Halloween 2016: Black Swan

This year I was sure that my Halloween costume would be Harley Quinn. I even bought the blue and pink hair pigments, the baseball bat and the wig. The only problem was that the wig was a online-late-night-half-asleep purchase and when it arrived it was…well yes…wait for it…TERRIBLE.

So not to feel discouraged I opted for my favorite movie ever: Black Swan. I love getting inspired in pop culture for my costumes. For the ones that have followed this blog since the beginning you know how much I love this movie (my 25th birthday party was Black Swan themed…thank you very much). I tried to replicate the makeup of the poster and I am writing this post with blood-red eyes since the black gel I used for the eyes was irritating AF and that came in really handy to complete the look.

Hope you guys have a wonderful Halloween ❤ 🙂

 

Madrid: 2 years later

Two years ago, I was arriving at Barajas Airport in Madrid utterly scared and also excited to start a new life. Jimmy and I didn’t know what to expect since this was our first time in Madrid. We left behind so many things and felt heart-broken for many reasons.

I remember being scared to come here just for the reason that eventually I would have to leave again. But here we are two years later blending in this lovely city. I didn’t look back: I just said good-by to my family and left. No farewell parties, no calls, no social media «I-am-leaving» posts. We just took our things, our hopes and dreams and left for a better life.

So how can I manage to resume our two years here without making this a tremendous long post? With a list, obviously. 🙂

1. Two years, two different apartments. Our first one sans elevator and the second one with a lovely terrace. 
2. I have two of my old friends from school here in Madrid, but in these past two years I have made incredible new ones. I am so grateful for that.
3. We have built a solid video reel with all the things we have filmed since we got here.
4. In two years we have changed from one music producer to another (It didn’t actually work out for us, but still keep in touch because they are good friends). Now Jimmy and I haven’t stopped making music because we found our music flow together and we are loving it. I hope to share some new music soon.
5. Talking about music, I wrote a song for the SRF Eurovision Switzerland Song Contest and we made it to the final 6 from 400 people! It was an amazing experience!
6. I traveled to Paris, Pisa, Zürich (two times) and Thessalonica (3 times). I also made a fast trip to Miami with my parents. These two years have been busaaay!
7. Nina moved in with us last year and I was the happiest person on earth to have my little monster here. 
8. I finished the first draft of my book. It is still a work in progress but I am trying to squeeze the time to actually polish it.
9. I work every single day to get what I want, I feel I have made such a big progress but there is still so much to do.
10. Finally, I am still learning new things every day. Madrid, you still haven’t seen the best of me. 😉

Failed Greek vacations: broken arm

I am having an awful time writing this post with one hand. Yes, you read correctly, one hand. My other hand (and arm) is wrapped up like a burrito-croissant making me look like a war survivor.

There I was in Greece, all Summer and glory in my second day climbing up a (very old ladder) reaching for some stuff up in the attic, and bam!!…two floors down and a broken arm. All my fabulous Summer plans flushed dramatically down the toilet. I don’t want to bore you with all the ER disasters and the excruciating pain that came after, the only thing I have to say is that I would never wish this pain upon anyone.

That being said, I am now 50% less productive; can’t work out, can’t write, no cooking or cleaning. I am trying to stay positive and look at the bright side (not hitting my head) and be productive trying to polish the songs we are recording for 12/20 since singing is the one thing I still can do with one arm.

Bare with me for the next couple of months since I won’t be able to post as much but will try to still keep you guys updated.

Big kiss to all of you ❤

PS: please be safe and climb ladders very carefully, the ER doctor told me that 40% of broken bones that he sees are because of stairs and ladders.

The last 20’s: Happy Birthday to me

Tarata-tan… My birthday was this past Sunday! You guys know my excitement when it comes to my b-day (I don’t know if the excitement is going to last till I am 50) but meanwhile, I still get all bubbly and happy on June 5th.

My sister is staying with us so she and Jimmy made sure I had a wonderful time. We had pre-party drinks at home with friends (with two cakes y’all) and then went dancing.

This year is going to be my last 20’s year so……… I am going to make the best of it!

My petit pois is in Madrid!

Our usual pose: me smooching Jimmy

Gifts from Jimmy, Stefi, Ivan, Maria Teresa and Juan

My cute succulent from Laura and Alejandro 🙂

My gree tea, gluten-free, lactose-free cake brought by my lovely friends Maria Teresa and Juan 🙂 Isn’t this the prettiest cake you have ever seen?

 

Vlog series: Tuscany trip

I wanted to make a different kind of travel post so after stalking people on YouTube I got the (brilliant) idea to try to do a travel vlog for this trip.

I have to confess I was kind of skeptical about this whole vlog thing but it was actually fun and I got to capture tons of footage for you guys.

So here it is! Hope you like it 🙂

 

New banner and new logo… hello 2016!

 

As you can see, the banner of this blog got upgraded darling! Oh yeah.

