Fragment: ME

The interesting part about my new choice of life is that I actually have REAL worries now!

No more endless longings of UTOPIC worlds in my head...

Better?

:)

These days, I'm all about little things that make me smile...like this picture I found during my so loved Google image search.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Fragment: ORGANIZING/DECORATING

Ok, so, I've been to Ikea 3 times since it opened last Wednesday ;) and just can't wait to head over there again!

So far, I've gotten very useful items for my new place :D It's incredible how little things can change your everyday life! Never before had I been interested in shower heads, hooks, nails for hanging, water pumps, light bulbs, etc.! I used to think those were the boring sections of a store. Now that I NEED these things, I am SUPER interested in them ;) Very funny how life works... :)

I know you guys are dying to see what I've purchased (or not?), so I took pictures of some items; I am so in love with everything!

Now, since my mini studio is SUPER mini, I have no space at all for my laundry basket left! So, it ocurred to me that maybe HANGING HAMPERS exist????? I'm telling you, when in NEED, new interests are born, and you become creative ;)

Maybe this storage net from Ikea hanging from the ceiling could work as my new hamper?

Or in any case, I can have a laundry bag handmade and hang it from the door or from a hook on the wall.

Of course, I did a Google image search and hanging hampers DO exist! These were other cool ideas I found:

Fragment: AUDREY TAUTOU

Just got home from watching "Coco Avant Chanel" with Guvs.

Another of my most favorite actresses: AUDREY TAUTOU.

Her acts are charming and her personality and smile just adorable.

I've enjoyed watching her in "Priceless", "The Da Vinci Code", "Russian Dolls", "A very Long Engagement", "L'auberge espagnol", "He loves me, He loves me not", "Amélie", and looking forward to finding other old and new films of hers!

Fragment: MOVING

FEBRUARY...short month, big changes. Just like last year...

I think a time has come for me to grow up for REAL! To have my own space, to manage my life the way I believe works for me, to pay ALL my bills by MYSELF (uuuu! scary!), to have my own little 'home'.

So, a couple of days ago, I began my search. Waking up early in the morning, walking to the nearest newsstand, buying all the newspapers...I would come back home, excitingly sit at my desk, sip my coffee, and browse through the classifieds. It appeared to me that apartment searching was going to be a fun project. Until I realized, how sad it was that the places I could afford were either ugly or dirty or in areas that I wouldn't feel safe :S

I did find 3 one-bedroom apartments worthy of consideration. However, I still wasn't getting that "YES!-this-is-what-I've-been-looking-for" feeling.

Then, one day, while not fiercely looking, I came across a listing on the internet that sounded about right. At this point, I wasn't all that excited, but decided to give it one last shot before deciding for an apartment that was acceptable, but certainly not 'THE ONE'.

OMG!!!...........................................................I'd found a hidden treasure!!!!

Here are the photos of my little home...or as I've named it, "NENY'S TINY STUDIO" ;) YEYYYY!

Now, moving, organizing, decorating, and of course...LIVING! oh yeah....and paying rent every month, grrrrr! ;)

"The Answer Man"

Interesting answers to important life questions from "THE ANSWER MAN" movie...

Q: Do I have a destiny or is it all free will? Free will or destiny?

A: Free will...moving towards or away from a purpose.

Q: If God made everything, then why are some things bad, like pain and suffering?

A: Opposites; without things that suck you would have no idea what good was and be direction-less. You smell shit and you walk the other way.

Q: Why can't I do things I wanna do? There's so much I know I'm capable of and never actually do. Why is that?

A: The trick is to realize that you're always doing what you wanna do, always. Nobody's making you do anything. Once you get that, you see that you're free and that it's really just a series of choices. Nothing happens to you; you choose.

Q: What keeps me together?

A: He knows everything about you and He wants you to know that you're enough, and so much more. You are here so god can experience the world through your eyes. See what you see; feel what you feel. Everyday, He can't wait to see what you'll do; what makes you laugh, what moves you...He can't wait! Everyday, through you, He falls in love with the world all over again. You are His MUSE.

I saw this film back in December at Fran's house, but hadn't blogged about it. Now, fixing my desk, I came across the piece of paper where I wrote "the answers" and decided to share them with you guys :)

GOOD DAY!

Fragment: JULIETTE BINOCHE

I have very little favorite things, as I'm one of those people who appreciates ANYTHING in EVERYTHING.

Of those few things, JULIETTE BINOCHE is undoubtly one. I just watched the movie "JET LAG", or its original name, "Decalage Horaire"--and I loved her yet again! Have I told you guys about my love for french films??? ;) Juliette is amazing and naturally charming in both French and American films.

These are other movies I've seen her in:

"Dan in Real Life"

"Flight of the Red Balloon"

"Breaking and Entering"

"Paris, Je T'aime"

"Chocolat"

And I can't wait to see her in "PARIS"...here's the trailer:

Don't quote me on this, but for me, Juliette Binoche is like the french Julia Roberts!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her...AND Julia, of course!

Fragment: ME

I met someone that reminds me of me when I'm older...Isn't that conspicuously cool?!?!?!

It's so interesting how we find ourselves in the most unexpected places, through people and situations that bring us closer to ourselves.

I love these moments...I had this moment, today :)

Fragment: IKEA

The store that Sister, the world and I love is HERE! In the Dominican Republic!!!!! I drive by and I still can't believe it!! WOW!

The place to go to for great prices, chic furniture and décor ideas, easy assembly, and did I say GREAT PRICES?! Such affordable, cool pieces for people that don't want to commit to heavy, traditional furniture but want their place to look fab, like me ;)

IKEA's opening date is set for February 17th and it can not seem further away!!!!! I don't even want to imagine how many people will be in the store that first day! The expectation is so high right now! It's gonna be the first Ikea store in Latin America, YEY! DR once more is FIRST in history; first discovered land in the Americas, first established city--SANTO DOMINGO, first cathedral, first university, first IKEA!!!!!!!!!!! Uuuujuuuuu ;)

I just really do hope that Ikea keeps its concept of affordable prices because things tend to get triple-priced $$$$$ once they cross over the Atlantic :S

Ikea couldn't have come at a better time! ;) ;) ;)

"Wedding dress shopping..."

...for LEMAY!!!

Marvic and I were so excited to be there! Standing at a showroom, surrounded by all these white gowns, a huge mirror and our best friend swirling around in beautiful dresses!

Definitely, a moment to remember forever...

And guess what, you guys?! I am the maid of honor!!! I feel super honored ;)

I'm so happy for you Lemay! :D :D :D

May God bless your union...Muuuuah!

"Music for Haiti"

It is terrifying what has happened in Haiti. It reminds me of how little control we have over our own lives. Natural disasters are bigger than us; bigger than anything we are and know.

I can't take the images out of my head...I can't stop thinking about what I should be doing. Everybody is DOING something. I feel so selfish sometimes. But I tend to freeze in the middle of tension.

I am so broke...how can I help?! I know there have been ways I just let pass :S

For now...I gave what I know...and what I surely have...MUSIC.

Fragment: FRANCE

Sometimes, when I daydream, I live in France.

I walk down tiny cobblestone streets, passing by NOTHING BUT coffee shops (don't you just love dreams?!), where picturesque characters sit with a book in one hand, a cigarette on the other, and a "croissant" with "caffe au lait" on the table.

A quirky tune plays in the background--yes! on a clarinet--like in those French films I love to watch ;)

I am wearing a flowery dress with a red scarf wrapped around my neck, red lipstick, a fascinator of some sort (of course!), carrying a basket with nothing but fresh flowers and a baguette.

WOW! What a hollywood tainted imagination :S

Anyhow, the point is that France is certainly a MUST for me...soon? Wish, wish, really wish so!

"Breakfast at Tiffany's"

I'm usually the one who doesn't know the people that everyone knows, the places that everybody goes to, the news that everyone has heard or read of, the films that everybody has seen.

Well, thanks to Guevs, my younger brother, I finally had the honor to watch a MUST-HAVE-SEEN-A-LONG-TIME-AGO classic: BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S!

Audrey Hepburn is contagiously charming as Holly Golightly; an extroverted, naive, gold digger who, breakfast in hand very early in the morning, gets the thrill of the day by window shopping at the Tiffany's jewelry store on 5th Ave. in NYC.

The story is rather pointless in my opinion. But I did love it! The film tells one of those stories that seem so normal, so everyday-like, that you forget you're watching A MOVIE. The experience is more like living Holly Golightly's ordinary life for a couple of hours.

The tiny elements that conform her character and her life give the film its unique and entertaining peculiarity. Holly lives in a cute little apartment on one of those characteristic brownstone buildings in NYC. She owns a nameless cat, who she therefore calls, CAT. Miss Golightly goes out on dates with guys she doesn't even like in hopes of finding a gold mine that will take her out of her "misery". And to top it all of, every week, Holly innocently delivers "weather reports" to an incarcerated mob boss, thinking she's just getting paid $100 to talk about weather--that was terribly cute...I couldn't stop laughing! Her neighbor Fred and her become good friends, and ultimately, of course, fall in love...awww :)

My favorite scene is where Fred and Holly have this tiny dialogue after Fred announces good news about his book being published, and Holly suggests that they toast with champagne:

FRED: "I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions. But never before before."

HOLLY: "Well, I've got a wonderful idea! We could spend the whole day doing things we've never done before. We'll take turns. First, you do something you've never done before. Then, me...of course, I can't think of anything I've never done before."

And they go on to have an ultra-cool day just doing things they've never done before! What an inspiring idea for when you and your boy want an out-of-the-ordinary kind of day ;) POINT TAKEN!

Fragment: SHOES

...choices are endless....

Heels, flats, dressy, casual, comfy, fabulously painful, sporty, booties, flip-flops................

I love shoes! (despite of my complicated feet :S)

Isn't it frustrating when you're neither a 9 nor an 8 1/2 but somewhere in between that doesn't exist?!

Shoes are like little works of art.

I love finding unique designs.

A great pair of shoes can make any outfit.

Shoe shopping is ecstatically fun! It's like treasure hunting.

Would you agree? ;)