Fasano Boa Vista: The ultimate country estate

Most of the people think of beaches, sun, pretty women wearing sexy bikinis when they think of vacationing in Brazil.  In other words Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro.  Little do they know what they're missing when they choose the beach over the countryside.  Two weekends ago we spent a weekend at FasanoBoa Vista, a country estate at merely one hour and 15 minutes outside of Sao Paulo and my amazement can’t be put into words but, I'll try.  It's without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I've been.  The stunning architecture, which perfectly blends with its site, was accomplished by the very renowned Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld.  It covers 100 acres of secured and preserved forest with 15 lakes, groves and gardens, 18-hole golf courses, a polo field, stables, tennis and soccer courts and a kids activity center.  The hotel also offers real estate inside the property and a lot of wealthy proprietors owned second or third "French-looking" homes there.  You can see the families relaxing among adults while their babas (nanies) spend time at the kids club where there is usually a lot of fun happening.   There were instances that while we were biking around its beautiful century-old trees-lined-uphill-boulevards I thought I was in Provence.
And if you don’t believe me then believe Hermes.  Yes, "In 2012, Boa Vista hosted the Hermès Cup, in association with the centenary French saddlery, marking the first time the organization has given its approval to an equestrian event outside of France." Fasano Website

 The entrance to the reception of the Hotel is just beautiful.  Couldn't help to take a picture.

 The veranda was one of my favorite spaces of this place.

The infinity swimming pool.

 Love this place for breakfast in the mornings. Below, how it looks.

 The decor has a very Scandinavian influence. 

 

 One of the restaurants. 

 The decor is minimal but so cozy you feel home as soon as you walk in the rooms.

 The view from the room.  All of the rooms have a beautiful view out to the country side.

 My hubby biking with our little one.

 Our little one at the stables.

The Hotel has a huge and great selection of design books.

 Adorable ponies.

The swimming pool restaurant. Below, two of the beautiful homes.

most pictures by me others Fasano website

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Ikea's good art

Everyone knows that designing a house and making it feel like a home takes many long and exhausting months, if not years.  So when I realized that I would only have two months to plan, design, execute, anticipate the smallest details and to think about what we might be needing in the future, I know that in order to not go insanely crazy, I had to rely on things that were not too expensive and too valuable but still good looking.  I don't know much about Sao Paulo yet, but I know that things tend to cost three times more.  So where did I go to for basic things? right!  Ikea.  I was planning to buy things such as a mattress for our little one, a foot step for his sink  and so on.  Imagine my surprise when walking around I found very good looking prints!  God, was I glad, there are an awful lot of empty walls in this house that will need to be filled. We got the top one by Deborah Azzopardi for Lucas's room, of which I will only tell you that it will have a bunch of stripes.  Yeah!

 The top is a motif by Amelia Lancaster.  Bellow, Ikea's selection of Matisse motifs.   We also got one or two of those.

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Friday eye candy

I´m head over heels for this necklace above that I found at a jewelry store here in Sao Paulo

This an unofficial Saturday eye candy for all of my lovely readers who, like me, are committing a sin by blogging on a beautiful Saturday morning.  If by any chance you have absolutely nothing more fun to do and happen to be cyber sauntering during  the weekend then this is for you.  Bom fim de semana!
I´ve been forever infatuated with Brazilian jewelry and this week I got these cool earrings (below) and I love them.

Nothing more relaxing than walking barefoot at the beach. 

Another shot of a home store.  I suspect I´m in big trouble!

Pure Glam!

My coffee standards are way too high.  All I have to say is that I was pretty happy with this one above.

All photos by me via my instagram.  If you would like to follow me via instagra you can click here.

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Meet Costanza Pascolato

I got back from Sao Paulo over the weekend and guess who I met at the plane, coincidentally, none other than Sig Bergamin.  Remember I posted about him a few weeks ago.  We chatted while picking up our bags.  Amazing coincidence!

We had a great time while in Brazil and looked at as many houses and flats as you can imagine.  I have photos to share with you in a few days.  At the end of our hunt we were debating between two great contenders, one on a 28th floor -I'm afraid of heights- and another on a 14th floor.  No need to say which one we picked.  I could never sleep knowing I'm so high from the ground.

 Costanza Pascolato

 Please God make me look like Costanza when I'm in my 70's!  Amen!

On another note, while reading and trying to know more about Brazil I came across Costanza Pascolato.  The incredibly stylish Vogue Brazil contributor who is 73 years-old and looks incredible!  Italian-born, she is still photographed on the streets and very much admired by fashion bloggers.  I found some images of her home which is as stylish as she and wanted to share with you.

“My home is where I focus a lot of my energy now."  Costanza Pascolato
 

I want to thank all of those who have sent good wishes to my upcoming move to Sao Paulo and also to the Paulistanians who have emailed me with recommendations and insights.  I truly appreciate it.

Photos by Luis Gomes for de vida estilo

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Moving to Brazil! what!

My hubby has been assigned to an executive position with his company in Brazil and I couldn't be happier for him.  If there is anyone who deserves an opportunity like this, its him.  He is an ethical and hard worker man who has been working for this same company since out of college, and like in everything else he puts his effort on he gives it all.  I remember when our little one was born, I can't believe it's been more than three years, how hard he tried to break himself into three, having to be at work every day, going two and three nights a week to finish his MBA, and wanting to be here to help with the little one. All that meanwhile remodeling our home.  And somehow he magically did, even waking up with me almost every night to help me.  Looking back I know those days were though but thanks to his help and presence it almost felt manageable.  I'm very proud for him!
After weighing all the pros and cons we decided to finally grasp this once in a lifetime opportunity and move to Sao Paulo.  At this point I'm not taking any clients unless the client is willing to work via online but my lovely blog will come with me wherever I go.
At first I was very hesitant although never doubted about the move but it has slowly grown on me and now I'm extremely excited and anxious to see what we will learn in Sao Paulo.  We already have a few plans while being there, such as visiting Buenos Aires and Punta Del Este, two places I've been meaning to go to.
Looking back. Way back, I remember I always wanted to live in different countries and one of our priorities is for our son to grow up with knowledge and awareness of all the different worlds out there and if possible learn different languages.  It scares me to death for him to grow narrowed minded, so this will be an extremely important step in his raising.  My hubby once shared with me something he read about the first 5 years of a child's life being heavily influential in their lives; and I agree.  The environment as much as the people around them is fundamental so we will be paying a visit to Sao Paulo to house hunt soon, and I'll share the process with you.  There is a relocation company who is helping us with this but I'm too hands on to let go so I've been searching about rental properties, and unfortunately like in every other category in search engines, popularity doesn't always match quality.  Too bad there is no Pinterest for real estate.  Why doesn't someone come up with that.  We were also told that rental properties are usually gone in one day.  It's pretty much take it now or never. God help us!

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Sig Bergamin

You may remember Sig Bergamin's beautiful work when his beach house was featured, not long ago, in Elle Decor.  His beach home had a mélange of different textiles and patterns from many places around the world that he boldly mixed with blue and white Chinese ceramics, African artifacts and other curiosities he had collected during his travels.  All put together with a very relaxed feel.   I'll be visiting Sao Paulo soon, and I'm seeing a lot of homes that have been featured in different magazine lately that make me curious to see what I'll find while I'm there.  I visited Sig Birgamin's website and I was smitten.  Below why.  Enjoy!

 All images from Sig Bergamin.

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