Momma of Dos: Shop Local

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

:: Nancy's Cake Review :: The thing about life & Birthday's

::Momma Disclosure:: Post is partially sponsored, but all opinions and thoughts expressed are mine and true.

It's been a while.

I know.

Here is the thing about life and well in this post about birthday's. You really can't predict the outcome. A couple months ago I thought about a great theme for Cam's 6th Birthday. I wanted her to have a fun Spa day with her friends and then a dinner at our house with family. Well. Then life happened. Right around the same time in February when I was planning all this, I had a car accident. Semi-bad and somewhat costly. I have been in therapy for about 7 weeks now. Our truck was in the shop for about a week and the same day we picked it up, it broke down. Two-weeks later we still didn't have a car and more money was spent. Side note: Don't know how families of 4 or more survive with one car, we managed but it was hard. Kudos to you!

Then about three-weeks ago, I let go of the idea I had for Cam's birthday and decided we would wing it and just have something "small". Of course with a (big-fat) Mexican family you don't really get a "small" option but maybe a more contained group than usual.

My Husband and I started looking into our options and went for a family only dinner at our house, which would still be between 30-40 people or maybe 60. OK, so we had a small get-together for 60 family members, cause you only turn 6 once. HA. Prior to this I was asked by a PR representative for Nancy's Cake Designs, if I would like to partner with the bakery for one of my kids' birthdays. Since Cam's was first, I did just that. During the first few days of March, I worked with Nancy and her team to design the cake and figure out logistics. The bakery is on the SouthEast side of town, thankfully my Momma lives nearby in North/East side of Houston and was able to pick the cake up for me. But, trust me it was well worth it. Being an optimist, I told Nancy I would only have about 30-35 guests, but we had near 60. Still the cake was SO big, everyone ate cake and we even had leftovers!

I had envisioned something colorful and that fit our theme with Cam's birthday being, "Birthday Diva". Because, in case you didn't know, she's half child and half Diva, true story. If you follow me on "snapchap" (snapchat) then you know, she spoke one day on the subject and how her friends just call her Hollywood Diva for short. And, if you know Cam then you know, she is wild. Like no other. I don't think I could make up her personality. And, again if you follow me on social media then you know my children lack personality and imagination ::KIDDING::.

Anyway, the CAKE. It was perfect. My vision and what I sent over was embodied perfectly!

Nancy's Cakes was very professional, they messaged me, called and made sure I was very happy with how my cake details were coming along. I spoke to Nancy herself on several occasions, she is fully bilingual which helps on so many levels! And, the cake was not only perfect on the outside but the inside was equally delicious! We tried a nut flavored cake with strawberry cream filing, you guys, best choice ever. Visit her page for all the fun designs and cake options. The one cake that sold me, and if you know me you know why, was her UH cake! It's my alma mater and I love it!

FOLLOW NANCY'S CAKE DESIGNS ON:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/NancysCakeDesigns/

WEBSITE: http://www.nancyscakedesigns.com/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/NancysCakeDsgns

IG: https://www.instagram.com/nancyscakedesigns/

And, as for life and birthdays, no matter how far off track things can get, or how lost you might think a cause maybe. It's truly not that serious and there is always a better and fair alternative or solution. Cam's birthday wasn't what I envisioned it to be this year, but we have many more with this little Diva so we'll get it right one day!

Either way, everyone loved spending the afternoon with Miss. Birthday Diva and she absolutely LOVED being Diva for the day!!! ::done using the word DIVA::

HUGE Thank you to Nancy's Cake Designs for making our day extra special and to our family who came and joined-in celebrating my little miracle baby!

P.S. Yearly Birthday Letter/Photo-shoot to follow.....

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Taco Lovers Unite! #TacoGear

::Momma Disclosure:: This is a compensated post. All opinions expressed are true and my own.

When I was first asked to review shirts about tacos, I knew I couldn't say no. Then I saw the Jesus Loves Tacos shirt on the Taco Gear website, and I was absolutely sure I couldn't say no. Plus there is one thing I love more than tacos and that is working with young Texas entrepreneurs. Supporting them and their pursuit of what they love. Oh, and did I mention tacos?

Side story, my dad's name is Jesus and yes, he really does love tacos. But, that's not why I wanted this shirt, or maybe, just a bit. He will probably think this shirt is about him.

Gerald reached out to me and all I could think was I must go eat Tacos and I must bring Ariana of 3twentysix along. And, so we did. We both selected our favorite shirt from the Taco Gear website and then waited anxiously for them to arrive.

::A little about Gerald and his story::

Photo Credit: Dustin Ashcraft

Gerald, what is the name of your company and the creative behind it all?-

"Taco Gear is the name of my company. We create taco apparel for taco lovers!

I've been a graphic designer for the last 10 years and a taco lover for life, working with businesses agencies and startups, creating and developing brands, advertisements and more.

My experience over the last 10 years has given me the ability to launch my own clothing/apparel line. This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time, and I am thrilled to have finally had the opportunity."

What was the driving force behind your brand?-

"I always knew I wanted to start my own business (apparel mostly), but never really knew what kind or what style. I've always collected and worn all types of t-shirts and appreciated the unique designs they had. I knew the market was flooded with so many companies selling their own graphic tees, so that was never really in my mind as something I would want to jump into.

When I say I am a taco lover, I really mean it. Like many I know, I can and do eat tacos almost every day for breakfast lunch and dinner, and I usually do.

One day, I was looking for a taco t-shirt. I wanted something simple that was designed well. I remember thinking,

"I'm sure there's something cool out there that someone has created."

It's so easy in today's market to launch a shirt design or online e-commerce business. I was very surprised to find that there were not very many options out there. The few options I found were mostly overdone jokes or badly designed.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks! I should design my own! My experience as a designer and lifelong taco lover have given me every single tool I need to launch my own taco apparel company.

I knew when I started, that I wanted to focus on taco related apparel only. The thought of Mexican / Spanish culture designs did cross my mind, but I knew there were already companies out there designing some amazing apparel in this area. So the decision to focus on tacos only, became even easier, and it's been so much fun!"

Want to snag your own sweet JESUS LOVES TACOS t-shirt?

Here is how....

Use code: houstontaco at checkout to get 10% off your first order!
Expires 9/21/2016 (end of summer)or Enter below to win one!!!

Finally, what inspires you most and allows you to be creative?-

"Creativity can come from anywhere and at anytime, at least for me. I can be inspired to create a new design or slogan from anything really. It's because of this that I always write everything down. To quote Field Notes,

"I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now."

As far as where I do most of my designing and creating, it's usually at a large desk in our living room either watching tv (listening really), or listening to music."