Clock that mug! #gratitude

The key to a great shoot? Having the BEST people in charge!

Hello darling ones!

I'm juuuussssst starting to come out from under all the craziness of getting our first videos for our NEW INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW shot. It was hectic, hotter than BLAZES (especially with the lights) but SO MUCH FUN. Here are a few sneak peeks behind the scenes, taken by our producer Andrea:

Co-host Kevin and I de-brief before changing out of our chanclas for the shoot.

The only bad thing about having Andrea take photos behind the scenes is that she isn't in ANY of them!

Here we are, dressed and *slightly* nervous before shooting the first segment EVAH!

One thing that helped ease our nerves? THE RIGHT MUG. No, I don't mean my makeup (though I hope you'll note that for you, people of the internet, I am giving full drag). I mean our gorgeous coffee mugs, which make an appearance in every in-studio segment. When we arrived for our 9am call time on Saturday, I told Kevin, "Don't worry, I got the mugs!" Now, we hadn't discussed getting mugs at all but Kevin immediately replied, without a trace of irony, "Oh, I'm so glad! I was kicking myself that I didn't pick up any nice mugs for the show!"  

You see why I love him? You'll love him, too-mark my words.

The mugs in question have special meaning to me, they were beautifully crafted by my friend and sistah bloguera, artist and author Kathy Cano-Murillo (@CraftyChica). Just when I was thinking it might be a fun surprise to get some mugs for the show, Kathy posted on facebook that she'd just put some new mugs up for sale in her etsy shop! Kismet! I immediately bought two.

If When you watch the show (no, not divulging the name yet) you'll notice that I am drinking out of this divine Virgen de Guadalupe mug:

She's blonde-I love it!

And Kevin has this darling cupcake mug that says "Peace, Love & Cafecito":

Want a Crafty Chica mug for your cafecito? Come on! We're ALL getting them. But really tho, if you want one, you'd better go to Crafty Chica's etsy shop NOW, there are only a couple left! 

Since the shoot went smoothly and stayed on schedule, I even got to attend my little niece's first birthday party!

Seriously, how lucky am I?

After all that excitement, I pretty much just wanted to sit around eating Artcic Zero and watching the RuPaul's Drag Race marathon that led up to the crowning on Monday night. The fact that my favorite reina, Bianca Del Rio won? Just the icing on the cupcake mug! I was SO #TeamBianca!

source

And THEN? At my weigh in, I'd lost almost another POUND! Even with all the madness this weekend. Calm down!

All in all, it was a FABULOUS weekend. I can't wait to share the new show with you but for now, first item on the agenda is getting back to the PODCAST. Second item is getting exercise more than two days a week. Because I'm not kidding myself, I know losing that pound was a gift from the Virgen de Guadalupe.

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

#CRAFT Tutorial: Day of the Dead Apron!

Hola!!

I've been in a super good mood lately because FALL is finally here! For me, that means cooking and CRAFTING for Halloween, Day of the Dead and beyond!


Crafty Chica products on sale at Michael's stores nationwide

All summer I've been dreaming about buying a "Day of the Dead" apron to do all my cooking in. They are pretty easy to find here in San Diego (not to mention online) but hijole, are they pricey! They start at $40 (at least the cute ones do) and that is waaaay out of my budget.

NIFTY THRIFTY! Electric Ladylamp...

Hello all! Just a little "Nifty Thrifty" to help launch the weekend. I spotted this beauty in a local thrift shop just after we moved into our current home. It was love at first sight...

How did the Salvation Army KNOW I needed a lamp?

I am a sucker for a great "figure" lamp and am always on the lookout for one. This one was in beautiful condition and even the linen shade still looked flawless. I'm not entirely sure whether the statue is of a woman or a man-but for $4? Who cares?! The only caveat was that the switch seemed to be broken and the SA couldn't guarantee whether the lamp would be functional.

CRAFT: What Becomes a Legend Most? GLITTER!

Hello everyone! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend. I wanted to share the craft I made last weekend with all of you, since you were all so very complimentary of the photos I posted on feisbuc and tuiter.

