A Melificent Blog

Redirection!

2009-02-11T00:36:00.002-05:00

I'm proud to announce my new blog: Melificent.
Please bookmark it as it will be the only place I will be posting from now on.

Feedback appreciated - just make sure to leave it on the new blog!
Peace out, Blogger!
♥

Apologies

2009-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

For my absence as of late again, but this time it is for a very good reason that I think you will
all approve of! The hubs has been working very hard on my new (!!!) blog, to the point that it
is almost ready to unveil. I am so freaking excited, guys. I have never had my own fancy website
and am lucky enough to have someone as talented as the hubs at the helm of design.

So hang in there, do not give up on me because I hope my next post will be redirecting all of you
to my pretty new home on the world wide web. And then you will never be able to get rid of me.
I will be posting regularly and trying my best to bring the best content possible to keep you all
entertained.

Ta-ta for now!
♥

Inappropriate?

2009-02-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Check!
I love Lily Allen (a lot actually), but she probably should have thought twice
before getting her barely covered naughty parts so close to such a grabby
crowd.

Talk about an intimate concert experience...

A-Heroes-ing

2009-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Photo credit: El Sanchez

So what if I have a preference? ;)
Last night was the premiere of Heroes Volume 4 & I loved every second of it.
OK, well maybe not when the words "to be continued" appeared on the screen,
but every other moment was great. I know it was basically a "set up" episode so
not a lot of action really happened, but I can't wait to see the way this volume
plays out.

There have been rumors that due to huge rating drops, Heroes may not be on the
air after Volume 4 if those ratings don't increase in the next few months so if you are
a fan or even teetering on fandom - please watch! Let's help Heroes stay on the air or
I don't know what will become of my Monday nights.

What do you guys think? Still a fan? Think the show sucks now? Think I'm a
delusional fangirl? Leave me some comment love, whatever it may be!

Monday Conundrum

2009-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Although this happened on Saturday, I figured it would make for a perfect Monday tale.
The hubs, myself and all our friends were very excited when Ticketmaster issued us an
alert that Girl Talk would be coming to Miami in April. So happy we were willing to drop
the cash back in October to secure our spot in the crowd.

Sidebar: If you are unfamiliar with Girl Talk, they were one of my favorite albums of '08 -
& can be found in this post.

While shopping on Saturday afternoon, we received a text from one of our friends that the
tickets we had bought for April were not for the artist, Girl Talk, but rather the gospel play.
That's right. Gospel Play. All of a sudden, things started to come together: the cheap ticket
price, the venue deep in the heart of Overtown, etc. We were dupped.

Thankfully, Girl Talk is still coming to Miami next month but with the Langerado festival.
This is good news for some, but not for me as I am only buying a one day ticket for Saturday
& Girl Talk will be playing on Sunday. Boo freaking hoo.

Worst part? I don't think we'll be able to get a refund as it was just confusion on our part &
not a postponed or cancelled event.

A part of me wants to attend the play in my best indie attire and stage a riot when the play
begins. But I think I'll just settle for making an angry fist of fury in Ticketmaster's general
direction.

Melificent in a nutshell made of words

2009-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Provided by Wordle

Gee, do you think I like LOST?

I need therapy.

Friday treat

2009-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

My lovely friend sent me a link to this video earlier this week & I figured I would
share it with all of you. She knows I have a long standing Elijah Wood crush &
although I loved the fact that he was in it, I'm happy it turned me on to a new
artist & amazing new song to love.

I also love that this was shot at Galco's Soda Pop Shop in Los Angeles, a store
devoted to carrying rare glass-bottled sodas. It sounds like a place that I would
love to visit.

How The Day Sounds from Miky Wolf on Vimeo.

Enjoy & have a great weekend!
♥

2009-01-22T22:26:00.006-05:00

So last night was our LOST party and as expected, we had a great

time being a bunch of nerds together. The polar bear was a big hit
and got a lot of love throughout the night by our guests, there was
a special appearance by the infamous snuggie and everyone enjoyed
their Dharma beverages. Unfortunately, the weather was uncharacteristically
freezing so the ringlight photoshoot was a no-go. I did manage to brave
the cold long enough at the end of the night to get a few good Dharma
propaganda shots!

Credit: El Sanchez

As far as the show goes, I thought it was outstanding! I think watching
it along with so many LOST fans this time around made it that much better -
there really was a feeling of excitement in the air (as corny as that may
sound). I do not want to include any spoilers for those that may not have
seen it yet or still plan on jumping on the LOST bandwagon, but suffice it
to say that I was very pleased. I just really hope that the rest of the season
can keep this pace because if so, we are in for a great one!

Up next? Heroes Volume 4 viewing party! Hell yes.

LOSTies rejoice!

2009-01-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

Taken @ the end of last year's LOST party.

After what seems like years (but in actuality was only 8 months), LOST will finally be back
with its 5th season. I am extremely proud to have been a Lostie from even before day one.
I am one of the few that can boast that I saw the series premiere of LOST several months
before it aired to the public at San Diego's Comic Con International. And not only that, but
I got to watch it along with several members of the cast & be present during a Q & A panel.
Super cool, right? Right.

I have been hooked ever since. Sure, the show has had its share of low points, but I have always
been a steady fan. I really believe that no other show out there right now can bring the same
intelligence and creativity that LOST does. It is a rare breed.

So it's no surprise that for the past 3 years or so we have hosted LOST viewing parties for both
the season premieres and finales. Tonight is no different! We are actually hosting our largest
LOST party to date with (I believe) 13 guests! The party planner in me cannot just lay out the
chips and dip and provide the couch and TV...I go all out in true Melificent fashion. I bought
a stuffed polar bear and have clothed all our drinks with appropriate Dharma labels. Plus, we'll
be having a LOST themed ringlight photo shoot to boot!

I'll be back tomorrow with a full update with my thoughts on the opener as well as party details,
but for now enjoy this fun time lapse video of me putting together all the labels while watching
last night's awesome episode of Fringe (best is at 2:34 when I become caught up in the show & do
my classic OMGZ!!!! face). Yes, this totally made me realize that J.J. Abrams owns me. I am aware.

LOST party prep from Melissa Sanchez on Vimeo.

Namaste.
♥

1.20.09

2009-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Inauguration Day, everyone!
I hope the next 4 years bring us positivity & moves us in the right direction.

If you are excited about the inauguration & want to share the happiness with
your BFF (aka: your desktop), check out my husband's crudely appropriate
wallpaper on his website.

Internet Celebrity?

2009-01-19T13:41:00.004-05:00

The Internet sure is a funny place.

Last Saturday night we celebrated our good friend Ian's birthday with a rousing game
of laser tag followed by some amazing beer at our favorite Broward bar, Ye Olde Falcon
Pub. While at the pub, we noticed a group of people to our left that were seeming to have
a great time with each other and were obviously very very drunk. As we were getting ready
to leave, one of them pointed out Ian's camera (he's a photographer for the Sun Sentinel)
and started chatting about photography (she was a photographer as well).

It was at that moment that one of the girls in the group made eye contact with me and
began flailing around shouting "you are on THE KNOT!" I couldn't help but laugh as my
husband just looked on in awe of the whole interaction. She got so excited and went on
to say how she loved our wedding and was borrowing some of our ideas and was just
generally giddy. We left shortly after and as we were walking outside to our car, the hubs
just looks at me & says, "OMG you are an Internet celebrity. I can't believe people are
recognizing you when we go out."

It was quite possibly the most random, flattering, strange, awesome thing that has happened
to me as of late and really got me thinking about the power the Internet holds. Did The
Knot really make me a local Internet celebrity?

If it did, I better not let this fame get to my head. ;)

Happy MLK day, everyone!

Inspiring lady.

2009-01-13T20:17:00.003-05:00

Photo credit goes to: calanan.com

OK. I'll admit it.
I love a lot of things...well...a lot.
I'm one of those people that say "I love _____" often. What can I say?
I suppose I abuse the word. But I really do just find so many things to be
so many levels of awesome.

And I guess this is one of them, but I still find her to be extra special.
Who am I talking about?
Dooce, of course.

Although I have been a bad blogger lately and not kept up with her writings,
I have to admit that she is such an inspiration. And not only to fellow bloggers,
but to women in general. Hell, to people in general.

She has this uncanny ability to bear her soul without hesitation. There it
is. Just out there for everyone to read (and see). No fear. Just complete and total
exposure. And it's refreshing. And it's beautiful. And it's life. And your invited.

I highly recommend subscribing to her blog. She is currently 18 weeks pregnant
with her second child and I don't think I've ever been happier for anyone I did not
know personally. It's kind of silly, but that's the connection she makes with her readers.
For example, the highlight of my husband's trip to SXSW was getting to dance with
her at one of the after parties. And my husband does not fanboy often. He did this time.

And as if reading her daily musings wasn't great enough, she has finally published a
book of her memoirs documenting her first pregnancy and subsequent postpartum
depression: It Sucked, and Then I Cried. It will be available on March 24th, but is
currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com and you better believe I will have
a copy. She is also doing a handy-dandy book tour in select cities, which unfortunately
Miami is not a part of. Wretched. But maybe your city is lucky enough to host her!

So in conclusion, I may fangirl often but take my word on this one.
Promise.

The Best&Worst of the 'Globes.

2009-01-12T18:49:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately for my husband, I really enjoy watching red carpet footage from any
Hollywood event and looking at all the beautiful (& not so beautiful) people.

Last night were the Golden Globes and although kind of snorefest-y, I found myself
somehow bearing the full 3 hours (again, poor husband). I'm one of the few that found
Kate Winslet's acceptance speech extremely genuine & heartfelt, am very intrigued to
now watch Slumdog Millionaire, was very excited to see my Mr. Quinto
presenting on-stage, wondered who the hell styled Drew Barrymore, and why Sting
was suddenly homeless.

There were other thoughts, of course, but here is what every red blooded female
cares about when it comes to award shows: the fashion! So without further ado,
here is my best & worst list from the evening:

OK, so I just wanted to squeal and swoon over that last photo. Can't blame a girl, right?

Eva Longoria's gown was ridiculous. And by ridiculous I mean outrageous! Look at it! If
I was getting married all over again, this would be the dress I would be replicating. It hugged
her in all the right places and I adored the scalloped neckline. Rumer Willis, although not my
favorite person out there, looked amazing (& I don't say that much). Purple is the new hot
color and it definitely worked for her. January Jones is not an actress I'm familiar with since
I haven't watched an episode of Mad Men yet, but her dress immediately caught my
eye. It was so whimsical and retro - perfectly complimenting her beautiful hair do. Love her
already! Finally, Sandra just looked so well put together and classy. She tends to always look
pretty flawless and this was no exception.

This list always seems a lot easier to compile. Sigh. It makes me want to buy each of them a
full-length mirror. Jennifer Lopez, honey. Seriously. You've already shocked us with your half
naked ensemble years ago when you were younger and in better shape. Now it just seems desperate
and so horribly wrong. Renee Zellweger looked like she just joined the Cullen family, Drew
Barrymore looked like she just walked out of a trailer park with that big bleached blonde hair &
terrible black roots, and Kate Beckinsale was attacking everyone with her unruly "neckline" (?).
Finally, poor poor Mickey Rourke. I didn't know him and Steven Tyler were so tight they shared
clothes.

What did you guys think?
Do you agree with my choices?

Bad Blogger Meli

2009-01-09T19:14:00.003-05:00

I hope you all have a great weekend!
Sorry for the lack of content this week, but I just started school again &
I'm trying to get back in the swing of things...It's been a good 3 years
since I've taken a class so I'm kind of rusty!

But have no fear, I will be up and running on the blog front again next
week. Plus, my pretty new blog is in the works and I'll hopefully be able
to premiere it by next month.

Big things, people.
Big things.

♥!

Nerd alert.

2009-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

TV viewing party gear?
Check!

These two lovelies thanks to Cafepress.com.
And ps; the Sylar shirt department needs to improve.
Stat.

