Bidi Bidi Bom Bom

Today I remember my childhood idol. Selena. And this is how I will forever remember her by...that smile. I miss her and her music very much as do many people in the world!


Enjoy her in my favorite performance. She is singing Bidi Bidi Bom Bom...LIVE ....during her last BIG concert one month before her tragedy 14 years ago today.

Last One, I promise!

HELP! I need an intervention! I picked up this dress after an exchange at FOREVER 21. I can't help it. I loooove these long flirty dresses. I had to show this one off. It is my favorite by far. Promise this will be my last long dress purchase. Can't wait to wear it in Miami!

A Spring Welcome

We were finally able to enjoy the weekend outside today! It has been raining since Tuesday this week and we hoped it wouldn't ruin our weekend. Luckily, it was a beautiful day today. So, we ran tons of errands to Lowes, Home Depot, Costco and Walmart. We got a bunch of stuff we needed for the house and for the week. But I am pooped!
It was a perfect spring day and it inspired us to pot some flowers for the house. We still have a lot of work to do around our yard and garden, but we figured this would be an easy way to bring spring around our home. The pots are adorable, I think. I love color! We snagged them up at Home Depot and the flowers from Lowes and Walmart. So, now, you are greeted by Spring before you enter our home! Tell me what you think! :)


Close up!


I love these! I don't know what they are called. But don't they look like roses? I love that pink!

SBTB REUNION ON JIMMY FALLON

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Everyone who REALLY knows me knows that Saved by the Bell owns my heart. I am a VERY dedicated fan and have been since I first saw the show. But having the biggest fan website, helping E! with the True Hollywood Story and my memorabilia aside, this is something I have not been able to do by far! Jimmy Fallon is requesting to get the cast together to do a reunion on his show. And he is serious! Dennis Haskins already agreed and now they are waiting for the others. They are also asking fans to sign their petition. AMAZING! This needs to happen! Please share with all of your friends that are fans!
SIGN THE PETITION

Brand New Layout

Finally! The perfect blog template! I am so delighted with it. And it was free! Check out some of this designer's awesome layouts. It was easy to install and how perfect is my "birdie" theme to go with my title "Nesting" in NC....love it and it goes perfectly with the season. Check the blog out at, http://template-mama-freebloggertemplates.blogspot.com Enjoy! :)

Wedding Dress Sketch

I found this wonderful website where you can order a custom sketch of your wedding dress to have and to hold. What a wonderful keepsake to display in your home and then why not pass then down as an heirloom. This sweet find, www.mydreamlines.com, makes custom bridal gown sketches done by artists in the South of France! It's a little pricey ($100), but I think would be worth every penny! They can even add an accessory (veil, bouquet, etc) to the sketch for a little more. It's so perfect! I hope to order mine really soon!

PS Please bare with my new background. I am having a blog identity crisis. Can't seem to find anything that I love!

Life is Good in Oak Ridge

When Ronnie got his new job in NC, he had to start it ASAP. He literally got the call and started packing and just 5 days later he was already living here, while I still had to finish the year out at my school. He was living in NC for about 2 months before I was able to make the official move. Ronnie had no choice but to stay in a long term hotel the first few weeks, which was fine because his company was paying for it. But during that time he began to explore to see which neighborhoods were nice, close to his job, and wondered if it was a good idea to either buy/lease a home or an apartment. I left it all up to him because I just had confidence he knew what would be best for us.

He had his eye on a town called Oak Ridge. It was about 20 minutes from his job. It seemed quiet to him and safe and learned this part of the city had the best school district. Many of the homes in Oak Ridge were too big for us, but he found a quaint and modest neighborhood he thought we could afford and live in. Well, as soon as I made the move he was anxious to show it to me. Remember, I am a city girl in and out. So, when I first saw the neighborhood I was a little thrown back by the space between the homes, the large properties and most of all, the trees! Little did I know how much I would grow to LOVE the peaceful surroundings and openness of living. This is something I had never experienced before. (In Miami, you'd be lucky NOT to find a cookie cutter neighborhood with cars parked everywhere and even up on your property!) Anyways, we absolutely not only just love our home, but the area we live in. It is filled with rich history and community that truly is unique. Here is some info about our humble town called Oak Ridge, that many people call "God's Country".

