Remembering a hero

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”- Cesar Chavez

Beautiful Spanish Word Tuesday!

Yes, I know it's super late but a friend on Facebook inspired me to write this post :)
He's learning Spanish and posted a beautiful word he recently learned: AMANECER (dawn). The more I said the word, the more I fell in love with it as well! So I thought it would be really fun if I post a Spanish word ever week that sounds beautiful to me... And all of you are welcomed to do the same! either posting it on your blogs or leaving comments here. I would love to see all the beautiful Spanish words you come up with!!

So, my beautiful Spanish word of today:

LLUVIA (rain)

I love how it sounds!! There's something about it that me endulza el oído ;)
It's simple, clean, and it flows so beautifully!

If I ever have a baby girl I might just name her Lluvia hehe!

mucho love,
MJ

"vintage" shopping, or what's the same, domingo de "Swami"

Have you noticed how all of a sudden "vintage" is in?? You see all this young people searching for cool "vintage" stuff at goodwill and flea markets. For some reason I find this very funny! I remember my mom buying "vintage" things for as long as I can remember, of course we didn't call it that though! It was "segunda mano" and all my mom could afford. My momma got me tons of clothes and toys from "la segunda" we got new things only when she came to the states and for christmas, otherwise "vintage" it was...

Well, my mom LOVES thrift stores and flea markets, she can afford new things if she wants but being the frugal woman she is, she prefers thrifting.  I'm pretty sure she goes to one or the other (or both) on a weekly basis. (I have a hipster mom LOL )Thrifting can be a hit or miss, sometimes you find great things others there's nothing worth your money. But what I love about buying segunda mano stuff is that you will have something unique and fashionable at a bargain price! And you all know I'm all about bargains!

This past Sunday we all took a trip to a flea market close to my mom's house, or what we call "el swami" (swap meet). To be honest, I only went  because there are these shops that sell mexican candy and tostilocos; and I can't say no to potato chips with sliced mango, cucumber, jicama, peanuts, cueritos, chile, chamoy y limón! (yes, all together...I want some now!!!!!!) Like usual, my mom went to the tents with the tiliches on the floor. I usually go to the ones that have the things nicely arranged on tables and that cheap dollar jewelry, but since I was busy eating my tostilocos I went with her. Long story short, I look at the ground and see this old Scrabble box, possibly 50s or 60s, and I got it for $1!! oh yeah baby. After that I knew it was going to be a good day.

This is what I came home with:

50s/60s Scrabble game, complete!! $1

A guy had a box full of these type of huaraches. Couldn't find anything online, all I know is that they were made in Mexico. $5

Old clutch. $1

I LOVE Russian nesting dolls!! This is just the big one but it's beautiful!! $1

Beautiful silver brooch $1. Also bought a leather cuff for a $1, but the kid hid it somewhere.

A vintage wooden train set for the kiddo. $3 It comes with tons of pieces! We disinfected everything before giving it to Julian, of course.

And my coolest find of the day:

A 70s fisher price record player!! It was a bit pricey, $20 but I LOVE it!! it plays 33 and 45 rpm records and it came with a Disneyland story disc. I've been in love with the vintage 33 rpm disc and story books that Disney released and have been wanting to get some for the kid since the longest. This one is for the kiddo as well, unless I find a LP of Mecano LOL

And that was it!! Love all my findings, it definitely makes me want to hit the flea markets and thrift stores more often. Now, if only I could find a place where they sell Spanish records?????

and don't forget to enter my super awesome mark. giveaway!!!

mucho love,

MJ

MJ 4 mark. GIVEAWAY!!!

A few weeks ago I became a mark. sales rep! So I decided to make a blog to share with you mark. sales, inspired looks and product reviews. And to kick off the new blog I'm doing a small giveaway!!


So please visit my mark. blog and participate!!


mucho love,
MJ

Sabores of my childhood!

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When I was  a little kid my grandma had lots of different chili plants. So for dinner, I would go upstairs to the roof where she kept them, and get a few to eat. My favorite one was the green chile de árbol, (like the one in the pic above) so delicious and spicy!

