15 AMAZING THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN 2015

1. Found out that I'm going to be an "auntie" next year.

2. Had the first wedding from my High School squad.

3. Went back to NYC after moving out from there and got reunited with amazing friends  & colleagues. (Highlight of the trip: Guggenheim security guy remembering me!).

4. Visited Italy for the first time with my family (we all got a weird stomach bug, but that doesn't necessary ruin a trip... does it?).

5. Saw One Direction life again. As good as I remembered them. #Foreveryoung.

6. Madridges happened! And took 4 of fave people in London to know the real Madrid.

7. Attended TFI Friday recording and for two hours was in the same room that Harry Potter!

8. One of my fave people moved to London! (Although another fave moved out... But we are here to just talk about the amazing things, aren't we?)

9. Finished my first big project at Selfridges. 

10. Had great visits from friends and family (even Grandma Maribel!).

11. Went jet skiing - and what if I fell to the water during the first 10 minutes, huh?!

12. Attended London Fashion Week. Faaancy....

13. Had my 10 years High School reunion and it was FUN!

14. Found some new hobbies like Tennis, Zumba and colouring books.

15. Already planned some amazing trips for next year, and I-CAN'T-WAIT! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!

FOREST Restaurant & Bar @ Selfridges

Selfridges rooftop restaurant has also been transformed as part of its Christmas campaign. Inspired by an autumnal forest both the menu and environment are perfect for this festive season. 

My favorite part is without any doubt the terrace (yes, I said terrace - favorite part, in winter), where you can find a series of private rooms in the form of outdoor cabins.

Enjoy the pictures and remember this special spot when you need a break from your last minute Christmas shopping next week!

LORNA RUBY [17 Catherine Street, Exeter]

Lorna Ruby is one of those little gems I like to discover whenever I travel to a new place. 

A couple of weeks ago I visited a friend who lives in Exeter, and while walking around trying to digest an insane amount of cream tea this spot caught my attention. It was cute, stylish, incredibly well merchandised and a bit eclectic. 

There´s a different installation and composition in every corner, but instead of making the space look packed it makes it interesting and fun. Clothes, accessories and jewelry cohabit in a harmonious environment. 

I particularly loved the timber structure that creates the different bays on the wall where the rails are formed. It´s a beautiful way to both decorate and organize the shop.

While you will probably always find the ground a bit busy (not just because of the product, but most likely because of all the customers in it!), the first floor has a completely different vibe. I loved the relaxed almost workshop-like space up there. 

I believe there´s something quite charming when you can´t easily differentiate what´s for sale and what´s not in a shop, and you definitely have that feeing in Lorna Ruby - specially accentuated while Christmas decorations are ON making the space feel like a welcoming festive home.

An absolute must see when in Devon. But if you can´t easily take a South West Train from London Paddington, why not shop online - Lorna Ruby is not only a cool space, its collection is as trendy and special! 

Cheers to the incredibly lovely girl who was working there that afternoon! I don´t think I´ve ever seen someone as excited and thankful for a post on my blog [sorry to tell probably you just my mum&dad read it... ha! :P ]

My favorite things

The last couple of weeks have been kind of tough. I suddenly feel like the world is a scary place and I find myself constantly terrified without knowing how to fight that fear. 

I´ve been trying to do a mental effort to stop this situation but sometimes it´s just difficult and not having your family around during bad times makes things even harder...

...but then I remembered what my good old friend Maria does when she is feeling sad: she simply remembers her favorite things and then she doesn´t feel so bad! And I thought I could do that too, I also have favorite things, don´t I!?

I guess when the world doesn´t look like the perfect place we want it to be, we just have to remember the things we have in it that make it ALMOST PERFECT.

• We have babies. Chubby babies, smiley babies, babies with just two tinny teeth, babies with cute names, babies with funny hair, babies with no hair, babies with their amazing baby-after-the-bath smell... You get it: babies!

• We have Ben&Jerry´s ice cream (specially eaten with a big spoon straight from the big cup in the company of a non judgemental friend).
• We have Youtube, and youtubers, and tutorials, and prank videos, and fall videos, and fail videos, and proposal videos, and music covers videos, and summary videos of every talk show in America.
• We have movie trailers and the feeling that every one of those films is gonna be amazing - when in reality not even half of them are...
• We have friends all around the world and friends from all around the world.
• We have accents. Funny accents, annoying accents, sexy accents, Spanish accent (oh sorry, I already said sexy!).
• We have half sweet and half salty popcorn.
• We have empty movie theatres at lunch time. 
• We have airplane food.
• We have One Direction. I mean, that should be enough.
• We have Harry Styles, because he deserves his very own line.

