WIFEY!

I figured I'd like it, but I didn't anticipate just how much I'd love being a WIFEY (I suspect it has something to do with whose WIFEY i am). I saw this lovely T on Aspyn Ovard's recently-launched online store and knew I had to get my hands on it, in the name of supporting YouTubers and celebrating one's stage in life, naturally. Singlehood, you were a good time, but I am not mourning your departure.

In other notes, what do you think Ben and I should do about the last name situation? Should I take his, should he take mine, should I tack his on with a 'de' in the middle, Mexican style? I love that he's as open to the possibilities as I am, but ultimately that leaves us undecided.

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Me imaginaba que me iba a gustar, pero no pude predecir cuánto me encantaría ser ESPOSA (supongo que algo tiene que ver el hombre que se encargó de convertirme en una). Vi esta linda playera en la tienda recién lanzada de Aspyn Ovard, y sentí que fue hecha para mi. La compré de inmediato, bajo la premisa de apoyar a YouTubers y celebrar mi etapa actual en la vida. Me encantó vivir la etapa de mi soltería, pero no siento ni una onza de tristeza al verla partir.

Pasando a otro tema, ¿qué opinan de la situación de los apellidos? ¿Será que tomo el de el, o que el tome el mío? ¿O añado el suyo al mío con la palabra 'de' de por medio, estilo México? Me encanta que ambos seamos flexibles y estemos abiertos a las posibilidades, pero al final del día significa que seguimos indecisos.

Costa Rica travel blog

“Oh isn’t it just paradise?”, exclaimed the woman next to me as i shuffled around uncomfortably, jamming my bursting backpack under the seat in front of me. A middle seat. Not the aisle, not the window. No view, no freedom. Just the middle. “You mean Costa Rica?” I asked, taking longer than I should to put two and two together—we were flying out of San José, it was the only thing we had in common at this point. “Yes, oh my goodness, it’s just GORGEOUS, my daughter and I are already planning a trip to come back!” I couldn’t help but chuckle as I envisioned a side-by-side of what both she and I had experienced during the previous few days. On her side, tour-guided volcano visits, lush waterfalls, exotic wildlife, delectable gourmet food, secluded yoga resorts. Zip-lining over tropical jungles, enjoying the view without stopping to risk an actual mosquito bite. On my side… oh on my side. Suffice it to say, “winging it” doesn’t always play out the way you might hope.

Lauren, my beautiful friend of years (decades at this point) had told me last summer that she would be getting married in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and I immediately told Ben that this was something we couldn’t miss. Before he could say no I had found a pair of tickets to San Jose we simply HAD TO BUY (try arguing with Holly in travel mode). Yes, they were to a city that was hundreds of miles away from the actual location of the wedding, and yes, I somehow managed to convince him that it would all be for the best. “We get to see more of the island this way”, I said. “It’s not an island, is it?” “Riiiiiight.”

I’ve always considered myself to be pretty good with maps. I am fearless behind the wheel, have a good sense of direction, am pretty accurate with estimates, and can handle practically anything that comes my way. Plus, technology, you know? So when google told me that it was a 3 hour and 46 minute drive with no traffic from the airport to the resort, I didn’t flinch at all. (I also knew that Ben is a fantastic driver and happens to actually enjoy it, so win-win, right?) We would arrive two days before the wedding and explore some towns and beaches, I thought. The non-touristy ones. The places the locals go. The real nitty gritty of Costa Rica.

Well, I guess you can say we got what we wished for. And by “we” I mean “I”.

Here are a few take-aways from our 4 1/2 day terribly-planned trip to Costa Rica:

1. THOSE ROADS!

Oh, to be a bird. As the bird flies, it looks to be a relatively easy country to get around (especially coming from the magna-state of Texas). But do not be deceived, my friend. If you are planning on renting a car, prepare your guts, your wits, and add a loved one to your will. We found nothing but narrow, crooked, bumpy, over-run, run-down, downright torturous roads. Ok, so they were one lane each direction with no shoulder and lots of curves. But seriously. Try dealing with that for 8 hours straight with sluggish semis appearing in front of you ad nauseam. A ripe combination of frustrating and terrifying.

