Moonrise Kingdom

My love for Wes Anderson knows no bounds. I have been waiting for him to release a new film after 2007's Darjeeling Limited. My prayers have been answered!

Watch the trailer for Moonrise Kingdom now. Drool all over yourself later. Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and of course .... Jason Schwartzman

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.

This Year I'm Thankful For ...

The Fluffington Post. You're welcome.

Anthro Finds

If I lived here I would be in big, big trouble. Chau chau bank account ...

Amurica the Beautiful

I am home! I know, have been hiding under a rock since my arrival. It's what I do - hibernate and become a hermit, which I enjoy a great deal.

In other news: It's cold. The sun finally came out though, which is awesome. What else? Bella is amazing, and after her day at the groomer's she is looking utterly fabulous. Deb and I have already eaten at the taco truck (!!!!) and have had Indian food twice (third time tonight at Bombay Club, holler). Am loving the DVR and all the other goodies about life in the USA.

More to come - Just letting everyone know that I am indeed alive and while my culito is a bit frozen, I am happy!

On The Market

Jenna Lyons - J. Crew creative director and newfound(?) lesbian - and her husband have put their amazeballs Park Slope brownstone on the market as part of their divorce proceedings. Apparently Lyons is / was / whatever having an affair with another woman and was found out over the summer. Bye bye brownstone. I die for this house - who doesn't? So if you want to drool a bit over your keyboard click here for some more pictures (or just re-read any of your past issues of Domino, Lonny et al). Anyway, there really isn't much purpose to this post except to stare at the interior of the home of a freshly separated couple (sad) so we can relive our glory days, aka her awesome wall of shoes.

Mmmmm

I'm counting down the days/hours/minutes/seconds until I hop on the plane to DC and my stomach is also joining me in this endeavor. Part why I love going home is because I can eat my face off and indulge in things that just don't exist in Buenos Aires. Part of me actually doesn't love it because I always end up plumper than when I arrived - not a good thing to do when you're about to get married (Seriously, pre-wedding diet? Sorry Charlie, I've got an Indian buffet to tackle. Woops.)

Here is a list of the places / things I want to eat when I am home (take note):
1. Rasika
2. Heritage
3. Raaga
4. Zaytinya
5. Pietanza
6. Every Pho place in Little Saigon
7. Chipotle
8. The taco truck in Clarendon that's in that supermarket parking lot
9. Whole Foods hot bar
10. The Diner in Adams Morgan (preferably for brunch)
11. Cork
12. Jaleo
13. Central
14. Moby Dick
15. Liberty Tavern
16. Patisserie Poupon
17. Cafe Divan
18. Thai Noy
19. Peking Gourmet
20. Mandu

ok this list could - and will - go on but it's getting depressing. If anyone wants to book a food date let me know. If not, I'll just go there alone and eat until I pass out. Sounds like a nice plan.

Awkward School Portraits

September is an appropriate month to recall those days of elementary and middle school portraits that caused so many of us anguish. Documenting our most unflattering years in all their glory, these photos could then be ordered in any variety of formats: magnets, gigantic headshots, stickers!!! However bad my pictures seemed to be at the time, nothing can top these images ... Thanks to NBC for the slideshow

Random Inspiration

Photos culled from Elle Decor's website ... Ideas that I wish could magically become reality in the blink of an eye! I love this gray/lavender mix, and the French settee upholstered in different textiles drives me wild! I'm green with envy.

So. Sad.

Borders closed its doors forever and this photo has been circulating the web ... Just makes me so sad. Like this website says: "No matter what you think about mega-bookstores or Borders management, this is a sad year for everyone who loves books."

There's nothing I love more than getting lost in a bookshop, resisting temptation to buy more tomes than I know what to do with ... I cannot imagine relying on digital e-books! I value José's father's 2,000+ book library much more now. Perhaps one day books will be more valuable than gold, since they might be just as scarce.

