You know how your hair gets all boring, flat and dull during the winter? Ugh I hate dull hair. My hair is my favorite asset to be honest; I just love my long and sexy vixen hair. Grrrrrr 🙂 No matter what else is bugging me that … Continue reading
The past couple of years have been an exploratory phase in my life where my right brain has been fighting to overpower the left side of my brain in a quest to bring more creativity to my life. Needless to … Continue reading
Someone sent me these tiny little monsters and I ate them all.
I must comply with this week’s photo challenge so I am sharing my favorite selfie with the love of my life.
These vintage 1970s Corning Ware menu-ette and casserole dish in the Spice of Life pattern with the French lettering are simply dreamy! If you are anything like me and enjoy cooking and like having good quality but also pretty cookware these are … Continue reading
In my mind I’m free. In my mind I don’t belong in the corporate world, stuck in an office behind a desk. In my mind I look like this right now, somewhere in the Southern France, riding my white bicycle … Continue reading
One more week until I get to say I DO to the love of my life in Paris! Some say weddings are stressful but I am determined to have a carefree one full of love and fun!
Nothing screams hot summer days than gold glittery nail polish!! It doesn’t get any girlier than this!
This made my morning and got me all teary. What an awesome post by a father to Ellen DeGeneres! There is truly no bond like a father-daughter bond. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this message reaches Ellen and the … Continue reading
Ahhh I die when I think of this tea set!! It sold already and I miss it! I found this beautiful Chinese tea set while visiting family up in Northern California. My soon to be beautiful sister-in-law Christina took us … Continue reading
If you’ve never had Israeli couscous you must definitely give it a chance! It’s one of those things that may appeal to many as in itself it’s tasteless. But because of that it’s extremely versatile, just like any other pasta as that’s … Continue reading
Have you noticed how we tend to have really easy, small conversations with our usual circle of friends? You know “oh girl, today work was insane” or “I can’t believe he hasn’t called yet” or “Oh dude, have you seen the new … Continue reading
My experience with working out is an on-going love-hate affair. Mostly hate. It’s a continuous attempt that has me going mad with fury! While growing up in a communist and post-communist environment there were no gyms or much of a … Continue reading
My experience with working out is an on-going love-hate affair. Mostly hate. It’s a continuous attempt that has me going mad with fury! While growing up in a communist and post-communist environment there were no gyms or much of a … Continue reading
So let me tell you what happened after Pony Express. There is an old book store that we discovered the first time we went there and which was on my Idyllwild-must-go-to-list. In true Idyllwild fashion, books were arranged by the … Continue reading
So here we are, in the beautiful, rural, little piece of heaven called Idyllwild, CA – population 3,500!
After a lovely lunch at Cafe Aroma, we ventured off in the wild – literally – and came across this store called the Pony Express. It just sounded dirty to me so I had to go in. Turned out to be the creepiest little place ever. Loved it! Hahaha here’s why:
These, I promise, were the words of this man while trying to convince me I must give him a chance and let him take me out. And now we’re getting married in seven months!!! 🙂 So yes, looking beyond what … Continue reading
Last night we decided that we wanted to get away from the city for the weekend and started looking for places to go to. We wanted something close where we could drive. Hmmm after a couple of hours of research … Continue reading
I found this on Pinterest and I had to share!! lol
Like everyone else out there I came out of the holidays with fuller cheeks and a rounder butt so I’m being a little more careful about my calorie intake these days. The other day I made this amazingly delicious flatbread … Continue reading
This morning I realized that I couldn’t remember what the layout my of blog looked like! That’s how long it’s been since I’ve been on here. So sad! To my defense, I’ve been helping my fiancé write and manage his … Continue reading
Green is actually one of my favorite colors and when I think of color I think of fashion! I think of the softness of the fabric, the amazing sense of beauty we feel when we’re fashionable, and the confidence it gives us! And with that in mind, isn’t this bow tie exquisite?
xoxo
As promised, here’s an update on my fiance’s quest to grow a mustache in support of Movember. So here he is today, November 12, after shaving the rest of his facial hair. I have to say I’m impressed, looks rather full for 12 days!
The Tintin inspired hairdo is a bonus =))
So here’s to 18 more days of painful kissing, kids!!
And if you haven’t joined the Movember movement yet please check them out at http://us.movember.com and grow a mustache…unless you’re a girl in which case please don’t! Just make a donation to support all the men in your life.
