1Day- Business Trip to Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi has such a different vibe comparing to Dubai.
It surely has remained a lot more "local".
Visiting malls (I did 4 in a morning!) and looking at people everywhere, you can count a good number of Emirati, many more than in Dubai, anyways.

It is an experience, a lot less surprising to what Dubai has to offer, but it's a pleasant UAE city, in big development and with a strong national pride. After all Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the country, while Dubai can be considered...let's say...its playground!!!

This more authentic life style is reflected in what boutiques have to offer in the malls. I found a lot more abaya and sheila shops (Abaya is the traditional Emirati women elegant black dress, used to cover their regular clothes - Sheila is the piece of fabric they use to cover their head).
This below is an example of an elegant boutique window at Abu Dhabi Marina Mall where stylish abayas are embellished with precious Swarovski details.

Here on the left, I tried to capture a lovely elegant Emirati woman who was wearing amazing red pump shoes and a Hermes purse, while carrying quite a few luxury shopping bags: Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci.
And it was just 11 am!!!!!!!!! I was so jelous!

People often ask me why Emirati women buy so much, especially fancy clothes, if they have to cover them anyways.
Well, first of all I still need to further investigate on this matter and understand better, but what I know for sure is that UAE women mostly buy expensive accessories like shoes, bags, sunglasses and, of course, jewelry. Things they can always show off. While for the regular pieces of clothing, it seems like they do have chances to wear them in private family gatherings, parties and probably on a very intimate dinner with their husband!
I've never seen so many sexy lingerie shops like in the UAE! Somebody must wear those provocative pieces!!!

Together with their grown up fancy shopping spots, the UAE has plenty of luxurious selections for kids as well. Check these super cute Mercedes toy convertible and truck!!!
Then compare them to what we all, most probably, played with when we were kids in the 80s and 90s!

                                            TOYS FOR REACH EMIRATI & EXPAT KIDS TODAY:

THE REST OF US....A WHILE AGO:

Once I was done with my research (I love going shopping and say that I was WORKING!!!) visiting Abu Dhabi Mall, Marina Mall, Wahda Mall and the Central Market, I had a meeting with one of my new Dr. Vranjes client in town. 

This is the first cute shop in the capital city selling our fragrances starting from around October 12 !
It's called "Creme de la Creme", it's located next to the Central Souq entrance and they will be presenting a selection of our products at the event "CHIC LADY" in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 9. I'll be there too (if everything gets here on time)!

If you're in Abu Dhabi on the 9th, stop by and have a look at the exhibition centre. Otherwise go visit their shop in the Central Market area. They have lovely gift ideas and fancy wrapping papers!!! Definitely a must-go when Christmas time approaches! Check the grand opening of "Creme de la Creme, with special guest - Lebanese actress Myriam Faris: 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150599289402432.405050.51542807431&type=3)

Last meeting of the day in Abu Dhabi was on the new developing Reem Island, at the Boutik Mall.
There, I discussed the introduction of Dr. Vranjes fragrances in a restaurant/ concept store.
The space is called "ITALIANISSIMO" and it obviously features only top quality made in Italy brands. The dining section is managed by Italian chefs who only select the best regional ingredients of the Italian cousine.
I didn't eat there yet, but espresso was really good and atmosphere absolutely lovely and warm...typical Italian style!
At the entrance of Italianissimo a special area is dedicated to the Made in Italy.
Dr. Vranjes will hopefully join them soon.
Now, you can already find Riccardo Cuomo's elegant clothes collection for men and women, Vic Matie' shoes, beautiful leather and python handbags and purses, a selection of Italian eau de parfum and some really cool bijoux of a Naples producer (I'm sorry, I don't know the exact name of all the brands, but I'll check them soon!).

Here some pictures of ITALIANISSIMO:


Italianissimo is right at the main entrance of the Boutik Mall.










This shopping area is dedicated to a selection of Italian brands:

The spacious restaurant is decorated with Italian cinema's black and white photographs. From La Dolce Vita, Sophia Loren to more recent actors like Roberto Benigni and unforgettable movies' captures.
The dining area has a contemporary classic interior style and it's suitable for a quick lunch, coffe, or for a business breakfast in one of the private rooms.
The majority of the Italian ingredients used by Italianissimo chefs can exclusively be purchased right on spot, I need to go there and stock some good homemade pasta and tomato sauces!








Abu Dhabi seems to be the place to be right now.
Somehow a lot of my connections and business opportunities are taking shape in there. I will go back to Abu Dhabi this week and I'll update on how all the projects are evolving!

Fingers crossed for me!!! :)
CIAO!

Back in DBX!