• We have bad telly, reality telly, real housewives telly, Kardashians telly.
• We have the Rocky Horror Show.
• We have the Radio 1 Breakfast show and being an eternal teenager.
• We have fangirling.
• We have home made cookies.
• We have weekend trips.
• We have 'finding the boy you fancy' on the internet.
• We have it girls.
• We have designer clothes and being broke because of them (broke but fabulous).
• We have internet friends, plane friends, gym friends, friends through work, friends your mum set you up with. We have best friends.
• We have fancy dress parties.

• We have discounts, and freebies, and sample sales.
• We have crushes (maybe even several during just one day...).
• We have friends´ weddings.
• We have Primrose Hill.
• We have New York.
• We have advent calendars.
• We have tattoos, and mums who cry for two days `cause you got 1cm2 ink on your wrist.
• We have New Beetles.
• We have sangria, and Estrella Galicia beer, and Camden beer, and piña colada, and even home made piña colada.
• We have Zumba.
• We have unicorns (yes, we do), and pet pigs, and bulldogs, and puppies in general.
• We have snow. And John Snow.
• We have dungarees.
• We have Instagram.
• We have concerts, specially the ones when you know all the lyrics and you feel like you really belong there.
• We have trampolines.
• We have unexpected emails, we have emails you receive ever few months and wait for them like you wait for Santa, we have drunken texts, we have grandmas´ texts.
• We have facetime and feeling like distance is no longer a problem.
• We have adult colouring books.
• We have The Sims.
• We have Harry Potter.
• We have rooftops.
• We have fashion shows.
• We have Summer holidays, we have Christmas holidays, we have the amazing feeling before any holiday.
• We have blogs, and tumblr, and twitter and just my favorite place in the world: the internet.

And tonight I realized we have the therapeutical value of listing some of your favorite things and thinking the world is actually a pretty good place after all.

May I ask now what are some of your favorite things? 

Selfridges says it's Christmas time!

If someone knows how to do Christmas it's definitely Selfridges. Every year its decoration and windows announce the beginning of the Holiday Season and anyone who walks by the store would stop to admire the beautiful installations. 

This year's theme is "Journery to the stars" and I can say it's my favorite as far as I can remember - probably because it steps away from the traditional red, green and golden color scheme to bring us a new, modern and cooler way to celebrate Christmas. 

From the windows, the Food Hall, the atrium, the Christmas shop... you can see it and feel it everywhere! And of course there are also special spots created for this time of the year like the Gift Wrap, the Elfridges area, the personalized gifts shops or the Moet pop up space - where you can get your pretty face on a Moet bottle, I  mean...the dream!

And this time Selfridges famous ultralounge - where the magic happens in all of their campaigns - has become the Astrolounge. You can buy there all sort of cosmic gifts or even visit the Psychic Sister. 

As always the space has been transformed into a unique and magical room, perfectly in line with the overall theme. I will never stop being amazed by how much this room can change and how special it is every single time! (If you don't believe me... have a look at the Silence Room which was once located in that same space!) 

Wait not more and pay Selfridges a visit! It's November after all, practically Christmas...

- - - - - - - 

Big shout out to Selfridges VM and Visual Projects teams for doing a fantastic job!

Anya Hindmarch Selfridges Service Station

A few weeks ago Anya Hindmarch installed a Service Station Pop Up space at Selfridges Car Park, and it was just awesome! - Between work, holidays, and so on... I haven't had the time to post this but even if it's a bit late now I totally think it's worth sharing.

The space featured AH's fall collection and the overall space design was in line with its very recognizable theme. Apart from seeing (and shopping, for the first time ever in Selfridges Car Park!), customers could enjoy snacks and have their picture taken in a carwash-style photo booth.

Of course after visiting the space my friend Ami and I came back to the office full hands with snacks and a very fun photo waiting in our inbox!

