D23 Expo

This year my bestie, Emily (IG: @mylittlepinupgirl ) attended our very first D23 Expo. Let me just sum the experience into one word...WOW! That pretty much sums it all up. The 3 day passes sold out pretty quickly, so I was down to a one-day pass, for Sunday, which still really worked out nicely. The wait was a couple of hours just to get into the Anaheim Convention Center, but you were constantly on a move which made it go by pretty nicely. Then once you are in it is just a matter of figuring out where you even want to get started. There is so much ground to cover and numerous panels or performances to catch. There was an app we downloaded for the event which made is super easy to navigate the event and schedule. We got quite a bit of shopping done, which included alot of exclusive D23 expo items. First, we purchased the new Besame Cosmetics Snow White Eye Shadow Palette which isn't going to be released till September. (Post of Snow White Makeup!)

Then we purchased some exclusive tees, keychains and VINYL!!! I was super excited to get my hands on some records that hadn't been released yet, including the Haunted Mansion ride soundtrack. 

We got to see the model of Star Wars land...more like Star Wars WORLD! It is going to sprawl out to 14 acres. It was such a gorgeous model and I can't wait till its finished. 

We highlighted our favorite moments in a little video...enjoy! 

Rock-n-Roll History

On this day in 1954, 63 yeas ago, Sam Phillips recorded Elvis' first hit, "That's Alright Mama" completely unrehearsed. The rest, as they say, was history. Elvis topped the charts, continuously even after death,  but it all started in that small recording studio down in Memphis, Tennessee... The legendary Sun Studios. 

Visiting the studio earlier this year was a major check off my bucket list. 

Gifts from Grandma

i am a proud Guatemalan. My mothers entire side of the family is 100% Guatemalan and I am the first to be born in the United States from that side. Every time I visit home I am drawn to my culture because of it's rich history.

Recently, my Grandmother gifted me her first Huipil. Huipil a are hand woven on a back strap loom  embroidered blouses that are made by Mayan Indian women. Their techniques are true to their ancestors ways. Mayan Indian tribes are still predominant in Guatemala. My family immigrated here from a little, yet famous, town called Antigua.

Of course I was so grateful and excited at the same time and I couldn't wait to make matching accessories to complete my ensemble. I remember seeing Mayan women with head wraps and Pom Pom hair accessories so I created a Pom Pom multicolored headband that really pops with the outfit. I also camped up an old wicker purse I had. The purse had a missing clasp and was slightly torn so I thought instead of tossing it I could vamp it up to a new lease on life. So I assembled a bunch of colored Pom Poms out of knitting yarn and glued them onto the rim of the purse. I've even admired similar style summer handbags from Kate Spade New York...I think I did pretty well. What do you think?

My Pom Pom Headband is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop ( www.realandyseyecandy.etsy.com )

National Donut Day!

National Donut Day just passed. Boy, did we celebrate! Hope you enjoyed your cheat day.

DIY Pom Pom Rug

Once upon a time I used to make little DIY videos and tutorials...but it's been ages. I decided to get right back to it. So I created a little DIY video on how to make your very own POM POM Carpet.

Need:

-Yarn in any color(s) you want

-Good cutting scissors

-Non-Slip Mat (the mats that go under your rug for safety. I got mine at Walmart.)

Steps:

1) Start off by wrapping the yarn about 70 times around your finger excluding your thumb. 

2) After wrapping 70 times, take that wrapped section off your fingers and place on the table. 

3) Cut the end of the yarn. 

4) Cut another piece of yarn, about 8 inches in length.

5) Take that cut piece of yarn and use it to secure the wrapped up chunk of yarn...tying it directly in the middle.

6) Cut around the loops and start shaping the pom pom of yarn into a nice circle in the desired size you want. 

7) With the two end of the securing piece of yarn...tie them around a section of the mat. Start off on the edge and continue tying pom poms as close as possible so there isn't any exposed pieces of the mat when done. 

8) Enjoy! 

Sun Studio

  

The one place I have had on my bucket list has been the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Well, last month I was finally able to mark that off my bucket list. My husband and I made it out to Memphis during Spring Break. First on the "to-do list" was Sun Studios. My musical heroes all recorded there, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf , B.B. King and so many more. If these walls could talk! Boy! 

I instantly felt a strong presence in the recording area of the studio...you instantly knew the importance of where you were standing, all the way down to the tape markers that Elvis used to mark where he would need to stand during recording. I mean this is the real birth place of Rock-and-Roll...the first known recording of a Rock and Roll song happened there with Jackie Brenston's and Ike Turner's "Rocket 88."

You first enter through the old restaurant that was next door to the studios, which is now incorporated with the studio museum. For only $14, you can have a guided tour through the studio, which is a steal of a price to stand where all the greats recorded. We received a special added treat when my hubby, Al, got to pretend to be Elvis during a little mock-jam our tour guide provided...my husband was ecstatic to say the least.  Our tour guide was upbeat, enthusiastic and just gave us all a memorable experience. 

You get to have a front row seat to all the rock-n-roll memorabilia pertaining to the greats that walked through those doors. We got to see everything from Elvis' high school year book to Marion's desk where she worked on the greatest record deal contracts in rock-n-roll history. 

Book Review : "As Old as Time : A Twisted Tale"

With all the Beauty and the Beast hype I have been able to snag more movie memorabilia, collectibles and books. There was one book in particular inspired by this great classic that sparked my interest. "As Old as Time" by Liz Braswell is part of an amazing "Twisted Tale" series where the classic tales are a bit twisted...a "what-if" scenario to many of our classic Disney favorites. I have already read the Twisted Tale about Aladdin, and that was such a great read. In this particular twisted-tale, the twist is "What if Belle's mother cursed the Beast?" I KNOOOOW! I was to eager to dive into the book to hear this version of my favorite Disney classic. I grew up in the early 90s...so Beauty and the Beast was the Disney movie hit of our time.

Liz Braswell starts off jumpy...moving from one character's perspective to another, as well as jumping to two time periods, with each and every chapter moving back and forth. That style always throws me off and many times I loose interest because it's too choppy. I stuck with the story because it was something I desperately needed to know. The character perspective you hear from is first Rosalind, Belle's mother, and Belle herself. The one neat thing was that I felt like the other side to the story was finally being uncovered to you as far as her mother, because Belle's story is word by word the story we knew from the animated classic.  So the jumping from characters and time periods stops before mid-way through the book, which was a nice change of pace. We learn that Belle's mother was an enchantress, but the town labels her automatically a dangerous Witch. This leads to her "disappearance" we suspected as kids, but never knew exactly why or where she ended up.

The book itself has some dark sides to it, which I actually found interesting. There was a sense of reality to the story because of the dynamics between the town and others they find "odd" or "different." The asylum we remember hearing about as kids in the movie is finally unveiled to the readers, and we get a sense of what is going on inside and WHO they have captured there. I will not ruin it for you...but the ending...WOW! The ending is truly a side-swipe and completely different from the classic, but I wasn't unhappy with the ending. If you have a teen, the ending will be a true lesson in compassion, morals, and what it really means to love each other for what is on the inside...maybe many adults could benefit with that life lesson in the end, huh?