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Poochy Visa Tantra curled up in my moroccan jalabeya when I took it off, and then fell asleep -- how cute is that? She always does it, & I always miss it when I go away, which made me wonder, does a dog need a visa to travel? We'll find out tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, it looks like I'm coming down with a cold, perfect timing to royally ruin my weekend, non? -- I was thinking of spending my time near my grandmother who's currently being hospitalized after experiencing a stroke, but I wonder if her immunity level can tolerate a flu? My gut feeling, no. Let's see what becomes of this until the morning, night night Labels: Poochy Mamma $5 in my moola box | link | email this post Antiquette       For a short fashionable stay in Paris suiting of Paris Fashion Week, Hotel du Petit Moulin was the right place to be; the signature Christian Lacroix colors and patterns were all over the place, but I stress, a short stay. After two days, my red room got the best of me, a far stretch from the tranquility of my room at the manoir in the south of france; so I decided to cut the stay short & move into a toned-down place with lots of Parisian character tucked away in the artists' district in Paris -a new favorite for low-key hassle-free visits <3 Hotel hopping aside, my most recent visit to Paris marks a new high: I managed to get my hands on two fabulously rare finds: A gorgeous, oh-so-gorgeous antique chair with a story of it's own, & sterling silver dome plate covers (a set of 2) The story of the chair started about one year ago, when I was surfing the internet for colors of house-paints, I came across a photo of a rather unusual and extremely delicate very-uniquely designed chair -- it was love at first sight. I didn't know the make, and I didn't know where I could find one, but I just loved it, so I saved it's photo on my desktop.. and every now and then I'd allow myself to indulge in glimpses of the object of my desire, but never imagined I'd acquire. On a Saturday the 27th, I decided to go to Paris' antique market -- I head so much about the place and just wanted to have a look to satisfy my curiosity, Naima and I went with no intention of making a purchase 'just to look' we sort of convinced ourselves. After just 2 minutes of walking into the market, my eyes fell upon a beauty I knew so well - I couldn't believe it! There it was, MY chair, painted with a queer shade of Flamant's green, obviously whoever tried to paint it didn't like the end result and tried to scrape it off (which in my opinion made it look all the better) I didn't know who sold it, and I didn't know its price tag, but I had to have it and that was non-negotiable. The price tag was slightly more than what I had estimated, but below what I was willing to part with. The seller must have seen how much I wanted it in my eyes (they spoke plenty) & refused to go 1 euro below the selling price (Joy!) -- But somehow (& with the help of Naima) I managed to buy it for a little less than it's original price tag. I nearly grew wings of happiness, I had no idea how I'd ship it home, or how it would be transported to the hotel, everything was secondary at that stage, I would worry about everything later.. now, it's just me & my dream chair. I bought it. ..& had it sent to the hotel, where the concierge packaged it for shipping. Having said that, I didn't have the heart to send it out with a courier company, instead, I put it with me on the plane (seriously!) in the luggage compartment of course, but it felt good to know that the two of us would go home together =) The sterling silver dome plate covers I came across the following day at a fabulous silver seller at the brocante, the seller's display stood out with all the silver everywhere -- the pieces stood out, but I had to think it over. After two hours of nit-picking the brocante, and only 1 hour before departure time to my flight, I knew I couldn't go home without them. Somehow I would have to find the space to pack them, even if that meant taking them through the metal detectors at CDG Airport lol Thankfully, my not-so-little miracle (Naima) found the solution, one more time. I didn't have to bother about spacing nor transportation, she just found her own way of making it happen <3 I *heart* Naima Labels: Deco, Domestic Goddess, Travel $5 in my moola box | link | email this post Twittering in Paris Apparently, I'm more active on Twitter and TwitPic than on my blog. But.. If I tell you my Paris hotels adventures, ..you would