1. THOSE SIGNS!

Ben and I could not get over how many times we saw signs by the side of the road for bars, restaurants, hotels, gyms, cafés, you name it, with, wait for it… NOTHING ELSE IN SIGHT. As in, you’re literally in the middle of NOWHERE and you’ll se a sign that reads “Bar Pura Vida” surrounded by absolutely nothing but trees. For miles. Un-freaking-believable. Other highlights:

• Soda el Camarón
• Pipa Fría
• Lubricentro ‘El Coyote’
• Aqui hay pianguá

What even is happening? We felt like we were in some sort of twilight zone where nothing quite made sense.

1. THAT NATURE!

To be fair, we weren’t totally bewildered as to why people flock to Costa Rica. Little glimpses of the beaches, the mountains, the sunsets, the wildlife—all provided a welcome contrast to the treacherous trails we’d traversed to see them. In the province of Guanacaste, a significant portion of paradise has been snapped up by the big resorts, but we were able to find a few pockets (through severe trial and error) that were wild and unclaimed. Bahía Salinas and Playa Rajada certainly deserve an honorable mention.

1. NO MATTER WHAT, TRAVEL IS ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE

Our first night we drove all the way out to Puntarenas, a beach town on its own little peninsula (the map showed that it was secluded which in our minds translated to exotic). We soon realized why it isn’t much of a tourist attraction. It’s less a beach and more of a port, with the water coming right up to the concrete of the city without so much as a grain of sand in between. Although I will say, they make a MEAN ceviche at the restaurant that everybody recommended, if I could only remember its name. Our next stop was Tamarindo Beach, which had a lot more going on, but we had driven about 7 hours to get there, and were feeling the pressure to go further north to Guanacaste for the wedding the next day. Didn't do much more than stop to wet our feet. From there we attempted to just “drive up the coast”, imagining it to be something similar to Pacific Coast Highway in California. Mistake. There is no such thing. And so, we found ourselves driving inland once again, our frustration seeping out in the form of laughter that slowly mutated into exasperated yells and heated rants.

The night before the wedding as we drove down a desolate dirt road, unable to find a place to lay our heads for the night, Ben’s eye caught a shimmering light and he drove toward it (I had given up all driving at this point, for everyone’s safety). “Blue Dream Hotel”, the sign said. And lo and behold, there was an actual hotel there! And despite the fact that I was in one of my less pleasant moods, we were greeted with such a sweet, cheery smile by the girl at the front desk that we knew this was our place. She proceeded to tell us all about the kite surfing school that they also run, and Ben immediately made plans to kite surf the next morning at the crack of dawn.

Yes, he did it, and yes, I lay on the beach like a slug without sunscreen for the entire duration. Hence, me being fluorescent pink by the time we arrived at Lauren’s wedding. But we arrived!

Nothing in Costa Rica managed to stop us from making it, and nothing in the world could replace the joy of witnessing my friend tie the knot. Seeing her shining, beaming face as she recited her vows and shared a kiss with her husband. Enjoying an intimate candle-lit dinner as we celebrated Lauren and Frank and laughed the night away, telling stories of our past, and dreaming about our future.

My birthday happened to be the next day, and I must say, life truly is a choose-your-own-adventure book! Ben and I enjoyed a relaxing time on the beach (although it took about 3 U-turns to finally find it), and contemplated the wonderfully humorous ways in which life allows us to co-author our own story. Sure, we could have planned things better, but then how would we have truly learned how important planning actually is? And how would we have proven to ourselves that we can come out smiling on the other side of what some might have categorized as a catastrophic trip?

Also, somewhere during our 8-hour trip back to San José, God gave us the biggest, brightest, most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen.

LA was cool too!

The proposal/engagement/ensuing dizzyness happened in LA because, well, Ben wanted to do it in a place that's special to us. Apparently he has been wanting to get me out to LA for a while now but I, insisting on leaving the past behind and spending my money on new, more exotic destinations, have not been easy to convince. On this occasion he was working, I found a ticket with credit card miles, you know, what's commonly known as "the stars aligned" and that's why we were able to be seaside for the whole affair. It was mind-blowingly refreshing to be back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ El compromiso/la mareada que me di ocurrió en LA porque, pues, así lo quiso Ben, que fuera en un lugar que es especial para ambos. Evidentemente ha estado tratando de convencerme de ir a LA por un ratote ya, pero yo, insistiendo que quiero dejar el pasado atrás (se que me gusta y no quiero que se me antoje volver a vivir alli), y que prefiero gastar mi dinero viajando a destinos nuevos y exóticos, no he sido fácil de convencer.

