Christmas is around the corner now! My sister and I gave my mom her presents early this year during dinner at my sisters place. We also helped decorate my sisters tree with the lil ones.
J and I decorated our tree this past weekend as well. I have a few DIY projects in mind this holiday season and hope I have time to accomplish them! My schedule feels full and up in the air at the same time.

The Busy Season is Approaching!

November 19th was incredibly busy! I trekked out to Long Beach, about a 45-1 hour drive from us to go to my friend Jen’s Baby Shower. Her shower was completely adorable. The theme was Alice in Wonderland. The cake, macarons, party hats, tea station and food was pleasing to the palette and the eye! Can’t wait to meet the little and sure to be dapper James Finnegan Spaeth! After the shower I headed back home and changed and Jacob and I were on our way to our friend Naveen’s Bollywood Party in West Hollywood. We stayed for a few hours and caught up with some friends and saw Naveen and his family dance. Two cute small dogs were running around the throngs of people at Naveen’s apartment, sadly the next day one of them was in a car accident and died :(

After the party, Jacob and I headed to Van Nuys for my sisters birthday gathering at her house. We stayed for a short time because we were both tired, presents opened and cake served then we headed home.

On the 20th Jacob and I went to a cooking class called Hipcooks located at the LA Brewery by the 5 in downtown. We went t the Holy Mole class and learned how to make albondigas soup, chicken and mole, a take on chile relleno without the egg batter, nopalitos salad and flan. All very delisioso.

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I have been excited to host Thanksgiving this year at our home. The week started off with my left ring finger cut by the interior chrome door handle. I had just gotten to work and opened the passenger door to see if the car was in the red and I felt a pinch and then saw my finger bleeding pretty badly. I ran out of the car and ran up the hill to the student health center to find it closed for a meeting! SO I run to my building and head to the bathroom and cleaned it as best I could, wrapped a napkin around it and headed to my cubicle. I needed a band aid and my supervisor saw me and directed me to the first aid kit and helped clean up my finger. Its been a week now and I can finally se it healing!

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was such a blur. I am so glad we were allowed to leave early that day. I picked up the chairs and linens we rented at Sir Michaels across the street from where I work. Then I went to KIA to replace the door handle and they plan to replace it with the exact same handle! Apparently I am not the only one that has been hurt by the handle. I also picked up last minute food items at Ralphs. Gael and Benicio also spent the night at our place. On Thursday I began with starting on the pumpkin cheesecake and once done with that started with the green bean casserole and then the turkey! Jacob helped with me the turkey and then put it in the oven for a few hours. My sister came at noon with the salad and mashed potatoes. Once the turkey was in, Jacob left to Redondo Beach to pick up Aunt Pat. My parents and brother came over for Thanksgiving as well. It was how most of my family gatherings go, complaints and accolades and laughs. We managed to get a few decent family pictures. Jacob and I were exhausted that night.

I dropped of Jacob at work Friday morning then went to Target and purchased the Xbox Kinect and a few games. Then I took Bailey to the vet since he had been throwing up for a few days. While at the vet a man came running in with a dog full of bled, a pit bull had bitten his dog. I asked later if that dog was ok and they said she should be. I was given pills and bland wet dog food to feed Bailey. He seems back to himself now.

On Saturday Jacob and I prepped the house for some friends that night. I prepared a few appetizers and bought some cheeses, crackers and munchies. Jacob made a tasty Christmas Rum punch. Jenn, Seth & Kadance were the first to arrive and Jenn was kind enough to help me with the goat cheese stuffed mushroom appetizer. The other appetizers served were prosciutto wrapped in breadsticks, spinach & artichoke dip with sourdough bread pieces, cheeses and crackers, bacon wrapped in small potatoes, puff ham & cheese pastries, mixed nuts, macarons and chocolate covered pretzels. We played a few rounds of Gesturers and at the end of the night only J, Angie, Ana and I remained so we all played a few Kinect games until midnight when the girls left and J and I fell asleep. Sunday was an incredibly lazy day minus the dish washing. We played the Dance Central 2 games and we tied at 2-2 and we were too tired to play anymore.

Twilight, Wedding & Recliners, oh my!

Last weekend was full of fun and friends. Full Moon Friday meant Jacob took the night off from work. We stayed in and made popcorn using the Nostalgia popcorn machine my mom gave us last year. I loved using this machine! I need to buy some interesting sauces for popcorn, any recommendations? I bought different popcorn seasonings and added some butter. We put on Twilight, our newest Netflix dvd, and we both fell asleep within thirty minutes. Since we will most likely see Breaking Dawn in the movie theatre, he wanted to catch up on all the movies. It's actually ridiculous when I actually catch him up on the books and say "In Breaking Dawn, Bella gets married, has a honeymoon in Brazil, gets pregnant with a half human half vampire baby that's killing her from the inside and then Edward eats through her placenta to get the baby out." Yes and I like this series for some reason. It reminds me of when I liked all the WB shows when I was a teen such as Buffy, Roswell, Dawson's Creek, Popular and etc. It brings me back to that teen world when the only responsibility I had was to do well at school. Now I am adult and have bills to pay, meals to cook, a house to clean, a husband and a dog to care for, parents that I see slowly aging, a 9 to 5 job that I have so many rules to remember, and etc. But I wouldnt trade this life for any other including my teen years.

On Saturday I made eggs and bacon and whisked a few eggs beforehand more so than I usually do and then put the pan on low heat. The eggs were so fluffy and yummy! Later that day, we went to our friends, Candice & James' wedding at the River Center. So glad we are a 5 minute drive away from the venue. We made it with plenty time to spare. Candice and I worked together a few years ago at CCA. I was able to catch up a bit with a former co-worker Martin and his family who were present as well. Candice is one of the most kindest and generous people that I have been so lucky to call my friend. Jacob and I both teared up a bit during the ceremony. Candice was so happy and glowing the entire time :) Her mom is a florist and took care of all the flowers. The brides bouquet was full of peonies and so pretty. J and I went into the photo booth twice and they had some cool props. The food was yummy and all organic and they had many vegan options too. The cake table was pretty and the cake topper was so adorable!




On Sunday I met up with my friend Tani, her hubby, her cousin Jill and her hubby and friend Megan at the Rose Bowl Flea market. Meghan was looking for a dining table and chair set, Jill a mirror, and I was looking for a Glass Cloche Bell jar and I bought a nice punch bowl set instead! Once I got home Jacob and I went to a few stores in Glendale to look for recliners and we lucked out so the search continues. I did buy some thanksgiving necessities at Macy's since we are having Thanksgiving at our place this year!

Night with the Boys and Brawny Man!

On Saturday I ran errands with my mom…Then went back home to get things ready before the boys came over to spend the night. Whenever the boys come over we need to baby proof our place for Benicio by blocking off the staircase, closing the bedroom and bathroom doors, removing coasters and small items from his reach and etc. We may need to purchase outlet protectors and latches for the lower kitchen & bathroom cabinets. We talked about doing this until we had our own kids but since the boys our coming over more often, we may need to do it sooner rather than later!


I set out some arts and crafts items that I have accumulated over time so the boys and I could work on together. Pinwheels, a clothespin robot and a harvest leaf crown were our accomplishments for the night. Benicio drew on paper and put Mickey Mouse stickers on his art, you can never be too young to create! We had pasta for dinner and then I put Benicio to bed while Tio Jacob and Gael played a Lego video game.

On Sunday after a breakfast of pumpkins waffles, eggs and turkey bacon, my sister came to pick up the boys. She stayed for a few hours and Jacob tried to teach her how to use iTunes and how to download music to her iPhone. She then left and I went on my way to pick up Bailey from the groomers at K-9 Loft in Silverlake. I bought a new harness for Bailey called the Easy Walk harness. We bought a prong collar when we first got Bailey because he pulled so much. The Easy Walk harness pulls from the chest and not the neck like the prong collar does. Bailey is a much better walker than he used to be and I don't think we need the prong collar anymore. After I dropped him off at the house, I went to Target. I bought some pretty sweaters as well as boring house stuff. I also bought Jacob a flannel shirt and with his new moustache he looked like the Brawny man. All he needs is to grow out his hair to look exactly like him.







After target I met up with my friend Zahava who was in town for a few days and we caught up at Starbucks. Once she had to go I headed to CVS and bought Sally Hansen Nail Strips. Ever since I heard of these I was curious to test them out. I got the Laced up color and was thoroughly pleased with it.


For Dinner J & I treated ourselves to go to Maximilano’s in Highland park. A new restaurant owned by the same chef as Oinkster. The restaurants' design and decor is modern and interesting. We shared the mushroom and sausage pizza, Jacob had the chicken ravioli and I had the vegetable soup and we shared the olive oil ice cream with salted caramel. All very delicious. Zack de La Rocha from Rage Against the Machine was also having dinner a few tables away from us. This is the 5th or 6th time we have seen him around our neighborhood.




I borrowed these pictures from Yelp, is that allowed? I forgot to bring my camera with us that night :(

Halloween, has come & gone

Halloween was fun this year...I made cake pops for the first time which was not an entirely fun process. My original plan was to do the first part on Friday night and the icing and decorating portion on Saturday with my nephews. I felt under the weather on Friday so I didn't cake pop prep, I just slept! I did all the the cake pop prep on Saturday and it's quite a lengthy process. My nephew Gael enjoyed decorating the cake pops :).
Our nephews spent Saturday night with us and we watched It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. They loved the movie and it was the first time they watchied it, defenitely a halloween staple.

On Halloween my nephews came to our place and we gave out candy and then the oldest and I went around the neighborhood for trick or treating. I was surprised how great the candy was, two big candy bars, one huge stick of candy and his bag was filled. We just encountered one odd candy giver, she came out with a strange looking box with skulls on it reminiscent to the day of the dead skulls and threw pennies in his trick or treat bag and a skull bracelet for me for good luck. I think I was more scared of her than Gael was!

Pumpkins!

Fall is such a pretty time of year (except for the cold weather that reeks havoc on my skin). I love that I can bring out my scarves, coats, boots and mittens! I probably look so silly to some, because I wear all these items in 50 to 70 degree weather.
I also thoroughly enjoy going to Trader Joe's this time of year and purchase all the pumpkin and/or cranberry items on hand. I love the change of color of the leaves. Another awesome trait of fall are PUMPKINS!!

Squirrel!!!!!!

These pictures were take at the Woof Boutique Atwater Village Halloween dog costume contest. We buy all our dog food, treats and etc. from Woof boutique. We try to support local businesses as much as we can.

I was surprised how packed this event was, over 50 dogs were present and about 80-100 owners. The event was stocked with water bowls and doggie treats. Woof boutique gave gourmet treats and a chew toy to all the dogs present which was incredibly sweet.

Bailey was dressed as a squirrel but he didn't win. Next year I will create my own costume for him rather than buy one. We saw another dog in the same squirrel costume, faux pas.

Oktoberfest

J and I usually trek to Alpine Village in Torrance to celebrate Oktoberfest with our friend Garrett. Our friend wasn't able to attend with us this year so we decided to find a local spot to celebrate Oktoberfest. We went to The Verdugo Bar Oktoberfest event and it was pretty good except for the annoying drunk people towards the end of the night. Our friends Tani & Craig were able to meet up with us at the bar earlier in the day. We had a good time and pledged to attend the event the next year.
The food was yum and beer was ok (I'm not big on beer). They had a cheese food truck and the cheesecake balls covered in graham cracker crumbs was amazing!!

Beer in a Stein!

cheesecake balls, yum!

Descanso Gardens

I took these pictures with my DSLR at Descanso Gardens during a field trip with my photography class. The class has ended as it was a three day workshop. I learned a bit more on shutter speed and aperture but still have a long way to go. My camera and I have a love hate relationship going on right now. I'm not fully aware of all its features and how best to utilize in different lighting.

These were some of my favorites:

50/50

Date night was last night! J and I went to eat at Trader Vic's, a tiki inspired restaurant, then we saw the movie 50/50. My other Hollywood crush is Joseph Gordon Levitt!



The movie was both funny and poignant. I laughed and I cried.

The Big Kahuna drink at Trader Vic's, very yummy. Too bad they didn't sell the glass it came in. I'm a sucker sometimes for novelty items.

