zara macho

You guys check the men's section at Zara too, right?  Because I have to say, there are so many wonderful bags and scarves and hats to be had there, and the occasional belt or pajama bottoms too.  The other day when I was buying my hot pink pants the line at the checkout was so long I headed over to the empty men's department.  (Why was I the only one who thought of this?)  Anyway, once there I got totally distracted by what would be my umpteenth dance bag, but it was so tempting I could barely keep my hands off it.  It would be a perfect bag for the gym or studio, or a quick weekend trip or even as a carry-on.

canvas bag 

 In case you don't regularly trawl the men's sections of your favorite stores, here's a some more of my picks from Zara hombre:

printed scarf

 knit harem lounge pants

more scarves 'n bags 'n hats 'n things after the jump...

what i'm wearing - tiny flowers

I said this the other day, and I'll say it again, summer's actually here!  Temperatures are steady hovering around 80 degrees now (that's about 27 celsius, which I know because I looked it up.  Six and a half years here and I still think in farenheit.)  Time to celebrate with airy tank tops and clog sandals.  By the way, for those of you who advised me to keep these clogs, thank you!  I absolutely love them and they are ridiculously comfortable. 

neon pedi

In case you were wondering, the neon nail polish I got last week goes on surprisingly matte.  Not as matte as if I'd put a mattifier on, but not nearly as glossy as your average polish.  I don't mind one bit, but I thought I'd let you know.  Also, I swear I did not buy it to match my sheets.  That would be weird. 

My ballet teacher laughed at my toe nails the other day and asked me if they were purple.  I thought it was an odd question.  If you want to call it purple that's fine with me.  Whatever you call it, it makes me smile when I look down at my feet.

a fish tale

Yesterday it felt officially like summer.  Hot and sunny and gorgeous.  I had to be in the theatre by 3, so I took the morning off, no class, no rehearsal, just some relaxing down time.  Which I fully took advantage of by braiding my hair.  Yes, that was the extent of my productivity, and I loved it.  Really trying to learn how to slow down when I have the chance, and not feel guilty about it.

anna lewis

'Cathexis' is an installation by jewelry designer/multimedia artist Anna Lewis.  She hung over 3000 embellished wooden birds to swarm around the gallery.  The result is overwhelming and breathtaking.

 

more after the jump...

recently purchased - zara home & zara

A few weeks ago when my mother-in-law and my grandmother-in-law (is that right? In spanish there's even less of a word for what she is to me.  Seems wrong, seeing how sweet she is.  But I digress...) were here, they got us some gifts from Zara Home.  My suegra got me this amazing little basket for me to store my crochet and other craft projects.  Now I can have it all easily accessible in the living room, but it doesn't look like a hot mess.

My grandmother-in-law got us a beautiful set of sheets but sadly they didn't fit our bed.  This is just another one of those things I don't understand about living here.  In the States you know what size your bed is; it's twin, queen or king.  Maybe California twin if you want to get crazy.  But that's it.  Here it's in centimeters, and it's not standardized.  So she got me a set that was 150 cm wide, which seemed right, but it turns out our bed is 160.  Zara Home does not carry 160.  Which means we can never have sheets from there.  Makes no sense, right?  In any case, we had to return the sheets.  Yesterday I went and picked out a few things for the exchange.

a dancer - chaz buzan

I'm not even going to say anything about this video. It leaves me speechless.

Imagine what it would feel like to be able to do this with your body. To have that sort of freedom. To be able to do absolutely anything the choreographer asks of you, or anything your imagination could come up with.  It's mind-boggling.  Just stunning.  Ok, I guess I'm not completely speechless.

neon

When I was little I used to think my mom was crazy because she thought pink and orange were great together.  Well mama, as usual, you were right.  Lately I can't get enough of the combination, as you can tell here from a few of my recent purchases.  Also it seems I'm still celebrating color in a big way.  Must be the weather.  Last night we slept with the window open for the first time this year, and it makes such a difference in my happiness and energy level when I wake up, just to smell that morning air drifting in.  Happy summer everybody!

