Christmas in New Mexico

Well, it's that time of year again: the smell of burning firewood billowing from chimneys, hot apple cider, christmas lights and holiday cheer. I love the holidays!! This year, my good friend Lara had a Christmas party full of spiked egg nog, yummy food and of course a white elephant gift exchange. I decided to get a little creative and make orange-cranberry infused vodka for my gift...everyone else decided to be funny. Check out the pictures below! It turns out that at least three of us were on the same wavelength, as three Snuggies made there way into the gift exchange. I was a recipient of one of them...a stylish zebra print Fuzzie Wuzzie!

While Christmas in New Mexico was a delight (thanks for creating the holiday cheer, Lara), I am anxious to be on my way to sunny and warm California to spend Christmas with my family. It'll be our last Christmas in our home in San Diego for awhile, so we're going to make it a good one! Stay tuned for "Christmas in California".

Cranberry-Orange Infused Vodka

Christmas tree with White Elephant Presents

Opening my Fuzzie Wuzzie!

Enjoying my Fuzzie Wuzzie

Matt has the real deal Snuggie

Team Snuggie: Me, Matt and Emily

Andi got Candyland!

Skully speakers for Tony

Lara got these cool water bottles, then Nicole stole them from her!

Sew Much Fun!!

In an effort to adultify our house and get ready for Andrew's big move-in, I've decided to redecorate one room at a time. First: the the living room. I'm continuing with the light blue, cream and champagne color scheme, but I'm replacing the furniture and updating the home accessories decór. Here is a sneak peek at the pillows that I am making (via my roommate Shamsi's sewing lessons and vintage Singer machine!).

Gorgeous fabric!

Fun crinkly blue

Color combination

My first pillow! I sewed it mysefl!

The revamping will be complete in a couple of weeks. I will be back to post before and afters. Until then, it's happy sewing for me!

Procrastination

I'm sitting at my desk right now...a hot cup of tea next to me, chill music on my iTunes, my proposal scattered all around me and procrastinating to NO END! In an effort to prolong this current stint of procrastination, I thought it was time to show the world my new hair cut. Three weeks ago I debuted my short 'do that I had done in NYC. Well, it just wasn't short enough. This past weekend I went to Toni&Guy Hairdressing Academy and had my hair cut even shorter by a student barber! Eight dollars and two and a half hours later, this is what I have! Check it out!

Before

After

My Two Sense...

There's a lot of 'serious' stuff going on in the world today, and since I have this wonderful venue to express my feelings, here are my two sense:

LeAnn Rimes: The Cheater and Homewrecker

As many of you know, LeAnn Rimes has recently been embroiled in a scandal in which she cheated on her husband (now ex) with co-star and now new love, Eddie Cibrian. Rimes was recently on the cover of Shape Magazine, which received a lot of criticism for "promoting" husband-stealers and cheaters. Really!? First of all, who cares? Second, LeAnn isn't the hottest chick around...I think we should actually give her some credit for landing a stud like Eddie Cibrian!

$60,000 Children's Birthday Tea Party

On tonight's episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Taylor Armstrong throws the most ridiculous party for her daughter's 4th birthday. With a Tea Party theme (both unoriginal and Republican in nature), Taylor Armstrong blew $60,000 on the Houdini Estate, teapot flower arrangements, a pink tent, and gold and diamond necklaces for her daughter and all the little girls. Seeing as how her daughter was NOT thrilled about this party, you'd think that Taylor would have asked her daughter what she wanted to do for her birthday. By the looks of it, the party was for Taylor not her daughter. Nice work, mom.

I Think I Love You, David Cassidy

The beloved former teen idol David Cassidy faces drunk driving charges after he was found swerving on a Florida highway Wednesday night. Cassidy failed several sobriety tests and blew a .14 on his breathalyzer. He told the officer he had a glass of wine with lunch several hours earlier and had taken a Vicodin a few hours earlier. Nevermind the half-empty bottle of bourbon that was found in the backseat!! I still love you, David (even though I really don't know who you are!).

Jessica Alba: "I Don't Like Being the Center of Attention"

Look out everyone, Jessica Alba has checked her ego at the door! In the latest issue of Elle Magazine, Alba confesses that she'd "prefer to fade into the background on film". Alba cites motherhood as the main reason for the shift in focus. She says that the time she's not with her daughter has to be worth it, so she'd rather NOT be the lead. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but whatever. While Jessica Alba may be beautiful, she is a hideous actress...I think that should be her reason for not wanting to be the center of attention. Have you seen 'The Eye' or any of the new 'Fantastic Four' movies? If you have, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, don't even bother. I'm just glad she finally has her priorities in line.

Lil Wayne Walks Out of Prison on Top

Rapper Lil Wayne was released from Rikers today 8 months into a 12 month prison sentence. He was convicted of having a loaded gun on his tour bus in 2007. This wasn't the first time Lil Wayne has run into trouble while on board his tour bus. Not too long ago, Wayne's tour bus was pulled over at a Border Patrol stop in Arizona, where all sorts of goodies were found on board! Anyway, back to the story...while Lil Wayne was in prison, his newest album, I Am Not a Human Being, was released and went straight to number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Both Lil Wayne and Martha Stewart are living proof that life does go on after prison!

10 Reasons I LOVE Halloween

For me, Halloween is the epitome of fun and the official start of the holiday season. I was raised in a household where Halloween was celebrated widely and wildly; and costumes were creative and spooky. With Halloween just a few days away and as I am in the midst of planning and decorating for my annual Halloween Bash, I have been thinking and reminiscing about this spooktacular day. Here are the ten reasons I love Halloween!