I always imagined a creative and fun logo but never found the right person to explain my ideas. Until I met Jimmy’s friend Alejandro Palma. He is the most talented graphic designer I have ever met and also an incredible person. Not to mention his also talented and sweet girlfriend Laura with whom I enjoy spending time with when she comes to visit.

I sat down with Alejandro and explained what I wanted. He got the idea right away and I am in love with the new logo and banner. I told him I wanted a clean and fun logo and most of all it had to have something to do with lemons.  (Don’t you love the cute little drops in the L ?)

If you ever find yourself needing a kick-ass logo for your own you can contact Alejandro: palma.al@gmail.com. 

Here some of his work:

Happy Birthday to my favorite person

I remember how small she was when she was born: she used to hold my finger with her whole hand.

I remember how she looked at me the first time I took her in my arms; fragile and sweet .

I am blessed not only to have a beautiful sister but also to have a best friend.

She’s got my back and I am here to catch her every time she falls.

I am so proud of this little girl who has turned into a classy, gorgeous and intelligent lady.

Happy birthday Stefi, may you have a wonderful day filled with love and joy!

I love you! ❤

Merry Christmas to you all

May this day bring  joy and happiness to you and your loved ones

Always remember that the best gift you can give to yourself is to love you for who you truly are

Merry Christmas from The Golden Limoncello

 

Dear Yiayia: I am going to miss you every single day

This is my sweet Yiayia (grandmother in Greek).

She passed away last week and I still can’t believe she is gone.

I have a big hole in my heart right now but somehow feel a deep peace inside me. The last time I spoke to her I told her «Yiayia, my song is in the top 19, I don’t know if I am going through to the top 6 in Zürich» she breathed through the phone and said to me in her sweetest voice «Agapi mou, you are definetly going to the top 6. Your song is beautiful and talks about love and love always wins«. And it did.

She passed away a day before me going to the Zürich live auditions. I wished she could have seen it on TV. I wish I could have told her that she was right. I wish she would have heard the happiness in my voice. Something inside my heart tells me that she did.

I love you Yiayiaka. I will always love you. You taught me to be kind, to always be nice to people, to think, to be gentle, to be loving and to always remember to give love.

Thank you for being part of me, thank you for bringing sunlight and love to my life.

Eurovision 2016 «Feel the love»

Been kind of… well…off the radar lately, but I promise you I’ve been down to business and having a lovely time in the hectic agenda.

I am absolutely proud to announce to you guys that thanks to my lovely producer William Luque, I am part of something really exciting: he made the music and I wrote the lyrics to the song «Feel the love» by Stanley Miller (Chipper) and we are participating to represent Switzerland in Eurovision 2016!

It would mean a lot to me if you guys can vote for us so we can go though the next round. Here I share with you the official video made by Jimmy Selecta so you can hear the music and (if you like it) you can vote for us!

We have until November 16th, 2015 to vote. Then hopefully 17 songs will be selected and go through the next round in Zurich.

http://esc.srf.ch/de/stanley-miller-chipper

Thank you so much! 🙂

 

New home, once again

It has been a year since I was packing and unpacking stuff from and old home to a new one. I have changed beds four times in the last four years. Maybe it’s my lucky number.

It was not a pleasant experience searching for a new apartment here in Madrid: for some reason everything we saw was either too old or too expensive, until we found the current place where I’m now typing from.

We were supposed to be in Barcelona right now but a turn of events made us reconsider our decision. We are still recording our album here and it was kind of precipitated to leave it mid way and move to another city.

So here I am posting from our new home. I am proud to say I packed and unpacked everything in three days. I cleaned and organized pretty much like the little OCD freak I am in one day and oh… you have no idea how excited I am to start decorating. I will try to find a balance between that and the recording.

As soon as I am settled in I will show more before and after pics!

P.S: Nina is absolutely in love with the big balcony.

 

Lately…this is what’s going on

(This picture is from our trip to Greece in June)

It’s been almost a year since I left my old home in Venezuela and moved to Spain. I remember all the stress and chaotic moments involved. Everything has changed so much since last year, that I have no words to describe how blessed and grateful I am to be here.

This last six months have been a real challenge. We were flirting with the idea of moving to Barcelona because we got a real good offer to sign our music and make some more videos there, but Madrid was holding my hand really tightly and I felt I did not give this amazing city a real chance. Jimmy and I discussed this back and forth until a lovely event made our decision easier: we found an amazing producer and started recording our new album right away.

After searching like crazy for a new apartment, we finally found one with an elevator and a big balcony. Late this month we will move and I can’t wait to show you guys the before and after of the place.

So don’t think for a second I have forgotten about my blog and all of you who make it possible. The Golden Limoncello is getting tons of new posts and lots of giggles and smiles.

Madrid….you haven’t seen the best of me.

I hope you guys are having a lovely Summer ❤