February Playlist

I found some great new music this month and they've been on repeat on my spotify. I really enjoy listening to music while stretching, it makes me feel relaxed and focused, but I usually don't listen to music any other time, because it kind of distracts me while I am reading and studying a text book. I really like solving math problems while listening to music, kind of weird.

Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester came up with a new album this year called Heartstrings, such a good collection of songs. Well, I already really liked her as an actress in the popular Tv series Gossip Girl and now I really admire her as a singer. All of these songs are very acustic, what made me like them more.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I never heard about this band before, I stumbled upon them while searching for indie bands and found them. I really liked their songs, this one in particular is my favorite, it makes me wan't to dance and not stop, and I really like the album picture. I searched for imformation on the band and they were formed in NY in 2000 and is generally a indie rock band. They have a really unique style. Other songs that I really enjoyed are Sacrilege and Maps.

Blond Readhead

I was just searching for some facts about red heads and just found this band on youtube. I really really like them, their music is just so different, it's very acustic and indie and just so cool. I don't want to put it in a box and just say it is a specific type of music. The band was formed in 1993 in New York, and there are three members. These two songs are from their 2007 album, but they have much more albums after this one.

Hope all of you enjoyed this post and that you listen to some of these songs if interests you.

Have a great weekend.

Ana

My February Netflix Picks

I had a busy month, but of course I found time to watch netflix. I love browsing netflix and looking for some interesting movies and tv shows, sometimes I spend hours just searching for something instead of watching something. These are the tv shows/movies that I really liked this past month and I hope that this post helps someone who is looking for new movies to watch.

1. Bates Motel

I was looking for a new Tv show to watch and stumble upon this one. I didn't thought it was going to be good, but it amazed me. I had never seen something like it, it was just so interesting and mysterious. And the show debates a serious topic that is human trafficking, a very efficient way to get people self aware of this "in the shadows" crime that is not that shown in the media. I have to say that it might not be everybody's cup of tea, but give it a try if you are looking for a new show. 

There is the first season on netflix.

  

    2. What If

Gosh this is such an adorable movie. I think Daniel Radcliffe made it 10X more lovable, but all of the actors were great in this movie, they all had such chemesty. I would say that this movie is a romantic comedie, but I don't want to categorize it in any way, but if you are in the mood for a light/adorable/funny movie this is the one for you.

A lot of people don't know this movie, because it's in the independent movies category on netflix, I really recommend you checking out that category bacause of it's unique and never seen movies. I absolutely love watching independent movies, kind of a personal preference.

     3. Sweet Home Alabama

Who doesn't love Reese Witherspoon. I was looking for some of her movies and found this one, it's kind of and old movie, but a good one. I think it is kind of a romantic comedy movie, and well I love this types of films. Of course, it's not one of her best movies, but if enjoy her movies and you are in the mood for a light film, I recommend it.

    4.   The silence of the lambs

So many mixed feelings about this movie. I liked it, I really did, but I feel that there is a lot more behind the story than it was shown . It is an old movie, 1992. I really enjoyed watching it, although it kind of creeped me out in some scenes. If you like CSI, police/investigative movies, you will absolutely like this movie.

     

    5.  Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters

I was really in the mood for a witch type of movie, but I was looking for a new released one and found Hansel and Gretel. I love fairy-tales-retolds and this was an awesome twist on the typical hansel and gretel story. It is just full of action and great bad-ass characters.

Feel free to express your opinions on any of this movies/tv show or if you have any netflix recommendations be my guest and comment down below.

Have an awesome weekend.

Ana

▼ Weekend Pictures ▲

Saturday/Sunday

This weekend was so good, I got to hang out with my family more and do one of my favorite things that is to visit museums. I love exploring my city and finding out the different cultural stuff that there is here, because it's a "small" city the museums are not that big and the exhibitions are not that diversified, but I still like it. I don't no how to exactly explain how I feel when I visit a musuem, the only thing I know is that I feel different, light and amused. It can be the simplest piece of art ever, and I will still certanly think is wondrous. I just think that art is so amazing, the way that it can have different meanings for different people makes it so unique and wonderful.

I really liked this museum because of it's architecture, it was a house before and the mayor's family used to lived their decades ago. And I found it so interesting that I was standing in a living room where a family used to sit and watch a B&W Tv or play board games, and see through the window where a little girl could have watched the sunset...

After leaving the museum, my mom and I went to the mall just to kill time, but I ended up finding something that was on sale. This denim jacket, I was desperately in need of one because my old one wasn't exactly a jean jacket, it was more like a jean blazer. And today (sunday) we went to a family lunch, it was very fun and the place was beautiful and quiet. It was my uncle's new place, I have to say the decor was on point. 

It was a great weekend, hope you all had an awesome weekend too.

Ana

Recipe: Orange Glazed Cake

This was, I think, the first cake I learned how to bake by myself. I found the recipe in my mother's old recipe book, I don't know where she got it from, but I can asure this is an amazing cake. Well you can see from other posts that I kind of love cake, and that is absolutely true, I love backing as much I like eating it after. I have a sweet tooth.

If you haven't noticed all of the cakes I posted are very easy to make, do to my lack of talent in backing, but they all turn ou pretty good and tasty. Like the others, this cake is all done by a blender, I just but all ingredients there and done. This time I am going to explain step by step for the cake.

1. First wash your orange well then cut it in to four pieces and take off any seeds and those white stuff that there is in the orange. No need to peel the orange, we are going to use the orange skin for this recipe, kind of crazy but it makes the cake taste totaly diffrent. Next but it in the blender.
2. Then but your sugar and eggs in the blender and blend it well with the orange. This step is very important because you don't want to have pieces of orange peel in your cake.
3. Next put the oil in the blender, then blend it for a minute. Putting the vegetable oil for last makes the cake a lot smoother and moist.
4. Next step is flour, put it slowly or it is going to get your blender stuck .
5. Last step is backing powder!

Of course then but your mixture on a cake mold and put it in the preheated oven. I'm lactose intolerant and this cake is perfect me and for everybody in the same situation. Feel free to substitute any ingredients.

     Ingredients:                                                    40min  

• 1 orange
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of backing powder

     Glaze:

• 1 cup of powered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of milk 

(I use lactose free milk, feel free to use any type you want)

Hope you like the recipe and if you try it out feel free to comment your opinions about it.

       Ana

What to wear for a beginners ballet class tryout?

I was very anxious not knowing what to wear for my first class, bacause I didn't have any slippers or a leotard, but I called the school and they told me what should I wear and stuff, because I didn't want to buy ballet shoes and clothing without knowing if I would like the class or not. I'm here to help you if you are thinking of going at a tryout class.

The only rule is comfiness, wear something that makes you feel comfortable and that is stretch approved, because you don't want to rip your pants while stretching muscules. I recommend wearing some long leggings, because them it will be easier to slide when stretching on the floor.

I don't think there is a specific top that you have to wear, it can be a flowy blouse or a tank top, but one time my teacher was saying that wearing a tight shirt can help to see the spine alignment and the posture.

Like all beginners I didn't have ballet slippers, than I wore a pair of socks for the first week, a good pair of thick sneackers socks can be a good ballet shoe for your tryout.

Hair always tied! This is very important, because you don't want to dance and have your hair always coming at your face. I recommend doing bun or a ponytail or even a braid, but the bun is the best thing because there won't be any hair moving around while you dance.

Hope this helps someone that is thinking about joining a ballet school, and hope you have a great day.

Ana

(picture from Flicker)

What's in my ballet bag?

This year I decided that I wanted to do something new ,for keeping active instead of going to the gym, then losts of things came in mind, like going back to swimming, a type of martial arts and tennis. But then I asked myself " why not go back to ballet?", I thought my parents were going to disagree with me and find my dicision kind of childish ( because there still people that believe that ballet is just for children), but they thought it was a great ideia and it would be very good for me to change things up a little bit.

