"I only wave the white flag when Real Madrid wins" - Rio , La Casa de Papel

Long time, no blogging, and when you write a travel story long time after the trip took place, it all comes out differently. Because you don't remember every single detail, but you know the feelings you had when you encountered certain places.

This is a very special post, and it took a lot for me to write it because there are a million ways I could do it. I could write it the day we took the photos, after Real Madrid beat PSG on Bernabeu, or when I got at home I thought about giving every single detail of the Bernabeu tour for the fans. As I am writing this, Real Madrid qualified for the third time in a row in the UCL final! Therefore, I decided to tell you a little story about my unconditional love for Real Madrid so you can understand why I'm smiling like a little kid at Disneyland in all these photos.

People tell me all the time " Don't you get bored of rooting for Real Madrid? What's the fun in being a fan for a team which is just expected to win everything?" Let's get one thing straight. When I became a Real Madrid fan, it was all about that Camerun effect they talk about in "La Casa de Papel" (meaning, when you see Brazil playing against Camerun at World Cup, you're always going to root for Camerun, it's human nature to root for the underdog). Real Madrid had a strong team, but weren't getting anywhere in the UCL. They were barely getting into 1/8 stage and losing there. And still, I fell in love with the team not just because of that, but I also saw they had something which represents me to the core: a strive for perfection.  I'm aware perfection isn't achievable, but the drive for it makes you the best in your field. And every single player to be presented at Bernabeu had that in his eyes and a fighting spirit! No matter how many years went by, the spirit and the need to win everything is there. And I think that's the core of Real Madrid's team spirit, I love how when we're a couple of goals down they motivate themselves and come back stronger.

And one more thing I need to point out for the ones that tell me "it's so easy when you have the most talented players in the world". I don't know how far talent gets you. There are way more talented people who never earned even 1/100 of what Real Madrid players make. And why? Because I think this team has the most hard-working players. That's the right word. And I don't mean just the amount of time they spend on the field and in the gym afterwards, but the fact they dedicate every single aspect of their life to their career at this club. See how Cristiano Ronaldo eats in order to still run like that on the field. See how Marco Asensio describes his usual days at just 22 years old (my age). I saw an interview in Spanish a while ago and I'll give you the summary: practice, lunch, a nap, dinner, some time spent with family (sometimes watching football games) & he doesn't really like to go out in clubs etc. That's someone who deserves to lift the UCL at 21, so let's not just let the newspapers praise their talent. Committing to your job with such determination gets you the trophies!

And speaking of trophies, let's get back to my Bernabeu tour. I've never been so emotional like the minute I walked into their UCL trophy room. Because I remembered every single final I saw them take the trophy home. In the last two years, it was during finals season (just like it will be this year as well) and it didn't matter. I couldn't study, I just had to live in the moment and cheer them on, even in front of my TV and with stacks of books around me. And I knew, looking at all those trophies, we deserve to get in the final this year as well, and I'm so happy to blog about this now. Just when I thought the tour couldn't get better, after the trophy room we entered a room with a short movie projected on a black wall (the players are like twice your size, to get the picture). This movie made me shed some tears of joy because it was basically the whole route we had to take in 2017 for the UCL - all the goals and big shots. Even my best friend who wasn't a Real Madrid fan per se got major goosebumps and we stayed there to watch it 3 times. Haters will say it's just common marketing, but I know I need some good fairytales in my life, and that movie was the best. Real Madrid, with all the magic goals, comebacks, secret handshakes, tough-love from the fans, fantasy records, is in my heart forever! When I hear the word "CHAMPION" the team pops into my mind first and I know it will always be like that.

PS: The outfit photos are all taken at the Bernabeu because I took so many photos on the tour my phone died and we had to rely on my bff's phone for the rest of the day. I'm wearing a H&M kimono dress because the blue details match the stadium and also because, being one of the most popular teams in the world, the Real Madrid jersey is too high-priced for me! I keep waiting for a season that will make me fall in LOVE with the jersey, because I know for a fact I'm only gonna buy one haha.

A POR LA 13!

