Dreaming of a Blue Christmas

This year for Christmas, I was very inspired by my travels to France, Italy and Holland and decided to theme my Tree with the blue hues that I fell in love with, everywhere I traveled.

The French have the Toille fabric, Italians have the Spode Blue design and the Dutch have the popular Blue Delft decor. Just look at the collection of ornaments I came across during a walk through city center in Amsterdam! Every souvenir shop had gorgeous displays of Blue delft decor, trinkets, clogs, ceramic statuettes, windmills, clocks and ornaments!

I didn’t do much to the actual tree but add a few statement ginger jars, blue bows and a collection of ornaments I brought back from Europe.

Of course there were several other things I purchased in Europe, including the ever so popular wooden tulips from Amsterdam as well as Blue Delft windmills, ornaments and flower vases. I love shopping when I travel and I needed to give my hubby a reason to justify spending on cute stuff when he was sure to remind me: “we already have everything we need.” But not Christmas things!

In Strasbourg, France, I found a set of absolutely gorgeous ceramic houses, made to look like the buildings in the little town. They were so cute and intricate and I just couldn’t leave the place withouth getting myself the collection. These aren’t blue but they were so darling and representative of this “little town., it’s a quiet village”— that I splurged and bought all five:

The most memorable activity from Holland (besides an eye-opening visit to the Red Light District) was watching so many people ride bicycles everyday to go pretty much everywhere. It’s quite a sight to see and finding a miniature bike was necessary to relive the memory:

As far as other details like wrapping paper and champagne glasses— yes, I did. I matched them all with my theme to make sure all things ‘Blue Christmas’ came together in a festive fashion, at home.

I would show you the Blue Spode Italian champagne flutes but those are going to be featured in a separate post to welcome the New Year!

In any case, I’m just sad that December was such a crazy month with unexpected distractions, a hectic work schedule and just a busy overall time that it almost feels like I didn’t just sit and enjoy the Blue Christmas I created. Instead, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen and family room, where the boys spent time decorating a candy cane inspired Christmas Tree.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas.

Thanks for reading, friends!

Xoxo,

Anabel M.

Let’s Get Organized and Stay Focused!

I may have received free product and/or compensation in exchange for a post. All opinions are my own.

Over the weekend, I took some time to reorganize my work space (which tends to get messy really quick). I was inspired to change things up thanks to a fabulous set of gifts I received from Erin Condren, a SoCal-mom owned stationery and planner company that sells amazing and aesthetically delightful products!

My home office is often messy not just because the kids run in and out, grabbing things and leaving a mess behind— it’s actually my busy lifestyle that makes it really hard to consistently keep things tidy. On any given day for example, I can be enjoying breakfast or a cup of coffee as I catch up on email but may have to abandon my food to pick up a call. Other times, I bring my makeup to the desk so I can get ready ahead of a zoom call while I read over talking points. Also, I tend to open mail deliveries while sitting through a training session, and so on. By the time my work shift ends, I just want to spend time with my boys and relax and I don’t always get things back in order.

However, Erin Condren recently launched an awesome campaign encouraging all to Elevate Your Workspace. With this campaign, I was lucky to receive a beautifully curated set of desk stationery items, including pens, markers, highlighters, a minimalist desk calendar, planners, a Hammock Desk File Organizer with a six-pack of file folders, a 3-pocket canvas pouch, a pastel acrylic desk organizer cubby set of 3 and other fabulous goodies.

My favorite item is a dusty pink weekly planner from Erin Condren’s Focused Collection—which is a curation of professional and minimalist productivity tools to keep you focused on what matters most.

The Softbound Focused Planner has a vegan leather cover, includes a goals and intentions page and a monthly productivity spread. And if you use the lovely and Colorful Erin Condren Gel Pens, Focused highlighters and markers, you’ll have what you need to write your plans in bright and fun colors!

Now with my neatly organized office and minimalist desk decor, it really is easier to focus and finish tasks much faster.

There are actual health studies that show organizing a daily schedule allows people to concentrate on what needs to get done that day instead of being distracted by things around them.

Distraction is the enemy of productivity and untidy spaces cause distraction because as much as you want to focus on the task at hand, the mind can’t be completely clear when its surrounded by messy spaces. Listen, I know this because I’m guilty of it. However, I’m excited to start the week off with a clean, organized approach and Erin Condren supplies are to blame for this refreshing opportunity!

I encourage you all to visit Erincondren.com and find the tools you might need to #ElevateYourWorkSpace

In the meantime, I wish you all a productive, happy and motivating week!

Cheers and thanks for reading, friends!

Xo,

-Anabel Marquez

New Year, New Hair Vibes!

The first week of the year ended with a hair appointment at my sister Frances’ new salon chair.

Frances is the owner of On Location Glam, a hair & make-up company serving Ventura, Santa Barbara & Los Angeles Counties.

Recently, she began taking haircut & hair color clients at a new venue in Oxnard.

It’s a small, quaint salon named Thairapy inside the Clear Water Living Center, near The Collection shopping center.

The Consultation

Because my sister is a legitimate hair artist (she has a solid background in cosmetology and fine arts), I usually allow her to decide what to do with my hair.

On this occasion, she decided to do an all over glaze and a haircut.

A glaze is a semi-permanent hair color that deposits color to blend grays and add shine throughout.

Her suggestion sounded great, especially since my hair has been so dull.

My hair was basically getting to the point where I was desperate to sprinkle some life back into it.

The Products

At the salon, my sister uses quality hair products on her clients, including Leonor Greyl, Oribe and Verb.

She also uses T3 hair tools and Olivia Garden brushes.

The Process

During the appointment, Frances mixed the hair color, massaged my scalp, shampooed my hair and washed it thoroughly but gently. It was so relaxing!

Not to mention, I sipped on a delicious cup of coffee and had a great conversation with her about upcoming projects and goals for the year.

Other Services

While Frances focuses on haircuts and color, the small salon at Clear Water has other beauty professionals that can take appointments for other services such as manicures.

The Results

My appointment lasted about an hour and-a-half and included a blowout and hairstyling.

When we were all done and I looked at myself in the mirror, I was met with healthy, shiny hair that felt super soft, bouncy and silky!

Thank you, sissy!

Booking an Appointment with Frances

In case you’re interested in having some well-deserved hair maintenance, I would suggest you book with Frances. Her pricing ranges from $60 - $200+, depending on the type of service requested.

You can call, text or email her at (213) 949-0945 / info@francesmarquez.com

You’ll definitely be impressed by her skills.

Thanks for reading, friends!

Xo,

-Anabel M.