Zara leather clutch, American Apparel neon nail polish

maje me

I have ogled Maje clothing many times before, it's always beautifully made with gorgeous detailing.  They give you everything from classy and delicate to trendy and casual, all done to perfection.  And now they have online shopping too!  Feast your eyes on the beauty.

silk lace cami in off white and black, silk lace cropped top

much, much more after the jump...

what i'm wearing

This is my first outfit post since I started seriously investing myself in this blog, and to be honest I'm a little nervous.  Funny how that happens.  It's not like I get  nervous when I go outside and people see what I'm wearing, but posting a photo here makes me feel a bit naked.  I do want to keep this blog personal and real though, and I love the idea of occasionally posting what I'm wearing.   What do you think?

more after the jump...

a color celebration

I found this photo by Peter Funch on HonestlyWTF,  one of my favorite blogs of all time.  And then of course one thing leads to another, as always happens with these things, and I found myself riveted by the original videos on youtube.  You can watch the original commercial here or after the jump, but then please do watch the making of.  Amazing how frantic and chaotic and even violent the actual shoot was compared to the serene beauty of the final result.  When those balls shot out of the cannon I just about jumped out of my skin!  The magic of film making, it never ceases to amaze me.

sartore

In love with some of these styles from unisex shoe line Sartore.  Oxblood oxfords and laceless lace-ups.  Yes, please.

oxfords and boots

scout's honor

How pretty are these scarves by Scout & Catalogue?  This one is hand dyed sheer wool and "inspired by the sky just after a thunder storm and the ocean on a glassy morning".  Gorgeous.  They also do cotton scarves with this ingenious studded leather looping mechanism, and beautiful little handmade clutches.

 

Not only do I want everything they make, but these images also make me want to hand dye my own fabrics and leathers and make beautiful things with my own two hands.  Inspiringly lovely.  Check out their store and their blog.

jedward

Anyone catch eurovision?  Anyone care?  We sort of ran into it by accident and then, like driving past some horrible car wreck, couldn't pull ourselves away.  We stayed glued to the tv for about an hour until we realized brain cells were atrophying, so we didn't catch it all, but I have to say, the highlight for me was definitely Jedward.  Yes, as in "Hi, I'm John, and this is Edward, and together we're Jedward!"  In case you missed it.

What?  Seriously?  Where am I?  What year is it?  What is happening?

r13

Have you heard of R13?  I hadn't until I ran into it this weekend.  It is yet another luxury denim line, but this one's made of Italian and Turkish (hooray!) fabrics, produced in Italy.  To be honest I didn't even see the denim.  What I saw was this:

Yes, it may look like just a sweatshirt to you, but I swear, it's not.  It feels like heaven.  It's just cotton, but it feels like it's made of clouds and baby lamb hugs.  The fit is perfect, just slouchy enough, but with slim and extra long sleeves.

Oh and one other detail:  it's mine!  Yes, I paid big money for a sweatshirt.  But I'm never going to have to buy one again.  So there, purchase justified.  Now I'd like to justify a few more things from the line.  For example, did you notice the pants in the above photo?  Don't they look comfy and beautiful at the same time?  They have the unfortunate name of 'sweat jeans' (what is it with these new terms? why do we have to name all the new styles and cuts now?), but I think they're gorgeous.

more after the jump... 

disappearing for a bit

photo from Demetrio's Travel Pages

Just wanted to let you know I'm off for a romantic long weekend getaway with my husband.  Between my being sick and then having family here visiting, it's been a while since we've been able to really focus on each other.  And as we all know, wonderful relationships aren't made and sustained by magic alone, you've got to really take care of them and consciously celebrate them.  So we thought we'd give ourselves a gift: time.  Time together, time with no distractions, time with no errands and no work and no responsibilities.  Time to be together and just be.  So no posting for me for a few days, I'm sure you'll all understand.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

denise grünstein

Loving photographer Denise Grünstein's editorial work.  The stillness is almost palpable.  And it's just so eerily beautiful.

more after the jump...

free people shoes

Going through the Free People website, slowly picking out all the things I want and will probably never buy.  Way too many to list in one post, so today we'll just look at the shoes.  How insanely perfect are these little cropped booties?  I don't own any boots that hit that low on the ankle, and I just love the way it looks!

More of my favorites after the jump...

laugh attack

Hysterical laughter is contagious.  I think even those of you who don't speak spanish will enjoy this.  This is from 1994, when after 8 hours of debate the members of the parliament of andalucia were a little punchy. 

for my mama

Happy Mother's Day (again)!



I figured since I'm sending you virtual flowers, I might as well send you an entire field of your favorite!

