I'm back HOME

Kaixo dear friends,

Sorry for the long hiatus, but finals have been KILLER this semester. In any case, I'm back in track because a) I'm on holidays and b) I'M HOME! Yes, I'm back in the Basque Country for Christmas! And that means tons of time for sleeping, leisure and this blog! I will soon write about my awesome thanksgiving trip to Oregon and my SUPER SUCCESSFUL Black Friday+Cyber Monday experience. Seriously, it was crazy awesome. Meanwhile, here some pics with my people before and after flying home:

My roommate and I!

My friend Almike and I!

After the departmental reception

A blogger milestone: Ladurée macarons! And let me tell you, they were DELICIOUS!

Back with my friend Alejandra!

I will soon start posting now that I have the time. I have so many ideas!
Love,

- Ane

Last Lanzarote recap

Kaixo!

Soooo with school and crossing oceans and life and moving and writer's block and yada yada yada I have not been able to finish my Lanzarote trip's recap! I know, it's terrible. I have to start a managing my time and including time for blogging, because this is out of control. In any case, let me tell you about some other cool places I visited while in Lanzarote:

- Timanfaya National Park: This national park is a volcanic area (which is not dormant!!) where they take you on a bus tour around all the volcanic formations, craters, etc. It's seriously out of this world, mainly because it looks like the moon. I rode the bus with my dear mom and it was a blast. After that, they showed us how with the lava and heat under the soil they can actually cook potatoes (they're super into them there, I don't blame them though) and create a geyser. Unfortunately, it was full of tourists with their cameras ready to take a picture, and some people can be 8ft tall and not give a damn about people who actually want to see it behind them. Don't be that tourist.

Any suggestions on how NOT to pose like an idiot?

After visiting that, we did one of my favorite parts of the trip. We rode camels. Yes, real life camels. And let me tell you, it was one of the most hilarious things I've ever done. Not only the way the camel's movement sways you is crazy, but the camel herder (does that concept even exist?) was a hilarious guy. I did this when I was a 1-year-old, and since my memory is not that powerful, it was awesome to repeat it and actually be aware of it.

- Fuerteventura: This is an island south of Lanzarote that we took a ferry to. We drove to the southernmost point of the island because they had recommended us some beaches there, but honestly, I could've done without them. It was too windy, the water was too cold and I felt like the sand that the wind was carrying was actually hurting me. In any case, we ended up going to a big dune on our way back (by the north of the island) and it was an absolute blast to jump down the dune and run up and repeat. Awesome.

- Isla de la Graciosa: Another island, except this one is teeny-tiny and it's north of Lanzarote. We took another ferry and rode bikes to the north of the island and back in a record time! Go us! The ferry ride was my favorite, the water was pretty rough and it went up and down like a roller coaster. I don't know if I'm too reckless or too unaware of the potential danger but it was too much fun to start adulting right at that moment, sorry.

It was awesome to relax with my loved ones, and I hope to go back soon. Also soon, my NYC recap! It definitely was an eventful trip, so you won't wanna miss that!

Love,

- Ane

OOTD: When your sister goes to(teal)ly crazy

Kaixo!

After recovering from the LP sale, I am back to posting about my Lanzarote trip. I'll skip a couple of days to show you my last OOTD post of the trip and will finally tell you guys a short recap of my last days in another post.

Before I start, I want to assume that you have either watched or are fans of shows like ANTM or RuPaul's Drag Race. When I was younger, I used to love watching Spanish shows like that. The first one was "Supermodelo 2006", and I remember how they had to learn to walk on the catwalk, pose for pics, etc. The funniest part for me was when the photographer, a French dude called Rouzic who looks like Pitbull's doppelgänger, asked them to "give him more." The French accent and the girls' confused looks when he asked for it, and his really vague explanations of what he wanted topped the cake.

My sister and I were obsessed. When I told her about my blog and the pics, she went full Rouzic with me. Like literally took my camera and started snapping non-stop, moving around me and making me walk, jump, pose and all that jazz. The pics were hilarious, and I picked some of them for you:

She did take some artistic pics too though:

Dress: Local boutique (old) // Bag: Blanco (old, similar here) // Sunglasses: Nordstrom // Earrings: Kate Spade New York // Sandals: Les Tropezzienes par M Belarbi (French brand) // Watch: Fossil (old, similar here)

You can see that everything is repeated except for the dress. This teal dress has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I bought it in 2013 and it has been great for everything. It's cute enough for going out with friends, modest enough to teach in, and comfortable enough to do pretty much anything else. Besides, teal is one of the most fitting colors for any type of skin!

I have picked a handful of similar dresses for you to check out too. Find them here, here, here, here, and here! Any other teal dresses you like? How do you like to style teal?

Finally, let me share a picture of my craziest photographer and me. I miss my sissy so much!

Love,

- Ane

OOTD: Maxi Love

Kaixo!

I wanted to start my Lanzarote recap with an OOTD post, if I may! Now that I told my parents and sister about the blog I have three new photographers and they gladly help me out taking pics!

Well let me tell you something about Lanzarote: It's sunny, windy and looks like the moon. Seriously, it's a place of volcanic activity so the rock formations are crazy. Our 1 week holiday was either visiting natural places that are a result of the nature of the island (how freaking eloquent is this sentence?) or laying down doing nothing. Both work for me. Our first stop after getting there was Los Hervideros, which are odd underwater caves and cliffs that are shaped by the erosion caused by lava, and later on, we headed to a crater by El Golfo. It was really interesting to see those places and see how nature shaped the island.

