One More Cookie!

I'll admit that I'm not the most die-hard Laker fan. I grew up watching them play on TV and I guess if someone asked me which is my favorite NBA team, I'd probably say the Lakers. But that doesn't mean that I'd cough up $100+ dollars to see a live game at the Staples Center down the street or tune in to every game obsessively during basketball season. If I happen to catch a game, I will root for them though. My brother, on the other hand, roots for the Lakers all the way. I wasn't surprised when he called me last night to ask if I wanted to go watch the Laker parade with him and his girlfriend today...and ask if he could park his car in the guest parking of my building. Aha, I knew there was an ulterior motive! jk.

I was pretty excited about the parade. I'm more into the community aspect of these types of events. I love when there is something exciting going on in the city that draws large crowds, especially if it's free!

Large crowd? Check.

Me and Vanessa+1 (my future niece/nephew is currently gestating!)

Laker girls.

And the crowd.goes.wild.

And the crowd goes WILDER.

Bye-bye Lakers.

I love all of the crazy characters that never fail to come out for these type of events.

"One more cookie!"
My bro is beaming with pride.

The parade certainly made for an exciting afternoon. Go Lakers!

Moving Da Party

Hey readers!

After an unsuccessful attempt to be a weddingbee blogger, I decided to make some changes. I created a new (and improved?) strictly-wedding-related blog where I'll be sharing a lot of the wedding content previously posted on this blog as well as lots of new material! And what do ya know, the boy actually wanted in on this little venture as well! You can find us at Team Claudia y Felipe!

If reading all about weddings is yo thang, then follow us at our new joint blog. And if not, I might keep poking my head in here to share some random life thoughs. Holler!

C
"Miss Tortolita"

BOMB couscous

I picked up a box of Israeli couscous at the market and made some for dinner last night. I usually don't post recipes up in here, but this couscous was pretty bomb (& healthy!) so I had to share. I named it accordingly: BOMB couscous.

Recipe (from the box)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Israeli couscous
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup shallots (regular onions work, too), finely chopped
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup minced parsley
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup raisins
Black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

-Cook pine nuts with 1 tsp butter until they brown a little.

-Set the pine nuts on the side along with the lemon zest and minced parsley.

-Saute shallots or onions until golden. Add couscous, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Stir often until the couscous browns slightly.

-Add the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil.

-Reduce heat to low, cover the pan, and let simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes).

-Remove the couscous from heat, stir in the parsley, pine nuts, lemon zest, and raisins. Sprinkle on some black pepper to taste.

-Enjoy! It works great as a side dish.

YUMS!!

This wedding is not my first.

...first big party thrown in my honor, that is! Today, I'm taking you back to tha old school.

Imagine all of the traditional elements of a wedding: the ceremony, the white puffy dress, the wedding party, all of your closest friends and family together in celebration. The only thing missing is the groom. In my case, the celebration was nothing related to a wedding; it's a 15th birthday party! That's right my friends, I already had my big day - my Quinceanera!

A Quinceanera is a typical 15th birthday celebration in the Mexican and Latin American cultures. I believe that back in the day, the Quinceanera celebration was a way to present a young woman to society. At 15, she was now of age to marry and her family had to "show her off," if you will. Nowadays, it's not about marrying off your daughter; it's about celebrating her entrance into womanhood. The traditional elements such as a mass and family party are usually still honored, though.

Unfortch, I don't have any fancy pics to share as I'm sure my parents were on a pretty tight budget and everything was put together in a matter of months. But I got some pics that will surely bring the LOLs.

Here I am making my grand entrance for the day, coming down the stairs of my house. My dress was custom made by this lady from the city of El Monte for a whoppin' $400. My grandpa paid for it. He told me if I got straight A's in school, he would buy my dress...DEAL!

My brother escorting me into my fabulous limo. This is how we roll in 1999!

Here I am with my parents at mass. I think I'm doing a reading where I affirm my faith.

The mass was an hour long. Don't my damas (maids) look so excited? By the way - I had 14 damas. 14!!!

....and 14 chambelanes (chamberlains) plus my escort (the one in the white). My godparents sat at the front, too.

I don't remember much about the reception. It's probably because the photographer had me trapped in his makeshift studio he had set up and made me take pictures like this during the reception:

The many faces of a Quinceanera.

