Summertime (and the living is easy)

When it's summer in the US, it's winter in South America - and the other way around. December and January, for me, were always very hot months, ideal to stay by the pool at my Grandma's home, in Buenos Aires.

I came down here for the holidays, but will go back north pretty soon. Now I'm really starting to feel how hard it is to have everyone I love spread around the world...

Christmas in Argentina

Very merry.

I miss Scott, though.

Gil, Gian and Mike Irvin, the Dallas cowboy

During a quick São Paulo stop before Christmas, I had dinner with Gil and Gian (in the picture), Igor and Bianca. My cousin Junior came afterwards, with his girlfriend. I've known all of them, but Gian, for some time.

I met Gian online, on fotolog some time ago (he was already friends with Gil and Junior) and we found out that we worked for the same company, with some of the same people, almost at the same time. We would probably have never met if we didn't bump into each other online and I'm so thankful we did. We talk a lot, considering we never saw each other before today, and he was of huge influence on my decision to drop everything and move to the US, to be with Scott. He did the same sometime ago, when his wife had a good job opportunity in Italy, and it ended up being a great experience also for his professional life. He made me think that if he could be a "housewife" for a while, why couldn't I? And I'm very thankful for that.


Something funny happened on the way down.

I was flying down to Brazil and stopped in Dallas to change planes. As always, I sat at the counter, at Friday's, and ordered the usual (half portion of) potato skins and a beer. The bar was crowded and I put my computer bag on the stool by my side, mostly to avoid having people too close.

When I looked at the door, I saw this very big black man, with shiny black pants, shiny black jacket and lots of gold jewelry. He looked at my computer bag stool and came right away, to ask if he could sit there. I removed my bag, he sat and introduced himself "Hi, I'm Mike, where are you heading?". I said I'm Katia, going to Brazil blablabla. In less than two minutes half the bar was by our side, taking pictures of him. Apparently he used to be a famous football player and has a TV show now. Maybe I should have known, I even watch football on Sundays and all, but for me he only looked like a scary very big guy.

It was Mike Irvin, apparently an ex Dallas Cowboy.

In Florida

In Jacksonville, for a late Thanksgiving celebration with some of my in laws.

To fight a cold

To fight my cold, once soup didn't work.

Cafe du Nord, yesterday.

With beer, french fries and a Lisa Loeb concert.

Little shopping spree

One of the best things of shopping is when you arrive home, put everything on the bed and look at each thing again. Better if you have an interested audience.

This is my stepdog Ripley. She rips pieces of paper and stuffed animals, but luckily she's not as much into ripping my beautiful new acquisitions.

A note on my windshield

I'm back in the Bay Area and Pablo is in town, visiting his brother, so we spent some time together at the Museum of Modern Art seeing the Lichtenstein show (good, very good) before going out to lunch.

I left my car in the Moma SF garage. When I came back, I found a note. And it was not from a secret admirer.

I laughed. I laughed really hard. (It was, as I noticed afterwards, a compact car parking space. And I was so proud I could fit the Cherokee into that tiny space!)

Sweetheart

(Care for a romantic cup of coffee?)

the world changes, we stay the same

I'm the girl in the orange sweater. The guy on the back is my cousin Rod. When we were kids we used to spend hours and hours eating junk food in front of the TV. Now, when we can get together we always try to do the same thing - today, with Trader Joe's pizza and on demand movies. The world changes, the places change and we are still the same. Cool.

Having lunch with the ghosts

Lunch at a bookstore/cafe at Newbury Street - prociutto and brie sandwich and a Heineken.

I love sitting at the bar when I eat alone. Just me, my food, my drink and the couple of really fun ghosts that live inside my mind.

Go Sox

Red Sox, 1918 world champion, cursed since then, until beating the Yankees, a couple of days ago.

In Boston, that's all everyone talks about. I'm spending a couple of days here, at Rods (this is the view from his living room, by the way).

Asparagus soup

I've been cooking a lot. I love to cook and never had all this time on my hands.

I don't, always, get the best results, though. This soup had to ask for some Campbells help...

Gabo, Fiona and Kats

Under the California Sun.

I might be getting a little bored.

Traffic in San Francisco

It's weird to be in traffic when you are not actually going anywhere. It's a good thing I can entertain myself with my camera.

I've been feeling happy and relaxed. I might get used to this life of driving around all day, with no office to go.

Driving on unknown roads

Yesterday, trying to get to Emeryville, I ended up in Berkeley.

This morning, trying to go to Berkeley, I ended up in Oakland.

I wonder what will happen if I try to go to Oakland.

Feels weird to wake up and not have to go to the office. Feels good, though, to wake up and know that Scott is not 8 thousand miles away anymore.

I'm using the time to explore the area.

Blank screens to be filled

This is a really fun box to carry.

