live every day like it's cinco de mayo.

besides my oh-so-blatant love affair with street tacos [seriously coveting some fresh al pastor right now...], the language, and the ocean,

i love mexico for its history + culture [coooool ruins!], sangria soda, vibrant colors, sunshine, and gorgeous plant life. 

so really, why not celebrate our neighbors to the south more than once a year? 

i'll provide the guac.

photos taken at chacchoben, december 2011.

oh, mexico.

so i'm currently loving peru-- it's true!
but i may be a bit under the weather and continually exhausted and terribly filthy,
so i'm re-living a little bit of last month in mexico.

isla mujeres really is paradise.
it's gorgeous and relaxing and a little bit cultural.
there are white-sand beaches and golf carts and feral dogs aplenty,
fresh grilled fish and street tacos at every restaurant, too!

i loved all of the sunshine, the plant life, + especially the TURTLES!
for those of you who know me, you know i'm really into turtles.
like, i can really relate to this little guy.

so let's talk about my dream day?
mexico + turtle farm + coca-cola light on the beach.
plus, i had the incredible company of my wonderful family and closest family friends.

but really... what more does a girl need in life than this?

now accepting applications for isla mujeres crew 2013! 

isla mujeres.

do you want to know how to de-stress?

head to a caribbean island, off the coast of mexico...

a place where golf carts are the primary mode of transportation, 

fresh fish and tacos (!) are served at every meal,

and the water is so blue that you won't even believe it's real.

isla mujeres is one of my new favorite little locations.

full of color and culture,

it reminds me a lot of a mini (and a bit quieter..) dominican republic. 

either way,

i'm loving my time here with friends and family. 

really, truly, there's nothing better.

we couldn't be having more fun...

even when an iguana chews through our power lines, leaving us with an impromptu blackout

(yeah, we're not entirely sure it's a real story either).

adios from mexico. 

this is real life.

arriba. 

escapism.

today was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

i mean, nothing traumatic happened or anything.

buuut just lots of little annoying things that irked an already burned-out anna (it's that time of the semester...)

so i just sat in class, dreaming of escaping.

today, this escapism brought me back to mexico. 

cozumel, to be exact. 

over winter break, we spent one afternoon on the island.

while my mom and little brother were off snorkeling,

we decided to have an adventure of our own.

will, my dad, & i rented a beat-up jeep,

and spent the afternoon cruising around the island

(some of the footage seen here!).

we stopped at various scenic spots, 

played in the water a bit,

and stopped at this awesome, rastafarian, beach-side restaurant for chips and salsa.

what's better then bob marley and chips and salsa on the beach in mexico?

we found the funniest nfl luchador masks,

made a new amigo (in the form of a darling nine-year-old waiter),

and soaked up the sun.

life was good in cozumel.

anyone want to escape there with me?