honey mask

I'm going on week 37! Still working full time! Yet, still taking time to enjoy this big belly, spend time with family, eat yummy foods and take care of me as much as possible. 

Here's a make at home facial mask I tried this morning (all the sun and pregnancy have my face needing extra love) to help take care of you too....

Exfoliating Honey Mask

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cornmeal


Preparation:
In a small bowl mix honey and cornmeal until throughly combined. Apply the exfoliating facial mask with gentle, circular motions onto your T-zone, with special attention to the nose, chin and forehead. Leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water. 


*recipe via Vicky Mejía for Pura Miel

Avocado and Chicken Tostadas

Growing up Avocados were always in our home. I remember eating them over a chicken and rice dinner, sprinkled over soup, with beans and tortillas, or just by themselves with a little dash of lemon juice and salt on top (Audrey's favorite way of devouring them). We could always find them at Latin markets along with all our other Latino food staples like platanos, tortillas, and queso fresco. 

When it was time for me to have a kitchen of my own... I think I inherited the need for them.

These day's you can usually find traces of avocado on little cheeks in our home... one of Audrey's favorite foods.  Thanks to Avocados from Mexico we can now find them at any local supermarket. Avocados from Mexico are always available...  aguacates bloom in Mexico naturally year round, so we can enjoy rich and creamy avocados anytime of the year... specially during the summer when avocados make any salad or dish extra yummy and a guacamole makes any gathering extra special. 

And of coarse the yummy bean, avocado and tortilla dish that Jeremiah and Audrey have inherited a love for. Seeing a pot of beans cooking at grandmas house always makes them happy. 


Another dish that makes them happy are tostadas.


Tostadas are the perfect summer dish. Whether eating them for dinner, on a picnic or outside with friends. Maybe it's because you can eat them with your hands or maybe all the fun toppings...

I have a tostada recipe to share with you... Avocado and Chicken Tostadas, a perfect combination of crispy, creamy and yummy. A recipe that is super easy to make and can be enjoyed any day of the week. Buying store bought rotisserie chicken and salsa verde make it a lot easier but you can also make these at home. Play with the ingredients to you and your family's liking...in my case (for Audrey) separating a bit of the mixture before adding tomato.

Avocado and Chicken Tostadas

Ingredients:

8 tortillas
oil for frying 
salt
1 avocado mashed
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced tomato
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup salsa verde (I use store bought but homemade is extra yummy)
1/2 cup queso fresco

Directions:

Add enough oil (enough to cover tortilla) to a deep frying pan. Cook tortillas one at a time until golden brown and crispy. Remove from pan,place on paper towel lined dish and sprinkle with salt.

Mix chicken,red cabbage,onion,tomato,lime,olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Spread mashed avocado over tostadas,then add chicken mixture. Add salsa verde to your liking and sprinkle with queso fresco. 

Enjoy!





Make sure to visit Avocados from Mexico fan site for more avocado recipes.



*This is part of a sponsored campaign with Avocados from Mexico and Latina Bloggers Connect. All thoughts and the recipe are my own. 

the weekend

Hi there! It's Monday afternoon and I haven't done much at all today other than an early doctors appointment.  It's been a lazy but much needed kind of day. I felt like coffee this morning so I made myself a latte with extra whip cream on top! And let the kids have popsicles before lunch!

It was a fun and busy weekend. Friday night Kip and I went out to dinner and a movie. I keep taking advantage of these dates because I know once baby arrives it will be really hard for us to want to leave baby for hours at a time. 

Saturday I had the most amazing time with mom, my sisters and a couple girlfriends. We headed up to Santa Barbara Spa Del Mar for a spa day. I got my first ever pregnancy massage! It was great and really makes my list of must have's during pregnancy. Carrying this big belly gets me really tired sometimes and that made my muscles feel so relaxed. I also got a much needed facial....the spa...heaven really. 

We had lunch there and then spent the afternoon in the pool. 

We then rented surrey bikes and pedaled through the beach walk. After our bike workout we were all hungry, felt like having tacos and hit up Lilly's Tacos, a local spot for the yummiest beef, pork and veggie tacos. 

Mom treated all of us to coffee post dinner and we all headed home very satisfied from a perfect day. 

It was really awesome to be able to have a girls day filled with fun and relaxation in celebration of baby's soon to be arrival and my birthday later this month. Kip was really great about staying with the kids and even daysitting my moms dog!

I got home so ready to slip in bed with Kip and Audrey and slept really good that night.

Sunday morning I stayed in bed late and then we all got ready to visit friends and enjoy their pool and yummy BBQ! The kids had a blast and it was hard to get them out of the pool when it was time to go home. 

We got home last night with just enough time for Kip and I to get kids ready for bed and to catch up on one of our shows. 

What were you up to this weekend?

bonnetfriend (giveaway)

Iv'e already told you how much I fell in love with Leanne's bonnets the moment I saw them on her site. Well, I love them more in person...

 Leanne sent a bonnet for Audrey and we have been receiving compliments all over town...on lunch dates, hiking trips... beach trips. It's simple yet delicate and really is perfect for this hot summer.

Bonnetfriend is a mom owned local business, something that really calls out to me. I'd much rather buy from a mom owned business than a big name business. Specially when something is handmade from organic materials. 

Don't you agree?

Giveaway!

Bonnetfriend wants one of you to have a bonnet for your daughter or a special girl you know! 

All you have to do is visit Bonnetfriend on Facebook and give them a Like then comeback here and leave any topic related comment. If your not on Facebook that's okay too, just visit Bonnetfriend and tell me which bonnet is your favorite. I'll randomly pick a winner on July 20th at 11:59pm and 

email you if you are the winner. Make sure you include your email address if not already on your profile. US only. 

Aren't they adorable?

*no monetary compensation was given for this post. Bonnetfriend sent Audrey a bonnet and we fell in love. 

Update: yay! Ana is the winner! Her daughter will look beautiful in this!

mouse house

via mouseshouses

I just discovered MousesHouses and the lovely work artist/author Maggie Rudy creates. I think Audrey and I fell in love with every single picture on her blog in one sitting.  Love it all. Every little mouse is darling. 

I can't wait to order her book and dive in with Audrey. 

32 weeks

I'm having all the 3rd trimester symptoms...

frequent bathroom visits

difficulty getting in comfortable positions

difficulty bending over to pick stuff up ( :

pregnancy brain (although this I seem to suffer from all the time)

strong baby movements...where it feels like my stomach is twisting as well and baby might pop out from one side ( :

Kip took some pictures of me last weekend. It was at the end of the day so I was a bit tired and puffy eyed here... but this is definitely how big I am!!! ( :

happy 4th!

We just got home from hanging out with family. Hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled corn, ceviche, cheesecake and berry pie. I went straight for the ceviche...not your typical 4th of July dish but definitely one you will find at a Latino get together. 

We enjoyed the day by spending it together as a family. I feel tremendously lucky to be able to live in such a beautiful country with the people I love. 

I have some pictures to share from our mini golf outing yesterday in celebration of Audrey's 4th birthday. It was a really nice afternoon filled with mini golf and bumper boats and a really yummy dinner to end the night. 

We got home exhausted and happy.

Happy 4th of July friends! Hope you all had a great one!