CKC, here I come!!!

Tonight, I begin my first class at CKC-Ft. Lauderdale and my adventure will continue through Saturday night!

I'm excited, but sad at the same time because Yayi's grandma is in the hospital... Let's all pray that Carmin makes a speedy recovery! Yayi, I'm sorry you cannot make it, but I know that family comes first and there will be many more conventions in our future. Love ya, my bestest friend!

Cocoa Daisy's July Kit!

I'm loving these summer papers and the embellies are so cool! Check it out!



Also, I can't wait till Thursday night...that's when I start my CKC-Ft. Lauderdale adventure! Damaris, Yayi...are you ready? I'm so excited...

Happy scrappin!

Celebrating those we love

I've been thinking about my Mom a lot lately. I miss her and I wish she was here so I could tell her so many things that were left unsaid. I did this layout about her some time ago. On Saturday night, I wore one of her bracelets and a ring to the Quinceanero. I know that she's always with me and with Jorge... This photo was taken the day she and Jorge got married!



I also wanted to share with you this layout that I completed recently. I made this for my mother-in-law and framed it for her as a gift. It's a photo of her and my father-in-law on their wedding day 43 years ago. I used my May Scrapologie kit!

So sorry to see the weekend end...

Hi friends!

I really had a nice weekend. On Saturday, Richard and I went to his cousin, Melissa's, Quinceanero. I bought a nice outfit at Macy's and new shoes, too. I had my hair done and I really felt good. We had a great time. Here are a couple of pictures of us... First, sitting at the table and then dancing...





On Sunday, we went to brunch at Deli Lane, followed by a great walk through Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery while walking as much as possible to try and get some exercise. I was sweating like crazy so I think my mission was accomplished! We took a few nice pictures and we got to see so many iguanas along the way. Richard had never seen Fairchild so it was fun to share such a nice experience with him. We bought an annual membership so now we can go back and walk more often!







Afterward, we went to my in-laws' house for dinner and some people jumped into the pool afterward while I hung out with Kinsel and chatted away! Here's Richard with his dad, his sister and the kids; his dad diving into the pool; and his sister, Roxana, with her adorable doggy.







Hugs to all and thanks for reading my blog!

Presenting...My First Mini Scrapbook

I'm so excited! I created my very first mini scrapbook as a tribute to Mother's Day. I love this 6 3/4" x 4 3/4" zigzag horizontal kit from 7 Gypsies because it allows me to create a double-sided album. I have layouts of my family on one side and Richard's family on the other. I used pink cardstock along with Jenni Bowlin's May kit, pink and brown ribbon, as well as pink MM acrylic paint and mod podge on the covers. Isn't it cute? Tell me what you think!!!

This is amazing and inspiring!

I just came across this on Cathy Z.'s blog and I was completely taken by surprise. This man has incredible talent and the video will give you goose bumps (and may even bring tears to your eyes!). You have to watch this!!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Here's to my "fantabulously" wonderful step dad, Jorge! Last year, we took him to Perricone's for Sunday Brunch. Here are two pics of us together.





Happy Father's Day to Pepe (my wonderful father-in-law who appears in the photo below), my Papi and my Dad (up in Heaven), Butchie, Tio Stan, Tio Kevin and all those great dads that are here or in the Heavens above! Enjoy your day.

What makes me smile?

I just saw this challenge on Anilu's blog so I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the things that bring a smile to my face...

1. My hubby. Yes, there are times when he's cranky and that doesn't make me smile, but the majority of the time I just look at him and think happy thoughts!

2. My family. I look at Mami and I think she is the cutest little thing in the world! She's cuddly and smells good and her hugs just melt my heart. I adore her. Jorge, my step dad, is the most unselfish, giving and loving person I know. Having him in my life makes me smile. I call him my angel in disguise. Getting a call from my cousin Butchie, who lives in Hawaii.

3. My friends. Particularly my best friend Yayi. We are like sisters and we just understand each other so well. I don't know what I would do without her. Her son, D'Angelo (my Godson) makes me smile when he calls out to me, "Madrina!" Being surrounded by such wonderful friends makes me happy.

4. The thought of having a beautiful little baby one day and if she's a girl, she's gonna drive her daddy nuts (just like I do).

5. Scrapbooking and being in my happy room (scrap room). This is my creative outlet, my passion, my stress reliever, my gift for future generations. It just makes me so happy and I love to share this wonderful craft with my friends.

6. Travel. Arriving in a new place, enjoying my surroundings and discovering new things. Smile.

7. Sunsets and watching the night sky with my honey.

8. Sunday Brunch. I smile when we are able to enjoy a nice Sunday Brunch followed by a walk in the park or at the beach.

9. Seeing an incredible new design in a publication or reading a great story. If we published these works, that's even more of a reason to smile.

10. Starbucks. There's nothing like sipping a yummy latte or iced white chocolate mocha and just taking it easy.

What makes you smile?

Lots of drama in my life

Hi friends! I haven't posted anything in a while because there have been lots of things going on this past week.

First, I was taking care of Mami (my grandma). She's been a little depressed and fragile these past few weeks. She suffers from dymentia so it's been hard for my family to cope with everything.

Work has been incredibly busy! I've had a very hectic week, with lots of meetings, client visits, books that are on deadline, etc. I'm always amazed at the amount of publications that we produce every single month. It's a lot of work keeping everyone on schedule and ensuring that each and every single product is the best that it can be. But even though it's challenging, I've always enjoyed what I do and that's why I'm still there! I cannot complain. I always say that "Busy is good."

Next, during all this craziness, I got very ill with a bad cold that resulted in a sinus and throat infection. I'm much better now, but I had to go in sick to work all week because I just couldn't miss a day!