Weekend Update

We had a really lovely, if not low key, weekend here at Basavilbaso. I've been on a design kick lately and have been itching to make some serious changes to our apartment. Jose's been living here for more than 10 years and I just feel like it needs a little update! At least to mix it up and keep things feeling fresh. Living on the 14th floor of an apartment building (with tiny Argentine elevators) makes it difficult to move in/out big pieces of furniture, but you just have to be a little more creative.

A friend of mine who just moved here about 6 months ago passed on an amazing contact that has me too excited for my own good. She and her fiance stumbled upon this carpenter's collective/workshop in the Chacarita neighborhood - It's this space full of rescued and found wood, with lots of men buzzing about and working like mad. They can make pretty much anything you want (anything!), totally custom, or you can pick about and find something they already have. You can also bring in an old piece of furniture and they will restore or update it for you. Pretty cool. We're about to order a huge table for our terrace - the one we've got is old, rickety and probably rotten - so we can start enjoying summer nights up there a little more easily. Next step will be seating, and I'm dreaming of an old park bench, so we'll have to see where things go from here ...

Yesterday we ventured over to the Rose Garden in Palermo after having lunch with Raquel and Lele. An NGO that I really feel close to - Proyecto 4 Patas - was having a dog adoption and awareness day. Of course we were going to check it out! I can't say no to things like that. It was so amazing to be surrounded by loving puppies and older dogs who are just looking for loving homes. The people who run it do it out of the goodness of their hearts, taking in dogs that are literally left for dead on the side of the highway, neglected by abusive owners, or just found roaming the streets. Many suffer from medical issues and require extreme intervention by a vet. Once they are healed and treated, they are put up for adoption. Dog rescue isn't as big of a "thing" in Argentina as it is in the States, at least from what my experience shows. Most people will just get a puppy because it's cute, often from a breeder who isn't reputable, and that's that. (Of course there are exceptions to this). What I love about Proyecto 4 Patas is that they promote awareness about not only adoption but also about spaying/neutering animals as the only humane way to control the population. No one neuters their dog here - something I have never managed to understand - and that leads to lots of unplanned street puppies.

José and I are most likely going be like "foster parents" for a dog that is recovering from medical treatment while waiting to be adopted. It's a perfect option for us because it's not a "forever" commitment, but it allows us to help out (aka have my heart explode with love) and also test-drive what it will be like for us to have a dog in the apartment. They are just so grateful that anyone will open their doors to the animals, so there is no minimum time commitment. Right now I'm waiting to hear about a job interview and (hopefully!) offer so it would not be reasonable to get a puppy! Taking in an older dog who just needs love and attention is a perfect way to make a difference  and have some canine companionship!

I also spent a lot of the weekend watching September 11th coverage on tv. I have never felt so far away from home. Ten years. I was able to look at the events through different eyes now that I'm much older than I was that incredibly beautiful day in 2001. It was moving, heart-wrenching, and cathartic to watch it all again.

Ok, time for Pilates ... More life updates, with pictures! coming soon.

10 Things I Like About America

1. The grocery store! Orchids! Medicine! Organic produce! Everything IN ONE PLACE. I feel like I'm at a resort. (Bonus: the orchids are like $22 dollars. They cost around three times that in good ol' Argieland)

2. Feeding Bella her food with Rice Krispies on top.

3. HDTV and all that comes with it - the entire Bravo tv lineup, DVR, Modern Family, et al.

4. Varying flavors of hummus and/or fresh salsa.

5. Ethnic food perfection in all forms and price ranges - real Pho, real curry, real everything.

6. REAL SALES and/or non-inflation. (I got an amazeballs pair of Cynthia Vincent boots, originally $500, for like $150. Deb calls them my Pirates of Penzance boots but I don't mind. I feel like a bazillion bucks.)

7. Skim milk that actually tastes good.

8. Fear-free walking around town with jewelry, various Apple products, you get the idea.

9. Anthro Home.

10. Parading around the house in Deb's mink coat - the only consolation for the frigid temperatures that have frozen my soul.