Simone Barros

My friend Karina - some of the people who read this blog know her - has been one of my constant companions during my three month vacation here in Brazil. We grew up together and have been best friends for a long time, which made me realize "Holy Smokes, I have a TON of best friends!":) She's a doctor and her schedule is very crazy, but we've been making an effort to hang out a ton.

Right before she traveled to Cuiabá to spend a couple of weeks with her parents, she took me to this place in Olinda called Simone Barros. This lady is famous for the sweet treats she makes and pretty much EVERYONE who gets married or has a huge party going on hires her literally "sweet"services.

So here is a hundredth of what that lady can make:

Here's a picture I took of the Logo on the door, so she can be recognized for her amazing talent

"Crocante Branco"

The plate just looked amazed and no - I did NOT want to eat them!

Another view of the plate [clockwise]:

Brigadeiro colorido, bombom de amêndoa, moranguinho,

brigadeiro preto, white cherry cordial, surpresa de uva, and crocante branco in the center

DE-LI-SH! Yes, I plan to go back there before going back to the U.S.

As soon as Karina gets back from Cuiabá - which should be TODAY, I will schedule another visit to Simone Barros with her. It's worth the trip and the prices are super affordable :)

Enjoy!!!

"The Surgery"

I've been owing this post for a while, so here it is :)

In August 2009 I started an acne treatment with Accutane (Roacutan in Brazil). The treatment took about a year and about six months into the treatment I noticed that a "zit" started to develop on my face, but it would never come out. I decided not to bug it and by December 2010 I had a hard, fibrotic cyst on my face. I'd feel like the cyst was pulling my skin and it'd also itch. So I decided to look for a doctor to refer me to a surgeon that could remove it with minimal scarring.

I went to the "plastic" surgeon and he said that this was a simple procedure that could be done in the office, so I scheduled the surgery for January 19, 2011. Got the surgery done and he said that in about 3 months it should look normal. However, 6 months after I had two little things sticking out (one on each end of the incision), and the place of the cut looked like a huge dimple. Here is the picture that kinda shows it:

Close look at the scar, you can kinda notice

For some stupid code error I couldn't write anything right before the three pictures above but this is how my face looks after the procedure done by Dr. Ivo Salgado, the plastic surgeon.

Of course this is only two weeks after the new procedure. There's still a long way for me to go through, but I believe that the final results will be good. :) What is it with me and doctors in America? I was treated for Tuberculosis when I am autoimmune, hahaha :) What will be next?

Oh, and I will post some new adventures here in Brazil soon :) More pictures to come.

Carpe Diem!