MY MORNING CUPCAKE NIRVANA...

Put some colour in your life by eating a cupcake.

Today I woke up in the morning and I had this crazy craving for a freshly baked cupcake. So I got dressed in no time (usually it takes me forever to get out of bed) and rushed to Glyfada where few weeks back, I had discovered a small cozy shop called “I Love Cupcakes”.

Few days ago I also bought a “Giant Cupcake” to a male friend. He thanked me at least ten times and he was telling me how an awesome and fresh idea it was. Indeed, for birthdays, events, weddings etc. I think it is original to have a giant, GIANT cupcake instead of getting a classic dull cake.  

 http://www.neolaia.gr/2011/02/10/saint-valentines-contest-2011-loveneolaia/

Anyway, I parked quite in the middle of the street; there was no time to drive round and round to find a proper spot, I was too hungry. While walking, I could smell things, various chocolaty things which meant I was real close. Ow god the walk was taking forever.

Finally! I am in! There were all sorts of flavours and a very smiley young man behind the counter. While looking at all those freshly baked colourful cupcakes, the one that striked me the most was the pumpkin one. I had a taste of it and thought it was a heavenly glimpse of Halloween.

The cozy shop...

The shop is filled with positive energy without any particular effort put into the décor. The idea started when two Greek student girls, Elli and Amalia, got attracted to the cupcake places in London during their after classes shopping. 

After hours of observing, smelling and analyzing, I left the shop with a box of a dozen of cupcakes, ranging from vanilla to dark chocolate, looking like a rainbow you just want to bite into. I’ll eat one (maybe two) and I’ll give the rest to my colleagues; Truly, I just wanted to go out with lots of them and look at the sparkly frosting on top.

My very own cupcake half eaten

My day started very colourfully and I am ready to go to the office and enjoy my very own “Vanilla Nutella” cupcake along with my coffee.

And remember, one cupcake a day keeps the bad spirits away.. and the calories close.

Contact info:

Giannitsopoulou 3, Glyfada 16673

Tel.: +30 210 898 33 66

Fax: +30 210 898 33 77

www.ilovecupcake.gr

        

LONDON CALLING

London week end finally! Yup, I flew to London on Friday morning along with my two girlfriends. We thought it would be an amazing opportunity to inhale some fresh air and be far from all this hectic routine of ours back in Greece.

At home before our shopping spree

The weather is awesome. Even if I were to order sunny days from God, it won’t have been that perfect. Walking around London was so pleasant; I felt renewed from the inside as if someone got into my soul and injected a high dosage of positivity.

London calling baby indeed!

It is like being in an English version of “Sex and the City” episode where the girls go out for dinner in fancy restaurants and shop all day, laugh and take pictures on every corner of the city.

One of the things that make London so perfect is the shopping. It is everywhere, anytime, anyplace. I can almost say it frustrates me because I want to get into every shop for renewing my entire winter wardrobe. But this time, I decided to be a little bit more modest and given the fact I was all alone without my financial back up (aka: mom), I shopped few essentials but nothing unique to the 2011 Designer’s collection. Where did we shop? Everywhere from Harrods to Oxford Street. Unfortunately, we skipped Camden Town and the Portobello market.

London by night

Hyde Park isn’t usually where I would go when with friends. I don’t know why I hate walking when no shops are around. But we went either way just to see something different from the busy streets and the high buildings. It turned out to be a very relaxing afternoon. All this green around us and the calm environment was worth making the detour to the Park. I didn’t have to walk much as I preferred to pay three pounds and sit on the chairs by the lake and watch swans and ducks fighting over god-knows-what.

Walking in sunny Hyde Park 

Nature, Sun and Romance: A successful trio 

The Hyde Park Lake, the peak of relaxation

Restaurants here are so delicious. In the afternoon, in-between our shopping therapy, we had lunch at Carluccio’s, on St Christopher’s place where we had awesome Italian food and a glass of sweet Moscato. As for dinner time, we went to Umu restaurant, in Brutton Place. The latter is a Japanese restaurant famous for its modern ways to make sushi. Personally, I didn’t like the sushi that much; it was too different from the ones I am used to; but the atmosphere and the fact we were sitting at the sushi counter watching the little Japanese guys cutting the fish and vegetables, made it a fun, enjoyable and glamorous night. The day I arrived, I went to the old time classic C.London on Davies Street, Mayfair with my brother. It was my first “chic” connection with London. The last night of my stay, we went to Frankie’s diner. An Italian restaurant inspired by the sixties cinema and diners. The food was tasty and the décor a pleasure to have dinner in. My brother was the lucky man of the night accompanied by three wonderful women.

