Happy Birthday

Welcome to the world baby girl. At just 6lbs 13oz 20in -0542am you came into our lives. Looking forward to whats in store for our little family. You are so loved!! :) 

Weekend story

Since my last post I found out I was 3cm dilated. My midwife said in the next two days we'd be holding our little girl. Well, here I am 4 days later and no baby! Ugh the frustration and anticipation is killing me!! Guess this baby is gonna be a little jokester like her dad the way she keeps playing with us. "I'm coming out today! No wait, just kidding ;)"

But anyway, my mother in law and sister in law drove down to visit us for a couple days :) So grateful for their support. We went to the beach and hung around and chilled. We also got help and things from Costco we wouldn't have time to get once the baby gets here. When they left we had a cleaner kitchen than when they came! haha Really enjoyed them here :)

selfie stick selfie after leaving the beach with the family

The day they left my husband and I didn't really do much after. (If you couldn't tell by now I've gone into lazy panda mode this last month of pregnancy). However, the following day we did make plans after Bryan's workout. I'd been craving beignets ever since I left the south last July so we decided to try Bud's Louisiana Cafe. We were not disappointed! Ok maybe the portion size for the piece of chocolate cake my husband got was too small but I got plenty of beignets! ;) Indoor and outdoor seating but its recommended you make reservations and double check the hours because they're a little wacky. The menu was medium priced and since I wanted more than one thing I got small portions in the Cajun jambalaya and red beans and rice. They were soooo good and the small portions surprisingly filled me up. Its pretty heavy. Here are some pics from our dinner:

Husband & I

red beans and rice & Cajun jambalaya

Heaven on Earth...BEIGNETS!!

Today I got surprised with "Hey when I get back from my workout we can go to the mall and you can pick out anything. I'll buy it" anybody would be all for it but being that he likes to play pranks I was like 'hmmm what's the catch??' B- "No catch. you just deserve something nice for carrying our daughter for 9 months." I was still skeptical for about another 5min then the sweetness came pouring down & washed any ounce of skeptisism away. I've been blessed with a great man :) For what would count as my near 'push present' I just picked out some makeup. I would have fed my shoe addiction or picked out clothes but obviously nothing fits me and my feet are too swollen haha We grabbed something quick to eat on the way back so he can catch the Cavs game and rest up for work. Despite Olivia playing peek a boo with her arrival the days that followed weren't so bad.

My little family. BLESSED :)

At the moment...

Current style motivation:

Kendall Jenner

Current song stuck in my head:

Current quote I'm trying to apply to my life:

Current bible verse:

Isaiah 43:18

Current mama envy:

Jessie James Decker

Current craving:

Wonder Artworks

Current guilty pleasure to watch on tv:

The Prancing Elites Project.(airs on Oxygen)

These are just a few of the random addictions I get. Stay tuned for more in future posts ;)

Wanderlust: NEW YORK

Wanderlust: A strong desire to wander and explore the world

As you may or may not know by now Im 38 weeks pregnant!(well as of tomorrow) Being that Im so pregnant I've had a lot of idle time to Pinterest and watch entire tv series(about New York). Since we didn't have a baby moon this pregnancy because of everything going on we're(ok, more me) planning a vacay post baby. With my job I've been blessed to visit more countries than most people ever see in a life time in the western pacific, south america & in the middle east. As much as I wanna go overseas to European countries(haven't been yet) I've had such a strong urge to visit New York. East coast period! Never been but I love it already. I wanna enjoy the season from a different point of view, wear cute scarves and boots if we go in the fall, walk through central park, visit all five boroughs, eat all this yummy food and visit all the spots my favorite characters did in their show.

Times Square

Brooklyn Bridge

In the beginning I mentioned my binge tv series watching so I'll list my favorite shows based out of New York. These should make you fall in love with it too:

-The City

-Gossip Girl

-Sex & the City

-Law & Order: SVU

Until I can go to one of my dream spots I'll continue to wanderlust. OH! & for my fellow readers that have a sweet tooth and love for donuts I found a great article on the best donut shops in NYC! Thank me later! ;) Are you planning a trip anywhere or have been to NY? Feel free to shoot your fave spots or travel tips my way! Let this post spark the traveler inside and get out and go somewhere! :)

Fun Fact

"Being nice to someone you dont like does NOT make you two faced. It makes you a mature adult who knows when to pick their battles and when to just let it go and tolerate someone for their shitty personality. If you think otherwise grow up"

Vitamin SEA

Mission Beach

Ocean Beach

This morning was such a nice day I figured I'd take advantage of it and hit the beach! FINALLY right??! & not only did I go to one beach I went to TWO! Probably some of my favorites to just chill and workout. My version of working out this far along in pregnancy is more like "power-WADDLING" haha collectively I power waddled 5 miles. My body definitely didn't react in the most pleasant way. As I write this post Im laying in bed cringing every time I have to roll over and move. But being at the beach was so worth it. The atmosphere of beach towns, the smell of the ocean, watching the surfers and waves...hands down the best part. Cant wait to bring Olivia here. My hometown was an hour away from the nearest beach and even though that's considered close I like the fact I now live 20 minutes away from 4 beaches! I love San Diego :) I really wanna move closer to both of our families (our hometown) but then that would mean having to "plan" a beach day instead of just picking up and driving 20 minutes to one. Choices choices..... The beach offers so much clarity and peace. As cliche as it sounds it's true. Grab a book and find a spot in the sand & you'll be more into that book reading there than reading at a library.

LOVE THIS! After my beach adventures I came home to my hard working husband whose been enjoying his day off lounging around and napping haha Im the early riser here. Since I got up so early I grabbed a quick breakfast on my way to the beach and brought him back some iHop on my way home. Remember that part where I mentioned my body was sore? Yeah, I've just been a glob of mush and lazy along with him haha watching movies and eating junk food. The good life ;) Maybe not the healthiest but we all need a cheat day right? & what are Sundays for if you dont take advantage of them and charge your battery for the week to come.

lazy day lounging with my husband What'd you do for your weekend? Hopefully recharged and are ready for tomorrow! See you on my next post :)

Queen Of Coney Island

galoremag.com Those who know me know that Lana Del Rey is one of my favoooooooooorite female artists. Actually, she's like, my ONLY favorite female artist. Of course I bump other divas music but something about Lana forever draws me in. Well last night I saw her perform for the Endless Summer Tour! A couple of my girls(+ Sam's Husband) & I bought last minute tickets and had a great time. The weather had been pretty up and down so we hoped Mutha Earth would be on our side. Guess she must have loved listening to an angel too because it all turned out great! Lana's voice is so soft and smooth and perfect. Ugh seriously so in awe of how someone can have such a great voice. She sounds even better live! We sat/stood on the lawn at the Sleep Train Amphitheater and listened with ears of appreciation. Courtney Love Cobain opened for her. Honestly, I had never heard of her before today. Her music wouldn't be my go-to but she put on an interesting (and possibly drunk) show haha. I only have a couple crappy quality cellphone pics because my phone died mid show! Just know, you will not be disappointed by going to one of her concerts.

If this is the first time your hearing about Lana allow me to be the first to introduce your ears to good music. Let me share my top fav songs by her:

1. This is what makes us girls

2. Born to die

3. Off to the races

4. Blue jeans

5. Pepsi cola

6. Serial Killer

I can probably list every song on her albums but listen to those and if you aren't a fan after that then....you probably cant ride in the car with me because you wont enjoy the ride haha Be back soon with another post later!

Food For Thought

Happy Mothers Day!

Today we honor all the amazing superhero women in our lives who have influenced us somehow. It takes a lot to raise a child and be a good example to not only your children but those who you come across. I thank God for blessing me with amazing women in my life and for prepping me to be a good mother.

my mother & mother in law at our high school graduation

My beautiful mother. There is so much she's taught me without even realizing it. I appreciate her so much! As a teen I wasn't my loveliest but she never gave up on me and always disciplined me to stay on the right track. There is so much I can say about her but she already knows because I call her all the time to remind her. She's become my bestfriend and I go to her with a lot of my questions. One day I called her to ask how to tell if my chicken was done cooking haha With no hesitation she helped me out and always reminds us that her phone is on 24/7 if we need her. LOVE YOU MOMMY!/

"Allow yourself to let go of your worries..."

got this image here Two blog posts in one day? Who am I?? Kidding! But my friend Shelby put up a really good quote on her blog I wanted you all to read. Coincidentally I've been stuck on a bible verse (Matthew 6:34) that has a lot to do with worrying. My new friend 'Anxiety' showed up and wont leave so I've turned to the word to help me rid myself of the unwelcome guest. EVERYTHING under the sun has me stressing about the next day or the future. I hide it pretty well though *pats self on back*. Growing a human life is no joke! You think about everything; "Who will the baby look like? What if I forget my kid in the store? What if somebody kidnaps my baby? Am I really prepared to be a parent? Should I stay in San Diego? I just ate, should I eat again? Wash my face now or go to sleep...Where's my retainer? Why do I suck at sports? What's the hype about football? What am I gonna wear tomorrow? Should I do my makeup and take a selfie? Wear my hair natural or straighten it?". Anything and everything that can go through my mind has already or will soon! The quote my friend put up and the bible verse combined let me know God's doin work and I need to keep on doing mine. If you've got any other bible verses to help I'd love to hear what they were :) Til next time! or later tonight who knows haha