2008 Highlights

2009-01-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Now that 2009 is upon us, here is a fun pictorial of the
highlights of my 2008. Here's to the new year which will
be full of new, amazing memories to come!

Out with the old, in with the new.

2008-12-31T10:42:00.002-05:00

2008 was a great year.
I'm actually really sad to see it go, but I have a
feeling that 2009 is going to be even better.

Why?

Well, I have a lot of things to look forward to:

- Beginning school again for my licensure. Scary, but exciting.

- A new blog being unveiled sometime early in the year.

- Some new home renovations.

- Comic-Con 2009 for my birthday!

- No Doubt tour after years & years of waiting!

Along with great things waiting on the horizon of '09,
I also have made some resolutions for the new year to
hopefully make it that much greater.

Resolutions for 2009:

- Lose those 10+ pesky pounds that
crept up on me during my
first year as a married lady.

- Believe in myself. I am capable.

- Stay more positive.

- Grow out my hair again (this may
seem silly, but it's truly a challenge
for me).

- Continue to grow closer to my little
partner in life: the hubs.

- Get serious & learn photography basics.

- Finally learn how to cook!

- Keep my creative juices flowing.

- Try to live in the moment & continue to
enjoy every minute of my amazing life.

- Be even more demonstrative with my family.
I love them & don't tell them quite as much.

- Continue to foster the ridiculously awesome
friendships I have made over the past couple
of years. I love you guys so much.

And with that, I hope all of you have a drunken
night filled with happiness and love, but please
be safe!

Goodbye 2008 & hello 2009!
♥

Merry Christmas!!!!

2008-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

The always adorable Plumzilla

Melificent wishes you a very Merry Christmas!!!!
I hope you all get to spend today with your closest
family & friends & enjoy both the giving & receiving!

The hubs & I are taking a last minute weekend trip to
Disney World so I'll see you all next week!

Much ♥!!

Year in Review: 2008

2008-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Where did this year go? Am I the only one that felt like it
was over in the blink of an eye? Does that mean I'm getting old?
Did life hit the fast forward button?

I have noticed that I've been using the phrase "When I was..." a
lot. Shit. I'm turning into an old bitty already. In an attempt
to hold on to my youth, here's my year in review:

Favorite movie:
The Dark Knight. I think it was done so well. Such an epic movie.
Although I think it runs about 30 minutes too long, you cannot
deny its awesome-ness.
I also give Cloverfield an honorable mention because I thought it
was innovative & clever especially with all its virals leading up
to the premiere (fake news casts, Myspace profiles, secret vlogs).

Favorite concert:
This is definitely a no-brainer. The Smashing Pumpkins at
Mizner Amphitheather in Boca Raton,FL. After 8 years of waiting
not-so-patiently, I got to see my favorite band in the entire
world perform several inches in front of me. And as if that didn't
make me want to die happy, I then met Billy Corgan. Someone up
there in heaven must really love me.

Favorite guilty pleasure:
I'd definitely have to say the Twilight series.
It has made me lust after vampires and heighten my expectations
of males. Sorry, husband.

Favorite TV obsession:
It's a tie between Dexter and Heroes. Two shows that we marathoned
out in '08 and were completely spectacular. I really grew to love
the nights when we would pop DVD after DVD with such genuine excitement
and with plenty of beers in hand. I love all those characters like
family, it's kind of pathetic.

Favorite album:

Santogold - Self titled
Everyone seems to be angry at Santogold for going "mainstream," but
I'm glad she did because to me, she put out a fantastic album. Every
song puts a smile on my face and makes me want to crank up the volume
and listen with my windows down.

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
I just adore this band. They are amazing both on record and live.
There's something very old school rock about them, they are down
and dirty and I love it. Another favorite of mine to crank on long
car drives. Every single song is good. My favorite kind of album.

Bloc Party - Intimacy
Although Bloc Party is not new to many, they were to me. This was the
first album of theirs I had ever listened to so maybe that's why I
found it to be so amazing. It makes me want to put my dancing shoes
on.

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Such a new, fresh sound and I adore it. It's nice to hear something
that you feel like you haven't heard before. A very psychedelic poppy
album that makes you want to give the world a big group hug.

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
This album is amazing. I have the utmost respect for someone that can
mash up Kelly Clarkson and Nine Inch Nails and make people scream for
more. I can't tell you how excited I am to see him live in April.

Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Another fabulous album by the Raconteurs, who are proving to be one of
my favorite bands of all time. Excellent songwriting, singing, and
melodies. Another band that blew me away live.

Favorite blog:
Dlisted. No other blog makes me laugh harder or more often
than Dlisted. Whenever I have a crappy day, it makes it better. I
do not know the author's name or what they look like, but I definitely
want to have all his gay babies. I love you, Mr. Dlisted.

Favorite moment:
This is twofold as well. Both our anniversary cruise to the Southern
Caribbean and when I passed my thesis defense. Our cruise was amazing
and I felt it brought Augi and I closer together as a couple. Even though
I love my husband to death, sometimes life gets in the way and it's very
hard to keep the romance alive day in and day out. It's reasons like
these that make romantic getaways so important.
I also could not begin to explain the feeling of complete elation that I
felt when I finally passed and completed my master's thesis after several
painstakingly terrible years that really tested my self confidence & my
inner drive. It was over. It is over. Halle-freaking-lujah!

Heroes Recap Tuesday!

2008-12-16T09:00:00.005-05:00

Why not?

So although I was expecting a more action-filled last episode of Volume 3,
I was satisfied. Although I really could have done without the Saw-like
Sylar action at Pinehearst, I was happy to have Creepy!Sylar back. And you
know that bitch isn't dead. He's got some sexy Swat-ing to do in Volume 4.
And, was that Sylar's first shape-shift in the present? I think so!

Finally Peter grew a pair, fought his dickhead brother and got his damn powers
back. Even though the hero worship continued on - "I love you. You're my brother."
GAG. Jesus, Peter, stop being so freaking emo. Don't make the producers
bring back Emo-haired!Peter. I couldn't handle that travesty again.

I hate you, Tracy. I hate you, Jessica. I hate you, Nikki. Basically, I hate
every character they create for you, Ali Larter. Sorry. You fail.

Moving right along to Mohinder. So are you half cured, half monster reptile now?
I'm over your lizard-ness. I vote for the return of Mylar. Anyone with me?

Finally, Hiro. My second favorite character. So glad they redeemed his powers as
well and that he's out of the damn past & future scenario's. I read some spoilers
stating that they would no longer be using the time traveling come Volume 4 and I'm
actually glad. They were using it way too much whenever they hit a dead end. Hiro,
you are my hero. YATTA!

I can't wait for Volume 4: Fugitives. Looks bad ass. And according to producers, they
are trying to live up to the always glorious Season 1. The little sneak peak looked pretty
awesome. Honestly, I was expecting President Palmer to appear under the shadows in the
limo with Nathan. Now that would be some hot shit!

Until Febuary....
♥

ps: You can find the adorable Heroes puppets here!

Wait for it...

2008-12-15T00:27:00.006-05:00

I'm no stranger to being compared to television characters that I
have never heard of. For about 2 years or so, I was told by friends,
coworkers and even complete strangers that I looked just like "the girl
from Just Shoot Me. Who? I had never even heard of the show.
Turns out they were referring to Laura San Giacomo. I don't really see
much of a similarity and I never watched one episode of Just Shoot Me
so I can't really say whether our personalities were similar at all.

Point being, I never really took any of these comparisons seriously.
Just recently, I began hearing once again from my friends that my husband
and I resembled a couple on a new TV show. I shrugged it off since I had
never heard of the show before, How I Met Your Mother. It wasn't
until a coworker brought over Season 1 of the show last year that I was
introduced to Lily and Marshall.

And it was scary.
Not only was the show hysterical and right up my alley comedy-wise, but
this couple played by Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan were the spitting
image of myself and Augi. We became hooked and have watched all seasons
and are currently caught up with the current one. Augi referred to it as
"watching his life unfold in front of him." Sometimes we just look at each
other in disbelief because the similarities are just uncanny. Our friends
swear that the writers of the show have a webcam hidden somewhere in our
home to get new material.

Examples?

Marshall & Lily imagining their futures...separately.

Lily's loud chewing.

And I saved the best for last: Marshall's very Star Wars Thanksgiving.

Legendary.

Man Candy

2008-12-11T19:54:00.004-05:00

Geez, I'm a sucker for tall goofy dudes.
I have such a thing for Zachary Quinto.

Volume 4 sneak peak courtesy of the awesome fankids at ODI,
my constant source of Heroes & LOST info.

Holiday Love

2008-12-10T11:08:00.002-05:00

I can admit, I can be a grinch during the holidays.
They are not always my favorite and tend to make me
feel very anxious, but I do try my best to be as
loveable as possible. Afterall, it isn't that hard -
who doesn't love me? ;)

Joking aside, I thought this was a really cute meme
making its rounds on the Internets and figured it would
brighten my day a little to hear some nice things from
the people that read this blog. So here we go:

Here's the plan: People will comment ANONYMOUSLY with
things they love and cherish about you. I say anonymously because
it makes the atmosphere lighter and more mysterious, kind of like
a Secret Santa only with love and holiday cheer! People will wonder
who these caring people are and appreciate the fact that they exist.

Then find people you care about and have something nice to say to -
even if you don't know them! - and leave them something that will make
their heart feel a little warmer at night. This way, the love will go
around and around and the magical spirit of the season can be cherished
and appreciated by all.

Don't forget to pass the goodwill on to others and increase the flow of
positive, caring energy!

And GO!

All dogs go to heaven

2008-12-08T18:05:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, today is an extra morose Monday.
I'm sad to have to post that my father-in-law's
boxer of 10 years passed away this morning.

Last week the vet discovered cancer covering the
majority of her body. She was in a lot of pain &
had been heavily medicated since. I was lucky enough
to say my goodbye's last week and am now remembering
all the memories.

Dogs are such amazing creatures. All they want is to
love and expect absolutely nothing in return. Nala
was no different. She was an incredibly intelligent
and loving dog. She was spoiled, of course, but always
made you smile.

She was the third wheel of Augi & I's relationship.
Wherever we were, she wasn't too far behind. And I'll
never forget her.

I don't think anyone ever will.

Rest in peace, Nala girl. We all love you very much.

Twilight fuckery

2008-12-05T10:33:00.004-05:00

Thanks to a lot of pressuring (from both media & friends), I picked up
a copy of Twilight right before we left on our cruise to see what
all the hype was about.

I became hooked.
Very hooked.

I loved every second of it and was suddenly extremely excited about the movie.
When we arrived back in Puerto Rico and disembarked from our ship, I (naturally)
checked my Twitter. It was enundated with negativity towards the movie and I was
pretty bummed. It couldn't be that bad, right?

Wrong.

Thankfully I was able to score a bootleg online because those were two hours &
would have been $10 of my life that I would never get back. Who the hell thought
this was a good interpretation of the book? Most importantly who did the casting??
When did Eric become gay and start using catch phrases like "homegirl?" Alice was
not petite and pixie-like as I had imagined her. Rosalind was far from
drop dead gorgeous and please please don't get me started on Edward.

I know many people will disagree with me since he is "so hawt, OMGZ," but no.
No no no no no no. No. He looks stoned all the time and just came across as a pompous
asshole. The Edward Cullen from my imagination was sexy, intelligent and loved Bella
more than life itself. They couldn't even get their immeasurable love right on the
screen. It was just awkward and over-acted. And that made me sad.

No no no no.

I can only hope that they can switch around directors/producers/cast as the
series continues because watching four amazing books get wrecked is going to be
way more painful than one.

What do you guys think?
Agree? Disagree?

Twitter

2008-12-03T16:01:00.003-05:00

Do you Twitter?
B/c I do! And if you don't, you probably should.

It's a great way to keep in touch with friends and
a lot more interactive than Facebook's status updates.
Plus, you can get them straight on your phone through
applications like twitterific.

I started to Twitter a long long time ago, but fell off
the wagon when no one I knew was participating. Now it
seems like everyone has a Twitter. Even Greg Grunberg who
plays Matt Parkman on Heroes, Dave Matthews and Batman.
Yes, Batman.

