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“The Comfort of Receiving Goodies from a Haitian Mother” by Shaina Louis, Manman Kiskeya Shaina is an intelligent young woman who has a natural entrepreneurial spirit. Shaina reached out to me on Instagram inquiring about some of our digital products. Since then, we've kept in touch on socials and I just had to share one of her projects here with you! If you're like Shaina, the comfort of Manman is everything, especially when it comes to Haitian food. When she was away at college, she was feeling home sick and came up with the idea to create these boxes full of Haitian goodies and products that bring back a sense of nostalgia. You can read her full story and see what else she has for sale on her site.
Our box by Manman Kiskeya included:
Thank you Shaina for the box that you sent to us! My husband and I had a great time hanging out eating the Haitian snacks while I listened to childhood stories he told.
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Since we have little ones now, I've done something I never thought I'd do - I converted our dining room (which we actually used) to a playroom! Crazy, I know. I am an interior design wannabe with a wannabe minor in decorating.
Our home is full of Haitian art in all different forms like paintings, sculptures, statues, papier mache, woven materials and mosaics. Since I had so much of the Haitian decor already, I figured why not create a Haiti inspired playroom! First thing first, I had my husband raise the gigantic chandelier so adults would stop bumping their heads on it. Some of the Haitian paintings were already hung so that made the wall decor easy. Check out our unique Haitian paintings for sale here.
These paintings were done by my husband's cousin in Haiti. The one in the green frame was painted on a burlap sak and glued to a hard cardboard material. The frame is actually one that I found in the garbage! It was originally gold and had an ugly horse painting in it. Thankfully the Haitian painting was the exact same size! (fun fact - I love repurposing things and thrifting...it's one of my favorite things to do!)
Playroom Inspiration
If you're tired of stepping on legos and tripping over trucks, try dedicating a corner (or a room if you have the space) for the toys to make a playroom or play area. It's nice to have the toys in one area so that we could have our living room back. I have a playroom board on Pinterest where I got my inspiration! Check it out here.
Other Fun Haiti Inspired Things in Our Playroom
Add this short story book to your collection! It was written and designed by me :) Mermaid Violette is madly in love. Her friends -- a crab, fish, dolphin, jellyfish and shrimp, all wonder who Violette loves so much and can't live without. Read the book to find out who the lucky one is! The story is written in English. Bonus pages of sea creatures in English and Haitian Creole! 
Add these customizable wall art prints to your little one's room or playroom! Designed by me :)
I plan to do more blogs about Haiti inspired rooms and home decor so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!
 Although I was not born Haitian, my name by marriage {Diana Pierre-Louis} often makes people assume I am Haitian, until they meet me in person or see my picture. I have been asked by people before, "are you sure you are Diana Pierre-Louis?" for example at a doctors office when being called into a room. I have also been asked many times, "are you French?" Or when I hand my business card to people which has my name and a picture of me with the shirt that says "what do you mean I don't look Haitian?," I get very strange and confused looks. Recently, I handed my business card to a man, who at first, seemed confused. Then he started talking about how he knows there are light-skinned people in Haiti. He happens to be Puerto Rican and shared with me that the same sort of stigma is attached to his culture where people assume you should look a certain way. So, have you ever gotten the statement, but "you don't look Haitian!" after having a nice conversation with someone. It's kind of a conversation stopper or even a turn-off, in my opinion. I really don't blame anyone. It's not their fault if they are uneducated about Haiti's history, culture and diversity. In fact, on TV we unfortunately usually only see certain groups of people and certain areas of Haiti, which are often populated by "darker-skinned" Haitians. It's the unfortunate truth. If you are in Haiti, you will see people of all shades, depending on where you go. Naturally as Haitians have immigrated to the United States, there are many people from all areas of Haiti. Hence, there are so many beautiful people!  If someone says to you, "you don't look Haitian," here are some responses I came up with to answer back:
Again, it's really not their fault for thinking a certain way. The media teaches us only about things in Haiti that scream drama, disaster, corruption or poverty. As our son grows up, I am finding different ways to be creative in teaching him. These crayons are one way we can draw ourselves in different shades. I also have created activity worksheets to do with him that expose him to Creole and the Haitian culture. I plan on making lots more, so stay tuned! If you'd like to purchase a shirt below (What Do You Mean I Don't Look Haitian tshirt), click the button below! How do you respond when people say "but you don't look Haitian!"
