A *Golden* Birthday

You may have heard tell of a special birthday known as your “Golden Birthday.” You only get one and it just so happens to be the day when your age matches the day you were born. For example, I was born on the 25^th, and I turned 25 years old.  This day is special, unique and once in a lifetime.  Because of this, I was on a mission to do something completely different from what was done in the past. I was tired of the same dance clubs, bars, bowling alleys, Dave & Buster’s, etc. I wanted something fun and low key, with food, drinks, and music. Where oh where could this place be? Well, after about a week’s worth of searching, I finally found the perfect place: Coco’s Restaurant.

 

 This place is located in the heart of Paseo Boricua on Division Street in Chicago.

 They have fantastic “Traditional, Authentic & Modern Puerto Rican Cuisine,” killer frozen piña coladas, and a live salsa band! I called to make reservations ASAP. I told my friends and family about the place and they were on board and just as excited as I was. I sent out official invitations and I created a “Count Down to Slim Down,” goal calendar to fit into a pretty, deep fuscia party dress I had purchased from Charlotte Russe.  Just my luck, I lost more weight then I bargained for and had to go shopping for another dress, haha. I shopped around and opted for a printed chiffon purple tube dress with a sweetheart neckline and side pockets from Charlotte Russe (can you tell I like their dresses?). It was perfectly paired with black strappy heels, a quarter-sleeve cropped black top, purple accessories, styled hair and fabulous makeup, if I do say so myself.  The day of my birthday celebration had been pretty busy, what with working out, running errands, and going to the vet with my boyfriend for his gracefully aging cat named Fifi. However, soon night fall came, I got ready and finally, it was party time. My significant other looked so handsome when he came to pick me up at my front door. He had on a great blend of grays from tie to dress pants and a classic black dress coat that pulled the whole look together. Now, mind you, he is definitely a no-fuss laid back kinda guy. There is nothing fancy about him at all, in the fashion sense, lol; a pair of jeans, a plain t-shirt and boots are his way of life.  This made it all the more special. I knew he did this for me because, well he loves me and wanted to see me happy. I’m such a lucky girl =D I knew that no matter what happened that night, it was already perfect because he was there <3 That night, everyone dressed to impress.  We ate, laughed, and danced the night away. It really was the best golden birthday ever.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the night:

Me and Josh <3

My Best Friends: Alexis, Blanca, and Melissa (10 years in the making)

Kendra and Andrea

Josh and Alex haha

Pechuga de Pollo Rellena de Yuca Envuelta en Tocino con Salsa de Mango Piña

(tender chicken breast stuffed with cassava root, wrapped in bacon and dressed with a delicate mango pineapple sauce)

Bistec Encebollado (round steak sauteed with onions)

The famous Jibarito (steak on sweet plantain)

 Camarones Criollos (shrimp sauteed in spicy criollo sauce)

Salsa dancing

More salsa dancing

Birthday flan! A perfect way to end the night  =D

 

 

Can you guess what I had for dinner? 

Have you celebrated your golden birthday yet?

Until next time.

~* Liz Mari Rose*~ })i({

The Blogger Returns and Florist in the Making

Hola Everyone! Long time no see! It’s been almost a month since the last time I’ve blogged and I promise to do much better with my postings…really. To be quite honest, I DO have a few reasons (or excuses…tomato…tomatoe) as to why I’ve been MIA. I’ve been busy celebrating Valentine’s Day,  turning 25, taking care of my sick baby sister (she got strep throat!) and searching for RN jobs to name a few.  There is so much to say that I know I would not be able to do it any justice if I crammed everything into one tiny blog post. In lieu of this, I’ve decided to make separate blog pots for your reading enjoyment so stay tuned for those in the future. 

Today, I am a florist in the making, or at least I'd like to think I am. Let me first say that I LOVE flowers. They are beautiful, the aroma they create is just amazing and their coloration is lovely. They make any garden and home look and feel special and inviting. My favorite flowers are roses (especially tea roses), lilies (gotta love stargazers), and hydrangeas. Someday, I want to be able to fill my home with greenery and fresh flowers from my very own garden. I’ve always imagined having a lush and serene flower garden with branched arches, a fountain and maybe a pond, a romantic swing bench, a gazebo and willow/cherry blossom trees that I can tend to and enjoy everyday, or at least when the season calls for it. …*cough, cough*… Sorry, I got a little carried away! So anyway, all this to say, on my 25^th birthday, I received 3 DOZEN ROSES from my WONDERFUL boyfriend. I was surprised and overjoyed to say the least. I felt very special that day.