So get your booty on Twitter and don't forget to add me
(Mrszero) if you want to keep up with my dull & self-centered
life. ;)

A very nerdy birthday

2008-12-02T18:21:00.004-05:00

So although my rockstar bash feels like only yesterday, here I am
planning next year's extravaganza. I promised myself that this year
would be my last "big party" until the momentous and traumatizing 3-0
and I don't quite think that I kept my promise very well.

Both the hubs and I have decided to take my birthday to the road next
year and attend Comic Con International in San Diego. It just so happens
to fall the week of my birthday so it's perfect! This is not the first
time we attend Con, we went 4 years ago in 2004 and we had such a blast.
Highlight definitely being the LOST panel where we were present for
a Q&A session with the cast and then watched the series opener months before
it aired.

For those of you who are not familiar with Comic Con, it is ultimately a
comic book convention that turned into so much more. It's now probably one
of the biggest pop culture events in the US housing all sorts of toys, art,
and games along with plenty of appearances from celebrities that feed into
the geek culture. Basically, it's like Disney World for nerds. And it is fun.
And we are going. And I'm so excited. Because, yes people, I am a nerd.

I've invited some of my closest friends that really enjoy the fandoms to
come with us and hopefully everyone will be able to make it! I also hope
to meet some pretty awesome celebs and pick up some fun art or toys!

Do you think Melificent can get some press passes?

Vaca Recap

2008-11-28T10:37:00.004-05:00

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving with those you love -
I know I did! Unfortunately, I had to be in the office this morning
and I'm wishing I was still in bed with the hubs and the pups, but
I keep telling myself it'll be over soon. ;)

So to beat the sleepiness and laziness that comes along with a
belly full of turkey, I am here to keep you entertained (at least
for a few minutes) with a slideshow of pictures from our first
anniversary trip!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Have a fabulous weekend!
♥

ps; The first few images on the slideshow are videos, so ignore those! Hehe.

Happy day of Turks.

2008-11-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

I wish all of my readers and their families a very happy, safe &
gluttonous Thanksgiving! Remember everything you are thankful for -
it is amazing all the things we take for granted.

Gobble gobble!
♥

Sexiest Man Alive

2008-11-26T09:37:00.003-05:00

This year, the Sexiest Man Alive prize went to perhaps my
#1 fictional boyfriend: Hugh Jackman! How do you like that,
Clooney?

You may have a turdy movie coming out that will surely tank
in the box office, but at least you have your looks!!!

And of course, Origins, which is going to be flipping
ridiculous.

Back to life; back to reality

2008-11-25T19:36:00.002-05:00

And we're back!!!!
Technically we got back on Sunday night, but things have
been pretty hectic since our return so I hadn't been able
to post until tonight.

We had such a great time on our cruise and thank everyone
that sent us all the happy anniversary wishes via email,
facebook and text messages. We are very lucky to be able
to share our love with so many amazing people!

I am going to try my best to put together all my photos and
videos from the trip and make a fun post during the holiday
weekend.

♥!

Bon Voyage!!!

2008-11-15T17:46:00.002-05:00

Augi and I will be sailing the high seas for the next week so this blog
will be inactive until our return! I hope you all are having a great
weekend and have a fantastic week to come. We'll bring back a lot of
fabulous pictures and great videos - promise!

Who knows? Maybe I'll have a {vacation week} next! ;)

♥ you all!

{wedding week}: Pro Pictures!

2008-11-13T09:22:00.000-05:00

And it's a wrap! Today marks the end of wedding week and I really hope you
all enjoyed it. It seems like you all did from the results on my latest poll
and that makes me immensely happy. I'm always worried this blog is boring and
that no one is reading, but seeing people actually voting (& positively at that!)
has definitely given me an ego boost in regards to my little space in the
blogosphere!

Anyways, back to my final wedding related post:
My wedding day was absolutely fantastic. I could not have asked for a better
day/night. I wish I could relive it over and over again. It was so full of love
and happiness, which in reality is all you need in life. I hope these pictures
reflect all the wonderful emotions we felt that day as well as the love that
Augi and I share with one another. It really is so special and I feel so lucky
to be married to my best friend and the most amazing man in my little universe.

This has been the most wonderful year and I cannot wait for all the rest to come!!!
We ship out Sunday morning to celebrate no longer being newlyweds (or are we still?)
on our Southern Caribbean cruise and will definitely return with stories, pictures,
and your basic regularly scheduled Meli-isms.

See you then!
♥

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
*All photo credits go to Maloman Photographers.

{wedding week}: Rehearsal Dinner

2008-11-12T09:40:00.002-05:00

I remember how surreal the day/night of my rehearsal dinner was. I
could not believe that my wedding was that weekend. All our family
and friends were in town, we were running around doing last minute
errands and I was trying my best not to freak out! Actually, I was
pretty proud of myself for being so mellow (something I am usually
not).

The weather was amazing - very cool, breezy and sunny. I couldn't
have asked for better weather for an outdoor wedding.

Being a ham.

Although I was trying my best to be a goofball during this practice
down the aisle, inside I could not believe it was happening after TWO
years of planning.

Quickly after rehearsal, we headed to my father-in-law's home, where
both my in-laws were hosting the dinner. When I walked in through the
door, I was blown away. I don't know how many times I just gasped and
thanked them over and over again. The decor was stunning, everyone
commented that we should get married right there because everything
looked amazing!

Gorgeous table set up's with photo votives of us through the years!

Another shot of the longer tables.

The lounge area - cool or what???

The flying V groom's cake I ordered for Augi - how awesome did it turn
out? It was the hit of the party!

My gorgeous bridesmaids!

My gorgeous hubby-to-be! ;)

{wedding week}: Details!

2008-11-11T17:53:00.002-05:00

Well, I think it's pretty obvious that I tend to focus on the details when
planning something from my previous posts, so I decided to give my wedding
details their own personal wedding week post!

The hubs and I did a lot of DIY projects throughout the course of our
wedding planning and although it was very stressful and tiring, I wouldn't
have had it any other way! We were able to personalize our wedding in a way
that would have been impossible with store bought items.

So without further ado, here were my glorious details:

Both his&hers CD favors with our favorite love songs.

Our menu's that the hubs designed and we printed ourselves.

MR & MRS letters that I bought and painted from Michael's for our sweetheart
table.

Our placecards that we also designed and printed ourselves.

Our ceremony programs that again, we designed and printed.

Petal cones that I put together myself so we could get pretty pretty petals
slapped in our faces ;)

Quite possibly my favorite detail: our guitar sign-in. Since my hubs is a
musician and we are both huge music fans, we figured it would be fitting.
The best part is that this was a wedding gift his mother gave his father on
their wedding day. It was a perfect way to retire it.

{wedding week}: Bridal Shower

2008-11-10T15:15:00.002-05:00

I really really enjoy throwing parties. If you know me personally,
this is something you cannot deny. I love being around people, I love
making them happy and I just really really enjoy social events (with
people I like, of course). However, "showers" always turn me off. I
am not the girly type that enjoys opening present over present in front
of a crowd "ooooing" and "ahhhing." And don't get me started on stupid
games. So when it came time to plan my bridal shower, I wanted something
different.

I know it is not very traditional for the bride to plan her own bridal
shower, but I did. And I'm so glad I did. I was in control and I loved
it! I decided to have it at my father-in-law's amazing Italian restaurant
and kept the guest list under 30 to make it more intimate. I worked very
hard on making the afternoon very special and unique mostly due to all my
little details to fit my flower theme.

Delicious menu choices :)

Personalized Jello injectors - a family tradition.

Flower box favors with yummy M&M's inside.

Flowered guava cupcakes that were oh-so-delish!

My gorgeous centerpieces!

A wish bowl set-up for guests to leave me their well wishes.

A scrapbook of Augi & I's relationship made by my sister.

A very un-cheesy game of Meli Trivia!

All photos courtesy of Studio By Carmen.

{wedding week}: Decor

2008-11-09T11:07:00.005-05:00

I scoured through many magazines, Knot bio's and watched plenty of
wedding shows during my engagement just to get some sort of idea of
the look I wanted to achieve for my own big day.

We went through various color schemes before deciding on light pink
and chocolate brown as our palette for the wedding.

It wasn't long after that we decided on a "look" for our wedding. We
are both not very flashy people and really liked the whole Asian
minimalistic feel that I kept spotting around my wedding blogs. Plus
I loved the juxtaposition of an extremely modern wedding at a historical
ancient venue.

These were our inspiration photos:

{wedding week}: "The Look"

2008-11-08T09:47:00.001-05:00

Every bride knows that the best part of planning a wedding is getting
to go shopping for your gorgeous gown and I was no exception! Probably
a month after I got engaged, I started shopping with my fabulous
girlfriends. I knew I was ridiculous, but I didn't care. I love shopping,
I love fashion, so this was a dream come true. I tried on so many
ridiculously beautiful gowns (and ridiculously horrible ones) before
choosing "the one" at Chic Parisien on Miracle Mile, a very
popular wedding dress destination.

As I was walking around the store, the saleswoman kept grabbing all these
dresses she thought fit "my style," but as I passed by another bride
looking at herself in the mirror, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her
beautiful gown.
"I want to try on that one."

And the rest as they say, was history.

She was Monique Lhuillier's Nadia and she was stunning. I felt like a
princess yet still like me, which fit the feel I wanted to acheive.

I added an oatmeal colored sash and a gorgeous crystal and pearl brooch,
which was a gift from my mother to complete the outfit.

And finally to complete the entire bridal look, I wanted a loose and messy
updo with dramatic eyes and pale lips. These were my inspiration photos:

The final look the day of the wedding couldn't have come together more
perfectly had I tried! My hairdresser is always extremely talented, but I
felt like that day she had sprinkled some special fairy dust on those magic
hands of hers! My hair was truly a work of art.

And my gown was more gorgeous than I had remembered. Unfortunately, I have no real
bridal portraits to speak of from my wedding day, which is a bummer, but my hubs
reminds me every day of how beautiful I looked on November 17th and every day
that has followed.

{wedding week}: The Venue

2008-11-07T10:56:00.000-05:00

So to celebrate the week leading up to our one year (!!!) wedding anniversary,
I decided to take a page in the book of Bryn, one of my favorite all-around bloggers. I will
be posting little tidbits and details from our November 17th, 2007 wedding
as the week progresses and before we head out for our Caribbean cruise!

I had to start with our amazingly gorgeous venue, The Ancient Spanish Monastery.
There was no way I was going to say no to this place! Ever since I was a little
girl I dreamed of getting married at the monastery. It was so beautiful and
different. It didn't feel like you were in Miami and that would probably
be because the monastery was relocated in wooden crates and rebuilt stone by
stone in the 1950's. The place is amazing.

Only a few short weeks after our engagement in late 2005, I hightailed it over
to the monastery to book a date. They were not available until 2007! I could not
believe it. I had to decide whether to get married on a Sunday or to make our
engagement a very long one. After sitting down with the hubs, we decided to wait
it out and booked a date in late 2007: November 17th to be exact. The monastery
was definitely more popular than I thought!

The day of the wedding, I couldn't have asked for a better setting. All our guests
raved that they did not feel like they were in the United States, much less Florida!
I did not do any uplighting or any heavy decor (I'll go into that later), I thought
the venue was beautiful on its own and did not need to be cluttered. And I think it
worked out perfectly!

We had our reception in the Cloisters.

And our ceremony outside at the stunning and underrated Loggia.

And here's what to expect for the rest of {wedding week}:
Today/Day 1 - Venue
Day 2 - "The Look"
Day 3 - Decor
Day 4 - Bridal Shower
Day 5 - Details
Day 6 - Rehearsal Dinner
Day 7 - Pro Pictures

More congratulations are in order

2008-11-06T19:46:00.003-05:00

A huge congratulations to Nathan, from Bravo's Top Design,
for winning last night!!! I'm a sucker for all things Bravo
and this show was no exception. I loved all of Nathan's
designs (except for that kind of boring Master bedroom) so
I am extremely happy he won. I admit that I was an Eddie
Ross fan, but if he couldn't win, I couldn't think of a better
runner up!

ps; If you were an Eddie fan as well, check out his amazing
blog here! It is chock-ful of fabulous ideas :)

A new day

2008-11-05T10:32:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Barack Obama for being the first
African American president of the United States of
America! It feels amazing to know that I took part
in something so momentous in US history.

