Hi everyone! So excited to reach out to all of you today to promote AT&T’s latest collaboration with Mexican Soccer Federation (Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, FMF), Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer. Soccer is a BIG DEAL in the Hispanic/Mexican community, and it’s wonderful when companies like AT&T help promote something positive and relevant to my culture. AT&T delivers exclusive content, access to games, and more for the fervent fans through all their screens and devices. AT&T is proud to connect thousands of fans to the most popular sport in the world.

Even better is that AT&T partnered with Jesse & Joy to create an original song that can be played at matches and events where the Mexican National Team will play. The song is upbeat, infectious, and very catchy—you can’t help but get in that competitive spirit.

For those of you who were lucky enough to attend Hispanicize this year, you got to see Jesse & Joy perform the song live. The song is titled “Corazón de Campeón”, which translates to Heart of a Champion. The song definitely describes the Mexican National Team, and all the other athletes around the world who compete in this elite sport. I’m psyched to cheer on the Mexican National Team as they try to qualify to play in the largest global soccer stage in 2014 (the World Cup is only held every 4 years, but at least it gives us all ample time to get pumped!) I don’t know if any of you watch soccer, but when you stop and think about how hard they have to train and how tiring it must be, I get inspired to do more. Be more. I’m always elated for the winners because they work hard for years, and then their hardwork pays off.

So, you can check out the song by Jesse & Joy on YouTube and you can also watch a video of their Hispanicize 2013 performance. It’ll make you want to shimmy your shoulders, for sure. AT&T has essentially helped create a soundtrack and victory song for all of us cheering on the Mexican National Team. It’s going to be our anthem, whether we win or lose, and it really helps build energy and spirit. Bravo AT&T!

As someone who works in marketing and public relations, I enjoy seeing large corporations partner with other organizations to promote something good. AT&T is showing their commitment to the Hispanic and Mexican communities by promoting/creating something we can all rally around in partnership with the Mexican Soccer Foundation and other soccer organizations. Companies that commit to doing things for minorities really mean a lot to me, especially when they’re positive campaigns and messages. I hope you’ll listen to the song, feel inspired, and maybe you can share the links with anyone else who might enjoy, too.

Let’s get excited about soccer! 2014 can’t come fast enough, can it? If you want to connect with AT&T Latino on Facebook, head on over to https://www.facebook.com/attlatino.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Being Latino and AT&T Latino. All opinions, enthusiasm for soccer, etc. are my own.

Morning everyone! I am so excited to write about this topic today because my husband and I adore Orlando.

Sure, while we are there we wonder why we choose to torture ourselves by walking our legs off in scorching heat, but much like childbirth (or so I hear) once it’s is over all I have is happy memories and an overpriced keychain.

Before I get into that, let me say that you all have me so busy with your e-mails and blog comments about some of my tutorials, mostly the espresso staining series. I so appreciate all the e-mails and comments, however, it’s sort of hard to reply to your comments if you do not have your e-mail set-up with your Google/Blogger account. What ends up happening is this:

I would love to reply to Lauren directly, but she doesn’t have her e-mail set-up. So I can’t reply. (But Lauren, the answer is eBay!)

How to Fix the Issue:

1.) Go to this link: http://www.blogger.com/edit-profile.g

2.) Check this box:

And then myself, as well as countless other bloggers, can directly reply to your comments. I’ve thought about going back and replying in the comments, but it’s hard to know where people plan on checking for an answer. It’ll take you less than 5 minutes to do this, so please do this now. :)

I’ll wait.

Done? Great!

Let’s talk Universal Studios.

Now these tips are tailored to Universal Studios, but some could apply to Disney.

