Documenting

...how many mugs i am able to stack, my cats tours around the house.
i can walk now but only for a few minutes and i cannot carry my camera outside because it´s so heavy but at home i still stalk every little bit of sun light i can.

I'm still here

When i made my last post in October i truly thought that soon i was returning to my job and life would fall in to some kind of winter 'routine' but i´m still here resting,at home after one night in November when my appendix decided to show it´s existence and i had an emergency surgery to remove it.

It was scary.
The pain, the long hours waiting in the E.R not knowing what was wrong with me and finally the confirmation that i was going to be operated.
The last face i saw before going inside was João, kissing my hand and telling everything was going to be ok.
It´s been a week since i returned home and i've being living the cliche of feeling really grateful and free after those three days in the hospital bed.

A Casa Formosa

Here are a few details of my Guest-House , a Casa Formosa.

It´s been two years since we started with no experience, a tight budget  but a lot of willpower and a dream in our minds - i feel so proud of all the nice reviews and feedback from our dear guests!

I hope we can grow keeping up with the good work, providing a warm welcome for those who come to Porto and choose us as a starting point to know the city.

1. The doorbell

2. Our hall and guest's notebook

3. One fluffy rose pillow

4. The living room lamp

5. Fresh fruit in the table

6. The record player 

7. The sofa

8. One of the bedrooms pillows

9. Some succulents in one of the terraces

One of my favorite spots in the house right now

2010

While doing the endless task of organizing my photo files i found this pictures i took of Maia in the barbershop two years ago.
I love barbershops and i recall that Maia was the first friend that agreed to enter and ask to take some photos.
This reminded me to be a little more brave and look into the eyes of strangers more often.

 I have to recognize that what sometimes i consider to be 'my comfort zone' is simply just fear of the unknown and what i can not control.
People can be nice,Sara.

Animal patterns

This week i was looking around in a fabric store and these two patterns caught my attention and i could not resist bringing them home.
Soon to become lovely new shirts!

my room in the morning

Introducing ...

Tone

 My niece found Tone two years ago, abandoned with two other newborn kittens inside a bucket in the train station near my parents house.
She brought them home and we tried to understand how old were they and if they would survive without the mother.
I bought some powder milk from the pet store and we fed them with a baby bottle.
Tone's siblings did not survive but he made it, turning into one of the beautiful and funniest cats i ever seen.
My 17 year old female cat, Estrelinha still lived a year with him and they were best friends to her last days (she past away earlier this year).
He is now the pride and joy of my parents house.

Orange

5th of October is a holiday in Portugal.
From my window i can see the streets are very quiet, there is always a lot of people that elope the city on long weekends and i feel a true feeling of peace.
Later i will gather with some friends to grab pizza and catch up on the conversation.
I hope everybody out there  has a great weekend.

A ride with a view

João surprised me two days ago and took me for a ride in a chairlift from the riverside of Gaia to the Jardim do Morro.
I'm afraid of heights and the last time i was on a chairlift was over ten years ago and i thought i could not ever do it again.
Well, i did and felt really happy with myself.
In the end João said he did this for me to feel i can do anything if i put my mind to it.

What a great afternoon.

October

Tomorrow will be, most likely the last day of my sick leave.
I have treasured very much each day spent at home, spending quality time hanging around with the cats, taking pictures - relearning to relax.
I feel better but not quite ok to return to work, but i don´t know if it will be possible to extend the leave and i don´t want to run or hide from the fact that this job is something to be over with until the beginning of 2013.
Tried my best to unwind during this time but now i want to focus for i did not yet found a solution for what exactly would make me happy in the job department.
Need a plan and faith.

Need to tell myself i can do this.

  

Natacha

This picture was taken three years ago and since then i only saw Natacha once more in 2010, although she is one of my closest friends.
We text messages and send emails, very rarely call but still i think she is one of the few people in the world to whom i tell a whole lot of myself.
I wish for more time in real life with people i love.

'The days are long, but the years are short.'

The sea

My friend Maia has a project involving people who photograph in film and live or work near the sea and right now i'm trying to choose a picture to make my submission!
It´s an open call - if you are interested in participating look for more information here.

Change

This last weekend the wind as crazy,almost cyclonic and it rained.
I noticed the trees leaves covering the ground in every garden or street i passed and enjoyed putting my green wellies for the first time since March.
The color palette is changing around me and i will try to make the most of it,taking lots of pictures and going for walks,even if it rains!
The pictures above were taken just two weeks ago and i post them here as a 'see you later' summer memo.

Lisboa

 
Last week i was in Lisbon to attend and photograph a  friends wedding.
Three years had passed since i was there and i only stayed for three days...i adore the light,the buildings and i miss a lot the few people i love and cherish there but i feel i have a different pace from the city where everything seems so distant from the next thing to see or visit and people run between to many tourists and traffic.
Maybe i'm really becoming a small town girl but i will try to come and visit more often, find a balance between Lisbon's rhythm and my own.
I hope i have nice pictures to show of  the ceremony in the next few days, i feel excited about making the photo  album, it will be my gift to the grooms.

A wink at Autumn

I recently thrifted  a mint enamel teapot & some awesome kitchen crochet handles.

 Although i dread the days getting shorter and cold i feel that it's time to accept the coming of a different season and purchasing beautiful objects helps a lot!

Say hello to Mora and Nico

Last weekend i was taking a walk around the neighborhood with my friend Carla and we decided to ring at Mora's bell to say a quick hello on our way home.
Nico welcomed us with a reverse serenade and we went up for a few minutes of chatting.

Her apartment is very tiny but so cozy and filled with lovely details, light and a lot of love.

A picnic in August

Here´s some pictures of a picnic i organized in the middle of August.

We went to a beautiful garden in the city named Palácio de Cristal - dogs were not allowed but we sneaked in Miga, Nuno´s dog in and it was one of the few time during that month were i could relax and be with friends.

Stop

July went by in a flash.

 I spent basically all my free time cleaning the house, trying not to go mad because my closet collapsed (all my clothes lying everywhere, like a bomb exploded in the room) and answering a lot of booking requests for the Guest-house.

Summer is a busy time for us and i'm very glad that we were for the last three months fully booked but i got overwhelmed by everything going on at the same time.

I work part-time for a big corporate phone company and spend 6 hours a day talking on the phone with not so polite customers and one day last month i just woke up and felt i could not go out of the house and talk to strangers on the phone anymore.

I had to stop and realize that i was having a nervous breakdown, went to the doctor and asked for a sick leave, so I´m home for  the last two weeks now and will be until the end of September.

I feel this is a good chance to change what´s in need of change.

Leave a job that for seven years allowed me to survive but now feels like it´s keeping me from being alive.

Will need courage, will need planning, but i'm ready.

35

About two weeks ago i turned 35 years old.

Still can not believe it, i guess when i think of myself i still see the 17 year old me.

Say goodbye to June

June was a month full of people to enjoy, i did not had the chance to take photograph all of them but here are a few nice pictures i took:

Angela , who i didn't saw since last year - we met in an event in Serralves where people can enjoy for free the gardens and the museum during some frenetic 48 hours where all sort of thing can happen;
Nicolau, a wonderful crazy boy that besides being a really good friend is a wonderful designer and illustrator helping us building the website for our guesthouse.
Katherine, a talented photographer traveling all over Europe for the summer and whom i am currently hosting at home.

I want summer nights to be warm so i feel like going out, i miss going out just for a walk and meeting people and then staying in the street talking and laughing.