This is just ridiculous.

At the reception, a waltz is typically performed by the quinceanera and all her attendants for the guests. I remember that for about 2 months before my Quinceanera, we would have waltz practice at my house every Sunday. It was so much fun! It was like a party with 30 of my friends and cousins once a week, except for the part where we had to learn a choreographed waltz. I dunno how we pulled it off. Don't my little brother and cousin look so confident as they prance down the line?

Finally, my cake made by my mommy. Yums!


Althought I don't have too many pictures left of my Quinceanera, I have plenty of memories (both good and bad). I remember having my moment where I stormed off into the bathroom in tears and had to be consoled by my mom, godmother, and group of damas until I calmed down. A Quinceanera is never drama free! Nonetheless, it is a day I look back at with the fondest of memories. Here I am, ten years later, planning a celebration just as big and meaningful. This time, I got my groom and we have two families to celebrate with! I feel like a giddy 14 year old again counting down the days until her big day!

Do you have any cultural traditions or celebrations that you reflect upon now that you're planning a wedding?

Hair Care

Fact: I only wash my hair 3 times a week (4 at most).

Fact: It isn't gross.

While listening to the radio recently, some DJs were talking about things that turn them off about girls. One of them stated that he hates it when girls don't wash their hair because it's "grosssss." Hah! Ignorant boys. They always have something to say about women's hygiene as if they knew. That's not to say that everyone's hygiene practices are the same. I'm just saying that it is perfectly normal to not wash your hair every day and not be gross. A lot of my close girlfriends don't wash their hair every day. Throughout college my roommates and I would warn each other when we would be washing our hair since we'd be hogging up the bathroom a little big longer. Perfectly normal, bbs.

I thought I'd shed a little light on this topic and my personal hair hygiene through my blog.

Let's start from the top: I used to wash my hair every day until I was about 16 years old. I couldn't go a day without washing it because it would become super oily right away. But at the tender age of 16, peer pressure and comparing yourselves to others is probably at its peak. I would listen to other girls when they talked about not washing their hair every day and how they maintain it. At that age, I didn't heart my oily, wavy, unruly hair and was willing to try out anything else so that it could be sleek, soft, and stylish like everyone else's (sad, I know). I started out by not washing my hair maybe once a week. I hated it, though! I could literally smell the oil in my hair the first morning after not washing it. I didn't understand how these other girls could go days without washing their hair. There had to be some kind of trick. Well, I did some reading and researching about hair maintenance and learned that it was common and, in fact, healthy to not wash your hair every day. I also learned what the trick was: you had to train your hair. This sounded so silly to me. "You mean your hair/scalp actually starts acting differently when you don't give it a constant supply of shampoo and water?" This is true.

I decided to train my hair. I don't exactly remember how long the training period lasted. I know it was several months. It started out with me washing my hair maybe 5 times a week, and I would just decrease the washes every now and then. To my surprise, it worked! My scalp started producing less oil and my hair was becoming more manageable. I found a balance between hair washing/exercise as well (since sweating does increase the need for more washing). Almost ten years later, I've got hair routines pretty much set. Wanna see?

Let's start with Tuesday since I consider this the beginning of my "hair cycle" right now: I go to a one hour bootcamp class early Tuesday morning. It's a pretty intense workout. I don't sweat much, but bootcamp gets me as sweaty as any workout can. I get home, shower, wash my hair, and spend 5 to 10 minutes moussing/spritzing and blowdrying my hair. Use a diffuser for maximum curlation.

Tuesday

Wednesday morning: I go to the gym in the morning for a ~45 minute workout. This is my resistance training day; I work out with heavier weights and do less repetitions than I do during classes. This workout isn't as intense, so I sweat less. I go home, shower, don't wash hair, and get ready for work. An easy fix for the hair is tying up whatever is left of my waves in a ponytail.

Wednesday

Wednesday evening: I shower at night and don't wash the hair. Then, I'll use my flat iron and straighten my hair that night since my waves are pretty much dead by this point.

Thursday morning: I wake up at a normal hour and get ready for work. All I have to do is touch up the hair with the flat iron and keep it down or put it in a ponytail like this.

