mOre

(Note: this post was written with the intention of immediate posting, however, I became sidetracked and then took off to Abu Dhabi this weekend with Giuseppe, so the "real-time" of it is not exact, but the story and my day remains true, and so ultimately, post-worthy :D)

I usually don't blog about my day-to-day activities, but I figure I had a rather nice and productive day today...so I shall share.

Got up this morning to yet another sunny, warm and lovely day in Dubai, just in time to say goodbye to Giuseppe, on his way out the door to work. I picked up the flat a little, and checked some on-line goodies, got dressed and headed to the gym for an hour. I try to go to the gym every day or every other day, depending on my schedule, but both Giuseppe and I have been feeling a little under the weather lately, so today was the first day in 3-4 days...it felt good.

So, I walked back home, hopped in the shower and chilled for a bit, ate some breakfast and played with Blogger, researched some schools, design sites, the usual...

Around 2:30, I got ready and headed over to mOre, a cool little cafe/restaurant at the Al Marooj Rotana Hotel, that is fast becoming one of my favorite - if not my favorite - place to get an espresso and chat, or grab a nice meal or just a fresh home-made lemon & mint soda. It is the best...

As soon as I got there, I parked and drove myself in the golf-cart around the hotel to the front door of mOre, where I was greeted by the manager, who by now knows us pretty well...I headed out the back door to the outdoor terrace, and sat at my favorite table under the trees. It felt so relaxing today to just get out and sit and sketch and design, and brainstorm ideas for my blog, illustrations for think*ink (which I may change, tbd). And I also wrote Giuseppe's bio for the POSIT site...I think it came out pretty good, I have to confirm with him first though...I want to make sure I do him justice! :)

I ordered a tuna sashimi salad, which I love, and slowly but surely, accrued some curious friends throughout my time there...little birds who seemed curious in me...or my food...or something around me. Either way, I enjoyed watching them try and work up the courage to get closer to me, chirping frantically at their friends and scooting away swiftly at one little move of my foot on the gravel. So cute...and willing to keep me company through the last 45 minutes or so of my outing to mOre.

I allowed myself to become inspired by everything that I saw outside today, and so my sketches of plants and grasses and leaves, and my photos of birds, sugar & salt-n-pepper shakers and the chairs, ground and hotel buildings all reflect that...I even took pictures of silly street and building signs, like "grand lube."

(hey, it was funny when I was sitting in my car, alone, in traffic, taking 30 minutes to drive less than a mile....funny!!!)

So, I am home now, going over my sketches and brainstorming some more on my new blog, my new website, where I want to take it all next...and also researching schools, to finish my degree. I am pondering back on the SFIA...I keep going back to it, so there must be something......

Bye for now...love d:)

Check out the pictures below of my day...