Peru

Okay, I promise I'll give Mario Testino a break soon, but I've been reading a lot about him lately. Despite being a big fan of his, I never realized he was born in Peru, and in fact has a photography book called Lima, Peru, which looks fantastic.

I was in Peru last year and found it absolutely breathtaking. It's no wonder people flock to it.During an interview with The Independent, Mr. Testino said, "I grew up in Peru in a very conventional Catholic upbringing, so sex was a taboo. But at the same time it was the 1960s; the sexual revolution. So I'm a contradiction."

Danish-Peruvian Helena Christensen was in Peru last year on behalf of Oxfam to document the effects of climate change in the country.

Read more about it here.

The Stuff of Dreams

I know I haven't updated in awhile. Life's been busy, etc., etc. But today I had one of those surreal New York experiences that begs to be written about.

This morning I was having brunch with a friend at NoHo Star. I glanced at the table beside me and who should I see but Mario Testino. I became instantly giddy. I excitedly told my friend who was sitting nearby and she didn't know who he was, but she said, "Go say hi!"

Without really thinking, I walked up to him and, unabashedly gushing, said, "I'm so sorry to interrupt, I'm just a huge, huge fan of your work. You're amazing!" He smiled kindly and said, "Well thank you! And I'm a huge fan of your style!"

I nearly threw my arms around him, but I managed to maintain my composure and I left him to his brunch.

Oh Mario Testino, I love you even more now than I did before!