MIAMI & MOMMY GUILT

boy was i procrastinating writing this post. this weekend was wmc in miam, wmc stands for winter music conference. a time of the year which for decades has been the hot spot for the biggest electronic music parties. record labels showcase their artist & music lovers go and dance their butts off. for a very long time i wanted to go but never had the chance or really never got my shit together in time to go to miami while i was single. it was until i had given birth to luna that the opportunity came & till this day i am kind of in shock that i went. because when i went to miami, luna had been only about seven weeks old. i guess once i start to think back to those days i do justify leaving my seven week old baby with my mom & three sisters for three days. we all know, we can't turn back time, but if i could i probably would. just a day after luna was born her papa had to leave for a couple days, only to come back & leave for over a month on a east coast tour. those were the toughest days i have ever lived. having a newborn & a 21month old alone in a second floor apartment during shitty weather was the worst. niko was jealous & hit luna a couple times, he & i got very sick, i wasn't able to breastfeed comfortably while niko was sick & i was so overwhelmed, tired & frustrated. i felt guilty for not being able to breastfeed because of my stress & there were so many days during that period of time where i just wanted to fast forward time. i wanted raoul to be back home so he could help me out, & i wanted luna to be bigger so she could walk like niko. i had to carry both of them up two flights of stairs each time i wanted to go anywhere. & i didn't have a washer & dryer in my apartment. life wasn't very easy. well, i got through it alive & when raoul was back home, he would only be back for a short while and then leave to europe again. i had the opportunity to go to miami with the mister since he was playing a couple shows & some of my best friends would be there too. the people in charge of my kids would be my mom & three sister and i would be able to spend some relaxing time with the mister. at the time i did want to get the hell out of there, i was constantly crying & stressed out. i had the time of my life in miami! i danced with my best friends & spent time with my love by the beach, drinking, talking and holding hands. we got to meet kelis & rye rye, who we still keep in touch with. in the videos below you can get a sense of the fun we had at one of the shows. i still feel robbed of the newborn stage with luna, i didn't get to enjoy her first days-weeks like a mama should. so my stressed out self went to miami & it was just what i needed during that time.
but on my way back home i felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt that has stuck with me ever since. sure, my daughter doesn't remember & its not like i was breast feeding so she was fine. but as a mom i feel i should always suck it up, as hard as times get. even as i type now it is hard to swallow. & who knows if i would really do anything differently after all, i'm just glad i didn't go crazy or get depressed. right now it's two a.m., i have luna in my bed & niko laying on top of me since he woke up a couple minutes ago. i would not change one thing in my life now, i am blessed & so grateful for what i have. that said, i could use a vacation! with or without the kids. we haven't traveled in a while & i am just so ready for a new scenery. but this year my best friends went to miami for the first time & i was so happy to see photos they posted on facebook. i told the mister jokingly (hoping he would take it seriously) put me on a plane right now to miami!! maybe next year. a mama could only dream of music, beach time & delicious slushy chocolate flavored alcohol beverages with friends.

SONGS TO LIVE BY...

as a mom, i have songs that i dedicate to my kiddos. maybe not in such obvious ways but songs that remind me of them & every time i hear them i get all cheery. there are a couple more songs than this bill withers one but i just can't find any good videos. so here's a sweet song that goes out to my kids.
despite the cold and super windy weather over here, we had an amazing weekend. i have a new bunny. i'll be back with photos asap. hope you have a great start to your week!! lots of love, Liz

ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE

i love watching old soul train videos, their music, dance moves and styling was super amazing. each time i watch i can't help but wish for a time machine so i can get their outfits! this weekend our neighbors had a party and i loved their music. they played the jams and even had a live band perform songs by james brown. this is long beach we're speaking of so it comes with the package. here's a song i love that i heard while i was at home wishing i was at my neighbors house dancing and drinking a cold beer.

