|cinematheque| :: 180° SOUTH ::

It`s been a while since I made a post for the cinemateque section, so let`s continue the tradition, since I love movies and I like to share good things. ;)
I really enjoyed watching this documentary + I fell in love with Patagonia. Definitely a spot in the world I,`d love to visit.

"The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask." (Jeff Johnson)

IMDB (7,6/10)

Goddess of the Universe: FAQ

How are the finalists selected? 

The main criterion for this virtual contest is BEAUTY, and then the all the aspects such as performance follows. From 2011-2012, we accommodated as much beautiful and qualified girls as we can from different pageants. We use their country name + the pageant they came from (such as USA Universe, Czech Republic Earth). But in 2013, we decided to have the 1 GIRL PER SASH. We usually get the contestants from the Big 4 (Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International)

What are mainly the qualifications?

As long as that girl competed on a pageant on the year, then she's legitimate to be picked as a contestant.

Can a candidate re-qualify on another year?

Yes, as long as she didn't placed on the Top 5 on one of our editions. 

How does the competition goes?

We judge them based from their performance on their respective pageants. They are evaluated on Swimsuits, Evening Gown and Overall aura. So basically, we are looking for the goddess who has the complete package.

How are the judges picked?

People with big interest and has wide knowledge on pageants such as enthusiasts, experts, national directors and even real beauty queens.

:: MIXTAGRAM ::

  Happy Holidays!

Instagram: majarotovnik

RAMP Magazine

Miss International 2013 is Philippines!

Bea Rose Santiago won Philippines 5th Miss International title at Shinagawa Prince Hotel Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17th. Santiago was crowned by Miss International 2008 Alejandra Andreu after last year's winner Ikumi Yoshimatsu failed to attend the event due to security reasons.

1st Runner Up is Nathalie den Dekker of Netherlands while the 2nd Runner Up is New Zealand Casey Radley who happened to be Santiago's roommate. Completing the Top 5 are Hungary and Colombia.

The rest of the top 15 are: Brazil, Ecuador, Gibraltar, Iceland, Lithuania, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Thailand and USA.

New Zealand won Miss Friendship, Macau won Miss Internet while Lithuania won Miss Photogenic.

Interestingly, this is Philippines' 2nd crown in the Big 4 after winning Miss World in August by Megan Young. It's also the first time in history that two countries had equal victories on the Big 4 - Venezuela (Universe and Earth) and Philippines (World and International).

Miss France 2014

Flora Coquerel was crowned Miss France 2014 at the Zénith in Dijon on December 7th. This 19 year old represented Orleanis. 1st Runner Up is Tahiti's Mehiata Riaria, 2nd Runner Up is Laëtizia Giovanelli of Provence, 3rd Runner Up is Aurianne Sinacolla of Cote D'Azur and the 4th Runner Up is Chloé Deher of Guadaloupe. 

It's not yet final if the winner will also compete in Miss Universe, but it's sure that the winner will compete in Miss World 2014 in London next year. The 1st Runner Up might go to Miss Universe 2014 if the winner can't. The 2nd Runner Up will go to Miss Earth 2014 and the 3rd Runner Up will go to Miss Supranational 2014.

|cuisine| :: BANANA CAKE WITH WALLNUTS ::

I was in sauna a few days ago and a friend had a magazine wit her, so while she was reading, I was just glancing over the pages and I saw this recipe that looked super delicious, so I took a photo of it and this is how I came to this post about banana cake with wallnuts. :)

I actually made three of them in the last week! What can I say, I have friends with good taste that like to try out my cooking masterpieces. :)

Anyhow, Banana cake + Lemon cake = winwin! :)

So, if you want to make a banana cake of your own, you`ll need:

3 ripe bananas (3 zrele banane)

300g spelt flour (300g pirine moke)

125g butter (125g masla, jaz sem uporabila kokosovo)

100g brown sugar (100g rjavega sladkorja)

2 eggs (2 jajci)

100g walnut kernels (100g orehovih jedrc)

1/2 baking powder (1/2 pecilnega praška)

2 tbs sour cream (2 žlici kisle smetane)

cinnamon (cimet), a pinch of salt (ščepec soli), nutmeg (muškatni orešček)

SLO: Model namastite z maslom, ostalo maslo pa zmehčajte. Grobo sesekljajte orehova jedrca in z vilicami pretlačite banane. Te zmešajte z zmehčanim maslom in jim dodajte še jajci ki ste jih razžvrkljali s sladkorjem.

