The Hunger Games Nails

Hey There:

I normally don't do blog posts about nail art, if something looks cool I'll just post a twitpic, but I really liked this tutorial and this is The Hunger Games weekend so what the heck!

What I liked about this technique is that I made the flame design on a plastic bag, let it dry, peeled it and applied it to my nail. It was very easy! Of course, I'm not gifted when it comes to drawing so the flames look a bit crooked, but I still love them.

I have tons of nail polish colors, these are the ones I used to create the look:

OPI Base Coat
OPI Black Onyx (represents District 12 coal mines)
Sally Hansen French White Tip (base for the flame design)
OPI I'm not Really a Waitress (red polish)
Sephora by OPI What's your Poison? (glittery red)
KleanColor Boogie Nights (orange polish, an emergency purchase from a dollar store)
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow (yellow polish)
Sephora by OPI Cab Fare (glittery yellow)
OPI Top Coat

I just did a quick count of my nail polish collection...I have 46...that's not too many, right? Anyhoo, here's the tutorial I used to create the Hunger Games nails. I love CutePolish YouTube tutorials, so unique and easy to do! Check her out and subscribe to her channel, she's good!

Garden Window - St. Patrick's Day Decor & Party Info

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Decorations for St. Patrick's Day are everywhere and here I don't need to be creative, a trip to the 99 cent store is all that was needed for my Garden Window.

As for my neighbor, she pimped out her fern with a paper mache iguana looking thing, shamrocks, coins and green.

Now the parties, this year St. Patrick's falls on Saturday March 17...I can almost feel next Sunday's hangover! Here are some things going on in San Diego:

Balboa Park International Cottages

There's an area in Balboa Park with lots of little cottages, each one representing a different country. They're open on Sundays and people from those countries are available to talk about their culture. Each week there's also a lawn program hosted by one of the cottages to showcase music, dance and food. On March 11th it was House of Ireland, this time I didn't take pics, but I did put together a video. Check out Lawn Programs 2012 to see when your favorite country is hosting an event.

If you watch this video you'll hear the Irish language being spoken (he's the Irish teacher) and men in kilts. Nothing sexier than a guy wearing a kilt!

San Diego St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Festival

This is the 32nd annual event presented by the Irish Congress of Southern California with over 120 parade entries, booths, beer garden, contests and much more. This year the theme is "Celebrating the Spirit of Ancient Ireland", they are looking for volunteers, check their volunteer page.

This is a very fun and free event for the whole family, these are some of my pics from 2011

shamROCK 2012

Presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey and The Field from 2 PM until Midnight, this event benefits the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation. Streets are closed and carpeted with green astro-turf, looks awesome! This is a 21 & Up event and tickets start at $35 depending on the day of purchase, check their site for more information. They have live bands, booths, green beer and lots of drunk people!

Green Beer!

Of course, there will be a party in every Irish Pub in San Diego!

Rosie O'Grady's in Normal Heights

The Ould Sod in Normal Heights

Here are some of the many Irish Pubs in San Diego, check out their sites and partay!!

Gaslamp / East Village:

Henry's Pub - 618 5th Ave
The Field - 544 5th Ave
Dublin Square Irish Pub & Grill - 554 4th Ave
Patrick's Gaslamp Pub - 428 F Street

North Park / South Park / Normal Heights

The Ould Sod - 3373 Adams Ave
Rosie O'Grady's - 3402 Adams Ave
Hamilton's Tavern - 1521 30th street

Lemon Grove / La Mesa / El Cajon

Hooley's Irish Pub - 5500 Grossmont Center Dr
Shenanigans Irish Pub - 7030 University Ave
O'Connor's Pub - 8758 La Mesa Blvd

And many, many, many more

How to Cook Nopales

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I'm a big fan of nopales (edible cactus) which is a very nutritious plant containing beta carotene, iron, some B vitamins and is a good source of vitamin C and calcium. In case you don't know what I'm talking about....it's the plant on the background...Yeah! You can eat those!

It's a staple in my fridge and when I cook for friends, house guests or couch surfers, I normally make a plate of nopales so they can try something new and so far they've been a hit.

You can purchase nopales from Mexican grocery stores, even though they're available year-round, their peak season is from early spring to late fall. At the grocery store you will find the nopales already cleaned and in some cases cut in pieces.

The taste is very light so it combines beautifully in Mexican dishes or salads. There are several ways to cook them, but my favorite way is slightly pan seared.

1. Spray Pam on both sides of the nopal
2. Place them in a square griddle and season with salt and pepper
3. Turn them a few times and cook for about 10 minutes

Once the nopales are done, place them in a plate, cut them up in pieces, sprinkle some salt, a bit of lime juice and enjoy!

The consistency is a bit slimy, very similar to okra. I normally have it as a side dish with Mexican rice, whole pinto beans and Mexican sour cream - with lots of corn tortillas. It also goes great as a topping for carne asada tacos, in this case I would cut the nopales length-wise.

When it comes to unusual foods, it always makes me wonder who was the first person to think cactus could be edible!

Garden Window - Mardi Gras Decor

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This is an exciting time of the year with lots of events and holidays. For one week I'll have Mardi Gras decorations on my garden window!

These few decorations were bought at the 99 cent store, except for the fan. I hope to increase my collection little by little, so in the meantime I have a few beads, coins and the masks in the traditional purple, green and gold colors.

Tip: If you need an amazing mask for a Mardi Gras party, head over to Julian, CA and visit Pistols and Petticoats located at 2116 Main Street (upstairs). They have the best half and full masks at very affordable prices, it really is cheaper to buy it there than to make one yourself. That's where I got the cute purple feather fan!