Election Day

2008-11-04T10:00:00.003-05:00

Well, here it is!
Election day!
Hasn't it felt like this race has lasted forever?

May the best man win and all that jazz, but now to something way more important for your peepers:

GAVIN PLAYING TENNIS!

Now wasn't that a nice break from politics?
Me thinks so.

ps; Melificent has a new look! Tell me what you think :)

After a hiatus

2008-11-03T13:00:00.003-05:00

I am back!
OK, so I didn't mention said hiatus, but I decided to take one because things were busy busy. I have decided that I am becoming more and more like my husband in that I am acquiring all these new hobbies and I just can't keep up!

- blogging
- digital scrapbooking
- project 365
- new PS3 (not a hobby but definitely a distraction)

OK, so that's not so many but paired with working full time, constantly checking in on my thesis process, registering for school (again!) for the spring semester and an always buzzing social life, I am wiped out! Plus the Holidays are coming. Ugh, how I dread Christmas.

The good news is that we will be celebrating our first year of marriage in exactly 2 weeks from today! Unbelievable! I remember our wedding day like it was just yesterday...and because of that, I will be posting random details from our wedding on the blog until we leave on our anniversary cruise next weekend!

And so I leave my readers with something worthwhile, I recommend all of you check out this extremely talented musician: Santogold.

She reminds me of someone in between MIA and Gwen Stefani, which of course equals brilliance. I've enjoyed listening to her self-titled CD for a couple of weeks now while driving with my windows down. Is there really anything better in life than love, music and sunshine? I don't think so.

Have a kick a** week!
♥

Happy birthday to my everything

2008-10-23T13:47:00.004-04:00

Credit: Maloman Photographers

Today is my husband's birthday. I met him roughly 7 years ago and ever since then, my life has been that much happier. I never knew how happy a relationship could make a person feel until we began ours. I never feel alone, I always feel supported - it gives me strength, confidence. He is the most amazing person I have ever met and I thank God every day for placing him in my life.

We have gone through dealing with one crazy ex, having a long distance relationship, severe disruption within our family lives, moving in together, planning a gorgeous wedding and now around the corner from celebrating our first year married. We are indestructible when we are together. We are each other's biggest fans.

And I love him.
With every fiber of my being.

Agustin Sanchez, you are the love of my life. My reason for living. My everything. Happy birthday :)

There's No Place Like Home

2008-10-21T22:30:00.003-04:00

Every now and then (read: every month) I get this itch to remodel our little condo in the worst possible way. Unfortunately, with our cruise and the holidays coming up, it's not going to be possible until the new year, but it's lovely to dream. I didn't always daydream of home decor until I discovered the joy of blogs.

And I thought I would share that joy with all of you! Afterall, some of you have been asking for my favorite blogs and I think the best way is to break them up by topic! So here you guys go, enjoy what I find to be the most awesome home decor blogs out there:

PoppyTalk

Decor8

Design*Sponge

This Young House

Bloesem

SFgirlbybay

ps; if any of my readers out there have some home decor blogs that I haven't listed, please share them with me! I'm always looking for new online obsessions ;)

My apologies.

2008-10-20T18:45:00.004-04:00

Sorry for again being such a horrible blogger!
Things have been rough at work with several audits hitting us at once. I am pleased to report that we have passed 2 out of 3, with the last and most ominous coming at us on Wednesday afternoon. ::shudder::

But there is a bit of sunshine-y happiness in this week: it's Augi's birthday week!!! That's right, the hubs catches up to me and turns 27 on Friday. So make sure to stop by his blog and show him some love. He has been having a rough time lately so his birthday couldn't have come at a better time. Friday we are having a family dinner and Saturday is the big blow out at our place. It's Poker themed and everyone was told to dress in black and white. Expect a lot of fabulous pictures next week!

xoxo

Project 365

2008-10-13T18:04:00.003-04:00

I've been a very bad blogger!
Things have just been very busy on my end - made me very sad to notice that I did not make my usual Friday post last week. Hopefully you all had a great weekend. The hubs and I had a very relaxed weekend since we were taking care of our little baby girl, Gwen. She got spayed on Friday morning but she is doing fantastic. She's such a little trooper!

Even though things have been extremely busy, I've decided to adopt Paper Source's logo of Do Something Creative Every Day by starting Project 365 for my third time (yes, third). The only difference will be that this time I won't quit - I want to make it to October 2009 with this! For those of you that are not familiar with this project, it is basically a vow to take one photo a day for a year. It can be of anything. Some 365's have a specific theme such as photos of yourself, your pet, etc. but I've decided to just photograph my every day life. I think it works out better that way!

When people are successful with this project it's pretty amazing to see how their life laid out throughout the course of a year all through photographs. I hope I'll be able to be one of those lucky individuals!

If you want to keep track of my Project 365, you can find it here:
Meli's 365.

Melificent recommends:

2008-10-07T19:46:00.004-04:00

Every now and then I feel like sharing with the world things I think are pretty amazing. And well, this is one of those days.

The Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Soundtrack

The hubs and I saw this movie over the weekend and I really enjoyed it. However, what I enjoyed most was the soundtrack! There are very few CD's that can make me genuinely happy while listening and this is definitely one of them. I absolutely love it - I could listen to it all day with a big cheesy grin on my face. It reminds me of being young, in love and carefree. So please check it out (along with the movie)!

Dexter

We recently got into this show while it was being re-aired on CBS (without the violence or sex) and were instantly hooked. Everyone kept telling us how much better the second season was and of course, how much better it was with the violence and sex so we bought the second season box set on a whim a couple of weekends ago while at Target. Definitely do not regret that impulse buy! It was ridiculously amazing and furthered our obsession. Unfortunately we don't have Showtime so we'll have to download torrents for this current season. If you like your entertainment a little on the darker side, please check it out if you haven't already. Michael C. Hall (is he hot? is he creepy?) is incredible and it is one of the best written shows I have seen in awhile.

Hoegaarden Beer

I have fancy taste in beer. I don't like Bud, Miller or Heineken. I do, however, enjoy a nice cold Hoegaarden. It's Belgian and good. Plus you can't go wrong with a name like Hoegaarden. It's really fun to say over and over again while drunk (I know from personal experience). Apparently it is classified as a beer that "does not travel well" so the ones we snatch up at our local supermarkets don't taste nearly as good as those closest to the brewery, which makes me wonder how ridiculous this beer must taste in Holland!

So there you have it, folks!
Hope you enjoyed what I have been enjoying lately ♥

Spooky Love

2008-10-03T18:03:00.006-04:00

Happy October!!!!
October is one of my favorite months b/c I'm kind of a Halloween fanatic. Ever since I was a little girl I loved dressing up and pretending I was someone else entirely for one night. I am one of the few that list Halloween as my favorite holiday rather than Christmas (which I loathe by the way). So needless to say, I start early as far as my costume goes. I've had it sitting in my room for a good month now. Unfortunately, I am keeping it to myself so you'll have to wait until the 31st to find out!

Things also start cooling down, which in Miami isn't very drastic, but we take what we can get. Plus, it's my hubs' birthday month which always brings great memories; this year will be no different. We are planning a fun black&white party complete with poker theme and hopefully absinthe!

My love for October got me thinking about all those girls holding Halloween weddings this year and next year since it finally falls on a weekend after what feels like an eternity of mid-week 'weenies, which never really feel the same. I would have loved the challenge of planning a Halloween wedding. Why challenge? Well, it's extremely hard to plan a Halloween wedding without it being extremely garrish and tacky - I would have really enjoyed cooking up a classy yet fun one. Look at these adorable ideas:

DIY Candy Corn favors!
Source: Paper Source

Adorable table setup.
Source: Hostess with the Mostess

Black & Orange Jones Soda Bottles
Source: Hostess with the Mostess

Adorable, right?
I know, I'm in the wrong field. I've heard that many a time since I was planning my wedding back in 2006. Maybe one day I'll make planning fabulous parties a career, but for now I'll just share them with you guys!

Have a fabulously spooky weekend!!!!
Mine will consist of a date night with the hubs, a girls happy hour and a cooking photoshoot.

♥!!!

A post about my best friend.

2008-09-24T23:17:00.003-04:00

I am a little behind as far as my blog reading goes, so I've been trying to catch up as best I can over the passed couple of days. I stumbled upon a great post on Newlywedisms by Bryn (one of my favorite daily blogs) spotlighting her better half: her husband.

I can technically say I was tagged since she did note at the end of her post that all newlyweds should participate. So here I go!

Things the hubs loves:

The History Channel. I've never seen someone so fascinated by programming in my life. Thanks to him, I can say that I am thatmuch smarter.

Hasselblad cameras. The hubs is a sucker for photography and I have to say that he is amazing at it. One of his favorite toys that he obsesses over is the Hasselblad. They are built like tanks and the lens coating is amazing. It is your ultimate fashion photography must.

Batman. I have a feeling that when I'm not around, he prances around in a cape speaking in a raspy voice. I just know it.

Jack White of the White Stripes. Augi's favorite band and I think it's pretty safe to say his favorite current musician. Anything Jack does, Augi is interested. Don't believe me? Check out his latest blog post on the James Bond theme White collaborated with Alicia Keys on.

Mixtapes. Only in digital form. I can honestly say that no one does it better than the hubs. He puts all his energy into them and makes sure they flow perfectly. It's extremely entertaining to see one constructed from over his shoulder ;)

Cherry Gibson 335. My hubs is first and foremost a musician. It runs through his blood. And this is his favorite guitar. No, he does not own it yet but someday I have a feeling I will see it hanging on our wall. I absolutely love being married to a guitarist - hearing him play in the background while I study, shower, even sleep is just so soothing. I can't even describe it, but I know it is home.

Vintage rides. Especially the Porsche 1955 356a Speedster. I always say Karman Ghia, he always responds Porsche. A marriage: divided. ;)

Apple products. Yes, all of them. Macbook, ipod, iphone, you name it - Augi has it. If there is an Apple store in a new city we are visiting - we will be stopping by. It's a givin.

San Francisco: his home. There is not a day that goes by that I know my hubs does not miss his hometown of SF. I have been lucky enough to visit and can finally see what he has all this time. It really is an incredible city and hopefully we'll get to visit again in the very near future. :)

Oh yeah, and me ;)

Now I must ask, what does the hubs think I love? Tag, you're it!

ps; I love her most recent posts entitled "wedding week" - a series of posts leading up to her one year anniversary chronicling her wedding planning from '07. I see myself "borrowing" that idea come November ;)

More betterness.

2008-09-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

Well, now that it is over, it is safe to reveal what went down this past weekend. For those of you that follow me on twitter and facebook, you are already in the know but for those of you that do not....

I PASSED MY THESIS DEFENSE!!!!!!

Yep, I made my way up Florida to Pensacola to defend my Masters thesis after 3 years of very very hard work and persistence and I'm happy to say it paid off! I was horribly anxious, but became surprisingly calm as I was giving my presentation. Once I was officially "passed," my professors had the most beautiful and encouraging words to say and it made me feel that much more hopeful about my future.

It's over.
I can't believe it.
::throws confetti::

Think of me

2008-09-17T20:44:00.004-04:00

I know I haven't been regular with my daily updates here on the blog, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I've been extremely busy with something in particular that is going to take place this weekend. Again, I haven't shared this with many people mainly b/c I do not want to come back and say I was a big failure, so I will leave it at this:

Please think of me this weekend. If you pray, please pray. I don't care to whom - anyone would be really really nice. I need all the positive vibes I can get.

