I keep walking with Billy and Valentina

Isn't he lovely in his little raincoat? :)

warm coffee on a cold rainy day

These last few days were really cold in Rio. Well, really cold for cariocas like me, meaning 16 Celsius (or 60F - don't laugh!). Anyways, it's always good to have a nice cup of warm coffee in days like these.

I ended up having a great surprise at a juice house, in Copacabana. It's called Big Polis, and it's a filial of the famous Leblon one. I used to eat there a lot many years ago. For a very small price R$7.00 or U$3.50 you can pick 5 items for your breakfast, including everything from drinks to food that you can find on a Brazilian breakfast, and the portions are big! For a little more you can add more items too. It's enough for at least 2 people. They also serve it up to very late (I got there at 12:30pm). They are open everyday from 7am to 1am, and the juices and sandwiches are all very famous. The only downside for me is the fact that it is right in the middle of Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, the noisiest and crowdest street of Copacabana. I bet it's more pleasant on Sundays, for a nice morning meal. The plus is the decoration. I LOVE the tiles!

Multishow Music Awards

PRESS PLAY All my loving - Rita Lee

Carol showed up last Tuesday with 2 last minute invitations for this music awards party. Nice! I saw some people I haven't spoken with in ages, from different times of my life. We danced so much Carol's skirt didn't resist. Great surprise for random week night :)

I chose this song for the post for 2 reasons; the singer, Rita Lee, received a very much deserved homage that night and the lyrics are for my dear boyfriend who couldn't come along.

my sister's birthday party (or with a little help from our friends!)

PRESS PLAY Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

Last Friday I had a blast at my sister's birthday party with music from the 80's/90's . I even did some moonwalking! All of her old friends danced like they were still in their 20's and didn't have kids, some extra pounds and some missing hair... I was nobody the day after, and I'm only 32! I'm not sure how they have survived...

My special thanks to Junior and Roberto who very nicely and bravely let us have this party there and to Ricardinho for making us travel on time playing all we loved to hear. Friends are the family we choose :) Thank you friends!

babysitting

PRESS PLAY Aquarela - Toquinho

My nieces are still on vacation (in Brazil it's winter, they should have gotten back to class 2 weeks ago) because of the swine flu. All schools will remain closed until next week. Aunt Lilli is helping her sister out, so she can take care of her birthday party preparation. She is 40 now, we gotta celebrate!

Father's Day

Nina giving paw to my dad / dad showing me his rare bromelias

My dad, his wife and Felipe / Sol

hitting the road back home

My dad lives in a little town called Miguel Pereira, a couple of hours from Rio. I went there to spend the Father's Day weekend with him. We cooked, I watched him play volleyball and win (he is 71!), he showed me his beautiful garden, I played with the pets (aren't they lovely?)... oh, and this time he finally did like my presents! It was great. I really needed that :)

Thanks, Dad.

I love LEGO!

PRESS PLAY Take Ten - Paul Desmond

I saw this miniature on my friend's lovely blog called Lovely69 and I couldn't resist it... so I ordered it online! Isn't internet great? Pretty much everything is just a few clicks away!

In the other hand, this project took 16 years (!) to be completed and it took me about half an hour to put the 208 pieces together.

...I guess although modern (or post modern?) times are great, some things will never change... :)

PS: Since Adam Reed Tucker built this mini Guggenheim to celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright and the museum's 50th anniversary, I choose Take Ten as a soundtrack, the song Paul Desmond wrote a couple of years after Take Five (one of my favorites). It's a wonderful version of his original creation, which was the first jazz single to sell more than 1 million copies back in 1961, and became the most famous Dave Brubeck Quartet song.

Lilli in the sky

PRESS PLAY Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Bono

They say everything has at least 2 sides, but I'd say it has as many sides as a kaleidoscope...

I keep biking

PRESS PLAY Coralie Clement - Samba de mon coeur qui bat

going to Leblon / going to Ipanema

I use my bike for transportation purposes. Traffic is caotic, noisy, and expensive, and for things I have to do bike is often faster, not mentioning the environmental issue. Besides, I LOVE the ride :)

Dancing with the stars

I made my boyfriend buy a Converse and took him out to dance!

PRESS PLAY Living la Vida Loca - Rick Martin

Carol, Felipe, Jonata and I went to Club 69 for a fun pop music dance night. Now I LOVE Converse even more cuz I just found out how comfortable it is to dance with it! Oh, and the hand is not mine, it's Carol's.