Happy Birthday Tomie DePaola (and a Guad spot)

 

One of my most favorite children's literature authors and illustrators is Tomie DePaola! He was born September 15, 1934 in Connecticut.  His most famous work is probably Strega Nona. 

The story about a beloved grandma witch in a small village who hires a boy from town to help her with house chores in her old age.  Well, he gets into some mischief while she is away, and the shenanigans begin.  I believe that there are 11 Strega Nona stories in the series.

Tomie, has also written and illustrated several books for children on Saints, Holidays and Religion, including THIS gorgeous book about our beloved Virgin de Guadalupe.

It's very hard to find now, and even on Amazon, there are not many, and those I found were pretty pricey.  I work at a bookstore and have been trying to get it in, but it's just not available.  If anyone comes across this in a used bookstore, grab it up!!!

Anyway, that's all I wanted to say today, Tomie, thank you for your work! Thank you for your children's literature and thank you for you!!!



Fun Frida items!!!!

It's always fun to find just the right item for a little gift.

Look at all of these cute things with the image of our beloved Frida~

~A fun, blank greeting card with a sheet of stickers~

~A Frida doll! Seriously! A Frida doll....'nough said!~

~A Frida finger puppet/magnet.  Something to adorn and inspire your art desk or kitchen~

~Frida sticky notes~ If you're Chicanalicious and don't have these on your desk yet...ummm...GET SOME!~

 

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~Now THIS is so much fun! Frida, Magnets, Frocks... Que mas Quieres???~
 
 

~A Frida Pill Box~
Que Cute!!!

 

 Soooo....For those of you reading this who live in Prescott, AZ, where I currently write from, we have all of these fun items at The Peregrine Bookstore where I work, otherwise, I'm sure you can find them all online or at your nearest novelty shop~*~ (or let me know and i'll help you track them down)

 

 

 

 



Book Review: Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

 

This has got to be one of the most imaginative books I've seen in a while! I work at a bookstore, I have seen many a children's book go by.  We all have out faves, ya know? The classics, maybe an illustrator who caught our eye.  Whatever the reasoning is, there is nothing like a good, colorful childrens book for my coffee table collection.  When I saw this book on the cart this week, I knew by the colors of the cover it was something I needed to look at.  When I saw the image on the cover I was in love~

Every page is vibrant and, shall I say "juicy" and ALIVE~

The sweet words, both in English and I Spanish make for a dreamy moment into the mind of artist, author and puppet maker, Yuyi Morales originally of Xalapa, Mexico.

 

Yuyi is most definetly CHICANALICOUS!!! I wanted to know more and see what she was all about, so I visited her website:

http://www.yuyimorales.com/

 

So much fun! I can't wait to have a little time to delve in, so much to see.  I want her to be my new BFF~

So, head to your local indie bookstore (or not, but, I'd rather that you support local) and pick up a copy of VIVA FRIDA!

It'll make you smile~*~

 

 

 

 

Lola's: restaurant review and Guad spotting

Last June, my boyfriend and i took a little trip to Southern Cali for my 42nd birthday.  While there, we spent one night with a girlfriend of mine in Long Beach.  She took us to one of her favorite dining spots, Lola's.  Located in the heart of the 4th street art district, it's a little bit of a mexican fiesta art gallery with a splash of hipster style fun.

The menu is full of wonderful sounding Mexican and Southwestern dishes, including the Enchiladas Suizas and the Mole Verde.  We all ordered the Chile Relleno Burrito, which was enormous! Especially after munching on chips and salsa, including a green salsa i personally could not get enough of. We washed it all down with Negra Modelos and called it a day.  

The walls are full of fantastically modern mexican folk arte, and when i get to go back there, i WILL photograph more, but, i did get this wonderful Guad spotting pic after dinner.

As well as, of course, this photo of Frida

*****I would give Lola's 5 stars based on atmosphere, food selection and friendly staff.

Here's their website for more info:

http://www.lolasmexicancuisine.com/index.php/home

Guad spotting*

We all LOVE Our Lady of Guadalupe, and i try to photograph her whenever i see her around, in any form~

Here's one in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.

It's made from stucco and it's on the side of a house.  When i first saw it, it was just white and i was fascinated, as time went on and i would drive by, having lived right up the street, it began to come alive with color.  The rays around her, inside the yellow/orange, are even painted a metallic gold.

(sorry it's a little blurry)

Mixed media Guadalupe wall art~
Available in my Etsy shop
www.etsy.com/shop/13tallulahbeanlane

The piece at the bottom is a vintage brooch i purchased at an estate sale, i used various colors of paint and added a few embellishments to make this an eye catching 3D piece.



*SOLD*


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Various colors of paint, Swarovski crystals, a calavera button and satin roses make up this fancy Guadalupe
$15.00
www.etsy.com/shop/13tallulahbeanlane