understand. And.. If I tell you that I have plenty, plennnnnnty of photos to post, ..you'll forgive the absence. Now, I'm about to board a flight back home. A bientot x Labels: Travel $4 in my moola box | link | email this post Les Coquelicots Dans Le Jardin           Labels: Photo speech $2 in my moola box | link | email this post Cherry Picking   A few from the top of the cherry tree   Jean-Luc holds a couple of cherries for me  Naïma climbs the tree too lol, a lot higher than me  My crop lol   When was the last time you climbed a tree? ..Or the first? When I was a child, I never bothered with climbing trees.. perhaps because I was a tiny child (up until I turned 12) or maybe just because I never thought of it, but there's a first for everything, non? This weekend, I climbed Jeanne's cherry tree in the backyard, the novelty of the action and the view made me not want to go back down; slowly filling the basket and my mouth with sugar-sweet fresh cherries that tasted like heaven. That was our dessert after lunch. I shouldn't have done it, I now don't want to stop lol Labels: La Dolce Vita, Travel $10 in my moola box | link | email this post Save the Queen     Source: The Guardian   Source: Dailymail Sporting Tantra in my rouge Birkin, Naima & I exhausted a couple of rounds on 9mm pistol shooting at the Caracal range in Abu Dhabi. Fabulous, to say the least. My score, however, was a far cry of despair compared to what I used to score three years ago, my bad. I put pistol shooting on pause for the past 3 years, mainly because it had lost it's novelty, and lack of competition combined with an escalating ladder of responsibilities at work left me little room to practice and landed me a not-bad-but-not-satisfactory-either result of 89%. It was the biggest ego deflator, the worst part of it? my colleagues where there to witness it lol Whilst waiting in the gallery for my turn, a group of men who sat by one another having a conversation as they waited for their turns too, I couldn't help but notice how girl-conversations differ (I wasn't evesdropping, they were just plain loud). And omy? Men, are so much funnier than girls! Despite the fact that my colleagues and I were quite far away, I had to constantly bite my lower lip to inflict pain to restrain my laughter, they were just hilarious! I kept tik-tiking away on my blackberry, looking like my life depended on it (well.. it does, in a way) tweeting and msging loulou simultaneously. Anyways, I read an announcement that's keeping me on my toes till next September; Mansour bin Zayed brings the British Queen's Household Cavalry to Abu Dhabi at the hunting exhibition in September. Brilliant! One of the many reasons why we love Mansoor <3 -- Read full story. The Household Cavalry is a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state. (read more here) -- My trainer had been invited by the household cavalry a few years ago, and when I saw the photos, I remember thinking: those horses are fabulously beautified! Everything was paid attention to, ..to the smallest details. The bridles, the bits, the saddles, ..everything! Absolutely gorgeous <3 Cheering for more horsie events in Abu Dhabi and signed with love, lots of love x Labels: Birkin, Pony Tales $4 in my moola box | link | email this post The Gold Hammer I love lol! $3 in my moola box | link | email this post Out With The Testosterone, In With The Progesterone          My day at the spa? Heavenly. Apparently, that and a Friday strictly spent in the company of myself were all I needed to reach my equilibrium. Anantara Spa is by far my favorite in Abu Dhabi (the whole Emirates, in fact), I just love how professional their staff are, & am constantly impressed by their attention for detail. The day started with a rose petal bath, followed by 30 minutes in a steam room (confession: I did have thoughts of a gas-chamber in there lol, but quickly brushed them off), you then lie on a warm marble bed and your body is scrubbed thoroughly, over and over again before the application of a honey mask that stays put for another 20 minutes. Next, a shower before starting an hour of deep-tissue massage. I left the place with no trace of testosterone from the other day, I am finally back to equilibrium. Anantra Spa at The Emirates Palace Labels: La Dolce Vita $4 in my moola box | link | email this post Avoir un Cœur d'Artichaut  Where to start? Je ne sais pas. IB's hoof is acting up again, he's been on pediatric shoes for the past few months, it started getting better but not for long.. My poor boy, I can't stop thinking