la maison le modiste

Finally after a long long time trying to figure out what to do with my professional life I decided to open an atelier with a dear friend, Sol, who shares the same ideas as me. We've been working on it for about 6 months now (that's why I stopped posting so often), and the opening is next week! We completely remodeled the house we rented. One of the bathrooms will have a golden glitter floor :) Can you see the fairy dust falling? :)) Some of the tiles are from a brand that carries my real name, Eliane. Yes, that's my birth certificate name, but no one calls me like that! Can't wait to see it all ready!

These streets will make you feel brand new

PRESS PLAY Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys

1 & 2 - Fao's piano :)
3 & 4 - Times Square
5 - Interacting with Ernesto Neto's art at MoMA
6 - Watching Madama Butterfly at the Met
7 - long long long lay over at Charlote's Airport on the way back home
...and yes, in the end I was feeling brand new and inspired... and ready to start my new adventure! I (heart) NY

If you are going to San Francisco...

PRESS PLAY If you are going to San Francisco - Scott Mckenzie

I spent the last months travelling in the US and here is the first part of my little adventure - Napa and SF.

Things learned in this trip - 1. Napa's vineyards become mustard fields in during the winter, and it's pretty! :) 2. I like the Bay Bridge better than the Golden Gate, and it can look like an special effect on foggy rainy day... 3. the real measure of my feet :))

Caught in flagrante

why do cats love drawers, closets, bags, clothes piles, and everything they shouldn't be sleeping on?

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.

I keep painting or the true colors

Back to painting the screen I started about a year ago. Finally found my true colors.

Water Planet

All I have to say is AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! :D

blossoming

I had bought this orchid about 2 years ago and it never flowered until this year. Actually the first flower bud appeared on January 1st, announcing a promising year :)

Violet is the color of transformation and for sure they are happening in my life.

I'm proud as a mom, to see something I believed in and toke care of grow up and become this pretty thing. It was for sure a present.

I always have flowers in my living room table, and it's nice to have one that blossomed in my house!

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!

Happy New Year!

I spent my new year's eve again at Copacabana beach watching the fireworks. I've done that almost my whole life, with a few exceptions. Well, I lived there, and now still live very close, so it's been the obvious choice. I heard this year they hired specialists from Disney to coordinate the fireworks with the music. For me, it was amazing like always :) I just LOVE the shiny colors everywhere!

This time there were my sister with the kids and my brother in law, and our dear friends that now live in Germany, Fabiano, Katrin, and their kids Fiona and Valentina. She is almost the same age of my Valentina, who helped me taking a firework foot pic holding my leg up high :))

My resolutions for 2010 include finding a job that I love, learning how to play the guitar, making more friends, writing, laughing more, keep singing, practicing more yoga, travel more and, of course, keep walking :) No matter what.

Happy 2010!

the nut cracker!

Cooking grandma's nut cake - 2 of my favorite things :))

I have to say Vivi has a natural talent for the kitchen and she was amazing with the mixer!

It turned out perfect, just like hers, and tasting like childhood Xmas!

Lillies :)

got ink done today! :D still buuuurns...

PRESS PLAY Lilly - Pink Martini

...actually I recycled an old tattoo I had there for 15 years, and it really wasn't me anymore... now it literally is! And I LOVE it!

Victória and Valentina's party!

December is for sure an emotional month for me. It's my mom's and grandma's birthday, and they are both not here anymore to celebrate with us, but it's also Victória and Valentina's birthday, and that is guaranteed fun!

Our friend Barbara had to rescue little Lara from the ball pool, I took a ride on a seahorse, girls had fun playing with the table decoration and were literally climbing walls! The one looking at the camera is Julia, Vivi's best friend, in her princess costume. Victória didn't bother to look, she was too concentrated playing with the Barbies (which by the way I LOVE) and when I told her I wanted a picture for my blog she just gave me her dirty foot! :P

My sister now loves to put her feet on my pics, and Barbara wanted to show off her red sole hills :) Too bad they are not Louboutins!

Happy birthday girls!

setting up the xmas tree :)

I LOVE Christmas! Always have, since I was a kid, and I guess it's because of my grandma's great parties, with all my cousins, delicious food and her inimitable Santa Claus song when it was time to open the gifts :)) A tear wants to come down, just for thinking about it...

Also December is the month of many birthdays in my family - my grandma, my aunt, my mom, and now my two nieces! - and it is definitely the time to celebrate. I have to say it's not been easy, since mom and grandma recently passed away, but I do try to keep the spirit alive.

One thing that my tree can't miss is my grandma's traditional Christmas card! The other things my xmas will always have are all the loving memories, the wonderful taste, since I got her hand for cooking, and the love and the joy, because I will always believe in Santa and in magic, and in miracles :)

yogi feet

PRESS PLAY Across the Universe - Jim Sturgess, Across the Universe Soundtrack

About a month ago I decided to change my life completely. I ended relationships that didn't bring me anything positive, bad habits, and made decisions that will rule my life in times to come. One of them is to practice Yoga, something that's been on my path for a while, but that I now chose to fully embrace. Not only the physical part of it, but the philosophy, the meditation, the attitude towards others and myself.

I have to say that I never felt better :) It took me a lot of inner work, the courage to look inside of me and really pick on my wounds so I could finally start the healing process. The outside attacks are still coming, but now I vibrate higher, and they can't really affect my spirit. I truly hope that everyone chooses the light path, as I did. All I have inside of me is love. As The Beatles used to sing, nothing is gonna change my world :)

Baba Nam Kevalam!