Give Thanks!

I'm a TURKEY BABY! Another Thanksgiving has passed us and I have been blessed with another BIRTHDAY! Another finger to add to my count of two sets of hands + 6 =)

This birthday was a memorable one. I spent it this year doing the simple things that I love and sharing it with those closest to me over the long weekend. I had dinner at one of the newer San Francisco dining establishments, Boxing Room, with a group of 13 of my closest friends along with two other birthday gals: Laura and Susy. They serve their own Southern Food flair and I am now a fan. We munched on fried gator, oysters, gumbo and fried chicken! And since we were stuffed when it came time for desert I couldn't say if there beignets were on point! Instead I was surprised by my dear friend Sabrina who had baked my very-own mini homemade berry pie all just for me! This was such a lovely touch and I love you Sab for making my day that much more special. I totally wasn't expecting that halfway through figuring out the check. I got me some yummy pie with my very first birthday wish!

The next day on actual Thanksgiving, since I'm a Turkey baby, I not only ate Turkey both the Salvi and traditional American way. I also had Cake and Flan. My new favorite cake is the "Derby Cake" from Mazzetti's Bakery in Pacifica, CA. It has both a strawberry and banana filling with a layer of both Vanilla and Chocolate cake. It's the best of both worlds all in one cake. And because I special requested it, my brother's girlfriend Brenda and fellow November baby made me my very own flan. Which I am still enjoying my leftovers. Afterall, that's what comes after Thanksgiving dinner not only Black Friday. Which I didn't partake in, instead on the itinerary on my actual birthday was: get a haircut, pamper myself at the spa (had my first facial, yay!) along with my mom and sister Aless, and end the night doing my favorite past-time activity: Dancing! I saw Axwell from Swedish House Mafia spin at The Warfield, in what was a nice old theatre backdrop setting to this new explosion of House music. I shared the night with one of my favoritest persons in the whole wide world: my sister Aless who flew in for the holiday. Like someone had commented at the club, they said I was Eva Mendes and she was Penelope Cruz. LOL! I said, that might just be the first latina girls that came to mind that guy could name from the top of his head. Hehe. Though I always do get Eva Mendes as my celeb look-a-like. I gladly take it as a compliment, especially since she's dating my man, Ryan Gosling, what a lucky gal!

So in Thanksgiving fashion I say Give Thanks! Not only on this holiday but everyday. I want to say thanks to everyone who shared my birthday with me, each and every one of you. It didn't start off as my best birthday off the bat. Earlier in my day I was feeling overwhelmed to say the least and also worried. I guess that comes with all birthdays the older you get. It becomes a time of reflection and also recognition for yourself in figuring out who you are and where you're going. Yeah I had my moment, but that quickly went away as I sat down for dinner and gazed around at all these special people in my life come together to share this special moment with me. I finally felt content and at ease seeing everyone smile and in conversation ready to share a good hearty meal together. Not only that but I am happy to say this year has been the fastest year where my birthday wish came true! A couple of weeks ago my grandma in El Salvador had an accident and had been in the hospital awaiting surgery from a broken hip-bone. Ouch! I know. I can't fathom the pain and putting myself in her place, but I know she's a strong women! She's my favorite grandma who also helped raise me until I moved to the United States. I was dead worried about her health because of her old age and the fact that I couldn't be there with her at her side. But I am happy to report that her sugery went well and she's now in recovery. I'm a firm believer of birthday wishes and because of the outcome I am currently in a loving state of mind. I am determined to make this new year a memorable one as I continue on this journey of life and am itching to go visit my grandma and help her with her recovery. These events in life are huge reminders that we must make the best of our time here as we do not live forever. I leave you with this track from the Breaking Dawn soundtrack by married couple and musicians Angus and Julia Stone "Love Will Take You." I saw Breaking Dawn today for the 2nd time, yes I'm a fanatic. It was better the 2nd time around!

Off to bed. Xoxo

Make a wish...

Panes con Pavo...I waited all year for this!

Derby Cake + Flan

 Stuffed Turkey

Time to eat

 Sisters

 Thanks Brenda for the flan!

Cake time!

Woke up to this: Birthday Card

The final product: Haircut at Oxenrose

My sister Aless

My first Birthday drink: Mimosa!

Brunch Time!

Custom Omelette: Tomatoes, Mushrooms topped with Avocado

Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns, and Bacon! for the Win, oh yeah and TOAST

Live @The Warfield

Birthday Outfit

Axwell killed it!

Yay or Nay? My only non-Black Friday participation

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER is here! And I have yet again abandoned my blog...
But because NOVEMBER is SUCH a SPECIAL MONTH for me it is respectively due a BLOG POST. It's my BIRTH MONTH! It's also a lot of my closest friends BIRTH MONTH including my big brother Raf's. Saggitarius and Scorpio love. It's also my little cousin's birth month, she's turning 1 year old today. I got to finally meet this munchkin over the summer when I visited my cousin in Canada. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SERENA!!!!!