My grandma used to grow tarragon in her garden and while I distinctively remember tarragon’s very particular taste I can’t seem to remember what she would make with it. I haven’t had tarragon in many years until I recently came … Continue reading
Ah, the beautiful and sweet pomegranate! How exotic, how different and unlike any other fruit! And yet, in my opinion, the pomegranate is a bit of an underdog of the world of fruit! And I LOVE fruit! I first saw … Continue reading
I won’t claim to understand how deep and close men’ friendships can be but I’m willing to bet that they’re nowhere near as glued as The Sisterhood! Girls will forever be girls and there’s nothing more girly than girls talking. … Continue reading
I believe that rules and boundaries are meant to be pushed and sometimes broken. Not the ones that hurt us emotionally or that have the potential of putting us behind bars but the ones that society puts in place in the name of the “natural order of things“. You know, like the concept that the pantsuit was “inappropriately masculine clothing for women”. Then came Yves Saint-Lauren who in 1966 introduced his Le Smoking, an evening pantsuit for women that mimicked a man’s tuxedo. What a triumph! What a success!
And today, everyday, you see men proudly sporting murses, man-scarves, mandals, etc. J Et voilà, if they can wear my stuff then I can wear their bow ties too! 
These guys melt my heart every single day with just one look, one scratch, one bark. I simply adore them. Here they are: Mushu and Wally, also known as the Humpor and the Humpee.
I was telling you earlier that I’ve bee a little busy lately and I started by telling you about the scavenger hunt we’ve done. Well, we did lots of other stuff, like a 5K obstacle course at the Marine Corps … Continue reading
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been on here. At least I’m staying true to myself – the self-proclaimed queen of hobbies, completely sidetracked by a million of things. I own it though: I have the attention span of a 5 year old! Eh, I am who I am.
This time I blame my absence on so many things. Where do I even start?! Well I’ll start with the little but fun events. First, Immanuel and I did our first scavenger hunt. Oh man, if you’ve never done one you should try it! So much fun! We tried the CityScape Adventures (www.cityscape-adventures.com) which turned out to be a web of 12 puzzles and challenges in a citywide race to the finish line. So awesome!! Of course, it turned out to be on the hottest day of the year! We basically had to show up in teams of 2, in costumes (we were The Newlyweds), and were allowed to have a smartphone on us and about $10 each. The rest was all a mystery. So noon comes around and we’re all handed a piece of paper which listed about 8 or 9 challenges and riddles which we had to complete in any order we wanted. The remainder of the challenges were sent to us by text message from different locations, which of course we had to figure out. So much fun! And it was a good workout – we ran/walked about 7 miles all around town to solve and collect clues.
We finished in 02:09! We didn’t win the first, or second, or third place. Not even the 10th for that matter! Nor the costume contest! Booooooo:( But we spent the most amazing day. And now I know my city even better. Here are some shots from the race:
My boyfriend, Immanuel, walking our dog Mushu on a rainy day. Can you tell Mushu is a California baby? He doesn’t do well in the rain! lol
Gone to Palm Springs to enjoy a long, hot, and wet weekend with the beautiful people!! Will report back with juicy details!
Happy Labor Day weekend, kids!! Be wild! 🙂
XOXO
I have finally recovered from the Murder Mystery Dinner Party we hosted last Saturday. It was obviously an amazing dinner party, if I may say so myself:) But it took me almost 4 days to get over the nausea and headaches. Eek! Getting drunk at *** is definitely not the same as getting drunk at 25! Nope, recovery time is just ridiculous. It’s like for every 3 years you get an extra day of nausea, migraines and pain in places you didn’t know could hurt. But the champagne+vodka+pomegranate shooters were amazing so no, I have not learned any lesson this time either. I will do this again. Soon, I’m sure.
So if you’ve read my previous posts you know that I’m completely obsessed with murder mystery books and movies so I’ve been counting down the days for this party for weeks! But I never thought it would turn out so much fun! First of all, I want to thank all of our guests for getting all pimped out for the party. We had a 1930s theme and the outfits blew my mind! Ok so 1930s fashion was kind of gross so everybody seems to have found comfort in the 1920s fashion instead. And I must say that all the ladies looked smoking hot!!! Guys too but the girls totally took the theme very seriously and passionately put together amazingly accessorized outfits, from silky, flapper dresses, to veils, gloves, and long cigarette holders, to intricate wavy hairdos.
