So for those of us on a budget, there are a few places to go to get clothes before bigger brands purchase them and put their nametags and pricetags on them.  Chances are that you’ve heard of Once, the district where you can purchase everything from curtain fabrics to jewelry, underwear and articles of clothing in bulk for discounted prices.  But Once is actually just part of the larger barrio called “Constitucion” that is expansive and if you don’t know where you’re going, and exactly what you’re looking for, you can easily get led astray.

However, there are several streets near the intersection of Nazca and Avellaneda where you can find great deals on clothes, shoes and underwear for adults and kids.  It takes time to find what you’re looking for sometimes, but it’s totally worth it in my opinion.  It’s a lot easier to go through than Once for me.  The trick is to go early on a Saturday morning (we’re talking 8-9am).  Catch breakfast at one of the cafes on Calle Moron or grab some fruits to go at one of the Korean Supermarkets in the area (that actually have a large selection of turnips, fyi) and start walking up and down the streets. By noon, it gets so crowded that you can barely move – with 5000 other (mostly) women perusing the stores looking for good bargains.  Each store has a minimum number of articles of clothing that you must buy for them to sell it to you at the discounted bulk price, but usually you can find stores on Saturdays that have a minimum of 1-2 articles only.

Imagine camisole for 10 pesos, jeans for 70 pesos.  Today I went there and found 3 shirts and 4 undergarments for a total of 73 pesos.  I was too tired after that and went home before I could find some stretchy pants but if I have time next week, I’ll definitely go.  It’s just perfect for me in that in between time right now where it’s getting uncomfortable to fit into my regular clothes, but I think maternity wear is going to be too big for me yet.

Last year, I went there and found a little in between seasons jacket for 40 pesos and the following week was walking on Honduras and saw the exact same jacket for 240 pesos, I kid you not.  So you have to get there early and have patience and you can find the stuff you want without breaking your piggy bank.

I’d really like to talk about the process of discovering the pregnancy here and all of the things that people have been telling me, etc etc – including the fact that a lot of people here think that pregnancy is a disability – it’s kind of funny!

Anyway, another thing that I’d like to write about are these weird dreams that I’ve been having since I became pregnant.  I tend to wake up from my sleep and naps completely confused, sometimes with funny songs in my head and most of the time, happy and laughing.  This is just a super cool experience, being pregnant.

So here’s dream sequence #1.

afternoon 12/11/2010

First I visited my sister’s ex husband, Barry.  He was always so cool to me.  We talked about the different ways of making duck confit. He said that instead of using duck lard on top and around the duck there was another way.  He would stuff the inside of the skin with lard and then top it off with strawberries.  So then i introduced him to Masterchef Australia and left.  Then there was a part where I saw a mouse talking to a potato.  This little gray mouse was so cute and had big gray mickey mouse ears.

Then I went to a firing range / bowling alley.  I learned how to fire a shotgun.  Then I saw someone looking like they were loosing control of their device (although it wasn’t a shotgun and it wasn’t a bow and arrow, it was more like a bazooka that shot things in slow motion, and the thing that it was shooting had a large pink balloon sign on it saying, “watch out”).  I saw it coming towards me and just as I was about to run, I saw my cat, who normally is gray, but in my dream, he was like, photoshopped pink. I dropped my shotgun, grabbed him, and ran to the other side of the building before the explosion hit.  He was scared and turned gray.  I let him run knowing that he would come back to hang out with me when he felt less threatened.

Meanwhile, I went back to my place and someone was taking my shotgun and putting it back behind the counter.  That was okay, I thought.  i wanted to learn how to shoot a 9mm anyway.  So I rented a Luger and went to the other shooting range indoors, I put my headphones on and started to shoot at the paper guy target. On my first shot, I missed, asked the guy behind me if i shot to the left or right, then adjusted the gun and shot again and again, hitting my target pretty well. I returned my gun.

I went back to the other firing range and began to do something (and saw my pink cat laying down by my place) around the bowling alley part. This part was separated by an arcade that was especially hard for me to get in and out of particularly since I felt larger than normal.

