will trade organs for bedding

I just saw this post on Apartment Therapy on Orla Kiely's bedding collection. I nearly wet myself.

Her bedding collection reminds of my 1970's bedding.

At this moment, I am offering my kidneys and a part of my liver for the following:

(images via Orla Kiely)

Orla Kiely falls directly under the category "shit that should be available in Brazil" ASAP.

the yellow bedroom, part 1

Since my yellow bedroom isn't all done yet, I'm going to post bits and pieces of it until it's all nicely put together.

But for now, here is a picture of my bedside table...

The bedside table and lamp are from Tok&Stok, while the acrylic pencil holder and alarm clock were bought at the London MUJI store. The pink phone was found at a flea market here in São Paulo. And I just want to lick those yellow walls...

But the cherry on the cake for me is the acrylic ceiling lamp, also from at Tok&Stok.

I just added this last picture because it looks all artist like and shit.

More pictures to come... hopefully more thrilling than a bedside table and a ceiling lamp.

stylish in hell

Without Havaianas, I would not have survived today.

It was a hot day here in São Paulo. About 32˚ celsius. Probably an average temperature in hell. My feet swell up in the heat, and all I want to wear are Havaianas. (Here in Brazil we just say "Havaianas", it's become a noun synonymous with flip flops.)

I remember back in the day when Havaianas were cheap-as-dirt rubber flip flops. They only came in a few colours and were never worn outside the house or the beach.

Then one day, they became fashionable. Pictures of supermodels wearing them with jeans and skirts started appearing everywhere. They were being sold in the United States and Europe. It amazed me how this staple of Brazilian everyday life became such an internationally recognised product.

My favourite Havaianas are from the Slim line with the metallic details. They are much more delicate to wear with something like jeans, dresses or a skirt. I even wear them to go out at night.

I have these three basic colours, which I can wear with anything.

(image via here)

And I always stop to admire their designs and colours, ...

... especially for kids.

(images via havaianas.com.br)

To top it all off, Havainas has its fabulous looking flagship store here in São Paulo, in the posh and fashionable Rua Oscar Freire.

(images via here)

Pretty and comfortable as hell. So you can keep your style in hell-like temperatures.

come down south

I've been thinking.

I lived in London for 10 years, and have visited other cities where I encountered fabulous and stylish stores. Lately, I've been missing them.

São Paulo is a cosmopolitan, forward-looking city. So I think there are three stores that should be brought over to SP immediately:

1. Ikea

There still isn't one in the South American continent. I feel this should change. Here in Brazil there is a Ikea-like homegoods store called Tok&Stok, which is quite good. But it doesn't offer the vastness and design of Ikea.

For instance, I want this rocking chair for my yellow bedroom...

(image via Ikea UK)

... with this fabric.

(image via Ikea UK)

2. Anthropologie

I became acquainted with the store when I visited the Sister in Boston, where she went to university. It would work well here because it sells pretty, expensive things. And people from São Paulo ("paulistas") like pretty and expensive things.

Such as this lovely Grand Game wallpaper (which I want)...

(image via Anthropologie)

... this fine looking Keleidescope Throw...

(image via Anthropologie)

... and this Flock-Of-Swans dress.

(image via Anthropologie)

3. MUJI

I came to know Muji while living in London and am a loyal desciple. I love their simple, functional style in clothes, homegoods, stationary, and so on. Above all, I love their universal philosophy: "MUJI is not a brand. (...) MUJI creates products toward global consumption of the future."

If we had a MUJI store in São Paulo, I could stock up again on their gel-ink ball-point pens...

(image via MUJI US online store)

... their acrylic picture frames ...

(image via MUJI US online store)

... and get this steel pipe side table for my new bedroom.

(image via MUJI US online store)

I think I should be able to have these stores here in São Paulo to fulfill my current shopping needs.

Because deep, deep down, I am a good person.

imagine not annoying me

A friend's birthday is coming up. I want to give him a little something, but he is the kind of man who has everything and needs nothing.

So I thought of Imaginarium, a store that sells the kind of shit you never thought you needed.

(image via here)

But as soon as I thought of it, I gave up. Why, you ask?

Because they have the most irritating sales people on the face of this good earth.

In fact, every time I pass by one of their stores, I think two, three times before stepping in. I know I will be hassled by some cute girl who thinks she is being charming and efficient.

My last visit was around Father's Day. The Sister and I were looking for an item completely unrelated to the holiday. We were just browsing, but the salesgirl followed us around the small store like a bad smell. She kept "suggesting" gifts for fathers, even though we made it abundantly clear to her that we were looking for something else. Yet she kept on us like a goddamn drug pusher.

The Sister and I had to leave the store. And even though we liked their vinyl wall clock,

we decided against purchasing it in fear of encountering that sales girl again.

I haven't been to Imaginarium since. And it's really a shame, because I kind of like their stuff.

Like this pink X-mas tree...

the toothbrush holder in the shape of a tooth...

these dog salt and pepper shakers...

the VW beetle photo frame...

as well as the dachshund and Christ the Redeemer shaped lamps.

(images via Imaginarium)

With that in mind, here's a little note to the owner of Imaginarium.

Get some sales people who are not going to annoy the living shit out of me.

in an attempt to eat better...

... I went shopping for vegetables at Feira do Pacaembu this past Saturday.

(image via here)

Feira do Pacaembu (or Pacaembu fair, after the neighbourhood) is a farmer's market, located on the parking lot of the Pacaembu football stadium. You can get fresh vegetables, fruit, spices, fish and meat products on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Yet it is particularly famous for selling some of the best pastel in São Paulo.

(image via estadao.com.br)

The traditional pastel filling is either meat or cheese, but the pastel vendours in the market also offer some innovative fillings, such as carne-seca (a kind of dried meat) and catupiry cheese. I recommend getting the traditional cheese pastel. The lines are long, specially if you go on Saturday, but I promise you shall not be disappointed.

However, as I am forbidden all fried foods due to a mysterious food allergy, I stayed away from the pastel and concentrated on buying my vegetables. I bought zucchinis, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, as well as peaches, bananas, grapes and strawberries. Definitely more fresh food than I have consumed in my lifetime.

As much as I am bored to death by all things organic, shopping for vegetables at Feira do Pacaembu made it a much more pleasant experience. It's great to be able to buy things in the open air, talk to the vendours, and kind of make a day of it (or rather, a morning).

At the very least, it made vegetables seem much more glamorous to me.

this is a complaint

I have not been able to find decent and/or attractive bedding here in São Paulo.

When I moved here last year, I needed some new bedding. Stores such as m martan, Casa Almeida, and Zêlo were my first stops, and then I went on a search in other street stores. I was surprised to see that bedding here is either overpriced if you want good quality, reasonably priced but without enough variety in colours/patterns, or available in a lower price range, with better design but of bad quality.

I ended up buying an aubergine duvet cover from Casa Almeida, which I got for a good price. But less than a year later, and after a few machine washes, it did not prove to be of decent quality. The zipper at the bottom of the duvet cover has completely torn off and the colour has washed out. This has pissed me off.

I believe in investing in a product to get a better quality and design, especially for the long term.

I just haven't found something that is worth investing in.

Ideally, if I found something like this...

(image via DwellStudio)

(image via marimekko)

... I'd be much obliged.