NYC Island Gal: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Weekend "butt struggle"

I was on my boyfriend’s beach house for the weekend. We had so much fun. Since I like to spend my time reading or on a computer to relax and he likes to do active sports, we divided the days. Saturday we did what he wanted and Sunday was my day. On Friday we went to a party of his family.

The party was ok. To be honest I was kind-of bored. I was mainly talking with my bf, something I could do on the comfort of the bed. Anyways, somewhere in conversation with him he says, “I like how butts looks on really tight jeans”. Hu? I don’t remember how the conversation started but I knew how it was going to end. I can’t believe he said that.

Let me give you a brief, I have a very tiny butt, almost non-existent. Among us Caribbean girls, that is a rare quality. Everyone has (Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Vida Guerra style) big butts and when someone doesn’t it’s usually a mocking parade. When I was in middle school people laughed at me and made me feel very insecure about myself. I tried to work with it wearing short skirts or showing a bit of my upper cleavage (which thank God I’m a full C) to divert the attention. It took me a while but eventually I got over it. I’m very proud and grateful of my body the way it is. Since, I never show my insecurities, confidence is key to looking your best.

So, my boyfriend saying this was like a dagger on my chest. I like to think that he likes my looks and not that he settle. I would definitely think he is hot even if I weren’t in love with him. A million thoughts crossed my mind and my insecurities came rushing in. I can’t change the fact that I have a very tiny butt so why would he say something like that? I firmly believe that when you’re in love you do see your partner with more soft eyes and you find everything cute and sexy. But I’m a 5’4 brunette and I would never marry a man who thinks his fantasy girl is a 6-foot blond with blue eyes even if he loved me. I want to marry someone that thinks I’m hot and likes me, besides being in love with me.

He quickly notices the confused and disappointed expression on my face and explained that he didn’t mean it like that. Then he changes the argument saying that I always say I want to be with someone more caring and more affectionate. Really? Is that comparable? I don’t think so. I explained to him that those things where to improve our relationship and easily accomplished. I would never say something hypothetically like “I’m really hot for short guys” when he has an insecurity for being tall (he is 6’3 but not insecure about it at all). Considering the fact that he can’t change his height, it would’ve been mean. Then he said that what he meant was that he likes how butt looked on tight jeans disregarding the size of the butt. Could be, that he meant that way but why didn’t he said it on the first place? Well, at the end he realized that the comment was out of place and he did apologized.

Beauty comes in different sizes and colors. Finding someone that appreciates your natural beauty is like finding gold at the end of the rainbow.

Hope you had a nice weekend!

{Ps: Did my survey already? If not, please click here. It’s anonymous and really short. Thanks!}

JDR7CASVBMVY

Marilyn's Private Lair and Bedroom Inspirations

I found this amazing vintage photo and wanted to share. Architectural Digest has created an interesting slideshow featuring “Celebrities’ Favorites: A Showcase of the Rooms, Items and Styles That Rank as the Most Treasured Elements in the Private Lives of the Stars.” (I always enjoy a good wine and browsing over home décor and architectural masterpieces…)

I must confess, I have an obsession with Marilyn Monroe. So my favorite was this shot of Marilyn, whom despite her great fame and fortune, owned no jewelry and instead counted books and records among her most prized possessions. She lived in a modest one-room apartment at the Beverly Carlton Hotel in Beverly Hills and was quoted saying, “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” Even though the room isn’t greatly decorated it I adore her cozy corner with its tufted pillows, art prints and books.

I always thought of my bedroom as my sanctuary. I love that it gets me away from everything and I can just relax and be myself. Here some inspiration of what I would like my bedroom to look like:

Soft pink dream, I like that it looks very flirty and feminine.

Cool blue, my favorite. I love the energy that blue radiates. I currently have a white leather headboard and I think it would look dreamy with the blue tone used in the left picture.

I adore that these bedrooms look really classy yet with a vintage touch, especially the left one.

Oh my, look at this amazing headboard. Does it look cool or what? And what about the color palette in the picture on the right? Gorgeous!

These two are have a more modern feel to them and they rock it!

I’m a sucker for mirror vanities so I would never forget to mention them when talking bedroom décor.

Button up and another Award!

Hello! May I present you… MY BUTTON!! Isn’t cute? Feel free to grab it anytime.

I’ve been reading the responses to my survey and it seems that most of you, my beloved readers, like giveaways. So I’m working with some shops and let me warn you they’re incredible cute and useful. This is not going to become a giveaway blog, but a few gifts from time to time will be fun!

