Bridezilla Expo aka Cake!!!

Do you like cake? When you go to a wedding or a birthday party is it your favorite thing to eat? Cuz if it is you just gotta head on down to a Bridal Expo. So in the famous word of Marie Anttoinette...allegendly...Let them eat cake!    


So we ate cake...

Hmm...looks like the person that took our picture is definitely not a photographer. All this went down on Sunday. It was all just too much to include int he "Over the weekend..." post. So Claudia, and her MOH's headed on down to the Queen Mary in Long Beach for a "small" Bridal Expo. MOH = Maid of Honor. I'm 1 of her 2 MOH's. The good thing about Claudia, no, the great thing about Claudia is that she is not a Bridezilla. At all!. I've never been to a bridal expo so I wasn't sure what to expect but I had images of women going crazy, dressed in white and wearing veils! Doreen, having already done this whole routine before, informed us that yes, women do get crazy and dress up and go nuts. But like I said before, this one was a "small" event so the crazy was not really present. I only saw one girl wearing a veil.    

At the bridal show there were over 100 venders for everything from flowers to dj's...did I mention cake? We ate so much cake, I don't think I will be ready for another piece untill the actual wedding. There were also meatballs...    

Doreen likes meat balls...
 

There were three levels to go through so we started making the rounds on the top level. There seemed to be lots of commotion coming from the third level below so we peered down to see what the fuss was all about...there was a runway! There was going to be a fashion show later but for the moment there were games being played and prizes being given away. The guy with the microphone would ask things like "I need four men up here wearing their Fiancée's shoes...The first four to get on stage."    

    

It was at that moment I realized that there are men at these things too! I thought how funny, everything about this event was geared towards a wedding right? The flowers, food, location, photographers, DJ's, event coordinators and so much more...yet It's not called the Wedding Expo, It's called the BRIDAL Expo. As in Bride to be. As in the crazy chick with the diamond on her finger...yeah that one! What about the Groom? Well, to the few that were in attendance...bless your hearts.    

Turns out these things do really pay off to attend though. You can get really great deals on just about everything plus there are tons of things to look at, goodies to take home. and ideas to steal...uh... borrow?...use?...incorporate! Yes, Incorporate into your own wedding. Unless you think you are too cool for that. Or you are not "allowed" to. Like the  dude  in the picture below with the clip board informed us. We were so intrigued by this flower arrangement that we just had to take a picture of it (like we had of every other things we saw and nobody had a problem with us doing that.) It was the perfect example of what Claudia was looking for flower-wise so we were excited! Right as Doreen put up her iPhone to capture the image the guy blocked the display with his had and said no photos! We were like "Whaaaaa?" Doreen said "Then how are we supposed to remember you?" Apparently they work by "appointment only". Pfff.    

    

As we walked away I turned around and noticed you could see the arrangement from behind the display. We got our picture :)     

     

5 pouds in cake later we went home...It was a lot more fun than I expected.     

Have you ever been to and insane event like this? Did she or didn't she say "Let them eat cake?"     

♥Marisol     

Over The Weekend...Poolside and Gutter balls

Ahh Saturday...sunny, beautiful Saturday. Ariana and I headed on down to Pasadena to hang out with Mia and Tony, who are now engaged! Congrats you guys.

They lured us in with promises of a pool and home-made Pad Thai....drool...oh sorry. So I dusted of my bikini and realized how badly l need a new one. I also realized "I dusted of my bikini!" Meaning I haven't used it all summer...I felt a little mini 5 second depression at that thought. It's August already! Any who...we got there around 1pm or so and the sun was still burning , it was very hot and the water was nice and cold!

Very nice Mia, so lady like!

To top it off while us girls were down by the pool working on the tan, Tony was upstairs chopping up a storm. There is lots to chop when you are making Pad Thai at home. His words were literally "I'm here to serve." I think you got a good guy there Mia. After the water dip and the sun burns...we sat in the terrace and enjoyed our meal. We were all so hungry we didn't even take a picture of it once it was complete! Here's the before though, and the process...

A few hours and a stumble later we headed over to Lucky Strike for some bowling and birthday fun. Stumble? Yeah, I totally fell in my closet while trying to walk in heels and put on a bracelet. I hit the floor hard. I didn't really feel the pain untill about 48 hours later along with the giant bruise that is now living on my knee...but back to the story, Happy B-day Veronica! After we chowed on some food and drinks the bowling started. I would just like to say that I have excellent form! Great follow through. My technique is flawless...

