Deya Palmero

Our True Beauty series features the most influential and stylish women in Texas.  We take a peek inside their closets, their minds, and their hearts to find out what makes them truly passionate.  Today’s post features Deya Palmero, who I first met through her charismatic husband, Nan. Baby #2 as she was affectionately known in her home town of Mexico City, she became Deyanira after pulling her name out of a hat when she was just 8 weeks old. Her parents keep the 10 other failed names as a remembrance and as thanks that she did not select “Isolda.” Deya and her family moved to Texas as fast as they could, when she was 4. She moved to San Antonio and graduated from UTSA with a double major in international business management and marketing. The natural beauty lived in San Antonio after college and moved to Austin in 2012. In 2013 she met her future handsome (and humble) husband when he crashed her networking mixer. The two married in December 2014 after a scenic proposal in San Francisco surrounded by disguised photographers. Deya loves to cook, enjoy new restaurants, interior design, travel, run, and force her husband into feeling his feelings at tearjerker movies for which he is wholly unprepared. The couple live in Castle Hills with their 10 year old “perro dog,” Damien (named after Damien Rice).  Read on to find out more about the entirely wonderful Deya!


Deya Palmero

Haute in Texas: What’s your favorite thing about San Antonio?

Deya Palmero: After living here for a total of 14 years, this is home.  If I had to pick only one favorite, it would be that it is such a great city to connect with people. People are genuinely kind, friendly, and willing to help. It can be a recommendation to a restaurant or an introduction to someone you are trying to meet for the next deal.

HIT: How would you describe your personal style?

DP: My personal style varies from business attire, going out with Nan, a night out with my girlfriends, or a more causal outfit.  A power suit or dress that can go from day to night would be a must for business wear. A cute top and blue jeans with killer heels or booties would be another look for a night out on the town. I also like to wear work out clothes for casual days that can help me when running errands to running a few miles.

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HIT: How has moving from Austin to San Antonio influenced you?

DP: Austin taught me to be more intentional in growing a great idea or my business portfolio. I didn’t know that many people when I moved to Austin and many of the people I met were from another city. What mattered there is persistence, being aggressive in your product or service offering, and being willing to take risks. That experience helped add another layer to me when I moved back to San Antonio.  A key element in being successful in San Antonio is spending time developing your network. When you combine hard work, persistence, and a strong network, magic happens.

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HIT: Where’s the best-kept secret place to eat in San Antonio? 

DP: I love cooking and eating. I think it’s great that I can’t keep up with all the new restaurants, coffee shops, and bars that are opening in San Antonio. One of my all-time favorite restaurants is Liberty Bar in King William. They make their own bread, homemade pasta, lemon dressing, sauces, and desserts. My favorite appetizer is their goat cheese with piloncillo that has garlic and chile morita, piloncillo sauce on top with toasted homemade bread. If you are looking for a healthy meal that is filling I recommend the hazelnut salad which has roasted hazelnuts, apples, pecorino cheese, and prosciutto over the salad. I didn’t even know I liked lamb until I had their lamb burger with a side of hand cut fries. Their unbelievable homemade pasta with a side green salad is also easy to recommend. I would try their thyme, garlic, and olive oil or the shrimp, garlic, and chile morita pasta sauce.

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HIT: What’s your best tip for transitioning from daytime business wear to an evening out on the town look? 

DP: A tailored dress would be my best tip to transition from day to night. During the day you can add minimal jewelry, a blazer, lipgloss or nude lipstick, work bag, and hair back or picked up. At night take off the blazer, put your hair down, turn it up with some bright lipstick, and a unique necklace or earrings with the same shoes from the daytime.

HIT: What’s the best souvenir or trinket you’ve ever picked up traveling?

DP: I usually buy something that reminds me of the food where I was visiting such as wine, olive oil, honey, or sweets. If not food, I will buy something that I’m able to wear and remember my trip each time I have it on. It could be a purse, jewelry, or scarf. My best souvenir has been Christmas ornaments. Nan and I, as newlyweds, decided on our honeymoon in Rio and Buenos Aires to start a tradition. We buy a Christmas ornament from our travels together and individually.

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HIT: What’s one thing that has surprised you about married life? 

DP: How much fun our first year of marriage was. During our first year after our honeymoon I moved into Nan’s house, then we sold his house, and bought our home, had dinner parties, backyard movie nights, and traveled to a few cities. I’ve heard from some couples that the first year can be a difficult transition. What I do know is it’s an adjustment period going from only thinking about yourself to making decisions as a couple. It’s so important to date, travel, work on your career, and work on yourself before getting married. We were two complete people before we met. Also, we had many difficult conversations about money, what our roles and expectations of spouses would look like, children, religion, and love languages while we were engaged. We worked on our foundation before getting married. I know it’s early on and we will have many ups and downs but I’m happy that we did the pre-work before we got married to help married life be a bit easier and more fun.

HIT: What gets you out of bed in the morning?  What’s your driving force in life? 

DP: The people I will meet and what interesting things I will learn from them.  The surprises, curve balls, and blessings that God will bring in my life.  The ways that I can possibly help a friend or even a stranger.

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Deya and I think alike when it comes to souvenirs and style.  I love her simple statements that make a big overall impact! Thanks for sharing with us, Deya! And thanks to her husband, Nan, for the photography! How handy it must be to have a talented photographer for a life partner. 🙂

XO,

A

P.S. If YOU know someone who should be a True Beauty feature on Haute in Texas, send me an email at aquila@hauteintexas.com!

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