Archive for August, 2011

After the experience I just had I feel like I should change my Facebook relationship status to: married and in a relationship with Novica.  I l-o-v-e-d my encounter with them from the moment I perused their website for the item that I wanted to purchase to receiving the actual item in person.

Besides their global products being uniquely special, their company’s mission is something that I believe will touch anyone’s heart:

We want to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow.

At the deepest essence of our philosophy, we want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe.

We want you to know about who you’re buying from. We want you to feel that attachment to the product and to the hands that created it.

In the spirit of the Internet, let us bring you together.

NOVICA. The World is Your Market.

It is no secret that I have an obsession with elephants.  Thus, the first thing I did when looking for an item to buy was to do a keyword search for “elephant.”  As soon as I spotted a certain item from Thailand (the country that I first rode an elephant in!), I did not need to look any further, as it was truly love at first sight.

The packaging itself was equally as gorgeous as the item.

And it came with a handwritten postcard from the artisan, Jantana.

The item that I bought is named Sunlit Elephant.  Along with it was a jewelry tag explaining that Jantana designed the modern 24k gold plated necklace with the intention for it to shine with Thai artistry.

I have not taken this necklace off since it arrived.  I now intend to do all of my Holiday shopping on this website.  I have no doubt that my family and friends will love their meaningful presents from all over the world.

On an interesting side note, Novica has also begun a new home party division called Novica Live.  They are currently looking for consultants who are interested in working with direct sales.  It is a great opportunity to make money and support artisans worldwide.  To inspire consultants to dream big, they have various promotions, including whoever become Director will be sent to Bali the following year.

Make sure to also check out their accessories, silver sterling cufflinks, wool scarves, and walking sticks!

When one travels frequently, one then accumulates friendships all over the world.  While I know this is a welcomed dilemma and thanks to inventions like Skype it is much easier to keep in touch these days, nonetheless there is nothing better than quality face-to-face time.

One of the friend’s that I unfortunately do not get enough face time with is Julie (my co-conspirator in this surprise trip).  She and I met 6 years ago in my favorite Manhattan boutique Calypso.  She was the manager there and on one of my numerous trip’s to the store she struck up a conversation with me.  That conversation ended up lasting for several hours and then further blossomed into a a very deep and meaningful friendship sisterhood.  The thing that bonded us immediately was we both had boyfriends (at the time) who lived in Buenos Aires.  Soon after our initial meeting, she moved there to marry her porteño, Seba.  Thus, on my trips to visit my own porteño, Lucas, I would make sure to plan extra time to spend with her as well. 

Julie exudes fabulousness from every pore.  Time with her is treasured and just like her name she truly is a jewel.  She also happens to be my favorite chef.  Whenever I receive an invitation for dinner at casa de Watson-Gomez, aka Julie’s house, I always accept!

While Julie went to work in the kitchen, Seba, Lucas, and I conversed about life with glasses of Malbec in our hands and electronic-tango playing in the background.  I remember sitting on their couch thinking how grateful I am to experience these unforgettable moments of great food and drink with great friends; it is such a powerful combination.

We did have an unexpected guest though, Señor Hachi.  None of us had the heart to tell him that it was an invitation only dinner.

As the food began to fill the table, I, of course, had to document every delectable dish with my camera.

On a side-note, most porteños do not begin eating dinner until around 10PM.  Even that is considered on the early side.  Be prepared to dine very late while in Buenos Aires.  We did not sit down to eat until almost midnight.  Also, Argentinians are massive meat-consumers.  So, a girl knows that she is loved, when two porteños agree to a vegetarian meal for my sake.

Along with dessert, Julie created her own dulce de leche cocktail that was sinfully good.  The recipe is quite simple: dulce de leche liquor, cream, 3 ice cubes, and dulce de leche and brown sugar to rim the glass.

Then it was time to play with our beloved Hachi.  I cannot put into words just how much joy this dog brings to me.

And as if the night were not special enough already, Julie presented me with a surprise present — continuing the theme of the trip.  After my wedding, she took my wedding bouquet home with her and preserved it for me.  In my mind I thought it had been thrown out!  It was an incredibly touching moment and the perfect way to end the perfect evening.