Formatting on a DSLR can be BAD

Last night I took many pictures at my nephew's 5th birthday party. I almost lost all these images because of my stupidity!
Today was my first of three photography workshops. As my eyes were glazing over from the different lenses and DSLR terminology, I was tinkering with my camera. The instructor mentioned how downloading your files as tiff instead of jpeg would result in better quality images. So as I looked in the menu function of my camera, I was looking for information regarding picture format (tiff, jpeg). I ended up clicking on format and it WIPED out all my images! I was so exhausted after the party last night that I didn't download any of the party images, so in a flash (literally) all the digital evidence of the fun party was gone!
The last slide of the class was about the FORMAT button and how if you don't save the images before formatting then all data will be lost. Why didn't he have that as the first slide!!! I asked him after class if I could do anything and he and a class mate mentioned software that could recover the images. So I went straight to Samy's camera and left my memory card with them. A few hours later they called me with great news, they recovered the pictures!!

This photo gold would have never seen the light of day if it hadn't been for recovery technology & the good people of Samy's!

Drive

The Drive soundtrack is AMAZING! The music has an 80s electro pop with whimsical trance like feel to it. I listened to the soundtrack when I walked my dog the other day. The music is so rad that it made me feel cool even as I was picking up my dog's business. Now that says a lot!

Last sunday, J and i went to see the movie Drive. I do not dig violent movies but this wasn’t a typical shoot em up flick. Ryan G. (my crush) was very bada$$ in this movie. The first half of the movie was calm and serene and displayed the Los Angeles I love and see on a daily basis. Then the movie takes a turn and becomes darker.
There was a very sweet scene in which the Driver carries Benicio the little boy of the love interest, melted my heart! I also loved the elevator scene where the driver carries up the groceries while Benicio stares at him, smiles and then puts his hand on his face. My nephew does that when he gets shy.

Towards the middle of the movie an obnoxious man seated behind us said "this was a waste of my time and the worst movie i have ever seen, I need a smoke." A few ladies sitting next to him giggled endlessly at his remarks. Of course we were quiet while this man said all these things just tried to focus on the movie and drown him out. I was imagining telling him off in a clever way but I didn’t have the guts to do it. I like to be polite and wish others would have the same consideration.

BTW every time my hubby carries our nephews it not only melts but gets me excited for the day we are ready to start our own little family.

Day Gone to the Toilet

I left work early on September 19th to accompany my mom to her doctors appointment. We didn’t receive good news. Out of respect for my moms privacy, I will keep that info under wraps for now. She took it as well as could be expected. We both asked many questions, she also made a few funny remarks and laughed. The doctor said if she continues with her positive attitude and keeps on laughing and smiling then everything will be OK. Laughter is the best medicine, as hokey as that sounds, laughter and smiles have healing powers.

The day figuratively went down the toilet after the news about my mom and then literally did as well. That night when I was back home and watching TV with the hubby, our downstairs neighbor rang the doorbell. She asked us if we had a leak. We went to the bathroom and two inches of toilet water was quickly gushing into the main hall.

Wine Night Terminology

A few weeks ago, I went to a friends house to drink wine and watch TV shows and chit chat. It was a group of five of us gals all in our twenties.

Terms that I did not know existed before this night: Wigger & Absinthe.

FAIL

I give myself a FAIL at this blog thing... I need to post an entry everyday, even if it's just a word. I have a tendency to begin new hobbies and not finish them. My current hobby is photography since my new fancy camera came into my life.

Baby Bump Photo Shoot & Kate Spade bling!

On Saturday I took baby bump pictures of my friend J and her hubby J. I took almost 800 pictures! WOAH! I have to go through them all as I'm sure there are sizable amount of duds. I was playing with the buttons on the camera, i think the aperture is what i kept tinkering with. We took pictures at Lacy park in San Marino. If you are not a San Marino resident then be ready to pony up $4 to enter, if you are honest. If not then you can just walk in.





My friend J gave me super cute Kate Spade Earrings for helping plan her baby shower! I love them!



Once I got home Jacob was playing with our nephews. We were on babysitting duty while my sister had to fulfill carnival hours for Gael's school. I so appreciate all the hours my parents put in during my catholic school days.
We saw the movie E.T. that night with the nephews at an outdoor venue. Drew Barrymore introduced the movie, which was a fun surprise!

Baby Shower

I had the honor of helping plan the baby shower of a close friend. It was a giraffe theme. I like diy'ing when I can..

I helped in assembling the favors

I did a diy photo booth, dessert table, and tissue pom poms!

It was a beautiful clear day by the beach for a beautiful couple that will soon welcome a sweet baby into this world!