I can guarantee a gutter ball 7/10 times!

We capped of the night at Vero's place aka my old  place....memories....where we just ended up sharing funny stories from our past. You know stuff like when Claudia thought her son was possessed and threw him, or when Veronica catapulted her baby from his stroller to look at some shoes or when my sister fell through a window into the rose bushes...so many stories. No child protective services needed. Theses were all bona-fide accidents!

How was your weekend? Has it felt like summer to you? Have you ever seen some magnification bowling lines before?

♥Marisol

Guest Blogger: Erik

Today's guest blogger is my good friend Erik. He is such a good friend, he's my Brother! Say whaaaaa? OK so he's not my actually born from the same Moms or Pops type of Brother but he'll kick anybody's ass if I ask him to, if that's not a Brother then what is?? He's currently in the US Army actively kicking ass for us all. He's living in Germany but for the moment is in deployment in Afghanistan. So without further ado I give you Erik Castillo...

Ok, when I was asked write as a guest blogger I was like ok cool, blog hmmm what should I write about....Marisol (being one of my sisters) and I say this cuz we have known each other for so long and been through a lot back in the days and I always saw her like my sister and of course my other sister Karla. I reconnected with her on Facebook. After we graduated I had lost touch with a lot of good friends, but now I'm back in contact with them. Especially my sisters. So being the good brother that I am (lol) I told her I would write in her blog. So imma talk bout my family a lil bit, deployment life and well just some random stuff cuz that's how I am!!!





Well things here in Afghanistan, things are ok, this is my 5th deployment now so it really doesn’t phase/bother me at all with the dumb crap and stupid things that go down cuz I’m used to it already. But sometimes, man oh man, u come across some ignorant ass people who think they are better than u when they really are not. So u put them in their place and then they get all pissy and hold a grudge. So all I do is show them that in the end I am better and BAM.....they leave upset. Lol. Conditions here are aight, I have been in far worse living conditions so I can’t really complain. I'm on a 24 hour shift, day on and day off which consists of providing artillery support for infantry. What this means??? I shoot a big ass cannon like tank with a big ass bullet to keep the guys out on the ground alive. Other than that, right now life is pretty redundant cuz it’s the same stuff day in and day out. Got a couple of pics here so everyone can see my job and what I do.....





Now I have a wife and kids. She has been super supportive of everything from the start and has been there through all the madness and craziness. Of course we have our ups and downs but who doesn’t in marriage? No one ever said it was gonna be all sunshine and rainbows and give u an instruction manual and be like "here you go". But in all actuality I love that woman to death cuz I have been quite a pain in the ass, though sometimes not on purpose but hey, I think I’m allowed some le-way. But still, if there was an award for like the most awesome-est wife in the world she would win cuz she is.





Well sis, I hope this was good enough for your awesome blog, and if you want me to write in it again the future let me know and I will gladly do it again!!!!

Over the weekend...wake up and smell the...

Roses are red, violets are blue...Well, violets are definitely blue but roses can come in many colors!





Welcome to the Los Angeles Flower District. In downtown  between 7th and 8th on Wall. 

This Saturday Claudia, her daughter Emily, Doreen and I all rolled on down to the Los Angeles Flower Market around 6am. After paying our 1$ entrance fee we were able to browse all the different wholesalers and literally smell the roses.  And hydrangeas, and peonies, and sunflowers and so on and on...



I loved the bright, bold colors...



Same color palate completely different flowers, pretty cool...

We were very much enthralled by the smells and colors of the different flowers. Well, not all of us...Emily was not too happy about the 5am wake up call... "Hey Emi go stand by your favorite flower and I'll take a picture!" "No, that's ok"...She then walked away. I did manage to get a picture but she lets her feeling be known...



My favorite moment was when I walked through a giant display of orchids. From tiny ones measuring less than one foot to gigantic ones I wasn't allowed to touch...I love orchids...they are my favorite! Too bad I always end up killing them :(



So if you ever need to pick up a bunch of flowers consider the Flower District. They open from 2am to 6am for the retailers and vendors and from 6am to 12pm for the public on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

A post about flowers? Yeah I know. Hey when you get sick all weekend and this was your only outing, you write about it and you like it! No, really. I did like it. I had fun. Be warned though...it does not smell as pretty on the outside of the building.

