Meeting the Real Ferdinand!

Ferdinand Opens in Theaters Nationwide on December 15!

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Built to Fight. Born to Love.

There was something about Ferdinand the Movie that made it especially endearing for me, a mom of boys, to watch with my sons last weekend.

We were lucky to get invited to an early screening of the movie. The film is based on The Story of Ferdinand, a book written in 1936 by American author Munro Leaf, that tells the story of a strong and robust bull who prefers to smell flowers than fight against matadors in arenas.

This was Toby's first movie theater experience which didn't go exactly as planned but we managed to stay indoors for most of the movie!

Overall, it was an adorable film that touched on several current day subjects including...wait for it.... bullying (lol), peer pressure and the idea that it's okay to look a certain way and not fit the role society expects of you. Actor John Cena is the voice behind Ferdinand!

Much to my embarrassment, Toby was skeptical about meeting actor John Cena, who voices Ferdinand. Cena was at the Gentle Barn following an early screening of Ferdinand the movie.

Much to my embarrassment, Toby was skeptical about meeting actor John Cena, who voices Ferdinand. Cena was at the Gentle Barn following an early screening of Ferdinand the movie.

As a mom of two little guys, I loved the idea that a strong, valiant bull was also gentle, loving and caring. The characters, the soundtrack and the overall message definitely make this a movie worth a holiday trip to the movie theater. It has hilarious scenes, including one where Ferdinand escapes from captivity by entering a home with delicate and intricate china. The bull manages to finagle his way through the room without breaking a single dish, until the old lady who's dusting the plates mistakes Ferdinand's tale for a duster!

My two little boys are possibly like Ferdinand in the sense that they may seem a little rough and but they're also sweethearts!

My two little boys are possibly like Ferdinand in the sense that they may seem a little rough and but they're also sweethearts!

Further, and much to my delight, Twentieth Century Fox Animation Studios partnered with The Gentle Barn, a Santa Clarita based animal sanctuary where farm animals are rescued and cared for.

The Gentle Barn rescued Ferdinand from what would have eventually become a trip to a slaughter house, as explained by one of the barn's volunteers. Now the young bull can enjoy a safe home at The Gentle Barn, where, the founder says Ferdinand will always have the freedom to be happy and smell the flowers!

We had the opportunity of meeting the real Ferdinand at the Gentle Barn!

We had the opportunity of meeting the real Ferdinand at the Gentle Barn!

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I hope you make it out to the theater and watch the movie! Most importantly, try to visit the Gentle Barn and get involved with organizations that advocate animal rights. We all deserve a chance to be happy and smell the flowers!

Xoxo,

-Anabel

Anabel Marquez
Denim Mother's Day Inspo from 'Kut from the Kloth'

How a mommy date with my son turned into a Mother's Day outfit idea!

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Kut From The Kloth

A funny thing happened when I took my son to Au Fudge last weekend for a special “MommyAndMe—Create Salon” hosted by LA-based clothing company Kut from the Kloth.

During the week leading to the event, I shared with Benny that he would be having an opportunity to design a denim jacket for mama. Benny said he was going to decorate my jacket with glitter and purple colors and butterflies and sprinkles— basically everything he figured I’d like to hear.

Details from the "MommyAndMe-- Create Salon" hosted by Kut from the Kloth at Au Fudge.

Details from the "MommyAndMe-- Create Salon" hosted by Kut from the Kloth at Au Fudge.

Then on the day of the event, as we sat down to begin decorating my cool denim jacket, Benny turned into a total minimalist! He placed only three patches on the top left corner above the jacket's pocket. The back was a little more elaborate with three sequin hearts. It was adorable, although I'll be honest-- I'm the type of mom that loves a lot of color and patterns and ornate things (go figure). It turns out, Benny was more interested in visiting the restaurant’s backroom arcade than embellishing my jacket! He basically squeezed a few globs of glue on some patches and was quickly "done" and ready for the next adventure. This was too funny. All I could think of was a phrase I've been repeating since Benny's younger brother was born: “boys will be boys!”

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The unique Kut from the Kloth event was an opportunity for kids to interact with one another and spend a lovely afternoon designing a gift for mom. There were goodies and desserts and a book reading by Sara Aspinall. There were also several jackets for moms to choose from, something which opened my eyes to the company, whose clothing items I’ve often seen at large department stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s but never tried.

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Kut from the Kloth offers a unique reward program called "Your Style Rewards". It's how the company rewards its customers for shopping and sharing their Kut from the Kloth items on social media. The way it works is, you become a member by creating an account on the company's website. You refer friends, post product reviews and share on your social media channels in order to gain points. For every 2,500 points earned, you get a $15 discount on your next order! They have adorable dresses and tops and their jeans come in all different cuts and styles.

