Savvy Saturdays: Elegantly España

In Spain, our way of life is all with so much passion.

  

I live my life so I need to feel alive every second, every moment, with everything around me.

I do not like to think we've come here just to eat, sleep and pray.

I believe that every human being should look inside, {examine his ego} and find a way to express himself that both benefits progress & beauty in this world AND maximizes his creative capacity. 

Esther Campodarve wrote us two intriguing letters, both with compelling reasons to choose her for this first of Savvy Saturdays.

Just by looking into those doe-eyes anyone can see she's got soul for days.  In a single sentence, Esther makes living from a place of love and good intentions sound even more fashionable than her impressive collections of Dior and Chanel. 

With a heritage linking her directly to Spain and Chile, and elders hailing from France, Argentina, Brazil and Germany, Esther is a bit of a global ambassador for chic-society, fashion culture and goodwill.

She boasts {mind you, Esther does not boast in the common sense of the word, so we'll do it for her} a lengthy background in ballet and flamenco.  She's also a registered nurse and works alongside her family {we love that!} in an international health center.

We have to ask -- Could you be any more perfect?

There's an answer and it's yes {an audible single-gal groan is heard around the world}.

Esther shared with us her love for all things vintage, from Liz Taylor to VERY VINTAGE -- a hefty knowledge of all things Cleopatra.  Now around here, we just love us some Queen of the Nile, but Esther told us that our favorite IT-girl from the end of the BC era spoke nine languages!
Cut to: picking jaw up from the floor.

Esther recently attended a Fagus wine-tasting and fashion event at the GranHotel of Zaragoza in her style-capital homeland, Spain.  She told us that these events are relatively common as outlets for folks to step out in their finest.  She also gave us a bit of history on this kind of soirée as it pertains to Spanish culture.

"Formerly, women were not allowed to attend these events.  They were more clandestine.  It was considered a disgrace for a woman to be seen holding a glass of wine."

Well, we are glad times have changed!

Coming to the end of what we thought was already a literary visit from one of the most fascinating individuals you should know, Esther blew our minds... one more time.

Her nephew was born with the rare congenital condition of having Clubfoot {in his case, both feet}.  Esther wanted us to be sure to spread the message that although her family was fortunate enough to afford corrective treatments and surgery, there are many families out there that are not.   

Supporting groups like Doctor's Without Borders and getting involved with local non-profits that perform outreach missions in your community {a simple Google search away, really} can make a huge difference in the lives and growing livelihood of many.

Esther Campodarve, you've won us over!

We'll leave you with one last brilliant gem that Esther gifted us:

We should use more {of our innate ability} to better understand our feelings and the feelings of those around us.  That alone would be a small step to being every day a little happier.

Follow Esther on Twitter! 

xoxo,