I found this awesome school in my city, and I fell in love with it, it is just so cute and the teacher is so nice and friendly, the studio is huge and and very spacious, I thought I would not like the class and would choose jazz over ballet, but I didn't even need to go to a jazz tryout because I loved the ballet class. I did ballet from the ages of 5 through 11, but I never got to pointy shoes. I gave up ballet for reasons that I don't actually remember, but I wanted to go back years later but did not get the chance to, because I was on a swimming team. I always thought ballet was so beautiful to watch and apreciate.

 Let's start with what's in my dance bag, shall we?

My bag is this gym sack that I got from school, it's very pratical and has a nice size, it fits everything in it. Because I am in an adults class I don't have uniform and can wear almost everything that is comfy enough to dance in it. I usually don't bring my clothes in my bag, normally I am wearing them, but I decided to put them in the bag just to show what I usually wear during class. 

The first item is my navy blue leotard, I actually bought this at the ballet school that's why it has a logo on it, but I really like it, it is very comfortable and it stretches a lot, what's good. 

Second item is a sweat shirt, it is actually just a very thin long sleeve shirt, but is warm enough for the cold class, I got it from tj maxx a few years ago and I thought it was just too cute to leave behind.

The last thing in the red bag is a pair of capri leggings, I don't like wearing the leotard by itself too much, then I usually just wear leggings over them, plus they help keep me warm during class.

Inside the red bag I have another bag (kind of odd I know) that I use to carry my ballet shoes and some other random stuff. First thing inside is a pair of thick socks, just in case something happends with my ballet shoes I can still do the class. Second, I have this type of skirt/shall, in case I am feeling in the mood for a skirt or just to help to stretch out muscules.

Next item is my legwarmers, so helpful, like I have said before, the class is freezing and this is a absolute must and I really like how the grey color looks with the pink ballet shoes. Fourth item is tights, I really like this one because it has an open toe, what is very less painful when putting on bellet slippers, and it looks like skin ( kind of weird, but cool at the same time).

Last but not least, of course ballet slippers. These ones are great, but I recommend you to buy like two or just one number larger than your actual shoes. I was going to choose the black ones, but I think the pink is so classic and beautiful.

Hope you all liked this post and thanks for reading it.

Next post is probably going to be about ballet again.

. 

Nailpolish color of the week: Glitter

This was my first full week of school, and it was so stressful, I studied every single day and managed to do my homeworks and projects. I started ballet class this week, and I absolutely love it, it is so energizing and relaxing at the same time, the teacher and the enviroment are just great, it makes me feel recovered from the stress from school. I might do a post just talking about ballet related subjects soon. 

This week I wanted to paint my nails with something easy and that didn't make a mess, then I thought of just painting it with glitter. It's so much better, it does not chip and it stays for days, and it makes a good statement. I hope you all had an a amazing week, and happy almost valentine's day.

Recipe: Carrot Coffee Cake

This is the best cake ever! It is so soft, moist and very tasty.

It is the perfect coffee cake to serve for friends and family, or just to enjoy it yourself. I love putting some jam on top of my cake slice, it just gives it a lot more flavor and fills you up. 

This cake is like a tradition in my family, my mom always makes it to drink with our afternoon coffee. But as we are just five people at the house, we always end up with left over cake, and my mom always put the left overs in the oven and leaves it to roast. It might sound weird, but I assure you that is delicious, it is like like a cookie and it tastes like one too.

 It is also very easy to do, you just put it all in a blender and mix it up, but I recommend to mix the flour by hand or it is going to give your blender a lot trouble. I recommend cutting the carrots into pieces, medium to large pieces, that helps the blender to crush the carrots a lot easier and it makes it a lot faster too. Pour the flour slowly and paying attention if it's too much. you can use less or much more flour.

