Cinco de Mayo Weekend Wrap-up!

Hola! Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

This past weekend, I had the honor of hosting the 10th annual Dance Team Banquet. I've been the coordinator for this event for the past three years and this was one event that I will never forget. From the endless days and nights of planning to the 22 hour all nighter I pulled this weekend making sure that everything from the flowers to the food was perfect.

Since May is one busy month - we decided to make the banquet as early as possible to not conflict with other senior events. We picked on the 3rd of May and since it was so close to the 5th, and I love all things Mexican  - it was only appropriate that the banquet be Mexican themed.

Now on to the fun part - details! From the decor to the desserts - I planned out everything to the finest of details to ensure that everyone - seniors especially would remember this event for a very long time! I started by finding a perfect location, Kendall Indian Hammocks Park. I picked the deck instead of the typical party gazebo since the trees and shade over the deck screamed "Mexico". With this being said, I went to pick details that would allow the Miami heat to not kill them. We picked mexican papel picado as our banners that hung from tree to tree to create the Cabo, Mexico feel.

On each of the tables, I decided to opt out of the typical table cloth and did an authentic Serape, or table runner.  I ordered these from Etsy and they turned out to be fabulous against the colors of the banners. On top of the serapes, I placed two picture frames with pictures of the team from over the years and a white metal vase with yellow and white spider mums. This tied the entire Cabo chic look together.

For the food, I wanted to tie in the mexican feel as much as possible and what mexico without tacos right? So thats what I did! With the help of my super team - my abuela and mom, we were able to pull of a build your own taco bowl bar! We cooked salsa chicken, pulled pork (carnitas) and ground beef along with typical cilantro lime rice and warm tortilla chips to go along with it. The taco bar was a hit from everyone!

Every party isnt complete without a dessert bar and my oh my did we have one! Thanks to Do Re Mi cookies and Ohh My Sweetness, I was able to pull off a dessert bar that was gone within minutes! Marsha from Do Re Mi created three different types of cookies for our guests - mustaches, pinatas and sombreros and they were delicious! Vanessa and Melyssa from Oh My Sweetness created three different desserts that fit in perfectly with our theme. We came up with dirt cup "cacti", dirt cup margarita glasses and cupcakes in a jar that resembled a little "muchachito".

After everyone indulged in all the fun foods that we offered and look plenty of pictures in our photobooth, my coaches gave each of the seniors a little token of appreciation for all the hard work that we've not only given our team but ourselves as well.

All in all, this event was one that wouldnt have been pulled off without the support and help of all my vendors, family and coaches. I would definitely recreate this event in a heartbeat and I will truly miss being the event coordinator for the Diamonds Dance Team, its been an amazing four years on this team and I know that this team will only grow and prosper from here on out!

XOXO, Vivianna

Keeping Austin Weird (Day 5-7)

During our last days in Austin - mother nature decided to continue to pour but we had just enough time to stop by Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas because whats Texas without some barbecue and Mexican food right? My brother-in-law decided to take us to Lockhart to learn a little more about what Texas barbecue is all about and man was it amazing! In Lockhart, they smoke and grill their own meat that locally grown in Lockhart and then they drive it to Austin where they have their other store-front for purchase.

Since the day that we went to Lockhart was my brother-in-laws birthday, we decided to come back home and try some pies from Tiny Pies on Burent Road to celebrate. We picked a variety pack which included some of their popular flavors like Key Lime, Blueberry, Pecan and others. These pies where straight out of the oven when we picked them up and they were to die for! A definite favorite and I would recommend this to any one!

When we woke up the next day, it was beautiful - thanks mother nature! So we ventured out into some of the hotspots that I had not yet been too,  one of these being the iconic "Greetings from Austin" mural. We arrived just on time before the crowd arrived so we had time to take some single shots and family shots before going to downtown.

While in downtown - we walked around and did lots of window shopping into the cool Austin shops. For lunch, we went to this restaurant called La Condesa for Mexican food. When we arrived the ambiance of the restaurant is very modern and upscale - which isn't very typical Mexican style but once we were seated, we noticed that it was more of a Hispanic food restaurant with a modern twist. Since my family and I aren't large risk takers - we settled for the only selection on the menu that we knew what was in it. A Cuban sandwich - La Cubanita. This Cuban sandwich, however, was no where near the ones you would get in Latin America. This sandwich was built on a toasted garlic bread with garlic aoli on top with all the typical Cuban sandwich ingredients. For dessert - we told the waiter to surprise us and she brought us La Boca Negra - brown sugar - banana ice cream over a flourless chocolate cake with chile de arbol and anchos. It was a really good dessert that had us fighting for the last piece.

On our last night in Texas, we drove down to Lake Travis which is a little outside of the central Austin atmosphere we had been in all week. On one of the highest hills on Lake Travis sits Oasis Restaurant. We arrived just at the beginning of the days sunset so the view while we were waiting for our food was breathtaking. As the sun falls you see the lights of the houses below start to turn on and the different shades of red from the sky.

While we were on our way back, we noticed we hadn't been to one of the hottest college student spots in town - Gourdoughs. This iconic spot is part of a trailer park full of food trucks. Open to 3am daily, Gourdoughs makes for the ideal energy booster while studying. They have an vast array of flavors for all different taste buds. For me - I love all types of chocolate so I tried the Black Out doughnut which is a doughnut filled with chocolate with fudge, brownie pieces and chocolate chips on top. It was so amazing that I saved some for the plane right the next day! Haha!