Since I will be leaving tomorrow and not returning until Sunday night, I will leave you with a very early happy weekend! Have a fabulous time and don't do anything I wouldn't do ;)

Muscle Museum

2008-09-14T23:33:00.015-04:00

What better way to make the beginning of a hellacious week more bearable than hot men? I've seen this meme popping up on several blogs and thought I would take part myself. Here are my top 10 men:

Better known to some as Mr. Gwen Stefani, I have had a pretty intense love affair with Gavin since I was 14 years old. Unfortunately, it has only gotten worse with age and is pretty pathetic. I support him in whatever he may do, even if it is coming out with some pretty "pop-gay" material. I think he is the most beautiful man on the planet (aside from my hubs, of course). I hate you, Gwen Stefani :)

Hugh Jackman pretty much makes up "my type": tall, dark & handsome. I also totally dig that he has no problem giving men lap dances in public and performs on broadway. I cannot wait to see him in the Wolverine movie - it looks amazing. Plus the hubs just informed me that he will be half naked for a substantial part. Sold!

I have to admit that at first I didn't understand the allure of Clive Owen. He never really did it for me. Then I watched Sin City and my opinion totally changed. Don't ask me why or how, I joked that it must have been the black and white lighting. I adore his accent, his charm and his dry, sarcastic British humor. Um, have you seen his wife? I just don't get it.

And now for something completely different. Although I'm sure you have all noticed a pattern until now (accents, tall, dark and handsome), Elijah definitely breaks the mold. I just have a really big weak spot for cute little nerds. And Elijah has been my cute little nerd since I was about 9 years old. Do you guys remember Radio Flyer? Forever Young? North? Well, they all pretty much were staples of my youth. When I was sick, my mom knew she better come home with an Elijah movie. And nothing has really changed. I absolutely love him and the fact that we have about 356 things in common. Number 1? Favorite band: Smashing Pumpkins. Need I say more?

Now if I bring up Elijah, it is only fair that I mention Dom next! Despite the huge success of Lost and it being my favorite show ever, I was a huge Dom fan during the whole Lord of the Rings craze. I absolutely love this kid. A huge part of the attraction is just his hilariously spazzy sense of humor. When I found out he was going to be on a TV show, I got super excited. Needless to say, I didn't take his death on Lost well at all. I was a sobbing pile of loser. And everytime there is a rare Charlie flashback, I start screaming and squealing like a little girl. And then cry. Damn you, JJ Abrams. Damn you.

There is nothing really to this crush except for one main thing: ABS. OK, and he also makes me laugh like a maniac. I got pretty upset at Dane Cook when I first heard his standup b/c I swore he delivered his jokes in the same exact manner as Ryan Reynolds. Anyways, and then there are his abs.

I totally love this guy. Being a huge Wes Anderson and Sophia Coppola fan, I've seen a lot of his movies and have loved every single one. He has this magnetism that you just cannot deny. Everything he does is fabulous. Plus, he was the drummer in one of my favorite bands, Phantom Planet. He is just the ultimate indie kid and usually that would repulse me, but I can't help but love him for it. I want to go out dancing with him and have drunken deep conversations.

Another Lostie. I can't help that the island is populated by a bunch of hotties, OK? As the hubs would say (yes, the hubs), he has one of the best breast plates EVAR. As I'm sure the producers know since he is always in half opened shirts, which is fine by me! His character is beyond fascinating to me - it is the hopeless romantic in me. I've loved watching him chase after his one true love season after season and cried like a sap when he was finally reunited with his Penny!!! And that accent is amazing. Seriously, he could cuss me out and I would still be smiling, Brotha.

This is another one I was not a fan of at first. Hard to believe, I know, since he is ridiculously gorgeous, but his character on Lost annoyed the crap out of me. I wanted horrible things to happen to him because of his nasty little attitude. And then we all realized that Sawyer was a good guy that just had some inner demons. And then slowly I started to love him. And now it's full blown. The man is flipping beautiful - have you seen his ads for Cool Water? And did you guys know he was the dude that thiefs Alicia Silverstone's hip Jansport bag in the Cryin' video? Amazing (no pun intended).

Brian Kinney would definitely hate to be last on my list, but alas, that is the way the cookie crumbles. If you have never seen Queer As Folk, please do! It is an incredible show. Gale plays the main character: a brooding, narcissistic, successful, sex driven asshole and he does it so well. It's hard to believe that he is so soft spoken and well-mannered in real life. Anyways, the man is a beaut and supposedly he was one of the only guys on the show that was not gay. There is hope! ;)

So I hope you enjoyed my eye candy and feel free to leave me your lists!
Happy Monday!

Rock n Roll Lifestyle

2008-09-12T19:44:00.003-04:00

Just Jared just announced that Guitar Hero: World Tour will be released in Fall of 2008. I, for one, cannot wait. I was very late on this bandwagon and probably picked up Guitar Hero 3 about 6 months ago? Unfortunately, we do not own an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3 so we have never had our own copy of Rock Band, which to me is quite possibly the most fun anyone can have playing a video game. I blame it on being a frustrated wannabe rock star. But other people seem to agree as well.

So much so that this version of Guitar Hero will come equipped with a microphone and drum kit, just like Rock Band. Only way way cooler. Why, do you ask?

Well, first off, the set list is amazing and includes almost all my favorite bands (311, No Doubt, Smashing Pumpkins, Muse *omgz Assassin!!!!*, Sublime, REM, just to name a few), secondly there will be downloadable content and last, but definitely not least please view the video below:

That's right. Billy Corgan will be a boss. And then you will be able to play as him. I'd like to preemptively announce us as proud owners of a PS3.

And on that note, I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.
<3

Power of positivity

2008-09-10T18:24:00.004-04:00

Things have been pretty difficult on my end lately.
A lot of things happening at once and like the terrible woman I am, I've been having a hard time multitasking. I don't want to share this with many people, so I have kept it relatively quiet and between my closest family and friends, but I'm doing something pretty important next week that will hopefully open a lot of doors for me and will start a new chapter in my life. So please keep me in your thoughts and prayers next weekend.
Work has also been extremely demanding with two major audits within the next month. I'm just mentally and physically tired.

I do have good news though!
We seem to have a house broken dog as of last week!
Gwen has not had any accidents and has been understanding almost all commands. She really is turning out to be an amazing dog; she is definitely following in her big brother's footsteps. So congratulations to Gwen for becoming a big girl!!

Photo courtesy of the hubs.

Escaped and VMA-ed.

2008-09-08T18:59:00.003-04:00

Well, it looks like we escaped the gloom and doom that is Hurricane Ike.
Unfortunately Cuba was not as lucky. My thoughts and prayers are with the Cubans and I hope they get out of this safely.

On another completely unrelated note, what did you guys think of the VMA's last night? After reading around on my blogs, I don't think it was as bad as others seemed to have thought even though I can admit that it was a bit strange. The whole backlot and sound staged performances just didn't do it for me. Plus, it made me feel old b/c I had never heard of half of the bands performing or winning (Paramore? Tokio Hotel? Who?).

Also, who else thought it was rigged to put Britney in a favorable light? I thought it was blatantly obvious. What was up with her muddled intro?

And was I the only one that found Russell Brand awesome? It could be b/c he's British (I have a thing), but I was loving him!

This also furthered my debate as to where I stand with Katy Perry. Do I like her? Do I hate her? She is adorably cute, but her album was crap. "I Kissed a Girl" is super catchy and I found myself singing it the rest of the night, but I feel like she just sings things purely for shock value. Eh, I think I'll just stick to my buddy, Lily Allen.

Ah, the ponderings that result from an evening with Mtv.

Ike

2008-09-05T18:52:00.003-04:00

This week has been less than stellar (rather not elaborate), but I'm going to try my best to enjoy this weekend because next week looks like a doozy.

A category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane seems to be heading our way to make a visit sometime early next week. I hate hurricanes. I hate huge, scary hurricanes.

Both the hubs and I, along with our pups will be spending the storm at my sister's well-equipped home. I really hope we are all scurrying around like maniacs and worrying away for absolutely no reason.

With that said, I hope all of you have an amazing weekend!
Please keep all of Florida in your thoughts & prayers. We are going to need it.

Quickie

2008-09-04T19:12:00.002-04:00

Things have been a little unbearable lately...lots of things going on in my life, not all so positive so this was a shining beacon of light on my late afternoon blog reading:

I had to share.
I freaking love The Soup.

Digi Scrap

2008-09-02T11:21:00.003-04:00

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!!!
Ours was pretty relaxing, unfortunately the hubs had to work all day yesterday so Labor Day was pretty literal for him. I was able to work on my thesis defense (powerpoint presentation - check!) and pick up a new hobby: Digital Scrapbooking.

Since middle school I have been scrapbooking my millions of photos, but had abandoned it for the past 3 years mostly because it is so time-consuming as well as expensive. I hated that I no longer had all my memories saved in an album, but at the same time couldn't muster the energy or cash to start up where I left off (right after our engagement - yikes!).

Thanks to three days of digital scrapbooking, I've almost taken care of a whole year! There are countless sites full of layouts, paper, elements and alphabets all at your disposal. I pull these into Photoshop along with my photos and bam! You have a gorgeous layout ready to print and slip into your scrapbook. Now, I am still a rookie so my layouts are not as gorgeous as some of these, but I'm learning.

Tales from the office.

2008-08-28T20:37:00.004-04:00

Late this afternoon I was meeting with some of my parents in our office when one of my teenage clients walks in helping another coworker with groceries. We greet each other and then after a few minutes she starts telling me that she had a lot of dreams last night. One in particular was about fish. Then she paused and told me in a very serious tone that when you dream of fish it could only mean two things. "What?" I asked. "Well either someone is going to have a baby or someone is going to come into town." And I asked, "Well which do you think it will be?" And here is the kicker, ladies and gentlemen:

"I think you are going to have a baby."

Cue deer in headlights.

The best part is that when I asked why she thought that, her statistical reasoning was that "most women after 6 months of marriage get pregnant. I know, I have a lot of nieces and nephews." It was just beyond hysterical. She spent the rest of the time I was in the office, passing by me saying "fishies!" It really cracked me up. But just to be on the safe side, I'm going to really make sure I'm popping those pills every morning!

Look at this little guy!

2008-08-27T18:28:00.003-04:00

Link.

It's apparently his birthday and he was named after Mr. Billy Corgan himself.
This means he is ultimately cool. Or ultimately doomed.
Your pick.

Day 1.

2008-08-25T21:50:00.003-04:00

I haven't had to worry about my weight for the past 25 years.
Then 26 hit. That was a pretty ugly slap in the face from Mr. Reality.

I am now 27 and decided it is time to start taking care of my body. Now, I know that I am not overweight or anywhere near it. Even the Wii fit deemed me "normal." However, I don't want my weight to start spiraling out of control when I hit 30 and my body changes yet again. So thankfully, my high school friend, Angelique Millis, came to the rescue. In exchange for a photoshoot with my hubs, she offered me her fitness program, the Bikini Model Program.

This program focuses on building sleek and feminine muscle tone without having to spend countless hours slaving at the gym. This spoke to me because I really hate going to the gym, not because I don't like working out (I actually really do), but because I hate all the hoodlums gawking and the little teeny bopper girls pretending to use equipment when they are just sitting at a machine texting their friends. It is a huge turn off. However, with this program you can start looking like a regular Alessandra Ambrosio in the comfort of your own home. I highly advise you check out the website and consider purchasing their ebook, which is what I have been referencing.

Today was my official first day and I can't wait to start seeing the results. I hope to stay focused and determined and figure that making this blog post would probably help. I can't let all of you down! ;)

An Evening with the Smashing Pumpkins

2008-08-23T23:25:00.004-04:00

I've broken my "no weekends" posting rule because this just could not wait until Monday. As you all know, Thursday was Pumpkins Day and it did not disappoint. At all.

