Gaya's first walk

This Friday I decided to finally take Gaya for a walk in the street. I've been thinking about doing that since she moved in, cuz she is always so attracted to the outside world and keeps running away from home. Sometimes I ask myself if I am good mom... So cat's curiosity made me borrow Billy's collar and see what happened.

She was kind of paralyzed by the collar. It looked like she felt extremely weird with it, she literally didn't move. It was pretty funny :)) After a while she kind of started getting used to it and we went down for a bit. She meowed a lot, and was at the same time curious and a bit scared.

Love Holding Love

PRESS PLAY Brazil - Wah

One of my favorite places in Rio is Ilha Grande. There are no cars, very few houses/hotels and people. It's all about the nature, and what nature! Cristal clear water, breathtaking beaches all around, pure pure air. It's all about bikini and Havaianas.

I got back together with Felipe after some very needed time apart, and lots of transformations. We've been there a couple of years ago, and choose this place to start over fresh :) Couldn't have been better.

PS: the name of the CD that has this song is "Love Holding Love" :)) very appropriate!

tiny dancer

PRESS PLAY História de uma gata - Vanessa da Mata

Last weekend it was Victoria's first ballet presentation :)) She was in three choreographies, and she played an Angel, Little Red Riding Hood and a Cat! It was soooo cool to see her dance one of my favorite childhood songs!

My sister was travelling for work, so I did the backstage preparation - make up, hair, costumes... she really wanted my red lipstick, and it I had a hard time convincing her it wouldn't look good with the angel outfit! These girls today are impossible! :D

Lagoa

PRESS PLAY Cidade Maravilhosa - Caetano Veloso

I'm a carioca da gema (born and raised in Rio, daughter of cariocas) and I can't stop being amazed by this city's views. They still make me breathless, after 32 years! :))

This is Lagoa, right by my house, seen from Clube Piraque. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid, but I haven't been there in years. It was like a time travel for me; I could almost see my mom by the lake, helping me feed the little fish that jump for bread crumbs...

Portuguese has a word with no translation for any other language - it's saudade. I guess it was not only the view that got me breathless that day... :')

beautiful Parque Lage's floors

This last weekend I met my friend Carolyn for breakfast at Parque Lage. Besides the place being amazing, food is great and the atmosphere is delicious. You can choose to sit on the floor or tables, and once you're done with your meal there is a lot of nature to be explored. I simply LOVE it! :)

PS: Carolyn complained about a pair of new shoes and what it did to her poor feet, and she kept calling them zombie feet :) Boo! Happy Halloween!

Carioca do Brasil

PRESS PLAY Ela é carioca - Tom Jobim

This is 'Carioca do Brasil' (carioca is a person who is born in Rio de Janeiro), one of the cows from the Cow Parade that happened at Rio in 2007. It was created by Gilson Martins, a very interesting bag designer, who uses the Brazilian flag a lot in his creations. After the parade, he bought his own cow on the action and donated it to the city :) It stays in Ipanema, almost in the corner of Praça Nossa Senhora da Paz. You can't miss it! Thank you, Gilson!

PS: I really really really LOVE cows! I have many miniatures, from all over the word! I would love to have bought one of the cows from the parade, but I unfortunately I don't have any space for it...

test driving Carol's new bike in a sunny afternoon in Ipanema...

the last walk

PRESS PLAY Décollage - Les Balayeurs du Desert

This is my longest post so far; lots of pictures, long video, the history of a lifetime. This is me saying goodbye to the apartment that was home for me and my family for 26 years. I grew up in this place. I remember when I moved here I used to get lost in the hall because it was so much bigger than our former place... but it's ok, I was only 6, and everything looks bigger that it really is. My sister and I used to roller blade in the living room and everything... good times :)

We had a dog named Pepita, a parrot that I don't remember the name, a few black birds that used to walk around on my dad's shoulders and eat breakfast from his mouth, one of those cute white mice, a turtle, a crazy cat we had to get rid of and I think that was it. Pretty much we had a zoo...

I've lived there most of my life. I left a few times, came back, and 3 years ago I moved out for good, but this place was still my house in my heart. My mom lived there all this time, my dad left 10 years ago when they divorced and my sister moved in with her family when I moved out this last time, to watch for my mom, who was not so well... great memories, horrible memories, LOTS of memories.

You can't believe how much stuff you can find in a place where a family lived for all these years. I saw things I didn't even know exist anymore. I had to get rid of lots of things, some with pleasure, some with pain. I brought a bit of everything back home, so I can make them part of my history now. Recycle. Transform. Reborn.

Somehow saying goodbye to this house was saying goodbye to my mom once again. She left this world on September 21, last year. Although we have been taking care of her stuff this last year, most of it was still there, and the room itself held a strong memory of her. Now I will have no where in this physical world to be that reminds me of her like this; only my heart and mind. In a way that is sad, in another that is liberating.

I learned that our memories are very adjustable to what we wish life had been, and I'm definitely going to use that in my favor, and keep only amazing loving memories of this past that is now more than ever behind, and some well learned lessons that made me the woman I am today. I'm sure my mom would be proud.

Good bye sweet home :')

moving feet

these are the nails of people that spend the whole day boxing, packing, organizing, moving

helping my sister moving out of our family's apartment, that we finally sold, almost exactly a year after my mom passed away

myself, my sister, Carol and my brother in law and Billy, on the floor

we stayed there till 2:30am

it was a long, long day

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.

no flash please

"Stop it, mom" - Brahma said.

Parque Lage

PRESS PLAY Girls just wanna have fun - Cindy Lauper

I downloaded a bunch of 80's songs, got my camera, chalk, pen and paper, a sweater (I'm always cold), my boyfriend (he helps keeping me warm too! :)) and went on a walk to take pictures for the human clock. We ended up at Parque Lage, had a wonderful breakfast at almost 2pm, and sang a lot.

Victória took her first feet pictures :)

My niece and I were standing on the line of a notary public and we were getting bored. She was playing with my Blackberry and she looooves taking pictures with it. I asked her to take a few for my blog, and here they are :)

They grow up too fast!

Valentina is only 11 and she is almost walking with my shoes!

I asked my dear niece to pose her feet for a picture for my blog. She choose to put her feet between mine, and then I realized how big they were! She said the shoes were a bit big, but her mom said it was better like that, so they would last longer. Man, they grow up too fast!

Home Sweet Home

PRESS PLAY My Favorite Things - John Coltrane

One of my favorite things is to just hang out home with my cats, cook, listen to music, watch movies, read magazines, surf on the web, take care of the house... :)