First of all-the AMAZING "Frida Calavera" painting in question was not painted by me (I wish!) but by my friend, the ludicrously talented and hilarious Cynthia Martinez of Fat Girl Escapades. I was touched beyond words when she gave it to me-you're the best, Cynthia!

Cynthia The GORGEOUS and Frida

PODCAST Episode 16: Dream Boards!

Listen to internet radio with NachoMamasPodcast on Blog Talk Radio

Do you have a "dream board" or a "vision board"? It sounds corny but these little "craft projects" can actually go a long way to help you realize your goals now matter what they are: weightloss, professional, fitness, family, spiritual, financial...you name it! Join us as we explore the wonderful world of "dream boards"! Our special guest this week is Jen Hibbits of Not Just Another Jen.

Even if you don't believe in "The Secret"-Vision Boards can help you! (image via Wikipedia)

 Got a question? WE WILL BE TAKING LIVE CALLS during the broadcast OR YOU CAN POST YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE LIVE CHATROOM which will also be open during the broadcast.

From the Archives: LAST MINUTE THANKSGIVING CRAFTS

So you've done all the shopping, all the chopping and all the prep for your holiday meal. But your table is lacking a little zazzle? Never fear! I've got some easy, fun last minute Thanksgiving crafts from times gone by that you can whip up alone or with your kids!

I'll be gracing my table with this cute table runner that my daughter and I made last year....originally posted over at Rock On Mommies

And, if I can squeeze it in, I'm going to be making these cute little pumpkin people again too!

Hope you and your family and friends and a beautiful, EASY Thanksgiving!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

It's Almost Easter and You Need a CRAFT IDEA!

Sometimes my husband jokes that my motto should be "If it's worth doing-it's worth doing last minute!" This is especially true when it comes to holiday crafts. I get all caught up in coordinating plans with the rest of the family and I realize that (fill in the holiday) is practically here and I don't have time to hit the craft store for cool holiday-themed craft supplies-gasp!  What's a crafty mom to do?

Not to worry! Just head over to Rock On Mommies for Nacho Mama's Last-Minute Easter Craft! You'll find some ideas for creating Easter eggs your family will never forget-and your kids can join in too. And you'll probably manage just fine without a trip to the craft store-this time.



Wishing you a Happy, Hoppy Spring with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Eat It or Wear It? (What I Bought at the California Gift Show)

Wow-I feel like I haven't blogged in ages! But my whole family was taken down for over a week with a particularly nasty cold-thingy.  I'm still a little green around the gills, but I couldn't go this long without blogging-especially since I meant to share this with you at least a week ago!

One of my favorite events that I attended in January was the California Gift Show-you can read the trend report I wrote for Rock on Mommies HERE.

What I didn't share in my review was the one thing I actually bought at the gift show-but first let me tell you about the absolute highlight of that day for me (drumroll)

I GOT TO MEET THE CRAFTY CHICA!!!!! 

That's right, I got to meet, hug and talk to Kathy Cano-Murillo, aka "The Crafty Chica." You've seen me mention her here a few times, I am a GIGANTE fan! If, like me, you follow her blog and tweets, you know she is clever, sweet, generous and adorable-in person and in print. I was bummed that I didn't get to attend her book signing that evening, I absolutely loved her first novel, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter, and I can't wait for her next book, Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing, to come out on March 8th (You can pre-order your copy by clicking HERE!)

I saw several vendors offering Mexican-themed gifts, but Kathy's booth was by far my favorite. There were beautiful original art pieces by Kathy and her husband, Patrick...

The "Crafty Chica" booth also featured work by the Armas family, of CJ's Angels. I really enjoyed speaking to Jose, Annette and Theresa about their work. It was quite inspiring to see how this gifted couple were so supportive and nurturing of their daughter's artistic talents. So I just had to buy a set of their pan dulce earrings. You know how I love pan dulce! I couldn't resist-I got a pair in every color!

Now I can enjoy my pan dulce without worrying about blowing my weekly points! 

Better on my ears than on my thighs, right?

Wishing you love (and pan dulce) with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Tired of Burning Your Hands Getting Nachos Out of the Oven?