Then two kids wanted to talk to me regarding the explosion earlier and I didn’t think it was safe for them to come in via the shooting range, so I attempted to get out via the arcade, which was proving smaller and smaller every minute.  I finally got out, but they were gone.  So I made my way towards the bathrooms since I had to pee.  I noticed that the guy running the place, keeping tabs on everything was a scruffy old guy, who was very course on the outside, but had a very nice smile and had a very sweet vibe to him.  He gave out homemade cards to people who had screwed up their game.  Just outside the bathrooms, there were people starting a karaoke machine.  They started singing “Bad Bad Leroy Brown”  and I knew they were singing about the old dude running the place.  Everyone was laughing because they all knew that it was such an exaggeration of the truth, that underneath it all was this really nice guy.

As i reached the restroom, I saw a toilet and knew that I had to wake up to pee.  But I woke up with this song in my head…
Jim Croce – Bad Bad Leroy Brown from Midnight Special \’73

This year, you’ll see that prices have risen 21% from last year.  When you get into a taxi now you will be paying (in Argentine Pesos) 4.60 to start and 0.46 centavos for each 200 meters that follow (that’s approximately 2 blocks).

If you’re coming in from the airport, taxi fees can run from $90 – $110 pesos depending on where you’re going and what time you’re traveling.

If you’re looking for some numbers for reliable taxi services, here are a few.  Put them in your cell phone and if you’re out anywhere you can always have the number of a good service at hand.

Radio Taxi Premium: 5238-0000 or 4374-6666
Taxi Porteno: 4566-7777 (I think they’re based out of Palermo, if you’re living in Palermo, they come relatively fast).

For those of you unfamiliar with calling for a taxi, here’s what happens.  First when they answer the phone, you tell them that you want a car.

“Quiero pedir un auto, por favor.”  (or if you’re going to the airport Ezeiza, for example, “Quiero pedir un auto a Ezeiza, por favor”).

They’ll ask you your telephone number and read you the address they have on file for that number. If they have never come to that address, they may ask for you to confirm your direction. Make sure it’s correct!  Then they’ll ask for the name of the person traveling, and tell you in approximately how many minutes you’ll have someone coming for you.

Just remember that if you ask for a taxi by phone at night, there is a minimum fee (usually somewhere around 10 pesos).  This does not apply for taxis that you pick up directly on the street.

I started off 2009 in Villa Crespo with our friends.

i started making snazzy cakes.

we went to mendoza and saw some lovely historic incan sites just on our side of chile.

and went to the bodegas and drank some delicious wine. (had to try the grapes first)

made my first chocolate whiskey cake.

and so began the palermo cupcakery.

meanwhile i also went out with friends!

and met new friends! (that’s gidget!)

and while other friends were here, we said goodbye to an ex-president.

and got our hair done.

and made more cupcakes…

and made some deeeelicious chocolate pudding…

and ate quite a few asados with friends.

and taught them how to spell….

then i went shopping..

I got treated to great food on my birthday…

and then my friends came over and we had a quiet little party with champagne… thanks friends.

and i learned to make empanadas…

and had a few romantic dates..

we went to mar del plata and saw “jesus shrugged”…

and ate squid in it’s ink.  yu-u-u-u-u-u–uuuuuummmmmyyyy

and saw touristy stuff…

and posed with jude.

people were coming in for a very special occasion!

i got married!

and went to a cactus festival.

i threw a cupcake party!

and met up with the girls one last time before the holidays…

and happily said goodbye to 2009, and hello to 2010.

I hope your 2009 was wonderful, and hope that your 2010 is even better!!!

Lots of people have asked me if we did a “traditional” Argentine wedding and the answer is no.  I think when most people think of the “traditional Argentine wedding” it’s like this:  Sometime during the week is the civil ceremony.  That’s ceremony number one.  After the ceremony and photos everyone goes someplace to have lunch or dinner – this may mean to a restaurant or as in the case of one wedding that I attended a few years ago, back to the house of either the bride or groom’s parents to have hors d’oeurves and drinks.  This may last well into the wee hours of the night.

Then there’s the religious ceremony that happens on a weekend evening usually.  After the ceremony, the couple invites people to the reception.  Just as in many other parts of the world, this is usually held at an event space or hotel.  The unusual thing about “Argentine” weddings is the amount of food consumed and the longevity of the reception.  Here is what I experienced as a typical reception:

Upon arrival: drinks (wine, champagne, soda, mixed drinks) offered.  Everyone is standing up and a picada of cheeses, meats (cold and barbequed) and other hors d’oerves are served.

