You know how you’re walking down the street and you see three people in a row, and you say “Oh, that’s nice?” If you totally do know, then you totally are a F•R•I•E•N•D•S fan and you are also familiar with the story of Phoebe and Franc Buffay who finally got his band with his three children.

Now we’re having a chitchat with another band whose members are three charming Bulgarian triplets. Sisi, Desi and Ani describe themselves as three peas in a pod currently living in Brooklyn where they discover one coffee shop at a time – let’s have a look behind the doors of that cute sisterhood!

Hello, ladies. Tell us a little more about yourselves – who are Desi, Ani and Sisi?

Sisi: Sure! We are a set of triplets – and best friends – who took a major leap of faith a decade ago and moved to the US to study and work. Despite studying separately, our common interests and the desire to be close to each other brought us to New York six years ago. We are very similar and super close, yet each of us has her unique quirks that become apparent after a few conversations with us. As an insider, it’s tough for me to observe and reliably describe our unique personalities… What do you think, Ani and Desi?

Desi: I’d say Sisi is the mom of the trio. Ani is the easygoing mediator. And I am…

Ani: The CEO haha. Tripletapproved is a communal effort, yet Desi for the most part drives things and sets the intermediate goals.

When and how did you discover your American dream?

Desi: I think our westward voyage was planned even before we were, haha. We all know how challenging life was behind the Iron Curtain, and the West – especially the US – always held a certain allure to ambitious young people fed up with the limitations of Socialist times. Our parents wanted the best for us and imagined that there was no better place for a rags-to-riches story than the US. So after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears from the whole family, the three of us packed our bags at 19 and headed to Maine and New York State for university.

Sisi: Once here, it was really up to us to create our own definition of the American dream. After spending four years in the isolated social bubbles of our universities – studying, working, discovering the American culture, growing up – we unanimously decided to move to New York. We can’t imagine living anywhere else in the US…

Desi: Except LA maybe 🙂

Sisi: Haha, sure. New York attracts us for a million reasons. It’s a melting pot of cultures, full of young, ambitious people with big hopes and dreams. People come here to create, build, experience, live fast, sleep little, dance all night, and have some of the best food a place can offer. Few cities can give you the unique, random experiences we’ve had here.

Desi: Last but not least, we really get the feeling that people care here – whether it’s about politics, social issues, their jobs, you name it. As tough and draining as life in New York can be, we generally feel that people hold a certain sense of optimism and passion that keeps them driving forward.
 

We saw you came back to your hometown in Bulgaria few days ago, what is the thing that you miss the most about it?

Ani: Yes, we spent a little time in Stara Zagora and Borilovo – a nearby village. We were raised in Stara Zagora but spent every summer with our grandparents in Borilovo. Endearingly known as Вила Великула in our family, this picturesque little place will forever be our favorite part of Bulgaria and our childhood. For three months each year, we would live with our loving grandparents, breathing in the fresh mountain air, exploring the woods, thinking up creative games around the yard, reading in shady corners, and eating scrumptious fruits and veggies hand-picked from our own garden. Truly, nothing can compare to a ripe Bulgarian tomato!

Desi: And since we are coffee lovers, the one thing we always miss upon leaving Bulgaria is a good white frappé. You can’t find these in New York!

Our own sisterhood shares colors and emotions for fashion, international coffee and music as a state of mind. What are the things that unite yours in the pod?

Sisi: Among the many things that make us inseparable are our taste for adventure and travel, love for good food and beautiful music, and passion for deep human connection. Together we find happiness in all kinds of moments: hosting an intimate dinner where we talk for hours over good wine and food, dancing long hours to beautiful electronic music in a quirky venue in the middle of Brooklyn…

Ani: Exploring the different New York boroughs and European cities by bike, sipping delicious coffee in a cozy café, seeing museums and art galleries, trying the latest additions to New York’s impressive dining and wining scene.

Desi: Doing a spontaneous weekend getaway to a beautiful house in upstate New York; getting into our lounge clothes, firing up the projector, ordering take-out, and having a cozy evening in.

You look really similar and we are sure you have had some funny mishaps because of that – would you care to share some of them with us?

Desi: Believe it or not, we’ve been very easy on people over the years haha. We’ve rarely had the urge to mess with friends and strangers by swapping places. That said, funny and uncomfortable situations inevitably arise. Most recently, Sisi’s boyfriend casually tried to get into the shower with me. We’ve gotten unsolicited accidental butt spanks on a number of occasions.

Be honest here: do you “accidentally” steal each other’s clothes?

Sisi: It’s quite intentional, actually 🙂 Over the years, our tastes have closely converged, which makes things easy. We live in the same building, so even easier! We do have our own predilections, though. Desi is the queen of cozy, comfy clothing. Ani loves crop tops. I’m a sucker for a great pair of jeans.

Bonus question: which is your favorite coffee shop in… let’s say, the entire world? 🙂

Ani: Ooo, this is a tough question. We’d like to try them all and come back to you haha. We recently discovered Hlebar on Oborishte Street in Sofia. We were blown away!!! Their coffee is great, but they also have the most amazing pastries and bread. This trendy Bulgarian spot destroys any bakery we’ve been to in New York.

Sisi: Agreed! My German boyfriend feels the same. As a native of Munich, he’s really into his bread and has very high standards. After one taste of Hlebar’s homemade bread, he said he hasn’t had better.

Desi: Another lucky discovery was Just Made 33 in the old part of Athens. Their espresso tastes like velvety chocolate!

Follow Triplets Approved on Instagram for more inspiration.