May’s Monthly Happy Goals

March's Monthly Happy Goals

May’s Monthly Happy Goals

April showers bring May flowers. We’ve had quite a bit of rain the past few weeks, so I’m excited to see what it brings. I can’t wait to see what blooms are to come in May! Really I’m over the moon for May in general. It’s my birthday month so as you can imagine I really look forward to this month every year. February was spent celebrating my hubby’s birthday and May will be spent celebrating MINE!!

MAY’S MONTHLY HAPPY GOALS
1. Celebrate my BIRTHDAY MONTH! That means lots of cake, ice cream, cupcakes, rosé, glitter, confetti, balloons, birthday crowns, adventures, and parties! Let’s see did I leave anything out? Well, you get the picture.

2. As I have mentioned before I am OBSESSED with my FujiFilm Instax Mini camera. It goes with me everywhere! For my husband’s birthday I took a photo of him everyday of his birthday month. I loved all the different poses and moods of John Paul I was capturing. It’s such a great way to document such an important month and a wonderful keepsake to look back on when we’re old and grey. It’s going to be a new family tradition for us, for sure. This month is my turn!

3. It’s ok to make it just about you! Life as a business owner is filled with wonderful and amazing ups, and like anything else, also has its downs. The hustle and bustle of a typical work day filled with appointments, meetings, projects, discussions, events, shoots etc. can take a toll on anyone. After a long day of work I’m going to take a few moments to unwind with a glass of rosé, a good magazine, and some mellow tunes to re-energize the soul.

4. Life is too short not to be enjoyed, lived, savored and thoroughly experienced while sporting a pretty ol’ party dress. This month I’m dusting off all my party dresses and gonna have fun everyday. Because you only live once!

5. One of my favorite colors is PINK. My home, office, and closet are filled with pink items. This month I am going to indulge in pink colored foods. If it’s pink, I’m eating it!

Now off to enjoy my Birthday Month and check off May’s Monthly Happy Goals!

A Lovely Styled Film

A Lovely Styled FilmI, like millions of others, made New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions we all vow to keep, accomplish, attempt, or stay true to. Then, after a month or two, and sometimes weeks into the year it all goes down the toilet. We forget all about the year’s resolutions we so adamantly vow to keep. It’s a vicious cycle. Make resolutions…Break resolutions…Feel bad about breaking resolutions…Make new resolutions…and so on…

This year, on the other hand, I plan to see it through to the end. I have kept myself accountable and it seems to be working. Not to say I haven’t lapsed or gone off the track a time or two. However, this time around I get myself back on track and continue. I don’t get down on myself for a miss step or two as long as I get back to it. This year I will not allow myself to throw in the towel and forget about the whole thing, because this year I will be SUCCESSFUL!

One of the many resolutions I made is to venture outside my comfort zone and try new things. That means attempting all those things I have wanted to try, but was too scared to. For instance, participating in styled shoots. For years I have visited thrift stores, vintage shops, and garage sales accumulating an array of vintage and unique finds. These beauties have graced our office, home, and home offices. My finds have been used as decor for vignettes, and many personal get togethers and parties. Styling our home, offices and special occasions has led me to commercial styling.

I have styled many of the photos/films for our two businesses (Le Vintage Photo Booth & John Arriola Films), as well as, for my blog. And I have to say it has turned out to be one of my favorite things to do. I love the process. I begin with an object I want to exhibit or a concept I want to get across and I then must come up with a beautiful display. It usually includes the addition of props and requires experimentation in the placement of everything. It has to be just right. The first time I styled a shoot I knew instantly I was in my element.

I had only used my styling chops for our personal businesses, at least until last week, when I made the leap and worked on A Lovely Styled Film. It was heaven! We have wonderful frendors that create the most exquisite custom invitations. The kind of invitations that blow your mind. And I immediately knew I wanted to create something special for them. My extraordinarily talented and supportive husband was ready to make that happen. He was on board for whatever I had in mind.

One small box of invitations, several prop selections, an array of placement configurations, and a heap load of imagination later we have A Lovely Styled Film to share!

Thank you to Nocta Invitations for allowing us to borrow many of their creations! Thank you to my wonderful husband (John Arriola Films) for always supporting me in all my endeavors and for always being ready to contribute in anyway you can!

Feast your eyes on these beauties!

 

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INVITATIONS Nocta Invitations || CINEMATOGRAPHY John Arriola Films || STYLING & PROPS Brenda Martinez-Arriola of Lovely & Amazing

National Proposal Day!