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YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS

its monday again! but for most of you this monday isn't so bad since it's a holiday! i usually like to post a song or playlist on monday of the music i am currently listening to. this time it went kinda different, i kept trying to remember a song i havent heard in years and after a couple hours i remembered and then other music i listened around the same time came to mind and so they are on this playlist! it was 2002 when i was jammin out to these songs.. and i just realized it was TEN YEARS ago. holy shit. that's a long time ago... i remember vividly what i was doing at that time. and while i was going to house clubs at the time and dancing my booty off, i listened to mellow stuff at home and in the car. those were the funnest years for me probably... i had nothing to worry about but what outfit i was going to wear. i treasure those memories so much, and even more.. my friends who i made those memories with. oh i was a wild one. things that would make you gasp, haha..  anyway, i hope you like the randomness of this playlist and i hope you have a beautiful week! xo Liz
p.s. i also updated the Anika and Tokimonsta music posts if you wanna check em out. by updating, i mean re- uploading the images that were erased. 

REAL LOVE

kinda late blogging the song of the day this monday but better late than never right? this song was on my mind all weekend long and i played it over and over and it made me happy and tranquil... and today i wanted to post a song about love, pure and real love, i think this is as sweet as it gets.. hope you have a wonderful valentines day tomorrow, full of real abundant love. lots of love, hugs and smiles. Liz

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WEST COASTIN

dudes! i have a major blog problem. im freaking out over here since i accidentally deleted ALL my photos on this blog. how can someone be able to do all of that?!! somehow every photo on my blog ended up on my phone through my google account and i couldn't delete them. since they're taking up so much space on my phone i tried deleting them through my gmail account and ended up deleting all my photos i ever posted on the blog! ugh. blogger dilemma!! anyway.. i just might to redo my banner and upload two years of photos again on the blog. no biggie right? i keep trying to tell myself that.
yesterday we started painting the bedrooms in this house since they were fugly colors. the kids room was pink and our bedroom was blue. super ugly shades though. as we paint and do yard work this is our playlist. we're representing long beach because well, that's our hood!! if you have kids around don't play this. there's too many eff words on here :) have a lovely week!!! xoxo!!
p.s. if you know how i can fix this problem, please tell me!! i'll love you forever!

OCCUPY SKID ROW

i don't even know what day it was because i lose track of time and days like every single day. im pretty clueless. but, martin luther king weekend we headed over to skid row with the kids for the occupy skid row festival. if you don't know the l.a. area you might have never heard of this place. skid row is one of the largest homeless neighborhoods in america. i never thought i would be taking my kids to skid row, it smells like urine and is filled with mentally disabled people. for various reasons thousands of people have taken over these streets of downtown los angeles and turned it into their home. and why did i gladly go with my little family? chuck d (from the rap group, public enemy) put together a concert to raise awareness about homelessness. he got together an incredible lineup of west coast artist to perform and the vibe was really beautiful. there were men playing live drums while acts were on and off. and they also had a really good food truck.
we were able to meet up with friends and had a really good time. once we went home i couldn't help but think, how can we help these people? i don't have all this money to donate or time to go help. but there must be something! that's how my mom raised us and im so thankful she did. she took us to orphanages and retirement homes to donate our time and really just give them our love and attention so i want to raise my kids the same way. although there are many things i need to look into i have also taken our kids to other protest and hope when they are older they have an activist mind and heart and fight for other people's rights and freedom. because once you get out there and put yourself in other people's shoes is when you get to realize how easy and beautiful your own life is. i want my kids to appreciate what they have and show gratitude by helping others in any way they can. & once they are old enough to understand, they will see they have been part of change and history since they were only a couple months old.

Luna is wearing.. poncho, childrens place. leggings, baby gap. shoes, converse.
Niko is wearing.. sweater, children's place. shirt, mexico. jeans, levi's. shoes, stella mccartney for baby gap.

& here's a little playlist with some songs we heard that afternoon... 

photos source: l.a. times 

TO MY RESCUE

gosh i needed a little bit of help this morning getting in a good mood. the mister got in from chicago until about 12:45am and then came home with two crying babies. putting them to sleep wasn't very easy. then this morning the mister seemed grumpy which got me in an emotional mood, & that's just life sometimes. so i had to get my music on, i did start off with some really sweet and pretty house music by blue six and then i went to onra. a good friend gave me this cd and after playing it over and over, it got worn out and i need another one. because when im feeling crappy its only music that can rescue me. i am hoping for this week to be very productive. we need lots to do before Luna's second birthday party. oh and another reminder of onra is my best friend going to paris this week and seeing him perform, im only a little bit jealous. but mostly happy that my friends are having an amazing time. hope you all have an amazing week! big hugs.