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The jacket Benny decorated for me is so comfortable! It's a Kut from the Kloth Amelia Denim Jacket (Sweet Wash) and now that I look at it again, I'm actually happy and very endeared with how it turned out. As a matter of fact, I plan on styling it with a fun dress on Sunday. I'll make sure to post some pictures...

Thanks for reading and Happy Mother's Day!

Xo,

-Anabel M.

Anabel Marquez
Beauty & The Beast-Themed Lunch

We're bringing our excitement of the live-action film to the table!
 

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Be Our Guest!

We love the tale as old as time and since we're days away from the box office opening of the live-action film starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, we're feeling excited and inspired!
When I found out my cousin would Be Our Guest this weekend (she's in town from Mexico), I felt inclined to make our lunch date at my house extra enchanting.
A few years ago, I had a Beauty and the Beast-inspired breakfast with Benny but this weekend's warm and lovely weather called for an outdoor soireé. 
I have plenty of antiques and Disney collectible items, plus, Benny has a Beast costume. Even better, one of my nieces made her own Belle dress for Halloween last year so I asked her to bring it over!

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Our lunch didn't include French delicacies such as "beef ragout, cheese souffle, pie and pudding em flambé!". It was much more simple than that but tasty and a worthwile experience.
 Our menu included Cogsworth croissant sandwiches, enchanted rose strawberries and even vanilla pudding "gray stuff"!
Benny as the Beast was playful and informal... He never waited for Belle to be served before taking the first bite out of his sandwich...
Here are more pictures of our Beauty and the Beast-inspired lunch.

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En español

Nos encanta la película de la Bella y la Bestia. Y es que estamos a unos días de la apertura de la fabula ancestral de acción en vivo protagonizada por Emma Watson y Dan Stevens. Con motivo de la nueva cinta y al enterarme que mi prima estaría de visita este fin de semana (vino de Querétaro con su hija), decidí hacer algo asi como un festín.

Tengo antigüedades y artículos de colección de Disney, además, Benny tiene un traje de la bestia. Incluso una de mis sobrinas hizo su propio vestido de Bella para Halloween el año pasado así que le pedí que lo trajera!

Nuestro almuerzo no incluyó delicias francesas como ragu, soufflé tarta y pudín em flambé. Fue muy sencillo pero agradable y memorable.

Tuvimos sándwiches de croissants a la Cogsworth, fresas picadas para aparentar rosas encantadas e incluso pudín de vainilla que pareciera higado de pato, como en la película original!

Benny en su papel de la Bestia se portó muy informal ... ¡No esperó a que Bella se le sirviera antes de dar la primera mordida de su sándwich!

Pasamos un rato verdaderamente encantador.

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Will you be watching the movie on opening night?
Feel free to share any small or beastly plans you may have!
Thanks for reading! ¡Gracias por leer!

Xo,

-Anabel M.

Anabel MarquezComment
Ways to Repurpose Halloween Costumes!

Costumes shouldn't be limited to a single day use!

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Buzz Lightyear Should Return Year-Round!


Halloween is so much fun, isn't it? But it's over in a blink of an eye!
In 2016, it was reported by the National Retail Federation that people spent over $8 billion dollars on Halloween, with the most amount of money ($3.5 Billion) going to Halloween costumes.
I know I'm guilty of buying my boys more than one costume...
How could I not?
With so many adorable options and the boys growing so fast, I couldn't help myself.
But then I started thinking--
Is it possible that their costumes will only be good for one month of the year?
What can I do to maximize their costume fun outside of trick-or-treating?
And, what's a creative way to justify the expense that will almost certainly be acquired again next year?
So I decided it was time to get creative and schedule some play dates.

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I bought a few large, neon project boards at the dollar store and created planets and stars and dizzy circles out of them. This was done to make a planet scene and get the boys and their guests in full Space Ranger mode...

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It all took place in a planet far, far away named...my backyard!  And all the space heroes going around made this morning too fun for us mommies who were standing by in case of a meteor meltdown! I placed all the Buzz Lightyears from around the house in different areas of the yard and their mission, among others was to escape the "asteroid ghosts".

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The pretend spaceship skeleton was from Benny's 2nd birthday and was made out of PVC pipe.
I also turned a regular dart board into a space target, trying to mimic scenes from the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride at Disneyland.

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You should definitely try this at home... It's not too complicated and it's the kind of stuff memories are made of!
The Buzz Lightyear costumes will probably come out of the box a few more times...and they'll be transported to Infinity and Beyond!
Thanks for reading!

Xo,

-Anabel M.

Anabel Marquez
The Waypoint Cafe in Camarillo

A Fun Place to Brunch with your Airplane-Lovin' Kids!

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Fabulous Father's Day!