As for my outfit, I was trying to pack super light (and as surprising as it is, mission accomplished!), so I packed mostly dresses and shorts, and in order not to get a cold (I got one on a flight from Phoenix to Seattle and it's in my Top 10 for the worst experiences of my life ever) I decided to put on a maxi dress and a kimono (which I didn't need later, too hot) and sandals. Easy peasy:

Dress: Modcloth (sold out, similar here) // Bag: Blanco (old, similar here) // Bangle: Zara // Watch: Fossil (old) // Sunglasses: Nordstrom // Earrings: Kate Spade New York // Necklace: Forever21 // Sandals: Les Tropezzienes par M Belarbi (French brand)

I fell in love with this dress when I saw it in Modcloth harder than I've ever fallen for a boy #trulyfe. The fit is great, the pattern is adorable and the small slits to the sides makes it so easy to walk in it. It's a winner. The accessories are all the same (lol, surprising right?) as usual. 

However, I wanted to give some honorable mentions: First of, my sunglasses are back in stock! Yayyy!! They were only 12$, so it's a steal! As for the bracelet, it's part of a set and I've been wearing it non-stop. Seriously, get it. And the sandals, I believe you can still get them in Amazon UK or Zalando UK, so if you come, do yourself a favor and get them. I'm a person who is never happy about how sandals look on me (seriously, I own a couple of pairs of sandals), and that's problematic. Except these sandals make my feet look sleek, they are beautifully crafted and incredibly sturdy. A+.

Finally, aside from the tourism and the outfit, I wanted to mention that I finally saw my little sister!! She's that super tan lady in the pics (please refrain yourself from the "café au lait" jokes, I get that I'm super pale, I really get it, thanks) who I couldn't wait to see. With me living abroad and with her having an internship for the summer when I'm home, our schedules have definitely conflicted lately, but I finally got the chance to bug the heck out of hang out with her! A sisterly bond is one of the best bonds, don't you think?

So that's all for today, I will soon continue with my Lanzarote adventure! :)

Love,

- Ane

P.S: I finally booked my Chicago day-trip, I'll get there August 21st! Get ready bank account!

I'm back!!

Kaixo everybody!!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm back from Lanzarote! In one word, it was PRICELESS (and I don't say this because my parents were paying for everything). I soaked in the sun (truly, I'm a little more tanner than when I left. From nuclear white to fair!), ate good food (oh man, the food!), did not wear any make-up at all (which was liberating), I enjoyed time with my family and overall, disconnected, which was much needed for me. I will soon start posting about my trip, but meanwhile here are my Instas from it, so that you can get a taste of how it was!

Cacti garden!

With my best friend

Pretty flowers are my weakness

Airport reads (no spoilers please, I've been waiting for this book forever!)

Also, bonus Snapchat (anetxin91, add me) pic. I didn't wear any make-up but that didn't stop me (my mom) from buying because it was way cheaper there:

I will be posting about my trip and a couple OOTDs soon, stay tuned! :)
Love,

- Ane

I'm off to...

I'm SO SO EXCITED!!!! Lanzarote is a tiny island in the Canary Islands, a group of islands southwest of Morocco that belong to Spain. I'm visiting my little sister who's doing an internship there all summer. The last time I went there I was 1, and the last time I spent more than 2 days with my sister was January, so I can't wait! I have some posts planned for when I'm there, but I'll be tech-free, so talk to you all soon! :)

Love,

- Ane

Museum finds: 1947-1957 French Fashion

Kaixo everyone!

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I had the chance to visit the Fine Arts Museum in Bilbao last week before I met up with my dorm friends. It was a national holiday in Spain so all stores were closed (RIP my heart), but my mom knows me well and knows I'm a museum freak fan, so she told me I could go visit the Fine Arts museum (for the umpteenth time).

The museum has a huge collection of Basque and Spanish art, and they usually have a couple or three  temporary exhibits as well. This time I was lucky enough to find one of my favorite exhibitions in the world and planet and in history ever. I'm not exaggerating. It was a collection of French fashions from the 1950s, which is known for those gorgeous flared dresses, tiny waistlines, ladylike accessories and for making every single woman on earth look like Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly (well maybe I'm exaggerating a little here, but seriously, I couldn't stop thinking about them).

Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, the 1950s haven't been back in style. We may have to "blame" the extension of the "radical chic" on Coco Chanel, the rise of prêt-à-porter (ready to wear) and the democratization of fashion (disclaimer: this is a direct quote from the exhibit, prêt-à-porter is my mantra, I would be dead without Zara and H&M and Coco is my homegurl), but in any case, we are still waiting for its return. Meanwhile, we can admire the beautiful work of Christian Dior (the absolute star of the exhibit), Yves Saint Laurent, Cristobal Balenciaga (he's from my area, proud moment), Balmain, Carven and Hèrmes.

For real, they had all these 50s dresses from these designers. It was like heaven.

Dior

Such a fun piece!

Pink Balenciaga Babydoll dress and Yves Saint Laurent for Dior pieces

Fancy stockings

Yellow Hèrmes sundress

My favorite: This Carven suit dress

I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures. It isn't great, I only have my poor iPhone with me, and I wasn't 100% sure if I was allowed to take pictures so I went full YOLO and became that tourist that everyone hates and took pictures discretely. I just couldn't pass it up!

In fact, while I was walking around I imagined going to the Oscars in one of these dresses (a girl can dream), and I decided I would either wear the green one shoulder gown or the white dress with black velvet and pearls! Which one is your favorite dress? If you could wear one, which would you choose?  Let me know in the comments! :)
Love,

- Ane