One of my life's ambitions is to be the actor in the "don't let this happen to you" part of commercials.
You know, they're always shot in black and white? People who are completely baffled and overwhelmed by the simple task of slicing an onion or wiping up grape juice from the counter. They try in vain for seconds before giving up, shaking their heads and appealing to an invisible god in a wordless gesture that says, "Why me?" I'm not kidding at all-it's totally on my bucket list.

If only I had a tv-worthy, time-saving, problem-solving product to sell! Oh well, until then...I can offer you my handmade POTHOLDERS!

"That's right, Nacho Mama's Handcrafted Potholders!! Made with love and extra cheese from the finest designer fabrics!!! Tired of burning your hands getting nachos out of your hot oven??!! Those days are OVER! Get Nacho Mama's Handcrafted Potholders on Etsy TODAY!!"


Ok, maybe that's a bit much? But you can get my potholders in my itsy bitsy Etsy shop. I have them in lots of colors and I'm pretty sure they'd make a wonderful companion to your EZ Pour, Jupiter Jack or Swivel Sweeper.

Plus? I'd love to get your feedback :) You can check out my potholder shop HERE!! I mean, here. 

Even if you don't use my potholders, please use extreme caution when removing your nachos from a hot oven. It's hot!


Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

"La Cookie-racha" Nacho Mama's MEXCELLENT Christmas Cookies!

Even though I admit to being a terrible baker-here is yet another recipe for a delicious baked dessert! (The other, my "empanadas" can be seen HERE). I've been fooling around with the oven for at least a week trying to come up with a signature holiday cookie and I finally stumbled on the perfect combo of ingredients last night!

Try these and I think you 'll agree that while Nacho Mama may be a terrible baker, I am an awesome FAKER! These are super easy-as long as you live somewhere with access to Mexican foods. I made these cookies with regular sugar-cookie dough and they were good, but after reading this post over at The Crafty Chica's blog, I tried it with gingerbread-cookie dough-EUREKA!

Before I divulge the secret recipe, I'd like to say a word about "tube food." I grew up on my mom's and grandmoms' delicious homemade cooking and never tasted "tube food" (you know, the doughy processed stuff sold in tubes in the supermarket) until I started dating my a-dorable gringo husband.  Once he showed me how to open the tubes by smacking them against the kitchen counter? It was love. I know there is very little in these tubes that resemble actual food, but I must say that as an occasional indulgence, they can be luverly.

So here they are, NACHO MAMA'S MEXCELLENT CHRISTMAS COOKIES!*

You will need:

1 tube of Gingerbread Cookie Dough
1 wheel of Mexican Chocolate (Ibarra or similar)
2-3 large pieces of Dulce de Leche Candy (smiling yet? I am!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Using a microplane or fine cheese grater, grate about 1/2 the chocolate wheel onto a plate
3. Cut your Dulce de Leche candy into yummy bite-sized pieces, try to save some for the cookies
4. Slice the dough tube into 1/2-inch coins, then slice those into four "pie-shaped"pieces
5. Roll each dough pie-shape into a ball, and roll the ball around in the Mexican chocolate until completely covered.

6. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 according to dough package instructions.
7. Once done, remove from oven and, while still warm, press a piece of Dulce de Leche into the center of each cookie.

8. Call your family to enjoy the cookies while they are still warm and show your gratitude to your husband (for introducing you to tube food and keeping the kids out of your hair so you could bake) by not slapping his hand away.

These are AWESOME. And so easy! The combo of the gingerbread and the Mexican chocolate give it a yummy kick against the smooth, creamy Dulce de Leche.

I hope you'll give my Mexcellent Christmas Cookies a try-I have a feeling the gingerbread dough is going to be available in your supermarket for a limited time :)

*thanks to my facebook friends Maureen, Katy, Maria, Stacie, Halisia and my mom for helping to come up with the name!

ALSO-If you're looking for an easy, last-minute craft, check out my post over at Rock On Mommies (I'm also hosting an awesome GIVEAWAY there-don't miss it!)

Hope you all enjoy this season-and don't stress out too much!

Wishing you happy holidays with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

2nd Annual Holiday Craft "Bar-zaar" THIS SATURDAY

Hello all!

Tis the season for craft fairs galore! Trinkets, doo-dads and handcrafted whatsits of every kind abound. But what if you want to buy handcrafted gifts you and your loved ones will actually use? What if you want a yummy cocktail while you shop? In fact-who decided that craft fairs have to be relegated to church halls, school gymnasiums and the VFW? Can't we shop for cool handmade stuff at, say, a swanky cocktail lounge? YES WE CAN!

This coming Saturday (12/18) at North Park's illustrious Bar Pink, my crafty colleagues and I will be selling our awesomely useful wares from 5-9PM. Grab your girlfriends and guyfriends for a Crafty Cocktail Hour that is not your Grandma's craft fair!

And for those of you who can't make it,later this month I'll be featuring an easy and useful craft (maybe TWO!) you can whip up at the last minute when you realize you forgot to get something for your sister-in-law.

Happy CRAFTY Holidays!

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

Thanksgiving BONUS Craft!

If you read my Thanksgiving table-runner post at Rock On Mommies (which was SUPER easy!) then you know I promised and even cinch-ier craft here at Nacho Mama's Blog!

I wish I could take credit for this one, but my family got these at a Halloween-pumpkin-carving party we attended at the home of our friends Dani-Sue and John. Dani-Sue decorated the tables with these a-dorable PUMPKIN PEOPLE!!

 Aren't they cute? And you won't believe how easy to make. The hair is just torn-up strips of ordinary masking tape! The pumpkin people at the party had all kinds of fun and different hair-dos. The faces are drawn on with fine-tipped Sharpies and the ribbon on top is pinned right into the pumpkin with straightpins. SO. EASY!!

I guess you could do this with a normal-sized pumpkin, but something about the baby pumpkins makes you want to steal a couple to take home with you, like I did!

Hope you'll give this one a try. If you do, email me photos at shesnachomama@yahoo.com and I'll share them with everyone.

Happy, CRAFTY Thanksgiving!

Wishing you love with extra cheese,

Nacho Mama

This is Nacho Horn-It's Mine, and I'm Tootin' It!

If you've been poking around this blog (thank you, btw) you know that I am the weary veteran of many blogs.  And I've been searching for a chance to write about all of my interests on one, single blog. But the timing never seemed right-I never seemed to have a good enough reason. Then, suddenly, I became a member of a very illustrious and heralded club: I became a Mommy-blogger.

I had never really planned on becoming one, even though I had been blogging as a designer, blogging as a blogger and blogging as the fictitious queen of a small town in the American Southwest (long story) for several years. I pretty much had a blogging outlet for every facet of my personality, with 2 glaring exceptions: The Latina and The Mommy. But I wasn't complaining. Then-something caught my eye on twitter (more about my insatiable twitter-addiction later): Rock On Mommies (only my FAVORITE Mommyblog) was looking for new contributors. And specifically, a new contributor for their House & Home department, Abode. How did they know?

Quickly as I could, I dashed off a sample post, sent it in, lit a veladora, and waited.  And I got it!
I couldn't believe it! I was now a Mommyblogger! So I should have a Mommyblog, right? But what to call it? Well, if you read my first post, you know that story already :)

So now you'll find me twice a month at Rock On Mommies, sharing decorating ideas, crafts, household tips and perhaps the occasional recipe. And I'll be posting additional, related content here, at Nacho Mama's Blog.  I can't wait to hear what you think!

Toot-toot!

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

Welcome! This is Nacho Mama's Blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you'll stay a while and check out my blog. I've been blogging for many years on many subjects and have been trying to come up with a way to bring it all together under one blog. Then, just the other day, my husband and I were watching Paula Deen on the cooking channel make a fatally delicious pumpkin pie. We watched her take a bite and say, in her inimitable Georgia-peach way, "Mmmm-mm! This is Nacho Mama's Pumpkin Pie, Yawl!" My husband perked up and said, "Nacho Mama? That's you, isn't it?" And I suddenly realized that it was, in fact, me.

So I leapt up off the sofa, ran to the computer and bought the domain name before one of the other Latina Paula Deen fans beat me to it. If you're one of them, neener-neener-you're-a-weiner. If you're not, I hope you'll enjoy Nacho Mama's Blog!

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama