Public Service Announcement: Viva los Mariachis!

San Diego and Tijuana Friends - I'm very excited to play a small part in Mariachi Week, the culmination of months of hard work by volunteers and the San Diego Opera.

This week you have opportunities to see free mariachi performances by groups from the world's largest student mariachi program—I'll be at Seaport Village on Wednesday and the Museum of Art on Thursday—and if you are interested there are still limited tickets available to Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the West Coast Premiere of the world's first mariachi opera. Details are available on the SD Opera website below. I really encourage you to take advantage of this unique event and support these awesome students!

ENCOURAGE OUR STUDENTS-

ATTEND A FREE MARIACHI WEEK PERFORMANCE

If you have tickets to Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, we highly recommend you arrive at least one hour prior to the performance to enjoy one of these great student groups. If you don't have tickets yet, click here to buy your Cruzar la Cara de la Luna tickets!

As a music lover, you can have a huge impact on our next generation of musicians, simply by attending a FREE performance by one of our local high school or college mariachi groups this week during “Mariachi Week”. For full schedule, clickhere!

• Mariachi Chula Vista on Tuesday, March 12 at 5:45pm at the Otay Ranch Town Center
• Free Mariachi Celebration at National University  Spectrum Academic Center on Tuesday, March 12 at 5:30-7:30pm
• Montgomery High Aztecas on Wednesday, March 13 at 5:15pm at Seaport Village
• Bonita Vista High Mariachi on Wednesday, March 13 at 5:00pm at the Westfield Plaza Bonita Mall
• Mariachi Night at the Museums on Thursday, March 14 at 4:00-6:00pm. 
• Here’s your chance to enjoy a private after-hours visit to view masterpieces - with live mariachi! The museums will stay open until 6pm and each will feature a different mariachi group and a special art exhibit related to Mariachi, Music or Mexico. Tickets are $2 at the door (free at the Timken and Museum of Man). 

These talented students are not only excellent musicians, they’re wonderful performers who’ll put on an entertaining show– guaranteed. And mariachi music is fabulous –alive and joyful with a depth and passion that echoes opera. Real mariachi goes as much beyond the music you hear in your local restaurant just as opera goes beyond “O Solo Mio” – see a performance and you’ll understand!

If you can’t make it out during the week, come down to the San Diego Civic Plaza on March 16, where our region’s top mariachi groups will give free performances from 12:30 to 6:30pm.

PS - Happy Birthday Mom!! Love you!! (Imagine that all the region's mariachis are dedicating "Las Mananitas" to you at this very moment :)

Recently

Some recent thoughts.....

• Came across this video earlier this week. It's absolutely stunning (I thought it might be cheesy but I stand happily corrected).  I consider myself to have somewhat of a spiritual connection to threatened sea animals (that they don't know about), so this had me completely captivated. What must have gone on in order to create this is pretty mind-boggling when you think about it.  "Mantas Last Dance"

• Some very cool dudes who I've had the pleasure of talking some Padres baseball with via Twitter have started Padres Public, a superblog if you will, and being a professional in the marketing field (I guess technically you could call me that) I was compelled to respond to the recent discussion about the lack of good game day promotions.  Don't get me wrong, I've stuck with the team win-lose for the last 29 years and I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not one of those fans who only goes to the game on  Free Tee-Shirt Night (also, I have a bone to pick about why they only give out XXL shirts which are of no use to me), but for a team that has to compete with so many other entertainment options in this city - and the product on the field hasn't been enough to sell out games in the last few seasons - then it would serve them well to crowd-source some of these awesome ideas about what fans want to see at games. When you have only so much disposable income you want to get the most out of your experience, so although I'd go to every home game if I could, I have to be selective (and as you can see if you read through the comments, I apparently only care about good deals on ballpark food). 

• On that note, baseball is back!!!!!

• On a semi-related note - this. Can anyone help a nice girl with  big  moderate/realistic dreams and a willingness to work hard to move up in the world?  #AllIWantIsAJobICanFeelGoodAboutAndAFixerUpperHouseAndMyHusbandsAdorableBabies

• I have a reunion/anniversary coming up in a few weeks.... dunDunDUN. I was one of an amazing groups of girls who comprised the Charter Members of Alpha Gamma Delta's Delta Tau Chapter at Chapman University in March 2003. Which is great... but it also means I'm old.

However, I'm totes-def excited to see lots of familiar faces at our celebratory picnic and even got my custom-shirt on for the hubs when I saw this and he agreed to wear it. I found a local screenprinting place and had a similar design done in different colors that were more "him (aka - not lime green)."

• Also upcoming - for the second year we're going to see hot elite tennis players at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (Palm Desert area). Unfortunately we weren't really as on-the-ball as we should've been so the seats aren't exactly where we would've liked and we couldn't find any hotels that weren't really sketchy-looking or $300+ per night (also, I'm really cheap) so we're making the drive up-and-back in one day, but we're totally looking forward to it and I feel super-blessed to be able to go on a little adventure (as much as San Diego is a pretty ideal place, I need to leave it once in awhile) and to have found another activity I enjoy with E (I didn't know anything about tennis when we got married 4+ years ago and now I'm a big fan). 

• I didn't my project done in time to post in the Pinterest Challenge but I'm hoping to finish it this weekend.... and because I have a half-dozen yellow paper lanterns leftover from E's tennis birthday party (which I still want to write up for the benefit of anyone trying to host a tennis-themed party because there's not nearly enough ideas out there) I'm planning to do some lantern re-vamping so that they can be used for the aforementioned Alpha Gam picnic and then finally passed on to Baby Sister who like most college students is trying to decorate an apartment with hand-me-downs and DIYs (I wish I had a pic of their ombre paint chip wall!). So expect a summary when that's complete  :)

• I used to watch a lot of CMT, but having changed viewing habits (aka - we DVR and Netflix everything so I don't do much channel-surfing) I wasn't aware that this had happened back in September and serendipitously noticed somebody mention it on the Facebook a few days ago.... Emmylou Harris and Mumford & Sons on CMT Crossroads. It's a match made in musical heaven and I've been enjoying the videos all morning. Do yourself a freaking service and take a listen. :)

• Finally --- TMI Alert --- I also broke a blood vessel in my eye this week from a migraine-induced vomiting-sesh on the side of the road... it looks so much worse than it feels so aside from E looking at me like I'm some pitiful creature it's not too bad, with the exception of not wearing contacts and feeling a little scratchy. But I think it's kind of WalkingDead-chic, if you're going for the walker look, that is. #IdTakeAnArrowFromDarylAnyDay

Roses Are Red, Don't Do Meth...

On Valentine's Day I Feel Like Death.

Happy Valentine's Day from my couch, where I am unexpectedly on a work day home achy, shivery, cough-y and sniffly (though not nearly as bad as last night... I seriously typically go about 2+ years between sick days and I had my last in October... aging sucks, I tell ya'.)

With a bit more time on my hands, I thought I'd share our festive abode.  I typically alter back and forth between thinking Valentine's Day is totally overrated and not even a big deal (I can't remember the last time we something particularly "romantic" for the occasion) and just liking the fact that it's nice to celebrate love--not just romantic love but love for family, friends, and life in general.

I bring out the same few Valentine's Day decorations each year and sometimes mix it up a bit with what's already on-hand. This year I punched up the typical pink, red and fuschia with teal, purple, and orange, inspired by my intention to make these with some super-cute bright feathers found at JoAnn's, but it's now V-Day and I still haven't finished them with the fuschia glitter-foam hearts I had planned. Nevertheless, onward --

Dig my birdhouses... yeah, I'm still putting a bird on it. And these little suckers were only 99 cents at JoAnn's (I think Michael's has them too), which I covered with paint and scrapbook paper and rhinestones I had already (the "Love" print in the back is something I made for E's tennis-themed birthday brunch which I hope to write up soon!). My cardboard-y Xs and Os were picked up on clearance post-Valentine's Day a few years ago and since the selection was down to only oddly-mismatched letters, I re-painted them and this year punched up the neutrals with bright ribbons and rickrack.

I also made this felt banner a few years ago and added more bright ribbons and feathers from my Cupid's Arrow project for something I think is a bit more bohemian. And on our shelf that I like to think of as a fireplace mantle in our apartment sans fireplace, I added twine and ribbon to my much-loved clearance Anthropologie vase and glued rose petals and feathers to some sticks from the neighborhood. Dollar Store red tapers and blue accessories we already had round it out. Oh, and scrapbook paper that I just popped into a square frame that I change seasonally or so.

Finally, here's an easy, cheap-o project that I made as E's gift last year -- an old (like out of a dusty box in my parents' garage old) frame with salt dough tiles. I used chipboard letters as stamps for my tiles and a straw to punch the holes before baking them. The yarn is just tied onto the metal thingies that would normally hold the back on the frame (what do you call those? Clamps? Closures?) but I'm sure a staple gun or even super glue could work. Here's the salt dough recipe I used and the pin I originally shared with a friend here.