After an hour: Everyone sits down at their tables and gets to listen to a few speeches, the bride and groom welcoming everyone to their reception, etc etc.. It’s time to eat.  Now, it depends on the bride and groom’s budget how many courses are served, but again, here’s what I’ve experienced.. perhaps the waiters would bring out provoleta or another appetizer.  Then comes the main course.  Followed by more drinks.

After the main course, the bride and groom cut the cake and have their first dance.  After the first few songs have been played, everyone is usually asked to return to their seats for what may be another half hour while desserts come out and either more speeches or perhaps a video or slideshow is played of the couple.  Then people return to the dance floor.

There’s a lot of people throwing the bride and groom up in the air, lots more drinking and then everyone sits down to be served tea and coffee or another light snack.  This goes on throughout the night.  A lot of times, people even hire “party animators” to get people back up and dancing between the hours of 2-4am.  They bring costumes, hats, masks and noisemakers as everyone starts to gain their second wind.  Around 4am, pizza may be served. If the wedding goes throughout the night and into the wee hours of the morning, a breakfast table is usually set up with sweets, fruits, juices and coffee.

Our wedding was a lot different than that.  We just had the civil ceremony and invited our family and best man and maid of honor to eat at one of our favourite restaurants, Don Julio.  After that, Javier and I returned to the hotel for a nice long nap, knowing that this was going to be a long night ahead of us.  At 6pm, we returned to our home to receive the catering and set everything up for the cocktail party later on that night.  The whole house was cleared of furniture and each room was a dance floor or mini-living room where people could sit down and chat.

Luckily it was a lovely night and our terrace was also full of people.  When guests started arriving at 9:30pm, we were all set with meats and cheeses, sushi and tacos.  Throughout the night, people were served champagne and wine, with the option of a few mixed drinks. We received a gift from our wonderful friends Frank and Fabri at Sugar and Spice – so people could munch on a bunch of deeeeelicious Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin (to DIE FORRRR….) cookies and my many many cupcakes that I made the day before – well, I **AM** the Palermo Cupcakery, of course I’ll make my own wedding cakes!

The party ended at 8:30am and by the end of the night, our toilet was completely broken, there were cups and plates all over the place… spilled drinks and tons of cleaning to do.  That morning, we spent two hours cleaning the apartment.  The next day, we came back to the apartment in the evening and cleaned for another 5 hours and had all the leftover foods with family and friends.  The day after, we spent another 7 hours cleaning.  The toilet didn’t get fixed for another week.  It was gross.

Anyway, a few weeks later, my parents left, and I’ve been busier than a hummingbird with my businesses and Javier with his architecture.  So we have yet to go on our honeymoon!!!  We were going to go to my hometown for Christmas, but that is getting a little complicated and starting to look more expensive than a trip to the moon.  Anyway, we’ll figure it out.  It’ll probably be delayed until next year.

Meanwhile, as if we’re not busy enough with work, we’re moving in a little over a month!!

Then there was the other “Recycled Buttons”  stand. ’nuff said.  It looked like every one of those buttons was purchased.

Or the worst possible idea ever… bookshelves made out of cardboard.  I understand that it’s recycled cardboard, but imagine you have a dog that isn’t quite yet potty trained and he accidentally pees on your bookshelf.  Then your books fall all over the place because the thing that didn’t look so stable in the first place is even less stable, and worst of all, stinky – for life.

Anyhoo, when I think of sustainability – I think of my friend Stiven who writes Sustainable Day.  I see that blog and I say, “Hey, THAT’S what sustainable design is about”.  I just wish he would translate it into Spanish so that Latin America can see what they’re missing, cause when I went to the sustainable design fair here in BA, I thought I would see a lot more of the kind of stuff that Stiven writes about.  Instead I saw a lot of tired old concepts and a lot of people trying to take advantage of the word “sustainability”.

When I think of cool sustainable stuff, I think about things like this: Sustainable Salmon Leather.  It’s leather, but it’s renewable. It takes the salmon skin that would normally be disposed of and turns it into usable, durable products. Imagine that.  One day, I’m totally going to get a bikini made out of that.

