Saturday, March 24th was one of the BEST days ever!!!

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MARCH 24^th 2012

Such an awesome day! Unforgettable!!!
We really deserve some fun, some extraordinary moments in the middle of the routine of the daily life and its drudgery...

After a lazy Saturday morning, sleeping late, having some coffee, we decided to go to Midtown and indulge in some awesome Brazilian food in Little Brazil (West 46th Street).

We did go to Ipanema Restaurant and had a blast with my favorite things: pastel de carne (beef empanada), caipirinha and vatapa de camarao (a typical shrimp stew).

So tasty!!!

 My Hubby, a big Brazilian food fan had his usual: picanha, rice, beans, farofa, fries...

 Then we went on a shopping spree... Well I DID!!!

Was getting obsessed in getting a new Louis Vuitton bag... My poor old LV Batignolles has already taken a major beating (I still love you tho)...

And of course I really did want the huge Damier Neverfull...

So...

After eating to our heart's content, we managed to go to Sak's Fifth Avenue - I say manage to get there, because of the huge amount of people flooding the streets of NY on that great Saturday...

Got there and was promptly shown the medium and the humongous Damier Neverfull...

What a tough choice...

With my husband opinion, I did get the BIG one (on the far right).

So AWESOME!!!

The LV saleswoman, a nice Japanese lady offered me complimentary monogramming!!! So I did pick the letters LBA and she told me to come back in one hour!!! Could NOT wait!!!

So we went shopping my my hubs and came back to this beauty (I did ASK for the gorge gift box!!!):

 

I am SOOOOOO HAPPY!!!

Ok, it was very expensive, but I will get so much use out of it! Love the design, love the red interior, love everything!!!!

Cloud 9 !!!!

Then to top this wonderful day off, we did go to a bar and had some pints...

So good to celebrate without a reason, just because we are worth it!!!!

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The End of an Era... RIP Chico Anysio

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Very sad news...
As a Brazilian, I've grown up watching this amazing comedian called Chico Anysio... He made an integral part of my early life in Brazil.

Just discovered that he did die today aged 80 in Rio de Janeiro. The end of an era... :-(

He was a man of many characters, he created dozens and dozens of them. All of his characters were very in tune with what was going on in Brazil. He imbued all of them with intelligence, and to put it in a few words: he was funny!

Unforgettable...

Here are some of his characters:

Professor Raimundo - one of my favorites

Alberto Roberto

Coalhada

Popo

Rest in peace, my dear.  You've made soooo many people happy, including yours truly...

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My Passion for Photos...

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I was already a photo maniac even before the easiness of digital photography appeared. I am the type of person who really loves photos and the memories encapsulated by them.

Before the digital era, photography (at least for me) was major drama. You just pointed and clicked. Then you had to cross your fingers that your pictures looked good after you've had them developed... You could be in an amazing location and then you would discover that you looked terrible just after your looked at the developed shots. And then of course was the cost of developing, the cost of film and the constraints of number of shots per roll of film.

Now I am liberated!!!! Digital rules!!!! Kids in the future will be like: "you had to develop film???" "What is a film?"...


And lately, with also the advent of really decent phone cameras (I did come late to this fad, but now I am basically multiple shots a day! And sharing them in a snap too.
In the old days, you had to show them to people live or mail them!

Everyone who travels with me knows best. They start saying: "You are taking too many shots, blah, blah, blah". But when we come back home, especially someone called John (ahem, my husband) finally concedes and says: "Hey, great that you took those shots, I totally would've forgotten this"...

So there...

I am also discovering new things every day. Just came across Pixrl-O- Matic  , a wonderful and FREE resource for your phone and computer.   Cannot believe the amount of effects and frames this cool program offers!

Here are some more shots with great Pixrl-O-Matic effects:

Aren't they great? Taken and edited on a PHONE? Can you believe it?

I know one thing: I will be taking pictures until the day I die!!!

Stay tuned for more!!!

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Best dinner guests

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Just saw these in a store in Manhattan, not far from where I live...

 
Wouldn't it be divine to have Marilyn and Audrey over for dinner???

I want those... *sigh*

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Happy Spring!!!!

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Just loving it! It is already spring! And NYC gets even more gorgeous!

Beautiful architecture in Tribeca NYC

 
TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal Street) is a small but one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. It was developed as a very first residential area in the beginning of New York history, but from 19th century to early 20th century it became a center of textile/cotton trade. By 1960s, the industrial base had gone, and similar to SoHo, those empty commercial lofts once occupied textile mills started to attract young families and artists. From 80's the big development of converting industrial spaces to residential lofts happened, and now it's ranked on the top spot as the most expensive neighborhood in the city.

Saw this pretty little white house close to the restaurant we went to celebrate my hubby's birthday and simply fell in love with it!

The corner store at what the owners call 235 West Broadway (which is apparently a sexier address than #2 White) is officially a J. Crew men Store, and a glance in the windows will make apparent that it’s a haberdasher. In 2011, it’s fashionable to not hang an identifying sign whatever–you have to go in to find out what the name is.

 Matera Canvas, which distributed boat covers, tarpaulins, tote bags, awnings, aprons at 5 Lispenard Street, originated in 1907 and was still in business in 1990.

 This really old house's ground floor is now a men's J. Crew store with traces from an old liquor store. So glad they kept the old sign...

Lulu in front of the little white house

 Some other photos I took from the place:

 In 1941, Leonard Hecht opened a liquor store on the ground floor that continued in business until the 1990s. The Liquor Store Bar then took it over, and then J. Crew in the 2000s. Throughout, the old liquor store signs have been permitted to remain in place.

This fantastic website told me more about the story of this amazing little white house! Read it here. Incredible how you can find anything on the internet nowadays!


Because of the miracle of landmarks preservation, the designated #2 White Street, at the northeast corner of West Broadway, has survived since 1809. It was constructed that year for a Gideon Tucker, owner of the Tucker & Ludlam plaster factory. It’s one of the few Federal Style row houses remaining in lower Manhattan. A few others that were moved from their original location during construction of Independence Plaza can be seen on Harrison Street west of Greenwich.

And old shot from the former liquor store:

 I just love how NYC surprises me every time...