Dressing Up For Me

Hi, all! :) Welcome to another edition of What I Wore Wednesday! As you know, I´m a late bloomer in the animal prints game. If I didn´t start blogging, I wouldn´t dare wearing animal prints because I always prefer solid prints or florals. But then, the blogosphere is so convincing that in my 1st year of blogging, I started buying animal printed stuff. It started with a snake skin bangle, a pair of leopard printed tights, more snakeskin and more leopard. As for tiger prints, I preferred a tiger face print which I wore   here ,   here  and on this shirt dress . This time however, I found this tiger printed sweater hanging on one of the sales rack and decided to give it a try. I loved it! :) I paired this exotic printed top with a flirty circle skirt with dark tights, a studded clutch ( are studs still in?) , a chunky chain necklace and to finish the whole look, a starfish ring just because.. . ;) top - Zara TRF, skirt - Bershka, clutch , jewelry - Blanco ...

Today on Anything Goes Monday, let´s talk abut something that I never mention here in the blog, my so-called beauty regimen or little thereof, hahaha! Anyway, I´m the type of gal who believes that less is better. I´m not one who likes to complicate things and so I opt for a simple beauty routine. Moreover, you don´t have to use the most expensive brands to look really good, it´s a question of finding the right brand for you and eating healthy because what you eat is what you look. In my case, I stick to the basics and it works for me. :) 1. Hair I have medium-thick wavy hair and it usually dries up during the very hot months and winter and so I shampoo it every other day. Surprisingly, this silicone-free shampoo and conditioner duo by Pantene makes my hair straighter and finer which I like. Also, just before blow drying I put on a tiny drop or two of  hair oil to seal the ends, thus, I don´t end up with dry and unmanageable hair. 2. Face I´m lucky that I inherited the cle...

Hello there! :) As part of  my *cough* less meat diet, I´ve been whipping up meatless dishes lately for dinner. One of these are shitake mushrooms which are becoming  a favorite of mine. I just love the smell and the creamy taste of shitake mushrooms when cooked. :) Shitake and Cheese(optional) Omelette is a meatless dish made of stir fried strips of shitake mushrooms in toasted garlic, beaten eggs and parsley bits. I love adding grated or cubed cheese just before removing it from fire. It makes the whole dish creamier although it tastes delish as is without the cheese. Canapes or montaditos in Spanish are for those days when the hub z and I just wanted something light for dinner. The ingredients are a no-brainer and you can find them easily in your refrigerator. I use mayonnaise, smoked salmon and top it with chopped green and black olives and pickled chinese cucumbers. They can be time consuming to chop and arrange but the burst of flavors is worth it! For those...

Hello! This is going to be a short post but with a lot of photos. I haven´t taken a lot of photos of Assisi because we spent most of our time inside the church and as usual, they don´t allow picture taking inside churches in the major cities of Italy. So here´s the deal, photos of me outside of the church were taken at Assisi and the landscape photos in-between were from Siena, one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities in Tuscany. Got it? ;) top, bel t- Blanco, shorts - Stradivarius, bag - Tous, sandals - Zara Enjoy the weekend while I bundle up for the weather. It´s gonna be a freezing weekend over here so I´ll probably stay at home in my usual pjs and a thick blanket eating popcorn and drinking tea. ;) xoxo, Che

Hello, dahlings ! :) Today on WIWW, I pulled out my old midi wool skirt and have gone preppy again. It´s the same look as last week´s but with a longer skir and this time the color scheme´s black, white and gray. Yep, I´m on a style rut, people ! ;) The hub z calls this the executive look because he says I look serious ( and very mature) and maybe, he does have a point because whenever I wear black and gray, I look my real age. Hahaha! I carried a magenta colored clutch to inject some color to the whole look while the puffer jacket is for the cold weather. Would you try this color scheme or would you opt for more brighter colors? skirt- Massimo Dutti, button down - Zara, necklace - Forever 21, clutch - Custo Barcelona Linking up with Marionberry Style´s of the Trend of the Month Challenge, The Pleated Poppy´s What I Wore Wednesday  and Rolled Up Pretty´s Whatever Whenever Wednesday . Come join us! :) Kisses, Che

Spring´s right in the air. Can you smell it? I can even see bright yellow flowers on the green grass yesterday! Call it cliché but when I think of spring, flowers always come to my mind and this pretty floral dress that I have which unfortunately don´t fit me any longer. Unless I go on a crash diet which I doubt I would (hehe!), I´d wear this over and over again. It looks and and also feels so fresh when I´m wearing it! Needless to say, I´ll just make do with wha I have right now by wearing a nude skirt and complementing it with burgundy. There´s nothing wrong in extending the trend one season more,  isn´t? ;) skirt- Stradivarius But I´ll still look for that perfect floral spring dress which will fit me to a T sans crash diet OR it could be in a pastel color just like the lavender below. ;) Are you thinking of spring right now? ;) Hugs! Che