My flowers!:

The package that came in the mail: 

 When I opened it, it looked like this:

As soon as I opened the package and started taking pictures, I had a light bulb moment and here it is:

A step by step DIY (do it yourself) tutorial on how to put together a bouquet of flowers FROM BOX TO VASE =D

Step 1: Remove contents from box

Step 2: Set up your station and make sure to have a pair of scissors and ruler handy 

Step 3: Fill a vase with up cool high quality H2O

Step 4: Cut open a pack of flower food and add the contents to the vase of water

Step 5: Unwrap the flowers from the plastic coverings

Step 6:  Per instructions, remove green foam

Step 7: Rinse stems BEFORE putting flowers in fresh water

Step 8: Measure and cut off 1 inch of the stems of the flowers

Step 9: Arrange the fresh cut flowers in the vase and VIOLA! 

 

Step 10: Enjoy your BEAUTIFUL flowers =D

There you have it! Easy right? 

Congrats on your bouquet and I hope you enjoy yours as much as I’ve enjoyed mine. 

Do you have any special tips or different ways of creating/taking care of flower bouquets?

Until next time.

~* Liz Mari Rose*~ })i({

Valentine’s Day: Friend or Foe?

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and it’s funny to see how people react so differently to such a seemingly innocent day. Some people love Valentine’s Day (present company included) because it is a day to celebrate friendship, love, and happiness. I don’t believe that you need a significant other in order to enjoy February 14^th. I have so much fun giving cards and small gifts to my parents and siblings letting them know that they bring joy to my life and that I love them. For me, Valentine’s Day is not solely about romantic love, it’s about EVERY love. My significant other puts a different perspective on things when it comes to this particular holiday. Firstly, he doesn’t like this day because as he puts it, “I don’t need a day to tell me when I should tell my girlfriend that I love her. Every day should serve that purpose.” Now, I agree with him 100%, however who doesn’t like receiving beautiful flowers and a Hallmark card filled with love every once in a while? So, while he may not like the holiday, he always manages to make it a special day for me. If I haven’t mentioned already, I am quite the hopeless romantic and I’m a sucker for all things sappy, romantic, lovely, sweet, and tear jerking. Secondly, he doesn’t consider it a holiday because he doesn’t get the day off from work. Now this makes me laugh, but it does make you stop and think, doesn’t it?

Then there are those individuals, who sulk and mope around all day in pajamas, with a tub of their favorite ice cream, plopped in front of their TVs watching marathons of poorly made romantic movies balling their eyes out. To these people, I say, WAKE UP! Take a shower, brush your teeth, put on some descent clothes and seize the day. Let no man put asunder as the saying goes. If you put God first in your life, everything else will fall into place according to the path that He has chosen for you. Do not place the basis of your happiness or the value of your worth on one individual especially one that doesn’t respect or appreciate you. Do not make someone your entire world as you push away everyone else who cares about you. It is unhealthy and brings about instability in your life. Human beings are not perfect. They will make mistakes and they will let you down. The only being you can truly rely on is God. He will never abandon you and He will love you forever. That is something to draw strength from and to gain peace from.  Get it together and live your life like it’s GOLDEN, Girl!   

 On the other hand, some people are taking a more F* You approach by celebrating Anti-Valentine’s Day. People who tend to celebrate this are those who are jaded about love,  disgruntled singles, people who have a low mush threshold, hate the color pink, and those who just like to rebel and go against the grain (just to name a few). This is something I’ve personally started seeing about 4 years ago. The idea is pretty self explanatory and people have put different spins to how they celebrate:

• Watch horror movies
• Play the song "Love Stinks" by the J. Geils Band
•  Dress in BLACK.
• A gathering of singles that order take out, drink wine, and share bad date stories
• Hang pictures of your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend or of cupid on a bulletin board or dart board, and throw darts at it.
• Make a batch of broken heart shaped cookies or heart shaped cookies with black frosting
• Send anti-valentine’s day texts and anti-love quotes

You have to admit, some of these ideas are hilariously clever! 

All in all, no matter how you choose to celebrate this year’s February 14^th, I hope you have fun and enjoy spending time with those you care about be it family, friends, or your one and only. 

What are your plans for this Valentine’s Day? 

I for one will be definitely making these:

 

 

~* Liz Mari Rose*~ })i({