Orange you hungry?



To me, orange is the color of bold optimism.  It's not just for Halloween anymore - you can make a killer statement by adding orange to your wardrobe with a fun and flirty scarf, purse, or a pair of sky high heels (squeeel!).  I've seen some stunning weddings where bright orange gerbera daisies abound and leave you breathless.  Orange reminds me of fresh fruit smoothies (when you ditch the avocado of course), hot summer days, and my son Mr H:

This adorable little man of mine loves orange.  LOVES it!  Yesterday he dressed himself for school in his favorite orange outfit, complete with orange underwear which I thought might cross the line for me to picture...  For his 4th birthday this summer he asked for an "orange" themed party.  Orange balloons, orange silly string, an orange food menu... he was in orange bliss!  It's no wonder when we first arrived in Brazil and he saw their hotdogs that he made goo-goo eyes at me in the store.  I almost fell for them too!  I put them in my basket for about half an aisle and turned right back around to put them back!  Now, I like to think of myself as a fairly adventurous person. I love to try new foods and visit new places, but something about fluorescent orange hotdogs makes me cringe.  We already know they are made up of "mystery meat", which I prefer to not really think about.. why add the creepy artificial coloring??  Truly.  Check out the insane color difference between the orange dogs and the more natural looking (and sadly EXPENSIVE!) dogs I found at a whole foods store:

Creepy?  ..is that even a question?!  At least half a dozen times I have added these orange little suckers to my cart only to put them back with shivers going down my spine and visions of a new unnamed cancer dancing in my head.  The other day as I was thinking about the menu for the week and my kids begged mercilessly for hotdogs, Amazing V (our embregada, aka housekeeper) mentioned that they were "MUITO gostoso!".  So I bit my lip, held my breath and threw two packages into my cart for her and the kids to share last night while Handsome Hubby and I went out.  What's the worst that could happen right?  I mean, the packaging looks legit..

After watching the kids pack away 2 hotdogs a piece, I decided I had to at least try bite, just to say that I did it.  Something spectacular happened - once it was in my mouth and I couldn't see the bright unnatural looking orange hue of it, I enjoyed it.  I REALLY enjoyed it!  I'm not saying I want all my food (outside of a lovely mango or clementine) to be bright orange, but Amazing V was right!  "MUITO gostoso!"

Amazing V is just that - AMAZING!!! And not just for her ability to spot a good tasting orange dog!  Not many people would be willing to tackle our brood and still wear a smile! :)  LOVE this woman I do! :)