**Some of these photos, which have been credited, were taken by Seba.  He recently became enchanted with photography and has created a website dedicated to it.  I highly recommend checking it out, as he is very talented.**

Today a French friend sent me a message telling me he was buying chocolates at the Jean-Paul Hévin chocolaterie in Paris and instantly I remembered an unforgettable experience that I shared with him.   I still fondly recall that month of July when I stayed at one of his apartments in Paris and he took me to the chocolate shop.  He told me, “I’m broken hearted that my girlfriend has left me!  I need the best chocolate in Paris.”

And now, 6 years later, I have had the chance to do some research and give him and others the answer to this question so that Bridgett Jones can finally relax and stop eating chocolate ice cream when she is depressed: What is the relationship between being depressed and eating chocolate?

Chocolate lovers do not get upset after reading this, as later on I will describe the positive things of this delicious vice.  However for now, I must admit that I was quite surprised regarding the results.  According to a study carried out in 2007 by the British Journal of Psychiatry the more clinically depressed people become, the more chocolate they eat.  What is unclear though is whether depressed people may eat more chocolate or more chocolate may make people depressed.  People who tested positive for depression consumed about 60% more chocolate.  Curiously enough, people with depression said that chocolate actually made them feel better.  Thus, experts are considering the following hypotheses:

• People stimulate self-treatment or self-medication with chocolate.
• People feel chocolate cravings for reasons actually unrelated to depression.
• Chocolate may drive depressive symptoms, rather than vice versa.
• Inflammation or other physiologic factors might drive chocolate craving and depression.

But do not worry, as previously mentioned, chocolate also has its good things (as long as it is dark chocolate):

• It reduces blood pressure.
• It diminishes heart attack risks.
• It inhibits diarrhea.
• It increases our mental activity.
• It reduces cough.

Who really knows what the truth in regards to chocolate and depression is?  I say, if you ever do stay in any of the Paris apartments, remember the positives instead of the negatives and visit the Jean-Paul Hévin chocolaterie!

Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady.  After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger.  This is how she is now a mother of no one and a better person.  She also cooks her meals.

Home Hotel: Buenos Aires, Argentina

First Impression

Home is the perfect name for this stylish boutique hotel.  The second I walked through their welcoming doors I truly felt like I was at home (well, in my dreams my home looks this fabulous).  From the atmosphere to the staff — everything and everyone could not have been more inviting!  I must extend my gratitude to Kiwi Collection for introducing me to one of my favorite places in Buenos Aires now.

Location

The Room

The Bathroom

The Extras

Why It Is Andi’s Pick

Honestly, it would be impossible for me to choose the one thing that I loved the most about this hotel.  From the moment I checked in to the moment I checked out I was impressed.  The thing that touched me the most was something I discovered in the loft.  To others, it is just a decoration.  To me, however, it was a sign that Home is truly where the heart is.  You see, I had come to Buenos Aires to surprise my husband for his Birthday  and Buzios, where this decoration was made, is where we became engaged and is where we want to move to in the future.  The synchronicity of it all was almost unbelievable!

Social Media

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I particularly hate it when I travel to a city and I limit myself to following the masses, such as only visiting and dining at the “touristy places.”  I definitely prefer to discover places on my own or accompanied by a local.  I also enjoy it when locals do not notice at first glance that I am not a local (of course sometimes it is impossible, like if I were to go to China or to Norway, as my features are obviously different).

This is why I think it is important to learn some key phrases or words in the language of the region I am visiting and to become informed about which places locals prefer or what habits they have.  In this post I propose you to turn into a Budapest inhabitant.  Thus, pay attention to this quick guide for temporary locals:

 1.  You need to book one of the apartments in Budapest instead of a hotel.  This allows you to have total flexibility and feel like you truly are a local.

2.  Remember these phrases:

• Good morning:  Jó reggelt kívánok

• Good afternoon:  Jó napot kívánok

• Good evening:  Jó estét kívánok

• Good night:  Jó éjszakát

• Thank you (very much):  Köszönöm (szépen)

• What is your name?:  Mi a neve?

• What is this?:  Mi ez?

• What is the time?:  Mennyi az idÅ‘?

• How are you?:  Hogy van?

3.  Remember these places:

Holduvar – it is more than a restaurant, it is a club and a bar located on Margit Island.  It is the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, as no cars can be heard; just nice views, beer, and company.

