life is a beach!

today, i don't have too much to say. just wanted to share some photos with you. to watch and enjoy. pure pleasure indeed. taken at CostaBaja Beach Club, La Paz, BCS, Mexico.

ESCAPES magazine, 2nd issue is out!

Get your own - Open publication

Being considered as my 'baby' and one of my favorite projects (and there are more of my favorite ones) i'm working on at Grupo Riveras, i'd like to share with you the new issue of ESCAPES magazine, which came out today.

ESCAPES is a magazine which wants to share with its readers the best escapes, places, towns, beaches, cuisine in Baja California Sur, the culture, tradition, fiestas, social responsibility projects and all those things that make Baja so special. These are also the things that make me like this piece of the world so much.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Oktober, Gorenje and Ora-ïto on Russian Fashion Week

If you haven't heard about Slovenia yet, you should start looking out for it. Only 2 mio country, but with 4 NBA players (Mexico with more than 105 mio people has only 1, and Spain the world champion has 5), 5 olympic medals this year, and so many great fashion designers, creative people and such a cool wibe.

My fav Slovenian fashion brand is Oktober. As its name holds some nostalgia and 'revolution', it indeed signifies a real romantic revolution. Together with one of the best home appliances provider, Gorenje, they do some really cool stuff.

Like last year, also this year they were winning over Russian lovers at Russian Fashion Week in Moscow. Gorenje presented theit new collection of home appliances, Gorenje Ora-Ïto White. Their models were wearing white Oktober dresses, so as DJ SHE, one of the most famous Russian DJs.

Interior design with Mexican flavour

In the past eight months I moved three times. You probably know how it is, boxes in, boxes out, unpacking, arranging, and so on. The most attractive, exciting and challenging for me though is the decorating part.

When I first came to Mexico, there were not so many places where you could buy nice (and affordable) furniture, but things are changing for the better. There are more and more attractive furniture stores opening in Baja, and I was lucky enough to meet Maria Luisa Reynoso, a wonderful person, interior designer and owner of Simmetria, furniture and decoration store in La Paz, which offers a wide selection of Mexican furniture combining colorful tradition and contemporary style, and individual personalized consulting. Malis, as her friends call her, is also an excellent interior designer and decoration consultant, and if you need a tip for what to do to give your home, an office, a store or a hotel, a special touch of your personality, she’s the one to help you with that and beyond. I had an interview with Malis for a Baja California Sur magazine Home, and here is an excerpt from the article.



Living in Baja is like a dream come true. Sunny weather, amazing contrasting nature, oceans, pristine beaches, friendly people and so much more. There is this Mexican flair in the air, which you can bring also to your home with lovely strong colors, exotic details, and a touch of passion and emotions. At my visit to La Paz, Malis took me to see one of her recent projects, a case study and example how a Mexican home can be elegant, classy and comfortable to welcome the family home. We visited a model home of Villas Aguamarina, a development of 28 beautifully crafted Mexican villas in Pedregal de La Paz, a home to which she gave that style and that special Mexican personality.

Malis explains her work: "When thinking about a decoration for this project, I wanted to give the house a touch of elegance, style, quality and simplicity, yet in a Mexican way. It is really important, that the quality of the construction goes hand in hand with the furniture that you pick. And in Pedregal de La Paz, where influence of nature is essential, I was able to focus on natural material and fabrics, which are also my favorite: wood, wool, cotton and leather among others." She continues: "I was looking and thinking about each space individually, I wanted to create an ambient which is cozy, not too crowded, with the right amount of furniture and accessories, so people would enjoy living here."

A model home of Villas Aguamarina feels very cozy indeed, in fact, it feels like a home. It makes you want to pack all your belongings and just move in. The play of colors, materials and details is what you will find fascinating in this home. Colors are very important, says Malis. They give the house a touch of personality, and make the space warm and appealing. "When searching for colors to match the house with the ambiance and environment, I walked the neighborhood around the house, I took a piece of dirt, desert, sand and stone and created my ideas and colors based on them," Malis explains. The composition of the ground in Pedregal de La Paz for example is completely different from the one in Pedregal de Cabo San Lucas, in Cabo it is brown, and in La Paz it is pink, an amazing work of the nature.