I took some time before writing about Madrid because I needed to tone down the excitement a notch. Because travelling is so subjective and if I wrote this the minute I got back home I'm pretty sure it would have been all in caps and lots of exclamation points haha. But seriously, I never visited one city which made me feel so at home before this trip. It has everything I ever wanted: glorious art museums, my favorite football team in the world (spoiler alert : the next post will be exclusively about this), clean streets, magnificient arhitecture, amazing history (I basically wanted to move in the Royal Palace!), great shopping and INCREDIBLE PEOPLE! I will make a comparison to Paris, because it's always been the city of my dreams. When I visited Paris, it had all the things I previously mentioned (minus the Real Madrid team) but somehow I felt a sort of unease. I mean, it wasn't so safe to walk on the main boulevards at night (not the case for Madrid!), everything was more expensive and people were polite, but in Spain they're so loving and helpful! It's like they have a 6th sense for tourists who need help. I was sceptical at first because I never encountered such an hospitality in a big city, maybe we were blessed with this incredible experience because we stayed in the lovely neighborhood of Lavapies.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you must know how much I love Andy Warhol.  Although Andy may have taken his art lightly at times, famously saying "art is what you can get away with" I disagree with anyone who thinks what Andy did was not art. In my opinion, he is the father of the most fun & joyful art to watch: POP ART. My personality is a paradox, I admit: I can read for months books of history and stare in front of a Botticelli paintings for hours, but there is also a side of me who reads Mindy Kaling's crazy funny books and won't leave the sketches section Andy made for Vogue & so many fashion brands over the years! I don't get people who say you can be only into one type of culture/art. Pop art history is so fascinating, there are so many commercials which Andy invented and which are still going strong today and I bet you have no idea, I'm a fan and I just learned about the Absolut sketch on my trip to Madrid. Somehow, luck follows me when I visit a city: it's the third time I went somewhere and I found a pop-up Andy Warhol exhibition! This one in Madrid is really ground-breaking, with over 300 works of Andy, so much history and massive gift shop with all Andy Warhol things inspired (good thing I had my bff Simona with me and she only let me buy the small souvenirs, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have spent most of my money on day one!). You can find it until May at Caixa Forum Madrid. I was so impressed with the fact they recreated one of Andy's project which people aren't really familiar with: CLOUDS. Andy made this from the NASA fabrics, in an era when everyone was obsessed with silver because it represented space and our hopes for the future. It's shocking how you can enter a room and just play with giant clouds, no they don't feel like helium balloons, you just want to move there, you could see everyone with a giant smile on their faces as they entered the room!

After this whole incredible experience, we visited the Prado museum. I loved it so so much, Velazquez is a genius, I'm so happy I got to see so many of his works, the famous "Las Meninas" is so moving, we just didn't want to leave its side. Also, the Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymous Bosch left me speechless. I recommend visiting the Prado museum before the Royal Palace like we did because the museum is full of paintings of all the royals of Spain and when you get to the Royal Palace you'll be like "I know them all! I know their history! This king was painted by Velazquez". After that, we took a stroll and we ended up in front of this iconic Metropolis building and then enjoyed the exctiment on Gran Via because it was match night- Real Madrid was playing against PSG in UCL. It was one of my biggest dream to see the match on the Bernabeu but we couldn't afford the tickets. Still, watching the match in Madrid is a whole different experience than at home- the whole city freezes, everyone is so focused & you should hear the noise&joy when the team scores. They won 3-1 and it was a perfect way to end our first night in Madrid!

♪ Drake - Signs ♪

I wanted to post a regular fashion post today, but after making these two Pavlova cakes I felt like it should be one of those introspective blog posts I tend to do sometimes. I will not talk about my personal resolutions for 2018, I just want to take a moment to be grateful for what 2017 has given me : a new home, where I can bake just how much I like, a major love for a subject in Med School which I did not expect, a better approach to my health issues, stronger relationships with my friends,  an ability to prioritize better. That being said, it's hard to think that 2018 can be better, but I hope it stays just as good.