{If you have yet to answer my survey, please do so. It’s anonymous and really short. Thanks!}

Also I'm glad to announce that I have another award! Woohoo!! lol Thanks to Jojo for passing it on to me. This is the Trendy Blog Award!

So I will pass this award to:

Misheru from http://mishierumitch.blogspot.com
Victoria from http://victoriasblog2010.blogspot.com
Becca from http://becca-christensen.blogspot.com
Kanwalful from http://kanwalful.blogspot.com

Congrats! Don't forget to post it on you blog and pass it along!!

New design (feedback please), new award and a favor!

Hello my travel mates (a.k.a. followers) did you notice my new design? Don’t you love it? I do! Marina from Penny Lane Design and I worked pretty hard to accomplish this masterpiece. And I must say that she is the best, believe me I did my research and experience her work first hand. ;)

So, feedback time! Do you honestly like? You honestly don’t? Why?

On other note, I have another award! Yay! Misheru has given me another award and I love it! So guilty, I really like comments. So I’m passing this award to 6 of my readers for such great comments on my posts. So here are the winners:

Benny from http://www.youngurbanamateur.com/
Sey from http://roselledavid.blogspot.com/
Suki from http://superduperfantastic.net/
DC Dating Divas from http://www.dcdatingdivas.com/
Jojo from http://newlywedadventures-jojo.blogspot.com/
Shawn Tina from http://lachercheuse-accidentelles.blogspot.com/

Also I want to say a quick hello to my sister who just opened her first blog! Go say hi!

Now the favor… I have created a survey to get to know my readers better and I would really appreciated if you would have the kindness to answer it. It is really short and completely anonymous so there is no excuse… =)

Here is the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VKY9ZJL

Thanks and I hope you’re having a great weekend!

Spanish duty

As you all may know, I’m a proud native Spanish speaker. Moving to NYC would mean a great challenge in language. I do speak fluently English but as I previously blogged, language is an emotional thing.

So as a Hispanic woman, no matter where I’ll end up I will always carry my language and my culture with me. I feel it’s a duty to pass that along to my future generations. I will teach my kids to speak the language that I grew up speaking and the language that my heart speaks.

I came across the Kumon Books for kids and was asked to comment on them here. They are in fact fantastic to practice Spanish while having fun (they also have them in English). The workbooks are really practical and easy to use. This last Sunday my boyfriend’s little cousin, Mia Sarah, and I played with them and we had a blast. I have always loved coloring books! Lol!

{Mia Sarah as a flower girl with the naughty look.}

To all my mommy readers, there is an extensive catalog of their workbooks as well as information about the books and about the company at their site. I thought the workbooks were all terrific, and they are great buy since they're priced between $5.95 and $6.95.

All of "us"?

Have you ever watched the new hilarious TV Show “Modern Family” on ABC? If not, you are completely missing out because it's genius. Anyways, in the last episode Gloria, a Columbian woman played by the gorgeous Sofia Vergara, struggles (in a funny way) with her husband putting all Latin people together.

It got me thinking… I hate when people put us all Latinos in general as being part of one homogeneous cultural or ethnic group and/or having no defining characteristics; if a country of origin is specified, it is almost invariably either Mexico or Puerto Rico, regardless of whence the individual or group in question actually hails. Puerto Rican, Cubans, Jamaicans, Brazilians, Ecuadorian, Panamanians, Argentineans, Chileans and all of us Latinos are completely different. We come from different culture, we have different histories, we don’t have the same trades on our looks except for the fact that we are tan and some of us don’t even speak the same language. It is very disrespectful to stereotype us all together. It would be like saying that the British, the Canadians and the Americans are all the same because you all speak English.

I most point out that this is very common for Latinos/Hispanics but we are not the only one that are being put in the same mixing pot. The Asians (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, etc) must get this a lot too.

I really tend not to get mad since most of the people do make an honest mistake but still I can’t help rolling my eyes every time I hear, “but don’t you know how to make tacos?” or “how come you can’t handle tequila, don’t they grow it where you come from?”. Dumb people...

ps: I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. So far, so good. I want to finish it before the movie comes out. What have you been reading?

Photo Friday: Air Balloon

Did you know that the hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology and is a subset of balloon aircraft?

I have never been in a hot air balloon but I would love to one day. There is something very magical about them. It reminds me of childhood and the view must be remarkable.

Just to look at this picture makes me feel weightless and free. It would be nice to be without a care in the world for couple of hours. But until then, spas would do fine, right? ;)

Have a great weekend!

SATC2 $10 Million Wardrobe

Yesterday I was asked to comment on Sex and the City 2 Movie spending a whopping $10 million wardrobe in a time of economic downturn. (OMG $10,000,000 just for the wardrobe not the actual movie! Is that even possible?) For instance, WWD reported today that in one scene, Carrie wears a $50,000 skirt! (That’s more than the average cost of a car!)

Well, in my opinion, Sex and the City have always been all about relationships and fashion. By fashion, I mean labels and over the top expensive outfits. I can remember many episodes where Carrie would be broke because of her compulsive shopping habits. At the end, of course, everything turned out fine and she ended up living in “real estate heaven” on Manhattan. But in real life that might not be the case. The truth is that I will be making fair money in NYC and there is no way I could afford rent, all those amazing shoes and all the spending they do on nightlife. It is not real. So I wouldn’t worry about the production spending that amount of money (well, many non-profit foundations would probably made far better use of that money) but rather in the physiological damage to those who can’t afford to look like the girls. When you give it deep thought, it is sending a wrong message. People can get obsessed with labels and accept nothing else, leading to depression or bankruptcy.

In the other hand, I like to think of it as an escape or as inspiration. Like when you read a book. You know that those adventures or those romantic stories would probably never happen to you but you still read them. You read them for a moment out of your own world and in to another one’s world. It’s fun and also I think is the philosophy of blogging all together, getting another one’s point of view.

As long as you don’t get obsessed with excessive spending on fashion, you should be fine enjoying the movie. Use it as an inspiration and try to find similar looks at more budget friendly stores. Creating fashion is not buying expensive labels. Besides labels always go out of fashion but a true sense of style doesn't.

What is your take on SATC $10 Million Wardrobe in time of economic downturn?

(ps: The Chanel Cruise 2011 collection is rocking my world! Below a preview with my favorite pieces…)

A Revolutionary

Last night I watched “Che” played and produced by Benicio del Toro. Let me say that the word “outstanding” doesn’t make justice. The movie is an incredible adaptation of the life of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and the journey to freedom. I was very impressed and just speechless to the passion of and the beauty that the movie holds. And if you don’t know the history of Cuba, shame on you. I can assure you they history is one of the most remarkable and mind-bending in the world.

Cuba reminds me a lot of my island because of the many similarities not only how they started but also in the rural areas. Even though I come from the upper middle class, went to private school and spend most of my life in the urban area I felt in great connection with the images of the movie. My grandparents still live in the rural area. They actually live in a mountain and it has a river dividing it from the other mountains. The view reminds us where we live and gives us a sense of home. Home… many Puerto Ricans here take that for granted.

Guevara thought of Latin America as one and even though he is Argentinean he fought for Cuba as if it were his home. He is a great hero to many people and should be an inspiration to all. He was brave enough to stand up and fight for freedom and made a revolution giving hope to a lot of people. He made it happen. The movie contains many of his famous quotes and a compilation of interviews. When some reported asked about how they won when many times they where out numbered nine to one, he answered: “Tolstoy remarks that military science assumes that bigger armies, with more men, wield greater force. On the other hand, only vaguely, do they recognize that during military combat the final strength of an army is also its true physical capacity multiplied by one unknown variable. One unknown variable. This variable is none other that the spirit of the troops measured as their greater or lesser desire to fight and confront danger. Men with the desire to fight that also understand why they are fighting, regardless of whom they are fighting whether under military geniuses or those of normal intelligence they will win.”

What is also interesting is that when the reported asked what was the most important quality of a revolutionary and Guevara said: “Love. A true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. Love of humanity, justice and truth. It's impossible to conceive of an authentic revolutionary without this one quality.” I truly stand by those words and I really don’t want to get too deep in my island politics and but I believe in a free Puerto Rico.

That being said, Guevara's words remind me of what is going on right now with the University of Puerto Rico (click for previous post about it). And even though we are not fighting with guns it is the spirit of those who fight with passion that really make a stand. We fight with love, love of education and equality. For a short update on the strike status, the president and dean of the University canceled all classes and closed the University until July 31 and ordered that no food or clothes where pass to anyone that is inside the campus. When parents try to pass the students food thru the gate the police smack them; but thank God this immediately was taken to court and within one they the court order to allow the passing of food and supplies. There was been some meetings but still no agreement.

Below some recent images of the strike where parents and supporters where trying to give them food.The last one on the right it's a parent that was seriously injured by the police.

In conclusion, go see the movie and enjoy a good piece of history (one of Benicio’s finest work). Below the trailer…

“I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves.” –Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara.

Photo Friday: My heaven

I'm doing photo friday! It means that I will take a beautiful and outstanding photo and post it every friday with a random message of how it makes me feel. So here is my first...

I do believe in heaven and the earth is just a temporary home. I don’t know if we get to choose how our heaven looks like but I long hope so. Maybe like the movie “What dreams may come” or “The lovely bones”. Remember? They got to choose were they were most happy or their favorite places.

So if I got to choose, this would be my heaven:

Enjoy the weekend!

Say yes to the CLOSET!

When I was searching for décor I stumble across closets. Let me just say that I have an obsession with closets (most of us girls do, right?). No matter what’s your style, from edgy, to classy or elegant or girly or bohemian, we all love our stuff and where we store them is yet another expression of our style.

I know I might be torturing myself since probably my NYC apartment closet is going to be tiny. But one can only hope… I love organized, kind-of showroom (with glass doors) closet style. By the way I don’t know if you have seen this photos but recently Instyle and also People magazine (I think) did articles about celebrities closets. I really try not to put celebrities on my blog but I must say that I enjoyed the view and wanted to share! So many different styles but yet the all look amazing. Let me show you some (with some comments):

Christina Aguilera’s closet and Miley Cyrus's closet have kind-of similar styles. They look really glam but I do not love neither. I think the colors are not right for me.

I adore Eva Longoria Parker so I know she wouldn’t disappoint. I love how classy and organize it looks. She said, “always dressed for comfort”, which is easily confirmed by the 50 pairs of jeans and more than one pair of Ugg boots.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler said: “For years I have not been able to find anything in my closet. Now I see all my clothes shoes and accessories, even some stuff I completely forgot I had, with the tags still on them!” Which I totally get by this photo that everything looks too stuffed for my taste. In the other hand, Jessica Alba’s closet looks fairly organized and with lots of space but not a big fan of this one since it looks pretty common (I mean considering she is a celebrity).

Fergie closet looks like a store. She said: “I designed it myself, so there’s a boudoir-boutique feel.” I agree.

I pair these two together since it has the similar white feature. Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman shows hers and said: "I wanted it to be tranquil and soft," she continues, "a place where I could enjoy getting dressed." Mission accomplished. It looks just as she describes it. Well, Kim Cattrell closet seems fairly affordable. I can totally see myself getting one similar at some point in my life.

Kimora Lee Simmons, head of Baby Phat clothing line, combined two bedrooms to create her expansive walk-in closet. “I wanted my closet to look like a boutique,” she says. It contains over 500 pairs of jeans, 35 custom-made Hermes Birkin bags and an extensive collection of jewelry. Everything in her closet is photographed and stored on her computer so she can easily put together outfits, "I'm very neurotic is what my closet says about me," she says. I don’t like animal prints so I’m not a big fan of this one.

Who can forget Mariah Carey’s ~~ridiculous~~ gigantic closet in her Manhattan triplex from MTV Cribs. However, the vast space still can’t contain all of Mariah Carey’s shoes. “I have about 1,000 pairs of shoes. But lots are in storage,” she said. This closet is truly heaven.

I grouped the Olivias together. First, Olivia Palermo. It looks kind-of messy and I really don’t like the rug. And then there is Olivia Wilde. She transformed the guest room and sitting room to create this walking closet. It’s sophisticated cedar-lined closet—outfitted with translucent panels, a plush rug from Cantoni, and a black-glass chandelier from Lawson-Fenning. I love the details in this one. The vanity, the rug and the wood, it makes perfect harmony. With the exception of the shoes in top of the hanger, Olivia Wilde is my 2^nd favorite celebrity closet.

So what’s left? Oh yeah, the heirless. In the left we have Paris Hilton’s closet (see the complete details in this video). It has mirrors everywhere and I don’t like it at all. It makes it look crowded and it’s just not my style. Ok, want guess my favorite celebrity closet? Come on, the photo is below… I know you cheated! ;) Well, yes, it’s Nicky Hilton’s closet. I love the energy that the photo carries and it has white (which is one of my favorite colors) in the right amount to make it look both classy and chic!

