Dressing Up For Me

I had a few minutes to dress up because we´re in a hurry to go out and so I grabbed the first thing that I saw in my closet, this skirt. I´m loving it because it´s rust colored ( great for spring,summer and autumn  wear),  it has    boxy pleats in the front ( it conceals the small ´bumps´  ) and bouffant ( puffy and in the right places!) . Just ignore my ´bouffant´ face, okies ? I´m having one of those ¨blame it on the hormones¨  days. ;) The truth is, I´m not really happy with this black and rust combination. It´s too safe. hahaha! I´ll probably combine the skirt with a more vibrant color next time and add some bling for a more interesting look. Buth then again, black and rust isn´t  that bad for a classic look, no ? ;) ( top , skirt- Zara, rest -local stores) So how´s your weekend? Mine was spent eating snails. Eeew! More on that on later. :) Hugs, Che

Hello, I´m still here! I know it´s been four days since my last post. ;) Real life´s been hectic lately and so I had to let go of  my blog life for a couple of days to attend to some urgent personal  matters. Anywa yz ,I´m back and wearing stripes! Since stripes looks good with sea, I´m sharing two photo snippets of Biarritz´s beaches in between my outfit photos. While almost everyone usually pair blue stripes with red or white I went for something different like taupe. Taupe is my new gray and I´m loving it! You should try it too. :) So why beach photos of Biarritz? It has one of the best beaches on this side of the world, it´s in France ( in the south actually)  and the place is chic ¨super magnified¨ !  As to my outfit, I´m finishing the look with a blush colored leather jacket and then I´m off for my afternoon walk later. I hope this looks chic enough. ;) ( top - Zara, pants - Pimkie, leather jacket - thrifted, flats, clutch - local...

Would a moss green skirt and a thrifted ¨army-looking¨  jacket make a passable safari look? Because I just wore this combination yesterday with a  multi-colored flowy top and heels  to make a presentable outfit  in this back to winter weather that we´re suffering  having for almost a month now. To think that technically, we´re almost in the middle of spring! As an afterthought, I threw in a metallic cutch, a silver cabochon ring ( a bday gift from a dear friend) and an awkward smile to make the whole thing work. ;) An old  pretty top/something can be the saving grace when we´re suffering from the  ¨I have nothing to wear!¨ syndrome every morning while while staring at our closets. I tell you, I have that  everyday and I´m glad that I usually find my inspiration inside my closet instead of going out and buying some more junk. It´s time to recycle old clothes that still fit and save the environment at the same time!...

It´s fly day, Friday! What are your plans for the weekend? While you´re mulling about it, let me share some photos of Coimbra and a castle which visited in Leiria in the central part of Portugal. I still have lots of travel photos to show you from my latest  Portuguese trip but I´ll be sharing them little by little in my future posts. A photo overload can make a post uninteresting, you see ( just saying!) . ;) The ruins of the Monastery of Sta. Clara in Coimbra.This place is very old( founded on 13th cent.). It got flooded ( because it was constructed near the Mondego River) so many times that the congregation decided to move up and leaving the remains of the old monastery down. View of the wall of the castle in Leiria some kilometers from Coimbra in the central part of Portugal: And below the castle I got to photograph this very colorful  football stadium. I´m not really a fan of football but the vivid colors of the stadium got my eye. In Portugal ev...

When I´m not in the mood to wear lots of colors, I always turn to my fave fail safe color, black. It´s a classic and it´s slimming (very important!) . Just add in a few accessories and a pair of  light colored pants and you´re ready to go! ;) 1. Start with a black top and finish with a black dotted scarf. A subte print on the scarf will do and never mind that shine on my face .;) ( top, denim jacket - Zara, torque necklace - Parfois) 2. Do you have a denim jacket which has been sitting idle in your closet for years? Then it´s time to air it out! That gold rope chain on my neck is a torque . An open ended collar necklace. It´s quite heavy and digs on my skin at the back. This type of necklace is best worn with a collared shirt ,er,   next time. 3. Sapphire and diamond ring for the fingers. Do you know that the value of gold appreciates and never depreciates? If you have the budget, buy real jewelry. It´s a good investment. Trust me, it´s w...