From Wikipedia:
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,988 at the 2000 census. The Oak Ridge Military Academy, a private, coed, college-preparatory military boarding school, was established here in 1852. It is the third-oldest military school in the nation still in operation, and it is the official military school of North Carolina, as designated by the state legislature. Until the late 1990s the Oak Ridge area was mostly rural farmland, with numerous tobacco and strawberry farms. However, since its incorporation as a town in 1998, Oak Ridge has undergone rapid suburbanization and population growth. Many of the area's farms have been sold to developers and turned into upper-class housing developments, and several shopping centers have been built around the military academy. Today Oak Ridge is considered to be a wealthy suburb of nearby Greensboro, North Carolina's third-largest city. One rural pastime which is still popular in Oak Ridge is the raising and breeding of horses; each Easter weekend the town hosts a popular horse show. For more information Click Here

Some more facts and pictures:
The Oak Ridge Military Academy centers our town. It was established in 1852. It is the third-oldest military school in the nation still in operation, and it is the official military school of North Carolina, as designated by the state legislature. RONNIE'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER ATTENDED OAK RIDGE! How cool is that?



The Old Mill of Guilford was founded in North Carolina on Beaver Creek in 1767 to grind grain for the early settlers of what is now Guilford County. Today, the mill continues to produce all-natural, stone-ground, whole grain foods, just as it has for over 250 years. And it has YUMMY PANCAKE MIX AND JELLIES!



Before McCafe were all over, we had our very own unique one! This one is cool because it is made of brick (which all commercial buildings have to be because we are a Historic Distric) and even has lounge couches and Nintendo inside!


Chris Daughtry lives in Oak RIdge just up on the other side of the road from us!


Wanna come visit?! :)

Cinco de Mayo on St. Patty's Day!

Ronnie's favorite holiday meal is on St. Patrick's Day. His grandmother has been making him the customary "Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes" almost his whole life. This year wasn't anything different. But we went over to have it on Sunday before St. Patrick's Day.

Then on St. Patrick's Day, after reading a post made by Eli at her blog, I decided we would go Mexican instead! She made a Rachel Ray recipe called Chicken Salsa Verde Bake. She praised it and I thought it would be good idea to make for dinner. I read the recipe and figured it would be really easy! Unfortunately, I didn't have all of the ingredients. Still, this did not discourage me and I went to the pantry to see what I can substitute!

And boy did I ever... But this is when magic happens in the kitchen, I think! Lets just say my hubby was not disappointed!

Here goes my experimental recipe:

You will need: 2 Chicken Breasts, whole white onion, can of corn, can of black beans, sour cream, salsa, tortilla chips, and shredded cheese

Boil the chicken (about 20 min) and then let cool. After cooling, shred the chicken (with your fingers) and place into a bowl. Rinse black beans and corn then throw into the bowl with the chicken, along with the chopped onions and as much sour cream and salsa you'd like. Mix well. Finally, transfer mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle tortilla chips and shredded cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 30 min.

That's it. It was pretty simple and delicious. You can add or take away more of the ingredients. You can even make it light using light sour cream and cheese. It was really fun to make and I was able to clean up the mess quickly while I waited for it to bake. Enjoy!

Everyday with Rachel Ray Widget

I found this widget over at rachelraymag.com! I thought it to be a really cool tool to help plan weekly dinners. What do you think? You can snag it and post it on your blog, Facebook, and/or if you have a MAC, on your Dashboard. You can save your favorite recipes and even watch videos! Way to go Rachel! Now she doesn't even need us to go to her website for delicious recipes. They come right to our finger tips...too cool! Enjoy!

Your Prayers Are Requested

"For with God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37)
I recently came upon finding the sister of my very dear friend Annette on Facebook. Annette and I were best of friends growing up and lost touch some when we went to college. So, I was so happy to get in touch with her sister, Michelle. I noticed her beautiful wedding portrait as her profile picture. She just recently became a newlywed this past November and it warmed my heart seeing her as a bride!

Then, I came upon learning that her and her husband were struck with a tragedy just 3 days into their honeymoon. Below is their story in her own words:

On November 29, 2008 Alfredo and I were married. We were blessed to have had a beautiful wedding surrounded by very special people. We began our life together as husband and wife with lots of hopes and dreams for our future like all newlyweds.