1. EVERYTHING is orange.
Orange is my favorite color, and for the longest time, people thought I was crazy for liking (actually, obsessing) over such a vibrant and strong color. Well, unless you live under a rock, orange is everywhere. Shoes, clothes, home accessories, appliances...they all come in orange. Now that aside, Halloween also comes in orange! How could I not love Halloween and it's orange affiliation.

2. Creativity and artistic inspiration.

Halloween is the perfect time when creative juices and artistic inspiration fly like bats as costumes are pieced together. Ditch the Halloween superstore and the 'costume-in-a-bag' and head to your local crafts store to pick up the ingredients for your unique, one of a kind costume. Don't be shy, don't hold back!

3. EVERYTHING has an osteological reference.
As a biological anthropologist who works in a human osteology lab, Halloween is the perfect time of year to find anything and everything osteological. Skull candle holders, skull hand towels, skeleton housemates, skull napkins and plates, skeleton lights, skeleton decorations...it's all for the taking. Even classy and elegant home stores like Pottery Barn are catching on with skeleton hand salad tossers! It's just so much fun and us anthropologists go crazy!



4. Pumpkins galore...
pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin seeds, carved pumpkins. There is so much joy in pumpkins. And..they're orange!


5. Horror movie marathons.
Whether on cable TV or from your own personal movie collection, Halloween is the ideal time to pop in those B-rated horror movie and scare yourselves silly.




6. Candy corn.
Need I say anything more?





7. Dia de los muertos.
Halloween means that dia de los muertos is right around the corner. While day of the dead has recently been popularized and mainstream media with movies like "Frida" and what not, day of the dead is a holiday by which we can celebrate and memorialize our loved ones who have passed on and left this world. With traditions such as altars, sugar skulls, marigolds and personal belongings of the deceased, dia de los muertos gives us the opportunity to remember our loved ones and to let them know that we haven't forgotten them as well.


8. Party hopping.
There's nothing like going from house to house, party to party scoping out all the fabulous, ridiculous and the sometimes boring costumes that people are donning. It's great fun to see how creative people get and how willing they are to look a fool...priceless!!


9. Tissue pom poms.
I have Martha Stewart to thank for this one. These paper tissues goodies can be made in virtually any color and add a lovely decorative pop to any occasion and decor. This year for my Halloween party, I have made black, orange and purple poms, and they look fantastic! For directions on how to make your own, check out the link below. Happy crafting!

http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tissue-paper-pom-poms-how-to




10. Haunted houses.
There's nothing better than a good ol' haunted house to commemorate Halloween. Whether you create one yourself or go to your local screamhouse, a haunted house experience is a must have during Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone. Eat, drink and be scary! And tell me...why do you love Halloween?

Fall Happenings

Fall is such a lovely time of the year, especially in New Mexico...or in NYC! Last weekend I went to New York City with my roommate to visit her sister. It also happened to be my first time in the Big Apple. It was quite an experience, I must say! I knew there were a lot of people in NY (both tourists and local residents), but I wasn't prepared for that many people! A peaceful stroll through Soho is NOT going to happen on a Saturday...what was I thinking!? Additionally, my legs and feet were not prepared for all the walking. I'm sure it doesn't help that I didn't being appropriate shoes. The pain was well worth the priceless art, beautiful human diversity and fall weather I was able to absorb in my three short days in the city. I was also able to see a dear friend of mine from college, Stephanie. I hadn't seen her since 2006 and so much has happened in our lives since then. It was really great to see her! The culmination of my trip came with a transforming haircut! In the last 6 months, I've been so fed up with my hair; anxious for something different. For some strange reason, I decided to chop it off in NY! It's a great style for me and I love it!

Now, Halloween is right around the corner, and those who know me well know that Halloween is my favorite holiday that I take rather seriously! This year I will be throwing my third annual Halloween party in Albuquerque as a Hideous Witch! There will be lots of creepy decor and disgusting food. I've already started the preparations. I'll be sure to post more pictures as I complete the decorations.

It's been a busy month and I'm still writing my proposal! I'll be sure to let you know when it's done. Until next time!

I'm back...as Mrs. Barbolla!

It's been a while since my last post. Since then, I've gotten married and still HAVEN'T defended my dissertation proposal (I'm getting closer though!). This summer was quite a whirlwind and it's so true what they say...time really does fly. From the wedding day to our two week honeymoon in Fiji, it felt like a short, magical dream...a dream I wish would last forever. Since returning back to the real world, I've assimilated back into the doctoral student life: working on my proposal, keeping this in working order in the osteology lab, cleaning out my office and life, and procrastinating by means of TV!

Andrew will be moving to the Land of Enchantment in January, so we are both preparing for the big move. For me, that means some serious downsizing are in order! It's pretty exciting though for us to finally, after 8 years, be in the same city for longer than 3 months. It's time to really play house. Many of you (or none of you, since no one reads this!) are probably wondering what Andrew plans to do out here for work. It turns out that he is going to apply to the MFA program at UNM in Dramatic Writing. So we might end up both being students! I'll keep you posted on the application status!

I'm a blog virgin

It seems these days people are really into the blogging thing. I like the idea of a virtual diary. So, I'm gonna try it out and see if it's something for me. I may just be writing all of this stuff, pouring my heart out only to have no one read this...I suppose I'm ok with that. It's 1 o'clock in the morning and while I should be working on a Life History Theory exam, I am going to focus my attention on making this new blog of mine pretty and orange...welcome to Orange You Glad!