En esta ocasión el estaba trabajando, yo conseguí un vuelo con las millas de mi tarjeta de crédito, tu sabes, lo que todo mundo conoce como "se alinearon las estrellas", y por eso pudo pedir mi mano a la orilla del mar. (¡qué romantico!)

Fue sumamente refrescante y divertido estar de vuelta en mi querido LA .

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güerita & morenaza t-shirts

#Throwback to a fun idea turned project turned full-blown-photoshoot. I was sitting on the breathtaking beach of Cancun with my friend Vania savoring a shrimp coctail and thinking about how cute it would be to create some t-shirts with two of the most common Spanish-language nicknames. If you're not a "güerita" ("blondie" or "whitie") you're a "morenaza" ("bronzed beauty" or "darkie"), and if you're somewhere in the middle (or you just don't cayurrr like me) you can pull off both. I ended up making the words out of real magazine cut-outs, I then took a picture of them on white paper, imported them into photoshop, and used those as designs for screen-printing (I had that part done professionally). As you can see, I wanted a pinky, girly theme for the photoshoot that also showcased the variety of looks you can create with the pieces. My friend Nelly served as makeup artist, hair-stylist, and model. It really was loads of fun! I just put a few more shirts up at my ETSY shop if you'd like to own one :D

P.S. After browsing through these pictures I have decided to go back to my natural blonde color ASAP. SO much easier to maintain! (OK the copious amounts of breakage I've been experiencing lately may also be a factor!)

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Hagamos un pequeño #flashback a una idea que se convirtió en proyecto que se convirtió en sesión de fotos. Todo empezó en Cancun; estaba al lado del mar saboreándome un coctel de camarones con mi amiga Vania, y se nos ocurrió que sería lindo hacer camisetas con dos de los apodos más conocidos del idioma español. Si no eres una "güerita", eres una "morenaza". O si estás en algún punto intermedio (o si de plano estás loca, como yo), puedes portar ambos apodos. Hice las palabras con recortes reales de revista, de ahí las fotografié sobre un papel blanco para importar al Photoshop, y utilicé estas imágenes como diseños para hacer cerigrafía (esta parte se la dejé a un profesional). Como puedes ver, quise irme con un tema muy cuki donde el color rosa fuera muy prominente, y mi amiga Nelly la hizo de maquillista, estilista, y modelo. ¡Cómo nos divertimos! Acabo de subir unas playeras a mi tienda de ETSY, por si te gustaría tener una ;)

P.D. Después de ver estas fotos he decidido que ya es tiempo de regresar a mi color de cabello natural lo más pronto posible. ¡Mil veces más fácil de mantener! (Bueno, quizá la cantidad espantosa de cabellos quebrados que he tenido últimamente tenga algo que ver)

photos by: Ovier Alvarez

LA travel blog

Los Angeles just might be the closest thing to home for me. Not that I really know what "home" means.

To sum up my childhood: we bounced around from city to city, spending 1 to 4 years in each place. The progression went something like Tucson-Puebla-Tucson-Orizaba-Tucson-Oaxaca-Orizaba. So for me, thinking outside the box happened in the form of staying inside of a box of some sort. And Los Angeles had just enough to keep my gypsy-nomad tendencies at bay for 12 entire years.

Arriving in LA as a visitor is a new experience for me. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. It's like I wanted to run around, go everywhere, do everything and visit everyone. But at the same time I was just as happy basking in the perfect sunlight, reflecting and appreciating, pondering and planning. It turns out I hadn't actually idealized LA in my absence. It just rules.

I'll let my pictures do the rest of the talking for me... If my math doesn't fail me, these pictures are worth more than 38,000 words!

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A estas alturas, prácticamente puedo decir que soy de Los Angeles. Aunque en verdad soy más como la India María: "Ni de aquí ni de allá."