The other day I found some at our local market and I couldn't resist to buy a bag. Tonight I eat a couple with some creamy chicken enchiladas, and each bite brought so many childhood memories. My mouth felt like it was in fire but I was so happy at the same time =P

Are there any foods that bring you childhood memories?

MJ

love, love, love...

When the kiddo was born the only lullaby I knew was the classic "duermase mi niño, duermase ya". So obviously I sang to him some of the songs I knew. Our favorites are Just like Heaven by The Cure, and Love by Zoé (above)... He was a bit fussy last night so I laid him down right next to me and sang Love until he fell asleep. This morning he woke up singing "oooove, oooove"!

Needless to say, I'm a proud mama!!
=D

Mexico Part Dos!

So I’m finally back with my Mexico posts!! During our vacation we celebrated Julian’s baptism. It was very important to me that my abuelitos were there, so I decide it to do it in Mexico even if Mr. S had to stay here in Cali working =(

My abuelitos were my baptism godparents and I’m so happy they were there with us! The church where it was held is the same one I used to go to for Sunday school. And my grandpa made the doors, which makes it even more especial!

My comadre was my best friend ever, who lives in Mexico, and the padrino was my step-dad cause the kid loves him! It was fun, we made some carnitas and all my family had a great time. And the kiddo was super happy, even though he had a bad throat infection and fever the two days before.  He was asleep during the mass, (thank God), it was seriously the longest mass ever… almost 2 hours!!! Right after the mass, the baptism ceremony began and that lasted 45 min more. I jokingly said to my grandma that since it was so long I didn’t have to go to church for the rest of the year. She just laughed! LOL

Julian woke up just before the priest started to put the holy oils on him, and cried a little with the water. But overall he was a good kid!

Ok, enough talking, here are some pics!

A sonrisa for all of you :)

I've been trying to upload my pictures from my vacation in Mexico like a thousand and one times...but it looks like blogger has decided not to let me upload them tonight :(
So, I'm off to do some cleaning before going to bed. I need time to organize my thoughts and nothing works better than listening to my ipod and keep my hands busy. And to keep positive thoughts, Ana Torroja's "Sonrisa"... Enjoy!

Un “Spanish Friday” en cinco!

…Cinco puntos, sin orden ni concierto, pero por lo menos es algo!

1. La nostalgia vacacional sigue!! Estoy echando muchoooo de menos  el estar en  México, sobretodo ver a mis abuelitos todos los días ya que son dos de las personas mas importantes para mi. Había creado una rutina durante mis vacaciones que ahora me aburro como ostra y no se cual es mi lugar! Quiero regresar!!
2. Tengo el corazón muy triste por la situación en Japón. Esto de los desastres naturales siempre me da mucho miedo porque aunque queramos nunca estaremos preparados para algo así. Vivo a unas pocas millas de la costa Pacifica y esta mañana amanecimos con una alerta de tsunami, consecuencia del que afecto Japón. Varios negocios cerraron al igual que carreteras, y la universidad cancelo varias clases. Afortunadamente no hubo peligro alguno, pero seguimos en alerta y rezando por los afectados.
3. Me esta costando mucho trabajo aceptar que mi pequeño Julián no es tan pequeño ya. Cada día nos sorprende más con las travesuras que hace. Esta creciendo demasiado rápido y todavía no me acostumbro a que mi bebe quiera estar corriendo y subiéndose en los muebles de la casa antes que estar con su mami.
4. Ando de empresaria! Al final de este mes por fin abriré mi tienda de manualidades en etsy! Además he empezado a vender productos de belleza, que pronto les presentare. Y estamos planeando abrir otra tienda por Internet de antigüedades. Ahh! Estoy muy emocionada y ojala todo salga bien.
5. Sabían que nunca he jugado Scrabble en mi vida? No tengo ni la menor idea de cómo se juega. Pero hoy compre la versión en español del famoso juego de mesa! El “mister” no sabe escribir muy bien en español y mi fuerte no es el ingles, así que hemos decidido romper un poco las reglas del juego y lo convertiremos en el “Espanglish Scrabble” LOL

Y bien, se que no he estado escribiendo tanto como debería. La verdad es que no se a donde se me va el tiempo, pero tratare de guardar un poco de tiempo para mi querido blog!