Still, when your personal life is so great, you tend to forget the issues our world is facing. When I was young, I would watch these comedies where everyone would mock the contestants in a pageant because they all said they wanted " world peace". And obviously, they didn't know how it could be achieved. I remember telling myself at 6 that when I would be older I would discover how you can do this. I'm 22, and I'm still clueless. I found probably the most inspiring speech of 2017 for me, a couple days ago. And I will leave you with the statement that I can resonate on so many levels:

"Ours is a world at an epic intersection, driven by the confluence of deepened globalization and disruptive technologies. We are at the brink of a fourth industrial revolution, which is redefining how we function as societies and how we relate to one another as human beings. Our hyper-connected world is at once bringing people closer together and widening the divisions between them."

- HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS CROWN PRINCE AL HUSSEIN BIN ABDULLAH II at the UN General Assembly, September 2017 (you can read the whole transcript here).

Therefore, without getting political, what I really want for 2018 is a safer world. With less tension and tragedies, less rash decisions taken by some world leaders. And I know it's completely out of my hands, but I can pray for it. And I will also pray that, if you are reading this, will have an incredible 2018. Full of love, laughter and good memories. Know when it's time to go out and take a break, but also don't forget to focus on your work. Find a balance, and if you're not happy with what you're doing right now, take a leap of faith. Be brave, be bold, be kind, but most importantly, be the best version of yourself!

Have fun at your party tonight! 

Kisses and hugs, Mary

♪ By Design - Kid Cudi ft. Andre Benjamin ♪

I needed to do some soul-searching because if you're reading this and you know me (in my natural environment) I'm really stressed about a lot of things. In theory, I am aware of what I should do to control certain moods, but throw in Med School, with tons of tests and hours spent away from home and there goes your zen state! At least in my case, and I think for me this comes from the responsibility my future job entails. I don't have time to learn a course about a disease, let's say. I never hear about it again, since it's not in the domain I choose. What if years later a patient comes with that disease and I'm not able to see the signs? This is exaggerated example, but you get the point. It has been really hard for me to live a balanced life in college. Something's gotta give! I found the cutest pink notebook at Stradivarius two weeks ago (dear Secret Santa, if you're reading this, take note haha) and it had a motto on it "Don't stress, do your best!". It may seem plain and simple, but it was just the boost that I needed. 

I started accepting that I can't control every aspect of my life and I'm currently using the quote from that notebook as a mantra. It's okay to go with your friends when you have a two-hour break every Tuesday to eat fast food and take walks in the park. We laugh about how in our first years we would run straight to the library and make every minute of the gap count! I wrote this because maybe some of you are struggling with anxiety or stress and I need you to know that IT'S OKAY. You can change this, you just have to love and put yourself first. Surround yourself with positive people and save some time for your soul.

For this special post, I wore a special outfit. This is the dress I bought when I started my first year in Med School. I took photos of my outfit back then, and it was my first blog post away from home. As I am comparing the photos, I can see how much I've changed. And I'm not just talking about the fact that now I know how to apply makeup haha. And let's all take a moment to appreciate my dear friend Codrina for capturing this precious moment!

♪ Macklemore feat Skylar Grey- Glorious♪

I've been meditating about a lot of stuff lately, but this happens every single fall I have to leave for university. This post is quite symbolic, because here you have the last summer dress I purchased and wore, the last photos I took with my long hair (head over to Instagram @marymanaila to see my new cut) and the last time I had my bff Simona snap photos for the blog..for the next three months. I can't stand the fact my family doesn't live in the same city as I do (gonna miss my god-daughter so much, she just turned 6 months yesterday) and that my bffs are attending college in Bucharest, but I know it in my heart that it's the best path to adulthood. I value the fact I've been on my own for three years, because it meant stepping out of my comfort zone a lot. And that's the key to growing up in my opinion. I will say there's place for improvement, there were many times I chose to buy a Zara dress instead of buying more expensive ingredients for my meal or the other way around...Being a leo, I'm really impulsive when it comes to buying lavish things and every year I promise I'll be more careful with my finances. Let's see if I can do better this year (although, after becoming obsessed with Benefit cosmetics, I highly doubt it!).