Para resumir mi niñez: íbamos de ciudad en ciudad, pasando de 1 a 4 años en cada una. La progressión fue algo así como Tucson-Puebla-Tucson-Orizaba-Tucson-Oaxaca-Orizaba. Asi que para mi, viajar no era ningún riesgo. Viajar era lo más natural. El riesgo, el gran desconocido, era quedarme en un solo lugar. Y Los Angeles logró captar mi atención y calmar mis tendencias semi-nomadas por 12 años.

Llegar a Los Angeles como visita es algo nuevo para mi. Y estaba casi que no sabía que hacer. Con ganas de hacer todo, de ir a todos lados y saludar a todo mundo. Pero al mismo tiempo estaba 100% satisfecha absorbiendo el sol como lagartija, reflexionando y apreciando, meditando y planeando. Resulta que no había idealizado a LA mientras no estaba. En efecto, es la neta.

Pero bueno. Dejaré que mis fotografías cuenten el resto de la historia... Si no me fallan las matemáticas, ¡estas fotos valen más que 38 mil palabras!

PERU is LOVELY

It’s odd to me the way the phrase “time is money” gets thrown around so non-chalantly as if the formula were that simple. I’m positive it’s much more complicated than that.

I find that when I am making money, I don’t have a whole lot of time to do much of anything, and when I have time, I usually don’t have a barrel of money.

It is true that the more time you are willing to give up, the more money you are able to obtain. It is also true that spending money can contribute in a way to how you enjoy your time (alas, no matter how much I try to fight this one, there’s no way around it). However, at the end of the day, money can flow in like a river just as easily as it can float out like a hot air balloon – what holds true value in this equation is TIME. Opportunities are the real treasure. One MUST take advantage of them whenever possible.

And that is exactly what I did when given the opportunity to crash my mom’s Peru reunion. (She met up with some of her old buddies from Yarinacocha, a small town along the Amazon river in Peru where she spent a large chunk of her childhood). I mean, WHEN will I ever get another opportunity to meander through the Machu Picchu ruins in the rain with mom and dad while learning all about what we think we have figured out about the Incas? (“...so the Incas took advantage of that” was our tour guide’s favorite phrase—he said it about EVERYTHING!) So I made like an Inca and took advantage of THAT.

What a delightful, surprising, inspiring trip. I expected the unexpected, but the trip somehow still managed to seriously blow me away. I met some incredible people, heard some awe-inspiring stories, was humbled and fascinated and dumbfounded and intrigued and forever changed. (And this, my friends, is exactly what traveling is all about.) But anyway I’ll let my pictures do the rest of the talking :)

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Me parece curioso que la gente use la frase “el tiempo es dinero” como si la fórmula fuera tan simple. Estoy segura que es mucho mas complicado que eso.

Yo encuentro que cuando estoy haciendo dinero, casi no tengo tiempo, y cuando tengo tiempo, pues digamos que no me llueve el dinero.

Es verdad que si estás dispuesto a sacrificar tu tiempo, puedes obtener mas dinero. También es verdad (aunque no me gusta aceptarlo) que el dinero tiene mucho que ver con cómo disfrutas tu tiempo. Sin embargo, al final del día, el dinero puede entrar como un río y salir volando como un papalote—lo que realmente tiene valor en esta ecuación es el tiempo. Las oportunidades son un tesoro. Uno TIENE que aprovecharlas cada que se pueda.

Y eso es exactamente lo que hice cuando se me presentó la oportunidad de colarme a la reunión de Perú de mi mamá. (Se encontró con algunos de sus amigos de la infancia con los que creció en Yarinacocha, un pueblo al lado del río Amazonas)

O sea, cuántas veces en la vida voy a tener la oportunidad de andar por las ruinas de Machu Picchu en la lluvia con mis papás mientras aprendemos acerca de los Incas? (“... asi que los Incas se aprovecharon de eso” fue la frase favorita de nuestro guía—lo dijo como 37 veces!) Asi que le hice como Inca, y ¡ME APROVECHÉ de ESO!

¡Qué viaje tan agradable, sorprendente, e inspirador! A pesar de que había decidido esperar lo inesperado, el viaje de alguna manera logró dejarme totalmente asombrada. Conocí personas increíbles, escuché historias impresionantes, quedé fascinada, intrigada y por siempre cambiada. (Y esto, mis amigos, es exactamente de lo que se trata el acto de viajar.) En fin, voy a dejar que las fotos cuenten el resto de la historia :)

Make your own Magnetic Chalkboard Wall

The chalkboard wall.

Let’s be honest, at some point in your life you have considered having one in your house. You’ve fantasized about leaving your loved ones adorable little notes, jotting down memos in perfect typography, and leaving grocery lists that add a functional yet funky element to your decor.

Well, I too had been searching for just the right wall to transform and found it when we moved in to our new place here in Houston.

So, after 3 jaunts to the Home Depot (I can’t ever seem to get everything on the first try), 4 days of fumes, and hours of obsessing over the amazingly inspiring images of chalkboard art all over the internet, we finally have a finished product.

We are going to be writing, painting, tracing, and erasing for a looooong time!

Check out the video tutorial in English here :)

materials:

Magnetic Primer https://amzn.to/2IRlqPb
Painter's Tape https://amzn.to/2L51bdg
Tintable Chalkboard Paint (Take it to Home Depot for tinting) https://amzn.to/2ITWgiK
Or Black Chalkboard Paint (not shown in this video) https://amzn.to/2IVRDVt
Detail brush https://amzn.to/2L1fpvQ
Extendable Paint Roller Frame https://amzn.to/2GZjC0z (buy foam separately)
Foam for Paint Roller
Small Paint Roller
Plastic disposable trays for paint
Screw driver
Measuring tape

The steps:

This Project requires a minimum of 4 days, because of the long waiting periods between layers of paint. 

1.       Gather the materials. 
If you use the tintable Rust-Oleum paint that I used, you’ll need to stop by a hardware store like Home Depot to add the color of your choice.

2.       Prepare the space
Tape off the borders of your project, making sure to use enough pressure to keep paint from seeping under it.  The can of paint that I used said that it covered a 16ft2 area, but it ended up covering way more than that in my project.
Remove outlet plates.

3.       It’s a good idea to cover your hair and body as much as possible with clothes you don’t mind getting paint on.  You can use gloves to protect your hands and arms, or, you could just use bags like I did in the video. A hat or bandana is a good choice to keep flecks of paint from landing in your hair.

4.        Optional: Paint two layers of magnetic paint, waiting 30 minutes between layers, and wait a full 4 hours before starting your first layer of chalkboard paint.

Use even, steady strokes to make sure that it goes on evenly.  Using a smaller roller will help ensure a more even spread of paint, though it will take longer. Use the finishing brush to get the paint all the way to the edges.

5.       Paint two layers of chalkboard paint, waiting 4 hours between layers.

6.       Wait THREE DAYS before the next step.

7.       To condition your chalkboard, rub a piece of chalk on its side all over the entire chalkboard, and then erase it before using it.

8.       Write, draw, add magnets, now’s the time to make it look just the way you want it!

Here are a two examples of how I used my magnetic chalkboard:
An inspiring design  

Using Magnets on my magnetic chalkboard

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La pared convertida en pizarrón.

Seamos sinceros: en algún momento de tu vida has considerado tener una pared/pizarrón en tu casa. Has fantaseado con la idea de dejarle notitas cursis a tu amor, de escribir memos en tipografía perfecta, y dejar listas para el super que le dan ese toque funcional y moderno a el look de la casa.

Pues, yo también había estado buscando la pared ideal para poder someterla a esta transformación y al fin la encontré en nuestra nueva casa aquí en Houston.

Asi que, después de 3 idas al Home Depot (siempre se me olvida algo), 4 días de oler a pintura, y horas de inspirarme con fotos de “chalkboard art” en el internet, por fin tenemos un producto final.

Vamos a estar pintando dibujando trazando y borrando por muuuucho tiempo!

