Beautiful Ladies Deserve Flowers on their Birthday

Amanda and I celebrated her birthday a day early. She came over to my place and we worked on making necklaces out of neckties as we watched movies on Netflix. I got Amanda a gift certificate to her favorite store, G stage, a homemade piñata ornament, and a pair of rose earrings with matching sweater clips, which I made. I also got her a birthday cupcake filled with strawberry filling. She made a wish and we shared it.

Amanda, I hope you had a wonderful birthday yesterday. I can’t wait until we go shopping together.

Got My Eye On Education

It has been fun seeing pictures of my friends’ children first day of school pictures on facebook. Beautiful children wearing their favorite back-to-school outfits, backpacks filled with schools supplies, and holding a sign saying, “first day of (insert grade).” Some with an eager or nervous smile as they embark into a new grade, make new friends, and fill their minds with knowledge.

I’ve also enjoyed reading the blogs of the ladies I follow as they write about how their baby cried, she cried, or how their baby walked with confidence into their class without looking back on their first day of preschool. It’s funny a mother will always be a child’s first teacher.

As I (God knows) patiently okay sometimes not so patiently wait for my turn to be a mother, I think of all the great things I’ll get to do and I can’t wait! I know I’ll be one of those mommies that balls my eyes out when my beautiful smart kid starts going to school and I’ll frame his/her artwork in our house like if it is displayed in a museum, and share some cheese and crackers with juice when he/she gets home from school to discuss what he/she learned today. I’m getting teary eyed now.

For now, I use my creativity to spoil my kids (employees) at work. When Kristal graduated with her bachelor’s degree I made her a card with a picture of Mike Wazowski in his Monsters University cap with a blue flag that says, “Got My Eye On Education.” I made my little monsters at work Monsters University I.D. pins, which they wore as our theatre played the Monsters University movie. I even changed the managers I.D.s to say faculty instead of students.

And all my bottled up motherly love goes to Belle.

30-Day Selfies Challenge: Day 12 - 14

I guess you can say I have been kind of sluggish with my self-portraits for my 30-Day Selfies Challenge through A Beautiful Mess blog. It turns out it might be 30 days within a few months. These are the most recent pictures I took and yes the majority of my self-portraits include pictures with Belle. She is my shadow and follows me around the house.

7/30: Hugs and kisses from Belle.

7/31: Belle’s bath time.

8/1: Second time reading “Catching Fire.” Now, I’m nice and refreshed for the movie release in November.

Buen Provecho at Olvera Street

Buen provecho means enjoy your meal in Spanish. That’s exactly what Pam and I did when ate lunch at La Golondrina Mexican restaurant on Olvera Street. The delicious smell of warm Mexican dishes and the beautiful songs the Machi band sang lured us towards La Golondrina.


To hear the Machi play, Pam and I decided to eat outside the restaurant. As we waited for our meal, we snacked on chips and salsa. We even had the Machi band sing a song just for us. I had them sing Sigo Siendo El Rey. We ordered two huge margaritas, which I had been looking forward to getting, and made a toast to friendship.

When I got my Mexican dish I was delighted, since I hadn’t had mole poblano in many years. I especially liked the fried banana garnish. We ate our delicious meal, got a little tipsy, had some water, and headed on our way to do some more shopping on Olvera Street with a full happy stomach!

Since my fireman and I like learning how to make our favorite foods, mole pablano has just been added to my list to learn. That’s saying a lot since honestly I really don’t like to cook.

Olvera Street Giveaway

One of my favorite things I did at Olvera Street in Los Angeles was shop from the vendors. Shop for me, shop for friends, and shop for one lucky winner! One lucky winner will win a wooden La Catrina hand painted bookmark. It is number 3 in my loot of Olvera Street goodies.

My Olvera Street goodies include 
1. Mini piggy bank. I wanted to get a normal size one but these Mexican piggy banks don’t have a cork on the bottom to pull your money out. 2. Diego and Frida t-shirt. I was surprised when I discovered that two of my favorite Etsy shop owners sell their items at Olvera Street. 3. La Catrina wooden bookmarks. I purchased one for myself at first and later went back and purchased two more. 4. Olvera Street pin. I try to get a pin everywhere I go to add to my pin collection. 5. Worry doll headband. I’ve been wearing more headbands since I cut my hair short. 6. Puppet doll. I promised my employee Alex that I would get him something with a mustache since he has a mustache. I saw the puppet and it reminded me of him. 7. “En Este Casa…La Reyna Cocina Rico” plaque. It says, “The queen cooks good in this house.” It’s my little motivational plaque to help me keep cooking. 8. Owl ornament. My co-worker Amanda loves owls and I got it for her for her birthday next month. 9. Nativity Ornament for my Christmas tree. 10. Cat earrings from another one of my favorite Etsy sellers

What Olvera Street item is your favorite?

Giveaway Rules:
1. Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite item from my Olvera Street goodies is.
2. Leave your email in the comment, so I can contact you if you win.
3. Contest ends August 31st.

Welcome to Olvera Street

Pam, my best friend from high school and I went to Olvera Street on Friday, July 27. We both had the day off and I suggest we go to a shop called Corazon de Los Angeles that was showing inspired Frida Kahlo art from talented artists' at Olvera Street in Los Angeles. I was thrilled when Pam agreed to go. Pam had never been to Olvera Street and I hadn’t been there since I was a kid. She thought we wouldn’t be there for too long, just see some artwork then go home. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Pam ended up enjoying herself as I took her into a little piece of Mexican hidden in LA.

The festive colors, the delicious smell of Mexican food, and the beautiful music coming from the Mariachi band where Pam and I ate just made me feel like I was in Mexico. I’ll share pictures of where we ate in another post. There is so much to see in there. We walked up and down Olvera Street twice and I still didn’t feel like I looked at everything, though we walked into every shop. Pam and I are thinking about going again in November for Day of the Dead, my favorite holiday. Thinking about going in November gives me chills.

I can’t stop talking about how much fun I had that I’ve convinced friends who have never been there and those who have to go. I suggest if you go to Olvera Street you go early in the morning. They're open from 10 am to 7 pm. Pam and I got there at 10:30 am and by 3:30 pm it become crowded.