HOLIRAIN

This year I was lucky enough to get two week of holiday in August. Since I live in London all I asked for was good food and good weather. The first point was obvious, but being from Galicia the weather is always tbd... After a long weekend of sun, the rain came to us and so did the big question: what the hell do I do now!?

Day trips are a must in every Galician Summer, so my family and I visited Santiago de Compostela´s Cathedral for the who-knows-what time.

Este año tuve la suerte de irme dos semanas de vacaciones en agosto. Viviendo en Londres lo único que le pedía a esos días era buena comida y buen tiempo. Lo primero estaba asegurado, pero siendo de Galicia está claro que lo segundo siempre está en el aire... Después de disfrutar de un fin de semana largo de sol llegó el diluvio universal y con él la gran pregunta: y ahora que hago!? 

Las excursiones son un clásico en todo verano gallego, así que mi familia y yo hicimos la tradicional visita al la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela.

But this year I also add a new entertainment to my rainy Summer, which has totes become my new obsession: adult coloring books! I got a bunch of them from Amazon (other Ecommerce sites and retail business - ehem Selfridges - are available) and you can actually get lost in the gazillion options they have. I show you guys my favorites below.

Pero este año también añadí un nuevo entretenimiento a mi verano pasado por agua: libros de colorear para adultos! Me he comprado unos cuantos en Amazon (otras websites y negocios - ehem Selfridges - también están disponibles) y te puedes llegar a perder entra la amplia oferta que tienen. Debajo os enseño mis favoritos.

Lots of people say these books are a great relaxation tool, although I´ve also heard some others get anxiety from such a precise job... Here is my recommendation: get your favorite drink, a podcast on your iphone, a wide selection of pencil colors and enjoy!

Hay quien dice que estos libros son una muy buena técnica de relajación, aunque también hay quien opina que un trabajo tan meticuloso genera incluso más ansiedad... Mi recomendación es sentarse con tu bebida preferida, un podcast sonando en tu iphone, una amplia selección de lápices de colores y a disfrutar!

*** Thanks Sonja for the great idea! ***

Selfridges Manchester Exchange - New Womenswear Floor

Selfridges has recently finalized the refurbishment of its Womenswear Floor in its Exchange Square building (Manchester). The overall design is the work of Universal Design Studio which coexists with the different brands' aesthetics in an incredibly harmonized space.The floor has a series of areas: the Shoe Department, the Ready To Wear, six boutiques and a Personal Shopping space along with an existing restaurant. 

The selected materials and finishes are all very luxurious, elegant and feminine. The space has beautiful marble cash desks, dichroic glass plinths and glass & mirror walls among the wide selection. 

There are different focal points in this project. One of them are the cash desks, apart from being an interesting element themselves they all have a feature behind them (like a lighting installation or a brass sculptural screen).

There are also some special fixtures like the beacon, a circular rail located in the center of the RTW space that can display both clothing garments or accessories as well as being used as a seating element.

The different boutiques/brands are located in the perimeter, around Selfridges own bought areas. Each of them has a totem demarcating their space, covered with the brand's signature stone. The space is therefore organized in a very clear and smart way, making the customer's stroll through the floor easy and smooth.

* Balenciaga and Celine

* Valentino

* Givenchy

* Jimmy Choo

* Christian Louboutin

Definitely worth paying it a visit if you have the opportunity and enjoy beautifully designed stores!

[ Also, Northerns are so nice that any excuse is good to drive up to Manchester, isn't it? ;) ]

Basic Needs Store - Selfridges

I think at this point everyone knows I love a Selfridges campaign... And the current one, Work It, is as cool as any of the previous ones.

This new project is all about exploring how the way we work is changing, and as usual, Selfridges has created a concept store in relation to this topic.

The Basic Needs Store has everything you need to stay connected, organized, commute-ready,... Basically every tool and tech to enhance your day-to-day, displayed in the most inspiring way possible (seriously, who doesn't want to start working right away after seeing all this bright neon colours!?) 

This new campaign also involves a collaboration with The Art Room, a children's charity that provides therapeutic art classes. 

Right now you can see 90 chairs in Selfridges central atrium, each of them designed by different artists, architects, designers and key figures of the fashion world. The chairs will be sold in aid of The Art Room through an online auction.

This is an amazing and generous idea, and in the meantime the space looks great!

#SELFRIDGESXWORKIT