'm actually very proud of what I have so far. I showed a few pages to a couple of my writing buddies for feedback, and they were greatly impressed. I promise I'm not giving up, and I hope you aren't either! 🥰 (photo 2003)

04/10/2020

Well... I guess it's time for a cookbook update. 👀 But first, I hope everyone is okay and staying healthy and finding peace in the chaos. I find simply sitting outside with a cup of tea, listening to the birds' song, very calming. 🙏 So... Yes, I'm still working on this grand oeuvre, practically daily. It's become a true labor of love, and it's gone beyond just putting together recipes to also include some fun food history and stories that I hope you'll enjoy as well. 📖 So far, I think these categories are just about done: desserts, salads/appetizers, pizzas, soups; getting very close: entrées and pastas. Just started working on risottos. And trying to figure out which and how many of our specials to choose to include, but ossobuco is a must! and probably squid ink pasta. I have a list of dishes some of you especially requested, and those will be included too. Don't lose hope--all good things come to those who are patient! 😊 For now, my ETA is still end of May... fingers crossed. Happy Passover and Happy Easter! Be well, stay safe 💝

12/26/2019

Hoping everyone's holidays have been extra magical.
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Happy Boxing Day, y'all!

11/04/2019

THANK YOU to everyone for your kind and supportive comments! I'm feeling suddenly nostalgic and miss chatting with some of the nicest customers in the whole world!! 💖 Really glad the cover is a hit. I had fun designing it--does kinda make you hungry, doesn't it?! Soon......