New Bookcase

So…I’ve kind of had an empty corner in my bedroom since we moved into the crack house this summer and for the last week my mind has been obsessed with adding a bookshelf. I’m still in the age range where Ikea furnishings are acceptable but was torn between that and a DIY pinterest project that was actually inspired by Kelley's coffee table! The only thing that kept me from going the DIY route was the wood crate things were only available online and I wanted them at my home ASAP. I was doing a Target shopping trip and came across a bookcase the perfect size and was more affordable than the one I had seen at Ikea…so boom, impromptu Target purchase!

I love pinterest and all the beautiful craftiness inspiration that it provides. Here are some bookcases that I loved!

Love the clean & organized look this has!

So pretty!

Flowers were a must have for me!

Photos!

Something that I had to include were the 3 old school cameras I own! I couldn’t wait to display those :] The couple of autographed baseballs I have from Joba Chamberlain and CC Sabathia made the bookcase also. What I didn’t have…books. I totally overestimated the number of books I own, so this fall I’m on the hunt for some to fill it with actual literature instead of junk. It's still under construction, but this is what we're looking at now...

Let's break down each shelf

Top shelf includes a DIY vase and some fake flowers, because I don't have the money to constantly replace dead real ones, and a "birthday bitch" headband Lime and Chels gifted me with on my 25th birthday. First shelf down we have some books on the top left...The Hunger Games trilogy and WTFO in both paperback and hardcover :] In front of those books is the first vintage looking camera, a Nikon something or other. The middle of the shelf is an empty picture frame for a photo I haven't printed yet and it sits on top of some cute handmade cards I got and totally love from World Market! The right side of that top shelf has the CC and Joba autographed baseballs which sit on my small collection of baseball books including a baseball roadtrip guide gifted by my friend Anna, Derek Jeter's "The Life You Imagine", and "162" by Steve Melia which tells the story of a dude who went to ALL of the Yankees games [home AND away] back in like 2011.

Second shelf down is a little more boring, to your left you see a black empty photo box, textbooks I couldn't sell back, and a mason jar with a silver glittery skull sitting on top of a pile of red glitter. I paid too much for that thing, but I love it.  

Shout out to my Yankee Stadium wall decor that I got for like 60% off!
Thanks for the heads up on that Marcus :] 

The middle shelf has some more books, including my 1st Chicken Soup For The Soul book from like 7th grade, my AUTOGRAPHED Lauren Conrad book, LA Candy, and book 5 of 7 in the Harry Potter series. In front of that is 2 decks of cards that haven't been used for like 7 years, and a film developing canister. Back in high school [and 2 weeks of college] I took a photo class where we had to develop our own film and print our own pictures using darkrooms and chemicals. It was legit my favorite class and the developing was my favorite part of the entire photo process! Moving on, next to that you see a super legit accordion Polaroid camera. Hey Ya! Last but not least, some middle school and high school yearbooks and "textbooks" which were sheets of paper bound with that coil binding thing. Oh and another photo-less frame.  

Last but not least...well least for now since they're so bare, the bottom two shelves. I ran out of books and cool stuff to display.  2nd to the bottom we have 2 super [kind of] rare Stonewall Brew bottles that I took from the Beerfest event I volunteered at. There's a cool story behind it, which makes them potentially valuable...so I took them. My last of 3 cool vintage hipster cameras, a Cannon something or other, the last of 3 empty frames, and a CLAM ticket book! I got these for my friends a couple Christmases ago and had my super talented friend Alma paint over the lame cover. It includes some of our favorite things! Bottom shelf is empty. Sad face.

Welp, that's it. What do you think? Anything I should add? What about book suggestions?!! HP is at the top of my list, and the Lauren Conrad beauty book but I can't really think of anything else. Let me know what's up.

Happy Tuesday kids!

100 Things To Do Before You Die.

Like 2 weeks ago I pinned this link titled "100 things to do before you die." It has been on my mind since then, so I figured I would type it out here and cross out what I've done in these 24 years of life of mine...and decided I want to cross off 6 more and have 35 done by my 25th birthday, in September. 

1. Set foot on all continents. 

North America and South America, check! Need Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, Africa.  

2. Live in at least 2 different countries with completely cultures.

3. Solve a Rubik's cube.

4. Learn at least one foreign language. 

I live in the U.S. so Spanish is foreign, right?

5. Swim with whale sharks.
Rob @ the Fantasy Factory serves as inspiration for this one. Shark Attack!

6. Get drunk a least once in your life. 

Many times in my life.

7. Bungee jump.

8. Do the Mongol Rally.
The what? I might have to pass on this.

9. Swim with dolphins.

10. Go on a safari.
And check off Africa at the same time!

11. Learn how to surf.
I've been trying to get out to the beach to make this happen but it never works out.

12. Scuba dive. 

13. Fly an airplane.

14. Give a public speech. 

Speech class/class presentations/thank you toasts.

15. Get your body in the ultimate shape at least once in your life. 

Working on it!

16. Run a marathon.
26.2 miles. Ahh!

17. Run a triathlon.
Swimming, biking, AND running?! Bigger AHH!

18. Hot air ballooning.

19. Ride a motorcycle.

20. Sing to an audience. (Karaoke counts)

21. Volunteer 6 months abroad.

22. Have your own business.

23. Fish and eat your own catch.

24. Own a pet.

25. Renew your vows.

26. Watch the top 10 movies of all time. 

27.White water rapids.

28. Try rock climbing.

30. Learn how to make sushi.

31. Go to Disney World.

32. Learn how to sail.

33. Paint and frame your painting.

1/2 way there!

34. Help a stranger in distress.

35. Ride a roller coaster.

Disneyland. 6 Flags. Knotts Berry Farm. Del Mar Fair.

36. Drive the autobahn.

37. Spend Christmas on the beach.

Does the day after Christmas count? It's my tradition to go to the beach on the 26th and chill.

38. Get your B.A. or equivalent.

Wooooooo!

39. Find of job you love or create the job you love.

40. Read the top 5 novels of all time. 

41. Sleep under the stars.

<3

42. Make a fool of yourself.

All. The. Time.

43. Drive across an entire country.
Baseball Road trip!

44. See a solar eclipse.

45. Spend the night in a haunted place.

46. Learn how to play a musical instrument. 

Clarinet in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.

47. Drink beer at the Oktoberfest.
Barf. I hate beer.

48. Sleep in an igloo.

49. Brew your own beer.
Remember how I hate beer?

50. Go to the Superbowl.

51. Go to the Olympics. (Summer or Winter)

52. Write a book. (At least try)

53. Plant a tree.

54. Learn how to dance.

I can bust a move!

55. Ride a camel in the desert.

I rode a camel once at the fair. That was near the beach and far from the desert. But I'm gonna count it.

56. Ride an elephant.

57. Grow a beard at least once in your life.

That might be a little weird.

58. Shave your hair off.

59. Go skinny dipping.

60. Go to your favorite band's concert.

I've seen Drake, Jack's Mannequin, Alicia Keys, Lady Antebellum, and Dierks Bentley, Need John Mayer and JT.  

61. Climb a mountain.

62. Learn how to swim.

Never been good at it though.

63. Party until sunrise.

Good times.

64. Go wild at La Tomatina.
I heard you had to be a dude to do this.

65. Go to the opera.

66. Cross a country using public transportation.

67. Get to know your neighbors. 

No witty remark for this one.

68. Travel around the world.

69. Backpack through another country.

70. Go camping.

It's been years since I've done it! Want to go again, ASAP!

71. Feed a homeless person.

72. Take a class you've always wanted.

73. Own a sports car.

74. Go skiing.
Not very good at that...or snowboarding.

75. Shoot a gun.
BB Gun.

76. Trek Machu Picchu.

77. Visit Angkor Wat.
Which would mean I'd be in Asia, another continent down.

78. See the Iguazu Falls.
Before of after I check out the Carnival in Rio

79. Go kayaking.

Once, with Sara. Funniest moment of my life.

80. Dance at the Carnival in Rio.
I've always wanted to do this!

81. See a glacier.

82. Take a bath in a hot spring.

83. Try to beat a world record.

84. Go to a drive-in movie theater.

85. Ride a gondola in Venice.
What's up Europe?!!

86. See the Eiffel Tower.
Can I get the Lauren Conrad experience like when she went there on The Hills?

87. Fly a kite.

Who hasn't?

