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Nikki by example - Just a girl trying to lead by example
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  • Motherhood
  • Travel
  • Extras
    • DIY
    • Food
    • Music
  • About Nikki
    • Our DIY Wedding
Life

Día de los Muertos | Day of the Dead

November 1, 2018 by Nikki No Comments

This post was originally published on November 1, 2016 and has been slightly updated.

Feliz Día de los Muertos!

Today is Day of the Dead, a two-day holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican ancestry, and it focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for, remember, and help support dead loved ones on their spiritual journey. On this day, people go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars with the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of their departed loved ones. These celebrations are meant to be happy and reverent instead of spooky or sad because they are, essentially, a celebration of life!

Sugar Skulls | NCsquared Life

Sugar skulls  Photo source

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Life

Día de los Muertos | Day of the Dead

November 1, 2017 by Nikki 6 Comments

This post was originally published on November 1, 2016 and has been slightly updated.

Feliz Día de los Muertos!

Today is Day of the Dead, a two-day holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican ancestry, and it focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for, remember, and help support dead loved ones on their spiritual journey. On this day, people go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars with the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of their departed loved ones. These celebrations are meant to be happy and reverent instead of spooky or sad because they are, essentially, a celebration of life!

Sugar Skulls | NCsquared Life

Sugar skulls  Photo source

The items that families leave on their altars include candles, sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar), often with the person’s name inscribed on the top; pan de Muertos (bread of the dead), a special bread that is made especially for the season; and cempasuchil (marigolds) which bloom at this time of year and lend a special fragrance to the celebration – see photo below. I have a fond memory of taking a Spanish class in middle school where we made pan de muertos that we covered in cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

Day of the Dead | NCsquared Life

Decorated altar Photo source

Nick is of partial Mexican (and Haitian) descent but he didn’t grow up celebrating any Mexican traditions. I’ve always had a love for Hispanic culture, as I studied it for several decades and have always admired the richness of it. I would love for us to embrace that part of Nick’s heritage, especially now that Sebastian is here and we’re starting our own traditions. It’s definitely something to think about!

Día de los Muertos | NCsquared Life

If you’re interested in appreciating and celebrating Día de los Muertos, here are some sensitive ways to do so:

-Visit your family’s cemetery and take some time to honor the memory/spirit of your loved ones who have passed, and decorate their grave sites with marigolds and other treats (if permissible)
-Visit a local museum or art exhibit that is honoring the holiday (basically, learn as much as you can about the culture of the holiday)
-Decorate your home with marigolds
-Try baking some of your own pan de muertos
-Wear some appropriately-themed jewelry such as a tasteful sugar skull necklace.

However…

*The most critical thing to remember when celebrating another culture’s customs is to understand and respect the significance of the symbols and actions you’re taking. Above all, consider context and be respectful*

Hasta luego,
Nikki <3

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Hobby•Life

Día de los Muertos | Day of the Dead

Día de los Muertos | NCsquared Life
November 1, 2016 by Nikki 3 Comments

Feliz Día de los Muertos!

Today is Day of the Dead, a two-day holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican ancestry, and it focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. On this day, people go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars with the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of their departed loved ones. These celebrations are meant to be happy and reverent instead of spooky or sad because they are, essentially, a celebration of life. I must admit I’m a little jealous of my colleagues in our Mexico office because they have today and tomorrow off from work!

Sugar Skulls | NCsquared Life

Sugar skulls  Photo source

The items that families leave on their altars include sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar), often with the person’s name inscribed on the top; pan de Muertos, a special bread that is made especially for the season; and cempasuchil (marigolds) which bloom at this time of year and lend a special fragrance to the celebration. I have a fond memory of taking a Spanish class in middle school where we made pan de muertos that we covered in cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

Day of the Dead | NCsquared Life

Decorated altar Photo source

Nick is of partial Mexican (and Haitian) descent but he didn’t grow up celebrating any Mexican customs. I’ve always had a love for Hispanic culture, as I studied it for several decades and always wanted to be a part of it. I would love for us to embrace that part of Nick’s heritage, especially after we have our baby and are starting our own traditions. It’s definitely something to think about!

Día de los Muertos | NCsquared Life

If you’re interested in appreciating and celebrating Día de los Muertos, here are some sensitive ways to do so:
-Visit your family’s graves in the cemetery and take some time to honor their memory/spirit
-Visit a local museum or art exhibit that is honoring the holiday
-Decorate your home with marigolds
-Try baking some pan de muertos
-Wear some appropriately-themed jewelry. For example, today I’m wearing a sugar skull necklace.

However…

*The most critical thing to remember when celebrating another culture’s customs is the importance of understanding and respecting the significance of the symbols and actions you’re taking. Above all, consider context and be respectful*

Hasta luego,
Nikki <3

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Reading time: 2 min
Food•Life•Travel

Atlanta Daycation

September 19, 2013 by Nikki 2 Comments

To celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of school – I just started the first year of my graduate program in public health – Nick and I decided to go on another foodie “daycation.”  The first, and only other, daycation we had was to Middletown, Rhode Island in 2010. This time, we decided to go to Atlanta, Georgia since it was close to home (only an hour-long flight) and relatively cheap.

