holiday rituals

Sunday, December 15 was the third Sunday of Advent this holiday season. It also marked the beginning of the dawn masses nine days before Christmas. In our barrios back home this is a big family tradition for many of its practitioners. 

Simbang Gabi, Misa de Aguinaldo, and Misa de Gallo are commonly interchanged to refer to these nine masses. Even when history shows that this was not originally so. 

Day 1 of Misa de Aguinaldo Novena, San Sbastian Cathedral, Bacolod City
- image by Andrew Altarejos

The novena masses held at dawn from December 15 to 24 are properly called Misas de Aguinaldo. They originated in Spain where “Aguinaldo” means a gift given during the Christmas season. 

Misa de Aguinaldo should not be confused with Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass) which in Spain referred to Mass on Christmas Eve.

Happy 2020 folks!

This New Year's celebration was totally topsy turvy for wonder | wander | women. All our well laid plans set up way in advance were lost in the gusting gales of December 30.

Hudson River, 30 Dec 2019

Winter weather in the East Coast has always made holiday plans more challenging especially when road conditions are not the best and can get pretty nasty very quickly. Safety first is a definite must.

Image from NOAA.gov

festive feasts

The holidays are officially here. Occasion for wonder | wander | women to eat out and celebrate more. As you can see from our past few blog posts, we are applying ourselves to the task!

Entrance of Ventanas at the Modern, Fort Lee NJ

Patio of Ventanas at the Modern

While our UK half was pining for more Thanksgiving celebrations, Mahala is lucky to be working at a place where they do celebrate with a special spread to celebrate the day.

NYC holiday season

New York! New York! Holiday season is here again. The Big Apple is dressed to her nines. All showy and sparkly in everything she's got to offer us all.

There’s so much to see and so much to do, it seems there is never a definite answer as to where exactly your time should be spent in this massive urban jungle of eye candy overload.

Shakespeare at Selfridges

wonder | wander | women love clothes and dressing up and we definitely enjoy fashion trends and their marketing campaigns.

We also know and work with good folks who adore branding and branded stuff. We love and are entertained as we tag along on trips to fashion havens, peeking into closets full of Rick Owens and Ted Baker and Louboutin.

But our interest is more curious than personal. There's one thing we and our fashionista friends agree on: we LOVE shop display windows. The bigger, the better. The flashier, the more fun!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Each year on the fourth Thursday in November, Americans gather for a day of feasting, football and family.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

As strangers and loved ones gather around for Thanksgiving, we recall all the wonderful times spent and shared together. 

Counting our blessings for the gift of love and companionship. Sharing happy thoughts, optimistic plans, and developing dreams with our loved ones. 

A Roman Holiday

Roman View from the top of the Spanish Steps

Ancient and modern, timeless and current - all cohabit in the central capital of Italy, Rome. 

Beginning our ascent up the Spanish Steps

Whether drawn here by its history and heritage, its art and architecture, its views and vistas, its food and fashion – Rome will seduce you.