Oh well, it has been a while. More than 2 months without posting on this blog. But you know, summer is always crazy and although we usually have more time to do what we want, we end up being lazy and simply enjoy every single slow day we have in Italy and all the great resolutions I had at the end of the school year just don't seem to be a priority anymore.
Also, I feel the need to connect through the web more when I'm far from my friends and family. When I'm around I'm just too busy living, laughing, eating and loving everyday!!!

I got back to Dubai a couple of weeks ago and my new life here is treating me fine so far.
In my last few weeks in Europe, I've been going to the office working for Dr. Vranjes Firenze, trying to really figure out what my job back in the UAE would have been. We also were very busy preparing the interior design exhibition we participated to at the beginning of September.
The Maison & Objet is a beautiful show held in Paris twice a year. It's THE place to be for all furniture-interior, decoration, lightening brands and there is a good number of companies operating in the home fragrances market. We were there, with this elegant booth:
(This is my sister Bea and I exhausted but happy after a loooong first day of setting up the whole thing! Nice isn't it?)

It has been a great experience. I really got to know more about these exquisite fragrances and I met many of the Dr. Vranjes distributors worldwide. They all have one thing in common: lovely people!
 Despite the strenuous schedule and the sleep deprivation, we had so much fun! The booth was always busy with people from all over the globe and each evening we explored a different French amazing restaurant. Paris is simply magic, there's nothing comparable, and French peeps?...
Well they can be snobbish and a little arrogant. Especially when it comes to languages!!!
I divided them in 2 categories:
#1 The ones that, if you can't speak French, will probably assume you do and won't give a s**t if you obviously have no idea what they're talking about.
#2 The others that, even if you address them in fluent French, will get back to you in a broken English, VERY hard to decifrate.

But on the other hand, gosh, they surely know how to enjoy life! They're always out, either sipping a cup of coffe in a cafe patio during a sunny day or having a glass of champagne at night in one of the stylish bars of the many trendy areas.
This is a restaurant we've been to in Le Marais. It's a lively place with a dance school all around the dining open space. It was fun to eat while a lesson of argentinian tango and one of modern jazz were going on on the other sides of the windows!


Going back to our show, this is the fragrance we've launched in Paris: Calvado's by Dr. Vranjes. Inspired by the precious liquor, this lovely scent has made people literally walk back towards our booth while they were rushing to see everything possible of that huge exhibition. It was amazing to see how the sense of smell was doing all the job for us! We didn't even have to attract or stop people to come visit us. All the "good noses" got intrigued by our world of scents and got captured by our new fragrances. They particularly appreciated the gift box packaging of the Calvado's that comes with a precious balloon snifter. Isn't it a great idea?

Too bad you can't actually smell it from the web. But if you're in Italy you can find this magic world of scents here:
http://en.drvranjes.it/stores
And in many other shops around the world! info@drvranjes.it

Dr. VRANJES WILL BE SOON IN THE UAE!!!! WORK IN PROGRESS!!!

Official pictures - Bebe+Thomas Wedding

Happy Birthday Amore!

July 15th -
Thomas' 33rd birthday. I found a lot in the lyrics of this song that made me think of him:

"You're the best listener that I've ever met, you're my best friend - best friend with benefits.
You held your breath and the door for me, thanks for your patience"

Marriage...1 year after.

July 8th 2011 VS. July 8th 2012
Even if you try, you couldn't imagine 2 more extremely opposite situations!
When I started this blog I always wanted to catch up an talk about my wedding day and our lovely honeymoon. But I never did and now, a full year has passed and I can't avoid remarking what a huge - almost bipolar - reality I'm living.
This might sound negative if you picture someone's wedding day as THE perfect day....but it actually isn't that bad of a dualism. July 8th last year was, indeed, the most special day of my life, but July 8th this year hasn't been that bad either.

Everything was different though.
Last year we were in hot sunny Florence, getting married surrounded by our large families and hundreds of friends from all over the world.
This year we're in cold rainy Belgium, in the complete relaxing quiet of Thomas' mom house in the southern suburbs of Brussels. Does it sound depressing? Well it's not for me!
Since our return to Europe we've been extremely busy. Going back home to Italy is a pleasure, but it's always very demanding. We have to meet everybody (and still I have the feeling I haven't seen half of the people I want to see). We usually are invited to a couple of weddings (almost always in the opposite corner of the country). We have to take care of the house (since my sisters in Florence are not really the best housekeepers in the world). Rediscover our lovely garden (surprisingly still hiding underneath a tropical jungle that grows in the winter)...And finally we yearly have to cope with all the illnesses that don't hit us during the working months. Somebody has got to explain this to me: why don't I ever get sick when I'm working (even though Dubai is famous for its sudden temperatures changes: 45 degrees C outside and 8 degree C in every building with AC), but I ALWAYS end up sick in bed for at least 5 days the moment my plane touches the ground of Florence??????

Beside, going back to Florence it is nice, but I can't say we really relax there. Family is great and I'm thankful I can enjoy them a few months during the summer, but even that is pretty demanding. I won't give details on the many, believe me, family issues that keep us busy but I can try to explain what a great privilege we have living overseas far from all these discussions and disputes. Does it sound incredibly selfish? Well, it might be... but I'm just saying that I definitely don't know how to impede all these things to absorb me completely when I get home. I'm surely not used to balance everything anymore and all my great summer resolutions to exercise every day, bake all the yummy food I pinned on Pinterest that I never have time to make, read books, stroll in the streets of Florence waisting time and drive through the hills around the city with Thomas to see if the house of our dreams is there waiting for us...all these lovely things go completely forgotten the moment I get home.
Should I fight to get all this done and enjoy my vacation the way I want? Maybe so, but I know why I can't just ignore everything else. I guess the right word is "compensation". Yes, I try to compensate for all the time that I'm not there. I never say no to anybody and I try to do everything others expect me to do. It's not relaxing, of course, and my body is not happy about it and this is probably why I get sick every year. It's so hard to maintain a healthy balance and understand when it's ok to say no.


However, now, despite the terrible weather I'm absolutely enjoying these idle hours in Belgium. I celebrated our 1st anniversary sleeping until noon, staying in bed until 2pm, baking a cake, watching a movie with Thomas (in bed again) and reading a Belgian BD (comic). Not the more exciting anniversary plan. But, believe me, that's what we needed and I loved it.
Our dinner menu:
Oiseaux sens tete + cream spinach, baked potatos and blueberry cheesecake.

At the end of the day, both this year and last year' July 8th have been 2 perfect days for me!

Goodbye desert city....

Here I am, again, sitting on a box in our empty apartment in Motor City, Dubai.
What I see around me reminds me of when we first got here last year. It was August, 50 degrees Celsius outside, right in the Holy month of Ramadan, where no food or drinking is allowed during the day and music is restricted in most places. Honestly we thought "Where the hell are we!!??!!". Almost a year later, I've learned to love this city and even our quiet neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. But we're moving now, to a new apartment in Tecom. A much more central area where it will actually feel like we live in Dubai: much closer to school, to the metro station, to many hotels (and bars). With this wind of change and the new place, a lot more will be different after the summer:
1) I  quit my job at ASD to consacrate my time on my new business adventure. I will be exploring the UAE market opportunities for an Italian interior scents company (www.drvranjes.it). I love their    unique fragrances and sophisticated packaging. I'm sure the UAE majestic houses will be the perfect fit for such precious pieces of home decor.

2) I have been asked to tutor the two boys of a mysterious rich family living in Dubai (confidential identity and I'm burning with curiosity).

3) We'll get a second car. After an amazing year squeezed in a 2 seats porsche, we definitely are going to buy a 4X4 to go camp in the desert, do some dune bashing and drive our visitors without begging our friends to borrow their car. This is Thomas' favorite:

4) I will still be coaching the ASD swim team and I'm glad I'll still be around school and get to travel the region with our swimmers and coaches!!!

Post-Summer Resolutions:

1) Set a trading company in the UAE.

2) Participate in the Barasti volleyball league
3) Be an assidue participant of the ASD bootcamp with Lee and peeps

Meanwhile, summer is here and the great thing about the life we decided to live is that we have almost 3 months off!!! So, tonight we'll fly back to Florence just on time for my sister Beba's 32nd glorious birthday. I can't wait to be there with my family, eat good food together, enjoy our home's garden with its plum tree and arches of beautiful perfumed jasmine, play with our dog Brandy and have barbecues with friends in the warm summer evenings when the sun sets almost at 9 pm and we play guitars and sing until late at night, with our neighbor Silvano yelling at us because he can't sleep!

It has been a busy first year in Dubai, but overall it was great fun! I feel this place still has a lot we need to discover and I look forward to another exciting year in the desert city from September!

 Bye bye ASD!!!

Bon Voyage to us!!! Firenze here we come!!!

Les Lambert et moi

It has been a week since Thomas dad and little brother Lucas left. They spent a week here with us and it has been really nice. Though from the beginning their arrival wasn't anticipated from us as a regular family visit. The reason is probably that Thomas and his dad have a complicated past (that I have no right to tell here), but what I can tell for sure is that the week we spent together had a meaningful importance to me...and I'm sure for them too.

Une Semaine avec 3 Lambert