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Will you be wearing red or yellow underwear when you ring in 2015?
If you haven’t noticed, even the new Chedraui grocery store in Puerto Morelos is selling red and yellow under garments. It is a Mexican tradition to wear a pair of either colour when you start off the New Year. If you wear red panties, you are hoping for a year filled with romance and love. If you wear yellow panties you are hoping for a year of prosperity, luck and money. You can’t just wear any old pair of underwear, they must be a new pair, worn for the first time as you ring in the New Year.
So what colour underwear will you be wearing as you ring in 2015?
¡Feliz Año Nuevo from Salsa & Sun!
Quinceañera also called quince años or simply quince, is the celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. It is similar to when a Debutante makes her debut in the southern USA, but in Mexico it is a birthday celebration that marks the transition from girl to young woman. Families save for years for this event in which the young girl wears a formal ball gown and make-up. Traditionally it was to be the first time she wore either of these things, but most girls are now wearing make-up at a younger age. The dress is a huge part of the event with professional photos being hung in the family home for years to come.
Dresses in Puebla shop window
The celebration begins with a Catholic mass giving thanks. The entire family and extended families join in the celebration, along with traditionally 14 friends of the girl paired into couples known as damas and chambelanes. After the mass, there is a reception which includes a grand entrance made by the Quinceañera, a formal toast given by the family, and a first dance beginning with the girl and her father. This is followed by a family dance and then finally a party with gifts. During the reception, the birthday girl usually dances a traditional choreographed dance with her “chambelan de honor”, who is her chosen escort. A huge meal completes the evening, which goes well into the wee hours of the night.
Recently I have opened my email to find some of my favourite locations in Mexico being featured in spring fashion layouts.
Club Monaco is doing collaborations this season with many designers including Valladolid’s own Francesca Bonato and Nicolas Malleville of Coqui Coqui Hotel, Spa and Perfumes. You can read Francesca and Nicolas’ story in this article about the New York Times a few years ago.
Their chic collection has a distinct Yucatecan flair with just a hint of beach thrown in. It is called Hacienda Montaecristo. Named after their hacienda in the Yucatan.
Literally right next door to them in Valladolid is Dutzi Design. Duzti makes handbags out of recycled materials using local Mayan artisans. Her work was recently featured at Shop Latitude.
And just the other day I opened my mail to find this fashion layout for Anthropologie featuring the amazing city of Guanajato as the background. You can check out their video here. It is great to see some of these spectacular location being used.
Photos by Club Monaco, Dutzi & Anthropologie
Jazzing up our concrete yard.
Our backyard was badly in need of a makeover. It was just old cement that is great for keeping bugs away, but ugly. We wanted a low maintenance finish, so we went for stamped concrete. Which could be done in one day, but is a much larger job than we thought.
River of Cement
First the entire backyard was flooded with cement. Then the cement was spread it out and made sure that it was level.
Leveling the cement
Adding the colour
Then the bottom colour was added, which was much brighter than expected.
Adding the contrast
Then a contrasting colour was added and the entire backyard was stamped with a brick like texture. The stamping was done by hand.
Then we waited for the cement to dry. Just before it was completely dried the top coat was washed off . Then once it was completely dry, a sealer was put on top.
The finished product is beautiful! So much nicer than the old cement.
In Mexico our homes are made of concrete. The great thing about it is you can dress up the concrete however you like. Here is an example of how, in just a few hours, our handyman turned a drab window into a fab window.
We bought this box of tiles for less than $17usd in Dolores Hidalgo.
Roughing up the cement so the tiles will stick.
The tile is up, now the grout needs to be added.
Grout & a line of blue paint finish the job. From boring to WOW in a few hours.
- This top was made by the women of Valladolid
Recently we were in Valladolid, one of our favourite local escapes. While there I picked up this cute blouse. It was hand embroidered by one of the women in the local co-operative. It has a striking resemblance to this blouse I saw on Shop Latitude. The big difference is I paid $150mxp ($12.50usd) for mine. Valladolid is also a great place to pick up hand made leather sandals.
I have two pairs that I bought last year (note the wear) one from the factory (on the right) and one not. They are made of “real cow leather” according to the nice shoemaker that sold them to me. Now that I know where they make them, I will always go there. The second pair cost me $130mxp ($11usd) and they are so cute, cool and comfy.