1.) For Universal Studios Orlando, do not stay on property. Stay at the nearest off-site hotel you can stay at such as Holiday Inn (on Kirkman Rd is the one we stayed at), Doubletree, etc. at the entrance to Universal. Not only will you save money, but the hotels are a 15-20 minute walk or about a $4 cab ride to the park area. We took a cab to get back to the hotel usually. These off-site partner hotels have free shuttles in the AM and PM, but none in the middle of the day when you’re dying. So, we took the shuttle over to the parks for free, and spent about $6 to get back to the hotel if we didn’t feel like waiting until 7 pm for the first shuttle back. We were there for 3-days, so it was $20ish in cab fare. Way cheaper than staying on property, and just as fast. And the best perk? You get early park admission to enjoy the Harry Potter section. This proves to be invaluable because trust me, 99% of people head for that area when the parks open to everyone.

2.) From the airport to the hotel, if you’re a party of 3 or more, taking a taxi van will be the most economical way to get to the Universal Studios area. With Disney, if you’re staying onsite (which unlike Universal, I HIGHLY recommend because Disney has hotels for every budget), take advantage of their Magical Express service. My DH and I took a cab from MCO to the Holiday Inn, which cost us $55 with tip. Ouch! On the other hand, Super Shuttle to the hotel would have run about $38, but there’d be lots of stops, and we just wanted to get our hands on Butterbeer. We did take Super Shuttle going back, and didn’t mind the wait since we were pooped. I would say cab it over, and shuttle it back. Mears is another great shuttle service, FYI.

3.) If you have AMEX, use it. It got us perks such as $50 to spend in the parks, which we used to upgrade to park-to-park tickets rather than 1-park/day tickets. Plus, there’s an AMEX lounge at Islands of Adventure (IoA) that we totally forgot about once we were there. Apparently they have drinks and snacks, etc. I know our package was overall a better value because we have an AMEX card, and we booked directly on the Universal website.

4.) If you’re trying to get from Universal Studios to Disney, for the love of all things theme park, do not take a cab if you’re a party of about 2-4 people. It will be OUTRAGEOUS- about $60+ each way! Instead, call Mears about 1-2 days before you want to go to Disney, and schedule a round-trip to Disney from your hotel. The service is $19 per person for the round-trip ($9.50 each way). What a steal. They do pick up a few others along the way, but it honestly didn’t take longer than about 20 minutes to get from our hotel to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Pick-up is easy, too. You call them about 2 hours before you’re ready to go, tell them what park you’re at, they’ll tell you where to go and you’re set. So easy, great service, and cheap!

5.) You’re at the parks, what now? Well, we tried to do just about all the attractions at both parks.

I’m about to tell you which attractions sucked.

At Universal Studios: Terminator, Twister, MIB.

At IoA: Poseidon’s Fury.

Now for the cannot-miss-attractions.

At Universal Studios: The Simpsons Ride, Shrek 4-D, Rip Ride Rock-It, The Mummy Ride. (The Despicable Me attraction wasn’t yet open when we went)

At IoA: Harry Potter (all of it!), Spiderman, The Hulk

We didn’t do any of the water rides because I hate smelling like smelly water, so I can’t comment on those.

6.) Drink lots of Butterbeer. It’s frothy, sweet and SO GOOD. It might seem crazy to get it in a souvenir cup, but then you can get soda refills all over both parks for 92-cents. I thought I would love the frozen kind, but the fizzy kind was way better.

7.) Harry Potter merchandise is EXPENSIVE. Don’t fall under it’s spell. Okay, you can, but please know that the stuff is truly pricey. DH got a Hogwarts t-shirt for $22, and I opted for a $9 keychain that has my name on it. Something that is free and cool, is that outside the Owl Post under the covered pavilion stands an employee who will stamp your postcards with the official Hogsmeade postmark. Take some stamps with you, and mail off a postcard from there. They do sell Harry Potter stamps there, but they’re $$$. Take your own. The postcards were reasonable at $1 a piece.

8.) Go early, leave early. Go late, stay late. Our first day at the parks we got there at 4 pm. People with kids were leaving the park. YAY! This made it super easy for us to do both Universal Studios + WWoHP (Wizarding World of Harry Potter) in that afternoon and be back to our hotel at 8. The next day we went late, left early, which is a bad idea. We wore ourselves out just trying to get through all the crowds and waiting in line. The last day we went early, did everything, and came back early to rest for Disney.

