Comment J'aime la Pluie

This past week we have experienced a slight break from our infernal summer with temperatures ranging from hot, hotter, and the punishing flames of hell. The land is singing in response to this week's rain and while traipsing around by bus in the rain is less than cool, those of us who aren't hiding from it, are greatly enjoying it.

The sun is peaking its head through the clouds as I write, but there is a promise of rain in the air and I'll bet later this afternoon our city will be blessed with a mild downpour. It is by no means cold, it is just perfect, so choosing the right perfume is not difficult. Basically anything will do, however, I find myself reaching for a select few:

Burberry Touch - this is a new addition to my perfume collection and one I am very fond of. It has a leather note that wafts in and out. The perfume itself is very transparent and quite perfect for a rainy day that is neither cold nor hot.

Clinique Simply - I shed a tear whenever I think about it being discontinued. What poo-heads the Clinique execs are. Seriously. This is a classy perfume that is light and comforting. There is a roasted soy note throughout its development that is a bit smokey and ads just the right amount of depth to this beautiful fragrance. Every time I wear it I am in awe of the perfumer and what he was able to accomplish - his inspiriation being his newborn baby's milk only diet heavenly scented skin.

Guerlain Apres L'Ondee - this perfume smells exactly like a flower garden after a rain shower. It's amazing. There is a haunting violet and iris smell that elevates the soul and lifts the spirit. I love, love, love it. It is in my top 5 favorite perfumes of all times along with it's older sister L'Heure Bleue.

Guerlain launched a perfume called Quand Vient la Pluie that I can't wait to try. It's one of those super extravagant ones, so I'll probably just have to content myself with a sample.

¿Por que?

I can't wait to see what the stars will be wearing at the Oscars. My Oscar party starts with E! red carpet, and then we all have ballots and bet on who's going to win. I'm betting on Avatar for everything, and last night I watched a special on the movies and actors nominated, so I think I'll be able to make educated guesses.

I'll be looking for the red carpet trends. I know my Golden Globes post was rubbish, so I'll try to do a good Oscar one, hopefully.

Meanwhile...did you see Kelly Osbourne's new purple hair. It's that purple old ladies used to dye their hair, it's more of a hue than a full on color. Very odd. No me gusta - that's spanish for "Why Kelly, why?". This week I painted my nails a coral color that looks exactly like what those old ladies would wear on their nails. Hmm. Between my old lady coral nails and Kelly's crazy hair, we make a perfect geriatric.

Weekend Update

I really don't. Furthermore, I don't do Monday mornings. My entire body feels like it's stuck in the Stargate between worlds - like I haven't quite dematerialized yet. My weekend was quiet and uneventful, except for my kid sister's visit. She is a tornado of cheerfulness. I can only take her in small doses. She wakes up super happy and already in full swing and remains that way throughout the entire day.

I spent all of Saturday with the kids, we had a Stargate marathon in the afternoon. Sunday, as promised, I made risotto. I made a parma ham, dedo de moça, and petit pois risotto. It was delish and just what the doctor ordered for a rainy and gloomy day. We drank loads of merlot and laughed a lot. After eating we did facials with this new clarifying mask my sister bought from Herbalife (they have skincare too), and it was great fun! I really loved the mask and all the products we used. While the mask was drying we drank more wine and watched Heidi. You know the one with Shirley Temple? It's so cute.

I'll put up a proper post later today or tomorrow. Tata for now!

Fall Fashion Week Beauty

Fall Fashion Week is well on its way (or done by now?) and I have to say there were some amazing designs as well as some amazing beauty trends. Bella Sugar always has the beauty 411 so it's great fun to look through the slide shows and see what's the haps. Check this link for the first half, and this link for the second. My faves are: Venexiana, Richard Chai, Jill Stuart, TIBI (the hair!), and Vera Wang.

I saw this video from Tanya, who worked at the London Fashion Week. I love, love the look and I think it will inspire you as well. The bright orange is super fun, and there a millions of ways to make it wearable. Check it out.

What Are You Up These Days?

Work, work and more work. But other than that...

Book: Irish Born - a very light summer read. Frivolous and fun.

Drink: Marriage Frères teas - they are heaven!

Makeup: I am loving Shiseido's Dual Balancing Foundation. It works well in summer and winter. It's almost like it knows where it needs to add more moisture and where to reduce shine. It's a medium coverage foundation and buffs beautifully into the skin, leaving it flawless and luminous, healthy and natural. No caking or flaking. Very, very nice indeed. I use it with my Louise Young foundation brush - so fancy!

