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!

old friend, new friend

PRESS PLAY The Juggler - Jah Path

Nice afternoon at Ipanema beach near Arpoador, in front of the very beautiful Fasano, a hotel designed by Philip Stark (one of my favorite contemporary designers :) ).

I met with Darrieux, an old friend I haven't spoken in ages and she brought her friend Cynthia, who instantly became my new friend. It was nice to realize that friendship doesn't necessarily fade away with time if you have things in common, and that making a new friend is very natural when you share he same interests.

It was time for recycling anyways... I read the other day that we must get rid of what does not fit us anymore and leave an empty space for the new to arrive. So, welcome new reality! It was about time!

kind of blue

PRESS PLAY All blues - Miles Davis

...and today I've got the blues...

Valentina got her first pedicure :)

She's got red toes...

...and I got my first professional camera :D I guess both of us are growing up!

I've been wanting it for a looooooong time... I just LOVE the shallow depth of field! Blurry backgrounds are the best; the focus is only on the picture's subject.

Life should have more blurry backgrounds, so we could really focus only on the important things :)

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...

Gaya

Introducing the newest family member - Gaya - a 7 years old Siamese who needed a home :)

Apparently her former owner had a baby and wanted to get rid of the cat. I don't understand these kind of people... but anyways, the bright side (cuz everything has one!) is that now we are a very happy bigger family and I'm completely in love with her!

...and I'd say she is pretty happy too... :) Doesn't she look cool just sitting 'n' relaxing in her new bed?

PS: In ancient Indian history, Gaya is the city where Buddha got enlightenment. Hum... Maybe that's a sign...

I keep roller skating

PRESS PLAY Cheek to cheek - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

This weekend the weather finally gave me a break, and I got a perfect day to go skate - cloudy and not raining! I went to the Lagoa skating rink with Valentina and Billy.

It didn't take long until I was skating like I used to 20 years ago :)) Billy loved going with us for a ride, felling the wind on his face... he is too cute! What about his glows-in-the-dark ghost t-shirt? :D And I LOVE the view of the place, with the Christ and everything! Yes, skating like this, I'm in heaven...

In love!

I used to roller skate a lot when I was a teenager, and I loved it! I've been wanting to do it again for a while, and since life is short I finally bought a pair of skates! I still didn't have the chance to go out for a real ride, but I've been doing OK at home... hehe. I already fell, of course, but it didn't even hurt... :")

I'm dying to skate in Lagoa, but it keeps raining! Sometime this week I'll do it. Oh, and I got a free lesson with the skates. Although my body seems to remember what to do more than I do (just like riding a bike, you never forget!), it will be good to learn a few tricks ;)

I LOVE going to the dentist!

PRESS PLAY Freddie Freeloader - Miles Davis

Yes, it's true! I've known him since I was 6 (he was 7), he is really funny and a very good dentist. Besides, he loves jazz like me, and there is always some good music playing there. He is in a jazz band and everything!

What makes it really more fun lately is that he uses nitrous oxide, the happy gas, as part of the anesthetics. You feel great all the time, as if you are getting drunk, but with no hang over! Seriously, why don't all dentists have this thing?! I always look forward for me next appointment!

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

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.