Feel free to substitute the ingredients, like switching the normal sugar to organic or brown sugar. Or switching up the type of flour if  you are gluten free. I hope that you like it if you try it out.

Ingredientes:

• 1 Large Carrot
• 2 Cups of Flour
• 2 Cups of Sugar
• 1 Cup of Vegetable Oil
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons of Backing Powder

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

I finished this books two weeks ago, but I couldn't do a review, starting school was stressfull and I didn't have time to put my thoughts together and write about it. But now I kind have some time, and I have to say that I loved this book. I thought I did not like it at first, but when I was like 100 pages in the book it started to get awesome and mysterious. I can't say why it became suddenly so mysterious or exciting to read, because that would be a huge spoiler. What I can say is that this book is much more than just high school teenager problems, it is about the meaning of life, and how someone can impact your life and change it completly and the search for a way out of the labyrith.

Jonh Green's writing in this book, was simply fantastic. It was like real teenagers narrrating the story, but they were special, they were like poets. The words that John Green wrote were like poetry, they all were deep and meaningful like all of his other books. I recommend this book to everybody, but specially to people who like contemporary.

Weekend Pictures ☼

I went to the beach again, well I have to enjoy the last few months of summer and appreciate that tests at school are not going to start at least untill next week. It was a short weekend, but was a lot fun and relaxing. We did kind of a lunch date with all our neighbors to know each other better and just talk about life in general. I am so lucky that one of my best friends is my neighbor at the beach, we hanged out and talked all day. 

I found some sea shells at the beach this morning and I put them in this glass container, I thought it looked very cute and vintage inspired.

My outfit this weekend was pretty casual and comfy for just staying inside. I wore this diy GAP vintage shorts with a basic pink and white striped blouse that had the word "california" written on it.

Hope you all had an amazing weekend ❤

5 Tips To Get Into Reading

I already told the story of how I got into reading, but I did kind of lots of mistakes that almost got me tired of reading, and these tips are almost all based on experiences that I've been through. I got into reading by starting with the wrong book for me, it was too big and with a topic that I wasn't even interested about and it took me a year to read it, and what I learn about that event help me to choose better reads and in consequence never getting bored of reading again.

1. Find a topic that you are interested in. This is one of the most important steps, because if you are reading something that you don't like, you will get tired and bored of reading it and probably not going to read anything ever again with the thought that every single book is going to be like that. Well, it is not like that at all, you just have to figure out what interests you more and what would you like to read about. If you like video games or fashion, Egyptian mythology and Star Wars, I'm sure you are going to find books about those topics and like them.
2. Start small. I recommend starting with a book that has less than 300 pages, it is not to long that you will get tired of reading and dropping it in the middle, and it is not too short that it can't be considered a book. Of course, if you don't feel comfortable in reading this much pages you can always start with less, or if you feel like you are ready for a bigger number of pages you can always read more. 
3. Take your time. If you need a week, a month or even a year to finish a book, don't worry, take your time and don't put pressure on yourself  and do not do it for peer pressure of others either. Of course one day you will have to challenge yourself to read on a small space of time for a school assignment or even if you become an avid reader, but it does not have to be now if you are just starting to get into reading.
4. Find your style of reading. One of the things that I like more about reading is the diverse styles that they can be found in. There is a lot of styles you can choose from to read, like comic books or newspaper, graphic novels or series, physical books or ebooks, and much more. The fun about all of this is that doesn't have to be about one thing OR the other, you can read each one of these styles if you like them and never get bored of just reading one type. Find the one that you feel most comfortable with and start right now.
5. Find a place to read comfortably without distractions. If you are new to reading I would totally recommend reading somewhere you feel comfortable and relaxed at and where there is no one and any technology that can distract you around. Well, sometimes your comfy place is a crowded subway or somewhere that is filed with computers and cell phones, this is a very personal option and tip, but a very important one. Finding a place that you feel secure at is a key step for your reading to flow naturally.