Hello, hello! Some outfit photos for you with the city of Coimbra(Portugal) in the the background. We stayed at this hotel on a hilltop for three nights and every day we woke up to this spectacular view of the city. So I had to have my photo taken for posterity´s sake,no? ;) Anyway on this particular day, I wore a sheer ¨brocade¨ top scored from the latest winter sales. It´s very loose, perfect for those bloated/flat days which I´m having every day(hehe!)  and this pair of pants, well, you´ve already seen this in almost all of the blogs everywhere so there´s no need for an introduction. Finished the whole look with a pair of flat walking boots for easy walking and climbing on the little hilly places later. A word of advice for y´all when visiting Portugal: Always bring/wear your flats/ flat boots with you.  This side of the country has roads mostly  made up of cobbled stones and are quite hilly. But that doesn´t mean that it aint fun because you got to e...

The day before we did the mini trip, we stopped by this natural park near our place for some relaxing walk and to admire the white blossoms from the cherry trees scattered around the path walk. Although the afternoon was quite chilly, the walk was invigorating and everything there was so peaceful with only the chirping of the birds breaking the silence. So we rested there for a while admiring the view until the hubz had his first sneeze and then followed more sneezes. Time to get up and go home! ;) ( long cardigan , bag - Zara, jeans , floral top - Promod) More photos from Portugal to follow soon. Stay tuned for that and enjoy the weekend, y´all! ;) Love, Che

Second day of our mini-Portuguese trip was spent between two palaces. Yep, you´ve read the right and this one´s the first of the two. Looks familiar? Scroll down and take a peek! ;) I got this cheetah printed top from the final sales ( which    I thought would go on forever  but on the 1st day of April the sales racks were gone!)  in Zara. So much for sale hunting, hahaha! Paired the top with tights because it´s still quite chilly out there and a pair of leather shorts to channel a  hippy( sort of! )  look. A tote is a must for me when I travel. I can put a lot of things in there, bottled water, brochures, scarf, cardigan, etc.and most importantly my secret purchases . ;) That´s why I always bring my Longchamps with me because they´re light and sturdy. ;) ( top - Zara, necklace - Forever 21, bag -Longchamp) Yep, it looked like Versailles but no it isn´t. It´s the Queluz National Palace, an 18th century majestic building built in B...

We started our little Portuguese trip with  8-9 ºC temp and  with  lotsa  rain on the road. Whoa, first day! So that would be an all black ensemble in my book save for the reversible tote for a bit of color. ;) ( jacket, top - Zara,  reversible tote - Misako, skinny jean s- H&M,   boots- Clarks) First stop was at Guarda´s cathderal: Constructed between the 14th  and 16th century, the architecture is a mix of Gothic and  Manueline styles. A quick stop at a local cafe for an apple tart and coffee and to add some color to this post, lol ! I wore this same look here except that I went all black instead of the black/brown striped top. The chambray´s becoming my fave layeirng piece. It´s addicting. ;) And so I´m back and I´ve got lots of stories to tell and photos to share! So how´s your break? Will be visiting your blogs now. ;) xoxo, Che

Today is Good Friday. Let´s set aside fashion for now and talk about culture. As you know, Spain is a predominantly Catholic country, hence, this Lenten tradition which have been practiced for centuries. Every Holy Thurday and Good Friday night a select group of people aka    ¨ brotherhoods¨ put on a robe in different colors and on their heads, the capirote (cone hat). They wear this uniform as a sign of penance while pulling ornate and heavy carriages topped with beautifully sculpted religious images. In the city where I live, this ritual is a bit simple but in some regions of Spain especially in Andalusia, it is more spectacular and a  prime tourist atraction every Holy Week. A purple candle is usually a sign of mourning, of sadness. People like me who also line up the streets do not only want to watch this solemn ritual but also to contemplate about life and the world around us. Just like you, I also have my own problems to solve and devils to fight ...

Another color block combo for no-fuss  gals like us. Speaking of which, pastel on pastel may be IN  this spring but once in a while I play with the trends to make them my own. Just like this short sleeved magenta colored top which had been   crumpled lying in my closet since last winter. I couldn´t wear it since it´s thin but now that the weather´s  getting warm, it´s time to hang out with her (yep, all my tops are a she and all my bottoms are a he ) . ;) I just pile on lots of gold jewelry, ( bangles - H&M, Misako, Sfera, ring - H&M) wear these colored flats  which I scored late autumn of last year, a perfect floral pair by the way to go with my cerulean blue pants. ;) ( necklace -Mango) and for the finishing touch, a cream blazer because it´s still chilly out there. ( blazer - Fórmula Joven, rest -local stores) Then I´m ready to go malling or wherever my small feet will take me. ;) Wel...