88. Solve a jigsaw puzzle.

Again, who hasn't?

89. Be an extra in a movie.

Audience of DWTS/SYTYCD/Jay Leno counts. But I might be auditioning for Anchor Man 2 next week!

90. Dance the macarena.

That was my jam when I was a kid.

91. Eat fried oreos/twinkies/cheesecake.

Thank you Del Mar Fair.

92. Float in the Dead Sea.
I just learned about the crazy tension out in that area with Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. Scary stuff! 

93. Travel at least once by train.

To Anaheim and Santa Barbara.

94. Go on a cruise.
I'm terrified of the deep sea. I might pass on this.

95. See the Northern Lights. (Aurora Borealis)

96. Travel by yourself.

97. Ride a horse.
As a kidlet in Meheeeco.

98. Fall in love.

99. Learn how to juggle. 

Couldn't tell you when or where I learned, but I def can do it.

100. Feel like the happiest person on Earth. 

I was the happiest person on Earth that one time I met Zac Efron.

Is there anything on this list you've done that I haven't? Share your experience/tips! I'd love to hear about it :] What about stuff on this list that you'd like to do? 

Insta-dump: February

With 6 classes and a full time-ish job…life hasn’t been very blog worthy so I was sitting here this morning wondering what I’d entertain my readers with. I recalled a while back my friend Kelley over at Team Gilster used to do insta-dumps…not sure if that’s what she called it but pretty much blogged about a few of her instagram photos. Stealing the idea!

1.    I shared this one on #throwbackthursday. I have a handful of favorite pictures from my childhood. This is one of them. It’s me doing a jog-a-thon thing where people pledge money per lap. I was in probably 1^st or 2^nd grade when this photo was taken. It kind of made me nostalgic and I definitely shed a few tears thinking about the good ol’ days when I had no worries.

2.    Another #tbt photo! Me and my cousin Jazmin chopping up some meat…looks like menudo and probably on a Saturday since I’m wearing a soccer uniform. Unless it’s Sunday [when most Mexicans cook up menudo] and I just slept in my uniform from the day before. This is kind of a mind bottling picture since my cousin and I have grown a lot since this photo! She just had her first baby girl in December…while still being a baby herself. Crazy how sometime’s we’re forced to grow up!

3.    String cheese trivia! Lol. It was for lunch the other day and reminded me of the laffy taffy’s and ice cream bars with jokes. The answer is 5. Shout-out to my black and blue/teal polka dot nails. It's not exactly from Pinterest, but Pinterest has inspired me to be a little more creative with my nails :]

4.    National Pancake Day. My favorite holiday! Ihop was giving away free short stacks with a recommended donation to Rady Children’s Hospital. Good cause!

5.    Bettis. Lime. Marty. Super Bowl Sunday with some of my favorites <3 Thank you Palomar Softball for introducing me to some of my best friends.

6.    Commencement details! Graduation. Graduation. GRADUATION! Finally.

7.    Ultimate Baseball Roadtrip. A late Christmas present, but probably my most favorite <3 My baseball road trip is next summer and I can’t wait. My OCD self LOVES this so I’m not aimlessly wandering cities I’ve never been to! Reading this has to take a back seat to school right now, but I can’t wait to crack it open! Shout-out to my purple and pink ombre nails! 

8.    Alicia Keys tickets :] I can’t wait for this concert. Miguel & Alicia Keys. Although I love Country music, I can enjoy some hip-hop and R&B. Alicia Keys happens to be one of my favorites! Her skills on the piano are brilliant! I’ve actually never been to a real R&B/Hip Hop concert. I usually stick to country shows which is pretty much an alllll day event. It’s going to be weird not tailgating all day and being plastered before it even starts…that’s a good thing though, I don’t want to miss this show. Haha.

9.    My not so fitted sheet. It’s making me crazy. It comes undone every.single.night for like the last 3 months. Ugggh.  

10.  I’ve been craving chocolate covered strawberries for like the last 2 months. I missed out at work one day because I was at school. It was all I could think about when I found out. I had strawberries in my lunch so I improvised. I walked to the market next door, grabbed a dark chocolate dove bar, microwaved it and dipped my strawberries. Not the best, but still pretty good!

New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! 