The next day we flew to Mexico for our honeymoon. After only 3 days of honeymooning we were faced with a tragedy. Alfredo was in a unexplainable accident in the beaches of Mexico causing him to break his C5 cervical and also compressed his C4 and C6. He is now a quadriplegic and is currently recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

We are praying every day that goes by for him to regain more feeling in his body and that he WILL fully recover. Alfredo is very positive and has a lot of faith that God’s grace will bless him with a miracle. As you can imagine, the medical bills for Alfredo’s very intensive rehab are and will be very large. Very soon his insurance will be maxed out and we will need to pay for his treatments on our own.

We have created a foundation in his name in hopes to help Alfredo financially. If you or anyone that you know can help this very worthy cause it would be immensely appreciated.


Please share this with anyone you think will be able to help.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers.


To contribute to the Alfredo Iglesias Trauma Foundation
Please mail your contribution to:
Coconut Grove Bank
Alfredo Iglesias Foundation
ATTN: Robert Filella 305-756-4550
6400 South Dixie Highway
South Miami, Florida 33143

This has truly saddened me. I can't imagine the shock and life altering change that has struck this newly wed couple. I am asking for your prayers for them. I am sure they would be happy to learn and have the comfort in knowing of the prayers being made in their name. If you could help financially, please do so, as well. Again, I am sure any little can help! Always remember how fortunate and blessed you are in the littlest things. God is good. And He can do all with a little faith in Him!

Thank you so much!
Here is article on El Nuevo Herald

Please share the word with your friends and blog buddies, too!

Baseball Weekend

This weekend has been all about the World Baseball Classic. We usually look forward to this every year. And this rainy weekend let us watch practically every game! My hubby and I are big baseball fans. Unfortunately, many of you know we root for rival teams....the Red Sox and the Yankees! This time of the year is probably the only time where you can catch us rooting for the same team (USA) and not yelling at each other. (Its always out of passion, though. We always make up and thats the best part!) Our best friends, Jackie and Lino, attended 2 of the games in Miami. We so would have been there with them. I was happy to get a snapshot into the game while they were there! Gotta love instant phone pictures!


So, basically we hung out at home this weekend and relaxed. I was able to catch up on laundry, as well. I am very proud of myself! Here's hoping to a quick and painless week in the classroom!

Spring Time=Cute Dresses

With the warm weather being here (ok more like right around the corner...it got up to 80 yesterday and it will be in the 30s tomorrow with freezing rain! grrr....), it means it's time update my spring wardrobe. My favorite thing to wear are dresses. It is just so easy! Throw in cute sandals and some trendy jewelry and you're set. This spring, I've been loving these classic yet trendy and fresh looking dresses from Gap and Old Navy. Plus, they are currently having a Friends and Family promotion to get an extra 30% off. :) Just because we are in a recession, doesn't mean you need to sacrifice from looking cute! :) Let me know if you would like for me to forward you the email with the coupon for in-store use between March 12-15. (I could only use the online code one time.)



I also purchased these cute gladiator sandals from Gap! Perfect shoe to wear with any of the dresses for a relaxing weekend!
I am like that kind of girl that loves looking cute but I have to have a lot of comfort!

Janelle proposed!

When I decided to ask Jackie and Janelle to be my maidens for my wedding, I decided I wanted to make it a little more "official" than to just verbally ask them. At the time I was into "creating/crafting cards", so I handcrafted cute bridal cards with a poem asking them to my bridesmaids. They loved it! And it was a special moment for me. So, when Janelle came to me to ask me for help on how to ask her bridesmaids like I had done for her, I felt honored. I had the CUTEST idea that I REALLY, REALLY, wanted to share with her. I couldn't contain myself, but then I realized it wouldn't be special for me! So, we made a deal. If I shared with her my idea, she would need to come up with something especially for me! And it was a deal!

Anyways, I still haven't really given up the "hobby" of wedding planning. I still love to read bridal blogs and visit The Knot. I came across a cute way to officially ask a bridesmaid to be in your party a while back. I saved it because I thought it was so adorable. I shared it with Janelle and she took it and ran with the idea. And I must say, it was such a sweet way to ask. Literally!

Janelle "proposed" to her girls with candy ring pops in an adorable ring box and a lovely letter. It came out PERFECT!

