Before I post all the pictures from our honeymoon in Hawaii, I wanted to write a little update. We moved into a new apartment almost two weeks ago. We are living by the bay and the best part is that I am about 8 minutes away from work. I love the new place!! There is a trail around the apartment complex with lots of chairs and barbeque areas by the water. These are a few pictures that I took with my phone last week.
Tampa Bay Sunset
Since we got back from Hawaii, we stayed a couple of weeks at my parent's house until this apartment was ready. One of the first things that I did in the new place was to start our Netflix account that was on hold since July. We should be organizing the apartment, but instead we have spent hours watching movies, eating Ben&Jerry's, and drinking wine. We have our first out of town guests coming this weekend, so tonight I need to finish unpacking. Tomorrow, I have a conference until 9:00 PM so I will be exhausted. I signed up for a 7 week class on Fridays from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. I have 3 more Fridays to finish it. I'm studying for a big test in April, and this class is a review for that test. Going to class on Fridays is like going to the gym, once you are there is OK. The problem is the thought of going!!
My nights for the past 2 weeks
Apart from the extensive unpacking, I have been looking for a party for Halloween. My birthday, my 30th birthday, is on October 25th. I've always loved to celebrate my birthdays with a Halloween Party. I'm also looking for a fun costume for this year. I think after my nun costume I will not find a better one. For this year, I want to do a fun couples theme. Maybe a matador and a flamenco dancer? Do you have any fun ideas?? I'm trying to get Andre to love Halloween as much as I do. I even dress up for going trick or treating with my nephew. I don't get any candy, but he loves seeing me all dressed up. It is always fun to wear silly clothes and tons of makeup at least once a year. Here are few of my favorite pictures from past Halloweens.
My sister and me as a Hawaiian 1984
12 egyptians in 2004 - Cali, Colombia
After this party in Cali I went straight to the airport to return to the US. It was HARD to take that make up off
In 2006 ready for Georgetown, DC
In 2007 probably my best costume ever!!! My mom was offended at first and then she took many pictures of us
2 nuns and 1 priest
Trick or treat with my nephew in 2007
In 2008 trick or treating with my nephew... improvising a last minute costume buying just the horns
After trick or treating I went out and dressed up 2 friends as my angels
with my friends in Miami I tried to be a peacock with a home made costume
One of the main reasons to have the wedding in Colombia was LA HORA LOCA, the crazy hour. This is when a surprise arrives to the party and makes everyone get off their chairs and dance. This the part of the party when you get to meet the other guests. I went to a wedding a few years ago where they had a Carnaval de Barranquilla theme and it was AMAZING!!! They had a live band, about 10 dancers, and it was a great show. I tried doing the same, but aparently it is "out of style" to do the carnival. It was very difficult to find someone that was still doing the Carnival.
I found a dance academy that recommended that we did a Cali/Salsa themed show. I agreed since I LOVE salsa and Cali is the capital of salsa dancing. It was perfect since most of the guests were from somewhere else. They brought a CD with an hour of music, and got the party that was already good even better. The following pictures were taken by our wedding photgraphers, Valeria and Juan Felipe from efeunodos. They left right after the hora loca arrived.
I got a lot of masks, glasses, and hats to give to the guests. I got things everywhere, party city, target, and the best place was an online store Oriental Trading.
Andre thought he was a rock star!!!
Here is a video that my mom did of the dancers. It is a little hard to see because the lights were out, but you can see their amazing jumps and salsa steps.
I also got some great shots from my mom, my cousins, my friend Ana, and Andre's brother cameras.
Salsa Dancers
The priest stayed for the party
My dad with one of the dancers
The waiter getting hugs!!
in-laws having a good time
After the show, we had a soup that helped all of us feel better and sober up. Giving soups to drunks guests is something that is used when parties last all night long. It really helps to sober up. The live band played a last set of 45 minutes, and this was when the party started to end. We left at 2:00 AM after about 6 hours of dancing.