Get comfy because here is my full report. :)

We arrived at Mizner around 2pm and it was pouring down rain. I can't lie - I was super worried that the show would be canceled (again). We decided to brave the rain to find some drinks since we had heard that there was a nice local pub in the mall. We found the pub, unfortunately, it was closed. Makes sense considering that it was only 2pm, but at that time, we were pissed. How could Boca deny us our alcohol? ;)

We settled for some beers at Max's Grille. Some turned into many while our other friends arrived and before we knew it - it was almost 4pm. I decided to walk outside now that the weather had cleared to check if a line was forming or if they were sound checking. Well, I found both! Unfortunately, the music I was hearing was from their sound technicians and not the actual band, but I got into line and was happy to see that I was only number 7 or so. A few minutes later, the band came on stage for their official sound check and I was lucky enough to be able to watch them rehearse through the Amphitheater's fence.

Slightly wobbly video of soundcheck. Please ignore fangirl-isms.

Pretty early on, I noticed Billy looking over in our general direction so I waved through the narrow bars and he waved back. I through up rock fingers - he did so back. This is where I had a fangirl moment. I let out a pretty ridiculous squeal. For the rest of sound check my friends and I cheered them on and Billy addressed us as "his wall." It was probably shortly after that BAT NAILS (a local radio personality dressed as Batman) arrived and we officially got the line party started: we met more Pumpkin fans who were surprisingly awesome (not freaky as per usual) and started taking shots. It was about that time when we were probably labeled the most annoying people in line, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We had an absolute blast, which helped the time go by faster and sure enough, before we knew it the doors were opening.

Illustration of how much fun we really had while in line.

I ran like the wind and was able to score a front and center position, literally setting my purse down on the stage. At this point, I don't think words could really describe how I felt. I was going to see my favorite band in the entire world. A band that I thought I would never be able to see again for the past 8 years. And not only was I going to see them, but I was going to see them perform just a couple of feet in front of me. I don't know if it was the drinks, but my little heart was very happy.

Show time arrived and so did black ominous rainclouds. Sure enough, huge raindrops started to fall all over us. Lightning struck, the whole nine yards. Of course, in our excitement, we all started to cheer thinking a bad ass rock show in torrential rain would be pretty outstanding. Unfortunately, their crew didn't think the same. They all came running out to stage and started moving equipment and staring apprehensively at the sky. Thankfully, the rain stopped several minutes later and the intro music kicked in. The band came on stage and they immediately proceeded to rock our pants off.

Video of the band completely rocking out.

I already knew their setlist so I knew what to expect. A lot of people told me this would spoil the show for me (including my hubs), but I have to disagree. It helped me enjoy the show even more. I knew what I was going to hear and did not get disappointed that the songs I wanted to hear were not played. Sure, I would have loved to hear Lucky 13 or Geek USA or Fuck You (An Ode to No One) - that would have been legendary, but I didn't harp on it. What they did play: some classics mixed with many "obscure" songs and covers did not disappoint in the least bit. They had a lot of energy, the crowd had a lot of energy and I loved every second of it.

At one point, the band slowed it down for an acoustic set (Once Upon A Time, Again, Again, Again and The Rose March) and Billy brought out his little niece, Ava, to sing along with him. It was by far the most adorable thing in the world and it was nice to see Billy as a family man for once, even though he did get upset that we cheered more for Ava than for him. ;)

Billy hugging little Ava after her singing debut.

They then changed things up by playing a cover of Pink Floyd's Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, which despite expecting it, was really a bummer for me. It was too long, too psychedelic and too boring for me and from what I saw, for the rest of the audience. Sure, it was cool to see Billy wail on the Timpani's to the point that he broke a stick, but 10 minutes or more of strange noises and feedback was way too much.

Billy bringing it on the Timpani's.

The encore consisted of a kazoo-driven We Only Come Out At Night, which was pretty amazing and a closing with a fun cover of Mungo Jerry's In The Summertime. As they were saying their goodbye's, my amazing hubs was able to flag Billy down to give me a guitar pick. So I am now the lucky owner of one of these to add to my "collection" (Billy gave me one at the Spec's show in 2000):

It was an amazing show. Granted, I've read a lot of negative reviews about this tour, but for a hardcore fan, it was perfect. Like I said, there were a lot of songs I would have liked to hear that were not played, but I wouldn't have replaced any except for the Pink Floyd cover only because it completely lost the audience. I saw my favorite band and at the end of the day, I would have had a grin from ear to ear if Billy Corgan was just sitting on a stool reading a cereal box. If you are just a singles fan, you will hate it. But honestly, if you only liked 1979, why the hell are you even attending? I left really hoping that they are able to embark on their 20th anniversary tour in November so we can see them again.

But the best part was still to come.
We bought some merchandise (shirts and posters) and then took a quick bathroom stop before heading over to where their bus was parked. We found a group already waiting of about 30 people. About 10 minutes later, Billy walked out of the venue towards us. It was at about that moment that my brain turned off. A guy asked him if he could take a picture with him. Billy said no, that he rather spend 10 minutes actually talking to us rather than snapping pictures and signing autographs. Although I was bummed b/c I was hoping to FINALLY have a picture with him after 13 years of crazy fandom, I understood that he was actually being a very cool human being. So we talked. Or rather everyone talked for me. I just stared at him. My friends told him how great the show was, one girl asked if they were going to do more residencies, one extremely annoying fan asked Billy to take his country's flag and finally I opened my mouth. All I could ask was details on the free Orlando show that was going to take place the next day. Ugh, stupid Meli. But, I suppose it was better than what I really wanted to say and do : scream I LOVE YOU and give him a bear hug. It was very very difficult to hold back, you have no idea. But I behaved. Augi on the other hand, slipped Billy his business card. Why? Well, I don't have to write it out for all of you, you can all watch video evidence as caught by another fan:

So I saw my favorite band. And they were amazing. And then I got to meet a man that I have admired for the majority of my life. So all and all, a pretty stellar night that I wish I could relive over and over again.

Until the next show....
♥

Still Motion

2008-08-19T19:36:00.002-04:00

I can say with every fiber of my being that I completely and utterly love my wedding video. I have sang its praises on this blog before. I just really really love it. I could probably watch it every day and not tire of it.

But with that said, I stumbled upon this ridiculously talented videographer via a post on The Knot and was blown away. There are really no words to describe this team's work. Let's just say that I wish I could get married again just so I could book Still Motion. They come with a hefty price tag, but I've never seen something that is so worth the big bucks.

While scouring their blog, make sure to check out their tribute to The Beastie Boy's Sabotage using a wedding party's groomsmen. Flipping genius.

These are two of my favorites (so far):

Jess + Ryan's Highlights from StillMotion on Vimeo.

Cheryl + Andrew's SDE - Vancouver from StillMotion on Vimeo.

It's a good day.

2008-08-18T17:53:00.006-04:00

After having a pretty depressing weekend, I can honestly say that today is looking very bright (despite Tropical Storm Fay knocking at our front door)! You see, many things were going wrong, but now two out of the three aren't too shabby.

Ready?
#1: I got an official date for my thesis defense. It's happening people: I'm finally going to graduate. Jeez, I almost don't even want to say it.

#2: Remember the Pumpkins concert tomorrow? Well, it got rescheduled to Thursday! This never happens. Ever. But it did. And it's pretty freaking awesome. Sorry: FUCKING awesome.

Actually, both of these things are FUCKING awesome.
Nay, LEGENDARY.

And to all my fellow South Floridians, stay safe during the storm tonight and tomorrow!
♥

Well this sucks.

2008-08-15T18:00:00.005-04:00

For all those readers that have forgotten, Tuesday was supposed to be the happiest day in the world: it was Pumpkins day. Yes, Tuesday is the day the Pumpkins will play Mizner in Boca. The day I took off from work along with my hubs and 6 of our closest friends. It has been 8 years since I've seen them play live. This was not supposed to happen.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?????????

Today is officially the worst Friday ever.
:(

Rod & Gab

2008-08-13T11:28:00.003-04:00

Tonight we are going to the Fillmore on Miami Beach to watch a little Mexican guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela. They were initially in a thrash metal band before deciding that they wanted to go back to their roots and get the hell out of Mexico. They now reside in Dublin, Ireland and pump out some amazing cover songs as well as originals, still quoting Metallica and other metal acts as influences.

I highly recommend listening to their stuff. They are incredible. I am super excited to see them live tonight with the hubs, my in-laws and some friends. I'm sure it's going to be a fabulous night and I'll come with a full report tomorrow. For now, here are some videos to wet your appetite.

Stairway to Heaven cover.

Music video for Diablo Rojo (so looking forward to rocking out to this tonight).

Hot baby alert!

2008-08-12T19:38:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the Knot, I stumbled upon this hilarity of a website.
Makemebabies.com is a website that generates what your baby will look like using pictures you upload of yourself and your partner. You can also "mate with" celebrities. Exciting stuff.

With that said, I just had to do it. I'm a sucker for this kind of fuckery. And it definitely paid off. I laughed for a good 5 minutes straight and even had a few tears. This is one hot baby!!!! I can definitely see the family resemblance. Can't you?

And I thought it was only appropriate to breed with Batman himself, Christian Bale, as well (Hugh Jackman and Gavin Rossdale were not available). Not surprisingly, we had another extremely attractive child! Wow, I can't wait to start making babies of my own! I can only hope they are as adorable and endearing as these online versions!!!

Did someone say Lobster?

2008-08-08T16:46:00.002-04:00

So after what felt like the most hellacious week, I can finally say hello to a fabulous weekend ahead of me. One of my best friends in the world, Elissa, is celebrating her birthday in Key West for Lobsterfest. Although I've never been, I hear it is just tent after tent on Duvall full of delicious lobster-esqe meals. Yummy in my tummy!!!

Besides the lobster, I absolutely love Key West. I love the laid back vibe, the ability to walk the streets with rum runner in hand and being able to spend 24/7 in shorts and flip flops. Yes, please!

And if all of those reasons weren't great enough, I also get to spend a weekend with some of the most amazing people in my life (awwww).

So I wish you all an amazing weekend and I will hopefully be back on Monday with some photos and stories to share!

Sawyer, is that you?

2008-08-06T18:34:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, it is.
Here is one of our favorite castaways, Josh Holloway, on the set of his new movie Stay Cool with Winona Ryder. This is so terribly wrong and frightening. See, Lost? This is what happens to your cast when you have such a long hiatus!!!

I wonder what Sawyer's nickname would be for this fancy little character...Pony? Cassette? K-Fed?

Thanks to DListed!

Muxin'.

2008-08-05T17:51:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I posted about attempting to post my very first muxtape and failing miserably. Today I think I'll be a little more successful after a quick tutorial from the hubs! If you do not know what muxtape is, check out this superb little blog about it.

I hope to make this a weekly ritual so I can share my musical interests with you guys. I always enjoy hearing mixtapes and discovering new music, so I figured you all would as well! My first mix is Pumpkins-centric (my, what a surprise!). It's a little live compilation for all those going to see them in two weeks or for those that have never seen them live or even for those that have never heard of them (gasp!).

They definitely are in my top 10 concert experiences, not only because they are my favorite band, but also because they just put on such a great show. They never do it "half-assed." They always put their all into their performances and you really can't beat that.

So I hope you enjoy my first muxtape. It will be the first of many to come!
http://missmeli.muxtape.com/

One of those Monday's.

2008-08-04T17:34:00.002-04:00

I hate Monday's.
I think that is pretty clear if you are my friend on Facebook. As my cousin put it one night, my Facebook status updates are just a countdown until the weekend. And that's pretty much the way I view my work week: What day is it today and how many are left until Friday?

This Monday proved to be extra special.
As I was walking out of my condo this morning, I see the maintenance dude hosing down our hallway blocking me from getting to my car in the parking lot. I make a facial expression that I thought was pretty explanatory that I needed him to move out of the way or at least move the hose out of the way. Yep, I guess not. So he kept hosing and I kept moving. I tried to be slick and turn before he splashed me to take an alternate route when all of a sudden I was sprawled on the floor. Fantabulous. The best part? This good sir didn't even ask me if I was OK or if I needed help. HE JUST KEPT HOSING. Meanwhile, a good portion of my left leg is scraped and bleeding. That is not the way I'd like to start my Monday.