My zip code now has only 5 numbers. My phone has 10. And I just bought a new computer, with a huge quantity of blank screens for me to fill with what's coming.

This was the most difficult decision I've ever made and it feels so right. I'm a California resident now. Residing with the man I love and figuring out what to do with the rest of my life.

Thirty years later...

At the other side of the table, my dear cousin Sean. We've been having dinners together since we were little kids. At first we drank milk. Then, cookies with soda, sandwiches... Yesterday we had sushi and beer.

I guess we're finally grown ups.

Preparing for one more trade show

This will be my second trade show in the cosmetics business and I'm starting to see how some things repeat themselves. During the night before opening, I'm sure we won't make it in time - and we end up doing a great job. After all the stress, a calm atmosphere settles everything and we find a way to fix every little problem.

When I look at myself paiting a fire extinguisher base with a nail polish brush, at 1 am, I have to start laughing. I believe a lot in me and in my team. We can get anything done.

The one and only Mr. Right

Healthy, happy lunch. With the guy that made me rethink it all. In a little more than a month we should be sharing a ceiling...

I can't believe I quit a job I love to go after bigger things.

I'm so proud of myself!

Working at the circus

No, I'm not a clown - it was only an event for the company I work for. I chose the circus because I wanted it to be fun and memorable. And, you know what? It was the perfect setting!

This is how the place looked in the morning, when we started decorating.

post sushi ice cream

- Come on, hurry up because the ice cream place closes at eleven!

- Calm down, Kats, we'll make it.

- We can't be late for the third time, Gil, they'll close the door on our faces again.

- Aren't you going to get in the car?

- Are you nuts? With this traffic? It's faster to run.

Even though the picture might make you think differently, mine is the smaller.

Kats 3.0, still with the usual bugs

Funny. I said I was not going to celebrate, but the thirties come strong. Friends are strong too, thankfully. It was great to see great friends and family and also to receive all the text messages, phone calls, flowers, cards and gifts.

Kats 3.0

Kats 3.0, updated version (but still with the usual bugs) starts tomorrow, july 31st

(the hat was a gift from Marininha and Lilica, extracute, who celebrated with me before the time during a quick trip to SP)

The ten musketeers

I have this group of ten girlfriends who get together for dinner once a month. We came from several groups and each one knew someone else from somewhere different. Roberta F. went to school with me. Roberta M. and Mariana worked with me during the internet boom. Gisele, Flops and Sabrina worked with me in an advertising agency. Flay and Vanessa were long time friends with Roberta M. And Carol was a friend of Flay since childhood.

It sounds like kindergarden talk, but each one has an extremely important role in the lives of all the other nine. And, if there's something I can assure you, is that any of the ten would happily get out of bed at 4am to take care of any other one. It's an honor to be part of that group.

And, when we get together, we have all sorts of conversations - we don't talk only about men, as some may think. ;)

The face behind the glass belongs to Flops.

To new beginnings

Lunch with the girls, to celebrate endings and new beginnings.

After a very long conversation with my boss, I took one day off work to prepare for what's coming. I'm looking at two months of very hard work to wrap it all up the best way I can.

Then, I'm packing and leaving. It's all said and arranged, almost official.

Finding a way to an end

This is the Virgin of Guadalupe, to whom I pray when I feel like praying - and she never disappoints me. This version was painted on my favorite scarf by my mom.

Today I'm praying so she'll help me to find a way to end a story that has been going for long enough. And I want to do it the right way, without hurting anyone and without hurting myself.

As I said before, I like things that end before going bad and I really believe that endings are very important, so new beginning can come.

A bridge with no end

I made this picture from the Rio Niterói bridge when Bel and Edu took me to an amazing restaurant at the other side. It made me remember the last time i had been on this bridge. I was small, maybe 7 or 8, and I thought that this bridge was so long that it didn't have an end. I was scared of something that goes on forever.

Some people are afraid of endings. I am not. I like things with beginnings, middles and, very important, endings. I believe that some things have to end so new, good things, will find space to happen.

Taking over

There are stories you write and stories you read. When you notice that you are only reading your own story, something is very wrong. My advice to myself: take over the leading role of this screenplay. And do it now!

A new friend

- Hello

- Hi, it's eight-thirty, where are you?

- I'm at the restaurant since eight, which is the time we agreed to meet.

- I've been at the restaurant since eight too, waiting for you at the bar.

- And I've been waiting for you at our table.

My new friend Max is good with time, just like me. She's elegant, on her clothes and on the attitute. We have very similar tastes for fashion, literature, people, pizza... She's my client and maybe I will be able to afford being hers too. And, besides all that, she's fun, reliable, honest.

I'm wondering how come we didn't cross paths before...