Checa el tutorial en español  aquí :)

Materiales: 

Pintura Magnética https://amzn.to/2IRlqPb
Cinta Adhesiva https://amzn.to/2L51bdg
Pintura teñible para pizarrón (Se puede teñir en Home Depot) https://amzn.to/2ITWgiK
O pintura negra para pizarrón (no fue usado en este video) https://amzn.to/2IVRDVt
Brocha https://amzn.to/2L1fpvQ
Rodillo extendible https://amzn.to/2GZjC0z (buy foam separately)
Foam for Paint Roller
rodillo pequeño
Dos contenedores de plástico
destornillador
cinta métrica
 

Los pasos

Este Proyecto require un mínimo de 4 días, por las muchas pausas entre las capas de pintura.

1.       Junta los materiales.

Si usas pintura teñible de Rust-Oleum, tendrás que llevarlo a una tienda como Home Depot, para teñirla.

2.       Prepara el espacio. 
Pon la cinta a los límites, usando bueno presión, para que la pintura no se meta por abajo.  Toma en cuenta el área que puede cubrir la pintura.  La lata de pintura magnética que usé decía que cubría 16pies2, pero en verdad, pudo cubrir mucho más.
Quita los enchufes

3.       Es recomendable cubrir tu cuerpo lo más posible con ropa que se puede manchar.
Puedes proteger tus brazos de la pintura con guantes, o con bolsas, como lo hice yo. También ayuda poner algún tipo de pañuelo o sombrero en la cabeza para protegerte el pelo.

4.       Opcional: Pinta dos capas de pintura magnética, esperando 30 minutos después de cada capa, y luego 4 horas antes de empezar con la pintura de pizarrón.  

Usa trazos uniformes y nivelados para que todo quede parejo.  Usa la brocha para extender la pintura hasta las orillas.

5.       Pon dos capas de pintura de pizarrón, esperando 4 horas entre las capas.

6.       Espera 3 días después de poner la última capa de pintura. 

7.       Para condicionar tu pizarrón, pasa un gis sobre todo el pizarrón, y luego bórralo antes de usarlo.

8.       ¡Escribe, dibuja, pon imanes…. Lo que tú quieras!

Les dejo ejemplos de cómo usé mis pizarrón magnético aquí:
Un diseño inspirador

Imanes en mi pizarrón magnético

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Lo que extrañaré de Los Angeles!

I try to avoid becoming a part of the "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" statistic by avidly and actively appreciating the moment, my surroundings and my current situation. With that said, it certainly is true that leaving a place gives you a great excuse to celebrate all the things you love(d) about it.

And that, my friends is how I am breaking it to you that the time to say "goodbye LA" has come for me.

I will undoubtedly miss the coffee dates with the girlfriends, the spontaneous jaunts to the beach, admiring the skyline and taking a deep breath after hiking up Runyon Canyon, the oh-so-colorful-people-watching in Venice, heck, I'll even miss Orange County (kind-of). But I am 100% ready to embrace the great unknown that is Houston.

But before I begin exploring the fourth-largest city in the United States, I'd like to pause and pay a visual homage to the city that was my home for the last 12 years.

Wow. That's the longest I've lived anywhere.

Thank you, Los Angeles! I know that by the time I come back both you and I will have changed. And I hope it's for the better.

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Lo que menos quiero es formar parte de la estadística de los que "no saben lo que tienen hasta verlo perdido", y esto lo evito apreciando el momento, mi situación y mi entorno conscientemente. Pero igual es verdad que el hecho de dejar algo atrás te da una excelente excusa para celebrar todas las cosas que aprecia(ba)s de el/ella.

Y de esta manera doy a conocer que lo que yo estoy dejando atrás es la ciudad de Los Angeles.

Indudablemente extrañaré las salidas al cafecito con las amigas, las idas espontáneas a la playa, inhalar el aire fresco(?) y admirar el horizonte hasta arriba de Runyon Canyon, observar a esas especies tan extrañas e interesantes que se juntan en Venice, hombre, hasta voy a extrañar Orange County (mas o menos). A pesar de que no me puedo ni imaginar todo lo que me espera, estoy 100% lista para adoptar y aceptar Houston.

Pero antes de empezar a explorar la 4ta ciudad mas grande de Estados Unidos, quiero hacer una pausa y rendirle un homenaje visual a la ciudad que ha sido mi hogar por los últimos 12 años.

Wow. Nunca he vivido en ningún lado por mas tiempo.

Gracias, Los Angeles! Se que cuando regrese tanto tu como yo habremos cambiado. Y espero que sea para bien.