There are a lot of things going through my mind, and it all started from reading Lilly Singh's book "How to be a BAWSE" (twice!). She is honestly unstoppable, I admire how she hustles relentlessly, it's honestly the best motivational book I've ever read. I love following her journey on youtube, she truly is the definition of a SUPERWOMAN. Next on, another movie really touched my heart- "Carrie Pilby". I will admit I pressed "play" on Netflix only out of superficial reasons- William Mosley was on the poster (if you watch The Royals, you know what I'm talking about!) but I was so moved about this movie, and about one major part of it in particular: her favorite book is J.D, Salinger's "Franny & Zooey". I highly doubt there is one reader other than my mom who remembers that I wrote one passionate post about this book and even took photos of it 5 years ago haha. I won't give you any more spoilers, but it's one of those cute young adult movies which melts your heart and makes you realize some important things. On a totally opposite note, I also want to talk about the TV show "The Good Place", because for me it was mind-blowing! You think it's your average comedy sitcom, you watch it because you love Kristen Bell and you're intrigued about the concept: in the afterlife, you either make it to "The Good Place" or the bad place and Eleanor(Bell's character) was sent by accident in the good place- hence the drama and impossible situations. The action builds up, and at the end of season one, you get one major plot twist- like "Who is Gossip Girl" level of MAJOR. I should've expected it from the minute I saw Kristen Bell in the cast haha. To me this was so interesting because the creators of the show managed to turn this cute, funny comedy into a dark & deep show. It really puts things into perspective, I honestly recommend it!

Okay, rant about movies&books over, but I really felt inspired and I wanted to share this, maybe it will help you too. Wishing everyone an amazing weekend, although the weather is not really on our side.

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THE GIVEAWAY RUNS: 8th of September- 30th of September and it is INTERNATIONALLY OPEN.

I realized today I never shared with you one aspect that fundamentally represents me: my obsession for stationery (or maybe those of you who follow me on Instagram have noticed this over time!). It started early on in my life, my mom still drags me out of the stationery department in every store (shoutout to you, mom, for letting me buy all those cool notebooks today!)  and my friends know they can never go wrong with some cute invitations, a diary or glittery pens. One really important aspect when I host a party is the invitation. I'm really particular about my ideas, so I usually do them on my own. Come to think of it, I think that's why I started using Photoshop in the first place. My funniest work yet was for my house-warming party, I won't go into details but I will say this: Codename: kids next door haha.

Therefore, you can understand that I'm always looking for inspiration when it comes to invitations (thank God for Pinterest!). I was searching for birthday invitations the other day, when I came across Basic Invite. Honestly, I felt like Carrie Bradshaw entering a Manolo Blahnik store! The templates are beautiful and tasteful, and you choose every single detail you'd like for you invitation. And this is where it got amazing to me:  they have the same thinking when it comes to colors as I do-the more shades, the better. You can choose from their +180 colors, and you can change the color of each element on your card-talking about shades of pure joy. If I'm being honest, I would probably end up doing them all in rose gold foil, but you know me and my obsessions by now haha. What really got me over the moon was this wedding invitation I found on Pinterest(collage number 3) which came in a hot pink envelope and then I discovered they have over 40 different colors of envelopes. Like, honestly, how do I go back to my homemade cards after seeing this? I gotta step up my game!

You know how my brain is ultimately wired to fashion (I mean, I do own a fashion blog). While going through their surprise party invitations I actually started thinking what I would wear for such an occasion. I thought I would make some visual moodboards to share them with you. It all started with the first card, for a birthday with an ice cream parlour theme. I don't know who Sarah is, but two things are certain: she is brilliant for choosing this theme and her friends are so lucky to attend this! I would wear some pastels to match the ice-cream for sure, and the dress would have to be ethereal and loose (there is ice-cream involved after all, I wouldn't come in skin tight jeans haha).

For the second scenario I was even more excited, because I found this first birthday invitation. That's obviously because I love my god-daughter so much (it's her name day today, by the way: Happy name day, little angel!! ) and I can't wait for the day she'll turn one, because I know she is going to have an epic party (I'm already making a moodboard on Pinterest). What would I wear? A dress for sure, but I would try to keep it light and casual, and in the childhood theme, so I guess those Chiara Ferragni slip-ons would do the trick (keep daydreaming, Mary!)  