Overall, my trip to Austin will be one that I will never forget, my family and I learned about all different types of foods, art and music. Austin, Texas is surely a place to keep on your bucketlist because you will not regret it.

Till next time,
xoxo - Vivianna

Keeping Austin Weird (Day 3&4)

So on our third and fourth day here in Austin, we decided to do some more touristy things. We started our third day with a morning stroll along SoCo - South Congress. This block is filled with restaurants, food trucks and unusual stores - like Uncommonly Vintage. Before our four block walk, we decided to grab a cup of coffee at the famous Jo's Coffee and Jimmy Kimmel was in line in front of us! He's filming here for South by Southwest week.

After our run in with Mr. Kimmel, we decided to keep walking around SoCo and exlpore all the different types of stores and restaurants it has to offer us. Blake Mycoskie, owner and founder of Toms Shoe Co. and proud native Texan, created his own brewing company here too - Toms Brewing Co. Outside of the store, there were these two men sitting outside the store playing on their guitars and welcoming the people as they came in - or left.

Before leaving SoCo to my UT campus tour, I had to have the famous grilled cheese from Burros Grilled Cheese. We decided to make our own grilled cheeses and see what we would come up with. The results were AMAZING! The picture below is the grilled cheese that I created - Hawaiian bread with brie cheese and prosciutto.On our campus tour at UT, we saw a couple of interesting sights like the Gregory Gymnasium which has a rock wall, 5 swimming pools and is open basically all day for students.

Our fourth day was pretty bummy since it rained all day it is continuing to rain all day today too. Hopefully we will be able to try some Black's Barbecue tonight for dinner.

xoxo, Vivianna

Location: UT Campus statue and Toms Brewing Co. in SoCo

Keeping Austin Weird (Day 1&2)

I've decided to do a mini segment about my current trip to Austin, Texas. I've been in Austin for two days now, to visit my newborn niece, and I've been in love with this city from the minute we got off the plane. Austin - more like the music/technology capital has lots of different things to offer. From live music, authentic Mexican food and even a farmers market, just outside our apartment door.

Not only has the weather been nice but the people here are the friendliest people I've ever met! They offer you assistance with street names, the streets are worse than the ones in Coral Gables, say good morning and good afternoon and even hook you up with free Sumo Tangerines in the Central Market (that's like the Publix back in Miami)!

For our first and second day here, we have not done many touristy things since we are spending time with the baby. We explored my sisters loft building, which has stores, boutiques and restaurants all right under you. We started our second day by trying out locally braised bison burgers at this cafe under us named Galaxy Cafe.

Once we finished our burgers, we took about a two block walk to the Central Market to do some groceries and check out some of the locally grown products here in Austin. Inside of the market they have all different types of produce, meats and cheeses from around the world. Once section that enticed me the most was the Scoville Scale that separates all the different types of chilies they have according to their heat - starting with cool and ending in hot.

I'll be keeping you guys updated with all of my Austin stories and adventures while I'm here!
- xoxo, Vivianna

Location: The Triangle in Austin, Texas and Central Market Chile Stand

3.8.2015 Weekend Wrap-Up

So I've decided to do a weekly/weekend wrap-up instead of creating tons of blog posts at once. As my first weekend wrap-up, a day late - thanks to work, I am going to filling you guys in on my art filled Friday.

My school has a Performing Arts program with amazingly talented students. This past Friday, March 6th, our Visual Arts students hosted their second annual Urban Arts Showcase. Showing all of the students' art work, photography and ceramic pieces. Along with all of the phenomenal art work, there were two artists who showcased their paintings live for all the art enthusiasts, Anais Perez and Melissa Rojas, both seniors, showed their talents to the students, parents and bystanders. These two talented students will be attending art schools, including MICA in the upcoming fall, pursing their careers in the art field.

Signing off with my first weekend wrap-up - xoxo, Vivianna

 

 

Location: Doral Academy Charter School Courtyard
Artists (in order of appearance): Stephanie Torres. Anais Perez, creator of Elsewhere and painting during the live painting session. Melissa Rojas poses with her grandmother during her her live painting session.

So where it all began.....

My senior year started with an eventful summer that helped me shape myself into what my next 10 months will be like. I spent my eventful summer traveling around the world, participating in what felt like endless practices and working with children of all personalities. My first official post will describe some of the things I did over my summer.

June and July in Miami are pretty bummy months, with hurricane season, inclement weather on the daily and what feels like a sauna every where you go, these moths are usually spent at home - with the air on blast.

So when the weather is like this, us Miamians (this is what others call us) - more like just me and my best friend Natalia, like to do is eat - alot. This is one of our favorite spots to go an hang out and have a good time. What I like most about this cafe is the atmosphere it gives from the moment you walk inside. The people treat every guest like family, the food is amazing and the art work along with the set inside the cafe is inspirational yet modern!

Location: Greenstreet Cafe in Coconut Grove

Hello Blogging World!

So as my senior year comes to a quick end, I have decided to create a blog which will showcase my year in a nutshell. From football games, dance team practices and finally welcoming my new life as a high school graduate. I hope that this blog will allow me to showcase another side of myself and a new outlook on what a busy high school seniors day to day life is like - enjoy!