Perfume: Hermes Eau des Marveilles and Hiris. I've also been wearing Chanel 19 and Diorella. (I can never stick to one perfume, I always end up wearing more).

Series: I've been watching Stargate Atlantis - when I was first recommended this series I was skeptical, but it's really very fun. I've been watching it with Thing 1 and Thing 2 and we've been having a great time.

Food: The other day HRH asked me to make a mushroom risotto, even though it's summer here right now, just because he was craving it. It was amazing. I added a fun twist to my regular recipe by adding dedo-de-moça (translates as "girl's finger", creepy), which is a local chilli that's not very hot, but very flavorful. I'm going to come up with some new summer risottos, really fun ones, and start making them on weekends again.

Tata for now!

Partying it up like a 20yr old: surprisingly, not that bad

This last weekend we partied like 20yr olds. I'm not sure it's advisable for someone of my age and "delicate" disposition to do that anymore. Thankfully I was able to emerge from the weekend's alcohol induced haze victorious, with all my faculties intact and my frontal lobe still active - barely.

It all started with a rather innocent invitation from our friends, James and Greti, to join them at their place for drinks and laughs. We arrived early and since it's rude to have people over and not offer them anything to drink, they promptly made sure our cups never ever reached the halfway mark. We had tons of fun but it was tough to open my eyes the following morning - not to mention get out of bed. I felt like I had eaten all the cotton in the world sprinkled with a little salt. Not cool. Thankfully my head didn't hurt. I guess that's just one of the many benefits of drinking expensive liquor - the main one of course being that it tastes like a Heavenly elixir and makes the week's slavery somehow seem like it's far, far away.

Saturday night we went to a night club (that sounds so bizarre coming from me). It is so far removed from my normal social agenda that it felt a bit like stepping into a time warp to a different time, a different me, a different crowd - and very different music. I have to confess I was kind of dreading it. The "hip" night club scene in all its glory is not my scene. Fish out of frikkin' water. But, I'll have you know that thanks to Lady Gaga and other super wonders of the partying crowd, I had a very good time. I even stepped out of my rut and tried a new and different drink, Red Bull and vodka. It's what the kids are drinking, and definitely what all the kids were drinking there, in industrial quantities I might add, so I went along with it. When in Rome. It was actually good. Not better than my faithful and reliable gin & tonic or Johnny Walker, but good nontheless.

After a while I got bored and left. By then I felt like I had properly represented at my dear brother-in-law's birthday bash, so I left while I still had my dignity and feet (heels are poo). The youngsters were going strong and I imagine kept going for many hours after. Me, I was just thankful to be in my wonderful bed and comfy pillows. The nice thing about Red Bull and Vodka is that it gives you just enough energy to take off all your makeup and apply moisturizer before crashing. Nice.

Carnaval Weekend

Our friends paraded with this school - Beija-Flor.

This weekend was full of fun. Friday we went out with friends for sushi and had a blast. On Saturday I went to lunch with my friends and we had the most amazing salmon cesar salad and then we got frozen yogurt for dessert. We walked around and tried on makeup and perfume. I discovered that I'm in love with Chanel 5 Eau Premiere. I painted my nails a beautiful purple color and then took it easy at night with a bit of wine and a lot of Idol and SNL.

Sunday I had my friends over for a simple lunch. A couple of interesting things turned a regular dish into something fantastic. I made a fresh cesar salad as a starter and served it with crispy parmesan chips* I made myself! The I made tagliarini pasta with a tomato sauce (canned tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, black olives and capers), served with fresh grated parmesan cheese. It was amazing! Dessert was pears pached in simple syrup with rose water and served with rum raisin ice-cream. Heaven! The delicate scent of the rose water added a touch of class and an element of sophistication that elevetated the whole dish to spectacular. After lunch we sat around and watched the 1933 classic "Lady for a Day" - so fun!

Later in the evening we went out with some friends who are visiting during Carnaval and we had the best meat in the universe. I had forgotten just how good this restaurant was - Churrascaria Oasis - and I had forgotten how amazing picanha nobre is (a cut of meat only found in some high end churrascarias - Brazilian steak houses). Our friends had never been to a Brazilian steak house, and as expected were blown away. Picanha nobre really is the best, most amazing cut of meat, and the way they prepare it there is unequaled anywhere in our galaxy. A memorable experience and a great time with friends! After dinner they went to pick up their costumes and join the parade with the Samba School Beija-Flor. Can't wait to post their pictures!

Well, that's that. It was a great weekend full of good friends, good eats, and temperate weather. Who could ask for anything more?