Friday, July 31, 2015

Please...

Necklace from Furbish Studio (42$)

... and thank you. (Sorry for double-posting but I just fell in love!)

- Ane

Cecil: My thoughts

Cecil the lion via Slate
RIP Cecil, first of all. Unless you've completely unplugged for a week (is that even possible?) you may have heard about how a dentist from Minnesota killed Cecil, the face of the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Cecil was the most famous lion of the area and he was under study by Oxford University for about 10 years, I believe. Cecil was savagely slaughtered, and the outrage has spread around the world. Everyone has seen the dentist's face and has condemned his actions. Like everyone. Many many celebrities like Cara Delevigne, Ricky Gervais, Sharon Osbourne and Jimmy Kimmel have tweeted or spoken against Cecil's murder. Pretty much that's what everyone is talking about.

What Dr. Palmer did was absolutely ABOMINABLE. Trophy hunting is deplorable, and the way Cecil died was absolutely cruel. Let's make that clear.

However, the uproar about it has made me think about the value that we give to certain people or animals over others. Thousands of people have been killed in Syria. Police brutality is in an all-time high. Like really, a cop recently gunned down an African-American man for missing a stop sign. 4 children die every 20 seconds out of hunger in the world. 4 every 20 seconds. Where is the outrage? Where is the cry for justice? Where are the celebrity tweets? I'm not saying animals are less important than humans, but these issues have been going on for a very long time, and no one says anything. The media decides what is important and what isn't, and for now, Cecil is more important than hunger or refugees.

My final thought is that we should denounce the injustices like Cecil's, but without forgetting that there are many that have been silenced throughout the years. Let's denounce those too. Rant over.
Love,

- Ane

Thursday, July 30, 2015

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



Tuesday, July 28, 2015

OOTD: Bilbao Blues

Kaixo!

About time I did an OOTD post! Truth to be told, I've been wanting to document my outfits this month but at the same time I feel a little reluctant to ask my parents to take pictures for my blog, I'm kind of shy about it. However, last Saturday I met up with some of my best friends from my freshman and sophomore dorm days in college in Bilbao, which is an hour away from where I live. Bilbao is one of the most important cities in Northern Spain (there's a Guggenheim museum there), and many American students choose Bilbao for their study abroad. The Basque Country is beautiful so if you are thinking of Bilbao please do it! Everyone I know who's been there loved it!

Since the three of my friends live close, instead of going to Vitoria, where we studied, we decided to meet up in Bilbao! While catching up with our post-grad lives, bits and pieces and shenanigans, I told them about my blog and they were kind enough to take some pictures of my outfit! Eskerrik asko! (This means thank you in Basque, and you could pronounce it like "s-carry-Costco")

Bilbao's old part from the top!


Most awkward pose award goes to...




Top: Mango (currently on sale!) // Necklace: J. Crew Factory (old, similar here) // Pants: Lefties (Spanish brand, find similar pants here) // Earrings: Kate Spade New York // Ballet flats: Callaghan // Bag: Old, similar here

This top was a steal from Mango that I got a couple of weeks ago. I've been resorting to white shirts to combine them with pretty much everything lately. The pants were also another steal! I had been looking for patterned pants for a while, but I was unsure of getting a pair without trying them on, since most of them were khakis and I felt like they wouldn't look well on me. And then suddenly I found these printed jeans, tried them on, and fell in love. The fact that they were in this beautiful shade of blue with white (it's one of my fave color combos, mostly because they are my soccer team's colors, more on my obsession fandom in another post) won me over. I got them for like 10€ (and they are even cheaper now) at Lefties, Zara's little sister, which used to literally carry Zara's leftovers (hence the name, which sounds terribly uncool for any English speaker and highlights how bad the knowledge of English is in Spain) and now has its own collections which are still cheaper than Zara. As for the rest, call me outfit repeater if you want (don't be that kind of person), but as always, I'm wearing my Kate Spade studs, these flats that have been my summer staple, and my sister's old bag. Like really old, I think I should get a new one.