Then I walk into my office (after putting our first aid kit to good use) to listen to my voicemails. And it was one of those voicemails. The ones that make you smack your head against the desk repeatedly.

So because of that, I was going to make my day a lot better by posting my first ever muxtape, but I couldn't figure that bitch out. Growl. I'll wait for the hubs to get home so I can post one tomorrow! Hopefully I can make a weekly ritual out of it.

Should be cleaning

2008-08-01T17:55:00.002-04:00

I am officially 27 and I officially have a bad ass haircut to go along with it.
My hair was snipped to oblivion on Wednesday night at Peter of London. The fabulous Dee was my hair stylist. Yes, that Dee. From Bravo's Shear Genius. And that she is! She's a super cool chick that really knows what she is doing. Of course, I kind of went pop culture crazy on her, but tried to keep it to a minimum. ;)

This weekend is going to be pretty laid back for the Sanchez clan.
Having a few friends over Saturday night for one of our infamous "game nights," which should be fun as always.

So I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
I'm off to go clean the pad while listening to some hot tunes!

♥

A better Monday

2008-07-28T19:14:00.003-04:00

I decided to take a 4-day weekend to celebrate the days leading up to my birth and I do believe it was the best decision I have made in a looooong time. For once, I am having a great Monday. Unheard of.

My ROCKSTAR bash was a complete success!!! I had the most fabulous time. I can honestly say that it was one of the best birthdays I have had so far. Everyone dressed up, was in a good mood and rowdy. Just the way I like them. The jello injectors were a HIT as always. As was the photobooth. Unfortunately, I didn't get any alone time with the booth but plenty of people did! The hubs is currently editing them and hopefully I'll have some share with you soon. If you want to see pictures from the party, you can do so here.

Tomorrow I plan on hitting Sawgrass Mills (outlet mall) to do some damage with all my gift money. Very excited b/c my wardrobe needs a lift! Then I have a very small get-together at my Mom's (yes, this would make party #3) and unfortunately the next day I come back to the reality of work work work.

But before I go, I must leave you with two adorable finds from the always lovely Ballard Designs:

Alphabet Balls.
OK seriously, I'm in love.

Good Housekeeping print.
A baby & a Boston. You can't go wrong!
I need this!!!!!

Goodbye 26, Hello 27.

2008-07-25T20:09:00.003-04:00

So today marks the beginning of my birthday weekend.
I was lucky enough to take both Monday and Tuesday off so now I have a glorious 4-day weekend. It doesn't get any better than that!

As you can see above, I've started party preparations as tomorrow is my rockstar themed birthday party. I'm so excited!!! The jello injectors are chilling in the fridge, my outfit is ready and I just have to put some finishing touches on a few things and pack my bags (you know it's going to be an overnighter lol).

And if that wasn't great enough, I'll be having another party on Sunday afternoon at my sister's house. I know. I'm an attention whore. ;)

So I hope you all have a great weekend and I will be sure to come back either Monday or Wednesday with pictures from all events!!!

♥

Snip snip!

2008-07-24T22:42:00.003-04:00

Yep, so after countless months making fun "of the masses" for mimicking Victoria Beckham's famous robot hair, I've decided to do the same.

And to make it even more embarrassing, I was inspired to do so not by Victoria but by the slightly (and by slightly I mean terribly) annoying Hayden Panettiere. I mean, have you seen this girl's music video? It's a world of no.

Regardless, I am hoping to have my hip new Hayden hair by next week. Yep, just in time for my birthday. ;)

Gwen vs. Brad-Pitt

2008-07-21T19:17:00.002-04:00

Looks like the pups are finally starting to get along a week later.
They've started to play fight like this for the past couple of days on our bed.
I have to admit, it's pretty adorable!

Tickets: bought.

2008-07-21T18:51:00.003-04:00

I had forgot to blog after my Pumpkins post that a new date was added in Boca, which is only a couple of hours away. We were super excited to not have to do a full fledged road trip! This morning the tickets went on sale at 10am. Please take note of the time I received this confirmation email from Ticketmaster.

I know I'm sick.
You have no idea how excited I am and more so that it is general admission. So you know what that means: I'll be parking my butt on that concrete outside the doors at 3pm to ensure that I am front and center.

I'm coming for YOU, Mr. Corgan!!!!!!
Countdown begins: t-minus 29 days.

ps; Also click HERE to watch the trailers for The WatchMen which besides looking pretty badass, uses an old (& fabulous) Pumpkins' song: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning (which was also used for another movie: Batman & Robin).

Shopping Sabbatical.

2008-07-21T18:38:00.002-04:00

I need to just keep my spending-happy, fashion-loving butt out of the mall for awhile.
Or, at least until I get all those fun birthday gift cards next week! ;)

Knowing very well that I am currently on a budget with a lot of big events coming up, I decided to hit up the mall. Not once. But twice. Oh Meli....when will you learn?

However, I did manage to score this two adorable dresses at Forever 21:

Dress 1: $13.50
Dress 2: $19.50

I had to. You understand, right? ;)

Trash the Dress Teasers!

2008-07-18T18:12:00.002-04:00

My fabulous photographer, Carmen, from Studio by Carmen just posted some amazing teasers from our Trash the Dress shoot on her blog.

I couldn't be happier and I can't wait to see the rest! It was a blast, we got wet, dirty and covered in sand. So much sand in fact, that we found piles and piles while cleaning a couple of weeks ago.

So for all the brides that read my blog (I know there are a lot of you!) that are thinking about possibly doing a trashing, I highly recommend it. I can honestly say that we didn't stop laughing the entire session. And the results speak for themselves!

I hope you all have a great weekend!
I'll be working on my thesis and shopping for my upcoming rockstar birthday bash! And, of course, taking care of the baby girl, Gwen.

♥!

Do you believe in the mighty SP?

2008-07-15T17:43:00.003-04:00

I sure do!!!!
Looks like we'll be heading up to Clearwater, FL next month to rock out to Mr. Corgan and company!!! I am ridiculously excited. But at the same time I have to give up a trip to the Keys for one of my best friend's birthdays, which makes me super sad. I don't think I can do it, so hopefully we can work out a way to do both. Somehow.

C'mon Ticketmaster! Give me more information!

To give you an idea as to why I am so excited (besides the fact that the last time I saw the Pumpkins live was about 8 years ago), here is a quote from the Billy man himself:

"The August tour is going to be a blast," band mastermind Billy Corgan said on the band's site. "Expect a very loud and raucous show from us."

The Pumpkins, which formed in 1988, will target smaller shows during the initial two-week run kicking off Aug. 9 in Hammond, IL. Corgan says the band is focusing on "unique sets and songs."

You're so new.

2008-07-14T15:53:00.002-04:00

I'd like everyone to meet, Gwen.
The newest addition to our family.
She is a 10 week old Boston Terrier and we couldn't be happier.

She is very sweet, very cuddly and very smelly. Hehe.
I had forgotten the trials and tribulations of crate training. It is not fun at all. I spent one hell of a sleepless night last night complete with monstrous migraine.

But you know what? One look at her little face and it is all worth it!

Big brother, Brad-Pitt, isn't taking it so well, but I know they will be the best of friends in no time.

Wanted: Fuzzies!

2008-07-11T12:40:00.002-04:00

I am not a flower/plant person.
I prefer them to be fake. I just can't keep up with the upkeep.

However, I had a real orchid given to me as a gift from my mother for mother's day (hey, furbabies count!) and it just made that little corner of the house so happy. I can definitely understand why people buy new fresh flowers every week for their home, but for now, I'll stick to fake. ;)

With that said, a new trend that I keep seeing pop up in all my home catalogs and blogs is what I have termed: the fuzzy flowers. I really really like these fuzzies and have found it absolutely necessary to have them in my home. However, I cannot find them ANYWHERE. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction!

They manage to make any corner of your home that much more fun and bright and alive. Must.have.

A few of my favorite things

2008-07-09T18:40:00.005-04:00

When I got home today from work, I checked my mailbox and found not one, but two glorious catalogs: CB2 and Chiasso.
I immediately grabbed the Sharpie and started circling to my little heart's content. While circling fervently, I decided I would share them all with you. You know, with my birthday coming up and all ;)

CB2:

Fu Dog Bookends $49.95
Absolutely obsessing over these, but I know I can find them for cheaper on Ebay! My bedroom would be a perfect home for these two!

Comma Plates $1.95-6.95
I've loved these since day one. They are so ridiculously cheap and even come in bright fun colors, I have no idea why I've never bought them for entertaining!

Ada Hanging Vase $6.95
Although it doesn't look like much in this single photo, look at it in the room view and you will be blown away. As a threesome lined up together, they really make a statement. These would look fabulous over my bar!

Sal Salt and Pimienta Pepper Shakers $3.95 each
This is just absolutely adorable especially for a bilingual household.

FLOR Toy Poodle/Zebra Crossing Tiles $13.95/$14.95 each
I know what you're thinking: ridiculous.
And you are so right. And I so love it.

FLOR Stampede Tiles $14.95 each
These are just fabulous and would look wonderful in our living room under our ottomans. I freaking love animal print as an accent.
Update: I totally bought these with a gift card I discovered tonight in my closet!!! SCORE!

Chiasso

Turn Vase $148
Sorry, but this thing is so freaking cool. Definitely check out the room view.

Hi There! Doormat $38

We are currently doormat-less and this would fit so perfectly. It's really hard to find a cute, kitchsy doormat. They are always so bland.

Halo Sculpture $18

How great is this for a pop of color in a neutral room. I'm thinking this would look great in our bedroom since we need some colors to pump up the volume in there! Plus yellow is my new favorite accent color. I hope pink and green don't get jealous.

Mod Pod $38 each

I'm totally loving the feel of these. They would look hot with some hanging orchids like pictured. I'm not too into the fishies though.

3 day weekend aftermath

2008-07-07T19:10:00.002-04:00

They are never pretty.
Today was no different. I had absolutely no desire to work, but I had to and it was no fun.
Boo to that.

My 4th was lovely though. We got to spend time with family and friends as well as enjoy the beach. I also got to rock my new bikini's, which always puts a smile on my face (I am bathing suit obsessed). Next up on our calendar of events is my nephew's 2nd birthday. I cannot believe he's already going to be two years old. I remember the day my sister first announced she was pregnant! It's amazing how time flies.

And that brings me to my 27th (!!!) birthday. It really crept up on me - only 3 more weeks! I hit up Party City last week and stocked up on party supplies. I still need a few more things but the essentials have been bought. I also just got my jello injectors in the mail, which officially means we are ready for a party. I also have to continue working on my rockstar playlist - I really want to make sure everyone doesn't get off the dancefloor all night!!!

I foresee a very busy July for me!
♥

Happy July!!!!

2008-07-01T14:23:00.003-04:00

Welcome to July!!

If you are wondering why I'm so excited, the answer is that July is my birth month and well, I'm an attention whore that believes my birthday begins on the first of July so happy happy happy to me!

Our Trash the Dress shoot was super fun. And dirty, wet and crazy. We had the entire beach staring at us like we had gone insane. It was fabulous. Once I get the pictures back from Carmen, I'll make sure to post them!

Note to self: if wearing a white dress that will get wet, do not wear colored undies. Opps.

Speaking of the beach, I cannot wait for this 4th of July long weekend. We'll be spending it at Key Biscayne with our friends and my sister so it should be good times. I really hope the weather holds up because I would like to get some sort of color on my skin. Playing Casper isn't really working out for me. I was able to score the cutest mix & match bikinis at Old Navy yesterday - they were only $8.25 each, so if you are looking to stock up, I would do so now!

Trashin'

2008-06-27T10:19:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, the hubs and I will finally be doing our Trash the Dress photoshoot with our favorite local photographer, Studio by Carmen. She did my boudoir photos as well as my bridal shower photos and I couldn't love her more. She's just an amazing person with great ideas that makes you feel so comfortable in front of a camera. I am extremely excited.