FOODIE FRIDAY

photo taken by me First things first, HAPPY FRIDAY!! Hopefully you've had a good week and if not I hope next weeks is better :) I've been home alone for all of about ehh 24hrs and when I am I do random things. Like power clean as if I were superwoman and make chocolate dipped strawberries for no apparent reason. Since it's spring(and RAINING, really RAINING hard) I tried to theme the decorations around it. I only took a picture of the pretty looking ones because Im no expert at any of this stuff haha I just try to get the pretty factor on at least four and when I do Im like screw it Im hungry who cares how these come out! Thankfully I take pictures before I eat them and now Im sharing for you to enjoy :) I just used basic Hershey white chocolate chips, melted them and dipped my berries. No brain work needed. Then I added green food coloring to the left over and TRIED to make nice neat lines to add decoration. You be the judge of how that came out! Well, Im just gonna chill the rest of today and watch Netflix or find a book to read. If you've got any book recommendations or movies shoot em my way :)

My Fave Photo Apps

Im sure you know by now how much I looooove pictures. Taking them, posing for them & drawing them(even tho I suck at it). I love a pretty picture. Not knocking my DSLRs but for a good picture on the go(when I dont have them) I use my cellphone. Just wanted to share a few of my favorite apps I use to help me enhance my pics.

screenshot of my phone

1. Instagram -Now a days who doesn't use this?? Its got really nice filters to choose from and you can do simple edits like crop, rotate etc and share them all instantly with family, friends and anybody. I know its called "INSTA"gram so you can post things "instantly" but I never do. If Im not adding edits first then Im uploading a "no filter" selfie after I use another app to fit it to size.

2. Instasize -I use this app ALL THE TIME when I post to instagram! If you have a landscape size picture or a picture/video you dont wanna crop then this app makes sure it'll all fit when you post. You can change the border color if you dont want just a basic white and now you can add some filters with this app too. Oh and its got no watermark so you can fit it without it saying 'instasize' over your pic distracting everybody.

3. BeFunky -I mostly use this app to flip my pictures vertical or horizontal. Like if I save one of my snapchat pics they usually come out backwards so I use this to flip it the right way. Not too big a fan of the filters but go ahead and try it out if you want.

4. VSCOcam -Faithfully using this app. MY FAVORITE app! I love all the filters and you can make them grainy, add "fog". Really good for the whole Tumblr effect. Did I already mention this was my favorite app? I LOVE IT!

5. Frametastic -I use this app to make collages. Making a collage using this will automatically fit to size for your social media sites and wont leave a watermark.

6. Magic Hour -This just tells me when sunrise starts, stops and when the "golden hour" is for the best dreamy sunset pics. If Im not using it for picture purposes Im using it to catch the sunset on beach ;)

7. Aviary -I dont use this too often but when I do its my go-to for blurring out effect. I blur out background things/people/personal info.

8.Videoshop -Rarely do I ever post a video but when I do I use this. You can add music, crop,add effects etc to your videos. Works great and is the only app I use to do this kinda stuff.

9. TimerCamera -Pretty self explanatory. When my outfit is on point and the mirror cuts off my bottom half and nobody is here to take a pic of me I use this.

You probably have your favs but if you dont I recommend all of these. Majority of them are free because Im on the cheap side haha there are in app purchases but if I remember correctly they're all free. (I've got 3 pages of photography apps but I only shared my top ones. If you wanna see more just let me know!) Try em out and happy picture taking!

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO SEÑORES Y SEÑORAS!

translation: Happy Fifth Of May Gentleman and Ladies!

photo taken by me Today as we may or may not know is 1. Taco Tuesday 2. my favorite day & 3. The day Mexico defeated Napolean III's French forces on May 5th 1862 at the Battle of Puebla. (Just in case you got confused and thought it was Mexico's Independence Day)that day is September 16. In honor of this celebration landing on Taco Tuesday I decided to make Oreo candy tacos(because of my massive sweet tooth now) and a "Mamarita" (alcohol free because I cant have the real deal yet). They came out super good! Will I ever make them again? My mocktail, Yes. My Oreo candy tacos, NOOOOOO! They were good and look really cute but I hate the mess it made and I hated dealing with the sticky candy. Not to mention my "taco shells" kept falling apart. No bueno! If you dont mind the hassle of all that then go ahead and try it. Aside from how time consuming it was(for me) it made for good pictures. I set up my little picture booth and snapped some pics before eating all my hard work. I found the recipe for them here. For the Mamarita I got the recipe from the book called Preggatinis by Natalie Bovis Nelson.

you can buy the book here. comes in Kindle & paperback For all my preggo mamas that want to sip on the occasional "mocktail" at parties or just anywhere I highly recommend this book! Plus, the names to some of the drinks are hilarious and based off pregnancy terms. I just rimmed my margarita glass with red and green sprinkles then used white granulated sugar. For a better presentation I recommend using a different type of white sugar because mine practically was non existent in the picture. I set it up so the colors flowed with the Mexican flag and voila! Perfection :) Well I hope you enjoy your today and enjoy lots of Mexican food. :) If you try the recipes out let me know, I'd like to believe Im not the only one who didn't like the hassle of the tacos haha Adios Amigos!