Mermaid Monday: Ariel visits the aquarium

Welcome, March! And welcome to my first post of the year! I seriously can't believe how fast time flies. It feels like it was yesterday that I made my last blog post, when in reality it's been three months. Ooops! Lots of things have been going on these months, but today I wanted to share our experience at the Barcelona Aquarium, a place I'd been wanting to visit since we arrived to the city, for a really cool Mermaid Monday (though I know it's actually Thursday).

First of all, no good visit to any aquarium could be complete without a proper Disneybound of an ocean-related character. Honestly, I feel it's very hard to find a comfortable and beautiful outfit with these cold temperatures. I wish I could Disneybound every day of my life, which is already quite a daunting task, but it's even more difficult when you have to wear three or four layers of clothes to protect yourself from the cold. I'm so not feeling like Elsa in winter! But with a bit of planning I was able to choose a nice ensemble to portray Ariel during my trip to the aquarium honoring a lovely Mermaid Monday.

My outfit was simple, but highly recognizable. The beautiful green mermaid dress by Retrolicious, which I got from The Oblong Box Shop, served as a wonderful base to channel Ariel. You can read a detailed review of this dress if you go back a few posts in the blog, or simply click here. Its green scaley pattern perfectly resembles the little mermaid's tail, while the dark purple cardigan tied over it evokes her sea shell top. Everything came together nicely with a pair of tropical-themed flats in a similar color scheme. Those weren't my first shoe option, but given that we had a long walk ahead of us, they started to seem like a pretty good choice. We left our coats and scarves inside a locker at the aquarium's entrance, since the building is completely enclosed and has no outdoor tanks or shows. Here's a little side-by-side:

We had a *splash* at the aquarium, where we got to see dozens of large fish tanks with around 450 different species of marine animals. Fish, eels, sharks, starfish, mantas, jellyfish, and even penguins made their appearances throughout the place. There are special daily "feeding show" schedules, where you can see crew members feeding some of the animals. My absolute favorite part was a long underwater tunnel filled with fish and sharks, which reminded me of the similar tunnels at the Boston Aquarium and Sea World Orlando. However, I must say that larger animals like orcas, walruses, dolphins and others were nowhere to be found. We really expected to see some big mammals, but the only sizable beast we saw was a really hunchbacked bull shark. He is the pride of the Barcelona Aquarium, and you can actually opt to swim with the sharks in that tank... for quite a high price!

Tickets are also a bit overpriced in relation to what you get to see, at least according to us, so it's nice to wait for discounts and offers. We actually got a great coupon with 4€ off each ticket. Savings, savings, come to me! Although it was a fun adventure, I think the Barcelona Aquarium definitely doesn't rank in my top three favorite aquariums. Regardless, it was a wonderful experience and this little Ariel is always glad to visit fishy friends. I truly felt like a mermaid in the ocean for a whole day. Aquariums are one of my go-to places all around the world... I think I'll be going back soon to get a new shark plushie from the aquarium store to add to my collection.

By the way, I was able to identify all the fish species from Finding Nemo swimming in different tanks. I'm guessing that after the movie became so popular, hundreds of aquariums around the world began to place these fish together for Disney fans to discover. You can use my guide "A study on Finding Nemo's aquarium fish" to look for them next time you go to any aquarium! Just follow this link. And speaking of Nemo, have you checked out @TheDisneybound 's new March Disneybound challenge? I will be partaking in this, so stick around my Instagram account to check all the Disney-inspired outfits I post this month. Let's get our Disney on!

Come back later for new posts and cool findings! 

Mer-made with love

There's something bedazzling about magical creatures that makes them the objects of our desire. Perhaps it's precisely due to the mystery behind their stories and whereabouts, or because of the legendary background and symbolisms that they carry, that dragons, unicorns, mermaids, monsters and other mythical beings are able to captivate us in such a romantic way. I think the fact that we're not able to see or interact with them is why we try to recreate these enchanted beasts through art, literature, music and even fashion.

In my case, I've always felt specially attracted to dragons and mermaids. Their mystique, beauty and delicacy blend almost perfectly with a strong presence, spirit of adventure and daring attitude. Particularly during these past years the "mermaid trend" has become evident in fashion through several different elements: pastel color combinations, the inclusion of seashells, corals and pearls in accessories and clothing, colorfully dyed hair, mixing and layering different shades of green and blue,  and the so-called mermaid-inspired makeup. We can also experience the love for mermaid styles of thousands of Instagram users through the popular hashtag #MermaidMonday.

And what better way to incarnate a walking-on-land-mermaid than wearing a mermaid-inspired dress? In these pictures I'm wearing a "Molly Mermaid Swing Dress" purchased from the fabulous online novelty clothing store The Oblong Box Shop. I was lucky enough to score this beauty before it vanished from their stock, even though I had to settle for a size M because they had run out of S. It was a tricky fix, so I ended up sharply taking it in on the sides. Still, just like a singing mermaid, the dress captivated my attention entirely and set me in a trance, magically ending up pressing the "buy" button.

This dress is made by Retrolicious, featuring a pleated halter top and a long circle skirt. The hem of the skirt hits quite modestly under the knees (frankly a little longer than I had expected), and the best part is that it has side pockets! The bodice is lined and has a circular neckline that holds it upright both in the back and front, without showing cleavage on the back despite the halter look. It has a long back zipper closure, allowing an easier fit. The garment doesn't have much stretch since it's made of 100% lightweight cotton, printed with the most fabulous mermaid-inspired pattern. This beautiful fabric is the main course of the dress itself. Designed to look like hundreds of small fish scales in about 10 different shades of blue and green, it becomes a perfect sea-worthy statement piece. Also, the alignment and combination of these scales create the effect of movement (especially on the skirt), resembling the waves of the ocean rippling above a playful mermaid's tail.

Needless to say, the dress fits nicely and gives you a pretty silhouette, while staying comfortable and fresh. It's also a perfect match for you if you love to go dancing, after all, it is a swing dress and it comes out magnificently as such. It would only be fair to show the dress' splendor by wearing it without accessorizing too much. That is why I only paired it with simple white peep-toe heels (by Qupid), six color-matching Chinese bead bracelets (which I was super joyful to find out that matched the shades perfectly), and small starfish-like silver earrings. I don't think a necklace is in order because of the delicate pleating on the top. It seems unnecessary to interrupt such a fine and symmetrical design just for the sake of including jewelry on the outfit.

I can't imagine not having this dress in my closet after wearing it and falling in love with it, in addition to getting lots of amazing compliments on it. I confess I'm completely entranced by the fabric, and feel very fortunate to have purchased this garment before it was discontinued by Retrolicious. If you like it, you might be able to find it at Amazon and Ebay from resellers.

It would be fairly interesting to see a similar dress with a dragon scales pattern, printed in a blend of fiery red, orange, yellow and gold shades.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more posts!