(all photos by me)

Hay que dejar algo a la imaginación!

Hay que dejar algo a la imaginación!

La verdad creo que este concepto es universal.

Cuando estás conociendo a alguien, no puedes soltar tus secretos mas profundos en los primeros 5 minutos.

Cuando vas caminando por la calle, no hay porque enseñarle a todo mundo todas las curvas de tu cuerpo.

Hay cosas que simplemente no se pueden compartir con todos.

Y a veces, lo mejor es dejar un poquito a la imaginación.

Hay una belleza muy especial dentro del misterio.

Algo que me encanta de la radio es el hecho de que el receptor no tiene acceso a (y por lo mismo no está limitado por) ningún elemento visual. Esto permite que florezca algo hermoso que llamamos “el teatro de la mente”, donde la imaginación del receptor termina llenando los huecos con sus propias ideas o visualizaciones.

Supongo que lo mismo pasa con las fotografías donde el sujeto aparece dando la espalda. (Que por cierto me fascinan!) El hecho de que no puedas ver la expresión en el rostro del sujeto provoca tu imaginación. Al final tu le asignas un tono a la foto basado en el entorno, los colores, el lenguage corporal del sujeto, y tu propia creatividad y estado de ánimo.

He aqui una colección de ‘back shots’ de esta locochona, cada una con su propio aura.

Espero que las disfrutes!

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You've gotta leave something to the imagination.

I’m pretty sure this concept applies universally.

When you’re meeting someone, you simply cannot spill all your darkest secrets in the first 5 minutes.

When you are walking down the street, you certainly shouldn’t let everyone see every single curve in your body.

There are some things that simply should not be shared with everyone.

And sometimes, it’s best to leave a little to the imagination.

There can be a very special beauty within mystery.

One of the reasons I love radio so much is the fact that the listener doesn’t have access to (and therefore isn’t limited by) any visuals. This allows for something beautiful we like to call “theater of the mind”, where the listener’s imagination ends up filling in the blanks.

I guess that’s what I like so much about photographs of people looking away. The fact that you can’t see the expression on their face provokes your imagination and you end up inadvertently assigning a tone to the photograph based on the surroundings, the colors, the body language, and your own creativity/mood.

Here is a collection of some ‘back shots’ of yours truly, each one with its own aura.

Enjoy!

La próxima vez que estés en un lugar paradisiaco, pídele a alguien que te saque una foto así!

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Next time you're in paradise, make sure someone gets a 'back shot' of you!

Hue's it gonna be?

Lately I’ve been loving a monochromatic clothing color palette with little splashes of color here and there (my hair being one of the main contributors in the ‘splash of color’ department). It makes the whole morning matching game so much easier.

Once you’ve chosen a garment, you then have a very limited range of possible accompanying garments, and as you can imagine, it gives my getting-ready-time a substantial slice.

Note to self: Reorganize the closet so it is easier to navigate with one eye open (yeah, I’m NOT a morning person).

That, or start choosing my outfits at night, a la night-before-the-first-day-of-fifth-grade.

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Ando fascinada con la onda de vestirme de un solo color, con pequeños detallitos que le dan vida y color a mi look (sobre todo ahorita con mi cabello, un “detallito” que me acompaña todos los días y definitivamente contribuye en el departamento del color).

Es increíble cómo facilita el juego de combinar prendas cada mañana. Una vez que hayas elegido una (ya sean pantalones, shorts, una falda, o un top), tienes un rango muy limitado de posibles acompañantes, y esto equivale a tiempo ahorrado (y una vida más productiva).

Nota a mi misma: Reorganiza el clóset para que sea mas fácil de navegar con un ojo cerrado (las mañanas y yo no nos llevamos muy bien).

Eso, o empezar a elegir mi outfit antes de dormir, tipo ‘noche antes del primer dia de clases’.

(shorts:brandy melville, top:club monaco, shoes:sam edelman, purse:rebecca minkoff,

sunnies:vince camuto cuff:banana republic)

Pictures by Benjamin Vargas

The perfect summer day

A few of my favorite things –

Summer days, the beach, cheap funky sunglasses, nude lipstick, covering up messy hair with a beanie and the guy behind the camera. We spent the day driving around in the convertible and flying our new dual line kite like 12-year-olds the day after Christmas.