Love you mama.

images from sussex photos and urban extension

a wang leather

Look! A buttery soft black bag that magically morphs into a more ergonomically sound backpack! Well done Mr. Wang. (Also available in a greyed-out off white, and a wacky chartreuse for those more adventurous folks.)

Marti backpack

And while we're browsing the wonderful things he does in leather, how about these beauties?  Love all the layered pieces and the little peekaboo cutouts in the back.

Dakota booties, Claudia booties

the little things

Sometimes you can tell it's going to be a great day just by the magical way the sunlight filters through the laundry basket.  Got a gig tonight and have to be in the theatre soon so I'm keeping this short, just wanted to share this good omen with you.

back to the barre

I know this video's made the rounds lately, so many of you have probably seen it, but I couldn't resist posting it now because after 2 months of not being able to dance due to illness, I'm sort of feeling like this myself.

Cracks me up every time!

Every day I feel stronger and a bit less like a foreigner in my own body. I just have to be patient and remember that it's always quicker to recover what you've already learned than it was to learn it the first time. I'm sure in one month I'll be back in tip-top shape. Still, I can't help but think of this girl when I'm struggling to get my body to obey. Lucky for me I end up laughing a lot rather than getting frustrated.

hooray for zappos

See by Chloe clogs

No, I promise, this is not another post about clogs.  (Though I can't promise there won't be another one at some point).  This is about a great zappos moment I recently had.  I bought a pair of boots back in december and then decided I wanted to return them (hooray for the zappos return policy!), but then life got hectic and things got put off, and so they only just got shipped back a few weeks ago.  Then last week I looked into it and UPS was posting delivery completed, but there was no sign of my refund.  So I sent zappos a friendly email asking what steps I need to take to get my money back, assuming it'd involve UPS tracking codes and multiple emails and faxes and who knows what other headaches.  Two days later I got an email saying So sorry for the inconvenience, sometimes things get misplaced in the warehouse, we have refunded your credit card and here's $15 off your next purchase.  I was flabbergasted!  Talk about customer service!  So of course I headed straight to their website to see how I could put my coupon to good use.  Somehow I ended up in the couture section, and got distracted for ridiculous amounts of time looking at shoes I will never actually buy.  This is what I found.

From top to bottom, left to right: Michael Kors, Robert Clergerie, Elizabeth and James, KORS Michael Kors, L.A.M.B.,  DSquared2

You may have noticed that most of these wedges are insanely high.  Well yes, they are, and no, I don't actually wear anything that high.  Give me a break!  I walk everywhere, every day, and most days I have to get where I'm going over cobblestone streets.  Cobblestones + towering high wedges = either death or a nervous ostrich walk, neither of which I have the time for.  But I still can admire these for the works of art they are.  Don't you love the details we're getting on the backs of the heels?

dulus dominicus

Presenting the new music video for Alex Ferreira's Dulus Dominicus, just released on MTV.es. Styled by yours truly, directed by the super talented Alonso Lujan*. 

If you're in Spain you can watch this version, which according to the director is a better compression:

*In the interest of full disclosure, aside from being a talented director and director of photography, Alonso is also my husband and the love of my life.  So yeah, maybe I'm a little biased.  But that doesn't mean the other stuff's not true.

to keep or not to keep

I need your advice.

There's a new addition to my clog family, but it's on probation.  I may have to return them, because I am a logical, rational, reasonable person, fully capable of self-awareness and recognizing shoe redundancy.  On the other hand, they sure are cute.

For a few years now, I, along with every other clog lover in the world, have been drooling over Swedish Hasbeens, as evidenced way back when. (side note: have you seen the new loafers?  I think they're so fun(ny) and wonderful).  So you can imagine my excitement when I heard about the Hasbeen/H&M collaboration.  For me this was bigger than Lanvin, bigger than Comme des Garçons, bigger even than Lagerfeld.  So when the clogs hit the stores I literally ran to H&M on Gran Via and like a maniac tried them all on.  I thought I was going to go home with the nude multi-strap pair, but for larger-calved ladies let me tell you, it is not a flattering design.

In the end I came home with these cherry red babies.  I can't wait to wear them with rolled up loose jeans and trousers and long flowing dresses.  They're super comfortable, the soles are incredibly light weight, and they feel like they'll hardly need any break-in time at all.  There's only one problem... I'm having trouble justifying them.

para mi madre

It's mother's day here in Spain.  Feliz dia de la madre!

Miss you mama!