Bar Karma — it is a relaxed bar with the possibility to eat on Liszt Ferenc Ter near Oktogon.  It is decorated in Indian style and so is the music in the background.  They prepare delicious cocktails that you simply cannot miss.

Szimpla Kert — it is a bar that is half in the open air and half inside; creating a nice atmosphere every evening.  Locals like it because it is between the old walls of an unused house in the middle of Pest, making it difficult to be found by an outsider.

Tratoria Toscana — it is the preferred Italian restaurant by locals.  They cook the best pasta in the city, as well as great pizza, fish, and meat dishes.  You can enjoy a good bottle of wine there with excellent views of the Danube.

4:  Try to get your Budapest apartments in the Buda side of the city, as it is where you will find the castle, the cobblestone streets, and the traditional Eastern Europe image you most likely have in your mind.

Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady.  After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger.  This is how she is now a mother of no one and a better person.  She also cooks her meals.

When Lucas finally walked into the restaurant and took a seat with Julie and Seba it truly felt as though reality had become a dream.  As he began to open his faux present, I floated down the stairs on a cloud of surrealness.  I vividly remember the second that I tapped him on the shoulder and his eyes immediately welled up with tears at first sight of me.  His reaction is something that I will hold onto tightly in my treasure chest of memories forever.

Before he grabbed and kissed me, I said to him,

You did not think I would miss your Birthday did you?  I am your present!

Keeping this surprise from his for almost two weeks was one of the greatest challenges of my life.  Every time we would talk on Skype and he would say, “I miss you mi amor, ” I would want to respond, “I miss you too, but I will be in your arms in just a few days.”  With the support of my girlfriends though, I kept my mouth shut.

No newlyweds should be separated, but we were, and in that moment we had no idea when the US government would grant Lucas his fiance visa.  Thus, we both put a whole new meaning to the phrase “cherish each moment as if it were your last. ”

Diego gave us a sneak peek of how the video turned out and as you can imagine we were speechless.

Then Duff and Frances announced that they now had a surprise for us and proceeded to hand the four of us sparklers for a fun photo shoot.  Unfortunately, since their camera of choice was stolen that morning, they were not certain as to how the photos would turn out.

Julie's arigato.

Then it was time for the word: love.  No other word could succinctly express the night better.

The pictures did not come out as clearly as the photographers had hoped, however they were perfect in our eyes.

Our last stop of the night was to a restaurant down the street where we celebrated with too much food and too much wine.  Oh, and of course a Birthday cake!

Home, sweet home.  Oh how I adore thee, let me count the ways!

Sometimes I feel like I am the luckiest woman in the world.  And when Home Hotel agreed to sponsor my surprise visit (thanks to the connection made via Kiwi Collection), well, I definitely felt like it then.  I cannot wait to share more details regarding my stay in one of their divine loft’s, alas that is for another post.  For now, I must finish detailing one of the most special days in my life!

Duff and Frances, the extraordinary photographer’s who were documenting the event, suggested during the planning stages that I bring on Deigo Eiguchi, a distinguished videographer, to “the team.”  I trusted them enough to say yes.  Unbeknownst to me, I  had agreed to having a film genius work with us.  Yeah, so maybe I am lucky a lot and not just sometimes.

I have done quite a few photo shoots in my life, thus I am now comfortable behind a camera.  However, to have both a camera and video camera on you at the same time was definitely overwhelming, as I was not sure where to look!  Plus, I was starting to get butterflies in my stomach, as it was almost time to surprise Lucas.

I spent the week leading up to this trip hunting for the perfect dress.  I kept finding beautiful dresses, but none that felt like the one.  I was about to give up and wear my favorite little black dress, when I spotted this pink sparkly number on a mannequin in Banana Republic.  I tried it on, though I did not need to, as I already knew it was perfection.

Once the finishing touches had been completed, we left for the meeting place, Mott.  Lucas had been told that our best friends, Julie and Seba, wanted to meet him for an early Birthday celebration and that they had my Birthday present to give him.  Lucas lives outside of Buenos Aires and sometimes mail can take a long time to reach him, so it made sense that I would send such an important package to an address within the city.