It was definitely a wonderful day, and even though we haven't seen each other in like forever, it was as if we had only been apart for a day. Here some extra pics with my ladies:

Me, G, N and I

We're mature college grads and all that...

Pretty much sums up how happy I was to see these girls!

I can't wait to see these ladies again, as well as wearing these pieces to create new outfits! Oh and also, I got a haircut and now you can see it! I feel a ton lighter now! :)
Have a wonderful day,

- Ane

P.S.: I also had the chance to visit the Fine Arts Museum in Bilbao and it had the most amazing exhibition that I will share here soon. Stay tuned!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Preppy Girl Tag

Kaixo everyone!

I hope everyone's doing well! I've recently been seeing this post all around, "The Preppy Tag" post, in which preppy style bloggers answer questions on their preppiness (I think that's the point, correct me if I'm wrong). I have not been tagged, and I was thinking of jumping to the bandwagon just because (#shameless). Emily from Miss Emily Prep invited bloggers to do it if we wanted to, so I felt like it was calling my name. So here are my answers:

1) What's your definition of preppy?

When I think of preppy, two things come to my mind: The original idea of the prep school student who comes from a wealthy family and the lifestyle that it entails (boats, old money, loyalty to specific brands and yadayadayada), and the more current version that is fortunately more accessible interpretation of that lifestyle (you can certainly dress preppy with Old Navy and that's a fact). I'll go with this last idea because I'm not a trust fund baby (too bad, I'd be awesome at it).

Preppy is clothes, attitudes and manners that are classic, that do not fade over time and can be worn (in the case of clothes) and upheld (in the case of attitudes and manners) throughout one's life. However, I'm young, so my version of preppy is a combination of on the one hand, classic striped tees, Oxford shirts, cardigans, ballet flats and pearl/stud earrings (for example) and on the other hand, crazy details, whimsically patterned scarves and cheeky pink lipstick. It's being nice, selfless and thankful of what you have and who you are, but also being able to have fun, to feel alive and to dance on tables without feeling insecure. That's preppy for me.

2) What's your all time favorite brand?

Zara. Yes, it is not a preppy brand per se, but I grew up with it in Spain (where it's still reasonably priced, thank God), my mom's been taking me there since I was a kid, I've bought my most cherished clothes there, and even if some things they currently sell are plain hideous (let's be honest), they always have timeless pieces that I can add to my ever-growing wardrobe.

J. Crew Factory has been my go-to for these last two years as well.

3) What's your favorite Lilly print?

I would say True Blue Loves Me. I own a scarf in this print and I absolutely adore it. If I could, I would like to have anything in the Dot Dot Hop, Lucky Charm and Wild Confetti prints. Flowers >>>>> everything.



4) Favorite preppy You-tuber?

I really enjoy A Lonestar State of Southern's videos, which you can find here!

5) Jack Rogers or Sperrys?

I don't own any of them, but I'd like to get a pair of Jacks eventually. Sperrys are very cute too, but everyone wears them at the University of Illinois (in spite of the lack of proper lakes and boats. Maybe they're ideal to venture through cornfields as well, you never know).

6) Jeans or Khakis?

Jeans FTW. I wear jeans almost everyday.

7) Duck boots, riding boots, or Hunters?

I would like to say Hunters, but unfortunately, my Hunter boots cracked after a year and a half of use and I cried was extremely disappointed. Aren't a pair of boots worth 150$ meant to last more? :(

I'll say riding boots then, because the one pair that I have makes me feel like a superstar whenever I wear them.

8) Navy or black?

(I'M OBSESSED, NAVY COME TO ME!) That's a tough one, but I'll say navy.

9) On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love J. Crew?

A 9 because of the price. I can't afford those prices every time I go shopping, let's be real here. In any case, it gets a 9 for those days in which it has amazing sales, for my favorite chinos and for J. Crew Factory's existence!

10) Favorite Ralph Lauren clothing item?