Last night a sushiman saved my life

São Paulo has some little places hidden behing doors that look like they lead to nowhere. This was a tiny space that served japanese skewers (robatas) on the counter. Some time later they opened another room nextdoor (which I'm sure used to be a garage in the past) with comfortable chairs, ottomans and little tables made of slices of trees. The waiter had to come from the kitchen walking on the street. And it was from the steet that we could spy the "robataman". Santa Monica used to be a great place. Now, after being re-styled, it changed names (to Naga), added some sushi rolls to the menu and looks more like a restaurant, but still a cozy one.

The waiter is still the same, always with very cold sake at reach and a smile on his face. For me, the best feature that Naga has is Remulo, my waiter.

One of the guys

You talk about your boyfriends and their girlfriends. You drink beer and eat fried things. They look at you in a weird way when you order a diet coke, but end up asking for a sip. You analyze, with them, the cleavages that pass by and they laugh, with you, at 80s hairstyles that move around as if they belonged in the present. You listen to bad jokes about your ex, get some advice and even a hug. Then you give advice and another hug. So many good things happen in these moments when you are only one of the guys...

On being a happy camper

Who said I'm not a camper? I am, but this is the kind of camping experience that appeals to me. With a big warm bed, shower and fireplace - a place where the days end in incredible fondues and fabulous wines.

No tents for me, sir!

Not anymore.

Never more.

Piece of conversation, at a pub

- Do you have a brother?

- No, I don't

- Wow. You look so much like a friend of mine who lives in San Francisco...

- I see

- He's a photographer, just like you, he works for Vogue

- Cool

- It's amazing, he looks just like you, I can't believe you are not siblings

- I'm an only child

- Are you sure?

It's fun to introduce fun people to each other and find out that your friends can end up being friends, even when you are not around.

Who's that guy inside the sauce?

The best thing about good friends is that they don't have to be like us. For me, it's important that they like sushi, sake and haagen dazs, but they can be the kind that go clubbing after dinner, when all I want is to trow myself in my warm bed with a book.

It's because we are so different that we complement each other so well.

Yes, last night's dinner included sake

It always does. And it's not only because Carol, our waitress, turns funnier and funnier as we drink.

I don't mind going always to the same places. Actually, I love places where I feel at home, where we know all the waitresses and don't even have to look at the menu, because everyone knows what we like to eat and drink.

vtp - we do have very important conversations

We talk about family:


- My mother in law offered to hem my pants, can you believe it?

- Weird, but nice, right? So you don't have to do that yourself.

- I don't know if it's nice, sounds so weird.

- Mine is funny. She thinks that, to be healthy and beautiful, you have to be fat.

- So tipical! We kill ourselves to get in shape and they're worried about how much strenght we have to take care of their sons.

- A couple of weeks ago my mother in law came to me with the sadest face and told me that she noticed I've been loosing weight - and I immediately thanked her. Then she went out for lunch and came back with a gift for me, a little greasy bag with fries.

- Sounds great! Who wouldn't want a bag of fries???? I would love that, but no one gives me that kind of stuff, everyone thinks I'm too delicate to like these fatty things.

- I can't believe it. Are you saying that you would like to get a bag of fries as a gift from your mother in law????

- I would love it! And I also want her to hem my pants. If you ask around, the only thing that mothers in law have been doing is vodu dolls with our faces on them. You have these angels that sew and bring food, you have no right to complain!

.............................................

And about work also:

- So... does your store sell wholesale or retail?

- It's a hybrid - my business is called casting care.

- Cache coeur? Sounds fun, but I thought you sold food, not clothing.

Important notice: this is only a poetic license, we are actually very smart.

vtp - by the kitchen counter

My kitchen has a bar. People arrive and sit around it – close to the finger food, close to the wine and close to the cook (a.k.a. myself). And the living room, all dressed up in flowers and candles, is left alone, remembering the time when visitors were more worried about behaving properly and less worried about having fun. Last evening was a girls only. Nine women.

- I’ve always wanted to paint a fake mark on my face, like Cindy Crawford.

- I’ve done it once! Got an eyeliner and painted it right here.

- Why? Where did you go with it?

- I was still with my ex boyfriend. We had to go to a boring party and I decided to have my own fun. But I had to go to the restroom a hundred times, to repaint it.

- And what did your ex think about the mark?

- He hated it. He got so angry about it… and as he got angrier, I repainted it more and more. I had so much fun on that day

Making up II

But I believe in being friends again. It’s really nice to talk to people we like and see that, at the end of the day, the good feelings are the only ones that have any importance. I’ve missed this hand. And I’ve missed what’s attached to it.

Making up I

People say that, when you give salt to someone you like, you end up having a fight. I don`t believe in any of these things: superstition and fighting with people I like.