Holy crap, where did the time go?!! It goes by faster and faster as I get older and older. 2012 was a great year, I had such amazing times with family and friends. Definitely one for the books!

This year I'll be spending the night with my family and family friends up in Temecula instead of going to bars and partying hard. What ever your plans are, I hope you have a great and safe night. No drinking and driving, please!

I've made two resolutions for 2013, and they're both super cliche...save money and lose weight. 

My biggest priority for next year [behind doing well in school and work obv.] is to save $4,000 for my baseball road trip happening summer of 2014. I've dreamed of this baseball road trip since I was a kid. If I don't do it now, it's never going to happen! 

This means no going out for meals or drinks with friends, no movies, NO COUNTRY CONCERTS, no impulsive shopping...etc. Pretty much falling off of the face of the world for the year. Only kind of. The only exceptions are my besties birthdays, graduation, my birthday, Yankees games, and Padres games. So I won't disappear completely...  

Losing weight is on everyone's list and none of us are ever serious about it. It's time to be serious about it. A couple of the things motivating me are graduation, the size 9 and 11 jeans in my closet from a year ago. It's not about me wanting to be skinny, just getting healthier. I'm way too overweight right now, to the point where it's not healthy. A month or so ago I was moving a couch with my mom and I found out how weak sauce I am! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HERE'S TO 2013!

30 DAY CHALLENGE: DAY 27&28

GOOD MORNING :] I slept 13 hours last night! Not sure what I’ve done to warrant such exhaustion…but that sleep was definitely needed. It came with some weird dreams, like me forgetting my birthday and friends surprising me by putting posters all over town, and a huge “steal the bacon” [remember that game?!!!] challenge that took place in a lake. Hahaha.

In other news, I can officially say it’s winter! I’m wearing my uggs [they’re technically emu’s…can we think of a different collective name for these kinds of boots?] today for the first time since last winter!

Due to my long siesta yesterday, I didn’t post so today’s is a two-fer!

Day 27 – A photo of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Let’s get real cheeeeeeseball here. My parents are obviously the people I could never imagine my life without. My father was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico and my mother was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. They both came to the country when they were young. They met at a cantina in Escondido called La Tapatia [which still exists!] and I guess you could say the rest is history!

Without them, I might not love sports as much as I do. Without them I might not have the crazy family that I do, yet still love. Without them I might have not have ever lived in my lovely hometown of Valley Center. Without them I might not be getting my college education. Without them I may not have been born and raised in San Diego.

My parents have always put my brother and I first on their priority list and I owe them so much for that.

Day 28 – Your hopes, dreams, plans for the next 365 days.

-Graduate CSUSM with a Bachelor’s Degree.

-Drop weight!

-Have money saved up for my baseball road trip!

-Move out.

-Decide what I want in a career.

-Get closer to becoming financially secure by managing my money!

30 DAY CHALLENGE: DAY 19

Day 19 – A picture of somewhere you’d like to travel.

I would LOVE  to travel the world. 

Places like Canada, The Bahamas, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal all elude me and hope to visit one day.

BUT my #1 travel aspiration is to road trip the United States and visit all of the Major League Baseball stadiums in one trip!

I started planning it like a year ago, here's the map :]

The plan of attack:

San Diego [Padres] > Anaheim [Angels] > Los Angeles [Dodgers] > Oakland [A’s] > San Francisco [Giants] > Seattle [Mariners] > Denver [Rockies] > Kansas City [Royals] > St. Louis [Cardinals] > Minneapolis [Twins] > Milwaukee [Brewers] > Chicago [Cubs] > Chicago [White Sox] > Cincinnati [Reds] > Detroit [Tigers] > Cleveland [Indians] > Pittsburgh [Pirates] > Toronto [Blue Jays] > Boston [Red Sox] > New York [Mets] > New York [Yankees] > Philadelphia [Phillies] > Baltimore [Orioles] > Washington DC [Nationals] > Atlanta [Braves] > Miami [Marlins] > St. Petersburg [Rays] >Houston [Astros] > Arlington [Rangers] > Phoenix [Diamond Backs]

I'm thinking it will be at least a 2 month trip, and somewhere around $4,000-$5,000 depending on who tags along and if I can crash at friends homes instead of hotels. This won't happen until 2014 but and serious planning will start up next year!