My blue and white oxford shirt. There used to be an outlet store right in the middle of Durango when I did my study abroad there (it was rather weird because it was the hippiest town in Colorado, but not gonna complain), but when I went again last summer it was closed, such a bummer. :(

11) Pearls or bows?

Pearls. You can never go wrong with pearls!

And that's about it! I hope you enjoyed my responses (at least I hope you are not weirded out), and I'd like to invite some of my favorite bloggers to answer to these questions, if they'd like: :)

- Carley from Preppy Lane
- Annaliese from Southern Belle in Training
- Michaela from The Monogrammed Midwesterner
- Megan from Bowtiful Life

Also, feel free to answer these questions if you wish. Honestly, feel as free as 'MERICA to do so.
Thank you all! Love,

- Ane

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Summer readings (Vol. II)

Kaixo kaixo!

I'm happy to report that my summer readings are in full swing and that like I expected, I've been enjoying reading. SO MUCH. However, it has been a little chaotic. I started two books that I'm still not done with, but then my parents talked to me about a trilogy (that is, a series of three books, like Divergent or The Hunger Games #teamPeeta). People here commonly refer to it as "La trilogía del Baztán" or the Baztan trilogy, which are three books on some criminal cases in the Baztan valley, a little area right by Irun where there is a rich history of wizardry and legendary creatures. Apparently, during my spring semester at the US, it has been all the rage here, and everyone has been reading these books. I was piqued by curiosity and when my aunt told me one of her coworkers had lent them to her for the summer, I asked her if I could read them. And, six days later I'm done with about 1500 pages. I gorged these books. Literally (figuratively).



El guardián invisible (The Invisible Guardian) by Dolores Redondo:
A series of murders of young girls by Elizondo, the heart of the Baztán valley, has made Amaia Salazar, an FBI trained police inspector, go back to her hometown she'd rather forget. These teenagers have appeared strangled with a cord, naked, with their make up wiped off and the most incredible detail, with their pubes shaved like a child's and a local pastry on top of it. Amaia has to deal with these murders that are being deemed the "Basajaun" murders, the murders of a mythological creature that takes care of the mountains, and with her own demons from her past that resurface as she goes back there.

As a longtime Criminal Minds fan, I was very happy to see unsub profiling combined with a location that I know (I got very excited to see Durango, Colorado in Criminal Minds because I did my study abroad there). I considered criminology as a career, before doing a reality check and realizing that I'd never be as cool as Dr. Spencer Reid or have as awesome of a job, I limited my criminology interest to literature and media, so this book was fantastic to read.

Do I recommend it? Yes!




Legado en los huesos (Legacy in the Bones) by Dolores Redondo:
Johana Márquez's murder trial is about to start. After having raped, mutilated and killed her and tried to put the blame on the Basajaun killer, her stepfather Jasón Medina commits suicide in a bathroom of the courtroom. Amaia Salazar, who is now pregnant, is summoned there as Medina has left a suicide note directed at her with one word: "Tarttalo", the name of a mythical Basque monster who, the legend said, used to terrorize the Baztán valley. Amaia has to go back to her hometown in Elizondo to uncover a deep secret ingrained in the valley.

This was by far the book I liked the most out of the trilogy. Not only is it the most packed with action, it just feels like you can't stop reading. It took me a day and a half to finish it, I gotta admit. But you have to read the first book to keep up with the storyline, don't read it on its own!

Do I recommend it? Heck yeah!




Ofrenda a la tormenta (Offering to the Storm) by Dolores Redonco:
When a woman denounces that her granddaughter's death by sudden infant death syndrome may have been misdiagnosed, as her son-in-law seems to be acting weird about it. The baby has red marks in her face that signal a drowning. Her great grandmother claims her great grandchild has been killed by a dark force that kills people in their dreams, Inguma. The investigation in this case will lead Amaia Salazar and her team to other cases of baby girls dying of SIDS in Baztan, too many of them, which will eventually lead to the root of all the evil that has been condemning the valley.

