The first day in Mexico consisted of exploring the resort and relaxing on the beach!
Riviera Maya
Happy 2014!!! I hope everyone had a fun and safe time celebrating and ringing in the New Year!
My sister and I spent a lovely week vacationing in Mexico over Christmas vacation. We traveled to the Riviera Maya which is south of Cancun for 6 nights. Riviera Maya is the complete opposite of the party scene in Cancun. It is peaceful and extremely relaxing!
We stayed at the Grand Bahia Principe Tulum Resort. The resort was wonderful! It was my first experience at an all inclusive resort and it was fabulous! Now I understand the appeal! Grand Bahia Principe consists of four resorts on its complex – Tulum, Akumal, Coba, and Sian Ka’an. We booked our stay at the Tulum resort however we had access to all the resorts during your stay.
Mexico
Finals are done. Semester is over. Heading off to Mexico with mi hermana!!
Can’t wait to soak up the sun and work on my tan! Follow on Instagram at @adayinthelalz for real time updates!
Where will you be traveling to this holiday season?! Do share!
Skincare Routine
My skincare routine is the one thing I’m obsessive about.
From a young age my mom got me in the habit of washing my face and taking care of my skin. I thank her every day for that! Over the years my routine has changed because my skin keeps changing. I started out with oily skin, then had combination skin for a while, and now at 24 I have dry skin.
When I graduated from college I spent the summer doing tons of research about products and nailing down the products that worked for me. This involved many trips to Sephora. If you haven’t been to Sephora you must go – actually run! They have everything! The beauty experts at Sephora are extremely sweet and do their best to help you find a product you are looking for. If you are one of those people – like me – who has to try a product for a week before committing to purchasing it then Sephora is your place! They give you samples for EVERYTHING!
Clarisonic Mia: I invested in a Clarisonic at the beginning of the year. Best decision ever! At first my skin went through the whole “purging” and it was annoying but after a month I saw a difference. I use my Clarisonic in twice a day.
DC Fashion Week – Emirates Designers Showcase
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend DC Fashion Week with my sister and friend.
How? Well, our dear friend mentioned to my sister and I that DC Fashion Week takes place September 23-29, 2013. They had various shows – some free, some you could purchase tickets, and some which required an invitation. My sister was hell bent on attending the Emirates Designer Showcase hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy. After a series of fortunate events we were invited to the show.
There were three designers showcased at the show; Sugar Vintage Couture, House of Fatam – a fashion house founded by three sisters, Layma, Shaima, and Fatma – and Abeer Alsuwaidi. The MC of the show was Dana Al Marashi – the Head of Heritage and Social Affairs Department at Embassy of the United Arab Emirates.
Sugar Vintage Couture. Follow them on Instagaram @sugar_vintage or Facebook here.
Abeer Alsuwaidi. Follow on Facebook here.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of United Arab Emirates, was giving away two free round trip tickets to members of the audience. How did they pick the winner? They asked members of the audience to drop their business cards in a bowl and at the end of the show the Vice President of the company picked winners from the pile. Personal note – ALWAYS CARRY A BUSINESS CARD! I have not amounted to anything fancy yet therefore I don’t have a business card but my dear sister who is a physician failed to have one on her. Even if you don’t have a business card I suggest always carrying a pen around – you can always find something to write on. One of the winners wrote her name on the program and dropped it in the bowl. Moral of the story: always have a business card or a pen in your clutch!
As guests we were all given gift bags. The gift bags included a t-shirt from Sugar Vintage Couture, a goodie bag from House of Fatam, and a mask.
This was my first fashion show – ever – and it definitely was a memorable experience! A big thank you to the UAE Embassy for the invite!
Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden
I discover many things on Pinterest and Instagram. I have no shame in admitting that. I managed to discover Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden on Instagram. I convinced my sister that we should go check it out and she happily agreed.
What is Hillwood Estate? As stated on the website of the estate; Marjorie Merriweather Post (founder of Post Cereal Company) bought Hillwood in 1955. Her estate has the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia, a distinguished 18th-century French decorative art collection, and twenty-five acres of serene landscaped gardens.
The estate is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10am-5pm and on select Sundays. There is a suggested ticket fee – which means they have set recommended prices – however you can pay however much you can afford.
An interesting fact about Marjorie is that when she passed away one of her requests was that every day there be fresh flowers in each room of her estate. When you visit Hillwood you notice that in every room there are flower arrangements in each and every room. The flowers are picked from her cutting garden and greenhouse.
Have you head of the Fabergé eggs? Well Miss Marjorie has two on display at her estate.
In addition to the vast art collection the estate has beautiful gardens. There is a beautiful rose garden, french parterre, putting green, Japanese style garden, greenhouse, and cutting garden.
French Parterre
Japanese Style Garden
Cutting Garden
Greenhouse
It took a good 2-2.5 hours to explore the estate. We opted for the self guided tour instead of professional tour or audio tour at no additional charge.
Hillwood is a great place to explore if you are local to DC or visiting from out of town. It is different from all the Smithsonian museums and DC tourist hot spots.
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