As for San Diego Mardi Gras parties...check them out:

• 18th annual Mardi Gras at the Gaslamp - 5th Avenue in Downtown San Diego starting at 6 PM, tickets $25 (check out pics from Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp 2011)
• 11th annual Hillcrest Mardi Gras Street Party - University Ave between 1st and 4th Ave starting at 6 PM, tickets $15 & $50

This one already passed, but good to know for next year

• 20th annual San Diego Brazil Carnival at the 4th & B in Downtown San Diego

If you don't want a big party, then a wonderful dinner at Wine Vault & Bistro may be just the ticket, check out my dinner from last year Mardi Gras Dinner at Wine Vault & Bistro

Awesome V-Day 2012

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In Mexico, Valentine's Day is commonly marketed as "El Dia del Amor y la Amistad" which is the Day of Love and Friendship. Since this year I don't have a love, at least I shared the day with lots of friends at a kick-ass brutal metal concert!

The day didn't start very brutal though, I took a day off from writing, blogging and social media to spend it talking online with my friends overseas and from my hometown. I received as a gift from "someone" a box of yummy chocolates, which normally would last me up to a week since I don't have too big of a sweet tooth, but today the box was devoured as I watched - for the 100th time - the movie Sense and Sensibility.

For the rest of the day, I took my time to get ready for a concert at the House of Blues San Diego. The band I really wanted to see, Eluveitie, is one of the bands I'm obsessed with. They're a Swiss Folk/Melodic Death Metal band who combine all types of instruments and vocals; at least 5 of their songs are on the Warrior playlist I listen to when I'm at the gym.

Normally I take care of being well away from the mosh pit since I want to leave with fond memories and not  bruises. Not this time! When the band started playing I was more or less in the middle of the stage with three rows of people in front of me. Once the mosh pit and pushing began I was able to get up front with only one row in front of me - unfortunately there was a very tall guy that blocked my view.

At times it would get very claustrophobic, I could barely breath or move; but I wasn't hurt, only my hair got pulled when a guy crowd-surfed just above me. The energy was awesome and it was totally worth being in the front. Also, I see this as training since my ultimate goal is to be in front at a Slayer concert....don't ask me why, I must have a death wish!

The rest of the time at the concert I hung out with my friends and we had an excellent time. It was a great date night for couples!

The concert ended relatively early (before midnight) and I had so much energy I couldn't go home yet, so I decided to get to The Ould Sod to take more pics with my other friends. That didn't work out as planned, as soon as I got there the adrenaline just melted away, I felt so tired I just couldn't stay and went home after only 10 minutes. At least I got to see my friends for a bit.

All in all....Best V-Day Ever!!

Garden Window - Valentine's Day Decor

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To start off, I don't like Valentine's Day, even when I have a boyfriend I completely avoid going out that day. Last year there was a last-minute San Diego Beer Club MeetUp at a local restaurant and I happily attended it only to be surrounded by women and very few men. I'm excited about this year though, I have tickets to go and see an amazing Folk Metal Band called Eluveitie at the House of Blues, several of my metal friends will be there, so it will be just perfect!

But I digress, I wasn't too excited about putting up lovey-dovey decorations, but my next door neighbor put up a nice and tasteful flower arrangement, so it was on!

I made a bouquet of 6 crepe red roses using Martha Stewart Crepe Paper Roses Kit. Unfortunately this item has been discontinued (what a shame!) good thing I had bought almost every one of the kits and made lots of bouquets for my friends and family. This was the last I had and now it's in my window.

 In order to make the window look more festive and less traditional, I decided to use picture frames of my family as couples, which is the point of the "holiday", right?

To finish it off I added some color with scraps of fabric and voila! I have my Valentine's Day decorations .....can't wait to take it down and put up Mardi Gras!!

TLC Randy to the Rescue (I was an extra on the show!)

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Last weekend I lucky to be an extra for a new TLC show called Randy to the Rescue. The show follows Randy Fenoli (Say Yes to the Dress, Randy Knows Best) on his big rig going from city to city helping brides find their perfect dress.

So there we were promptly at 8 AM at the Mission Bay Hilton, dressed in upscale casual clothing, some of us in flats, others in 3 - 5 inch heels (ouch!) waiting to be told what to do. The first task was to walk towards the Hilton looking excited to be there, as we were walking I chatted with a fellow extra and we looked excited as we talked about our matching side-braid.

Then we stood outside near the lobby and had to shout our excitement over Randy coming to San Diego (3 takes). After that we had to stand on the other side and start shouting, clapping and being incredibly excited when a big rig with Randy on it came around the corner (2 takes on that one).

Our next task was to go inside a tent (looking excited) filled with vendor booths, a stage, wedding dresses and accessories. We were asked to pair up with someone and just look around while we were being filmed. That part was so fun! The extras had a yellow wrist band and we saw some ladies with a purple wrist band, turns out they bought a ticket to be there and have a consultant, those were real brides-to-be!

 I had a great time with my partner, we looked at every dress, it doesn't matter if you have no intention of getting married, looking at wedding gowns is an enormous treat! Here I confess I had no idea who Randy Fenoli was, but now I love him, the guy is so sweet. There was a point when we had to gather round to watch him on stage giving his opening lines, which he did a few times, and really, he made us all leave feeling special and beautiful.

I really hope Randy to the Rescue is a successful show, and for those of you interested in being cast as an extra for other shows, check out Tina Real's site. Here's the promo for Randy to the Rescue: