Hi everyone! Last week I saw Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias in concert, and oh my gosh, they are AMAZING in concert. The whole night I was on my feet dancing the night away. Here’s a photo of each of them that I snagged from the 6th row.

 

I’m not going to lie…during some of their Zumba songs, I just about broke out into the Zumba moves. I apologize to those lovely people sitting around me at the concert. Truly, I love music, and it was exhilarating to see them live. I was in heaven.

This got me thinking about songs this summer that I’ve loved dancing to or that would be great for a workout playlist (which reminds me…I need to workout). Going to the concert gave me a bit of Latin fever, so I shall stick to the theme and feature Latino/Latina artists rather than my usual faves Katy and Britney. Now, if you’ve got a song you think I absolutely should listen to, please leave me the name/artist in the comments section. I love discovering new tunes, so do share.

Without further adieu, here are my top 5 dance songs (or “Las del Baile") of summer 2012

Look at me all fancy with my Spanish.

1.) Jennifer Lopez: Dance Again

2.) Enrique Iglesias: Tonight (I’m Loving You)

3.) Shakira: Addicted to You

4.) Don Omar: Danza Kuduro (also a FUN Zumba song… just sayin’)

5.) Pitbull: I Know You Want Me

If you download those songs, and don’t feel like getting up and shakin’ it…there’s a problem.

There are tons of great playlists you can vote for over on the Mi Cricket Facebook page, and you can also enter your own playlist, too. Why? Well, Mi Cricket is giving away a fab prize to the grand prize winner, with the most total votes! They will win a prize package that includes a trip for you and three friends to the taping of the Alma Awards on September 16, 2012 in Los Angeles, including airfare and accommodations. The entrant with the most votes in each category will win a Huawei Ascend Q Muve Music phone and three months of free wireless service.

So, why not give a try? It takes less than 5 minutes to enter, and if nothing else you can get great ideas for your playlists.

And, Cricket wireless is also featuring some playlists from America’s top DJ’s. I particularly liked MC Magic’s Top Summer Songs.

Some of them are a little old school, and I dig it.

If you’d like to connect with Mi Cricket on Twitter, you can find them at https://twitter.com/MiCricket

So, tell me, what’s your favorite summer jam of all time? And if it’s “Call Me Maybe”, please don’t leave that in the comments! ;-)

Disclaimer: I am being compensated for this post by Cricket Wireless. All ideas, opinions, etc. are my own, like always.

I’m so excited to bring you all two posts today that can earn you some super fun and amazing technology related prizes. This is post one of 2.

I want to invite you all to join in the Samsung Galaxy SIII T-Mobile Twitter Party next week on September 5 @ 9 pm EST.

As you can see from the image above, there are some outstanding prizes.

I actually played with a Samsung Galaxy S II and was blown away by the amazing screen and camera, and I can only imagine how this one is. So, if you’ve been needing a new phone, love to tweet and are available that evening, please RSVP over on the Being Latino website so you can be eligible to win those amazing prizes. You have to RSVP, but it literally takes ONE minute. Go on, go RSVP.

Here are some more specs on the phone in case you hadn’t heard about them yet:

• One touch sharing, AllShare, 8 Megapixel camera, T-Mobile’s first full HD screen, Wi-Fi calling and Smartphone Mobile Hotspot

Pretty sweet! And with a variety of plans, there’s sure to be something that fits in your budget if you want to upgrade soon.

If you want more information about the phone, you can take a test drive, or you can ask T-Mobile on their various social media sites:

• Website: http://www.t-mobile.com/
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/tmobile
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TMobile (Hashtag #Vida4G)
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TMobile?WT.z_conne

I’ll be at the party as one of the co-hosts, so please join us. It’ll be fun and who doesn’t love techie stuff? I know I do! See you there. :)

Disclaimer: I am being compensated for my participation as co-host, but all opinions are my own.

I hate to admit that as a child I didn’t like avocados. I fondly remember my granny eating avocado sliced up on a flour tortilla. Literally, I can see her doing that in my head, and it brings back fond memories of my granny in the kitchen. My mom also loves avocados, and she would just make avocado sandwiches.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t recall exactly when I started eating avocados. Maybe in college? Now I see it as 18-19 years I wasted not eating a super delicious food. It tastes good with everything. Unreal.

My granny passed away in 2006, and it makes me sad sometimes to reflect on those memories of her. My husband is fortunate enough to still have both grandmothers alive and well, and during Easter this year, his maternal grandmother made a avocado concoction that nearly burnt my mouth off.

But I wanted more.

So, of course I had to ask what she put in it that made it so deliciously hot. Once she told me her simple secret ingredient, I knew it was a recipe I’d treasure forever.

And now I am going to share it with you…but with a twist. You see, this avocado recipe is fab with fajitas, tortilla chips and in BLT sandwiches, but I bet you didn’t think it’d be tasty in a breakfast burrito.

But oh my gawd, it is.

Ingredients (Enough for 2 hearty servings):

-1 avocado

-2 burrito sized flour tortillas

-4 eggs

-Cheese (however much/little you’d like)

-6 strips of bacon (3 per burrito)

-1 serrano pepper

-Salt/pepper/paprika

To make the star of the show, the avocado mash, you need to FINELY dice your serrano pepper. Or pulverize it in a food processor. I have the little $3 food processor Walmart sells on black Friday and it’s perfect for a small job like this.

In a ramekin, put your avocado, pulverized/finely chopped serrano pepper, a dash of paprika and salt/pepper to taste. Mash, mash, mash!

You’re done!

Now, I crisped up some bacon and cooked up my eggs.

I warmed up my tortilla, and I am done! I have this for dinner because it is filling and even with all that cheese (I used Sargento thin slices), it comes out to about 500 calories.

It is so spicy, so have some water on hand. It’s that kinda spicy that hurts so good. You can’t get enough. It adds so much flavor to traditional eggs and bacon. I’m so glad Daniel’s grandmother was nice enough to divulge her abuelita secrets and pass down a simple recipe I can enjoy with almost any dish.

Delish! Filling, too, and avocado is a super food.

Now I am proud to say #iloveavocados! Especially avocados from Mexico, where my granny was from.

If you’d like to check out more avocado yummyness, you can find Avocados from Mexico in lots of places to get ideas about recipes and even special offers.

http://bit.ly/PNUAoj - Avocados from Mexico site
http://bit.ly/PNU9Kt - Spanish Fan Recipe page
http://bit.ly/N1mf4K - English Fan Recipe page

There are also OODLES of recipes on the I Love Avocados Pinterest boards.

Will you try avocados on breakfast items now? I swear it is creamy and delicious. You’ll be addicted, too.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post by Latina Bloggers Connect. The recipe creation and photos are all mine.

It is no secret that after one goes to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure inside the Universal Studios Resort, one is immediately hooked on a substance called Butterbeer.

Sold at about $4 a serving, it is not a cheap addiction to have while on vacation there.

I should know. We just went in May and rather than spend money on gawdy souvenirs and plastic wands, we chose to drink our weight in Butterbeer.

There are many recipes online. Some of them call for actual BUTTER. Lots of it. And brown sugar. And more BUTTER. Plus 13 other ingredients.

It’s like Paula Deen wrote the recipe. Insane.

For those of you who have had the drink, you have to agree that it sort of tastes like butterscotch. So with that in mind, I looked at a ton of ideas and recipes all over the net to come up with my 3 minute Butterbeer recipe that is so low calorie, yet so tasty, it could be a lovely dessert. It’s addicting and so cheap to make. Unlike other recipes, this one is quick and simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 tub of Free Cool Whip (Fat free, $1.50 a tub)
• 1 bottle of Imitation Butter Extract (I used Watkins brand from Walmart, $3 a bottle)
• Diet A&W Cream Soda (NOT Root Beer…Cream Soda! $4 for a 12-pack at Walmart)

About $8-$9 for 12 servings/12 oz. each

Instructions:

1.) In your mug or glass, measure out about 1 tsp of butter extract.

2.) Pour Diet A&W Cream Soda over the butter extract.

3.) Top your cream soda with 2-3 tbsp of cool whip.

4.) Use a straw to poke through the cool whip and swirl around to mix the extract with the soda. This poking action serves 2 purposes: 1, it mixes your butter and soda; 2, the carbonation from the soda mixes into the cool whip making it a bit frothy.

5.) Sip and enjoy!

Calories with cool whip: About 25.

Calories without cool whip: ZERO.

Calories of the recipe I linked to above: About 400+ per 8 oz.

Not too shabby, eh?

Delish! The past few nights I haven’t had any points left for ice cream, and this has been a swell treat.

Let me know if you try it out!

Also, don’t forget to check out my easy, no-sew DIY ottoman tutorial (also with some Harry Potter magic!)

Now I need to work on a recipe for the frozen Butterbeer and the Pumpkin Juice.

When my BFF and I used to do Zumba regularly, there’d be certain songs that we’d get giddy about when we heard them come on the speakers.

Some of the are “Baby, I Like It”, “On the Floor”, “Let’s Get Loud”, and there’s many more. We had our favorite songs that made working out so much fun when we went to Zumba.

The other day I tuned into the Zumba station on my Pandora, and I realized something that made super excited for many reasons…

Most of the songs are by Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias.

And Pitbull, too, we all know this right? He’s like in every song! I know, I know. I like him a lot as well. Very catchy.

But back to JLO and Enrique.

I love them! Now I’m not saying they’re like my life role models, but as a Latina woman, I’m proud they’re Hispanic and making FAB music. I’m proud that Jennifer Lopez played Selena, which is hands down one of my favorite movies. I loved Selena and her music!

I just bought one of JLO’s gorgeous necklaces from her line at Kohl’s. In fact, I also have a pair of GORGEOUS red corduroy pants I bought back in college when her clothing line was at Macy’s. I’m talking like in 2003. Those JLO pants are my goal weight pants. Once I fit in them, I will be done with weight loss and elated. ELATED y’all.

^Me in said JLO pants. Skinny Monica, I miss thee! And look at my old school Nokia phone. I thought I was soooo cool.

Enrique has very catchy tunes, and he’s done so well for himself in the music industry, and I’m proud of him, too. I feel like his music is infectious. I don’t think he tries to be like anyone else (Marc Anthony, Pitbull, etc.) And then there was that “Hero” song that we all slow danced to at our high school dances with that guy we liked back in 2001-2002, but he didn’t like us until it was too late and we had moved on.

You know you did.

I’m proud they’re successful Hispanics in the music industry. Bottom line. They’re mi gente you know, and it’s awesome to hear them on the radio and see them on magazine covers. And one song at a time, they help me lose weight. And their songs can make my day brighter because they bring back happy memories with my BFF at Zumba. Oh the stories her and I could tell you!

But overall, I want to fit into those pants!

As you all know, they’re on tour together right now (and they’re both so gorgeous…all that hotness under one roof) and YOU can win tickets to see and meet both of them (I’d die!) in Miami thanks to State Farm. If you’re already going to one of their other tour stops, you can enter to win at the State Farm booths as well. Also, the State Farm Facebook is pretty nifty—that’s how I made that little banner up there. Neat, huh?

I’m lucky enough to have gotten tickets on behalf of State Farm and Latina Bloggers Connect, so I’ll be at the San Antonio show! If you’re going, too, let me know and I’d love to meet you. I’ll be tweeting from the concert live, so if you want to feel like you’re there with me, follow me on Twitter @MonicaBenavidez and you can also follow the #enriquejlotour hashtag.

Disclaimer: I received a pair of tickets to the San Antonio concert, but was not otherwise compensated for this post.

 

Yes. That is a Harry Potter ottoman. It wasn’t meant to be one at the beginning of this project, but things don’t always go as planned.

The inspiration for this whole project is this very expensive Ballard Designs ottoman.

At $269, I was never, ever going to buy it. Ever. Can you imagine Hermione paying for an overpriced ottoman? I think not.

But I did want something like it. It’s burlap, natural looking and vintage-esque in a way that I just wanted very badly. Wanting to be resourceful (ok, cheap), I shopped my own house to re-create it. I have this pink ottoman that I love, but wasn’t using in any room right now. Again, being cheap, I didn’t want to make it over in a way that was permanent, but I still needed it to stand up to normal use.

So, I figured out a way to semi-permanently re-upholster it, and I’m about to show you how you can do the same. Now, if you don’t have a storage ottoman laying around, right now is the perfect time to buy one at Walmart or Target because of their dorm lines. I’ve seen similar within the past 2 weeks for about $15-$20 at both retailers.

Assuming you have an ottoman on hand, let’s go through what you’ll need to do this project.

-2 yards of natural colored, duck/drop cloth material (I got my material at Walmart for $2.97/yd)

-Pins

-Staple gun and 1/4” staples

-Scissors

-Hem tape/stitch witchery

-Iron

The first thing I did was do a dry measure to figure out my length and width to cover the bottom portion of my ottoman. My dimensions ending up being 15x60, but I made my cuts at 18x64 so I would be able to staple/hem and be able to lose some inches.

After I cut my fabric, I took one of the short ends and tried to iron a nice, straight seam using my hem tape, iron and a straight edge. It’s not 100% perfect, but remember, we want this to kinda look shabby chic.

