If You Insist...

My mom has been begging (if not scolding) me to post a photo of this ridiculously expensive chocolate Santa that my sister managed to break with the slightest touch. Fourteen dollars. That's how much this puppy cost. Yikes. Anyway, the owners at the patisserie took pity on my clumsy hermana and said they'd use Santa's corpse for samples.

Linky Dink

Go to these websites and have a lovely day


30 Most Important Dogs of the Year
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Life in an Indian Slum

"Don't You Have Anything to Say?"

Apparently not, since I have been lazy on the blogging front for the past two months.
Things have been busy - with my trip to DC for Thanksgiving, starting a new job at the Buenos Aires Herald, hibernating around Christmas to pretend that it wasn't really happening - so I've neglected you all. Not that anyone really cares except for Deb, maybe Doug and that's it.

Anyway. BA is hot, sunny and all the rest but at least this year our power didn't go out for 3+ days like it has in the past. Christmas Eve was fun - José's family is very small and everyone is over the age of 80, so it wasn't what I am used to or what I prefer, but we had a good time. Argentine Christmas food is notoriously disgusting (look up "pionono" and "vitel thoné" and try not to squirm) but this year I managed on champagne and prosciutto. And bread. Still had a massive hangover the next day though. Should have eaten more bread.

Christmas Day was a pleasant surprise. Our dear friends Bree and Spero - who are about to finish up their yearlong assignment here - invited us to join them at an American-esque food feast with other Embassy people. I wasn't sure what to expect and when we arrived, there were more than 30 people, massive amounts of meat on the grill, homemade tortillas, spicy salsas that made my heart sing, a roasted suckling pig, and tons of other goodies. It was heaven!!! I am thinking about that spread right now and wish I could go back in time and eat some more. Though it wasn't like a "real" Christmas - I'm sorry but Christmas in the summertime will never feel authentic to me - it was a really nice way to feel a bit more connected and to spend some time with fellow Amuricans in the southern hemisphere.

Josey and I treated ourselves to a mini staycation with an overnight stay at the Mio hotel in Recoleta. I just wanted to get away, without having to go anywhere, and since things here are just so damn expensive we went the non-traditional route for gifts and just splurged on this. The hotel was really great - it's owned by the Catena family so it's kind of wine-themed. All of the doors are made of French oak, and each room has a huge oak bathtub made of a single piece of wood. The beds were super comfy and you even have "on-tap" wines and champagne right there in the mini bar! The only thing I would have added would have been a pool ... When I went to the hotel's inauguration party there was a terrace space that was open to all guests. However when we went back up there on Sunday to check it out we magically couldn't get out there. I'm not sure if it was because my brain wasn't functioning or because they changed things up. Oh well.

So what else? Work is fun, I like being required to watch the news and stalk Twitter during work hours. I'm still adjusting to the whole 4pm-10pm thing -- Especially like last night when I had to stick around until almost 11 because the President announced she has (benign) thyroid cancer -- but it's not the end of the world. At least I have all day to do things like garden and mill about.

We will be having a big fiesta at ours for New Year's and I am looking forward to not having to go anywhere to be surrounded by strangers. I am an urban misanthrope.

Ok I think I've brought you up to speed. Consider us re acquainted (I don't even know if I spelled that right ... my English is shot). Talk soon, need a bit of mint tea right now. 

2011 in Animal Photos

Buzzfeed always posts random/fabulous/fun lists of things, many of them involving animals. So of course I was thrilled to see "The 50 Best Animal Photos of 2011" Here are some of my favorites.

Italian Octopus

Loving this photo from Nat Geo's photo of the day feature.

Christmas is all around

Except it's not. My brain refuses to make the connection between Summer & Santa Claus. I NEED COLD WEATHER PEOPLE!

We put up our Christmas tree over the weekend, and despite the fact that it's fake, it looks quite lovely. I've been collecting new ornaments (not to be confused with the piles that are at my parents' house with our names on them from every year ... love those) to make me feel a little closer to home. Instead of relying solely on cheapo silver ornaments from Easy, we have some really fun ones mixed in there - a Union Jack that Mere brought last year on her trip, a knit octopus from Anthro, a papier mache giraffe for Josey, and some other goodies. Deb also sent us stockings (!!!) which I demanded receive full attention ( see above )

It's not as good as the real thing but it will have to suffice for now. Another thing to consider - since the sun sets around 8ish every night, you don't really get to enjoy the magic of the lights on the tree for as much time. At least in the northern hemisphere you've got a solid chunk of time each day - the sun sets at what, like 4:30? - to sit and stare at your tree like you have nothing better to do. Because you probably don't anyway.

Need to get started on Christmas shopping .... baaaaaaah !!!!!

Two things I'm loving today

back in BA

Ok so after my Thanksgiving food coma and subsequent last minute soaking up of all things America, I haven't been blogging lately (but have tried to remain dutiful to my dear Panza Porteña). Anyway, hello hello! It definitely feels good to be back where the weather is warm - although it does nothing to get me into the Christmas spirit - and back with Josey. My trip home was much needed, though, and I got a lot done in just 2 weeks' time. Would have loved to popped up to New York to see more friends but there's always next time!

What was waiting for me in Buenos Aires upon arrival? José had filled the apartment with gardenias (jasmines), my favorite spring flower, so that was lovely. Outside of our little nest though, it seems that things are slowly descending into chaos. The Government has decided to lift 100% of all subsidies on gas/water/electricity, but only in certain neighborhoods. You win a prize if you guessed that it's the nicer/"wealthier" areas that are the victims of CFK's new measure. The subsidies in fact were put in place after the economic fallout of 2001, so while they're not totally "necessary" anymore the idea of lifting them 100% completely and not gradually comes as a shock / annoyance to everyone. I think what bothers me the most is how obviously specific it is at targeting "the haves" - apartment buildings with amenities (like the big towers in Puerto Madero and the newer buildings in Barrio Parque, etc) are specifically called out.

Another gem- the AFIP revoked 318 people's "monotributo" status (those who are self-employed, like freelancers, but pay taxes based on their reported incomes) because they had made trips to places like the US and Europe several times in the past year but "their income didn't justify." Additionally, these people "are known to live in exclusive gated communities and own luxury brand cars." The fact that these things are happening makes me feel like I'm either living in some backwards place from the Cold War era or Argentina is some new post-apocalyptic Nanny State that feels it's OK to manipulate these sorts of things.

Anyway, we've also been to the Polo match semifinal last week, and José ran yet another 10k race successfully. My favorite part of the weekend was lounging poolside and catching some rays - I was getting a little pale for my own good in DC - while reading a good book.

It's a 4-day weekend here, thanks to the birthday of the Virgin Mary and there are lots of fun things on the horizon. A delayed Bengal to celebrate my return and 6 months of married life (!!!), a wine tasting with Anuva Wines (more info will be on the food blog), and some other cool things brewing. I can't believe Christmas is in 19 days. What?