9.) Take lots of pictures, but also give yourself time to just be. I always had my camera on me, and sometimes it was a little exhausting because I was constantly worried about it. You want great photos, but you also want to relax and have a great time. :)

10.) Rest, eat and hydrate. Luckily Universal parks close usually by 8 or 9, so staying super late isn’t an option. Make sure to rest, sleep, and eat. Twice we ate at Mythos at IoA, and it was such a lovely atmosphere, affordable and relaxing. Sure it took longer than just grabbing fast food from a booth, but it’s those moments that make it feel like a vacation. Plus, since we stayed at an off-site partner hotel, we got a discount card to use at Mythos, which made it cheaper than fast food. In City Walk, there’s a Pizza Amore that sells pizza slices for a few bucks, making it a great/quick/cheap lunch. At Margaritaville they have a to-go margarita window…don’t do it. We paid $20 for 2 weak drinks. Ugh. Same with Pat O’Brien’s- the hurricane I bought was terrible. We tried to avoid the City Walk restaurants and took advantage of the TGI Friday’s next to our hotel. They have meals for $5 and a fab late night happy hour.

Hope those tips help! If you have any tips, leave them for everyone to see in the comments section. If you have questions, as always feel free to e-mail me at monicawantsit@gmail.com

A week ago I was in Orlando with my darling husband. We were likely sipping on butter beer inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter... and trying to put out of our heads how much we were paying for said butter beer.

It's essentially magical cream soda. As in, I think it may have something illegal in it causing it to cost $3+ per cup. Hey, that's still cheaper than Starbucks, isn't it?

And while we were in Florida a mere week ago, 3 years ago today we got married. We pledged to be with each other forever. And everyday I am blessed that he hasn't come to the realization that he committed to be with my crazy self forevermore.

Poor guy.

But for now I am going to leave you with some pictures from our vacation, and I promise to have a full review of our vacay soon. I am thinking of maybe a top 10 things I learned at Universal Studios kinda thing? We did our vacation on the cheap and want to spread our frugal travel skills to all of you wonderful people. Anything you'd like to know?

Happy anniversary, my dear Daniel. I love you more today than I did yesterday and I will love you more tomorrow than I did today.

Unless you forget to give me a card.

Then, all bets are off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still have not recuperated from all the amazing, fantastic people and information I learned while in Miami last week for Hispanicize. Living in a small town where people look at me funny when I say the word “blog”, it was an immense privilege to be surrounded by people like me. People who are constantly engaged in social media, taking photos and up for lots of drinking.

It’s common to go into these sorts of conferences/events and be nervous, but much like BlogHer 2011, I instantly made a group of BBF’s (best bloggy friends) and we were attached at the hip. Then there is that sad, melancholy feeling when you miss your BBF’s and think to yourself, “Last week I was on a yacht drinking and dancing with my friends. Today I am trying to decide which frozen dinner to eat.”

You know what I mean, right?

And I totally was dancing on a yacht last week. I’ve never been on a boat in my entire life, and thanks to the folks at McDonald’s I got to be on a yacht with an open bar. The views of Miami were out of this world gorgeous. Besides the BBF’s, the booze/food and being on a vacay of sorts, I was smitten with the Vive Mejor lounge. The overall event wasn’t too swagalicious, BUT the items I got from the Vive Mejor lounge have already transformed my frizzy curls into glamorous, silky curls. And Dove was also giving away samples of their new Clear Tone deodorant which makes your armpits even in skin tone. You might be thinking…do people really care about the color of their armpits?

Yes, yes we do. It’s one of 2 reasons I don’t wear sleeveless shirts. I don’t want my pits to show because I don’t like them. And the other reason is that I have chunky arms.

Blah.

I am going to do a post about what I learned from the sessions (lots of great stuff from Ted Rubin and McDonald’s) and then I want to show you some beauty products that you need to buy ASAP that are all likely to be available at your local Walmart. Which means they’re affordable, deliver what they promise and are given the Monica Wants It seal of approval.

