S.O.B.

Hey kids! Its Rachel Deb's Neighbor and blog nerd from Living Lab.

As you know Deb's south of the border right now busy grinding and roasting chiles and chocolate and hopefully sipping plenty of suero como cola de penguino.

That being said, maybe it would make more sense to do a post on something other than Mexico? Unfortunately however, I love it a liiiittle too much not to take this opportunity to gush about sensory-overload-land. How about a few nuggets from the ridiculousness of dear-to-my-heart Baja? What choice to I have really? Its February after all.

1. Marine Mammals (must listen to this)

2. Cactus Growing Next to Salt Water

3. Fish Tacos
(If a gun were put to my head and someone demanded that I only eat one dish for the rest of my life)

4. Swimming

(deep sigh)

5. The Log From the Sea of Cortez

"The sweet smell of the land blew out to us on a warm wind, a smell of sand, verbena and grass and mangrove. It is so quickly forgotten, this land smell. We know it so well on shore that the nose forgets it, but after a few days at sea the odor memory pattern is lost so that the first land smell strikes a powerful emotional nostalgia, very sharp and strangely dear." John Steinbeck

¡goce de México DEB-BEE! We miss you!

Images : 1. Steve Ryan 2. Mountain Travel Sobek 3. Relate Revolution 4. Unknown 5. Penguin

¡Buen viaje, mamacita!

Dearest blog babies, it's P. here, taking a little break from What Possessed Me to help kick off Deb's trip to Mexico. Very happy to be here, as always.

When Deb told me she was heading to Oaxaca, I threw my sombrero up in the air and exclaimed, "¡AY YAI YAI YAI! ¡ARRIBA!" while knocking back a shot of mezcal. Of course, I did this with my inside voice because not everyone understands what Oaxaca does to a girl. I didn't know either - not until I took a little road trip through Mexico last year and got my socks knocked off good and proper.

Deb, you have such delights in store for you.

Like Mexican beauties who look like Frida Kahlo. Don't you wish you dressed like this every day?

And streets lined with flowers.

Let's not forget the plethora of culinary treats. Crickets are quite tasty when you're not quite sure what you're eating.

Beware: Sometimes the mezcal can go to your head. Which is totally fine, because Oaxaca is the kind of place where you can snooze in someone's doorway with impunity.

And if you're very, very lucky, a woman selling nuts will show you how she does her hair, pulling out a single pin so that her braids tumble down her back.

Did I mention the music? And the lively atmosphere? Such a charming, vibrant city.

Just the place for a much needed midwinter break. Have a wonderful time, Deb - the first cerveza is on us!

xo,

P.