Moko presejte v skledo in ji dodajte pecilni prašek, cimet, muškatni orešček in sol. Suhe sestavine dobro zmešajte s preostalimi in na koncu dodajte še orehe - nekaj si jih pustite, da jih boste potresli po vrhu. Testo vlijte v namaščen pekač in pecite okrog 45 min v pečici, segreti na 180 stopinj.

ENG: Grease the cake model with butter, soften the rest of it (I just "cooked" it, so I got liquid out of it). Mash bananas with a fork, add butter,sour cream & eggs, which you have mixed with sugar. Next step is to sieve the flour into a bowl, add baking poweder, cinnamon, nutmeg and that pinch of salt. Mix the dry ingridients with the rest and on the end add the wallnuts - leave some, for the decoration. Bake 45 minuts at 180 degrees. Sorry, I discovered that my english is not so good when it comes to the cooking expressions, but I think, you`ll still be able to make a damn fine banana cake! ;)

xo, M.

Venezuela wins Miss Earth 2013!

Alyz Henrich wins Venezuela's 2nd Miss Earth crown! This 22-year old from Punto Fijo bested over 87 candidates from all corners of the Earth at Versailles Palace, Alabang. 1st Runner Up (Miss Air) is Katia Wagner from Austria, 2nd Runner Up (Miss Water) is Thailand's Punika Kulsoontornrut and the 3rd Runner Up (Miss Fire) is Korea's Catharina Choi. 

Last month, Venezuela takes the Miss Universe title and last night Venezuela proved to the world what this beauty powerhouse can cater. 

Completing the Top 8 are: Mexico, Philippines, Poland and Serbia. Completing the Top 16 are: Chile, China PR, France, Mauritius, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and USA. The 16 competed on both Swimsuits and Evening Gowns and then narrowed down to 8 for the Question and Answer portion. 

The pageant was hosted by Singapore-based real life couple Oli Pettigrew (Cash Cab Asia, Sony Style, Lonely Planet Six Degrees China and Epad) and Linda Black (HBO Signature's Friday Picture House, Cathay Pacific on the Move, Health@Desktop). The pageant was beamed to the world by STAR World, Venevision and some participating tv networks across the globe.

Henrich will enjoy a year of beautiful reign travelling around the world promoting Miss Earth's cause! 

Miss Earth 2013 Final Hotpicks

1. Serbia - Andjelka Tomasevic

2. Venezuela - Alyz Henrich

3. Mexico - Kristal Silva

4. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Vera Krneta

5. Thailand - Punika Kulsoontornrut

6. Costa Rica - Mariela Aparicio

7. India - Sobhita Dhulipala

8. Bolivia - María Renée Carmona

9. Chile - Natalia Lermanda

10. Philippines - Angelee delos Reyes

11. Kosovo - Donika Emini

12. South Africa - Ashanti Mbanga

13. Brazil - Priscilla Martins

14. China PR - Lisa Xiang

15. Germany - Carolina Noeding

16. Poland - Aleksandra Szczęsna

:: MIXTAGRAM ::

It`s here, the magical December that we were all waiting for to come. I`m really not a winter type, cuz I`m freakin` cold all the time (seriously, what`s up with that?), but there is something special about December. 

I love the cinnamon smell and I always bake like crazy (not just in december, but during the whole winter), because honestly, what`s better than a house that smells of freshly baked cookies (yum!). I love hot chocolate or a big cup of cacao with marshmallows, I love chunky sweaters, twinkling lights, festive atmosphere, x-mass decorations, fireplace, snowlakes falling from the sky, dinners with family and friends, ... and so on. I`m sure you feel the same way, right? Or maybe not? 

Anyhow, this are some of the moments from my Instalife..

Are you following me already?

Instagram: majarotovnik

1. Weekend breakfast , 2. Sunday afternoon, 3. Nails love, 4. Pelicon - Slovenian beer on kickstarter + it`s really tasty, 5. Opening of a Pop-up Home, 6. Art - a store, where my wallet loses weight very easily :)
Ok, gotta go now, cuz I`m baking something good....you`ll find out soon what I`m talking about.
Cheers! x
M.

Señorita Colombia 2013

Paulina Vega Dieppa, 20 representing Atlantico, was crowned Señorita Colombia 2013 at Auditorio Getsemani-Centro de Convenciones in Cartagena de Indias on November 11, 2013. The Barranquilla-native will represent Colombia at Miss Universe 2014. 

1st Runner Up is Zuleika Kiara Suárez Torrenegra (San Andrés y Providencia) and will represent Colombia at Miss International 2014. María Alejandra López Pérez (Risaralda), Carolina Crovo Sierra (Antioquia) and Tania Valencia Cuero (Valle) completed the Top 5.