Getting Ready for Spring

What a difference a week makes! Just last Sunday, we were getting ready for snow. And this weekend, it got up to 80 degrees! Crazy! But the weather was perfect. It inspired me to do some Spring cleaning and change our bedding in our master bedroom.
On Saturday, I slept in, but as soon as I woke up I started to do things around the house. I managed to sweep, vacuum, mop the kitchen and wood floors, dust off all the furniture in the family and clean the half bathroom downstairs all in an hour and half! I don't know what it was, but I think I was anxious to get out and enjoy the day. Also, I opened up some windows to air out the house. This is great to do since we've been closed up for the winter. I was able to wear my first cute dress and sandals of the year and we headed to the Farmers Market for some flowers. To my disappointment, there weren't any flower stands. :( (I guess I was too hopeful and Spring is NOT really here just yet!) So, instead we enjoyed some ice cream on the benches and the warm sun.


We then headed to Macy's because I really wanted a new Comforter set for our master bedroom. I was hoping to find some good deals. I was looking for something to brighten our room for Spring. And to be honest, I needed some change! And to my surprise, I found "the one". It's Martha Stewart (of course!) and I totally fell in love with it. And it was like on major, major sale. I couldn't resist. On Sunday, I flipped our bed around, put the bedding together and cleaned our room. It feels great to have a clean fresh room. I also picked up her latest Spring kitchen towels! So cute, too! Check them out!

Can you tell I am anxious for the Spring!? And in some other great news...My dad was gracious enough to purchase a ticket home to Miami for Spring Break! I will be in town April 12-15. Then on the 16th we are headed to Alabama for Ford's 45th Anniversary Mustang Car Show. Ronnie is really excited. Poor thing has not been to a car show in months! He's been looking forward to this show since we went to the 40th anniversary show in Tennessee in 2005! I can't believe it's already here.....where does the time go?
Anyways, I am really looking forward to the upcoming months! How are you planning for Spring? :)

Being far away has made me miss my grandmother the most I have in my entire life. Sometimes is very painful. As many of you know, my Tita has not been the same over the past 2 years.

my grandparents....

Being far away has made me miss my grandmother the most I have in my entire life. Sometimes it is very painful. As many of you know, my Tita has not been the same over the past 2 years. She is now in her early 80's, but she's holding up the best she can. My grandmother was basically my second mom growing up. When you go to her house, the living room is filled with pictures of me! It has ALWAYS been this way. (Mind you, she has 4 more grandchildren! LOL) I know I am her pride and joy, though. So, it is very hard not being able to be there to cheer her up when she is having her moments. All I can do is call her and most of the time she pulls herself together and I help her get through her days.

The last time I went to Miami, she gave me one of her portraits of her and my grandfather when they were newly married in Cuba. I've been meaning to scan the original she gave me and enlarge it. I finally got to do it today. My grandparents made an AMAZING good looking couple. I can just stare at this picture and imagine what life was like for them during this time. I wonder what went through their minds, how in love they were, and I admire how BRAVE they were to leave EVERYTHING they knew and loved to begin a new life in a new country all for our family. And I stare at my grandfather in amazement and can't get over how much my father looks like him!

Anyways, I just wanted to share how proud I am of my grandparents. I framed the picture and now I am honored to have their first photo in my first home. I plan to display more as I get them. When I have children, I want to teach and tell all about our family and their life in Cuba....my heritage. There isn't anything like being a "Cubana-Americana". I am very lucky!

Hopping into Happy Spring!

OK, I am usually not weather obsessed! But I have been waiting anxiously for winter to go away, so I can get to go out wearing a pretty dress and cute sandals. And it's a blessing come true.....we're getting into to mid to upper 70's this weekend! Can you believe it? I plan on wearing my new cute dress from Forever 21 and definitely going to our local Farmer's Market with my hubby as we stroll hand in hand looking for spring goodies, like fruits and others things. I will definitely buy a freshly picked bouquet of dahlias and peonies!!!! I am way too excited for this! YAY! Spring is here!

Speechless...

I know many feel this way today....

I am so ready for Dancing with the Stars next Monday....Grrrrrr!!!

Snowflakes are kisses from heaven...

I am taking this unexpected snow fall as a blessing. After all, I got another day off from work! Unfortunately, not for Ronnie, though. We have not had this much snow since living here. We probably got anywhere between 3-10 inches. There is something very exciting and yet peaceful when we watch the snow fall and wake up to a winter wonderland. It's as if all is good with the world during the morning sunrise. I have a feeling we are going to get Spring sooner than later. I am ready for the green leaves, colorful flowers and hearing the birds chirp! Until then, I am soaking in the snow day and taking full advantage of working around the house!