My honey-bunny has been traveling back and forth this week, first to Iowa (long story) and then to Oregon (another long story). You know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Now to some fun scrappy stuff...

I did manage to sign on to Two Peas and see that my K&Co. Amy Butler tote was back in stock so I ordered it! Yeah! I can't wait to get it. I want to use it to go to CKC-Ft. Lauderdale in a couple of weeks. Isn't it oh-so-cute? :-)



Also, I just found Amy Butler double-sided Belle paper, ribbon, fabric brads and metal art paper clips at Michael's so I had to pick those up, too.

Finally, I've been suffering from scrapbook withdrawal because it's been way too long... so in the midst of everything I managed to finish my very first mini album (4 1/2" x 6 1/2"). I don't have photos of it yet, but I'll share it with you in the coming days.

That's all for now. Happy scrappin!

I LOVE this cake!!!

Since I'm the editorial and design director at a custom publishing company, I come across some pretty neat things. Look at this awesome cake with the stylish pink and brown color scheme and the eye-catching butterflies. It's a beautiful artistic creation made by Cake Designs By Edda. It makes me want to plan my wedding all over again! I would have done things so differently if I had known then what I know now. After all, I've come across some very creative concepts while putting together a few issues of a wedding magazine. So now that I've been married almost three years and cannot go back in time and have another wedding, I need to come up with a new excuse to celebrate and go all out and have the pink and brown color scheme with this amazing cake. Hmm... I need a BIG reason to celebrate! An excuse to order this cake! Any ideas? :-)

Seven Random Facts About Me

I've been seeing this on several blogs and I thought it would be fun. Here are seven RANDOM FACTS/HABITS about me that you may not know.

1. I don’t like pickles or mustard; until a few years ago, I didn’t care for peanut butter much either, but on a VERY rare occasion I will eat it. Oh, and foods with a strange consistency or chicken that is not really well done totally grosses me out.
2. Puerto Rican food rocks (but of course, I'm biased). Boricua red beans are sooo much tastier to me than Cuban black beans. I love exotic foods, such as Indian, Greek, Mexican, Japanese... I could live on sushi and Puerto Rican food. Yummy!
3. I LOVE my scrappy magazines. I can sit there are read (yes, really read them), from cover to cover. I usually edit them as I read them. It’s a really bad habit, but sometimes I just cannot help it. It comes naturally. I do this with all the mags I read and I get really excited if I find a mistake. I guess I’m kinda’ compulsive that way.
4. Because we love the “It’s Happy Bunny” series, I started calling my hubby honey-bunny and it just stuck. We can so relate to those cute little books. So now we’re the bunny family. Don’t mess with us rabbits!
5. I make up song lyrics in the shower. However, in order to be subjected to this torture session (I can’t sing to save my life!), you must secretly drop by when I’m in a really great mood. It’s reserved for those happiest of days.
6. I hate clutter and a disorganized house. I thrive on having a clean and organized home. (Right now, the closets and drawers are messy and it’s really bothering me).
7. I worry about almost everything. I even worry about not worrying so much. What a problem!

Tag, you're it! Try it, it's fun!

A peek at my scrap room...

I'm still working on getting my scrap room together and I really need a new work table and a few more pieces here and there. So this is a work in progress that is sloooowwwly coming together. Here's a sneak peek at some of my stuff, but don't be surprised if some of these things disappear or change during the next few weeks! LOL! I'm just not going to stop till I get my room just the way I want it and I have finally accepted that it will not happen overnight (that's not easy for someone as impatient as I am)...

Here's my very first American Crafts Modern Album, which I personalized using Scenic Route Paper and some Thickers, and then I used some Mod Podge to seal it. I love it! It's sitting on top of one of my Craft Carts from Target (each pull-out drawer holds 12x12 papers and embellies).



These colorful magazine holders are from The Container Store. They've been around a while and they're nice and sturdy, but I'm beginning to think it's time for them to go...Instead, I'd like some wood wall pockets like these from Ballard Designs.



These glass jars are from IKEA. We were driving around Atlanta when I saw an IKEA store and I got so excited that Richard just had to take me there. I felt like a big kid in a playground. I decorated the vase on the left with acrylic paint, patterned paper and some ribbon. This was my very first painting project! Thanks, Yayi!



This is my bookcase from Linens 'n Things. I think I need another one, but where would I put it? Hmm... I'm still trying to figure out what should stay on the bookcase and what should go, so I think I need a few more weeks to figure that out. For now, it holds a photo of me and my mom at my bridal shower, a photo of me swimming with the dolphins in the BVI, scrapbook magazines and books, rubber stamps in a red pail, etc. I think I want to buy some wooden baskets like these or something similar to organize everything better. I also want this to put my rubber stamps in and this to hold photos, postcards and other goodies. The throw pillow is from my visit to IKEA. I love it!



This gorgeous red table with the butterfly was a great find in the Global Bazaar section of my Target store. I bought it with some of my leftover Christmas money (a gift from my honey-bunny). Did I mention I love butterflies?!



And finally, these are just some of my acrylic paints in a metal basket from Target. I used a couple of magnets to liven it up a bit.



I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my scrap room... I have a few other things that I have yet to photograph and there's more to come in the weeks ahead... Happy scrappin!

The Lion King and Scrap Kit News

After a very hectic week, we went to see The Lion King at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday night and it was amazing. The costumes and the performances were spectacular. I really enjoyed it! Thank you, Yayi, for getting us tickets!

In scrappy news, I received my June Cocoa Daisy kit and it is full of "summery" fun. I love the bright colors, the stamp set and yummy papers...Check it out below...



And then there's the beautiful, classy This England kit from Scrapologie. Ooh, la, la. I love the brown and pink combination...I can't wait to find some time to scrap!