And let's not forget about wedding invitations, because everyone knows they are the trickiest (I grew up watching Bridezillas, so many flaskbacks right now). I honestly feel like you can't fail if you choose Basic Invite, because it's all on you. You make every single choice, and they have this unique option of custom samples. It's great to see everything on paper and the color in real life before sending out hundreds of them! I also love the free address collection service- you share a link they provide with your guests, they can write their address once they click on it, and you receive a nice list of all the addresses you have to mail your cards to.

How do you deal with special occasions, my dear readers? Am I the only one who cares about every single detail (especially stationery) so much?

(Me before moving in, just after my furniture arrived)

♪ Jay Z- Smile ♪

We've past half of 2017, and I can say I will never forget this year for two reasons: the birth of my goddaughter & moving into my home. It's still surreal for me, how two things can change your life completely for the better. I've been meaning to blog about my home ever since I moved, but I'm always saving money to improve it (for instance, the first stop I made to the summer sales was to buy plates and cups, not Zara unlike many other years) and I wanted to show you guys the finished product. There's still an armchair I haven't got round to buy yet, maybe for my birthday I'll splurge.

Just like fashion, interior design was always a big love and pasion. When I was 14 my parents let me design the furniture in my room and I was hooked! The problem with a room is that you can't change it like you change your outfits. It was a big shock for me when I came to college and I had to stay in a dorm room with such brown furniture, I tried to make the best of it by using all sorts of paintings, photo frames and little souvenirs, but it truly never felt like a home,  it was more like an improvisation.

Fast-forward couple years later and I find myself designing my dream home. In a small space and on a really tight budget, but it was such a blessing and an exciting challenge! I read decor blogs on a daily basis, but most of them don't have sections for a one-room apartment, so I took the matter into my own hands. We found an amazing furniture company, because with the space given the furniture obviously had to be custom-made to maximize the storing space. I picked everything myself and they made it just like I dreamed. Therefore, most of the budget went on the main pieces of furniture, so I had to get creative regarding the other stuff. We were lucky enough to find the coffee table on sale for example, I also got many great house-warming gifts which helped me a lot and I'm forever grateful to my family and friends!

I thought it would be better if I just told you the story of every corner/room individually:

♪ Hard Feelings/Loveless - Lorde ♪

I'm officially done with 50% of Med School! It has been a hell of a ride, especially this semester because our exams were programmed in an unfortunate manner. Still, this year was the best because we got to go into hospitals and the objects we studied were all intertwined. I was so happy about the summer ahead of me that I practically did tons of summer holidays activities in the span of my first free day. This photoshoot for the blog was not planned at all (nor were the other things I did) but I'm so happy about it because I get to show you my favorite bag in the best way!

I got this bag as a birthday gift from my aunt, uncle & cousins last year because I was attending the Untold festival and my aunt thought I should have the perfect festival bag: both fashionable and practical (yes, you can fit a bottle of water in it). It's from Accessorize and the really exciting thing about this beautiful floral print is the fact that it's hand-painted! The ZARA dress I'm wearing is also a gift from them, I got it this Easter and I love it so much!

Not to end this post on a sad note, but right now on my playlist you can find Lorde's "Hard Feelings/Loveless" song from her new album "Melodrama" because it touches the subject Aziz Ansari so accurately portrays in his book, "Modern Romance". Something's fundamentally changed with our generation and our perception of love, and I can't say it's for the better.

Special thanks to my awesome cousin Ioana for getting behind the lens for this post, she used to shoot most of my looks back when I started the blog and it was such a cool bonding activity!

ZARA dress, Accessorize bag, Musette flats, Jord watch, Pandora bracelet

♪ Unforgettable- French Montana ft. Swae Lee ♪

One more exam to go. Currently happy and grateful for the people I have in my life. For my family's constant support. For Codrina for taking these incredible photos. For Iustina (&letting me use her lovely balcony setting). For this lovely weather. For my brand new pocket ballerina from Scholl (so glittery!!). For cherries. For good music. 