about him. The farrier suggested bare hoofs for a few days, potentially a few weeks -- *sigh* they're going to be a few very boring weeks without him, but I'll somehow find something to commit to --umm, learning how to drive cars? peut-être? Alright, let's face it, that will be a total waste of time, I'm such a lousy driver, I don't even want to try >_<; Yesterday was a mentally-consuming day for me in every sense. I don't want to elaborate on the details of it, but let's just put it this way: spending 11 hours in a room with 20 other men who are alert to making politically correct statements takes a toll on you. By the end of the evening, my mind felt numb, and.. well.. too much testosterone made me yearn for all things feminine. I came back home and signed up for a moroccan bath courtesy of Naïma, it was step #1 of my testosterone-recovery campaign lol, today, I've opted for chunky hair curls, my favorite juicy couture robe *nudge loosha*, & spending the whole day at the spa (& omg? I have to run like now) P.S. @Hend I love love looooove my necklace <3 Labels: La Dolce Vita $4 in my moola box | link | email this post Don't Stop Rolling     OMG? SERIOUSLY? I missed youuuuuuuuuuu! Terribly sorry about the down-time but it wasn't in my hands. I keep running into these glitches with my host for using up bandwidth for visitor's traffic and I never get an alert informing me of reaching the blog's quota. Alas, I'm officially on the look out for a dedicated server to host banoota.net, 10 (going on 11) years now of shared hosting, it's about time, non? To update you on the past week, well, here goes: + Did the small window bring in flying objects? Or a brighter light? - Non, pas de tout. Nada. Nothing at all. But, I'm still keeping a positive vibe, ..it will happen, it will happen.. it will. + Highlight of the week? - Lamya, Yaz, & Hamda being in Abu Dhabi (yep! All the way from Dubai x) The three of us went for a couple of rounds of 9mm Pistol Shooting at Caracal shooting range, and indulged in Vascos' chocolate souffle <3 + Anything else? - Yes, cooked mexican rice in my mimi-cocottes sans water (seriously! I didn't use a single drop of water) I've emptied a large tomatoe, stuffed it with the rice, and cooked it on mid-low temperature for a couple of hours, the rice was cooked with the natural evaporated juice of the tomatoe. I love experimenting with food. Today on my playlist, Chaka Khan's through the fire, listen to it now now noww (forget the hair lol) ..and this: $5 in my moola box | link | email this post Small Window "It's like having a farm" she said."You plant it's soil, water it, take care of it and wait in vain for your harvest, but you get nothing in return. You get so consumed in waiting that you do not step outside, nor aside.. and one day, you decide you're tired of it and give it all up -just like that. ..and you walk out only to discover that you're surrounded by all that your heart desires -everything." Objects did not fly through my small window, but nonetheless I saw a glimpse of a light.. so much more beautiful, and bears hope for positive change. I couldn't sleep last night before I found that glimpse of light, which consumed my eyes till about 4 in the morning. Sometimes, saying "No" to something you love can be the hardest thing, ..but it's doable, and when it happens, you just collect every shred of strength you've got, say the word, close your eyes, walk away and live beautifully for the rest of your days -- c'est la vie. What is this all about and what does this post (& the one before) refer to? - I'll tell you in due time. Until then, wish me a bigger, brighter, more brilliant light & many objects flying through my window x @Loosha, thank you for the inspiration @Jeanne, thank you for being an endless well of wisdom @My sister, thank you for listening, lovingly. @the toilets of our work premises, thank you for curbing my overwhelming emotional breakdown Labels: Personal Philosophy $9 in my moola box | link | email this post On Loss Today, I lost something very precious, something I fell in love with, & I'm very, very sad about it. Tomorrow night, I'll loose Jeanne, my best friend, & I will be very sad about it. Too many losses in too little time, & that's too much to handle -- I spent the evening with IB having a one-way conversation on loss, for once, he failed to get me out of my dark cloud. They say when a door shuts, a window opens; I wonder, what will my small window bring forth? $3 in my moola box | link | email this post |
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