The Waypoint Cafe in Camarillo is a place where you can fly-in for breakfast (I'm not kidding-- there are even pilot instructions on the restaurant's website).
It's located adjacent to the small Camarillo Airport in Ventura County, CA.
The place is close enough to LA to make a morning trip and enjoy good food and drinks, while your kids run on a pretend runway and watch real Cessna Jets land and takeoff! 
We spent Father's Day morning at the Waypoint Cafe with my husband, my dad and my dear uncle Rafael.

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We hung out in the cafe's backyard overlooking the planes as Benny ran with new buddies whose parents were also waiting to be buzzed to their tables.
The ladies enjoyed pineapple mimosas while the men had 805 Beer, which was pretty appropriate considering Camarillo's area code is *805*.
Once inside I went with the Berry French Toast, because...why not!
My sister ordered a veggie omelet with fruit and we shared-- both plates were awesome!
Benny colored on airplane-themed placemats waiting for his small order of pancakes.
The mood was very chill, reminiscent of a beach restaurant. Oh wait, the Oxnard beach is only a few miles away...fun.
But honestly, The Waypoint Cafe nice little place to spend a weekend morning. 
If you don't believe me, just ask Benny.

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Anabel Marquez
Fun Activities to Help Toddlers Bond with Their Newborn Siblings

May the Little Brothers Appreciate Each Other

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Early Brotherly Love Pt. 1


My son Benjamin turned three in December. 
We celebrated his birthday at Walt Disney World. 

Before that, we celebrated almost every accomplishment, milestone and cute thing he did with tons of attention, cheers, outings and gifts.

He was the light of our lives-- our first child, the only grandchild on both sides of the family and my inspiration for so many things (including this blog).

But as of three weeks ago, Benny has a baby brother named Tobias. 

Throughout my second pregnancy, we explained to Benny that he would soon become a big brother. We read books for him on the topic and explained that our family would be growing into a family of four. We hyped the arrival of Toby and frequently reminded Benny that his baby brother would eventually become his best buddy.  

On the day Toby was born, Benny had a "Big Brother gift" waiting for him at the hospital. 

He was so endeared by his baby brother that day that he sung a lullaby for him, in front of all of us, in my hospital room. The cuteness and innocence of that moment practically had us all in tears!

But then came the time to bring our newborn home. And that's when sibling rivalry took over!

Benny is a sweet boy and we always knew he'd be nice to Baby Toby.

What was interesting though was seeing him go from giving his little brother soft pats and kisses to ignoring him altogether! 

During the first two weeks, if we asked him questions about Baby Toby, Benny would ignore us or change the subject. He started pretending to be an infant and would try going inside Toby's bassinet and ask for breastmilk. He was very sentimental and desperate for attention. It was as though he loved Toby but felt a lot of jealousy at the same time (which I've read is quite normal).

But now that Toby is almost a month old, Benny has apparently come to terms with the reality that he is not the only child at home anymore.

He talks to Toby a lot and recently asked me: "Mama, when can I play with Toby?" 

"Is he old enough?"

Suddenly it occurred to me that toddlers need a "play" connection to feel close to other kids. 

So I put on my thinking cap and figured out a few ways to get my toddler to "play" with my newborn!

This is the first of three activities I will share to demonstrate how we made it happen. 

I must say, this was the most fun and laughs we've had in a long time (Hooray for Maternity Leave)!

Note: these play activities require adult supervision. AT. ALL. TIMES.

Enjoy!

Benny the Pediatrician
 

I started out by creating a pretend doctor's office. In this activity, Benny was the pediatrician and I took my baby to see the doctor because he was showing symptoms of drinking too much milk...LOL. 

I started out by creating a pretend doctor's office. In this activity, Benny was the pediatrician and I took my baby to see the doctor because he was showing symptoms of drinking too much milk...LOL. 

I printed and framed a few graphics and gathered all of Benny's doctor toys.

I printed and framed a few graphics and gathered all of Benny's doctor toys.

During the consultation, I explained to Dr. Benny that Baby Toby needed a check-up because he's always hungry!

During the consultation, I explained to Dr. Benny that Baby Toby needed a check-up because he's always hungry!

Benny said: "Ok, let's put him on the bed"

Benny said: "Ok, let's put him on the bed"

Somehow he diagnosed Toby with a broken hand... (laughing)

Somehow he diagnosed Toby with a broken hand... (laughing)

In the middle of the consultation, Toby started crying and Dr. Benny turned around and asked him to keep it quiet."Shhhhhhhh," he said.

In the middle of the consultation, Toby started crying and Dr. Benny turned around and asked him to keep it quiet."Shhhhhhhh," he said.

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The doctor visit lasted quite a while, but fortunately, everything checked out fine in the end.... (hilarious).

 Thanks for reading... Stay tuned for Part II our Toddler-Newborn play activities!

Xo,

-Anabel M.

Anabel Marquez