Cherish life and its unforgettable moments!

Zara 70s style jumpsuit, Zara crop top, Scholl pocket ballerina, Pandora bracelet

“She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.”

I actually took these photos way back in December when I attended a Medical Congress in Bucharest, but I didn't want to post them because I've lost 6 pounds since then. Going through my phone today, it hit me that I was being unfair. I remembered that the day I took them I was radiating with confidence and loving my body! I don't know if there's anyone on this planet who doesn't have insecurities when it comes to their body. Yet, some people always seem so happy with their look! I realized as I grew up it's all about how we choose to handle these issues.

I was way skinnier in high school, yet I never truly accepted my shape. I have a "pear" body type and I dreaded shopping for jeans and during summer I would wear a lot of long dresses. Some health issues came up and I gained weight, hence more frustration followed. And you know what happened after a couple of months of hopeless dieting? I started to LOVE MYSELF. I would read about this all the time, but I didn't truly understand the concept until I was facing this big challenge in my life. I focused on my treatment and loved my body in its new shape! I think that in order to do that, there has to be a trigger. Mine might sound simple, but it had a huge impact on my life. It was just about the time Kim Kardashian West was stepping up  after giving birth to North and she had a whole style change going on! I liked how she was rocking those fitted jeans, the bodycon dresses, those long tight dresses, so why wouldn't I wear them as well? Nowadays, you find tight, lace skirts in my closet, four bodycon dresses and I own more pairs of jeans. The second best thing for me was listening to rap music- I mean, you have to know what Drake celebrates in his songs most haha. Sooner of later, you have to find something in your life that inspires you into this direction. I believe that we're living exciting times, because the media is slowly starting to support this movement (some fashion houses, like Yeezy, who didn't cast only size 0 & Ashley Graham walked in Michael Kors in February).

This is a really personal post, but I feel like I had to share my thoughts because some of you might be going through the same thing. We're not flawless, but I happen to think our imperfections make us beautiful and unique. Celebrate your body no matter what, because at the end of the day, you are as happy as you choose to be!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY! May you always be happy, bold, creative & loved!

Today I'm going to talk about something really personal, since it's such a special and beautiful day! As you may know already, I'm in my 3rd year in Med School. I don't know what it's like in the other countries, but in Romania we have this very efficient thing: we are split into groups, so that when we go into hospitals we can be just 9 people in a room and not stress the patients (that is, many times, just in theory, because sometimes we end up being 4 groups in a place at once, total madness!). Naturally, you spend all day with the people in your group, en route to different hospitals, in lectures, in the hospitals etc. I  thank God everyday I was so lucky to end up in my group. We get along so well, although we have different hobbies and tastes, that it honestly amazes me to this day! We laugh, we complain, we talk about our studies, we get together in the weekends, they have become my support system! When I moved to Iasi to study, it was particularly hard for me, because all my friends from highschool chose other cities(or countries) and I was all alone. I never thought I would come across to not one, but 8 incredible people who always have my back! I LOVE YOU, guys!!

Because there's still more to this story, I have to tell you that whenever it's someone's birthday, we surprise them with a gift. My birthday is on 12th of August, during our summer break. Imagine my surprise when I went to uni today and found all of them with this gorgeous (super super) early birthday present waiting for me! I was in shock because I usually plan these surprises and it never occurred to me that I would get a gift, let alone on Women's Day. I was so impressed because how well they know me: I got this amazing bday balloon (I have to tell you I'm super OBSESSED with balloons, ask my family how my bday parties looked like when I was a kid), sweets (because...obviously, do I need to explain this?) and...
From my favorite tea party brand, KATIE ALICE....
The Cottage Flower Set of Tea, Coffee & Sugar Tins
As I plan to move soon, I've been super into interior design lately and I have admired this set on multiple occasions, but I kept telling myself I have to prioritize and get a mixer/plates/curtains (basically a bunch of stuff) first. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, I can't wait for the days these will be the stars in my kitchen.