I hate ebooks, and I will always choose paper over an electronic reader. However, I was so desperate to read this and I couldn't find a paper version anywhere, so I asked my dad (gasp!) if he could lend me his ebook to read it. My dad is awesome and he lent it to me. Figure out how bad I wanted to read this book. Really bad. I really liked it and I wish it hadn't ended.

Do I recommend it? Yes!
____________________________________________________________________________

Although I do recommend these books, there's a little catch. The books are not available in the US (yet!). The first one will be on sale March 2016 (I know, so long to go...) here, but if you can find get it from the UK (these books have been a mega-hit in Europe) you'd be able to read it in English, and there's always the internet.

Love,

- Ane

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Surfing the web III

Cider Day with friends in Hondarribia (Spain)

Kaixo lovelies! Summer and being sick (my throat is killing me) means too much free time, too much internet and too much Sims 3 for me. Not that I'm complaining, but my tan is lacking. Anyway, these are some cool articles and/or videos that I found while doing nothing.

11 Messages Of Female Empowerment From Women in Hollywood: Who run the world? GIRLS. For those days when you feel insecure, ugly and a plethora of bad feelings about yourself, take a break, watch this video and remember that you are a beautiful unique individual who is no less than a man.

A proposal done right: I may sound sappy but proposal videos make me tear up every single time. This one, specially, went straight to my heart. It was heartfelt, sweet and special. Props to Tyler. I'm sure Greg would've said yes.

Contouring for lazy women: Bring out your inner Kim K with this. I gotta admit I ALWAYS use the same products and make up routine, but I've been wanting to try contouring without looking stupid. Has anyone tried this product?

Is Kylie Jenner starting a beauty blog??: The first secret I want to know is who her make up artist. But really, it'd be nice to see what products she uses, and if a flawless face is even possible (or it's all photoshopped).

How being heartbroken was the best thing to ever happen to me: Some of you may wonder why I mention my break up so much here. It's not the kind of thing people like to talk about. But doing so is so cathartic. When I saw this TED talk, I felt related, and I saw that better days are approaching, slowly but surely.

Any other interesting vids, articles, etc. for me to check out?
Love,

Ane

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Music with Basque Prep: Rock Oldies Playlist


Kaixo!

Disclaimer, I'm in grad school, and time is money inexistent precious. I wish I had time to be on top of everything, like new music. I don't know how my little sister does it but she always knows about the newest music, and I get behind constantly. And this is why I end up resorting to the classics every time. The three big, important concerts that I've been to in my life have been U2, Bon Jovi and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. No Rihanna, no Beyoncé (someday, when I'm rich enough). I'm 23-years-old, and I proudly like music older than me or my age. Here my picks:


Any other suggestions? If they are not old songs can you please update me with what's in right now? Lol :)

- Ane

Friday, July 17, 2015

Mr. Wonderful

Kaixo!

Before I start, I want to point out that I'm not being compensated for this post in any way, I just think the brand is darn awesome. Mr. Wonderful FTW.

Mr. Wonderful is a brand that flourished from a teeny-tiny graphic design studio that Javi and Angi, husband and wife, ran. Their cute and cool drawings with typical sayings in Spanish, Catalan and English got the attention of major Spanish corporation branches like Inditex, Nocilla, Coca Cola, who hired them for limited-edition designs. From there, the brand has risen to nationwide popularity and the go-to for gifts for those like me who have no idea what to give my mom for my birthday.

They've got pretty much everything. Stationery, clothes, tech, arts & crafts resources, etc:

Pencil case, 14,50€

Tote bag, 21€

Stickers, 7€

Book + two pen set, 16,95€

Mousepad, 8,50€

Headphones, 24,95€ 

iPhone 6 case, 16,95€

Tote bag, 13,95€

Candle, 12,50€

Wall vinyl, 16,95€

To-do list packet, 6,50€

And my favorites:
Mug, 12,90€

Mug, 12,90€

Mug set, 24€ 
If you aren't in love that means you should have your heart checked in case it's gone missing and you have none. Lol jk (but seriously). Now, mom, dad, future rich husband, will anyone treat me to everything in this list? ;)
Love,

- Ane