Playing with materials and matching them with colors creates a unique combination and connects the space together. And details, which you might not even notice, but would miss them if they were not there, they add the flare to the house, that special something that catches your sight everywhere you turn and bring out the beauty of the house; even if it is for a simple thing like placing a candle in a special place.

Interior of the house has some special features, like a beautiful tall, thin and elegant palm tree in the centre of the house, smart and functional arrangement of rooms (I would say it is family-friendly) and terraces from every bedroom with their own personality, but also matching the adjacent room. Every terrace and outside space has a special ambiance. It is connected with the inside of the house, but different. The concept for the outside spaces has aroused from the imagination what would people like to do outside their rooms. Have a breakfast at the terrace perhaps, or a dinner at the sunset; maybe relax or read a book, or entertain with family and friends at the patio with community pool and palapa, overlooking the aguamarine waters of the Sea of Cortes.

It is true what they say, the home is where the heart is. And by adding to your home your favorite color or some special detail it will make it more personal, more ‘you’. Visit Malis at Simmetria, she will welcome you friendly, show you around her beautiful store stocked with plenty of ideas and many of details you’d love to take home with you immediately. She will share with you stories about her decoration projects, give some valuable and useful advice, and if you want, she can help you transform your house to your special home, too.

ESCAPES

We all need to escape from time to time. Be it an escape for vacations, summer retreat to your second home, for a weekend, a day, or even just for a moment, escaping into another dimension, another imaginary world, escape into dreams which give us enthusiasm and joy for life.

In Baja California Sur we have many places we love to escape to - and that's what this magazine is all about. ESCAPES is a magazine - or better your getaway guide to Baja - which I am doing with my company Grupo Riveras.

I hope you like it. Next issue is coming out in September, your comments are welcome.

Inspire Within, El Rincon del Pedregal

Before I write about Mexican wedding we attended last weekend, I would like to share with you the latest news: I just received a fresh copy of an invitation I made for our development in Pedregal de Cabo San Lucas, called El Rincon. El Rincon is a collection of 26 beautifully crafted luxury villas combining Mexican richness with contemporary amenities. The view is just amazing! You can see the whales and enjoy the breeze of the Pacific ocean.

Inside photos of the invitation are taken by me.

On the sunny side of the world

This week I'm celebrating my first 6 months of living at the end of the world, or more precisely, at Land's end. I changed my beautiful European country Slovenia for something spatially much bigger and larger - Mexico.

I get many questions about Slovenia, so let me explain in short who we are: no, we are not Eastern Europeans, we were not a part of Russia nor Checkoslovakia. We are proudly located in the Centre of Europe, connecting West Europe to the East and Balkans. We were part of Yugoslavia (some of you might remember Tito, and we are neighbours to Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Currently we are leading the presidency of EU. There are only 2 million people living in Slovenia, and you can cruise the country from sea-side Primorska to the very north-east part in Prekmurje in some cozy 3 hours drive. We have the sea, mountains, lakes, beautiful green plains, lots of forests, and so much more. The whole Europe in one country!

There are many things that Slovenia and Mexico have in common, except for those few Slovenians that live here. Our history started many years ago in times of Habsburg monarchy, when we shared the same emperor, emperor Maximilliano.

I now live in Cabo San Lucas. The weather is perfect, sunny all the time (in fact we have only about 15 rainy days). I live by the ocean, as I always wanted. The landscape around here is amazing, desert clasping into the ocean, or more exactly two oceans, Pacific and Sea of Cortes. You can see the dolphins and whales swimming by the shore...
But, I'm still tripping for all that urban & European vibes (design, fashion, music, architecture, photography ...), all the things that make your heart beat faster. On these pages I will share them with you.

Hasta la vista!

Enjoy,

Romana