Poor Neglected Bloglet

Reasons for not blogging this past week:

1. It's been at least 90 degrees every day
2. Our power has been going out off and on since Sunday. Climbing up 14 flights of stairs in 95 degree heat isn't fun.
3. When the power does come back on, I use that time to take a nice cold shower and to charge my cell phone.
4. Apparently Christmas is in 2 days and I am having a very hard time reconciling the fact that it's SUMMER and I have a tree in my living room.
5. Sissy comes in from Frankfurt tomorrow and I hope her plane isn't too late.
6. I honestly don't know where the time goes, then I realized I have two jobs and run around like a crazy person all day while I try to get last minute gift shopping done. Then I realize that if I were in America "it would all be easier" and everyone would be getting cooler gifts. Sorry folks.
7. The end. Pray the power stays on.

Outsourcing the Christmas Decorating

I loved this amusing, if not oligarchical, article about the trend of having your interior decorator get your house ready for the holidays. Leave it to the New York Times to go in-depth about the true value of an interior designer (Hey, I'm not criticising! I just couldn't contain myself upon reading the line "There was a fluffy white artificial tree pocked with silvery ornaments, and cylindrical vases filled with white feathers and calla lilies. For the party last year, Mr. Garofalo even made white cocktails to match." Amazing)

If you're looking for last minute inspiration to get your home ready for the holidays, the article will definitely give you a boost! Be sure to check it out if you're in the mood for an uplifting and entertaining peek into another side (the really, really expensive one) of the business of Christmas.

My parents just told me that it's snowing in DC ... Le sigh. What I would give for a beautiful evening snowfall! I think that as the sun comes through the window, burning my arm because it's so damn hot. I don't think Santa Claus was built to weather such conditions.

Lovely engagement shoot

As I pine for a way to get our wedding photographer Leo down to BA for a little photo sesh (actually, he is from Argentina and comes down here annually, but this year he will be in Brasil for his cousin's wedding. Blast!) I wanted to share with you this photographic piece of perfection from Hello Love Photography. Fran & Jeff had a fabulously chic photoshoot in Boston for some great engagement photos! This one is my favorite and figured I had to share ... Fran is Yoda's mami and therefore it's even more special!

The Daily Yoda

Pure perfection.

Christmas in Summer - STILL WEIRD

We pulled out the ol' Christmas tree from its home (box) in the laundry room last week. It's been kind of sitting in the living room, waiting for us to unpack it and dutifully craft its pointy branches to make it look like a real Douglas fir. Wednesday, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, is the standard day to get your Christmas tree ready here in BA, but since José was sick I really didn't feel like doing it on my own. I mean, it's the Christmas tree! Not just a regular household chore.

After scarfing down some delivery McDonald's (don't judge, please) I decided to take that important first step and unpack our little 3-part tree and get the process going. I have since scratched myself 3 times on the damn thing and ALL I WANT IS A REAL TREE !!!!! I'm also on You Tube and making José listen to "All I Want for Christmas is You" and other musical delights to get him in the holiday spirit. Next time I go home, I'm hitting up one of those year-round holiday bazaars and stocking up on quality decorations so when the time comes I will be ready to make the house look like a Winter Wonderland that happened to be created in summer.

It's just such a strange feeling, getting things ready for Christmas when you're far away from all of the things that remind you of the holidays. I feel so nostalgic for the silly things, like cozying up next to the fireplace to look at the lights, or watching Home Alone late at night when I was home from BC for break, or the slew of festive (and fattening) holiday parties, cookie exchanges, cocktails, and tacky sweater parties. I almost wish we didn't have a fake tree and instead just decorated a palm tree or one of our ficus or something. At least that way we wouldn't be faking it.

Once the tree goes up and is all decorated I know it will be perfect and I will be so excited. I'm also happy that someone in my family will get to see it this year - last year D&D were supposed to come and I was beyond happy to show them our little tree and our house. Then the blizzard from hell ruined that. Probably not a good psychological experience. Now Mere will be coming from foggy Londontown and we'll be in BA to celebrate - hooray !

Now if only I could get over the fear of my oven and start baking cookies ...

20x200

I am pretty sure I have posted about 20x200 before, but now that I am feeling strange and guilty about being in a tropical city for the holiday season yet again, I thought I would give it another mention as an amazing place to go for a gift (for any occasion).

What I love is that most of the prints are available for just $20 (8 x 10) and that the site features a wide array of incredibly talented artists and photographers.

