zooey

my girl-crush is Zooey Deschanel. She is so adorable...those big blue eyes, the fringe of dark hair that frames her face, her quirky fashion....
She seems like someone you can be instant friends for life with.

...and she sings. :)

can*t wait for her new film that is coming out.

verano

I love summer! Don*t you? Here*s what I*ve been up to:

Baking
...made my first layered cake, chocolate w/ chocolate & a dulce de leche filling
...banana pancakes (my fav!) with home-made brown sugar syrup
...baked red velvet cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting. From scratch! (would have more pictures, but my camera is being a vampire and sucking the life out of my batteries)...thanks to bakerella for the inspiration. I love her! Check out her website, it*s full of delicious and dainty delights. Yum!



Swimming
...been taking the boy to mommy & me swim classes. So fun! And of course plenty of trips to the pool to practice what we are learning. Also been frequenting the beach for picnics, seagull chasing, and sand castle building. My legs finally no longer require sunglasses to look at them. :)

Reading
...been going to different library bookstores and goodwill w/ my brother to find treasures to fill my bookshelves with.
...my Google Readers of course!
...magazines & catalogs for light reading and inspiration for the house I will one day have

Hanging out
...visiting new friends and catching up with old ones.

What have you been doing this summer?

legacy

Today Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer...& Micheal Jackson died of a heart attack.

Micheal Jackson is best known for his impact on music and unfortunantly, for the sexual abuse accusations. We*ve all heard the jokes about his transformation from black guy to white woman. We*ve all tried to dance along to "Thriller". Love him or hate him, it is a shock that he is gone.

Farrah was probably best know as one of Charlie*s Angels, her hair and this poster:

It made me think.
I wonder what legacy I will leave my children...

"I want to leave a legacy, How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough?

To make a mark on things, I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed Your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy"

--Legacy by Nicole Nordeman

the fabric of our lives

I had hoped that by now I would be able to post pictures of my project, but I am having the hardest time finding the perfect fabric! grrrr...I've been to M&L's in Anaheim, Joann's (twice--diff. locations), Ikea, Marshall's, checked on-line...nothing inspiring.

Does that ever happen to you? You have a specific idea in mind and you can't find it anywhere?

I remember for my senior prom I wanted a long, silver dress with a racer back. (I have weird taste) My mom and I looked forEVER and couldn't find anything I liked. Then, as a joke I tried on a hot pink dress with hidden pockets and fell in love. hahaha...so I guess the moral is to keep your options open. You never know, it may turn out better than you imagined.

Update!

Well, I took my own advice. I couldn't find the exact red and white pattern I was looking for but when I saw this one (on yet another trip to Ikea), I knew my search was over. Now my nasty stained chair seats look fun and punchy...and new!

destraida

this describes me in every way:

:)

Summer is here & besides enjoying the outdoors with my son, I have been looking at projects for my apartment. I have found inspiration all over! But, expecially lately, I have been spending most of my internet time browsing through design*sponge's before & afters.

I love this mural. It gives the bedroom such a calm, organic feel. I def. want to try this in my room...but since I am still an apartment dweller and painting walls is not an option, I'm going to start with something smaller and simpler...upholstery! This week I have started looking for red patterned fabrics to add color to the two drab & dirty barstools in my kitchen.

Another "distraction"...and a favorite, is FaceOut Books. Have you seen their website? If you like books, or design, or pretty things, you need to. Trust me. It is all about beautiful book cover designs. The most recent featured design is for Farber&Farber's 80th Poetry Series. I am in love with this collection. The designs are so...lovely! lol. My birthday is coming up, anyone want to buy it for me?

I am really shameless.

Well, I have a lot more, but the boy just woke up from his morning nap,

which means it's time to go to the park & enjoy the sun!

no seas una playa

The husband and I spent last weekend in Venice Beach. It was the first time I left my baby for so long, but I really enjoyed being able to sleep in till noon. :) It was nice being just the two of us, which meant lots of couple-y things & stuff we can't do with the boy, like midnight bowling & long, uninterrupted meals.

the first night we arrived, we walked along santa monica pier.

our fav part of the trip was renting bikes & riding along the beach

and the canals weren*t too shabby

cuatro

The husband and I will be celebrating our four year anniversary soon, so I thought I'd share some random facts/top fours...

4 places where we like to eat:

Ami Sushi, Jazz Kitchen, King's Fish, Gabbi's

4 shows we watch:

Life, the Office, Lost, Friends

4 things we have to do before going to bed:

Go on-line one last time, brush our teeth, talk, pray

4 things he eats on his hotdog:

shredded chicken, pineapple, cheese, salsa rosada...

4 things I say a lot:

"Which card do I use?"

"Can you give me the directions again?"

"When are you coming home?"

"Te amo Toto"

4 things he says to me regularly:

"Did you call the doctor?"

"Don't forget to..."

"How do you pronounce that?"