My favorite kind of friend

My favorite kind of friend is that one that makes me feel good just to look at him.

My favorite kind of friend is that one whose simple touch makes me smile.

Or start laughing, out of control, if it happens after a couple of sakes.

I came to Casablanca for the waters

- What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca, Rick?
- My health, Louis. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
- The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
- I was misinformed.

I love this Casablanca dialog. This is the kind of lie that has an ironic half-smile and says "no, I’m not answering your question, you’re being invasive".

But I hate pretentious lies, lies from people that are clearly trying to fool you.

Girls night out - part III

- Relationships are always so complicated...

- I agree. That's why I don't have a steady boyfriend.

- What? What about that guy...?

- Oh, you are right, I do have one.

Girls night out - part II

- I was all ready, waxed, manicured, massaged, everything. I even bough new panties with a red cross on the front because he's a doctor, as you know. I thought it would be a fun touch.

- I can't believe you, Bibs! You are the funniest! What did he think of it?

- He looked at me and started laughing like a mad man.

............................

- Did we tell you about that party in Pinda?

- You went all the way to Pindamonhangaba just to go to a party?

- Yes, the two of us and Carol - and we met a friend there. We arrived at the party and soon got lost from him. We just saw him again when there was a crowd around a fight. When we got close to take a look, there he was, punching a drunk guy that flerted with one of us.

- Oh! And what happened next?

- Well, then we did what every smart woman does when she sees a fight: we yelled. And, after yelling, each one grabbed a chair, made a Charlie's Angels face and tried to help.

............................

- Let me understand this right. You are telling me that you would go to the gym everyday, spent the entire afternoon there and, even though, you were fat?

- Yes, that't right. Carol had a restaurant on the floor above the Gym. We would face a spinning class and then run upstairs to hidrate the body with mojitos. And we would spend hours playing backgammon and eating those little potato breads that she makes.

............................

What do the handbags think of our conversations, when we leave them all together, on a chair?

Girls night out - part I

- We are on our way to Kosushi, do you want to meet us there?

- Oh, please, not sushi again, I ate sushi yesterday...

- We like sushi because it's light but, if you prefer, we can eat a little salad somewhere.

- Great! See you at Burger Bistro in half an hour.

In the picture, burger with creamy cheese sauce and chives. On the back, burger with a wild mushroom sauce. Each of them sitting on a nest of potatoes. Out of the picture, lots of wine and apple pie with ice cream. We are not that good with being light.

Things you can say just by looking at him

1. He's so handsome! I know it's an obvious thing to say just by looking at him and maybe it wouldn't deserve to be in this list, once it doesn't show my skills in understanding people by looking at them. But he really is very handsome and this is the first thing that comes to my mind when I look at him.

2. The jeans were ripped on purpose. The tank top, under the shirt, was put there to create a style and not to protect his body from the weather. The necklaces were strategically tangled.

3. This earring will fall again in the middle of a make out session. And he'll buy another, so someone else can make it fall again. It's the cicle of life.

4. Sunglasses and a coke, on a Sunday morning, are there to create a hangover mood. Everything is very well produced to look as natural as posible.

5. He's thoughtful and tender. He drops everything else to take care of you and does everything he can to make you feel safe. And you almost fall in love, but no, for crying out loud, he's your friend. You can't.

6. He's spoiled. It's very important that everything happens how he expects and anything less is not good enough. He gets really offended, crosses boundries, says silly things and never steps back. To try to change this is a very hard task and not many people are up to it.

7. He preaches liberty and stands for casual flings, but deep inside he's a little insecure with most relationship issues. Because he went through something that I can't recall very well but, you know how it is, it's hard to get close to the fire after you got burned.

8. He loves to have everyone around, loving what he does, thinking that he's the cutest person in the entire world. And he might be, the cutest person in the entire world. Don't ask me, take your own conclusions.

9. He likes to attract people and this is horrible, because I like it too and I know that after the initial passion the magic fades out. To be honest, I'm very scared of people like me. But then I'm talking about myself and that's not the purpose of this list.

10. He likes to argue. He says it's not true and gets mad at whoever throws this accusation, but he creates huge arguments from very small issues. And it's very sad, because it hurts people a lot. But most people get over it, because it's just too hard to stay away.

Change of plans

Shoes off again. Sushi, sashimi, sake. And a good conversation going on, with the other side of the table. Some plans change at a Friday night. Thankfully, always for better.

Jeans

kats likes jeans.
They look good with white t-shirts and red nails!
And they look really great with other jeans ;)

Burger & Bistro

São Paulo has some incredibly beautiful places.

A weekend in Rio is a happy weekend

I really miss last weekend.

Things to do when fotolog is down (get a life?)

Things to do when fotolog is down:

- Spend quality time with friends.(I really missed this view, the friend behind the sake box)