Not sure why Nicky Hilton’s closet is my favorite? Watch this video below from "Closet Confessions" by Bluefly, as she shows her closet. Yeah, I know she sounds so spoiled but yet it doesn’t over shadow my love for her closet. By the way, I also think she has such great style and would love not only to have her closet but also all what’s in it too! ;)

What’s your favorite celebrity closet?

(ps: My real journey at NYC starts in September but meanwhile I hope you enjoy my random post and the process to get there.)

Not one but TWO Awards!

This week I've been given not one but TWO awards!! I’m so happy you all are enjoying my posts as much as I am!

The first one is from my blog friend, Mishieru. The award is called: "The Master of Karate and Friendship Award". Well, I don’t know karate… but I sure know how to be a friend! ;) Check her amazing blog here. For this award I have to nominate five kick-butt bloggers!

Here are my nominations for “The Master of Karate and Friendship Award”:

Matthew from http://www.mathew-etc.blogspot.com/
Viktoria from http://viktoriaviola.blogspot.com/
Mystic Dreamer from http://thedailynightdreamer.blogspot.com/
Zachary from http://ontheway-zachary.blogspot.com/
Sammy V from http://www.nextdoorcritic.com/

The second one is from Mimi. The award is called: “Stylish Blogger Award”. Yay, I’m stylish! ;) I truly love Mimi’s blog, it’s full of amazing random posts. Check her blog here. To accept this one I have to write five random facts about myself and nominate five fellow stylish bloggers. My random facts:

I went to a catholic private school and I'm not catholic (yes, wore an uniform every day up to 12th grade).
I’ve had already work at 10 different places/jobs (Edy’s ice cream shop, Gelatos ice cream shop, local baby clothes store, local shakes shop, Banana Republic stores, Insurance company, Mango stores, accounting firm, assistant of a college professor, non-profit accounting services company) and I’m only 22.
I obsessed with coconut (the fruit, the smell, everything) and like asparagus.
From any place in my island you can get to a beach in less than 40 minutes and for some reason I don’t like getting in the water, though I love the view (I think I have never said this out loud, people here take it personally if you don’t like the beach).
I can recite almost all the dialogue (and songs) of the movie Moulin Rouge.

And my nominations for the “Stylish Blogger Award” are:

Tara from http://www.fabulousbutevil.com/
Miss Liv from http://champagneandcologne.blogspot.com/
G from http://pureggnarcissism.blogspot.com/
Kristy Elena from http://www.voguegonerogue.com/
Stephanie from http://thesingleslant.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much to Mishieru and Mimi for thinking of me!! I’m very honored!

Congrats to all the bloggers I nominated! I hope you like it and remember to follow the rules, in order to accept you most post this award at your blog (just like I did) and nominate five fellow bloggers.

Have a happy week everyone!

Decorating my pad!

Lately I’ve been thinking about décor. Apartment décor, that is. I know I might only be for one year in this apartment but I want it to feel like home and be able to love every space of it (that will not be that big of a problem considering that the apartment will be tiny). I tend to like pastel colors for the walls and wallpaper. Oh my true love, wallpapers. But my future roommate convinced me that no one is going to allow wallpapers in a one-year lease apartment. Yeah, yeah, thanks for raining in my parade…

Anyways, I notice I don’t have a specific style. I like different shapes and colors (but not together, thou). I’m into details and when I see something I know how to identify what I like about it and what I don’t. But the true problem is that I don’t know how to create something beautiful out of nothing. I know how to fix it or add what it’s missing but the complete portrait, I have no idea how to get there. Hopefully my roommate has some good ideas.

Here in my island we don’t have Ikea. Everyone keeps telling me how amazing that place is. I order a catalog and I agree. I want to visit Ikea so bad. It has so many little things to transform a place from average to outstanding. If you know any good place for décor shopping in NYC or a site to browse for ideas, please let me know.

These are some ideas that I like:

I’m into purple or at least I really like these photos, specially the right one (without the carpet). It has such an amazing mixture and splash of colors.

How amazing is the glittery wallpaper? Beautiful! Btw the one the right is what I think I’m going for. The pastel colors are in the right amount and look just perfect.

These are an outstanding view. Who cool is the orange and the pink together? Also, I like how the green stand out in the right one.

I tend to like blue. It’s really easy to work with and looks delicate but not too girly. I like how they play with different chairs on the one from the left.

I love books so I long desire to have a bookcase to be part of the décor. I don’t like the green incorporated here. Btw Molly Sims office is rocking my world.