Sweet Valentine! (Friend Party)

 My cute friend Lex, decided to have a friend Valentine's Day Party.

It was so much fun. See that bowl of chex mix... only pic of it that I had... but seriously that stuff is amazing. Thanks, Ash.

She got really creative, and decked out her house with hearts and cute banners.

Cruz and I brought Pavlova. 

All the treats were so yummy! We had a sugar rush for sure.

Ashley B. Made these cute cupcakes with chocolate hearts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lex made these super yummy jello parfait.

Lex, also gave us these fun valentine's with mustaches on them.

I "MUSTACHES" you a question...

Will you be my Valentine?

This was such a fun little party. I loved that it was a few weeks before Valentine's day (02.04.2012)... it got me in the spirit of this lovely holiday. :)

LOL. Got to love these friends...!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE.

and...
a little love note for the husband-o.


dear husband-o,
i ♥ u.
i love you the mostest-er!
thank you for the sweet card, and valentine's day surprise.
you are the best.
i hope you have a wonderful day.
i am excited to go to San Fran with you tomorrow.
hugs, and kisses.
—love, your wife-a

Arrrrgggg, it's Free Valentine Printables!

My friend had an early valentine's party this past weekend. (I'll post pics later.)  It was fantastic. She asked us to bring some valentines to share. So, I sat down at the computer and came up with these. Since they were from both Cruz and I, he informed me that they couldn't be too girly. LOL! So, I went for a pirate theme, I really liked how they turned out. :)
(I also learned that in Venezuela, kids don't hand out valentine cards, like we do here in the states... so when I told Cruz that we were to bring little valentines he was kind of confused. He said in Venezuela, you only give a card to your boyfriend/girlfriend... not to classmates etc., honestly; I think he found it a little odd that we have this tradition. For me, I think it's great to share a little love once and a while!)

I thought they'd be fun to share them...

enjoy!

Download your own set here!

I think this red one is my favorite.

Oh, and do you want to make little envelopes for these little valentines??? Go here...

ps... I started with a 6x6 square, and it worked pretty good for me! For this size i don't recommend card stock.

Happy Valentine's Day!

celebrate!

 I didn't really have anything BIG planned for my birthday... little did I know.

When I got home from work, my handsome husband was already home from work... and ready to party. He had the gifts all wrapped, and everything set up. ;)

Cruz really knows how to make my birthday fantastic. He always has a surprise up his sleeve.

 He remembered that one random day I had said I wanted some baking supplies. Love that! He also had these beautiful roses sent to my work. A fun surprise. The picture doesn't show, but they were really pretty, and the vase was a fun square shape, and had some fun twigs coming out the top. ♥'ed it.

 After opening the gifts we went to dinner. We went to Gloria's Little Italy, which is very yummy. If you haven't tried it, and you are in Provo sometime you should. It is tasty.

 I recommend the bruschetta... so delicious.

 When I got home, some of my adorable friends were at my house to surprise me. :) I loved it. They had chatted with Cruz to get the details worked out, and they sure did a fabulous job!

 Have your cake and eat it too.

FRIENDS!
(PS... see that cute banner, Lex made it... I thought it was festive... don't be surprised if you see it again for some other party. It is too cute to not use it again.) 

 I love how ridiculous this picture is.

 This birthday was the year of FLOWERS. It was perfect. My house looked like spring... and those tulips are still as pretty as ever. Thanks Kristi!

 The Saturday after my birthday we gathered as a family... at La Jolla Groves. Seriously, beautiful and mouth-watering food.

It was a fantastic birthday. I loved all parts of it.

Thank you Cruz for all the work you put into my birthday. You are a great party planner. ;) I love that you took the time, and energy to make it all happen. Love you the very MOST!

I really didn't think he could compete with last years b-day... but I think he did.
i loved 2009 b-day celebration as well. (See... isn't he the best!)

NEW!