"I love you Mona"

4 things I've learned about living w/ him:

will always leave the toothpaste open,

leaves stuff everywhere....but eventually picks it up,

wants dinner as soon as he gets home from work,

takes care of me w/ love & patience

...it hasn't always been chocolate and roses,

but I wouldn't trade being married to my best friend for anything!!
I love you babe!! Happy Anniversary!

repaso

watched some movies this week...

“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”: I really liked this one. It's "another war film", but shown from a completely new point of view. The two young boy’s acting is superb…their wide eyed innocence draws you into the story. Also, the mother’s costumes were beautiful.

“L.A. Confidential”: I know I’m a couple years behind on this one, but I still enjoyed it. A little graphic, but the plot is good. Is a smart movie with a twist, just the way I like it.

tienes estilo?

I love when other bloggers do outfit posts. There are some really creative people out there. And although I don’t hate my entire wardrobe, I def. wish I could afford a new one...:)

Last week I was spring cleaning and decided to purge my closet of all the old clothes that either don’t fit anymore or I just never wear. When I finished, I noticed that literally more than half of my clothes are black, half gray and/or white and very few pieces have any color. I also realized I only own two dresses.

So I bought a bright, flowery spring dress at H&M as a mother’s day gift to myself. I love it! It has the color I so desperatly need in my life. ;)

In this vein, I wanted to start trying a street style segment…but I’m too shy too ask random strangers to pose for me, so I end up take pictures like this:

venice beach street style

hahaha...one day my friends, one day.

los angeles es unico

my top five for unique l.a....

Finally getting around to posting my review of the Unique L.A. trip, which btw, was fun. So many creative people! It was really inspiring and made me want to start making things myself. Overall, very cool and yes, unique. Adriana and I actually ended up walking over four hours so we could see everything and then went out to the fashion district where I got myself some very cool D&G knock off sunglasses...just saying. :)So I'm going to be like Oprah and share some of my "favorite things" from the event (in no particular order) You will notice excessive use of the word "cute". I apologise in advance.

Pin-up Brenda

What is it about a pretty girl? I would of bought every print. Loved her illustrations and little magnets.

Go to her etsy page...it will make you wish you had taken more art classes in college.

P.O.P. Candy.
Butter crunch heaven. Seriously. They melt in your mouth and have you instantly craving more. The rosemary & thyme were not bad, but my absolute favorite was the almond butter flavor. I tried to make mine last, but they barely even made it the trip home.

Rock Scissor Paper
Lots of cute stationery, notebooks, greeting cards, mugs, etc. with original illustrations and an unique, colorful style.

Quiet Doing
For music lovers. Wallets, key chains, bags, etc. with records, cassette tapes, and turntables. They also had the cutest ipod cases…unfortunately, not for a touch or iphone....yet

Rachel Austin
She creates really cute mixed media paintings two things I really like: maps and birds. But she uses other images of flying objects, like paper airplanes.

Again I stress that there was so many truly beautiful and creative people. This is just a tiny slice of the Unique L.A. pie.

ay.Dios.mio.

omg to the inth degree....

who want*s to go w/ me?

www.uniquelosangeles.com

i can*t saturday

but i want to go sunday.

anyone want to carpool?

principe de cafe

...so I just finished "Coffee Prince." It's the first Korean Drama I have ever watched, and I gotta say, I really enjoyed it. The premise is ridiculous , but what else can you expect in a soap opera? :) It's got mistaken identity, a little "Pride & Prejudice" romance and a whole lot of awkward moments. The characters were endearing & at the end I found myself wishing it wasn’t over.

The basic plot is Eun Chan is the older sister of a single parent household. She helps her mom and younger sister survive by working multiple jobs. Her nature is very tom-boy-ish, and most of the time people never know if she is a boy or girl. Eventually she hooks up with the main leading man who thinks she is a boy, and asks "him" to work at his coffee shop. The catch is all the staff have to be guys as that's the point of their theme, thus the name Coffee "Prince". Eun Chan decides this would be a good chance to earn more money for her family, so she proceeds to hide her true identity. What eventually happens is Eun Chan and the manager start to fall in love...thus questioning the manager's heterosexuality (he's not gay, but goes nuts thinking he is). And this basically leads to all sorts of crazy situations. It's quite a story as you get into it...and deals with complex issues with love and sexuality. But the main reason this drama has become one of my favorites are the characters. You really get involved with each and every one...and each has special story to tell.

If you are interested in asian dramas, you definitely have to check this one out!

letras de amor

So, hi. I don't really know how to start this, my first blog entry, so I'll just jump in with this: I love hand written letters! There is absolutely nothing in the world like the joy I get from checking the mail and finding a letter for me hidden between all the bills and spam. Yes, email and texting and all that is cool...techology is cool, ok?...but there is just something about a person taking the time to put pen to paper and the effort of mailing it that make me feel so...:D