National Proposal DayToday is National Proposal Day!

The following is from the nationaldaycalendar.com:
This day is for those who have waited patiently for that special someone to pop the question without success…It is an opportunity to let the loved one in your life know you are open to marriage proposal.

For National Proposal Day I am celebrating proposals! The elaborately orchestrated proposals. The spur of the moment proposals. The taking advantage of the holiday spirit and atmosphere proposals. The dreamy Paris Proposals. ALL PROPOSALS!

On my blog I have had the opportunity to share some pretty fantastic proposal stories over the years. A few proposals have been elaborately planned, one took place at Disney World, and I once received a proposal from the male and female perspective. The latter was an incredible treat, because I rarely hear the guys side of the story. We tend to be so concerned with the female’s point of view and how SHE felt, we lose sight of the fact two people are getting engaged. And the guys part is just as exciting and emotional as for the female. How ever someone may propose each and every one is unique and special in their own way. And when they are witnessed by and shared with loved ones, they are especially so.

If you’d like to read these amazing proposals you may do so by clicking the following links:
A Sweet Disney World Wedding Proposal
An Elaborate Proposal 
Will You Marry Me!
One Big Love And Engagement Story
Undying Love

Now to this dreamy proposal film. This film took a great deal of planning. My husband and the lucky groom-to-be exchanged many text messages and phone calls so that everything ran smoothly. During the process there was a change of location, and a few other changes, but once it was all said and done it was executed to perfection. The lucky young woman was completely surprised and the family was able to witness the entire moment. My husband captured their magical occasion and created this incredibly dreamy film for them. Enjoy!

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CINEMATOGRAPHY John Arriola Films  ||  PROPOSAL LOCATION Casa de Palmas Renaissance  ||  PHOTO SHOOT LOCATION McAllen Convention Center

John Hughes Movie Marathon

John Hughes Movie MarathonJohn Hughes movie marathon anyone?!

I love movies! Black & white, classics, period pieces, 80’s, love stories, rom-coms…You name it, I love it! I especially love John Hughes movies. He had an incredible way of weaving a wonderful story with the use of relatable and authentic situations and characters, that are so darn genuine. When you watch his movies you instantly feel akin to the character, because you can relate to their situation or feelings. He was simply a genius storyteller.
John Hughes Movie MarathonMy favorite John Hughes movies star Molly Ringwald, the sweet girl next door, with the adorable red hair and the amazingly quirky style. She was the loveliest. In John Hughes movies she played an awkward insecure teen that I feel represented puberty, a teen’s life and a young female’s woes perfectly. I gravitated towards her character, because I identified with her. I felt her pain, disappointment, sadness, and happiness along with her.John Hughes Movie MarathonBecause of our great love for John Hughes movies my husband and I decided it would be fun to have a John Hughes Movie Marathon. We went back and forth on whether we wanted to declare one particular day John Hughes Day or spread it throughout the month. After some back and forth we landed on spreading it throughout the month of March. Every Thursday we will watch one of our beloved John Hughes movies. I am, of course, partial to those with Molly Ringwald, while my husband can’t get enough of the National Lampoon movies.
John Hughes Movie MarathonThe first movie on our list was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). This movie had to make an appearance and it seemed like the perfect place to begin our John Hughes Movie Marathon. To this day it is still referenced to in commercials, movies and everyday conversation. I mean, come on, who can forget these memorable quotes or scenes:

Bueller?…Bueller?…Bueller?

The question isn’t what are we going to do. The question is what aren’t we going to do.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Hey batter, batter, batter, batter, batter, swing batter!

I could go on and on. It’s a great movie. This week we plan to watch Sixteen Candles (1984). I never tire of this movie. I could watch it over and over again. That scene on the table with the cute guy and candles is what swoon-worthy moments are made of.

When you agree to have a John Hughes Movie Marathon be prepared to be taken back in time. It will surely be a blast from the past, and it’s only appropriate you indulge in 80’s treats and candies, and sport some of the popular trends of the era. Really, it’s the only way to enjoy such an experience!

The following is a list of our favorite John Hughes movies that may make an appearance in our John Hughes Movie Marathon.

John Hughes Movie List
1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
2. Sixteen Candles (1984)
3. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
4. Pretty in Pink (1986)
5. National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)
6. The Breakfast Club (1985)
7. Uncle Buck (1989)
8. Weird Science (1985)
9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
10. Home Alone (1990)

 

 

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