Let’s keep enjoying summer while summer is still with us!

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Algunas de mis cosas favoritas son:

El verano, la playa, los lentes de sol que son tanto llamativos como baratos, el labial color carne, los beanies para cubrirme las greñas, y el hombre detrás de la cámara...

Aprovechamos el sol al máximo desde temprano en el convertible, cantando y escuchando música a todo volúmen. Y al llegar a la playa volamos nuestro nuevo papalote de doble línea con la misma emoción de dos niños estrenando sus juguetes de navidad.

¡Sigamos exprimiéndole el jugo al verano mientras se pueda!

(sunglasses:popkiller, sweater:forever 21, shorts:H&M, beanie:hot topic)

The Shorts

No me gusta el favoritismo, y aunque a todas las prendas en mi clóset les tengo cierto cariño, tengo que decirlo: estos shorts son de mis preferidos.

No conozco otra pieza que le inyecte vida a un atuendo sin querer llevarse el show entero. A pesar de que sobresalen (Gracias a la textura de tapete y la combinación de colores), saben complementar perfectamente. Y me llueven tantas preguntas acerca de donde las conseguí que quisiera tener algo un poco mas interesante o exótico que decir (Oaxaca? Chiapas? Morocco? Tailandia? Ya me fui...!) que “Melrose”. Ahora que lo recuerdo, las compré hace mas de 2 años ya... Tengo que regresar para ver si esa tiendita todavía existe!

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There is definitely a special place in my heart for all my clothes, and I’m not big on favoritism. With that said, I must admit: these have got to be my favorite shorts. I don’t know of another piece that injects zest into an outfit without wanting to steal the entire show. Despite the fact that they stand out (thanks to their rug-like texture and bold colors), they somehow manage to know how to complement perfectly. I get asked where I got them so often that I wish I had something more interesting or exotic to say (Oaxaca? Chiapas? Morocco? Thailand? Ok, that was out there!) than “Melrose”. Come to think of it, I haven’t been back to that store since the day I bought these over 2 years ago... Gotta go back to see if the place still exists!

Shorts:Melrose, Top:Brandy Melville, Sandals:Dolce Vita, Bag:Zara, Sunglasses:Vince Camuto.

Photos by Benjamin Vargas

Loving my Lavender

I FINALLY have my hair relatively close to the color that inspired this whole bleach-blonde, high-maintenance, constantly-changing, can't-quite-get-used-to-it-but-still-love-it ordeal.LALALALAVENDER.

Not quite perfect, but close.

I must say, the purple family taking a semi-permanent residence in my hair has certainly made an impact on my clothing choices. These days the hair ALWAYS wants to be the protagonist and, to be quite honest, not just any garment can hang with that attitude.

Today's bonus is that it has allowed me to don (for the first time) the fluorescent light spring green tailored jacket that I bought so many months ago when my hair was platinum blonde. Platinum + fluorescent light spring green = Just No.

I don't always do the matchy-matchy thing but here I deemed it not only 100% appropriate, but 100% wonderful too.

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Por FIN mi cabello se está acercando al color que inspiró la serie de cambios locos que le he estado haciendo últimamente - decolorármelo, que el peróxido, los toners, los tratamientos, los retoques constantes, en fin...!

LALALALAVANDA.

Aún no está EXACTAMENTE como lo quiero, pero por ahí va...

Debo decir que desde que la familia de tonos morados tomó residencia semi-permanente en mi apariencia ha tenido un gran impacto en mis elecciones a la hora de vestirme. Este cabello SIEMPRE quiere ser protagonista, y hay prendas que no toleran esa actitud.

El pilón de hoy es que me ha permitido estrenar el saquito verde primavera fosforescente que compré hace un par de meses cuando andaba de rubia platinada. Rubio platino + verde primavera fosforescente = nomás no.

No siempre ando tan perfectamente coordinada (véase zapatos con saco), pero en esta ocasión me pareció no solo 100% apropiado, pero 100% maravilloso también.

top:zara, pants:club monaco, jacket&shoes:forever 21, sunglasses:club monaco.

Photos by: Benjamin Vargas