Lucky 13

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Abril

Another year has come and gone, one truly for the books. I am so grateful for everything 2013 brought to me; I can honestly say it has been the happiest year of my life so far. It was a year of new beginnings, of adventures, of traveling and exploring, of discoveries and rediscoveries, of new wonderful people coming into my life, of reuniting with life-long friends, of taking new directions, of loving and feeling loved, of dreams come true.

Ever since I can remember I have dreamed of traveling the world, and I’ve been blessed with many opportunities to do so. Some years have brought more opportunities than others, and 2013 was extremely generous in that regard. I got to visit beautiful places, explore countries I’ve never been to before, like Canada and Dominican Republican; visit old familiar places, like my beloved New York and my now dear LA; reconnect with my own country and my roots, visiting some of its most charming places.

All this traveling allowed me to meet people from different corners of the globe and I feel so lucky I now get to call many of them my friends, for knowing them made my travels that much richer. Traveling also allowed me to spend some serious quality time with my dearest childhood friends, and with family, solidifying some of the most important relationships in my life.

It was also a year of important decisions, like closing the cycle on a 10 year very rewarding career working with kids to pursue another one of my passions, writing. However, the most important decision of all came after turning 29 and realizing that I do want to have kids of my own someday; despite the fact that motherhood had been a childhood dream while I was growing up, over the past several years I had seriously questioned if it was something I really wanted. Now I know I do, and when the time is right, I will gleefully embark on that journey.

Of course I can’t talk about 2013 without mentioning one of the most important moments in my life, my wedding. A moment that came after 9 years of being in a relationship with the love of my life, of having been together for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer… which turned this event into a big celebration and reaffirmation of our love and commitment to each other. To have the most important people in our lives, our immediate families and the friends that have been with us thru our crazy ride, come together for this occasion only made it even more special and filled with love. I’ve been truly blessed by their love, and I’m forever grateful for each one of them. My happiness on my wedding day felt like one of those happy endings from the movies, but with the realization that it wasn’t an ending at all but rather a very happy beginning.

I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store for all of us, but I know it will be great as I firmly believe the best is yet to come. But for now, all I have to say is thank you, thank you, thank you friends, thank you family, thank you life, thank you God, thank you 2013 for all the happiness and blessings, you will go down in history as my lucky 13.

Look of the Day: Cliche

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Abril

Blazer: Forever 21 – Dress: vintage – Bag: from Nordstrom Rack Shoes: aldo – Quarts Bracelet:artisan work made in Mexico

For all those people who think of Mexico in terms of that old cliche image of a guy with a big hat, a poncho and a donkey, you ought to visit many of Mexico’s modern cities, including the very cosmopolitan Mexico City, and realize this beautiful country is so much more than the old cliche. Now, that said, if you visit some of the smaller more traditional towns, you might occasionally find bits and pieces of that old cliche here and there. Case in point, the donkey. Though I didn’t run into any guys wearing big hats, canvas clothing and ponchos, I did run into a very lovely picture perfect donkey, and of course couldn’t miss the opportunity for a snapshot. Isn’t he the cutest donkey you’ve ever seen?

Anyway, donkey aside, Look of the Day is back!! This look was shot months ago in Mexico, and it is one I really love. I am a sucker for ladylike looks, so pretty much any outfit including this midi-length, fuller skirt dress is gonna be a favorite for me. Plus the black and white color palette give the whole thing a classic yet modern feel. Just the kind of outfit that can come to the rescue on those “don’t know what to wear” kind of days. It truly requires minimum effort.

Wishing you guys a great week!!

Travel: Route of Independence

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Abril

Hello blogosphere! I might finally be ready to start making a comeback into this virtual territory of mine. And no, I don’t have any new wedding pictures to share yet… but I figured we could start catching up right where we left off before all the last minute wedding madness and honeymoon phase happily took over my life. So, as embarrassing as it is to admit that I’m this far behind on blogging, we pretty much left off with me sharing about my travels in Mexico, which happened 2 months ago already!! Geez, feels like it was forever ago.

You might remember I already shared with you my photos of lovely Pátzcuaro and gorgeous San Miguel de Allende, and today I bring you my photos of two very historically important towns in Mexico: Dolores Hidalgo and Querétaro . In the south of Mexico, not too far northwest of Mexico City there is something we call The Route of Independence, and Dolores Hidalgo is a key part of it. You see, back in 1810, when Mexico was still under Spain’s dominion, a war broke out to free Mexico from it, a war that lasted 11 years and ended with Mexico being proclaimed an independent and sovereign nation. That war is known in our history as the War of Independence and it officially broke out in Dolores Hidalgo, when a priest stood on the steps of his parish calling the town to raise in arms against injustice and oppression. The town followed his lead and they got on their way to nearby towns asking everyone to join in their cause, thus forming an improvised army that was headed to Mexico City to try to take over. Well, all those towns they visited on their way to the country’s capital is what we now call The Route of Independence.

Dolores Hidalgo is where the war officially begun, but Querétaro is as equally important in our history and to this war, even if it’s technically not part of the The Route of Independence. Querétaro is where the insurrection was planned, where all the meetings conspiring against the Spanish government were held for months, before that priest stood outside his parish calling the people to raise in arms. Besides the historic sites, Querétaro also happens to have one of the largest old aqueducts in the world. Another little fun fact, it’s the city that I always thought I would live in, at least all of high school I claimed I would live there when I grew up…that is how much I love it!

Now, I don’t know if it’s because I might be a tad emotional and sentimental, but visiting these historically significant places, standing by those walls and on those streets that have witnessed such important moments, I can’t help but to feel a certain connection to all that history. To add even more to that feeling, I happened to be visiting all those places on the exact weekend that we were celebrating the 203rd anniversary of the start of our War of Independence. And let me tell ya, it’s a powerful feeling to be reminded where I come from, where my roots lay, what my country has been thru.

Of course these towns are full of that well known Mexican folklore, full of colors, traditions, colonial architecture and monuments erected to commemorate our history’s heroes. I got to photograph some of that, and here are the results. I hope you enjoy them!