At Umu, having a glamorous girls' night out

 Nightlife in London. It is the only thing that I was disappointed with: I cannot find a classy word to explain how irritated I got from the night clubs in this city. Thank god we managed to go to Roadhouse at Covent Garden on Friday but frankly, even there, some things were just OFF. For example, I have a big problem with the bouncers and all these security people. I don’t understand where their complexity comes from. Honey, give me a break! One of them, a big fat short African – American person, wouldn’t even let me put my jacket on the ramp. The reason? No one knows. Another one of them was actually hitting on me the whole night across the dance floor making weird signs and smiling creepily. JESUS CHRIST. As for the people in there, it was a general orgy party. Everyone was drunk by midnight. The truth is we had fun either way because there were so many things to see around you: drunken girls hitting on guys, the live rock band singer with the extremely irritating blonde hair, the bachelorette having dressed up sex with some random guy and finally same-sex newly formed couples very much into each other.

At Roadhouse, I wish I could capture what was going on behind us

As for getting into the clubs, it’s annoying. I am no socialite and cannot dress like a confused English woman trying to impress. Thus, the second night we went out, four girls, FOUR WOMEN WEARING HEELS, we didn’t get the chance to get into Maddox or Sketch. The reason: “It’s busy tonight, you are not members”, they said while staring at us up and down and up again. Really? Then, like South Park’s Eric Cartman righteously said: “Screw you guys, I’m going home”.  It turned out to be very nice chilling home and watching E! Entertainment!

Bye Bye Londonnn!!!!

WINTER'S MOOD SWINGS

It’s so freaking cold outside I can’t help the shaking! Even so, I feel good about it. Winter is approaching really fast and it’s finally time for the bars to fire up. I prefer them this time of year: people are one on top of the other, warming up and becoming a big "happy" family.

In the upcoming nights, Everyone, men and women really hope there will be this one opposite-sex creature that will drag their attention out of all those people drinking and dancing.  

The feeling of a warm safe surrounding can't be traded for anything... 

Anyway, I am in the mood for partying and drinking. I think the depression process of the end of the summer is taking a while to ease out and thank God there are some bits and pieces in life that makes everything a bit smoother.

So, as I am very nervous these days and not what I would call a relaxed person, there are some things you can do alone to feel better, even though the weather inspires you to be cuddling home with your beloved. Going out is a perfect solution to forget and catch up with friends, but here are some alternative:

Imagine being there, filled with friends, drinks and a nice beat to dance to while the cold is spreading in the outside world...

Watch series, lots of them. Some require concentration, others are just a way to kill time and put on a smile once and a while. My personal favourites are:

Gossip Girl: not that I like the story so much, but the clothes and jewelery are so so so gorgeous; I want the whole of Serena’s wardrobe.
   

Latest episode... Missoni mini dress

Family Guy, The Simpsons, South Park and American Dad: for pure amusement and killing time ONLY. These are not to be taken seriously: Stupid, somehow offensive but we still watch them because there is something in there that makes you want to push play.

The X Factor U.S.: Please don’t laugh. It is the only think that makes me cry nowadays. I don’t know what gets into me when I turn the show on I start getting all emotional about it. Seriously Simon, what is up with you??

House M.D.: Old time classic I guess. I like it because I feel smarter after each episode. I’ve learned loads of medical stuff through house. Also, it makes me feel very good about myself. The self – loathing experienced by the main character gets to you.

Law and Order S.V.U.: that’s the hardcore version of the classical Law and Order. I like it a lot and think the stories are quite interesting. Of course, it’s all about rape, pedophilia, etc.

Charlie’s Angels: It is a new series and it is soooooo cute yet soooo cheesy. Again, it is a series to watch just to kill time and maybe look at the pretty girls fighting and kicking a**.

Charlie's Angels 2011 new series poster

The Vampire diaries: You need to watch all of the previous seasons to get the point of a cheesy love triangle. But I do like the concept and I think the two brothers are hot to watch.

Don’t ever watch the new season of “Two and a Half Men” with Ashton Kutcher. The series suck, lost its meaning and sometimes it makes me want to puke.

Just by the look of the poster, it makes me want to puke. No Charlie Sheen, no need to air it!

Another good series I liked watching before my break up was “The Mentalist”. The sarcasm and supsense there is in there makes it fun to watch. But too many memories were rising so I decided to stop watching it until I stop assimilating it to the lying ex a**hole.

If watching series is not your think, you can read books. I am not sure I can list names of books because there are soooo many I do not know which one to choose. The one next to my bed is Alfred Hitchcock’s “Histoires abominables” in french. It’s a very dark book but for some reason, it makes me relax.

Yeah, yeah, who am I kidding? What I really want to do is to get this amazing baseball bat I saw at the athletics shop next to my place, go out there and start hitting all those &%#@% &%#@% that piss me off. And then, go to prison and enjoy my morning sip of coffee while smoking my cigarette and hanging out with other very irritated women. Paradise.

 I was terrified at what I was learning about myself. There were two MEs: the good, sweet one who was dying inside and the bad little freak that was getting stronger and greedier every day.

THE MALE-SEX JARGON

As this weekend was an extremely chilled one with no outings or drinking, I decided to broaden my horizons and do some miscellaneous, yet interesting, reading about men and sex, having as a reference a booklet called “the 100 things men should know about sex” (I have no idea how it got into my room, I swear). Yes, it is indeed directed to men and even if I happen not to be one, I found it very inspiring and sometimes, helpful in practice. Please note few of the new words I learned:

METAMOUR: In a relationship where more than two people are involved, the metamour is the name given to your girlfriend / boyfriend’s lover(s). The interesting fact is that instead of hitting him / her hard in the face, you rather think he / she is a quite cool person.

The best example of a Metamour: Eric Northman from cult series True Blood

COMPERSION: Many people have asked me throughout the years what is the EXACT opposite of jealousy (i.e.: most dictionaries state “trust”, but I dare to disagree). Well, this is it people! Compersion is the feeling of relief and happiness when your girlfriend / boyfriend breaks up with you or is tempted to go discover other men / women’s anatomy.

"I never get jealous when I see my girl with someone else, because my mom always taught me to give my used toys to the less fortunate."

MANSCAPING: A very interesting and new trend in Greece. Some state it is a state of art and culture. Manscaping is the act of shaving or waxing a man’s face, torso or “below the belt” parts. According to experts at Askmen.com, it heightens the sexual experience by creating slippery and smooth contact. Most women do prefer it bold and smooth so I am guessing it is the thing to do to enhance your partner’s arousal because at the end of the day, "there's nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking!"

Fact: The clean-shaven look has reached so much popularity nowadays that Philips Norelco electronics marketed a foil body grooming shaver designed exclusively for your manscaping need!

Every time I go and shave, I assume there's someone else on the planet shaving so I say: 

"I'm gonna shave too"

RELASTITUTION: It is a give and take relationship where one party provides the sex and the other one offers material goods such as gifts, dinners at fancy restaurants, etc. In other words, the girl (mostly the case) uses the boy for material gain and the boy buys her for physical, emotional pleasure. In my opinion, I am under the impression that relastitution is either an early stage of prostitution or a fulfilment to two über pathetic people.

      

From movie "How to marry a millionaire" (1953)

"A Golddigger is like a prostitute, only smarter".

LAIR: So common I could die. Lair is when a group of usually very cocky men gather together and exchange their “flirting” tactics in order to put them in practice when the lights turn down. If you are a woman, lair nucleus’ are very dangerous, some sort of a black hole that may suck you in for a whole night! In every lairing group, there are the “losers” who try to learn and the “experts” who teach. At the end of the night, you either remain a loser or end up lucky in a stranger’s bed.

From movie "Grease" (1978): The "Boys" discussing summer and girls at school recess

BITCH SHIELD: Do I really have to explain? In case it is not stating the obvious, a bitch shield is a man’s worst enemy: when a woman places natural and sometimes aggressive boundaries between you and her underwear. Still, it could be a nice mind game for both sexes and perhaps the essence of a fun evening. These days, sex is too easy to get; thus, a bitch shield may be quite amusing for a man as long as he ends up winning the “game”.

CAMELTOE: All of those that have seen Sex and the City 2 should be familiar with the expression. A camel toe is what you can see at the level of a woman’s private parts when she is wearing very tight leggings or pants. Not fancy. Huge turn off.  Some are more familiar with the “moose knuckle”. That is, any sexual organ appearing under tight clothes; it has a broader meaning than the camel toe (fully dedicated to the vagina).

Britney Spear's disturbing Cameltoe during the shooting of her clip "Oops I did it again" (2000)

MILF: Again, should I really say what a MILF is? Regardless, a mother I’d like to f**k. It is a woman in her mid thirties, early forties who does not necessarily have children, but that gives you a hint of her maturity, yet sexiness. After few years time, she changes into a GILF. If you come to Greece and go for coffee in Glyfada in the southern suburbs, you will know exactly what I am talking about. I wish I could post a picture of what I consider a pure MILF (the ugly type) but I rather let your imagination work.

Where did she get the baby out from? Post-natal Heidi Klum in one of Victoria's secret fashion show

COUGAR, PUMA, JAGUAR and LION CUB: This feline jargon is simply names characterizing a “mature” woman liking to hang out in bar, clubs and hitting on younger males, 10 to 15 years older than her. That is, a cougar is the feminine of a manther. “Lion cubs” is the name given to her victims. A cougar deviates discussions having to do with her age, children, previous marriages or anything that has to do with her past. Cougars prey on their younger victims in order to gain popularity amongst their fellow cougars, as well as for a sexual high. Some are extremely good looking MILFs and somewhat stylish. Others are old, drunk dirt, ex-prostitutes with a lot of money and a feeling of insecurity. Cougars become Puma’s (late thirties) and then, in their sixties, they reach the ultimate level of Jaguars.

