Proud Girlfriend

Originally I had planned (pause for shock, yes, I actually planned something for this blog) another post for today, but then, last night, the most amazing thing in the world happened.

I mentioned recently that A and I like to go out at least once a week for coffee or whatever, to get out of the weekday rut. Well, this week, he got invited to a little event at his friends restaurant and because we hadn't done the night out thing in a while, and yesterday we got really great news, we decided we'd go and celebrate. So, I put on a dress and off we went.

It was a mezcal tasting/art exhibit opening at the place, so we tasted mezcal, look at the exhibit and even got to talk to the artist about his work, which we found really inspiring. We also tried EVERYTHING on the dinner menu (I'm not even joking, but more on that coming soon).

By the time we were having desert (the most deliciosly decadent chocolate fondant thing you've ever tasted, which btw has to be eaten while still hot), A's friend interrupted us and it went something like this:

Ana: I'm sorry, I know you're in the middle of your dinner but I just told my friends who Adolfo was and they insisted in meeting him.

*gasp*

This was without a doubt the most amazing thing ever. Except my dessert got cold. Just kidding. Best night ever.

A is an architect like me, but a real one. He has worked in like, important places and has managed to gain the love of enough people that immediately recomends him when asked for an architect, and the trust of a few happy clients (like the girl whose restaurant's we were in). And last night, when these two friends of hers (one of whom was also an architect and the artist opening his exhibit last night) knew A was one of the people responsible for a specific project*, they wanted to meet him, and aknowledge that he (and the rest of the team he works with) was doing a brilliant job. They told him they were big fans of his work (which he immediately refered to as a team work) and asked if he would be interested in doing things together (architecture, of course). The girl even said I should hurry to tie the knot with him or else and I was like 'Sister, that ship has sailed.'

I'm so proud of A. Last night we were actually celebrating that he just got a green light for another project, which is amazing! And then, THIS happened. It just goes to show that hard work, dedication and a passion for what you do, truly pay off.

I'm looking forward to celebrating this long weekend. My two sisters and nieces are coming to town and we couldn't be more excited to recieve them at home and show them around (and eat all of our meals out). 

Have a great weekend!

g.

*Nducha is a residential project designed by Omelette, a design firm of which A was part of while he lived in Mexico City.

Taking Back Texas

For my mom's birthday (back in November) I wanted to give her a special present. Something she had been asking for a while now: a trip to visit family friends in Texas. Now, because off my working situation (or lack there of) I decided I would travel with her to Laredo and San Antonio and take the opportunity to do a little shopping myself.

I hadn't been to Texas in probably over 20 years.* San Antonio was just as I remembered it and it made me really happy to visit places I once visited with my entire family and my grandmother, like Downtown and the Rivercenter Mall. Visiting the Shops at La Cantera wasn't so bad either.

We spent a week traveling back and forth, but overall I enjoyed spending time with my mom, learning about Raquel's writing and painting, taking pictures of her beautiful home and eating all sorts of (junk) food. Now I wish I had brought along my nice camera. Epic fail.

I'm looking forward to returning by car so that I can pack an entire shop of home goods into my nonexistent car.

g.

*I visited Texas back in 2009 on my way to dropping my sister off in Indy, but it was a pit stop on a longer journey.

December Daily Recap Part 1

I first read about #decemberdaily in this blog back in December and decided I'd give it a try, but under my own rules. For example, I most definitely would not make a scrapbook out of it. Instead, I thought I'd take only Iphone photos, share them on Instagram and then tell the stories surrounding each photo in this blog. So here it is, the first part of my December:

1. Seasonal coffee at Starbucks. A and I usually go out for coffee once a week, after he comes home from work. We talk about our day and just enjoy each other's company. We do this at home every night too, but we think it's important to sometimes get out of the house as well. There aren't many coffee places near our house, but I don't mind having Starbucks when is either Pumpkin Spice or Toffee Nut latte season.

2. Christmas Tree at home. That is, my childhood home in Veracruz, and the tree my mom decorates with dad's help, and this year, mine too.

3. Roadtripping. Mom and I took a little vacation visiting relatives in Laredo and San Antonio, TX. Our flight was early and we didn't have time to eat breakfast, so after crossing the border, my uncle stopped at a gas station where we got coffee and Bimbo treats (who knew they had those in the US?). Also, I went to the restroom.

4. Chicano restrooms. We stayed at a friend's house in Laredo. She's American but was married to a Mexican man for many years. She's what you call 'chicana' and her home is Mexican Style. I found it quite funny that there was a sign in her bathroom indicating what it was for.

5. Trust in the powers of the universe. I loved seeing this little mantra on Raquel's fridge. A good reminder that we get what we ask for and we attract what happens to us.

6. A walk by the river. Mom and I hadn't been in SA in probably 20 years, so it was really nice to get to visit this place again together. The early Christmas lights and decoration were a great touch also.

7. Seasons. Unlike where I live, seasons not only change in Texas, but also, you can tell they do. I loved seeing the trees with different leaf colors. This photo was taken after an embarrassing attempt of myself to be showered by brown leafs.

8. Angel. This little pup belongs to Raquel. She was friendly and cuddly and made our stay more homey. Helped us miss Camilo (our Pug) a lot less. She would jump on the sofa while we were watching tv every night and fall asleep on our lap. I miss her.

g.

Infinite Obsession

Back in September 2014, the Museo Tamayo opened what would be the most visited exhibition in it's history: Infinite Obsession, a retrospective exhibition of Yayoi Kusama's work. For the first time ever, the Japanese artist's work would be showcased in Latin America, and Mexico City was one of the stops.

I had just moved to Puebla when the exhibition opened, but we didn't want to miss the opportunity to visit it. My best friends had seen it in Madrid a couple of years back (they were even almost arrested as one of them stepped into the water on the Infinity Mirror Room), and said we definitely had to check it out. 

For months, lines were INFINITE (no pun intended). People would arrive at the museum on sunday mornings way before they were open and by the time normal people woke up, had brunch and showed up to try and buy a ticket, they were sold out.

Finally, on our second trip to Mexico City in December, we made it! You would think that after 3 months the heat to attend the exhibition would have passed, but it was the opposite. We got there at 10 am, were in line for only half an hour (luckily),  and managed to get tickets for 1:30 pm, which gave us enough time to do other things while in the city.

The exhibition closed last weekend, finishing up with a 36 hour marathon so that everyone (or at least a lot of people) that hadn't seen it, had the chance to. There were people camping since friday night to get tickets for saturday! That's how much people wanted to see it, whether they just wanted to take a selfie inside one of the installations, or because they were truly appreciative of japanese art.

Infinite Obsession will next be exhibited in Santiago de Chile. 

g.

P.S. Apologies for the crappy photo quality. They'are all Iphone photos as we forgot the DSLR's battery back home :(

New Beginnings

Hello there! Welcome to The Gray Project and thank you for stopping by. I'm Gris and this is my second blog ever, so an apology in advance.

I started writing my first blog back in 2010, because I needed an outlet to express what I was going through at the time. I feel like I was starting to discover my true identity, I was getting to know myself better, defining who I was going to become. I'm still working on that four years later.

Why I decided to start a new blog instead of keeping the old one, you may ask. Well...

My life has changed a lot since I first started blogging, and as I am starting a new chapter in my life, I didn't feel like that blog could trascend. I don't feel like the 'pretty girl who says she doesn't care what others think about her' anymore. Clearly, I wasn't. Now I am the beautiful (inside and out), independent woman who (actually) doesn't care. 

This is my life, my project. 

Thank you for reading!

g.

Read what TGP is all about here.