Once you have that done, grab your pins and pin your hemmed edge in the center of the “back” of your ottoman.

Slowly start making all your nice corner folds and pin them in place. I had a pin in each corner, and this may take awhile, but you want to make sure your corners are all the same. I wish I had an exact technique on how I did mine, but it was truly trial and error with the corners. I would advise you to approach it like you’re wrapping a gift.

Once it’s all pinned, step back and make sure your corners are even and that your hems all line up all around. I wanted mine to have a skirted edge, but I had to make sure it wasn’t dragging on the ground.

So once you are committed to those corners, use your staple gun loaded with 1/4” staples to staple a corner at a time. Remove the pins after you staple, but don’t staple on them directly. My method was staple a corner, move onto the inside leading to the next corner, make sure your material stays straight, etc. Do the corner/side with your hemmed edge last. Overall, I ended up with 12 staples. Now, should I want my ottoman to be pink again, I merely need to grab my flat head screwdriver, pop off the staples and I am back in business with no noticeable damage.

Again, the last side you do should be your back/hemmed edge side. So I tucked the unfinished edge under that section so once it’s stapled it looks polished/finished, and you can’t see that frayed edge anymore.

Ta-dah!

Now we upholster the top using the same strategy.

At this point if you don’t want to add a design, you’re done. You have a chic, shabby ottoman that will look great with nearly any type of décor.

If you want to continue on with me to add a design to it, here’s what you’ll need:

-Stencil (I made mine using my Silhouette SD)

-Sharpie Fabric Marker (Black)

-Tape

-Piece of 8.5x11 cardboard

I was perusing this website for a vintage typography design, but nothing was jumping out at me. Well, let me rephrase, nothing was jumping out at me that would be easy to stencil. When creating a stencil using a die cutter machine like the Silhouette, you can’t pick anything ridiculously intricate. Don’t torture yourself. I also thought about buying iron-on transfer paper for the printer, but those have such bad reviews and I really wanted that hand-stenciled look to it.

Then my hubby walks in while I am searching and searching for stencil inspiration when he says I should add the Hogwarts crest to it.

BINGO.

I found the image I wanted, imported it into my Silhouette SD and selected the area for tracing:

Now, when importing a JPG to use as a stencil, you want to fiddle with the High Pass and Low Pass Filters over on the right until you get a nice outline using the trace function. You don’t want it to be terribly detailed. Once I got my outlines set, I then went and deleted anything I knew would be a pain in the ass for the Silhouette to cut accurately and therefore would cause me headaches while trying to stencil. As you can see above, I deleted all the text from the bottom of the crest as well as some little holes in each of the animals/mascots of the houses. I wanted to keep the overall look and integrity of the image without stressing about the itty bitty details.

I grabbed my cardstock (normal, cheap cardstock) loaded it onto the thick medium mat, screwed on the blue cap, set the speed at 1, thickness 33. Another Silhouette SD tip: if your mat has lost its stickiness, grab a glue stick (I prefer the jumbo Elmer’s type), run it across the mat a few times and you’re back in business. I have used my Silhouette SD for almost 2 years straight without ever replacing the mats because of that tip.

So, send it to your Silhouette SD to cut. It will take a LONG time. While it was cutting, I completely did my hair and make-up to go out to dinner.

After it’s done, grab your stencil, tape it onto your ottoman wherever you’d like the design, grab your Sharpie paint marker and draw away. I did lots of short strokes. Now, I recommend you put a sheet of cardboard under your material while stenciling so the fabric marker doesn’t bleed through. I forgot this step, and it didn’t bleed through and stain the pink fabric, but you never know. The Sharpie fabric markers are so easy to use and very forgiving, but if you’re nervous, practice on a spare piece of material first.

I freehanded the text on the bottom, and it was super easy. Glad I didn’t fret over including that text in the stencil.

Once you’re done, step back and admire your handiwork. Overall this project should take no more than 2 hours if you do both the reupholstering and stenciling.

I had started this project with the intention of using it as a vanity seat in the guest bathroom, but now I want to keep it in the living room to show it off!

And I bet some of you have noticed this little fella on the tray:

Well. That is my very low calorie butterbeer, and I am going to share that recipe with you in my next post.

Until then, what do you think of my Harry Potter ottoman? Does it have you thinking I waved my wand to create it?

Oh Pee Wee. Ever the sniffer of all things edible.

And let’s hope this project doesn’t get me sued.

I LOVE FALL.