So whomever you're sharing your Valentine's Day with, or if you're being your own sweetheart this year (wine and dine yourself and show yourself you're special!) enjoy a day dedicated to loving one another. 

PS - for the first time I'm joining a link party! Still not entirely sure what that means as a relative blog newbie but I enjoy me some BowerPower, so without further ado...

Forever Blue

Happy Inauguration!! Since I had mmmmmaaaaaannnnnnyyyyy thoughts on the election and never posted them (but had a draft saved), I'm throwing a few of them out there today. In the interest of being a good winner (hehehe) and not beating a dead horse (elephant?), as it were, I'll just post those regarding people and issues that are still relevant or may be in the future.


Thoughts whilst watching the Republican and Democratic National Conventions:

• Paul Ryan is like that skeezy guy in high school or college that tells some sob story about why his assignment isn’t done and everyone knows it’s complete BS but for some reason the teacher buys it and give him an extension. Like, what the hell?
• Michelle Obama is gorgeous. And gracious. She’s like that friend that I feel like I should hate because she’s smarter, prettier, fitter, and more successful than me, but she’s so damn nice that instead I’m just happy for her and want to be like her (I say that as a good thing). Did I mention she was making me cry at the end of her speech?
• Julián Castro gave me goosebumps. Also, he was a good fit for a keynote because he definitely has the look of a minority but he could kind of fit in with many different ethnic groups: he could kind of look Hispanic, or Asian, or even Middle Eastern. He’s your Attractive Generic Minority (I say this somewhat satirically). Clinton-Castro 2016 has a nice ring to it...?

Debate thoughts:

• Has anyone taken the "Binders Full of Women" line yet and used it to develop a progressive-leaning, women-centric networking group? Like, a networking group and mentorship program for smart, ambitious women that also develops leadership training and and internships and has a community service/philanthropy component? Maybe I should start that. #DontStealMyMillionDollarIdea

Election Night thoughts (I should preface this by saying that we were blessed to be watching the election night results from our hotel room in Waikiki whilst on a very relaxing and enjoyable trip with my grandparents, and that my Dad and I texted each other the whole time):

• "I EFFING LOVE YOU IOWA"
• "I EFFING LOVE YOU OHIO"
• "Wow, maybe our nation still has a few reasonable, smart people left...then again, why get my hopes up...."
• "Ok, that was fun, now let's get to work."

Once we felt secure enough to step away from the TV (as in, even Fox News had conceded Ohio), we headed down to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in celebration. I considered drinking a Blue Hawaiian, but eh.

Possibly the best thing about the election being over is that amateur pundits aren't making 10k+ posts per day on Facebook and Twitter and the ignorant rhetoric has quieted down (a little).


Current thoughts:

• Hillary Clinton = badass. PLEASE consider a 2016 run, but in the meantime, enjoy some much-needed downtime to take care of yourself, pursue hobbies and personal interests, etc. You are inspiring.
• Gun control - #SorryImNotSorry, I don't buy into the notion that you need military-grade weapons for fun or personal protection. You just don't. Just asking for some common-sense regulations here in the interest of saving lives. The NRA may have sold its soul but we don't all have to do the same.
• Legalize it - Colorado and Washington are on the right track. No need to make criminals out of people who engage in a recreation no more dangerous (and in some cases less so) than having a few drinks at a bar. Live and let live and collect taxes on it. 
• Let people marry who they love, it's not hurting you. A loving marital commitment is something to celebrate.
• Social Security reform - because my parents deserve to have a comfortable retirement before they're 70. I don't hold out much hope for myself or E that our generation will.

But seriously if this all doesn't work out I'm renouncing all my worldly possessions and moving to a remote island where my children will never have a concept of shoes. God Bless 'merica!

Roast & Toast

As I started to think about Christmas this past year (probably about the week before Halloween or so), I felt the urge to open our home. We've been invited and welcomed to share the holidays with family and friends who host gatherings surrounding Christmas. And we feel blessed by the many good memories that have come from this. But the hostess in me wanted to welcome others this year, and throw a fun, festive, within-our-means shindig. After all the effort E and I spend to decorate the house for the holidays, why not share it?

