Month: January 2015

Table for One

Mayoli, 2 Comments

Table for one - Blushed TapatiaAlthough I like to think that I am a fairly independent person it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how terrified I am to do certain things on my own.

On Sunday I flew out to San Diego for work. After a crazy flight I arrived famished and was determined to get Mexican food {I mean my home country is literally a stone-throw away and so this will be the closest I get to authentic Mexican food for a while}!

I settled into my room, freshened up and as I started thinking about biting into some delicious rajas tacos I quickly realized that I would be sitting down at a restaurant all. by. myself. While I have eaten at food courts and cafeterias on my own, I have never gone to a restaurant solo and was surprised by the anxiety attack that started coming on: What would people think? What would I do? Would it be awkward?

I resisted the urge of ordering room service { and let me tell you that it was hard….very few things beat  breakfast/dinner in bed!} and instead faced my anxiety head-on by jumping into a cab and asking the driver to take me to the best Mexican restaurant in town. I arrived at Puesto and as confidently as I could muster I asked for a table for one.

Table for one- Blushed Tapatia

The experience was surprisingly refreshing! I not only realized that I can totally rock solo-eating {!!!} but I also really enjoyed it. My phone was dying so I was unable to use it as a shield and was forced to really just be there. I was able to focus on the food that I was eating and truly enjoy it {the tacos and guacamole were out of this world! – seriously…the best tacos I’ve had outside of Mexico! } I also rediscovered my love of people watching! And no I was not the creep sitting at a dark corner of a restaurant watching others eat… I promise!

Although it was nice to face my anxiety, not miss out on what I truly wanted to do, and rediscover some of my pastimes, I also realized how much I enjoy the community aspect of eating a meal. I really love being able to share food and to be able to express my thoughts on it {I actually was tempted to live-tweet my dinner!}. With my new-found appreciation for dinner time, I have decided that from now on I will limit my phone use while we eat to strictly photo taking; no email, no Instagram, no nothing!

I would love to know, have you ever solo-dinned at a restaurant? How did you find the experience? And if not, what is stopping you from trying?

Table for One

A love affair with leather

MayoliLeave a comment

Plaid & leather outfit - Blushed Tapatia{J.Crew top (similar) & necklace, Banana Republic skirt (no longer available) , Michael Kors booties (now on sale!)}

Although leather has been all the rage for the last few years, I hate to admit that I was not an early adopter and it’s mostly due to a horrible experience I had with leather back in grade 5.

I was in middle school living in Connecticut and fresh-of-the-airplane from Mexico. As a little awkward pre-teen who was trying to fit in and not draw too much attention to her accent, I relied on pretty clothes to make me feel more comfortable {lets be honest, not much has changed!}.

It was early fall and I had fallen in love with a beautiful pair of faux-leather pants at the-best-store-in-the-WORLD, Limited-Too, and after weeks of pleading I finally convinced my mom that I absolutely needed them and that I would certainly wear them more than once. The first day that I got to wear them to school I was on top of the world!

At lunch time my little group of girlfriends crowded around me and ooohd and ahhed at my gorgeous pants as we squeezed into the packed cafeteria.  Then, just as I went to take a seat, I heard the most terrifying sound a human being can hear while they are wearing faux-leather pants…

RIPPPPPP!! 

At first I thought it wasn’t me so I did a 360 trying to find the source of the sound but when I heard my friends gasp and then break into a cackle I reached behind me and was terrified to find that my pants had ripped right in half and left my little bum, underwear and all, exposed. I did the only thing you can do when you’re in such a situation: I began hysterically laughing. I’m pretty sure that part of the hysteria was panic and the other part was disbelief. Like, seriously?! The pant’s weren’t even tight fitting!!

My diary entry that night promised that I would never wear anything leather ever again. Ever!

But here I am, a few years later and completely in love with my mini-leather skirt. No rips have happened since and *knock-on wood* won’t ever happen again – not sure what my office’s policy is on having an exposed bum and I don’t plan on finding out!

A love affair with leather