For those of you that don't know what a Trash the Dress shoot is, it is a photoshoot where the bride gets her dress dirty, wet or destroyed - based on the level of trashing you may wish to partake in. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I will not be using my actual dress as it was a Monique Lhuillier and I just can't bear myself to do that to a gorgeous ML gown. Plus, I'm still trying my best to sell it, which is proving to be very difficult. So I bought an affordable dress a few months ago from my favorite store in the world, Target. You can never go wrong with Tar-jay, my friends.

We are shooting at Crandon Beach, which is located in Key Biscayne. I didn't pick it that much for the beach as for the surrounding areas. There are gardens that used to be the site for the old Miami Zoo, which is covered in vintage animal cages. Can you say cool? Also, there is a fun kids' playing area and a roller rink. Finally, the best part of it is a carousel!

With our 4:30pm meet time, I hope we have enough time to get all the shots I have imagined! I'll definitely share them with you on the blog once we get some teasers back. Pray for good weather and clean water!!!

Have a great weekend, everyone :)

Wii Therapy

2008-06-26T09:36:00.002-04:00

I think Mario Kart owns my soul.
If you want to kart with me, here's my number:
3823 9889 8951

"Let's play a VS race!!!"

Music Spotlight: Mute Math

2008-06-25T18:13:00.004-04:00

It's time for another music spotlight.
Maybe I should make this a weekly ritual?
What do you guys think?

Mute Math.

They are ridiculously amazing. At first I thought they were just a regular rock band, one in a million. Then our good friend, Chris, told us to come see them live. It completely blew me away. Not only do they have the most energy I have EVER seen on a stage (well, besides the Foo Fighters), but they were amazingly talented. Since then, we have seen them 2 more times and I hope the number keeps growing. I really encourage all of you to listen to their stuff, but highly recommend seeing them live - it is about a gazillion times more fulfilling than listening to their album.

Now, their album has been out for a good 2 years so I was itching for some new material - even commented this to the hubs a couple of weeks ago, and then today he emails me a link to the band's youtube account. Seems they are in the process of recording a new album and have compiled some viral videos to help promote it. They are pretty outstanding.

They really seem to be pushing their style to new levels this time around, so I can't wait to see what the final product is like!

I wanna rock!

2008-06-20T18:52:00.003-04:00

*god, I hate my floors.

So my birthday is on July 29th, but will be celebrated on the 26th. I have always wanted to have a costume party, but didn't think anyone would actually dress up. Well, this year I took a poll via Myspace asking people if they would dress up if I were to have a costume party and I got a pretty unanimous yes. Ever since that day, I have been planning my rockstar birthday party. Never mind that I am turning 27 and not 16 - you are never too old to rock, right?

First I figured I'd just be a generic rockstar and I found these glorious American Apparel zebra leggings that I could not resist. Hello, how awesome are they???? Plus they went perfectly with my new Steve Madden pumps. I just had to find a top. A top that matched with freaking zebra leggings - not very easy to find. I settled on a black tunic/dress from American Apparel as well. By the way, if any of you are fans of American Apparel, but not of their ridiculous price tags (like me!), check out the following ebay seller. Whenever I'm feeling the AA bug, I just check out what she has in her store and my wallet remains happy. OK, OK, I'll stop promoting now. Back to the story.

So my next step was a wig. You know I had to have some crazy ass hair to match my crazy ass leggings. I was thinking something black and drastic. When I brought this up to my friends, they all looked at me like I was insane. All of them told me I had to dress up as Gwen Stefani. You see, I have a little obsession with my little lamb, Gwen. It stems back from when I was an angsty 14 year old watching her I'm Just A Girl video, which upon viewing again is hysterically awful. Then I had a falling out with the Gwenster when I discovered she was dating my boyfriend at the time, Gavin Rossdale. That bitch. Then I came to terms with their cuteness and embraced her again. It has really been a rollercoaster ride of a relationship, but we continue to go strong.

So Gwen. Really? Would Gwen wear zebra leggings? My friends replied "why not" and I went with it. I purchased my blonde wig off Ebay, which unfortunately won't be here for awhile as it shipped from my dear Australia (another obsession to cover at another time). I hope I don't look like a moron.

Now I'm busy planning decor. My friends were generous enough to offer their brand spankin' new penthouse loft in Downtown Miami, which fits perfectly with the decadent rockstar theme. I've been busy marking things as "watched" on Ebay and scouring party supply websites. I blame all of this on wedding withdrawal. Now I feel like I should have something big to plan (party wise) at least once a year. Geez, I went into the wrong field.

Bedroom Revisited.

2008-06-19T20:15:00.004-04:00

So I finally switched our West Elm duvet cover for one of our wedding registry gifts: a Crate & Barrel bed quilt.
I thought it was so adorable and had that fun pop of color in the swirls that feeds my need for brightness. But now that I made the switch, I noticed that our bedroom looks so dark and gloomy. There is way too much dark brown going on! Not even the swirls are helping!

I was thinking of finding some cute & brightly colored decorative pillows to throw in the mix. What do you guys think? Will that bring a little more life back into our room? Any other tips or pointers? Please keep in mind that when we lay down our floors in a few months, they are going to be very dark as well.

ps; Yes, my dog thinks he owns our bed. Yes, we know that's a problem. No, we are not addressing it. ;)

Patio Furniture

2008-06-18T16:04:00.002-04:00

So my next home projects are the bedroom and our patio, which needs a lot of work.

The hubs vehemently disagrees. He states that "no one goes out there," which I think is the reason it needs to be updated! If we had a patio with such bright and fun pieces as these from Lebello, everyone would want to be back there.

But that's just me ;)

Coldplay

2008-06-17T18:10:00.002-04:00

So I just downloaded Coldplay's newest album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, and I am completely impressed.

I have to admit, I was never really convinced with Coldplay. I didn't really understand why so many people raved about them, they were always just "alright" to me. They seemed to be copying U2's signature style and weren't all that great during live performances (at least on TV). I enjoyed X&Y for probably a week and then got really bored. I fell in love with "Til Kingdom Come" not knowing it was Coldplay and then discovered it was originally written for Johnny Cash and probably the reason it didn't sound like anything else in their library.

Then I saw the the infamous itunes commercial with their new single, Viva La Vida, and I turned to the hubs and admitted it was a pretty rad song. As usual, they sounded sub par at the MTV Movie Awards so I was kind of turned off again. This afternoon I decided to download the new album and give it a go and here I am, hitting repeat on the album for the 3rd time. I can't help myself, it's great. They seemed to have found their own sound on this record, no longer sounding overly U2-ish (even though now they seem to sound a little more Beatles-esque).

It can be a little overly dramatic with lengthy epic sounding songs like "Yes!", but I can't really complain. Afterall, I can't say much - I'm a psychotic Smashing Pumpkins fan and we all know how much Billy Corgan loves his 10+ minute epics.

I recommend "Strawberry Swing" and "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" - so far they are my favorites. "Life in Technicolor" is also a gorgeous instrumental.

So what do you guys think about Coldplay?

Pop.gay.

2008-06-13T17:59:00.003-04:00

Your new music is POP GAY!
Oh man, I'm probably the only one that finds this hilarious, but I do.

I'm also about to open up a Myspace account to see if Gavin really does respond to every single one of his messages. He's such a liar. I am going to have to catch his attention with a shocking subject title. TWAT. Yes, that's a good one. And British to boot.

I'll keep you all abreast.

Update: He wasn't lying. OMG. I am trying very hard not to bust out into a full fledged fangirl episode. Very.hard.

Pearl Jam | Kings of Leon Concert

2008-06-13T17:07:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday, Augi and I along with my in-laws went to see Pearl Jam live at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. It was a very generous gift from my father-in-law who shares the same love for live music as his two kids. We were also celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday.

Kings of Leon opened and I was blown away. I've always loved KOL, but wasn't so sure how they would perform live mainly due to the singer's unique voice. Wow, they were amazing. Completely went above my expectations. I hope they come on their own tour nearby soon because I would love to see them headlining. They definitely left me wanting more.

*sorry for the shaky video, trying to dance and film at the same time apparently doesn't work.

Pearl Jam started off a little slow mostly due to the fact that they played all their new stuff. Augi and I both didn't recognize any of it. But all of a sudden they kicked it into high gear with I believe Even Flow and that was the end of it. We were all singing at the top of our lungs and dancing around. It was freaking fabulous and a total 90's flashback, which all of you know I love. They played two encores and eventually had the house lights turned on them - I really thing they would have kept playing otherwise. It was just a great show. It would have been a freaking amazing show had it not been at that amphitheater. I really really detest that place, but everyone goes there so I have no other choice but to go time and time again. The lawn is gross, people are up in your business, everything is $500 (exaggeration) and the acoustics SUCK.

Sorry to get off on my I-hate-Cruzan Amphitheater-tirade, but I just had to put it out there.
But back to the show. It was glorious. Check out some of the video I was able to get:

Unfortunately, this marked the end of my summer concert series for now. I am hoping some more amazing bands stop by soon. I'm currently playing the watch & wait game with Stone Temple Pilots. They just announced a show in August at the Hard Rock, but I'm waiting for ticket info. I saw them about 6 years back for free on South Beach and they were ridiculously good. I hope I'll be able to see them again!

I Wist.

2008-06-10T23:52:00.004-04:00

So I stumbled upon the most genius idea on the web a couple of weeks ago and it's called Wists.

What is a wist, you say?
Well, it is toted as being "social shopping." It is basically an online wishlist that you can post to your blog that works similar to adding a bookmark.

And I have discovered this genius tool at the most perfect time:
A little over a month before my birthday!!!

So I've been busy collecting items and filling out my wist page. Soon it'll be robust enough to be posted on my sidebar, but for now I leave you with a link.

The only downside I see to this service is that you cannot add any items off of Crate & Barrel and/or CB2. Ew. Not a fan of that. Especially since I have so many wishful items on both of those sites. But gift cards are always welcome! ;)

Weekend Roundup!

2008-06-09T01:04:00.002-04:00

So this weekend was very home-oriented.
Or rather, bathroom-oriented.

When we moved in, we ripped out the hideously 70's Master Bath and well....just never redid it! So we've had a huge gaping hole for almost 3 years now. Horrible, we know. We thought it was about time.

Thanks to IKEA, we now have a pretty kick ass bathroom if I may say so myself. It was a lot of hard work, but it definitely paid off. Next we were thinking of painting the walls a very light mint green. What do you guys think?

AOL Sessions

2008-06-03T21:05:00.002-04:00

This is a ridiculously amazing acoustic version of Bush's Letting the Cables Sleep that was performed by Gavin during AOL sessions. Now this needs to be released!!!!

Wedding Movie

2008-06-03T00:40:00.006-04:00

My fabulous videographer, Artistry Wedding Films, sent me a link to my wedding movie this afternoon. I was warned not to watch it until my DVD arrives tomorrow, but I have no self control. I saw the email on my iphone while driving home and sped the rest of the way to park myself in front of my computer and watch.

I was definitely not disappointed. The video is freaking a-ma-zing. It managed to capture the exact emotions I felt that day, but had forgotten. It was great to see all the special people in our lives and their reactions to our day. Little things like guests laughing at what we had written in our programs about the bridal party, parents crying during the ceremony and people really getting down and dirty on the dance floor.

It was just such a special day and I realized that it really was the happiest day of my life so far. Everything I felt that day was so amplified - my little heart was filled with so much love. For all those brides-to-be reading this blog, I can honestly say without any doubt in my heart that it is worth all the stress. Trust me.

And without further ado, I present my wedding movie. I warn you, it is about 40 minutes long, so get comfortable.

http://wms3.streamhoster.com/artistry/Meli&AugiMovie2.wmv

We will pump. You up.

2008-06-02T01:37:00.002-04:00

For the first time in my 26 years, I have joined a gym.
24 Hour Fitness to be exact. Here's to hoping I can get my ass in gear and in shape. We are planning to take a cruise in November for our one year anniversary so I definitely have to be in perfect bikini shape by then! Now I just need to buy workout clothes and sneakers.

For those of you that are interested in how our Dharma labels came out last week for the Lost season finale, you can see them here. How fabulous was that Season Finale? Three words: Des & Penny!!!!!! Squee!