Mucho love,

MJ

5 things monday!!

I'll be posting more about our trip to México soon... but I thought it would be fun to do a 5 things monday post! I haven't done one in a while. So without further ado, here are 5 things I'm loving right now!

1. Nescafé's Café de Olla. While in México, I went to my aunties house one day and as soon as we walked in the door a delicious aroma of coffee and cinnamon greeted us. She makes a fresh pot of Café de Olla every single day, and it's by far the best one I've ever had! Once we were back in the states, I tried to imitate her recipe (coffee, cinnamon, and piloncillo), but I couldn't find all the ingredients at our neighborhood market. I found  Nescafé's Café de Olla's instead, and while the flavor is not as rich as my tía's coffee, it is still pretty good. I've been having a cup almost every morning and I rarely drank coffee anymore!

2. Tax Returns!! oh yes, I got mine just time to get something I've been waiting for: the iPad 2!!!!! I'll be up online this friday at midnight to order mine!

3. MTV Tr3s' Niñas Mal. Has anybody else been watching this  novela?? I loved the movie it was based on, but I'm loving the novela even more! Our tv doesn't get any channels, but luckily you can watch all the episodes online! ohhhh, I'm addicted =D And the soundtrack it's pretty cool too!

4. Julián's new "talking" phase. I can't understand half of what he says, but I love how he babbles all the time! We're "understanding" each other more now, and he tells us what he wants or what he doesn't like his own way. He learned how to clap while we were in México after seeing my grandma making tortillas, now he says "bravooooooooo" and claps all the time! soo adorable.

5. This song!! Can't stop playing it!


what are you loving right now??

México Lindo y Querido: Part 1

I'm back from my vacation in my beautiful and beloved México!! Well, we got back last week and are slowly readjusting to our lives here. Julian and I visited my hometown: San Juan de los Lagos. Time flies whenever I visit my homeland...as soon as I leave I can't wait to go back, and when I finally get there it's time to pack up and say goodbye again. Oh well, at least I have something to look forward to!

Anyway, traveling with the baby and like 100 lbs. of luggage by myself was a total nightmare!! The kid had the worse time of his life on the way over there, crying, screaming, and being a berrinchudo! He fell asleep during the last hour which I'm sure everybody on the plane appreciated. The flight back was easier, he fell asleep most of the flight and woke up just when we were landing; and from that moment on he did not stop crying, screaming, and kicking until we left the airport! I think the immigration guy felt bad for me cause he only asked me like 3 questions... And back to the luggage, I had a carryon full with the baby's clothes, a stroller and my bag (plus the bag I checked in). I was lucky to find some nice people that helped me carry it but I was surprised at how rude other people are!! One guy got upset when I asked him to get my bag from the carousel even though I had a sleeping baby in my arms!

As from the actual vacation, Julian decided I HAD to be with him every single moment while we were in México... If I even dared to move 5 inches away from him or put him down for a minute to go to the restroom, he would cry his lungs out. Eventually he felt more comfortable with the familia and I was able to have some free moments to at least take a shower!! Im pretty sure he was just homesick and missing his papá! He also got a terrible throat infection, poor thing had fever two days before his baptisim... fortunately for me, my mom, stepdad, and sisters were in México by then and helped me out!

Aside from Julian and his berrinches, I loved visiting my hometown! I love walking the streets where I grew up, see all of those familiar faces, feel the family love, wake up and see my abuelita, and playing jokes on my abuelito. And I love the food too, of course!

My hometown is beautiful!! and I wish you can all visit it some day... in the mid time enjoy these pictures!

*picture credit to my awesome sister!!!