End Of The Road aka Day 20 & 21

Yup...Boys II Men know what I'm feeling...this song is so appropriate for me right now, you don't even know. Is it ok to take a deep and emotional love song between a woman and a broken-hearted man and use it to completely express your feeling for a house you lived in for 3-weeks? Wait..don't answer that!

So it has come to pass that our little 3-week adventure in house-sitting is over. Tuesday was day 21. The day we packed up our one bag and left Veronica's house never to return again...except when we visit and go back to guest status. But our last day really was on Monday since that was our actual last night sleeping there.

Monday was planned out as follows: Sleep in...make some b-fast...get massage...buy camera...shower..head to Santa Monica...hang out...have a nice dinner...watch a movie...go to bed. At least that's how it played out in my head before I woke up. It went more like this: took for ever to wake up...ordered b-fast from Denny's...cleaned house up...got massage!...bought camera!...went home...showered...fell asleep.......ZzzzzZzzzzzZzzzzzz...ate Ramen for dinner..watched Real Housewives of Jersey and Sixteen Candles...went to bed dreaming about Jake Ryan. Oh Jake Ryan... contemplating Photoshoping my face into Molly Ringwald's in this picture:



No special ceremonial moment about the end of our journey, nope just some TV and the excitement of finding Sleepy Time tea on our last night there. I can't believe we didn't find it before.  Apparently, after a massage you don't feel like doing absolutely anything at all. So, Thank You!, to the kind peeps at Massage Envy for completely zonking us out for the rest of the day. This place is a somewhat affordable location to get a massage, at least if it's your first time there anyway. Man...I needed one bad. It was hard for me to concentrate and relax at first but by the end of the 50 mins I was almost asleep. I'm gonna have to set up a money jar and deposit "massage" money in it. I figure they are really good for you, it's pampering and it feels great. If I cut some of the bad stuff in my life like, McD's pies, chai latte's from Coffee Bean, my magic breakfast sandwich less times a week, and no more Target! I can't walk into a Target and just walk out...no...I always end up buying some thing I need want need...alright just something, period! Take all that and in about 2 months I can go get another massage :) Although I prefer going to The Massage Spot. It's a little less pricey than Massage Envy and less of the fancy appeal but I love it there. Ariana had a Massage Envy gift card so that how we ended up there.

Oh yeah, did you catch that part about me finally buying a camera? How Ironic that I buy it on our last day LOL! I'm also going to promptly return it back to Best Buy. See I'm a Canon girl. Always have owned one and never had a problem with one. My last one was murdered recently But  I went and bought me a Nikon.

The one I was going to buy was this Cannon SD1400 PowerShot. In  pink and everything, but they only had the silver in store. I would have to order it online. Plus it was a little over my budget...


So I bought the Nikon - Coolpix S4000. Nothing wrong about this camera...it even has a touch screen AND it was like almost $100 cheaper, but again, I'm a Canon girl. Always have been always will be. This camera just didn't do it for me. Everyone has their opinion, but I should have listened to my gut.



I was more than happy to find out that a new model Canon came out so therefore my sweet little pink camera went on sale!! Woohoo! What do I like second best to free??? SALE!!!! So I'm gonna order that baby and return little Nikon to Best Buy as soon as I get the package in the mail.

But back to saying good bye...We left the house Tuesday evening...we were really sad. You see both of us have just come to the end of the road in very long...loooooong...serious relationships. Our stories are not the same but a breakup is a breakup. Being there was like therapy for us. It kept us busy and it also gave us a place to talk into 2am in the morning when need be. It was a break from reality, and an opportunity to let our emotions run free without having to explain to anyone why we were crying or why we were sad on any given moment. We also had lot's of fun! Lot's of laughs and definitely a brand spanking new friendship...the kind you know will be for life. So thank you Veronica!! Thank you so much!! Really, you did us a favor.

Now I'm left wondering what to do about this here blog??? Get ready my readers...I'm gonna be needing your input soon.

So today's post I leave you with a little sum'n sum'n to watch, I hope you really enjoy the music:

End Of The Road from Marisol Barrera on Vimeo.

Like, Over This Weekend…

Like, for sure! Like it was a total '83 flashback on Friday night! Why the Valspeak? Cuz I saw Vally Girl.



