BIRTHDAY #25

I must start by saying I'm incredible grateful for all my family and friends who wished me a Happy Birthday this year. Secondly, I must say I'm incredibly thankful for everything my husband did for me this birthday weekend. He definitely outdid himself!

Since Andres and I were gone the weekend of my actual birthday, I had a small get together with some friends a few days before it. Just in case some of you don't know, I'm addicted to doughnuts and as you can see I couldn't help myself from building a small doughnut tower with a dozen of my favorite flavors. (I'm not the biggest "traditional cake" fan) I also LOVE seafood so Andres insisted he make his world famous ceviche!

Not only all that, but he had a whole weekend getaway planned for us too. He took us on a roadtrip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where we got to soak in some sun and beach waves, eat some boardwalk fries and funnel cake (again - not a traditional birthday cake kinda girl), and the absolute BEST part of the birthday, we got to PLAY with baby tigers!!! Andres had reserved us a tour at the T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station and we got a ton of personal interaction with these cuties - belly rubs and all! I highly recommend this place for you animal lovers out there. It was truly an unforgettable experience that will live with me forever. <3 

 

EASTER WEEKEND

One of my favorite Easter weekends yet! Friday started with a super entertaining photoshoot with my baby bun Eclipse and my niece, Emiliana, in the afternoon. Definitely didn't go as easily as I had thought it out in my head - regardless, I still had so much fun with those crazy girls. Saturday was an all girls winery day with my family, friends, and a cousin that came to visit from Venezuela. Finally, we finished the weekend off with a huge brunch at my parents house on Sunday.

Now, when is our next holiday...is it Memorial Day yet?

LAKE ANNA FOR ANA'S BDAY

Happy 28th Birthday to my beautiful sister Ana! I hope you enjoyed the 80 degree weather that we luckily got on the weekend we celebrated. Thanks to my brother-in-law for inviting all of us over to your awesome lake house. 

Oh, and everybody watch out - Emi is driving boats now! 

DIY: PAINTED PLANTER

So I recently came across this awesome little bamboo box at a thrift store that I just knew had plenty of potential. This craft really couldn't have been easier, which I'm sure we can all agree are the best kind! I decided on a shape I wanted to paint on it and just taped it off with masking tape. For the paint I used what I had on hand which was black acrylic paint, but you could probably get the job done twice as fast with spray paint, too.

You might laugh but what really took the longest was deciding what I wanted to use it as. Believe it or not, I found way more uses for it than it was probably intended for; utensil holder, flower vase...but I finally decided on a planter! Luckily it came with a plastic bin inside which worked perfectly to hold the soil.

I love that now every time I walk through our upstair hallway I get to peek into the guestroom/office and see this fun pattern brightening up that plain white shelf!

ZUCCHINI BREAD

Mmm this Zucchini Bread is just perfect for a Sunday afternoon, I love having the house smell like fresh baked goods! I've been using this same recipe by Martha Stewart for a couple years now and it always comes out just right. You should definitely keep this in mind with Easter coming up next month - it would make such a delicious addition to a family brunch!

RECIPE HERE - The only difference between mine and hers is that I use two zucchinis - I like extra!