It would be crazy not to mention the queen of Cougars, their ultimate inspiration: Demi Moore (photographed here with lion cub Ashton Kutcher)

VAJAYJAY: The American airheaded replacement to “vagina” in a supposedly cute and conservative way. For me, it is just pathetic and at the edge of ridicule. Some men like it when women tend to cut words in half or start speaking in a high pitched level to seem cuter. JESUS! Stick to your voice and to the Oxford dictionary.

Yes, that sorts of sums it: Blondes. 

VAGITARIAN: A man or woman purely attracted to a woman’s private part. Some define it as the new word for “lesbian”. Rather, it combines lesbians as well as heterosexual men. Also, it is the strict opposite of a penivore.

Igor Vassiliadis' "Forbiden Embrace"

O-FACE: What your face looks like when you reach an orgasm, either a man or a woman.

SEX HAIR: What your hair looks like after passionate sex… Have you hear of Motley Crue fans banging their heads up and down? Something like that.

Sexy O-face and Sex hair combined in a unique shot of Naomi Watts

WINGMAN: The one who accompanies you in your flirting nights out and will be an accomplice in getting the girl at the end of the bar. I have noticed that the best wingman is a woman friend. If you have a female “buddy” with whom your friendship is pure and who is hot and sociable, take her out for a drink, you won’t go back home empty handed.

"Dejeuner sur l'herbe" Edouart Manet (1863)

I'm not sure why I've put this here. I just have a feeling that these gentlemen met these two women in the forest, one being the wingman of the other, had a picnic and then had sex until the break of dawn.

ROASTING: Perhaps every woman’s hidden fantasy? A feature of our Freudian id, it consists of one woman having multiple sexual liaisons with men at the very same time. In other words, one-female orgy.

Roasting in Fashion advert by Calvin Klein

IT'S RAINING AGAIN!

Today is a brand new week and new colours are painted over the sky, darker colours. The truth is I was bored of the sunny afternoons, the beaches, the swimming and the heat; I wasn’t against a little bit of rain on a warm September night, a tropical weather that makes you want to cuddle with your cushion in the middle of the day.

 I believe in running through the rain and crashing into the person you love and having your lips bleed on each other. 

But today is Monday and it is raining cats, dogs and the whole of Noah’s arc. We all are sitting on our desk listening to weird boomings and wondering what’s going to be on the news tonight in terms of fluds, people stuck on the roads, etc. As usual in Greece, it rains a tiny bit and the whole country panics.

 All-time favourite hot chocolate with marshmallows and chocolate syrup..

Despite the weather conditions, “ugly” for some, ‘exciting” for others, it is a brand new week and a brand new atmosphere outside which will have to help cheering up people.

No more flip flops, tees or shorts but rather hardcore biker boots, long blouses, funky scarves and denims to die for. Pick the street styles of your favourite celebrities and enjoy transforming your self into the winter diva that you are deep within!

 Net-a-porter's suggestion of a daily biker look

Every season transition, I feel like I have shopped a whole new wardrobe mainly because after four months of heat and light clothes, I forgot what I was wearing in the winter. Plus, as it is not that cold, you can even dare to wear mixed summer and winter clothes: one of the beauties of spring and fall.

 Alexa Chung's style for this week's weird weather

So women from all over the world (Greece mainly because this is where I am witnessing this pleasant mood around me after a rainy Monday morning) I suggest you to go do some window shopping with an umbrella and a friend then go back home and just try to find the new looks for winter that will suit your body, temper and network!

At night, drink some hot chocolate with marshmallows and look outside your half opened bedroom window and listen to nature. It seems cheesy but boy it feels good.

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow"

Gilbert K. Chesterton 

BOOTS TO DIE FOR..

Oh my God, oh my God. I need to find the Isabel Marant fringe black boots.

Fall / Winter 2011 - Isabel Marant

I looked everywhere from London to Mexico and no stocks are available. Is this insane or what? We are talking about 1000 Euros buy! Even in Greece, where they only got them in white (white boots, ughhh), no stocks were available a week after they got them. I just don't get it. 

Supposedly, there is a financial worldwide crisis which for some very odd reason, fashion is not being very much invloved in. Well, good for the designers, bad for those who are fashionistas trying to explore the market for a dress similar to the one that dear Isabel or Diane would have designed.

Anyway, let’s go back to the limited fringe black boots stock… I have to find a way to procur myself those boots and believe me… fringe is in, black is in… Isabel Marant is sooo in! And by the way, in case it is not clear enough, those are my “items-to- get” for winter!