Within the province of Buenos Aires that stretches down to Bahia Blanca, there are more than 700 kilometers (434 miles) of coastline to enjoy and explore.  All along the coastline there are many towns and cities worth investigating and there are several ways of reaching them. But when you think beach cities, please don’t have the expectations of places like Miami or Rio de Jaineiro – although these beaches are fun and warm the experiences are different because the cities along the Atlantic coast of Argentina are a lot smaller than other big cities.

How to get there:

Bus: Buses in Argentina aren’t as uncomfortable as in the United States – in fact, they’re quite spacious and affordable.  Buses that go to the Atlantic Coast leave frequently from the Retiro Station in Buenos Aires and tickets can be purchased from any of the official vendors at the station in advance of travel.

Train: The train company that stops at select coastal cities is called Ferrobaires.   Trains leave from the Constitucion Station and during peak travel season, there are two new first-class, non-stop services to Mar del Plata called the “Marplatense” and “Expreso del Atlantico”.

Car: As exciting as it sounds to just hit the National Route #2 straight to Mar del Plata, there’s an alternative route #11 that rides the coastline from just south of Buenos Aires to just south of Mar del Plata called Mar del Sur.  Driving your own car or renting a car for the trip is really worth it since you are at your leisure to stop and see and do and discover whatever you want. Plus, it’s probably the most economical way of getting around for a group of friends or a family.

Plane: Aerolineas Argentinas offers several flights per week going to Mar del Plata and Bahia Blanca.

Just two hours south of Buenos Aires by car is a cluster of small coastal towns including San Clemente del Tuyu, Santa Teresita, Mar del Tuyu, La Lucila del Mar and Mar de Ajo. These are all smaller villages and towns that pick up during the summer and come alive with lots of activities for everyone.  There are thermal springs, lots of beaches, good food, small concerts and asados in the parks where everyone is invited.  Some of these towns are kind of kitch and really can take you back to another era, however when you want to find yourself on the beach with few cares in the world, these small and relatively inexpensive towns can be a lot of fun.

About 50 kilometers (20 mi.) south of Mar de Ajo is the resort city of Pinamar.  It’s much larger than the previously mentioned towns with lots of activities from riding a 4×4 or sandboard down the dunes and golfing to art galleries, spas and shopping.   There are lots of nightclubs that book international DJs in the summer and the party moves to the beach after a long night out on the town.  Just south of Pinamar are Villa Gessel, and Carilo – worth mentioning for its lovely little town center (expensive, but quaint) and the Carilo Golf Club – one of the finest that I’ve seen in Argentina.

Moving about an hour south of here is the gem of the coastline – Mar del Plata.  Once considered the Riviera of Argentina, Mar del Plata (also known as “La Ciudad Feliz” – the happy city) is still home to one of Argentina’s largest casinos and several annual conventions and festivals (most famously the Mar del Plata film festival).

For me, the port is not the best place to go to get fresh seafood (for those of you living in Buenos Aires, remember what that is?? fresh fish – omg!).  Well, I’ve found a place that is just as comfortable as the food.  “La Taverna Baska” is located at  12 de Octubre, 3301 and is one of the most authentic restaurants that I’ve ever eaten in in Mardel.  I’ve had a number of dishes, but the fresh grilled tuna steak (bife de atun) or a Spanish tradition, squid in their own ink (chipirones en su tinta) slow baked with an almost risotto is so amazing that it’s like being in Spain.  You can surely find great ice cream, pastas and parillas as you would in Buenos Aires as well.  If you’re looking for casual dining in a bar like setting that is not pretentious yet has excellent food, check out the Almacen Condal on the corner of Garay and Alsina.  There you can find really well prepared food and some great drinks, pool tables and in general, really nice, normal people. There are also tons of trendy restaurants, cafes and bars along Guemes Street where you can find tons of people along this strip on most weekend nights – even in the winter.

When I stay in Mar del Plata, I tend to go to the Hotel Imperio – just because of its proximity to Playa Varese (my preferred beach) and Tio Curzio (my favorite cafe) with the best medialunas (spanish for croissants) in all of Argentina. Now here’s where it’s convenient to have a car: there is a ton of surfing in the beaches just north of the cliffs of Mar del Plata.