Thankfully, Lucas was late arriving to the restaurant (a trait that most porteños share), since when I walked inside I was greeted by 40 screaming teenage girls who mistakenly believed that I was a famous celebrity.  They refused to leave me alone; demanding my autograph and pictures with me.  At first, I indulged them, but then I realized that they had the potential to ruin the surprise.

We decided that the only way to avoid the surprise being ruined would be for me to hide upstairs and hope that the girls would eventually leave.  Seba and Julie would sit facing against the entrance, so that Lucas would be forced to sit with his back to the staircase.  Once he began to open his faux present, I would descend the staircase and tap him on the shoulder.

It felt like an eternity waiting for Lucas to arrive, although patience was something that I was very familiar with, dare I even say something I had mastered. . .

I am finally returning to blogging about my trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina to surprise my husband for his Birthday.  In case you missed it, watch this video and you will get all caught up.

Waking up to the following view would certainly start anyone’s day off on the right foot.

However, for me it was just icing on top of the chocolate and dulce de leche cake, because I was already in the best of moods!  Today was the day that I was going to surprise my husband and hopefully give him the greatest Birthday present of his life.  But first, I went and had breakfast in Hotel Moreno’s new adjacent restaurant, Aldo’s Winery and Restaurant.

Even though their breakfast was delicious, I still made sure to save some room, as Julie and I were meeting for cupcakes.  A day like this had to be celebrated with our favorite sweet treat!  We convened at Muma’s, Buenos Aires’s first cupcakery, before heading to the salon to get our hair and makeup done.

Of course, the sugar only heightened our palpable excitement.  I cannot imagine what the employees at Santé must have thought about the two gringas animatedly talking a mile a minute?  Towards the end of our beautification, the female-half, Frances, of Duff and Frances Photography, showed up to document the special event.

I discovered this talented duo on Twitter right before my wedding in May.  I was in shock when I learned that Frances is an Acupuncturist/Photographer who speaks English, Spanish, and Chinese and is based in Buenos Aires.  Talk about being my soul sister!  Unfortunately, I did not have the time to meet them in May, however I contacted them as soon as I started planning the surprise and inquired if they would like to be a part of it.  They responded with an enthusiastic yes.

On this morning though, they had thousands of dollars worth of gear stolen.  The majority of photographers would have called off the shoot, they did not.  They kept their promise to me and shot with a backup camera.  I think I was more upset about the situation then they were.  They are such rock stars and I am forever indebted to them!

Then it was time to check into my Home away from home and put the last minute finishing touches on the surprise. . .

Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside City Hall, so we had to save the rest of the photo shoot for when we returned to my parents home.  This, of course, meant we had to brave the heat once again!

My grandparents, who immigrated to the States from Germany during World War II, have been married for 55 years and are still head over heels in love with each other.  Their story deserves to be made into a best selling novel, it is truly that inspirational — making them the perfect witnesses at our second wedding.  Lucas and I made a promise to them inside the courthouse that in regards to our marriage, we would follow in their footsteps.

The following photo is quite possibly my favorite photo ever taken of the two of us together.  I think it captures the very essence of our marriage.  As a voraciously independent woman, I struggled with the idea of getting married throughout my 20′s.  Where I come from in the south, most women are wed by the time they are done with college.  I knew early into our relationship that I could easily spend the rest of my life with this man, however I also felt that if we got married too soon I would be compromising myself and that I would regret it the rest of my life.  Lucas told me he loved me days after we met.  He has always known that I was “the one” and was eager to take the next step.  It took me 5 years to finally know that I was ready to be his wife.  He waited patiently while I went through Graduate School and traveled the world and never once lost confidence in me or us.  Hence why I love this photo so much; you can see him exuding that confidence, while I am completely relaxed, as I know without a doubt that I made the right decision at the right time.

Then we headed to a nearby neighborhood for the final photos.  Our first wedding was all about reflecting what makes Argentina so special and unique, thus for our second wedding I wanted to do the same, but about the south.  And when most people think of the south one of the first images conjured is that of a long, serene tree-lined driveway.

Will there be a third wedding if my parents are able to come to some kind of agreement on the location?  I am not sure in this moment, but if there is I can promise you there will be more photos and a totally different look.  Maybe I will die my original wedding dress pink?

What is your favorite photo?

**A tremendous amount of gratitude is owed to Emily Chidester for agreeing to photograph this event with 48 hours of notice and for giving us photos that we will treasure forever.**