Thursday

Thursday evening: Hair wash time! Thursday after work, I go to another one hour bootcamp class and then a half-hour core class. I'm pretty much a dead sweaty mess after my workout. The hair is begging for its second wash of the week, so I shower, wash, and blow-dry the hair straight at night.

Friday: I wake up with clean hair - woo hoo! All I gotta do is touch it up with the flat iron or curling iron, and I am on my way to get on with my day.

Friday

By the time Saturday rolls around, I'll only have washed my hair 2 times. Felipe and I try to go hiking at Runyon Canyon on Saturday mornings, so sometimes I'll wash my hair after the hike. If not, I wash my hair on Sunday. Either way, I won't wash it again until the following Tuesday when the "cycle" begins again. Of course, the cycle changes every now and then depending on my week schedule and activities, but you get the idea.

So, do you still think I'm gross? Does anyone else out there follow some kind of hair routine?

Sample Dialogue

Me: Hey, remember when we used to go on romantic getaways like once a month? Or how we used to go out to eat at cool restaurants all the time?
Him: Yeah.
Me: What the heck, man?? How come we don't do that anymore!
Him: Umm. We have a wedding to plan.
Me: Dang.

Ah... I remember those days all too well. We always had a fun weekend activity planned or a trip to look forward to. We had a "to-do" list of places to go and things to see. It was fun, fun, fun. Just me and my man. And then the stupid wedding came along and took away all our leisure time.

Okay, okay! It's not all that bad. Wedding planning is fun, yo! We have entered a new stage in our lives and we are embracing all of the changes it has brought. Yet I can't help to think back and remember all of the free time we used to have and how fun it was. Now, most of our free time is spent cleaning the house, cooking, going to the gym or for a hike, renting a movie, or doing something wedding related. Things that are "budget friendly," ya know? (Well, except for the wedding-related part.) But you know what? I'm really enjoying it! With everything going on right now (work, school, wedding) I am feeling way more productive with my life. There is so much to look forward to, so many new goals that I've set for myself, and many new experiences with my man.

So what if our strict budget doesn't allow us to take random trips or eat out every weekend? There are so many other ways to have fun as a couple and save money at the same time. For example: cooking together is so much fun and a good learning experience for both of us; going for a weekend hike makes for a great opportunity for conversation and reflection; designing wedding stuff on our own (centerpieces, invitations, etc.) builds our relationship as a team and will save us budget money; etc. Although planning the wedding has required a lot of sacrifices, I'm confident it will be worth it all when we are celebrating the day we become Mr. & Mrs. with all of our family and friends.

What kind of sacrifices or changes have you made as a couple in order to plan for your wedding and/or future?

Booked!

jeeeeah! Today marks the beginning of the "vendor booking" stage. We haven't had much progress on this part of the wedding planning, but today I am feeling accomplished! I just sent in a check for something I am sooo excited for. Hey you, Felipe-face, don't go dump me anytime soon. At least not for the next 8 months, k? thx!
(juuuus kidding)

So, do our peoples have a table to sit at and seats to sit on?
Nope.

Do they gots a coordinator person telling them where to go, where to stand, and what to do?
hmm...prolly not.

Food?
FALSE.

But, hey, it's all good in tha hood cuz they have music!!!

Our peoples will be dancing to the sounds of the Susie Hansen Latin Band:


(Source: YouTube)
((Sorry that the video is super long. There's not much out there to share.))

I've heard their name tossed around in the past, but the first time I saw them live and in action was at a BrideWorld show several months ago. I loved them from the start. After months of debating whether we could fit them in our budget, it finally worked out. Everyone has their "splurge," right? I guess this is ours. It's totally worth it for us, though. They will act as our emcees (in both English and Spanish - score!), work with us to create a schedule for the reception and make sure the party is going as planned, and most importantly - keep our peoples entertained.

Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I loooooove dancing. And I looooove salsa/merengue/cumbias/ANY latin music. If allowed, I would be the first person on any dance floor and the last person off regardless of how much of a fool I look. The mister, on the other hand, isn't as crazy about it as I am. It's still all good, tho. I love that he understands my obsessive dancing tendencies when I hear a good jam. He is such a good sport and although he won't admit it, he's a pretty badass dancer. I know we are going to have so much fun partying it up at the reception. woop woop!!

Do you have a wedding splurge? Anything you have got to, got to, got to have??