2015...

The rebirth of Wander Soul, forever and always...

Asides from the exhilarating news that my blog is up and running once again; I have spent this past few days reflecting on what I want for this 2015. So many goals, new things to my bucket list, travels,  fears to leave behind, new things to learn and do, and most of all a background check on the person I am. I want to keep growing and become better as each day passes through. 

As we all like to see it, new year = new chance to start over. And one of my main goals for this 2015 is to live each day thoroughly.  By no means do I reach for the “perfect life” but rather having an imperfect one and still being happy, enjoying every single moment of it, and most important of all... being completely present. Which is something that I am guilty of not doing so much....

Yes, because of my cellphone.

So I'm going to take advantage that it is a new year and use it as an excuse to stop using it so much! Not completely, we all need it once in a while, but ultimately just for the needs. And actually, I am proud to say that I have done the very first step towards this resolution! I uploaded an app called Moment which tracks how much minutes a day you use your phone. It is embarrassing how many minutes I got for the first days… but its a challenge that I am willing to complete! Now, I am more conscious and have control of how much time I spend on my phone.

I assume that most of us have some kind of goals, so I encourage you to start today and make the very first step towards whatever resolutions you have. Do not wait until the summer to start working on your goals or for a sign from the universe... START N O W! 

LET'S BEAT THAT SOAB CALLED PROCRASTINATION AND MAKE YOURSELF FEEL PROUD!

 (We all need it once in a while) 

Wandering...

 I believe that wandering is creating an experience that goes beyond discovering. It is feeling connected to that certain place, person, food, thing, etc... 

 Before, I thought traveling consisted on the exclusive action of finding new places, seeing the unseen, and venturing yourself out in the out known. Sure, traveling does imply all of that, but I was missing something bigger, something more deep than just perceiving a beautiful landscape and taking as many pictures of it as possible. I was missing the bigger picture. 

E x p e r i e n c e s

Yes, every minute of our life is made of experiences; waking up in the morning and making breakfast, watching your favorite show, going to your regular yoga class, going to bed at night. All these are ordinary experiences if we see them as itinerary. Maybe we don't even realize what we are doing. Maybe it is just part of what we call 'living'. So, when you are out of your comfort zone, for example when you travel, you engage yourself in unordinary moments. These are the ones worth remembering.

My experience happened at Venice Beach. It was 6:30 pm. and my sister and I were walking down the shore of the ocean when we saw a group of people playing the hula hoop. Someone yelled at us to come join in that even our shy self's could not resist, so we did. Everyone looked so much happier here, and I thought to myself, "Well duh! Obviously, you are hula hooping at the beach!" This was the warm up for the next activity. What we were all waiting for... yoga time. 

It was one of those moments that had to be written about, never forgotten. It wasn't because it was such a challenging intense class; on the contrary, it was soft, it was warm, it was definitely blissful.

I had never felt like this before. All my senses were engaged. The sound of crashing waves, the feeling of cool wind throughout my body, the smell of  sunscreen and a hint of salt in my lips.  We took a moment to appreciate the setting of the sun, and I hadn't watched a sunset like that before. I was so into it, mesmerized till almost hypnotized. We then did some asanas (yoga postures) which dealt with grabbing the granite sand and feeling it let go, like an hourglass. Everything was so beautiful, the landscape but mostly the people. Beautiful not in appearance, but in the way that I felt so infected by the smile of each individual there. Not only that, but they treated us like we had been best friends with everyone since forever. You could see their good intentions. They transmitted pure bliss. This moment, this experience marked my trip, and probably my life. Making me want to cause that sensation to others. 

You feel alive. 

The trip consisted of California as our main and final destination but we had some stops along the way. Starting with the Grand Canyon, then Las Vegas for the 4th July making Independence Day somewhat magical with so many fireworks. After Vegas we headed over to California to the Sequoia National Park continuing with Big Sur. I encourage everyone to make a stop by the McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park because it is honestly the most beautiful and peaceful scenery I have ever witnessed. From there we embarked into the Pacific Coast Highway which is a pleasure to drive by. Finally, we ended in Santa Monica and Venice Beach. And I have to say that it seems worthless to go to LA and not stop here.

 

Just like Charles Bukowski said,
“some moments are nice, some are
nicer, some are even worth writing about." 

-DC

DIY: La "Frida Kahlo"

As I was walking the aisles of Hobby Lobby, which is already a hobby, I encountered this amazing thing called iron-transfers and thought of the best way to make a graphic image DIY.  To be honest all you need is to read the instructions on the package. I am always looking for cheap and easy tutorials to do, and trust me this is no exception. My Frida shirt turned out freaking a w e s o m e. I know I am always saying my DIYs are easy, but it's cause trust me, it is unbelievable simple. Here I will do a recap on how I did my Frida Kahlo tee.

What you need:

• Iron-on transfers (I choose to do it on a black shirt so I bought the transfer for a dark color fabric, there are also iron-on transfers for light color fabrics)
• T-shirt or wherever you want your transfer on
• Computer
• Scissors
• Iron
• Parchment paper
• Pillow case

Let's begin...

 It all depends on the type of brand you purchase; so for this type (which is the StickerYou brand) I had to go into their website and upload my picture.

 

After that, something that is super recommendable is to print a draft on a regular piece of paper to see if it meets the desired proportions.

Once you have the perfect size and you are satisfied with the image, go ahead and print it on the iron-on transfer paper

 

After that you are going to cut out your image 

Now, with the ironing... 

If you are doing it on a table cover the area with a pillow case or anything like that.

You will have to use an iron, with no steam, and set it up to the highest temperature (which is cotton)

Iron the pillow case so that it will be smooth

And procede by ironing the shirt too

 

Peel the image away from the back paper and place it facing up on the desired location

Use parchment paper to cover the entire image

Begin ironing with pressure and in circular motions

SUPER IMPORTANT: The instructions said to iron for 20-25 seconds, but I decided to be an expert and do it my own way, ironing for about 1 minute which caused in a little burning of the image (nothing too bad though)

So really follow the instructions

After the 20-25 seconds of ironing, wait 10 seconds and peel the parchment paper off

...and your graphic tee is ready to wear!

(Just wait about 24 hours to wash the fabric)

"Yo solía pensar que era la persona más extraña en el mundo, pero luego pensé, hay mucha gente así en el mundo, tiene que haber alguien como yo, que se sienta bizarra y dañada de la misma forma en que yo me siento. Me la imagino, e imagino que ella también debe estar por ahí pensando en mí. Bueno, yo espero que si tú estás por ahí y lees esto sepas que, sí, es verdad, yo estoy aquí, soy tan extraña como tú."

 

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.” 

- Frida Kahlo

 -DC