Even though here in South Texas it’s more like “less summer” than “true fall,” I love grabbing my bins full of pumpkins that I’ve been collecting the past 4 or so years. They’re mostly metallic and sparkly, and I adore each of them like I would a small child.

My lil’ pumpkins.

That sounded kinda dirty, my apologies.

But I also love curating and collecting more fall items every year, so needless to say, I’ve been scouring my fave websites to see what I want to nab this year. And I figured maybe my Monica Wants It readers would also like to get in on the fun, so I bring to you my top 10 frugal fall finds for the home that will give you a lot of bang for your buck for years to come.

I tried to keep them under $20 each with shipping/tax included, or under $10 if you can find them at a store near you.

And you may think it’s kind of early to have such a post, but trust me, if you snooze, you lose. Browse early, buy early, enjoy early.

1.) Fall Scent: Every fall home needs a signature scent. The one in my home used to be creamy pumpkin, but from 2011 until I die, it will now be cinnamon sugared donut by Bath & Body Works.

At $5 for a little jar of their home fragrance oil, this will last you for YEARS. I’ve had some little vials of scents for over 5 years and am still not done with the bottle. About 5 drops will scent your whole darn house, unless you live in a mansion, in which case, stop reading this list and invite me over for a cocktail or 4.

2.) Sparkly Pumpkins: People, the dollar store is your BFF. And like your BFF, you should visit and chat with her on the regular. If you did this, you’d know that Dollar Tree is rolling out their GOOD Halloween stuff already. If you go in October, you’ll end up with the vampire teeth candy that I am pretty sure is made of chalk, not sugar. They have a new addition this year that is actually kinda cute:

Glittery gourds! These would be great to incorporate on mantles or tablescapes. And unlike typical fold out décor (honeycomb baby shower centerpiece, anyone?) these don’t look tacky! $1 each at Dollar Tree.

3.) Shimmering Votive Holders: The great thing about this set is not only the gorgeousness of them, but it’s also the fact that if you want to leave these up into Christmas, New Year’s or Easter (don’t judge) they totally will look fine. Even better? Go halfsies with a friend, and you can get 6 stunning, shimmering votive holders for $10. If you can’t find anyone to go halfsies with, $20 at ZGallerie.

4.) Mercury Glass Pumpkin: I show you how to easily make one, but if DIY is not your thing, the absolute cheapest and most beautiful mercury glass pumpkin is $18 at Kirkland’s. I’ve seen this beauty in person, and she is swoon worthy. Print coupons (or show them the coupon on your smartphone) for even more savings.

5.) Acorn Vase Filler: It may seem silly to buy these, but I unsuccessfully attempted to DIY this last year and ended up with moldy acorns. This set of 54 acorns for $14.50 with free shipping from Pottery Barn is not too shabby. Spray paint them a metallic finish (perhaps half gold/half silver?) for a glitzy finish. Great for vases, candles, or simply scatter them on a table and don’t let squirrels in the house.

6.) Faux Dupioni Chair Wrap: These are so beautiful! Perfect for making your dining set look “new” again, plus if you choose a creamy neutral, it could be great for Thanksgiving/Christmas, too. From Grandin Road, one is $19 or you can get a pair for $29. I am thinking of buying a pair for the 2 head chairs of my dining set.

7.) Pumpkin Serving Dish: This is such a nice way to incorporate some décor when hosting a dinner party. Use it to hold chips, pumpkin fluff or whatever else you desire. At only $8.97 (currently) from Collections, Etc.

8.) Chenille Leaf Placemat: I think the pattern and colors are striking, which means a big impact for only $4 a place setting (on sale) from Kohl’s. I think I need a set of these.

9.) Pumpkin Tea Light Holder: I know, I know…I’m obsessed with mercury glass pumpkins. This one serves double duty, as décor and tea light holder, and is a decent size (6”) and only $10 from Yankee Candle. It’s online only, but luckily they offer flat $5 shipping on all orders under $100.

 

10.) Burlap Table Runner: I used to be an Etsy seller (still on a semi-permanent hiatus), so I really wanted to showcase a seller who makes beautiful products at affordable prices and is not a huge corporate store. This burlap runner is $10 from Handmade by Sam, and would look beautiful, rustic and chic on any table.

There you have it! Ten accessories for your home that won’t break the bank. If you have a find you’d love to share, please leave it in the comments for everyone to see or hop on over to my Facebook page.

What’s your favorite item on the list?

Also, I was thinking of doing something like this every-other-Monday (with a different them and featuring 5-10 curated items…) is that something you all would like or not really?