thirty truths

I can't say I'm in the best place in my life right now, but I can smile because I know it will get better! I just read this 30 amazing truths from Marc and Angel Hack Life, and they're worth every word!

No puedo decir que estoy en el mejor punto de mi vida en este momento, pero puedo sonreir porque sé que se va a poner mejor! Acabo de leer estas 30 verdades de Marc and Angel Hack Life, y cada palabra vale la pena! (Me disculpo, el artículo fue escrito en inglés).

1. There comes a point in life when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything, but it’s not giving up. It’s realizing you don’t need certain people and things and the drama they bring.
2. If a person wants to be a part of your life they will make an obvious effort to do so. Don’t bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay.
3. If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.
4. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.
5. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You don’t fail by falling down. You fail by never getting back up. Sometimes you just have to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward.
6. When you get to know people with different ethnic backgrounds, from different cities and countries, who live at various socioeconomic levels, you begin to realize that everyone basically wants the same things. They want validation, love, happiness, fulfillment and hopes for a better future. The way they pursue these desires is where things branch off, but the fundamentals are the same. You can relate to almost everyone everywhere if you look past the superficial facades that divide us.
7. The more things you own, the more your things own you. Less truly gives you more freedom. Read The Joy of Less.
8. While you’re busy looking for the perfect person, you’ll probably miss the imperfect person who could make you perfectly happy. This is as true for friendships as it is for intimate relationships. Finding a companion or a friend isn’t about trying to transform yourself into the perfect image of what you think they want. It’s about being exactly who you are and then finding someone who appreciates that.
9. Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason.
10. Making a thousand friends is not a miracle. A miracle is making one friend who will stand by your side when thousands are against you.
11. Someone will always be better looking. Someone will always be smarter. Someone will always be more charismatic. But they will never be you – with your exact ideas, knowledge and skills.
12. Making progress involves risk. Period. You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
13. Every morning you are faced with two choices: You can aimlessly stumble through the day not knowing what’s going to happen and simply react to events at a moment’s notice, or you can go through the day directing your own life and making your own decisions and destiny. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
14. Everyone makes mistakes. If you can’t forgive others, don’t expect others to forgive you. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.
15. It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
16. We sometimes do things that are permanently foolish just because we are temporarily upset. A lot of heartache can be avoided if you learn to control your emotions.
17. Someone else doesn’t have to be wrong for you to be right. There are many roads to what’s right. You cannot judge others by your own past. They are living a different life than you. What might be good for one person may not be good for another. What might be bad for one person might change another person’s life for the better. You have to allow people to make their own mistakes and their own decisions.
18. Nobody is perfect, and nobody deserves to be perfect. Nobody has it easy. You never know what people are going through. Every one of us has issues. So don’t belittle yourself or anyone else. Everybody is fighting their own unique war.
19. A smile doesn’t always mean a person is happy. Sometimes it simply means they are strong enough to face their problems.
20. The happiest people I know keep an open mind to new ideas and ventures, use their leisure time as a means of mental development, and love good music, good books, good pictures, good company and good conversation. And oftentimes they are also the cause of happiness in others – me in particular.
21. You can’t take things too personally. Rarely do people do things because of you. They do things because of them.
22. Feelings change, people change, and time keeps rolling. You can hold on to past mistakes or you can create your own happiness. A smile is a choice, not a miracle. True happiness comes from within. Don’t make the mistake of waiting on someone or something to come along and make you happy.
23. It’s much harder to change the length of your life than it is to change the depth of it.
24. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
25. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
26. One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.
27. Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. Read The Book of Awesome.
28. Anyone can make a difference. Making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world.
29. Everything is a life lesson. Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc. They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’ Never forget to acknowledge the lesson, especially when things don’t go your way. If you don’t get a job that you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting. And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it.
30. Regardless of how filthy your past has been, your future is still spotless. Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday. Every day is a fresh start. Each day is a new beginning. Every morning we wake up is the first day of the rest of our life.

a little goes a long way

Can't remember where I got it from. Sorry! Btw, how lovely
does the polka-dots looked combined with the zebra-print?
No me acuerdo de donde la saqué. ¡Perdón! Por cierto, ¿qué tan
lindos se ven los puntitos combinados con el patrón de zebra?