Now the plot:
One by one the Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, Barons, Knights and their beautiful Ladies made their entrance and were greeted upon their arrival at The Manor by Sir Immanuel and Lady Anda.
Sir Immanuel and Lady Anda
By the end of the evening it was clear that among such distinguished guests a few clever outlaws had somehow made their way into the Manor and infiltrated the nobility. Music was played and wine and cocktails were consumed. And then, when no one was expecting it, the lights went out and BAM! Sir Immanuel collapsed to the floor! Some Ladies scream in horror, others faint while the gentlemen gather around the body laying on the floor and declare him dead. Just like that. Lady Anda is grief stricken and cannot be comforted. And then, out of nowhere, a certain character arises and takes charge over the situation.
“No one move a muscle. Don’t touch this man! I am the Great Bogdan, you are lucky I have come to this party. Even though I have only been a detective for a week I have solved thousands of murders…and all of you are now suspects. “
Everyone is now starring at the Great Bogdan as it is clear right away that the man is a bit off his rocker. Was it the alcohol that was making the man incoherent? Or was it something else? No one knew the man claiming to be a detective yet one by one they answered the poignant questions while he was obviously conducting an impromptu murder investigation. He goes on to say that the situation reminds him of a time when he was a child growing up in Cuba. Or was it Alaska? No one could tell for certain what the man was saying. He then proceeded to eliminate suspects based on the first letter of their names. Then by the color of their clothes.
“Madness”, cries Lady Anda! “This is just madness. I want justice for my beloved!”
The Great Bogdan is now even more zealous and determined to find the killer and appease Lady Anda’s agitation. He goes on a rampage about people’s whereabouts just before arriving at The Manor. He’s claiming to have gotten his information from Facebook. Everybody is bewildered – what is this Facebook the detective is speaking of? And how does he know about all these so called” check-ins”?
“But how was he killed?” cries Lady Anda. “Was he stabbed, shot, poisoned?”
The Detective now is building his theory around poisoning by pesticides. Sir Immanuel was drinking out of a cup when he collapsed. “It must have been poison”, declares the Great Bogdan. And then he sees something shiny peering from under the couch. He digs and finds a knife. “Aha, I’ve been looking for a knife all night to cut the cheese”! Silence in the room. The guests are in shock; had this man gone completely mad?
And then………Sir Immanuel’s body is moving. Some Ladies scream in horror again, others faint. “What happened? says Sir Immanuel looking around the room. “I think I passed out from something.”
All eyes are on the Great Bogdan who all of a sudden looks uncomfortable and embarrassed.
“You see he is not dead!
How come no one checked to see if he was alive?!
I must go.”
The lights come back up.
=== THE END ===
Well kids, that was the plot according to the script. In reality, the Great Bogdan had a very thick Eastern European accent and was giggling all through the script making everybody around the room laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes (or perhaps their eyes were just glossy from the alcohol). Either way, it has hysterical. Oh and during the murder investigation the dead man’s body kept changing positions as his body was getting numb against the wood floor I guess. Not to mention that he fell to the floor with his drink in his hand which never spilled but it did get emptied out by the time he came back to life.
And here are the suspects:
My BFF in the whole wide world lives in Las Vegas and today she’s coming to visit! Yayyy!! Anca and I go back a looooong time – too long to mention. Yes, yes, we’re Anda and Anca. We’re like an old married couple by now; an old, well-synched friendship machine! You know how girls are: we cry, laugh, fight, hug, shop, drink and drop together. So this weekend I am ecstatic to have her here with me for 4 whole days! Which translates to 3 nights of sleeping on the couch for my boyfriend and the dogs:) I’m lucky that way, my boyfriend is the most understanding man and a real gentleman. Can’t remember if I told him about the couch situation yet though. If I didn’t….thank you babe, I know you’re reading this!! 🙂
Anyways, she’s coming over this weekend to attend the Murder Mystery dinner party we’re hosting on Saturday. Omigod omigod omigod I’m so excited! First thing on the agenda is shopping for 1930s dresses because the dinner party is themed as such. Big disappointment to see what 1930s fashion looked like…umm really not flattering to short girls. I mean what was up with that horrific length and all those long, loose ruffles? Just Google 1930s fashion and you’ll see what I mean. Ugh terrible. I mean, if you’re tall and have no curves then I’m sure you could pull it off. But I’m a hobbit and long skirts are just hideous on me and make me look even shorter and rather square. Blah! And then the hair; good lord! It was all flat and close to the head with finger waves. I am not dressing up like an old spinster, let’s just make that clear!
Spinsterhood alert! Must avoid at all cost!
So I will need to come up with something clever. Nothing comes to mind right now. But I will follow up with photos and details from the dinner party. Stay tuned kids!
Where Earth and Sea creatures meet!
About a couple of weeks ago I was telling you about Wally aka The Humpee, the foster dog that’s been living with us for a few weeks. We dropped him off to an adoption event recently and in our hearts we knew he would get adopted right away and we’d never see him again. Wrrrong! He’s back!!! I’m happy to have him back; he’s simply adorable. But nowhere near as happy as my boyfriend – I thought I could hear his jaw bones crack that’s how big his smile was! You see, Mushu is my baby and like any other loyal dog he has taken some of my personality traits, like being laid back and fairly uninterested in activities that require too much physical effort. Like walking. And there you have Wally who is the size of an overweight peanut and who has the same level of energy as my boyfriend and could be soul mates. My boyfriend wakes up at 5am every day. So does Wally. My boyfriend likes to run. So does Wally. My boyfriend like to go to the beach and get wet and dirty. So does Wally. While me and Mushu relax on a blanket reading a book under an umbrella and the protective layer of Dove SPF 500. I now understand why most couples want to have two kids. It’s only fair.
So welcome back home, Wally! You’ve made my boyfriend a very, very happy man which lets the pressure off me for a couple of days:)
The biggest social event of the year in our area is the opening day at the horse races. It’s really cool…the first couple of times you go. Then it’s just blah. You know, you get over the old Barbie’s and Ken’s that refuse to admit they’re aging and they show up wearing their kids’ clothes or they bejewel everything with rhinestones. Not cool, dudes, not cool. Anyways, so aside from the opening day which can be quite a hassle, the horse races are a really cool thing to do with friends on a weekend. Today we went – five hours later we’re home all bloated and with our feet up in the air. The fairgrounds is one of those places where all nutrition rules go out the window; you eat huge, juicy burgers, garlic fries, big sausages with smelly sauerkraut, and you wash them all down with beers and margaritas. So we did just that! Yummo!
Now let me tell you about the fun and guilt free part: the betting! We bet on 5 races – I’d like to say that they were informed bets but no, not at all. It is my personal opinion that most people place bets based on the degree of weirdness of the horse’s name. If you haven’t been to a horse race before, let me show what I mean – these are the horses 
I bet on today: Floating Feather, Cat on Base, Affrettando, Jolly Joseph, Miss Lady Ellen, Conkate, Gab Power, and Forest Boy. Oh, I’m sorry, not weird enough for you? Here’s some more: Cherokee Heaven, Best Present Ever, Long Face, My Gi Gi, Cozze Up Lady, Quiet Advice, Colonel Mustard, Pop The Cork, Boo Who Hoo, Gnarly Dude, etc. Get the idea? Then you have to read the odds. It’s really not easy to read all those numbers which, by the way, change constantly and by the time the race starts they can be completely opposite from what they were when you made your bet. It’s simply a complicated process and for $2 bets who cares?! Because that’s what most people bet on a race, anywhere from $2-$4. Oh and when you’ve finally picked out a name that in some twisted way resonates with you, you must then decide what kind of bet you want to make. Because there’s like 11 or 12 of them and their names are just as maddening: trifecta, exacta, quinella, superfecta, show, place, etc. And, of course, you can then make a combination of all these bets into one single bet! At this point the name is completely unpronounceable. Are you still following? Because unless you’re willing to lose your home with the bet this is exhausting!! And, of course, everyone is betting on the favorite so no one really wins much.
But at the end of the day this is an awesome way to spend a beautiful, sunny summer day! And we came home with all of our winnings. All $7 of them! 🙂 The hardest $7 I ever had to make!
Lately I found no time to write. My life sometimes goes 100 mph! I’m not complaining – I’m having a blast, it’s just hard to find time to relax my mind for a few minutes sometimes. Today, however, I found a couple of hours of sweet nothing-to-do so here I am. Today started on a sad note, though. We’ve been fostering this sweet shelter doggie named Wally for the past few weeks and we’ve fallen in love with the little bugger. He is an amazing dog!!
The Humpee
So cute, so sweet, and so smart. He’s so sweet that he doesn’t even get mad when my mini-poodle Mushu humps the bejesus out of him. He just sits there and gives him this look that seems to say “go ahead, I understand, it’s your territory”. But today I had to drop him off to the rescue for an adoption event.
The Humpor (lol)
Looks like they already got an application for him and he may be on his way to a permanent home. I’m sooooo broken hearted and sad! I looooove him! He’s melted my heart. I wish I had a big house with a big yard so I could keep him. But I’m glad that we were able to help him when in need.
On a happier note, we’ve been trying some new things lately. Let’s start with line dancing. Yup, we went line dancing in Southern California:) I figured it couldn’t be that difficult….it was a disaster!! Picture Dracula’s granddaughter meets Daisy Dukes. I’ve never been to Georgia but I’ve seen Daisy Dukes just like you guys most likely saw Van Helsing. That’s right, nothing to do with each other. Me and line dancing will probably never happen and I’ve come to terms with it. So then we took a salsa class. During the class I was actually pretty good at following directions and memorizing steps and movements. Couldn’t really understand what the instructor was saying – she had a very thick accent. All I kept hearing was basil leaf this, basil leaf that! I think she meant “basic lean”:) Anyways, once the music started and we tried moving to the rhythm we realized that we both sucked. What do you know, hips do lie! Stiff as two robots.But we are having the time of our life!! We’ve been having so much fun together it’s madness!! Here’s a few snapshots that need no words:
As I sit on my couch watching TMZ and sipping a glass of red wine while waiting for my boyfriend to come home with the tomatoes that I need to finish my dinner salad, I’m trying to think of a new topic for my blog. And just now….big slap across my forehead! Yes, alcohol! I might as well keep the momentum going (see my tribute to vodka below). So I figured right now is just as good as any other time to reveal to my readers (and to my kids that I don’t currently have but hope to have one day) that I loooooove alcohol. Yup, mommy’s a lush! Ok so I’m no alcoholic but I honestly can’t imagine life without wine, beer, whiskey, or any kind of cocktail out there! I mean, omigod, how can one live without the simple joy of a nice red glass of wine over dinner, or a nice cold foamy beer on a sunny day at the beach, or 5 cocktails on any given Saturday night? Preposterous, I say!! Life would be so empty and depressing. Plus, I don’t really trust people who don’t have a visible vice such social drinking or a Facebook addition. Unless they’re a recovering alcoholic in which case….dude, awesome job at staying sober but, oh man, sucks to be you on a Friday night.
Anyways, so here’s the deal: I grew up in a place where if you’re old enough to find your way to a bar then you’re old enough to drink. No questions asked. Today I believe the notion of “liability” may have hit the market and things may be different. But back in the early 90s you could just walk yourself into a bar and order whatever. The key was in finding the courage to walk into a super crowded and smoky bar. And reach the top of the bar to order, of course. So there I was, probably about 14 or 15 having my first drink. Eww I will never forget it: banana liquor. So gross it makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it so many year after. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was living in Belgium at the time but was in Romania vacationing at my grandparents’ house, about an hour South of Bucharest. My brother and I went out one night with a bunch of our friends at this place we all called Maria’s (in Romanian that would be La Maria – cracking up just thinking about it since Maria was actually a man). So anyways, Maria was one of the very first men in that small town to build a bar business – on the street level he operated a small convenience store and right underneath it there was this tiny little room with concrete walls and completely empty where kids would bring a stereo and cassette tapes, and get the party started. And we danced and drank and had the time of our lives. This was about 20 years ago and yet I can so clearly see those images in front of my eyes like it was yesterday. Oh man, the heavy metal ballads were so in at that time! We used to slow dance on Whitesnake’s When the Children Cry and rock PM Dawn’s When It’s Raining Cats and Dogs. Yup! And there were a bunch of us, both girls and guys anywhere from 14 to 20 something year olds, from various backgrounds but united in our goal: to experience uncensored fun. And we did! Oh yes, we did. Most of my posse still lives in that beautiful little town and are now married to each other and have beautiful babies. And I see pictures of their kids on Facebook and they remind me of us as some of these kids are the spitting image of their mothers and fathers. Except most likely they won’t get to drink before 18 and definitely won’t get to dance to When the Children Cry in a dark, empty basement La Maria.
So to all my childhood friends out there who gave me the most amazing childhood memories and helped me grow into who I am today I say “I love you guys”!
Awe, now I’m all mushy and sentimental:(
I still love bananas just not in liquid form
Here’s an interesting personal fact: I hate vodka. Strange fact for a full bred Eastern European (or a Commie as my boyfriend’s friends refer to me as), isn’t it? I mean, think about it, I grew up in communist and post-communist Romania where one of the most popular ways to get warmed up during the cold, harsh winters – like 6 months of the year! – was to drink yourself into oblivion. And with the borders closed for the longest time there was no Jameson, Johnnie Walker or Jack Daniel’s. Noe, noe, noe! Even vodka was scarce. So Romanians made their own traditional spirit called tuica (pronounced tzuika) which is really just moonshine on steroids. I remember visiting my grandparents as a child and waking up in the morning all high on the tuica fumes coming from the kitchen! Ahh those were the days of my life, kids! I can still see my grandpa sitting on a little wooden chair watching the kettle boil really slow and drip one little drop at a time into a teeny tiny bottle. And he would have this amaaazing smile on his face!!! He loved making tuica and I miss him terribly:(
Anyways, the point of the story is this: the women of Romania used tuica as a natural remedy for the flu and sore throats and I brought this crazy witchcraft back with me to Southern California! Yup, and my boyfriend got to experience it not once, but twice! What you need to know about my boyfriend is that he does not take medicine. Of any 
sort! The most he’ll take is vitamin gummy bears. And yes, this is a grown man I’m talking about. So one time he got the flu and was feeling really miserable so I figured I’d do my commie magic and brought out the vodka bottles (have not gone as far as making my tuica yet)! I remembered my grandma rubbing my feet and head with tuica and then putting on woolen socks and a beanie, and tucking me under a few layers of homemade goose blankets, so I told my boyfriend I was going to nurse him to back to health in no time! He rejected the idea of having his head drenched in vodka but agreed to let me do it to his feet.
And then, a few weeks later he woke up with a sore throat and I instantly went into my commie nurse mode. I rapidly sliced a potato and placed the slices on a scarf (I though orange was the most flattering to his skin tone), poured a LOT of vodka on them and wrapped the whole thing around his neck. A photo is worth a thousand words so please enjoy!
PS – They both worked!!!
So I’ve been struggling with branding this blog. I’ve researched the world of personal blogging and I must bow to all the blog kings and queens out there. Of course, I’m 10 years behind having just discovered blogging but still. Holly molly, some of these blogs are amazingly branded. One click and someone’s world virtually opens in front of your eyes and you get pulled into the day to day adventures of all the Anda’s of the world. From dating, to photography, to parenthood, to raising rabbits. Incredible! But what’s really amazing to me is how some of these people have managed to brand their own personal lives turning them into profitable businesses – some with outside help, others with a natural flair for selling thoughts. Of course, I’m referring to the really good blogs out there; there’s also tons of cybercrap floating around but I strongly believe my crap floats higher than theirs! It may not be, but I believe it is. And if I believe it, it must be.
My struggle laid in the fact that my interests don’t really last long as I constantly crave something new in my life – as I said on the About Me page my hobby is a hobby for hobbies. Well that’s a pickle, I thought!
My girl Camille and I getting a taste of what it feels like to be tall!
And then I realized that the only constant in my life is simply ME. I follow me everywhere! So my blog is not about anything in particular – this is not a business or a marketing tool for anything that I craft or sell (not that I would have any talent to craft anything anyway). It’s simply about me and my life, with good and bad, funny and sad. Long term I hope this will serve as a portal into my life for my children (I want them to know that their mom could keep up with the best cab drivers out there and drop f bombs like nobody’s business while wearing Banana Republic capris). Short term this will be a creative outlet for me and a way for my family across the pond to keep up with my adventures.
Hercule Poirot, the greatest of them all
Those who know me well know that I am totally obsessed with Hercule Poirot, the greatest detective in literature (sorry, Sherlock). I just adore the little man! I own all his stories and I’m currently working on building my DVD collection as well (David Suchet is a God!!). If I could invent a time machine I would first use it to go back and bribe Agatha Christie to write 500 more stories for him. I say bribe because story has it that she found Poirot “insufferable“, and a “detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep“. He was all these things, yes, but I love him!!! Truthfully the man was a freak: he kept a bank balance of 444 pounds, 4 shillings, and 4 pence, ate 2 eggs at a time which had to be the exact same size, he manscaped his moustache religiously, went coucou at the sight of a speck of dust, and was comically immodest (to which I say: Bravo, mon ami! – he had the little grey cells to back that up). Insufferable or not, Papa Poirot became the only fictional character in history to be honored with an obituary on the front of The New York Times (again, sorry Sherlock)!