Thus the "Roast & Toast" was born: a late-evening, appetizers-and-drinks casual affair that was highlighted by a make-you-own s'more station. And I think folks enjoyed. We planned it for Dec. 28 which had a few benefits: people had less on their schedule after Christmas than trying to cram in another party during the three weekends prior, I was able to pick up a few party supplies the day after Christmas at 50% off (in addition to the napkins and some other decor I picked up on Dec. 26 last year), and since my office is closed the week between Christmas and New Year's I had plenty of time to clean and prep (and yet somehow I still ended up with tons of crap to do at the last minute). 

A few ways we made things easier on ourselves:

- Not planning a full meal. Our apartment is not tiny, but also not incredibly spacious. There'd be no way we could seat 15+ people at the same time and dinner is expensive! We set the start time for 8 pm and invited guests for "sweet treats," although we also had some more savory munchies.

- The space issue was also one reason we also requested that the little ones stay home. We've hosted our friends' kids before and as much as we enjoy them, I just couldn't spend half the party trying to make sure they didn't pick up every sparkly Christmas bauble within their reach... that's not fair to them and no fun for their parents, either. We stated on the invitation that we're just not at the child-proofing stage yet (which our friends know anyways) and that this time we're hosting an adults-only affair. 

- Don't try to do everything from scratch. I had planned on making fondue and just ran out of time. I don't think anyone missed it because they were too busy eating bacon-chicken-alfredo pizza (we picked up this and also a fajita-chicken frozen pizza which we cut into bite-sized squares for an easy and inexpensive nibble...plus you really don't need more than a few bites of the alfredo pizza, it's delish but SO rich!). And while I baked cupcakes, I also arranged some store-bought cookies on a platter with no guilt. 

- And for drinks - no need for a full bar! I made a big pitcher of cranberry-orange punch (ginger ale is the third, "secret" ingredient) and suggested that people add the sparkling moscato if they wanted an "adult" beverage. Regular and diet soda, a couple bottles of wine, water ("snowmelt") and two types of beer were more than plenty.

- I made a playlist ahead of time so that I wouldn't have to be adjusting the music all night and we put away the remote controls. This is not a tv-watching night. 

Overall I think it was a success! People seemed to enjoy themselves and we have some great pictures. I set up a basket with a few props that we told people was the "photo booth," and let the camera next to it. Although I ended up having to prompt most people to get silly and have fun with the idea, once they started they seemed to enjoy it. Do it again next year? Maybe! I like to switch it up so maybe I'll come up with a different concept (but the s'mores were a BIG hit!). 

I think the best feedback I got was that my Dad told me that after they'd left my bro said it 

"looked like Pinterest exploded." #missionaccomplished

Keep Christmas in your heart all year, as cheesy as that sounds :)
Happy New Year!!

Our Mattie Girl

It's been a year since we lost our sweet, sweet Mattie, and I miss her all the time... Saying goodbye to her was the hardest thing I've ever done and we are so blessed to have spent 16 years with her.  I truly believe that dogs choose YOU and I'm so happy that such a sweet, special and above all, absolutely LOVING girl made us her family.

and though no one can take her place, I feel so bless that we've had Dixie stampede her way into our lives, our home and our family. Talk about a lot to live up to! Full introduction and update on Dixie shall be forthcoming because this girl has one BIG personality. A home is just fuller with a dog, I think.

The beautiful watercolor in the top corner is a beautiful custom portrait of Mattie by Irene, a very talented watercolor artist. I ordered the portrait as a Christmas gift for the family and she exceeded all my expectations... I cried when she emailed me the proof. You can view her Etsy profile here - http://www.etsy.com/people/dimdi

DIYOLO

While my mom was out of town visiting her sister, my dad and bro decided to tackle the laundry-room-in-the-garage project they'd been talking about for awhile. Not sure what the original plan was, but by the time I got there to help out they'd carved out a corner and put up two walls and my dad had a gash in his forehead (in addition to the stitches just taken out of his finger)...

...on my Night Two as we're painting I remind my dad that the top of the ladder is not for standing on... especially not on one foot with your other foot on the hot water heater... especially not when the ladder is precariously wedged into a corner...


Sister: Dad's approach to DIY is like, 'YOLO.'

Brother: HAHAHA... Wait, what's 'YOLO?' Was that Tim Allen's neighbor on 'Home Improvement?'

Sister: It means 'You Only Live Once...'

Brother: Oh, that's clever! Did you just make that up?


I haven't seen the finished product yet but my mom says it's beautiful. Since it's where I still take most of our laundry, I'm looking forward to it.  :)