Via Trendy Room Decorations

Via Homes Interior

Via Elle Decor

Via Decor Pad

I've been helping my aunt decorate her new bachelorette apartment, and I wanted to create spaces with true personality. The apartment as a whole is not that big, but each space is clearly marked...reason why I figured it would give me lots of room (mind the pun) to play with. I've got three main spaces that I want to focus on: the living room, the staircase and her bedroom; I can then use them as center marks to give the other spaces splashes here and there. For the bedroom we chose a black-lace wallpaper, and I have some ideas I might share a bit later when I have them clearer in my mind. Now, for the living room (which is the first space you run into when you open the door) I wanted something big...and I found it! It's an animal print wallpaper...most specifically a zebra-print! Now, it's not the typical zebra-like patterns we see everywhere: it's got big thick lines and a mixture of black, champagne and silver colors (no white). All in all, it's not that overwhelming. In fact, I might dare to say it's classy and somehow calming. So I went into a bit of research for inspiration on decor using zebra-prints, and came up with the conclusion that a little goes a long way when it comes to using animal prints. Now, I might not be following that word-to-word since I'm using it on a whole wall, but the wall is quite tiny so I think it will work just fine. To highlight it it, I'm thinking of putting a red couch (of course!), but then soften the rest with ivory-like colors. Any thoughts? How about some golden accesories?

He estado ayudando a mi tía decorar su nuevo apartamento de soltera, y quería crear espacios con gran personalidad. El apartamento como tal no es muy grande, pero cada lugar está muy bien definido...razón por la cuál pienso que tengo suficiente espacio para jugar. Tengo tres lugares claves en los cuales me quiero enfocar: la sala, la escalera y el cuarto, y con ellos puedo partir para darle vida al resto de los espacios. Para el cuarto escogimos un papel tapiz negro de encaje, y tengo algunas ideas que tal vez puedo compartir luego, cuando las tenga un poco más claras en mi mente. Ahora, para la sala (lo primero que se ve cuando se entra al apartamento) quería algo grande...y lo encontré! Es un papel tapiz que asimila el patrón de la zebra! No es el típico patrón de zebra que vemos en todo lado, sino más bien tiene líneas gruesas y una mezcla de negro, champaña y plateados (no tiene blanco). Definitivamente no es abrumador. De hecho, me atrevo a decir que es elegante y de alguna manera tiene un efecto calmante. Así que hice un poco de investigación para encontrar inspiración en decoración que use patrones de zebra y llegué a la conclusión que al usarlos, un poco llega muy lejos. Ahora, tal vez no siga esa conclusión al pie de la letra, pero la pared es bastante pequeña así que pienso que debería funcionar bien. Para resaltarlo, pienso poner un sillón rojo capitoneado (¡por supuesto!) y bajarle el tono a lo demás pienso usar tonos color hueso. ¡Oigo opiniones! ¿Qué tal si uso accesorios dorados?

artistic block = artistic gain

Every artist knows what a pain it can be to have an artistic block. Sometimes they take weeks, others just a day...but in general they're my worst nightmare! Well, I've been in one for probably the past three weeks :( I know many factors have to be considered, such as situations happening in my personal life, nutrition, exercise, etc....all in which I know I've been on the downside.
A couple of weeks ago a few dear Australian friends of mine came to visit, and I spent a week with them at Santa Teresa beach, here in Costa Rica. One of our greatest discoveries, not only food-wise but artistic-wise as well, was Zwart Art Café, or Zwart's as we liked to call it.
This beautiful café/art gallery/hang-out spot was founded by Canadian-born Margriet Zwart (or Margarita, as she introduced herself). Her paintings are a reflection or her personality: collage-like illustrations made from memories, dashes of peacefulness mixed with the chaotic world. Neon and pastels. Surf, sun, birds, dogs,...a bit of everything. Even her café: an all-white space resembling calmness and freshness, gets mixed in the hustling of her illustrations and the noises from the street right at the doorstep. A balance of all things good, and just the right amount of peace vs. chaos to enjoy a very good meal indeed!

Todos los artistas sabemos el dolor que provoca un bloque artístico. A veces toman semanas, y otras sólo un día...pero en general son mi peor pesadilla! Bueno, he estado con un bloque desde hace ya tres semanas :( Yo sé que hay muchos factores que considerar, tales como situaciones en la vida personal, nutrición, ejercicio, etc...todos en los cuáles sé que estoy del lado negativo. Hace un par de semanas, unos amigos Australianos muy estimados míos vinieron a visitar, y pasé con ellos una semana en la playa de Santa Teresa, aquí en Costa Rica. Uno de nuestros grandes descubrimientos, no sólo en temas de comida sino en temas artísticos, fue Zwart Art Café, o Zwart's como le decíamos cariñosamente. Esta bello café/galería/lugar-para-pasar-el-tiempo fue fundado por la Canadiense Margriet Zwart (o Margarita, tal y como ella se introdujo). Sus pinturas son un reflejo de su personalidad: ilustraciones tipo collage hechas de memorias, pinceladas de paz mezcladas con el mundo caótico. Neón y pasteles. Surf, sol, pájaros, perros,...de todo un poco. Incluso su café, un espacio completamente blanco asimilando la calma y la frescura, se mezcla con el movimiento de sus ilustraciones y los ruidos de la calle que está justo a la salida de la puerta. Es un balance de todas las cosas buenas, y justo la porción necesaria de paz vrs. caos para disfrutar de una muy buena comida!