Serena at 9 months. She started walking at 10! She's a true ORTIZ =)
My Dad said all my siblings and I started walking at 10 months, I guess it runs in the family!

November always reminds me it's the beginning of Winter as the clock gets pushed back an hour, the weather changes, in San Francisco that means "Rain, Rain, go go away" and the Holiday seasons are fast approaching. November puts me in this joly mood of reminiscing of the year that is almost gone, the growth I've experienced and the places I've been and still craving to go in the months ahead. I am TRULY grateful and sattisfied with everything I've done and seen this past year. I wanted to share some of my little adventures thus far before I turn 26! Yikes, that's four years from 30 and I can honestly say I am loving every moment. No complaints here that would just mean I have been slacking off and I know have definitely kept myself entertained and busy these past months that's for sure. Among the things I've done, there's also famous public figures we lost, one of them was STEVE JOBS and ever since hearing his story it has kind of stuck with me. His famous quote from his speech at Stanford University's Commencement speech in 2005, is a reminder of what our purpose in this world is and how only we can define it. So don't let a second, a minute, a day or a lifetime waste away by not doing what you love. If you're not having fun, than you're not living up to your potential. As Mr. Jobs put it:

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"

This is what I want to bring to November as I get a year older and end 2011 with a bang!

 Urban Lights @ the LACMA in Los Angeles

After watching No Strings Attached, I was finally able to see this installation in person after all the times I've been in LA =)

 Sister, Sister

 STEVE JOBS Memorial @Apple Store. (RIP 2/24/55 - 10/5/2011)

 Inked with APPLE

 I saw DIRTY SOUTH @Ruby Skye. Amazing set and a night of dancing!

 Introducing them to Dirty South and House: Alex & Erica

 Alligator @Rickshaw Stop with Susy

 THEOPHILUS LONDON,
another great artist from Brooklyn that everyone should check out and I'm pretty sure we'll be hearing a lot from in the next year
He has a new track on the Breaking Dawn: Part 1 Twilight Soundtrack -"Neighbors"

 Moshing
I left the concert with two new words: TWERK, TWERK and Gunshot noises in the background!

 I VOTED for the 1st time, since becoming a CITIZEN.

SF Mayorial Race. My pick: Supervisor JOHN AVALOS!

 No on C and D! I love my PENSION proponent Jeff Adachi!

 All Done!

Memoribilia

 Where my heart rests: THE BAY AREA

 My frequent-flyer partner Susy and I above the friendly skies.

Destination: LAS VEGAS HALLOWEEN WEEKEND 2011

 My costume: MARDI GRAS QUEEN, indicator of where I want to spend next Halloween in NOLA!

Me and my Showgirl friend Laura (she made her costume all by herself, kudos to her!)

 With my bro: Prince Charming. He is quite the charmer I must say =)

Cinderella & her Prince Charming

Group Shot @ XS 10/30/11 with Deadmau5 (I stole this pic Susy, thanks!)

 #Wynning, our home for the weekend

 The Chandelier inside The Cosmopolitan

 Halloween Night: Tixs to see KASKADE at Marquee

 Ate @Wicked Spoon Buffet inside Cosmopolitan.
Definitely would recommend it to anyone visiting Vegas in the future.

 

As Black Swan on Halloween Night 10/31/11

Makeup by Susy. Had fun wearing such a dramatic look for one night!

 Celebrating my brother Raf's 28th birthday @Hooters

 I REALLY do have the best biggest bro!

 M83 @Mezzanine 11-10-11

 Anthony Gonzalez from M83

Story behind this band. I heard their track: "Midnight City" on the HBO hit series HOW TO MAKE IT IN AMERICA, one of my fave shows right now since the 1st season came out last year. Every time I watch it I want to be living back in NYC! Well after a not so long search, I found the song title off TWITTER and then You Tubed it. Thanks to You Tube, I found out they were playing in SF the following week. Of course tixs were SOLD OUT by then. So I then resorted to Craigslist, and lucky for me I scored tixs the day of the show from a harmless guy! (Of course, ignoring the high inflated price of each ticket compared to what the box office was selling it for.) I KNEW IT WAS MEANT TO BE! I loved seeing them live, they are definitely a different feel, different taste type of band I hadn't seen live before. They are categozied as "Indie Pop." I am into indie stuff and I could see where the poppy stuff could play in but I digged the mix of vocals, keyboard and a girl jamming on some drums, nonetheless the crowd was quite interesting. Just imagine a crowd full of people drinking PBR's (insert your mental picture here) and we also spotted some double fist pumping. But I was there for the band and I have been listening to them non-stop since the concert =) Here is one of their tracks off their older album: Saturdays = Youth. You can hear more at www.ilovem83.com Enjoy!

M83: "Kim & Jessie"