well, it was sort of horrible, but i have finished my life in the summer san telmo loft and traded it for the DEAD OF WINTER here in chicago... and i know you are thinking: is this girl crazy?
but i find that the time does always naturally come to close a chapter and continue on to a new one. i will miss my little loft family and my jogging route through san telmo, i'll miss my cooking lessons and even the sleepless madrugadas. i will mostly miss mauri.
at least my family is here to celebrate the new year with me! it truly takes seeing the people who know me best to realize how i've changed in my absence. and anyway, better get used to this windy city: i will be starting a new life here in chicago in march!

these duckies were on parade at the bosques de palermo today! cuak cuak~

the sun is hot and heavy but nonetheless, it is christmas time in buenos aires too! and even though decorated trees and hanging wreaths seems a little out of place with no snow, summer christmas is lovely as can be! maybe papa noel's gonna come with shorts and a tan?

thought i'd experiment with posting some videos today...
when i travel i love to take dance classes~ dance can define a culture and argentina is definitely no exception. tango, the national dance, is sultry and passionate and proud, just like the argentinos.
the first video is from my salsa class that i've been attending for a few months, and the second is from my first tango class (many more to come!!).

the colony on the river

went to colonia, uruguay for the day and this is what i found:

la selva:





el rio de la plata:





y la costa:

pa-pa-paparazzi

it's good to be a friend of the staff at lost/shake, the boliche here in bs as where my roommate leo works as a publicist. can you say vip, every week?

the most dangerous discovery:

they've been fixing our roof basically since we moved in, and today woke mauri and me up at 5:30 AM (whaaaat?). cranky and hungry, we stumbled upon the most dangerous discovery for anyone trying to stick to a diet (which i am) (kind of). facturas are argentine pastries, baked fresh every morning at the hundreds of bakeries in the city. and they DELIVER!!! good-byyyye diet!

out of that orange-colored view

didn't edit any of these photos at all. convinced that this city is magic

splish splash!

just had to share these ridiculously adorable photos of puflo's bath in the bidet!

the best thing about the international travel community is that no goodbye is ever final, that you are bound to cross paths with dear friends somewhere down the road- the only questions are when and where!
steph and i met in seoul back in 2007, but she's been staying with us here in the loft for the past month! it has been such a joy spending time with her, a true kindred spirit and role model of mine. stephy, thank you for sharing your wisdom and buena onda with me- i can't wait to see where in the world we meet next!