I’m a big reader but I have to admit that the other classics never did much for me. I know, terrible. But I tried. I tried the Russians, the French, the Romanian, the English, the American, etc. and they just bore me. That’s not to take anything away from them – amazing writing, just not entertaining enough for me. For me classic English murder mysteries always did the trick. And they continue to float my boat every day. I’m constantly watching murder mystery series on Netflix; and I mean constantly! And they’re all British, and sinister, and I make my boyfriend watch them with me in exchange of a nice cooked meal. 10 months into our relationship I am happy to report that he has genuinely found love for Hercule which to me means that I finally kissed the right frog. Just yesterday he announced he will be hosting a Murder Mystery party for us next month. Omigod, I’m so excited I can barely suppress my squeaking! He’s doing the whole thing, from writing a script, to engaging a narrator and an accomplice to act as the murderer. We’ll be Sir Immanuel and Lady Anda and the dinner will be hosted at our Southern California highrise condo also known as The Manor for the purpose of this dinner. The details are being kept secret by Sir Immanuel so not much to share at this time but will come back in a month or so with pictures and juicy details.
So to honor my beloved Papa Poirot I am going to attempt to bring to life one of his female companions. I was thinking of Miss Lemon but he describes her as Unbelievably ugly and incredibly efficient so that’s a no no. Any suggestions? I’m willing to expand outside the Poirot series – just don’t suggest I do Miss Marple, she was 100 years old!
Doh! I was so excited and nervous about writing my first post that I now realize I’ve completely forgotten to tell you the origin of that infamous FLT85. So here it is: I come from a faraway land in the South-East part of Europe named Romania or as commonly known in North America “where Dracula and gymnasts come from“. I tell everyone who asks me if I’m a gymnast that I’m indeed stiff as a board and not to waste their time as the pretzel will never happen! And then inevitably I’m asked about Dracula. When that happens I pretty much always think of all the money my mother spent in my teenage years on private tutors to properly educate me on Romanian history, which would have been better spent on shoes and bags because those would have at least lasted me a while. My memory of Romanian rules did not – it faded about an hour after each tutoring session. Way too many rulers, wars and empires! Ugh, history was my highschool terror! ! But that’s the downside of the Old Continent, too much history to memorize. So anyways, I was born and raised in Romania which is a beautiful country by the Black Sea where girls are pretty and the food amazing (but totally fattening)! Needless to say these days I’m all Californianized so I eat a lot of salads and barely any meat. A sad existence, I know 😦 But the tradeoff is really good though – I look younger and prettier (yes, yes, modesty is overrated) than I did in my 20s and I have a gorgeous younger boyfriend to prove it! So Dracula, you can suck it! Literally! 🙂
What people think he looked like and what he really looked like!
If I’m to pick one thing that’s been constant in my life so far, aside from my amazing family of course, I must go with my BFF Anca. I know I know, Anca…Anda…who named us, right? Well to make things even more ridiculous her sister is named Ana so the three of us going out together has always been a riot. The three of us have known each other since Anca and I were in our early teenage years. My BBF and I bonded right away and become inseparable – in our single days we used to joke about ourselves as being a promotional package – you buy one you get one free. Needless to say we were the cause of some girl-on-girl fantasies for a lot of adolescent boys. But to set the record straight: we never went that way. Word! So when my BFF moved to Las Vegas I suddenly found myself feeling lonely and incomplete. Who was I going to get lunch with? Or party with? Or drive to work every morning since my BFF couldn’t be trusted to drive a car around Bucharest at the time. Terrifying. But like the lyrics of a gypsy song we used to listen to back in the day we seemed to be “united in our destinies” as a couple of years later life put me on a plane to Vegas. The story behind how I got to that point is now irrelevant though at the time it really seemed to be a fairytale. But I digress, back to my flight. It is now 2012 and I can’t for the life of me remember the flight number because I really wanted to use it as my blog title. Instead, I’m using the number 85 which is the birth year of my boyfriend – that’s a separate story to come soon. So there, FLT 85 is the symbol of what I call my Second Life, the life that started on the evening of March 10, 2004 when my flight landed in Las Vegas. Or March 14, I can’t really remember 🙂
My BFF and I @ Whiskey Bar circa 2004
House Of Andaloo 