Today Up Close and Personal is 2X *biiiip* year-young Birthday Girl and lifetime member of  my City-ladies-who-actually-do-lunch Cristina, aka Crista.
A gorgeous and stylish Romanian with German education, Crista who currently lives in London, UK is my mental twin sister from another mummy, and clearly another daddy too.
In other words, everything I ever thought of doing from reading, travelling to watching ballets/ movies or bikram yoga, she has either thought it through or has done it already! and that includes in-sync restroom stops at work where we first met and finally decided to chat it up at the 5th encounter. Ahem. Talk about akward...

Now let's cut it short and onto the Q&As with small Sammy Sam comments in between.

---------
Q1/ Most valuable possession 
Probably my Pomelato nude ring I bought in an Istanbul gold bazaar in Turkey. I wear it every day, and it also marked the beginning of my precious stone odyssey. oh and my growing brooch collection too.


Q2/ Never go a week without?
Reality check from my girlfriends! From Timisoara (Romania), Germany, London to L.A - you girls know who you are!
Other mundane addictions: people.com, green tea ice cream, the latest US series en vogue (now watching Pan Am), oh and the ELLE US horoscope app - Sammy Sam got me hooked ;-)
[SS Pause: that thing is THE TRUTH.com. You guys need to check it out like… now!]

Q3/ Latest inspirations
All of the above plus sweet memories from my travels: the colour of the Indian saris, the folds of robes of Buddhist monks, the grace of geishas performing the tea ceremony in Kyoto, the artsy crowd at the Biennale in Italy, the layer style of sherpas in the Himalayas, and New York hipsters, always on point!
[SS Pause: That’s my travel sister right here... woohooo  Hi 5! ]

Q4/ Ideal man
Q5/ Favourite spot(s) in London 
The Royal Opera House, the Walton st strip (we’re talking bars and lounges here), more hotel bars (Connaught, Claridge’s), Duke of York Sq market on Saturday after workout, The Pantechnicon *

Q6/ What's on your ipod right now? 
The new Lana del Rey album



Alright. That's it for the Truth.com!

Crista girl, you are a 24/7 Fab girl indeed, banging body and all.
London would be such a sad place without your amazing self.

Thanks again for always bringing the sparkles we need.
Plus today is yet another reason for you to shine so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

----------

Hope you guys enjoyed reading Cristina as much as I did.
Wishing you a great week ahead.

till next time

-S