SONG OF THE DAY

i was listening to this song last week without thinking that it actually makes sense for the new year. i feel like with all the hopes and plans the new year brings we have to remind ourselves to make time for little things. little things that make a big difference later or little things that are a big deal to someone else. i am currently pondering of my new years resolutions and trying to distinguish them from goals or short term and long term plans. there are many great things to dream about in life but one thing for sure is, last year was a great year and not one day went by that i wasn't grateful for. some days were more challenging than others but each one had beauty in it. hope you all had a wonderful new year celebration! xoxo

MONDAY, MONDAY...

its here, monday. the most hated day of the week.. but let's embrace it and all the hope it brings. i think we should always start our mornings (specially mondays) with some good music to give us energy and get us motivated. so i wanted to share this super cool remix of 'you got the love' and so i created a small playlist to go along with it. hope you like it and hope you have an incredible week! xoxo Liz

SOME MUSIC FOR YOU AND YOUR MAMA TOO

i love many different types of music and i seem to get stuck in a certain mood at times. right now im in a soul, old rock and roll mood, think 60's and 70's rock, soul and funk.  for me, it is important to sing and play old music for my kids im really not into the new music that is being played on the radio and i definitely don't want my kiddos singing those songs. im sure it'll happen one day that i won't have control over what they like and listen to, but for now they get to sing and dance to the songs that i listened to with my mommy. this playlist is  a reminder of my childhood. i loved diana ross and donna summer and jackson 5, of course. and recently my mom and i had a beatles marathon and sang along to some of our favorite beatles songs, i loved that day. i hope that my kids still have appreciation for older music as they grow up. music is important in our home and it feeds our soul. hope you're having a great start to your week! i have loads and loads of laundry waiting for me. not very exciting but that's life! XO

Luna about six months old, she is fascinated with vinyl and her papa has thousands of records. 

she can make huge messes sometimes! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN LENNON

Today is John Lennon's birthday and in his honor i am posting some of his quotes, photos and music. Luna and I have been spending our day watching Elmo and listening to John Lennon music, enjoying our time to cuddle while Niko is with his grandma and papa is out of town but will be back tonight, and tomorrow we have a family date! So excited, going to eat and watch the lion king!! this will be Luna's first time at the theater, i hope it goes well!  xoxo 




Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it. 


Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it. 


Love is the flower you've got to let grow. 


Everything is clearer when you're in love. 


As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot. 


All we are saying is give peace a chance. 


I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong. 


I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people. 


Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. 


My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all. 


Surrealism had a great effect on me because then I realised that the imagery in my mind wasn't insanity. Surrealism to me is reality. .


The more I see the less I know for sure. 


Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.


We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it. 


Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.         


You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die. 


You're just left with yourself all the time, whatever you do anyway. You've got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It's all down to you, mate. 


We often say things like, “when I’m older, I’ll do this; if I had more time, I would start this project; when my children are grown up, I’ ll have more time to take  care of myself.” If, If, If, when, when, when…are just excuses to test our determination.

When we really care about someone, we do what we must do.

When we really care about something, we become very creative in order to get what we want.

What we can be, we must become, ultimately, it is one of the best ways to be at peace with ourselves. 

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source: quotes, photos, videos, more quotes found here

HOLDING ON TO SUMMER... A PLAYLIST

we are now packing for our move to long beach. while im packing i am listening to this playlist.
i am so grateful to have found a new home and that the kids will finally have a yard to play in.

i hope you have an incredible week, full of smiles and warm fuzzy feelings. love, liz

photo source: weheartit and hula seventy

MUSIC MONDAY, SAMPLES FOR DAYS...

it really saddens me to hear so much horrible music being played on the radio these days. some new songs i do like, but for the most part i stick to classics. i love eighties and nineties hip hop, old house music, and some good old funk and soul. so as a lover of hip hop and classics, i put together a playlist of songs that were sampled for hip hop. some samples were used by the notorious b.i.g., dr. dre, snoop dogg, ludacris, eazy-e... i hope you enjoy it as much as i do. it was really fun putting this together. have a great start to your week! xo

 

photo source: nest