I have a new blog header. I think i love it, it feels good to have a little change. :) Let me know what you think!

{ Let me know if you need a new blog header, I'd love to design one for you. }

Oh, and speaking of NEW... we have a new car! It is lovely. We got her the day after my birthday... kind of a little extra birthday present. (More to post on my b-day another day...)

We have been a ONE car family for about 18 mo. that is a long time. I am so thankful that my co-worker Kathy, who was a lifesaver; and let me ride to work with her. It was really fun to get to know her better. She tells the best stories, and never complained about all the crazy road construction.

I am also super thankful for my parents letting me barrow their extra car all the time when I needed to run places, or when the car-pool at work didn't work out. They would always make it work, thanks Mom and Dad. Love ya. Thank you to all the other people who gave me a ride, when I needed one.

So far Maxinne is loving us right back, she has a few extra bells and whistles. I think our other car Max is a little jealous. I can't wait to take Maxinne for a little road trip to San Fran in a few weeks. We have to go re-knew Cruz's pass-port... so were making a little trip out of it. It is great to be able to just go, when you need to GO, and not have to think of how you will get there. Hooray, hooray for a new car.

Oh, and not too long ago I also got a new hair cut. I am kinda loving it too. I went short, and it has been a good 5 years since I've had my hair short. Shoulder length hair is short for me. :) 2012 is welcoming NEW things!

p.s..... happy GROUNDHOG DAY!

just because... flowers

(above... flowers from the husband-o, just because.)

My super nice, and handsome husband brought these me these pretty flowers a few weeks ago. I am still enjoying what is left of them. (Sorry for the cell phone pics.)

(above... flowers from the husband-o, just because.)

This was in August of 2011, but I had forgotten the funny note, and had to post.

Love to have flowers every so often. 

Love them when it is a surprise.

Love all the colors.

Love my husband more.

Black and White Party 2012 { MLK Day }

This was the invite for our little Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.

 Cruz was a huge help in getting everything set up and ready to go. I love to have a party, but he kind of gets stuck doing some of the grunt work. Thanks Love.

Our little gathering. Such a fun group... lots of laughing.

Cruz and I tried to get everything we could in a black or white serving bowl. 

 The food included: black bean soup, baked chicken with white creamy sauce, cilantro rice, strawberry spinach salad, black and white corn chips with white queso, and homemade oreos... all fabulous. 

 Everything was so yummy, and we got very full.

The table worked out perfect, I had just enough dishes for the group. The food looked pretty and tasted good too.

 Mustaches and milk. 

2012's black and white party was festive, and fancy... two of my favorite things.

Planning MLK day!

Monday is Martin Luther King day, it is also the day we usually do a BLACK & WHITE party. We usually only invite a few people over for dinner. We require them to wear black and white. We eat, we chat and play some games. This year I am thinking to do the same. I may just do a dessert bar, and not dinner... only time will tell. It is tricky since I have to work that day. :)

See ideas i am thinking about.... here.
{Don't you just love pinterest? i do.}

See 2011... here.

See 2010... here.

Christmas Memories { 2011 }

The Christmas season went so fast this year, but I loved it all the same. I love that it involves tradition, family and friends.

This year Alan's family was heading to San Diego for Christmas so we did a little Pre-Christmas party in the early part of December. My parents have continued with their tradition of giving nut-crackers for Christmas. This  year we got a adorable Santa one. 

Cruz is a HUGE fan of hot chocolate. We have at least one HOT CHOCOLATE party during the holiday season. 

A fantastic Christmas indeed. 

We had the biggest Christmas tree that I have ever had in my life.

We got our Christmas cards done, and put in the mail.

We visited with family all Christmas day, and learned that JJ really LOVES Cruz.

We had time off of work, 3 extra days was pure bliss.

We ate traditional Venezuelan food, and talked via skype to our family in Venezuela.

We played wii games, and laughed at ourselves.

We sang Christmas songs, even though we don't sing that well.