What else? Oh yes, I will have some updates on my bathroom renovation (there is progress!) and I hope to start working on some home décor tutorials that are sure to keep you busy over the summer. I must hit up the garage sales soon. Must.

For now, I leave you with some photos from my whirlwind trip to Miami. Enjoy.

Lynda (Hit The Road Jane) & Zelma (Yo Soy Mami)

Candy from Mommypalooza

My view from the McDonald’s #chillatsea Yacht Party

My run-in with Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer)

More BBF’s.

Fabulous soiree over at Villa Vecchia sponsored by Bacardi & Cricket Wireless

Stars from the movie Scarface

Listening to the inspiring Emilio Estefan

My BBF’s with Cesar Millan and his lovely girlfriend

Stunning rooftop over at The Soho Beach House

So that’s what a beach is supposed to look like… Swoon.

Beautiful surroundings everywhere I looked.

And here’s me looking slightly tipsy and oh-so-happy in Miami.

I think I need another vacation.

If you were at Hispanicize (or even if you weren’t) and would love to connect with me, I am always available to help one another advance in this big, big online world. Seriously. If at anytime I can help any of you out there, please let me know.

To see more photos from my Miami trip, head on over to my Facebook album.

All photos taken with my Sony NEX-3 camera that I adore!

Today is my final post about my NYC trip. Sad face.

The whole point of the trip was to meet Ms. Brown at the M&M’S Museum of Chocolate Art, and I must say that as a media studies junkie, I love what Mars chose to do with Ms. Brown. They have created a persona/character that is witty, funny, intelligent and a WOMAN. I know people might be like, It’s a candy character, why take it so seriously? But honestly, I do. I feel that in our media and advertising sometimes companies and agencies choose to be cliché or engage in gender stereotypes, and I love that Ms. Brown is a strong, educated candy character. The thought that went into creating her “credentials” was very evident at the M&M’S Museum event.

And I also feel Vanessa Williams is a perfect choice for the voice behind the high-heeled candy officer. Her voice delivery was superb in the Super Bowl commercial that aired earlier this month. Have you seen it? Want to see it again? Click on the video below:

Sassy. Bold. Smart. And all while wearing high heels. Even I’m a little jealous.

Meeting Ms. Brown was definitely the highlight of my trip. The M&M’S Museum event was fabulous and again, I thank Collective Bias and Mars for the opportunity and privilege of letting me attend.

While I wasn’t busy swooning over chocolate, I was swooning over all there is to see and do in NYC. It was so cold (bbrrr!), but I tried to make the most of it. How often do I get to be in NYC? Not very often. I got to go on a Sex & the City bus tour, which was truly a great way to see the city and some of my favorite places/spaces from the show. I adore the show; I never get tired of the reruns. Ever. While waiting for our tour bus, we got to peek inside Bergdorf’s. The Chanel section? Ohmyheavens.

Gorgeous chandeliers inside Bergdorf’s:

And finally we went on the SATC tour.

This is in front of the Plaza hotel where Carrie tells Big goodbye as he goes into his engagement party.

Then we visited the restaurant that hosted Big & Carrie’s rehearsal dinner:

Had a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery where Miranda and Carrie sat outside and ate a cupcake:

And also visited the bar Aiden owned (the bar was called Scout in the show):

I would highly recommend the tour even if you aren’t a SATC fan because you get to see so much of the city! Our tour guide was great, and I feel it was a worthwhile way to spend 3.5 hours. So much fun. After the tour, we visited Times Square and M&M’S World.

And on Wednesday I went out exploring on my own for a bit since I had such a late flight:

Such a lovely city, isn’t it? I am counting down the days until I return to NYC for BlogHer 12. I hope to finally be able to walk around Central Park. What are your favorite sights in NYC?

All photos were taken with the Sony NEX-3 camera, which you can read about over here.

Remember you can find Ms. Brown all over the web:

M&M’S Website
M&M’S on Twitter
M&M’S on Facebook

This post has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions, photos, M&M’S and ideas are all my own. #MMSMuseum #cBias