Join us for the 3rd Annual cultural and food event Taste of Haiti showcasing everything Haitian in the heart of North Miami! An entire afternoon filled with family friendly activities! Come enjoy great food, music, arts and crafts! Taste of Haiti website 
VENDORS: Click here for the applicationDon't miss the Madame Gougousse chef cook-off!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Annie Byas/Jihan Antoine TaDaGroupInc@gmail.com 516.808.3487 www.thetadagroup.com TRAVEL JOURNAL AND COOK BOOK FROM CHEF AND CULINARY CURATOR DELECTABLE FOOD ART WITH ORIGINAL HAITIAN RECIPES FOR THE AMERICAN FAMILY HAITI UNCOVERED BOOK REVEALED (September 16th, 2014—New York, NEW YORK) Foreword by New York Times bestselling author Edwidge Danticat, HAITI UNCOVERED: A Regional Adventure into the Art of Haitian Cuisine by Chef Nadege Fleurimond, is a culinary coffee table book that embraces every region and tradition of Haiti. HAITI UNCOVERED will delve into the art of Haitian Cuisine and will bring into focus the beauty of Haiti through its diverse culinary traditions while offering to Haitians and non-Haitians an opportunity to explore and learn. The beautifully bound and illustrated, hard cover book, slated to be released on November 18th 2014, will present and represent the dishes, recipes and cooking traditions, from all the 10 geographical Departments. Fleurimond traveled through multiple cities in Haiti such as Port-Au-Prince, Jacmel, Gonaives, and Cap Haitien among others to absorb and discover the nuances that are inherit in the rich and diverse culture of Haiti. One of the ways to learn about any background that is often unknown is to get to know it one on one, breaking bread, and learn about the culture through one of the most social and yet intimate way...the food. Fleurimond showcased that through her journey in the diverse provinces of her own country and to find a bit of you through her culinary journey. Manje ya pare" Food is ready! “Haiti Uncovered: A Regional Adventure into the Art of Haitian Cuisine is a book that will present an accurate depiction of Haiti's culinary art. Beyond the food, the book will present the reader with a very realistic view of Haitian culture and society through pictures and historical information. This is not just a Recipe book, but rather a look at Haitian culture through a food inspired lens. In essence, this is your chance to rediscover Haiti and to present her in a different light,” said Nadege Fleurimond. The HAITI UNCOVERED cook book will be on pre-sale from $59.99 on August 18th until September 20th This self-published Haitian cook book was developed and created in part with funds raised from Indiegogo campaign created by Nadege Fleurimond with support not only from her friends and family, but from a cross section of individuals with interests in food, culture and history. Fleurimond set goals to produce this culinary memoir by any means to uncover and rediscover the traditional aspects of Haitian cuisine and introduce a contemporary method to enjoying Caribbean food at its best. For interview or feature consideration with Chef Nadege Fleurimond please contact tadagroupinc@gmail.com and visit www.nadegefleurimond.com for more information. About the author: Nadege Fleurimond is the owner of Fleurimond Catering Inc. Utilizing her Haitian culinary background, Fleurimond pulls in world flavors from Asian, Latin American and European Cuisines. She has catered for Ann-Hauser Busch, Paul Weiss, NYC Hall, BET, and The Colbert Report, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Vivica Fox, etc. With varying interests in business, government, & social issues, Nadege graduated with a degree in Political Science from Columbia University. Nadege has been quoted in the New York Times, has appeared on the national television show Chopped on the Food Network, and has been a Food columnist for the Haitian Times Newspaper since 2008. She is also the recipient of the New York Media Alliance’s Ethnic Press Fellowship for 2010 covering the education beat. She also is the recipient of the 2011 Feet in Two Worlds Food Writers Fellowship, which has garnered many awards. The TaDa Group Inc. is a boutique firm that prides on developing personal, highly collaborative relationships with individuals trying to pursue a