We went to Church with my parents, and heard their ward choir sing like angels.

We gave yummy treats to friends and neighbors.

We loved every second.

My highlight of Christmas was on Christmas Eve, when we were at my parents  home. At 7 pm, the neighborhood lighted Chinese lanterns for a lovely lady, a wonderful friend; who has cancer. She has been given 3-6 months to live. We (about 13 families) gathered outside her house, and then lit about a dozen of the lanterns into the air. (I guess, they do it in the movie tangled.) It is well wishes, good fortune and longevity. It was really simple, but such an overwhelming spirit of LOVE, friendship was there. It was seriously amazing. I believe it was a surprise for the family. Lots of hugs and well wishing took place. Something I hope not to ever forget.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

And for new years... we went to our neighbors house played a bunch of games, and laughed our guts out. Then toasted the new year with styrofoam cups with a little peach sparkling cider. Not fancy, but all good. Oh, and the peach flavor sparkling cider is super yummy. The sad part we didn't even take one picture.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS...

{ i am excited, and a little worried about #7. }

. . .

Oh, and did you know that the pantone color of the year is...

Tangerine Tango.

{Read more about it here.}

i love it.

(i really like the name.)

2011 goal feedback

It is day THREE of the new year. I haven't even made my new years resolutions, yet. I plan on working on it tonight. I actually take them seriously, and not so seriously at times. :)

I do think they are a good thing.
I do think if I put focus on them, I do accomplish them.
I do think they are positive.

Here is feedback on last years goals. 2011, I chose 11 things to focus on.

I would say I had a total success at: #3, #4, #7, #8, and #11.

1. Be Healthy: I did this well at points and NOT so well at others. In the end, not great.
2. Pray More: I found that when I made this a goal, it up-ed my morning prayers. YAY.
3. Be Clean: Done and done.
4. Travel More: Not only did we do a trip of a life time in EUROPE, we went to Vegas more than once, and to California too.
5. Be Nice: I think i did pretty good on this, I guess to get the truth ask my husband. LOL.
6. Listen more: I also think I became a better listener this year. I did miss out on the spirit telling me to transfer my pictures to our other hard drive, big loss there. I did however, listen to a friend and was able to surprise her with a fun gift.
7. Be Giving: I think i did do better on this. :)
8. Party More: HELLO, we for sure did this! May have caused the fail with #1. LOL.
9. Be Brave: yes, I did try some new things in 2011. Go me!!!!!
10. Read More: a little.
11. Be Happy: I really have never felt SO BLESSED!!

What a great year 2011 was. I welcome 2012, with excitement. I will be posting new 2012 resolutions this week.

How did your 2011 year go? 

Any thing you are working towards for 2012...?

 Any fantastic resolution ideas for me?

Jan and Feb Subway art { F R E E D O W N L O A D }

I can't believe that it is almost time to count the new year in. How did that happen?

Not sure, but I must say that I have had a great year. I am loving the last week, soaked up lots of time with the husband-o, hope to soak up a little more too. ;)

I need to get thinking about NEW YEARS resolutions.

I need to post pics of thanksgiving and Christmas.

I need to print out my JANUARY SUBWAY art.

and...

I thought why go to the photo lab twice, so I'll need to print February's SUBWAY art as well.

Oh, and if you didn't print March's SUBWAY art out from last year do that too.  (Get March art link through my post here.)

January 26th is my birthday... so for me, I included "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" in my subway art. If you have a birthday in January feel free to use this version. 

Click HERE.

OR... for those who don't have a January Birthday like me then... Click HERE.

AND... for those who want to print these subway prints and KEEP them for years to come, I have this design that doesn't have the year on it. :) Click HERE, for this design. 

Oh, and don't forget Valentines day. February's Subway art.

Click HERE for art.

WHOA, that is a lot of subway art. 

enjoy. 

© Christina Marcano. For personal use only. :)

my other subway art here.