packable

Remember I was looking at Herschel backpacks a while back? (Oh, and these too.)  Well I still haven't gone and splurged on a beautiful canvas bag, but we desperately needed something for traveling around Mexico, and I came across this little guy.  It's super lightweight ripstop nylon, and despite the fact that it feels like it's made from air, it holds quite a bit, both in weight and volume.  I love those smartypants designers at The Herschel Supply Co.  Why?  Cause it also does this:

See more...

swimmingly

This is where I was swimming last month.  I know I have yet to tell you all about my Super Duper Mexico Vacation, but I still haven't finished organizing all my photos and thoughts.  Needless to say, it was awesome.  I'm back in the big city now, but I'll be damned if I give up my water time.  So...

Husband and I have joined the pool!  We started this week, committing to four full months of membership (gotta get those discounts where you can, and the obligation to keep it up is just a bonus), and absolutely love it.  My pool's not as amazing as the Caribbean, but it's pretty damn wonderful.  All this has made me think it would be a good time to go over some pool essentials.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Trust me, you need these things...

desaparecida

Playa del Carmen

If it seems like I've been missing lately, it's cause I have.  I've been deep in preparations for our upcoming trip (tomorrow!) to Mexico.  Thought the least I could do was pop in for a minute and make all y'all jealous with some photos of the places we're headed.

Places like these...

rashies

How cute is this?  No, not another bathing suit post, but close.  Today I'm talking about rash guards.  Otherwise known as rashies.  Otherwise known as shirts for cool surfer chicks.  Which I am totally not.  Though I would love to be.  One day.  Actually it's one of my top fantasy activities.  Just thinking about learning to surf gets my heart all aflutter.  But I digress...

For now, I can just pretend, and wear one of these super cute rashies to the beach.  And the bonus: they have a upf of 50+, which means they'd be the perfect thing if the sun's beating down a bit too hard while I'm lounging like a sloth.  Dreaming about doing this:

image from beach mentality

More surfer-chic fashion for us mortals to covet...

up in the trees

Do you guys know about Airbnb yet? I just discovered the site recently, when I was desperately looking for a place to stay in Paris, falling deep into a pit of despair in the face of the prices and the quality (and the relation between the two).  Thank god I remembered reading about them, because I found tons of super cute apartments for rent, in the heart of the city, for the same price as a mediocre room in some out-of-the-way hotel.  This is my first time renting a place through Airbnb, so I'll let you know how it works out, but so far, I'm over the moon with it.

Plus, they have places all over the world.  Plus, they have all kinds of non-traditional listings.  Like their super sweet curated list of treehouses.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to stay in one?

More treehouses...

handsome

Our upcoming trip to Mexico has me thinking about swimsuits, something I don't actually do very often.  Of course the pragmatic minimalist in me fantasizes about a nice Eres suit, but then I thought, what about something fun?  Australian label We Are Handsome makes great quality suits with a sense of humor.

Joyous flora and tongue-in-cheek fauna...

xenotes

Starting to plan our trip to Mexico in May and I'm getting all excited just thinking about everything I want to pack into such a short time.  At the top of my list: cenotes.  They're basically natural sinkholes caused by the collapse of limestone bedrock, revealing wells of fresh groundwater, and are often connected to one another by seemingly endless tunnels.  Underwater underground labyrinths.  So cool, right?  One of the natural wonders of the world (at least, they would be if I were in charge of making the list).

More exciting and inspiring photos...

viva mexico

Since I didn't have time to do any shopping in mexico I'm doing it now and pretending I'm still there.  Long live the internet.

I'm loving these vintage embroidered pieces from Aida Coronado's etsy shop.  She also has a separate online store with over 350 pieces which ate up a good chunk of my morning.   

Check out a sampling of the collection after the jump...

high altitude weekend

Mexico City doesn't quite look like this anymore, though to be honest the only part I saw at all was the Casa del Lago in the Chapultepec forest, where we were performing and teaching.  It was a whirlwind and utterly exhausting; we basically flew 24 hrs to be there for only 48, and the madness of the supremely disorganized festival combined with the jetlag was pretty brutal.  Add to that the fact that Mexico City is at an altitude of 2240 meters (7350 ft), which I had no idea about until someone saw me shaking after the performance and said it was normal.  I was glad to hear it actually, I'd thought maybe there was something seriously wrong with all of us!   I will say though, that as far as the food goes, these mexicans really know what they're doing.  Every single meal I had in Mexico was finger-lickin' delicious.  Chicken gorditas, tacos dorados de arrachera, hamburguesas de camaron... amazing.  All in all, it was a wonderful trip, made so not just by the food but by the lovely ladies that I got to share it with.  I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time, besos a todas!

distrito federal

Tomorrow I'm going to Mexico City!

image from wegolas

I'm guessing there won't be fireworks celebrating our arrival, but I'm excited nonetheless.  Mexico!  Well, in theory that is.  The festival organizers still haven't bought our tickets.  Yup, leaving tomorrow.  Incredible, right?  Any of you work in an industry this disorganized?  We're feeling optimistic though, we've been rehearsing all week and are ready to go.  By which I mean, ready to eat tons of delicious food.   I'll only be gone 5 days, so I'll have to really pack it in.  Be back with you guys on the 8th, hasta luego!!