Shopbop is pretty much the coolest store online. If I had the cash, I would have every item on there in my closet. The thing that I love most about this site, is that it gives us access to young underground designers. It’s a breath of fresh air when you’re living in the desert and the coolest designers are Louis Vuitton and Chanel. They have a section on trends that I also like to visit every once in a while. Speaking of trends, I picked out a few of my favorite styles for fall 07.

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WORLD TRAVELER
Treat your body as a blank canvas. Contrasting prints mingle into illuminated self expression, and slouchy leather bags pull the look together.

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THE AVANT GARDES
Minimalism and innovation, a brooding darkness, in sleekly sophisticated style. This is original edge, the new generation, and this is anything but your mothers’ style.

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MODERN FLAPPER
The ever-present mini embodies free spirited attitude as artful Deco inspiration lives in every opulent print. The bodies are modern, the details decadent, and luxury has no bounds. This is our jazz age.

Tomorrow marks exactly eleven weeks since my first day here. By now, I have somewhat of a better understanding of this place. Everyday I continue to grow and learn more about life here and see more of the change taking place right now. It’s very clear that tradition is struggling with modernization and a booming economy. There is construction of new buildings happening on every corner. The Gap is opening several stores around the city. Investors, advertising agencies, and large corporations are quickly moving in to get their piece of the pie. It’s only a matter of time before laws will change and society forced to bend and reshape itself.

The eyes of the world are on this region with curiosity. The case of the Qatif Rape has been getting global attention recently. A Saudi girl gang raped in a public place gets sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes as punishment. Everybody is asking the same question. Isn’t the fact that she got gang-raped enough punishment for this poor girl. The majority of the people here still believe that she is at fault for meeting in a public place with a man whom she is not related. Human rights activists are focusing on the fact that she was abducted at knife point and raped. Laws are based on islamic principles and it will be very difficult to challenge these principles, but it is inevitable.

Eleven weeks of personal growth as well. Too many to mention. Good days and bad days, but in general things are going well and in the right direction…nip/tuck, amazing race, photography, chicken in the oven, beirut, almultaka, portraits, turkish coffee, cool weather, good music, nikon d200, flock, rss feeds, blogging, walks with Paul, dinner with friends, squats, ketchup chips, non-alcoholic beer, fuschia nail polish, selling the house, waiting for kay, and looking forward to winter and Christmas break.

Centrale Bar: Bernard Khouri Architecture., originally uploaded by Carcura.

Strolling from BCD towards Jemmayzeh I couldn’t help but stop and admire this incredible structure. I had been to Centrale sometime last year when I was visiting Beirut, but didn’t realize til recently that it’s the work of architect Bernard Khoury, of B018.

Centrale Bar: Bernard Khouri Architecture.
Originally uploaded by Carcura

The original structure was a residential building from the 1920s that was placed under historical protection. This area was deserted during the civil war due to its proximity to the line that separated east and west Beirut. The interesting thing about this structure is that Bernard Khouri refused to cover the exterior structure with stucko even though the interior was completely stripped and modernized. Instead, he built steal beams on the outside that reinforced the structure and held it together in order to preserve the authenticity and the beauty of the weathered brick. The result is poetic and beautiful…I adore this building.