Buttons in a Jar

Buttons in a jar.

Ever wonder what to do with all the extra buttons that are attached to your newly purchased blouses, skirts, and jackets? Put them in a cute marmalade jar that can serve as a decorative piece for your bookcase.

For the longest time I had the extra mismatched buttons in a zip-lock bag but not too long ago I decided to place them in visible place. That way if a button ever falls off of a blouse I will know where to find an extra button. Buttons! It's so fun to say 'Buttons' out loud. If you ever watched the 1990s cartoon Animaniacs you will remember that in one of the mini-episodes there was a dog named Buttons. Buttons would always be chasing after his baby owner Mindy because somehow she would always get into some sort of dangerous situations, which she was unaware of, except Buttons. Poor Buttons, always about to suffer a heart attack with worry for trying to keep Mindy safe. But I digress . . .

Bonne Maman is my favorite French marmalade and I always keep the jar once the marmalade has been completely eaten. Generally, I use the jars for my iced teas. This time, however, I used it for my buttons collection. The size of the jar is perfect, it doesn't require too much space and it helps keep one more thing in your life a bit more organized. No danger there for Buttons!

A cozy decoration for your home.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I made cookies this evening. My sweet tooth was calling out to me. I typed "quick chocolate chip recipe" on Google's search engine and voilá, there it was (second on the list)! The allrecipes.com site page has a video that walks you through the cookie baking process. I read the ingredients and the prep time and decided it was simple enough.

I began baking as soon as I found all the ingredients in my kitchen. I didn't have any walnuts at home so unfortunately they weren't added.  That was the reason I decided to make the cookies at home in the first place, I didn't want to go out and buy cookies. The cookies tasted amazing! Try making them, your taste buds will thank you.

Batter ready!

Now some intense heat coming their way...

Bon Appétit!

 

Before Brasil

Touching art is so tempting when "Do Not Touch" signs are written.

Before I flew out to Brasil for my intensive Portuguese program I took a quick trip to Washington, D.C. I have a few friends who live near the capital. For all intents and purposes, in the capital. It was my first time visiting. It is such an amazing place, with its monuments and everything that surrounds the capital culture. Granted I only briefly experienced its culture. But there is so many events happening everyday at all hours that there is just no way an individual can be bored or can make it to everything.

American University had an opening exposition showcasing Mexican artists. To be quite honest, I was not impressed with the opening talk or the questions made by some audience members. The art though was very suggestive, some pieces were fun while others where thought provoking. I enjoyed the art.

The gallery also housed some other pieces. I of course immediately felt drawn to those pieces belonging to Brazilian artists. These of course helped increase my excitement for Brasil. A trip that now, retrospectively, went by way too fast.

Now-a-days students use smart phones. Imagine these being phones.

P.S. In Portuguese, Brasil with an /S/ is the correct spelling. It is after all a proper noun. ☺

Saudades

It hasn't been a complete week yet since I've returned home from Rio de Janeiro and I can honestly say that I am feeling nostalgic for the early mornings to catch the bus and the walks I always took to get to places or to find my way back home.

Here, at home, I have visited with family and given them their souvenirs. Everyone seems happy with what they received. I hope to return soon and visit the friends that I made and those I didn't have the opportunity to visit. 

Dollars to Reais: using the ATMs

Reais for my next trip to Brasil.

Be careful when you use ATMs in Rio! I knew of several cases where friends after using an ATM had their card numbers stolen and for the next several days $500 dollars a day would be deducted from their account. 

A little under $3,000.00 (that is US dollars) was withdrawn from a friend's account. Without fail, every morning at 8:00am he would immediately see an unauthorized deduction. He had to go to the Tourist Police and call his bank several times. His bank wasn't being very helpful either.  Nevertheless, he managed to solve the issue relatively quick and he's also telling everyone to be careful. As am I.

Having your debit card and using an ATM is of course way more convenient than having to go to a Casa de Câmbio every several days. I used Citibank's ATM's twice and stopped very quickly. They charge you an insanely obnoxious fee and your bank of course charges you another fee. Not worth it! 

Across from O Cobal do Humaitá.

Stay away from HSBC as well, apparently that's where a lot of card numbers get stolen from. I felt comfortable using Banco do Brasil's machine boxes, though I would always choose either the ATM that was located at PUC or one that was actually located inside a bank's office. 

If you're planning to do a study abroad program in Brasil for 6 months or more, your best bet is to get a student type number and open an account with ITAÚ. It's a process but it can be done. You can only use ITAÚ's ATMs if you have an ITAÚ card. That apparently tends to dissuade the culprits.

Regardless, always check your online bank statement every day. When you do get money from an ATM, do print your receipt. It is never a bad idea to have a document of sorts. Regardless of where you're traveling or where you live, always be aware. Best of luck!

My last day

Packing, the not so fun part of traveling.

I woke up at 5am in the morning. I had to be at Post 10 in Ipanema Beach by 6am to train Cross Fit. I love exercising. It was an intense but such a worthwhile work-out to end my trip here in Rio de Janeiro. If you like intense-type workouts please make sure you look up Rocinha Cross Fit and communicate with Rogerio, the coach.

I was off to my last class, I arrived late. I needed to return home after the workout and take a shower. I had sand all over my face and body as well as some major bruises. I fell. For me, not a very surprising moment. I was worried about arriving late to class. Traffic was horrible at 9am. Be aware, in general, from 8am-10am traffic is always bad. Bus will take longer than usual. But when I arrived to class we were watching the film Bossa Nova. I had already seen the film several summers ago so I relaxed a bit. It's a good movie. After the film we had our last and final exam, the oral exam. I felt that it went splendid. The instructor told us we could leave because she couldn't ask us any more questions to produce language.

Tonight though, I packed a bit and then headed out to meet my friend Liv at a bar-club named Melt in Leblon. I also wanted to say goodbye to the new friends that I made and which I will miss terribly. At Melt we had a live samba-type band and caipirinhas. It was an enjoyable evening. A live band that made my love for Brasil increase substantially.

Now I'm ready to finish my packing. There's not much left. I'm ready to return home although also very sad to leave amazing friends behind and also an amazing city.