Hello, everyone! Today, I´ll show you a little about what´s inside The Vatican. By the way, this may be old news to you but  the current Pope, Pope Benedict XVI has just renounced the Ministry of Bishop in Rome, something unexpected for the last 600 years. Anyway, while I was living in my hot tropical country, I made three vows: one, to visit St, James of Compostela in Spain( which I did twice), second to visit the Holy land (which I´ve yet to do in the future) and third, to visit the Vatican City in Rome. I just did the last one last year while I was an on a week-long Italian tour. It was one of those super fast visit with a tour guide but the images will stay with me for a lifetime. The Vatican Museum has one of the best art collections in the world and it shows. It was ransacked a lot of times but it withstood the test of time. If I´m not mistaken, this Greek sculpture of a torso of a man was the model of Michaelangelo´s works. You know those buffed guys, on his painti...

If you´re wondering what I´m going to wear for dinner tomorrow, this is it! Last year I wore printed pants on Valentine´s Day, this year I´m going to wear a (faux) red leather skirt and style it a la preppy. ;) Having this heart necklace was a coincidence, I didn´t know that it has a heart-shaped design, swear! Serendipity, much? :) Finishing the look with my old fave clutch, the metallic clutch. Now who says, you gotta wear a slinky dress on V- day? I´ll be on a full preppy gear and the hub z would love it just the same. Well, that´s just us. It could be different for you and your guy/your date. ;) stripe button down( old)- Roberto Verino, skirt - Stradivarius, necklace - Blanco, clutch- Pimkie So what are you wearing tomorrow on Valentine´s Day? Linking up with The Pleated Poppy´s What I Wore Wednesday and Rolled Up pretty´s W hatever Whenever Wednesday  and Followers to Friends Blog Party  Click and join us! :) Enjoy your V-Day tomorrow! Kisses, ...

When I get tired of looking at fashion sites and personal style blogs for inspiration, I turn to Pinterest. I know you do that too! ;) It´s the only site so far(IMO) where you can browse and oggle at your favorite things in one place and then save/pin them and for in-depth reading ( especially recipes and DYIs) later. The pins also link back to the original uploader which to me is a very good way to acknowledge the source. Anyway, it was in Pinterest where I got to learn how to loosen one of my super tight shoes in minutes and it works! You only need your hair drier, thick socks and your tight shoes. Put your feet with  thick socks on  inside the shoes. Heat the part ( not too close!) where it´s tight for a few seconds or more. Wiggle and spread your toes. Allow the shoes to cool down without removing your feet. Repeat again if needed but don´t remove feet with socks until the shoes have cooled down so that the leather will completely mold to your feet.  I got this DYI...

Today on food weekend let´s talk about tapas or pinchos as what they call here in the Spanish basque region. far right: boiled egg, surimi strips and mayo with shrimps on top These are canapé like bread, eggs or vegetable and topping combinations sold in every bar in Spain. They are not only colorful and tasty but tummy filling too. There are a gazillion of combinations you can find and are worth every bite. ;) They´re perfect as a snack, for lunch and even as a light dinner too! morcilla*  slices with fried quail egg They can also come in pizza type or quiche: peppers, bacon, mushrooms, onions with veggie( zucchini), caramelized bell peppers/onions and chicken or with pan fried/roasted whole green peppers topped on a bed of juicy loin. What´s more important is that it has everything that you want in a sandwich but in small portions. Matches well with a glass of wine, a pitcher of sangría, beer, juice or any beverage that you want. The possibilities ar...

Today on Flyday Fridays let´s talk about a palace, museums and  the historic quarter of France ´s most famous university. In other words, let´s talk about culture. ;) First, I must tell you to get a MUSEUM PASS  online or at any tourism office when you arrive in Paris. I assure you, getting this pass saves time( shorter or no queuing!) , money (entrance to the most important museums/monuments are free)  and you can visit as much as 60 museums in and around Paris. How´s that for a deal? :) Anyway, a trip to Paris is never complete without a visit to the Versailles and it´s gardens. Unfortunately, I went there on a stormy day ( yep, so unlucky for me) and so I never did get to enjoy the lovely palace grounds and Marie Antoinette´s  apartment. Even so, I had a lovely time inside the palace and it´s even photogenic despite the bad weather, no? ;) If you love contemporary arts like Monet, Manet, Degas,Gaugin, etc..., what I can I say, the Musée d´Orsay has the best ...