We started our daycation at The Little Tart Bakeshop in Grant Park, which was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s ‘The Layover’.

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You can see Nick’s reflection in the window to the left!

It was absolutely wonderful. We got there around 9:30 am and ordered a little bit of this and that to share. We had a ham and Gruyere cheese croissant, local sausage, potatoes and collards turnover, and a Cinnamon-Sugar bun.

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Ham and Gruyere cheese croissant, turnover with local sausage, potatoes and collards, and Cinnamon-Sugar bun.

The building was very industrial with exposed brick walls and ceilings, and lots of metal and wood accents. The windows along one wall had little poems written in the corners.

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Ain’t no sin to take off your skin

A few of our favorite poems that were too high up to get good photos were:

there are times when silence is a poem

if you think you can see with just your eyes you are mad

i had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee

After breakfast, we decided to explore the area around the building and discovered a beautiful cemetery just across the street, the Historic Oakland Cemetery. We wandered in and were amazed at how lovely it all is. We wanted to stay longer, as they were giving tours, and there was much ground that we didn’t get to cover because of the sheer size, but we decided that if we ever get a chance to come back, we’ll definitely spend more time there.

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Before lunch, we stopped at Cocoa Atlanta Chocolate Company in Buckhead to sample some sweet treats. We’d heard about this place on Unique Eats and were excited to try some high-quality , pure chocolate that was made in-house from the roasted beans from cocoa pods they have delivered regularly from the Dominican Republic. We also made sure to grab some extras for gift to our family.

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For lunch, we visited the Bone Garden Cantina from Travel Channel’s Mexican Food Paradise.

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The first thing you’ll notice as you walk in is all of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) decorations, which was pretty cool, because I happen to love Day of the Dead in Mexican culture. Lots of colorful sugar skulls and playful skeletons everywhere.

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According to their website, their food is made from scratch in small batches, using fresh ingredients. We had some tacos, a shrimp empanada, and a shredded chicken tamal, and it was all so yummy! The tamal was the best I’ve had so far.

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Chicharron (fried chicken skin, top) taco, carne asada taco at bottom, and chicken tamal (wrapped in a banana leaf). And lots of yummy salsas!

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Barbacoa de Chivo (goat bbq) taco, taco al pastor (pork) and shrimp empanada

We also got an amazing queso dip with chorizo, which I’ll be definitely be trying to replicate at home. We ended up stuffing ourselves because we wanted to try as much as possible. Afterwards, we headed back to the airport and the flight home was a full and happy one.

Have you ever taken a daycation?

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January 15, 2011 by Nikki No Comments

Welcome to Nikki by example!

My family.

I chose this name for my personal life and style blog as a play on the phrase “leading by example.” I believe it’s really important to lead by example the values and actions I want to embody in this life. I also felt it would reflect that my writing, my outfits, my life hacks and stories, etc. are me living my most authentic life. And in that same vein, I hope it inspires me to get out there, do more things, to take more chances, and to truly lead by example.

In the beginning, my blog was all about my personal fashion. I still enjoy sharing my looks because I want to inspire regular folks like me to feel good when they get dressed. I call it “fashion for the rest of us” because I don’t have a lot of money to spend on clothes, and I have very little luck thrifting them. I just buy cute clothes that I can afford when I need them, probably just like most of you. I try to demonstrate how the average girl like me can dress nicely and look like a million bucks without actually spending it. I mostly wear petite sizes because I’m only 5′ 1″ but my looks will work for anyone! I’m slow to try new trends, and I’m hoping that blogging will give me the courage to try new things. All in all, I wear what I like and what makes me feel good–especially as a mom to a rambunctious toddler–and if it happens to be on trend then that’s a bonus. I hope I inspire you to do the same!
Nikki by example | www.nikkibyexample.com

Sampling of some recent work outfits

Other cool facts about me include: I have a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration in health behavior, a B.A. in Psychology, and a minor in Spanish. I live, work, and play in Durham, NC. Among many other things, I’m a wife, a mother, a furbaby mommy, a sushi eater, a coffee drinker, a wine lover, a dancer, and a writer.

Welcome to my little corner of the world!

Nikki by example | www.nikkibyexample.com

Mia and Milo

Other things that might interest you

-Purple is my favorite color.

-I’m an avid reader.

-I’m a long-time lover of Hispanic and Latino culture – especially the language and the dancing. 

-I could eat sushi every day, I drink coffee every morning, and I enjoy a nice glass of wine most nights.

-I became a heart attack survivor at the age of 32.

-I like scary movies and ghost stories.

-I try not take anything for granted, and I can be amused by even the smallest things.

-I love to laugh, smell the flowers, and watch the snow fall on a cold winter day.

-I’m passionate, caring, and intelligent. I’m short, cute, and outgoing.

-I love writing and sharing things with the world, and I can’t wait to get to know each other as you join me on this journey.

Let’s get started! 

 

See the About Me page to learn more about Nikki by example
Friend me on Facebook!
Tweet me on Twitter!
Pin with me on Pinterest!
See me on Instagram!
Join our travel adventures on Tumblr!

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About Me

Hi, I’m Nikki. This is where I blog about my life and personal style. I’m a wife and mom, public health professional, sushi lover, wine enthusiast, and coffee snob. Welcome to my little corner of the world where I try to lead by example!

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