Despite being invented in the 19th century in India, clericot is the drink of choice in Punta del Este (and the reason why I have to take a nap everyday after lunch). Here is my favorite way to make it:
1 bottle of white wine (preferably dry and not very sweet)
1 diced apple (no need to peel it)
1 peeled sliced orange
2 peeled and diced peaches
1/2 pineapple peeled and diced
A few cut strawberries
A few seedless grapes
1-3 spoons of sugar
Prepare all the fruit in a pitcher, add sugar, and enough white wine to cover the fruit. Let the fruit absorb the alcohol for a couple of hours in the fridge. When ready to serve, pour the remaining wine and add a lot of ice. You can also add more sugar (or Equal) if you feel like it.

Posting is going to get a little hard to do since I am off to Punta del Este to spend New Year's with my family. Even though all my friends are going to party hard in Rio, it is a family tradition to go to Uruguay, and I am glad to know that I will spend the next few days just chilling while surrounded by beautiful beaches with great restaurants and a lot of alcohol and sugar. It is kind of the Hamptons of South America, but the vibe is a lot more St. Tropez (and it is probably the only place in this continent south of the Equator where you can safely wear all your bling and drive a Rolls, a Porsche or a Benz). The thing to do in Punta is to hang out at the beach, drink clericot (which is sort of a white wine sangria with a mix of tropical fruit), and to have dinner very very very late (nothing before 11pm ever). Can't wait! I also need a tan very bad...

Since Fashion Rio is scheduled to run from January 12 to 15, I picked my favorite polka dot moment from the the Spring collections from Rygy's show (one that perhaps Damien Hirst would be so very proud of). I guess this is what's helping our exports...

In case you were wondering, Rygy has been on the swimwear market for over 25 years and sells to stores such as Sak's Fifth Avenue, Selfridges and Victoria's Secret.

One of my favorite brands from Brazil is Complexo B, a small collection from designer Beto Neves inspired by his devotion to Saint George and his love for Rio, where he started developing the line five years ago. These are my picks from the Spring collection, which was inspired by the desert (can't you tell?).

Last night all my friends were talking non-stop about Brazilian soap star Felipe Folgosi and these pictures. Rumor has it that apparently steroids have something to do with the incredible body, but who cares anyway?

The death toll from Sunday's tsunamis climbed to 21,000 as fears of disease from decaying bodies and contaminated water grew in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The giant waves, triggered by the most powerful earthquake on Earth since March 1964 when a 9.2 quake struck near Alaska's Prince William Sound, also left thousands injured, thousands missing and hundreds of thousands homeless.
More than 10,000 people have been reported dead in Sri Lanka. Most of them, authorities said, were in the eastern district of Batticaloa. Thousands were missing, an estimated 1 million were displaced and an estimated 250,000 were homeless.

Read more on CNN.com.