Archives for October 2016

October 31, 2016

Witchy Woman

A lot of you ask me about my spirituality and practices when you see some of my social media posts. Crystals became a pretty important part of my life about two years ago. I know I often cite this time as being a hard one, but well, it was. I felt very anxious, uncertain and lonely. It wasn’t easy.

A friend of mine suggested going to the “local witch store” (also known as metaphysical), and I’ve been hooked ever since. For those of you not in the know, crystals are said to have properties that can help with different areas, such as anxiety, success, fertility, etc. When there’s a full moon, you charge them under the moonlight and sage them regularly to make sure their energy is clear. I think of them as my little totems, and I definitely have favorites.

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October 27, 2016

Hello Kitty Cafe Truck: Miami

The Hello Kitty Cafe truck made its way to Miami this past weekend and for a split second, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to go! I just registered Luna in daycare (sniff sniff), and they were holding an open house the same day and at the same time I was going to be visiting the truck. I had to adult at that moment and chose having Luna meet her teachers and classmates over kawaii time. But! Luna was in such good spirits after such a long and busy day, that we decided to take our chances and head over there in the early evening. It was such a great decision!

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October 25, 2016

Holiday Cards by Minted: Giveaway!

I know you may be thinking it is way too early to be scheming about holiday cards, but my friends…the time is nearing. We are only a few weeks away from the big guy in the red suit, and I’m here to be your trusty reminder: book those shoots. Book ’em because you are going to want to snag some of these beautiful holiday cards from Minted’s 2016 collection.

While searching through, I was not only happy to see so many great designs from independent artists, but also to see so many kinds of families represented in their selections: same sex, kids, childless, and fur babies! It’s refreshing to see a modern perspective on what a “family unit” is these days. With that said, these are some of my favorite designs of the bunch:

collage

I personally like my cards to be modern, understated and inclusive of all my family and friends that may not celebrate the same. I like a simple, positive message and I never say no to a little gold foil sparkle. I’ll be revealing which card I eventually chose, along with our corresponding holiday photoshoot, here on the blog, so make sure you stick around!

And I won’t be the only one revealing gorgeous Minted cards for the holidays. Two of my readers will be winning a $125 gift card to Minted to spend on your own holiday cards! Think of it as Christmas coming a little early. 😉
All you have to do is follow this link!
The giveaway will last one week (ends Halloween) + winners will be chosen shortly after. Good luck everyone!

Disclosure: this post was sponsored by Minted.com, but all opinions and thoughts are my own.

October 19, 2016

Life with Luna: Hot Dog!

Before we headed off to Disney to celebrate Luna’s big first birthday, we had a very small party at our place with close family and friends. Although Luna got a little overwhelmed with all the faces and ruckus, it was a good time. Funny to say that she handled the trip to Disney way better stimulation-wise, but it’s true! I think it is different when new people invade your own space.

collage

Since we were going on this big trip, we decided to keep the theme with Disney and made it a Mickey + Minnie party. Again, the whole point was not to shell out a bunch of cash for a party, but rather for a trip that we could all enjoy, so I kept things minimal. Sure, you may think this isn’t very minimal, but for a party planning obsessed nut, I assure you it is. Almost all the details were DIY’ed by yours truly, including the favor bags, mason jar vases, and glitter one. However, some of my favorite decor were the prints I got from ChatBooks. They now not only offer photo books, but also these beautiful prints. You get to choose which 5 you would like printed from each of your albums. I totally love them, and strung them off the large “ONE” balloon, as well as scattered them on the table. Now that the party is over, I have no idea what to do with them, so any ideas would be great! They are so beautiful and such amazing reminders of how much she has grown up already and all the moments we have shared.

Thank you so much to everyone for your feedback on my last very heartfelt and emotional post. These little ones really know how to do a number on your feels.

**This post was not sponsored by Chatbooks at all, I just love the service and wanted to share it with all of you.

October 14, 2016

One.

I remember an old friend commenting on my gender reveal, “it’s like she’s always existed and is only just now showing up to the party.” I couldn’t have stated it better. I named my future daughter in high school, and since then, I have dreamed of Luna. Little did I know the heartache that would lead me to her. Just like I knew when her older sibling came into my world and soon after left it, the moment Luna showed up, my entire being perked. It was almost like the black and white world I was living in became awash with color. I find absolutely no coincidences in life. None. Luna was no different.

When I was at my lowest (about 4 months before becoming pregnant), I visited The Wizarding World. After spending about an hour in the wand shop looking at which wand spoke to me, then, in the depths of despair, loneliness and confusion, I chose Luna Lovegood’s wand. Because at that moment, I desperately wanted to be more like Luna: loyal, brave, honest, confident and unabashedly herself. Four months later, I returned to Wizarding World with my husband as a sort of do over to make new, better memories together. It was there, while riding on the Hogwarts Express, that I knew Luna was with me. No coincidence. And then, the color came back into my world.

And its never left.

The term for babies conceived after a loss is “rainbow baby.” No coincidence. And funny enough, instead of the child learning from their parents, I feel like I’ve been the one learning this past year. Even funnier? Luna has taught me to be loyal, brave, honest, confident and unabashedly myself. No coincidence. She has made me both extremely vulnerable and strong. She has also taught me to be selfless and to appreciate every little moment, because every single one that makes you laugh, cry or in between, matters. Life truly is magical and she has opened up that world to me. And I am forever thankful that she chose me. That she waited for the perfect time to come to us. That she was always mine and I, hers.

Happy first, my lion.