Friday Night Flicks is an event during the summer in Downtown LA where they show movies on this giant blow up screen (40x20 feet) for free in Pershing Square.

You can bring blankets or folding chairs and have a picnic. When I found out about this event half of the movies had already played and there were only a few Fridays left. Out of all the movie choices, some I had seen, some I had no interest in seeing and then there was Valley Girl. You see I'm a girl of the 80's. AM TOO!!! I was born in 81 so I can like totally  soooo claim that. I love the 80's so much I even threw an 80s theme b-day once. Hmmm....maybe I should put those pictures up one of these days....back to the valley!



My excitement over this movie was based solely on the fact that I hadn't seen it and always wanted to. Also, a very young Nicolas Cage, so young he has an overflow of hair! So I rounded up some gal pals and of we went! We got there early so we had a great spot and the movie was started right at 8:30pm. It was nice to see groups of friends, families, teens, and some homeless people come together to just enjoy a movie. Thanks LA!... I LOVED this movie. "I'll stop the world and melt with you...You've seen the difference and It's getting better all the time...There's nothing you and I won't do I'll stop the world and me-elt with you!"...Oh you better believe it! Marissa, Tammy and I got up and danced at the end of the movie while signing out loud to this song.

Saturday night, was going to be my big night out. Free concert and then of to "shake the stress away" a la Rhianna!!! But some how it turned into my big night in. Let's see how it all went down....Saturday morning was fine kept busy. Hit pet-co for some needed dog food, then on to target with Ariana, Karen, Dayan and Ricky. Afterwards I was all set to go swim when I discovered that my super cool swimming goggle were missing. Apparently they had made their way to Virginia with my Dad. Great. So I volunteered to help Ariana clean  the apartments she bought to rent out. Three hours later and high of bleach and ammonia fumes we did some fine dining at Chilli's. Yum. While out and about...Ariana mentioned how she could not flake out on her friend who had invited us out the night before and out that night. I thought, no big deal after the show we can meet up with her and her friends. So far no problema right? I asked where her friend wanted us to meet her, "Rodeo" she said. Red Flag #1. She texted her friend for more information and we got "Rodeo lol". Why LOL??? What's so funny??? Red Flag #2. I needed more information, like what city? "Pico Rivera". Red Flag #3. Back home I goggled "Rodeo Pico Rivera"....results..."El Rodeo Night Club-WWW.ELRODEONIGHTCLUB.COM. .. "  RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG. Here's the thing....

1. I'm Guatemalan. We don't really do Banda music there.
2. Heck no!!! NOPE, not gonna happen. I don't do Banda music.

I declined.

Ariana felt she had to accompany her friend seeing as we had already flaked on her the night before. Cutting it close to show time for the concert we parted ways. I went back home to an empty house...no one could go with me since it was so last-minute. I still had to shower and it was getting really gloomy out, I really didn't fell like going alone...all the way Downtown. During the summer Grand Performances has a series of concert and movies and performances in California Plaza....For Free.......yeah I love me some Free!! They show lot's of really cool stuff, a little of everything for everyone. I went to quite a few shows last year and only 1 so far this year :(

Back to my sad Saturday night...I sat on my sisters bed and the next thing I know, I wake up and it's like 9:30pm. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...Looking back I feel I should have just gone on my own. I've gone alone before but this time I was just not in the mood I guess. I really wanted to see Pacha Massive. So I will just have to settle for a YouTube rendition of my favorite song of theirs "Don't Let Go"...

Sunday was a good day...I got to see my best gal pal try on her wedding dress. She looked so beautiful. Funny thing about finding the dress...when you know, you know. Now if only finding the guy were that simple...Since this site is dedicated to my friends, they are always welcome on here. Whether it's by guest posting for me or by commenting on what I write. There will be more about this coming wedding. It's you know like, a big  deal for sure to me. Claudia will be posting once in a while about this whole wedding deal and getting married and sharing stuff about that kind of stuff...hope you my, 5 maybe 6, readers don't mind.

Monday was a day off for me. I took a personal day. Hence....."hence" I like that word.....Hence, why this post is for freaking late. Bad blogger! And Finally.....Tuesday...AKA...the day we moved out...more on these two days coming up later...

So tune in next time ..same blog channel, same blog time...Hopefully much better post lol!