Hertz Rental Car has just started doing some vacation packages.  They offer a package for the rental car and a stay at the bed and breakfast / hostel, Casa del Balcon in Mar del Plata.  It’s a cute place, but kind of inconvenient since you have to drive all the way across town to go to the cool beaches or nice bars, restaurants and such. Plus, you’d probably want to not take a car out if you’re going to a restaurant or bar and plan on having a few drinks, anyway.

Sweets
One of the wonderful things about traveling the coast of Buenos Aires is not only seeing the diverse landscapes and going to the beach but also trying the many variations of sweets that the coast has to offer.  You may know about the infamous alfajore (pronounced alfa-hore, keep your jokes to yourself, please…) and consists of a thick layer or two of filling – usually dulce de leche or chocolate or fruity jam sandwiched between two cookies and coated with chocolate or powdered sugar.

The wonderful thing is that every town along the coast has their own version, their own specialty alfajore if you will… and each one is better than the next.  Havanna brand is one of the largest producers of alfajores in Argentina and is actually based out of Mar del Plata.. but near by (and just a short drive away) is Balcarce, a small town that has it’s own pastry and cake fair in the spring and a little closer to Bahia Blanca is a quaint little village called Sierra de la Ventana.  There’s lots of hiking and rock climbing, nature walks and all sorts of things to do where the hills lead pointing towards the Andes Mountain range.  But in this small village is a place called Sozzani – who makes the best alfajores in all of Argentina.  Believe me, I’ve tried to try them all…

Anyway, now you’re prepared for escaping the heat in the summer in Buenos Aires.

Bahrein’s Address: Lavalle 345 – Downtown

So this week’s TWD was the seriously tempting Espresso Cheesecake Brownies – yuuum!  but wait – there is no such thing as sour cream here in Argentina.  It would have taken me 48 hours to make sour cream, so I figured that I would just have to do what any other self respecting cook in Argentina would do when faced with the dilema of cooking on a Tuesday night – make the brownies with a little extra espresso and slather on the dulce de leche!

I only use Philadelphia cream cheese to make cheesecake. Here, other brands of cream cheese are just too runny and leave the cake watery and soggy.  In Argentina, cheesecakes are often made with Ricotta cheese since it has the right consistency and the cakes can maintain their form, however, I like my cakes sweet – and the flavor comes out a little too “cheesy” for me. So Philadelphia.  It’s quite expensive here!  It’s imported, so not all stores have it – and that would mean a 1/2 hour walk in the cold and rain to the big store that will inevitably charge me way too much for a dessert that inevitably will just be eaten by myself and Javier.

I had a package of  Mendicream (a cream cheese brand here) and dulce de leche in the back of our refrigerator so I decided to put a little spin on the cheesecake part of the recipe.  I made the brownie according to the instructions (adding a little extra espresso powder to my tastes) and then baked it in the oven at around 350 F for a half hour.  I took it out and let it cool.  Then I cut the brownies into nine pieces (gave one to Javier with some mate to stop him hovering in the kitchen) and arranged the remaining 8 pieces on a plate.  I mixed up about half of a large tub of Mendicream and 3/4 of a small tub of Artesenal dulce de leche – and slapped it over the brownie.  Now the brownie was already cooled when I put the cream cheese and dulce de leche mixture on it otherwise I would have had a big runny sloppy mess on my hands.

The brownie itself came out nice, but my brownies are just so much more cocoa-ier…and gooey – the consistency wasn’t right for a brownie, but more like a cookie-cake.  Maybe I did it wrong!

But the taste isn’t bad.  My espresso cheesecake brownie turned “dulce de leche cheesecake brownie-cookie” is really rich and will be great served with mate or tea.  In fact, I’m going to share the love and bring some down to the old neighbor who runs the little hardware shop next to me.

Check out the “Uniform Project“.  It started out in May where this blogger decided to participate in an exercise for sustainable fashion.  She takes the same dress and has committed to “reinventing” the dress every day for an entire year with layers and accessories. 

She’s also doing this for a wonderful cause – her project is also a fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation – providing funding for educational expenses and uniforms in the slums of India.

It’s a great idea, a wonderful cause and fashion inspiring all at once.