Be Thankful...Always

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Such a wonderful time to really just spend with close family. I kind of like how the process of getting Thanksgiving dinner ready is so...predictable. Hahaha, let me explain. Every year my Dad cooks the turkey, the stuffing and the mashed potatoes. My Mom prepares the honey-baked ham and side dishes- cornbread, cranberries and such. I always do my green bean casserole and all the while we have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV in the background. My grandparents, sister and Enrique...well, they're there ready to eat, lol!

...I guess I just enjoy the familiarity of it all. It brings me back to past Thanksgivings and it reminds me of how truly blessed I am to have my loving family. No matter how busy or crazy life gets, they're always there. They are the constant in my life. That is what I am thankful for every single day :)

We had a few special guests over today as well! My cousin Arnold and Alee came to spend time with us and Enrique's brother, Esteban stopped by too. Also, Rexy was on vacation at our house for Thanksgiving weekend, YAY! I always say, the more...the merrier!

A few photo ops outside in the courtyard before dinner. 

Ringin' the dinner bell! Let's eat!

{Love} HAHAHA! Somebody had a bit too much turkey, I think :)

Hope everyone else's Thanksgiving was a great one!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from me to you <3

Life's Celebrations: Sweets for the Sweet

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend Kristine!!!

Celebrating with 4/5 of the Owl Flock today for Kristine's birthday. Her choice of restaurant? A quaint little bistro slash cremerie slash creperie...of course!

{Location: Chocolat in Hillcrest, San Diego}

{Love} Mmmmm, delish!

Of course, my dessert partner in crime and I HAD to order this....it was calling to us off of the specialty gelato dessert menu! It's called Coppa Bacio- dark chocolate, hazelnut chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio and hazelnut praline....yeah, I know! Whew! SO DELICIOUS.

{Love} We SO enjoyed sharing this :)

Happy Birthday again Kristine!!!

Life's Celebrations: It's A-Mario!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY to my godchild Gavin!!!

His birthday theme this year was Super Mario Brothers...SO CUTE! My friend Analyn did a great job with the party and coordinating all of the fun activities and games.

{Love} Toadstool pops & gumball machines at the candy bar!

Cheese! Hahaha, my photo op with the adorably cute birthday boy, Gavin! Geez, this little guy was always on the go. I had to catch him just to get this shot!

Game time! Guess who won Mario Bingo?

We both did! YAY!

{Side Note}
Enrique had a Super Mario costume from two Halloweens ago and we let Analyn use it for the party. Her brother dressed up as Mario for the day and the kids loved it :)

Happy Birthday again Gavin! 

A Wonderful "mini" Surprise

Winding down after all of the debutante and wedding festivities....I'm finally able to catch my breath and just RELAX. To my surprise, my cousin Rowena and her husband Rico, gave me a present as a big thank you for coordinating Renee's debutante (they're Renee's parents).

It was my pleasure to help them out with everything and I seriously was not expecting anything in return...especially not something like an IPAD MINI!!! Whaaaaat?!? Hahaha! Apparently, they waited in line at the Apple Store the day that it first came out! I think I was speechless for about a minute there just looking at my new Ipad Mini. SUCH A NICE and GENEROUS gesture on their part. I couldn't thank them enough!

So, for the first week of November, all I did was play with my new "techno toy" and took tons of pictures with it! Here's an Ipad Mini photo week review! Enjoy...I know I did :)

{Love} My very first Ipad Mini and instagram picture!

{Side Note} Waiting in line at Hot Dog on a Stick with these two :)

{Love} Girl time with my good friends from high school :)

{Love} Roselyn (my best friend from high school) has a baby girl now! Hello little Jessalyn!

Autumn & Apples

{Location: Julian, Ca}

It's that time of year again...our annual visit to Julian! I've been waiting a whole year to eat some of Mom's famous apple pies! First, we made a quick side trip to William Heise County Park in Julian. Enrique was filming scenes for a project for his class, and we were his "film crew!" Hahaha :D

{Love} Reminiscent of my favorite silly ol' bear :)

A bit of filming...a bit of laying down in the leaves...la la la :)

That's a wrap on filming! Now let's go get some apple pie!

...Okay okay, we couldn't resist! Look how beautiful this place is...we HAD to stop for a photo op.

There are two Mom's locations in Julian. The one we went to here is on the outskirts of the main town. It's less crowded and more touristy looking actually...which I LOVE!

{Love} Apple dumplings! SO delicious!