successful career within every realm. They work with their client's strengths and special talents to customize smart, strategic, and innovative campaigns that will place clients in a position to catapult to greater heights. Their efforts generate increased traffic from viewers; heighten reputations, high-value speaking opportunities, and priceless media contacts and relationships that clients can continue to build on. # # # # I don't tell hotels that I am there to review their property when I reserve the room and check in. I was so excited to be in my favorite city in Haiti: Jacmel. The prices on their website are confusing and that led to a big misunderstanding when we arrived. We ended up paying more than we thought based on Internet prices so before you book, just clarify that with them. Because of the hiccup, we moved rooms twice in 3 nights, which was fine because they were trying to be accommodating. The rooms are basic and decorated with Haitian decor...nothing special. {the manager ended up showing us nicer bungalow style rooms when we were checking out, so that's a better option if you want something more modern.} Overall, our stay was good and I was happy they tried to accommodate us after we had the issues in the beginning. Tip: to save on power, the hotel shuts off the electricity for a few hours in the morning and then in the afternoon. It's pretty inconvenient. I under stand doing that at home, but it was tacky for the hotel to do it. The food is okay, but way cheaper outside of the hotel. Here's a link to their website: http://hotelcyvadier.com/home/ 
Last year during Gout et Saveurs Lakay, I had the chance to photograph Chef Lemaire at La Reserve Hotel in Petionville. What a great hotel and hangout! Here's a view of the lounge area that the restaurant looks over and a chicken dish I enjoyed! 
Yum!!
 For the second year in a row, the Tyrone Bryant Library in Ft. Lauderdale, FL invited us to display Haitian photography and artifacts that we have collected. This year, we were asked to do an activity with children as part as our education for Haitian culture. Of course, we said yes! The event was story time with kids and a kite making workshop - Endy's favorite memory as a child in Haiti. We weren't sure how the kids would react, especially since it's a pretty tedious craft. I was given a stack of books to choose from to read to the kids. As I went through them to choose one, they were either long and boring, full of "facts" or they were completely untrue and negative information about Haiti} earthquake, poverty, illness, etc}. This was not the cultural education that I wanted to share with the kids. So, I chose a book with nice pictures and ad-libbed it through story time, providing my own knowledge and asking the kids about their views of Haiti. I asked the kids to raise their hands if they are Haitian. About 10 did, but I couldn't help but notice a teenager smiling without raising her hand. I knew she was Haitian. She didn't want to admit it, though, which of course I called her out on and told her she should be PROUD. She was shy, pretending she wasn't Haitian. When we started the kites, she sped ahead of everyone and was almost done with hers by the time we were all on step 2. She started to help the other little kids. A few of the little kids knew a lot about Haiti. They said Haitians are creative, there are snakes there, there's sand there, they eat griot and rice and they use goude for money. This all made us very happy, but I am so glad we did this activity with our local community because it just motivates me more to write my own book so we can share it with those who know little or nothing. I am putting it out there again, so I am held accountable, to provide a book for kids that they will feel proud to be Haitian at the end of it. Or, they will know about the real CULTURE in Haiti, not the one the news tells us about {voodoo, stealing, violence}.
Thank you so much for donating to the Art Creation Foundation for Children fundraiser that we hosted on May 4. The event was a blast and we raised $994 thanks to you. We have sent off the money to ACFFC! If you have a moment, please check their website if you haven't already: http://www.acffcjacmelhaiti.com. MESI ANPIL!!! 
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