Given the high volume of content, there is definitely something for everyone here! It's a must-visit place if you're looking for any kind of present - Christmas, birthday, housewarming, wedding ...

I was just moaning and groaning to José (while I perused One King's Lane, which to me is a modern form of self-flagellation) that "if we lived in America I would be able to get you, and everyone else, much better gifts because there, AND ONLY THERE, can I find creative, unique, fun, meaningful and affordable gifts. So don't get your hopes up this year." Wow I think Scrooge called and he wants his personality back. But it's true. It's sunny, 85 degrees and today is the official/unofficial day to put up your Christmas tree and get the holiday spirit really underway. No matter how long I live here, I will never be 100% on board with summer + Christmas combined. Sure, I love a good dip in the ocean on New Year's day and have no problem with a nice beach getaway, but I still yearn for a tacky Christmas sweater cocktail party, repeat viewings of Love, Actually to no end, and snuggling up with a glass of champagne next to a real LIVE Christmas tree !!!!

Le Sigh.

Here are two images I loved from today's 20x200 selection. The baby giraffe was taken by Sharon Montrose, a photographer who works with baby animals, and while that might give you the impression that her work would be, well "baby-ish," it's adorable but at the same time very tailored. (I have one image from a series of gray bunny perfection and I love looking at it in the dining room.) The other image was taken by Thomas Prior and I would love to have it blown up to gigantic size and have it in my living room.





So if you're at a loss for a gift for one of your artsy, creative, "cool" friends or relatives, you're bound to find something here!

No Words Necessary

Yoda in cable knit (courtesy of FMF)

Gastro Road Trip

If anyone actually wants to come visit me (ahem...) and escape WINTER/COLD/EVIL SNOW/ICE/BEING PALE/ETC I will be happy to take you outside of the muggy city mess (aka convince José to drive us) to one of the sleepy railroad towns about an hour outside of BA.

I found this article in the Guardian that gives a little taste (pun intended) of the blossoming culinary scene in these otherwise forgotten little towns. Carlos Keen happens to be where the people I work for are building/restoring a little country house for the family. My stomach is rumbling and I could totally go for a nice hunk of meat, especially after being deprived of the asado goodness on Sunday.

But back to my point ... If anyone wants to come visit me (pleeeeeeease! All of my best friends are moving away in the next 10 days. Thank God it's not actually winter or I would be incredibly depressed x 200) we can venture out and do wonderful things like eat to our hearts' content in Carlos Keen. Oui !

It's ... December?

Wow. Anyway ...

I will write more tomorrow - things have been a little wacky (why do I feel like I am always saying that lately?) and busy. Also I fell a little ill over the weekend (just a bad head cold, but when it's sunny and 85 outside, and everyone you know is at a nice little backyard bbq, it makes matters worse) and just wasn't up to doing lots of doo-dads on the computer.

It's also time to admit my addiction to Modern Family. I saw a few eps of the 1st season when I was home at Easter I think ... with Deb of course, and fell in love. I got the first season dvds for my birthday or something and haven't opened them until just now! I spent 4+ hours on the couch, laughing out loud and completely alone, on an average every 3 minutes thanks to that series. It's insanely funny. Gloria reminds me of Jose's sister (she is Cuban, stunningly beautiful, loves her kids more than anything, and has an insane temperament), Cam & Mitch are too funny for words, and I just think it's so well-scripted.

I'm so, so, so excited for Christmas! Then Punta del Este for New Year's, which is basically paradise and my haven from the crazy world. Cannot. Wait. Also this weekend dj Armin Van Buren is coming to Crobar Outdoor .... I saw him at Crobar in Punta 2 years ago and it was phenomenal. Hooray! I love summer in BA and all of the fun things that go along with it.

What I do not love is the Post Office system in BA. I got off to a very typical Monday start today when I went two 2 post offices and realized that I had about 30 people ahead of me in line. Seriously??? DO THEY HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO WITH THEIR TIME THAN SIT IN THE POST OFFICE ALL DAY? Ok I'm going to stop talking about this because it makes my blood boil. Literally.



I am going to post this picture of the photographer for our wedding, Leo Patrone, that I nicked from his blog. I love that he and his wife are amazingly adorable and chic and cool and more wrapped up into one. I also love that he is from Argentina and travels all over the world for his weddings. I am so excited to have him photograph us in LESS THAN SIX MONTHS (Woo!)