ALL THAT MATTERS.

 I haven't had time or room in our Mac to save photos and post a new blog post. This post is a little different (for me at least) because it is a window into my new found appreciation for the little things in life; taking notice of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty in them.  Appreciating our loved ones, the quality time we spend with them and keeping close those who matter.

I've been busy these last couple of weeks studying and trying to grow the popularity of our stationery/crafted goods shop: Palm Tree Punk

It has made me realize how time consuming a small business start up really is. It also made me realize how great it is to unwind and have a good time with friends. My circle of friends is pretty much a dot (okay maybe not but kind of), and all this has made me appreciate those who make time for me and Victor. Those who make time for you, and have no problem staying in with you or simply going to dinner and seeing what else comes up are true friends.

I guess this blog post is a self realization that life should be appreciated and celebrated, as hard as it gets know that it's still amazing to be alive (Lindsay Lohan reference). Regardless of the small group of friends you have, or feeling like you're not good enough for someone, just think about life and how wonderful it is to be alive. This is why I titled it "All that Matters" because all that truly matters is the beautiful life (Ke$ha).

Below are a couple photographs of my appreciation for my surroundings, my home, and places that I've shared great times with great people:

 I've been crafting like crazy this past week!

P.S and what a perfect timing for this blog post, my sister has a newborn Erick and this makes me an uncle yet again! Time for new beginnings! I hope I didn't bore anyone with this post.

PTP.

I am so excited to share the news that Victor and I have started our very own stationery and crafted goods shop! Victor came up with the name Palm Tree Punk, and it goes very well with what inspired us. Our shop is inspired by the city that we live in: Los Angeles. We are inspired by the city skyline, the color of the sunrise/sunset, and the sense of freedom to be who you want to be in the city of dreams. We will be posting more products soon! 

Check out our shop at:

www.etsy.com/shop/PalmTreePunk

Keep in touch with us:

Instagram - @palmtreepunk

Twitter - @palmtreepunk

Tumblr - palmtreepunk.tumblr.com

BLOOM.

Wanting to surprise Victor and celebrate our 'month-a-versary' a day early, I picked up a bouquet of flowers and cooked dinner. I purchased the bouquet, and with my luck: at a great price.  Let's just say it was an after 4th of July sale. I reused an old champagne bottle, coca cola bottle, and a vase to divide the bouquet and get the most out of it. I really do wish I had more flowers. I especially love the champagne bottle the most, I think the green bottle looks so pretty with the white flowers (not to mention our NEW vintage table we just picked up). 

salad/steak/stuffing/rice

CRAFTED.

Saturday night came and we spent the night at a HUGE Etsy crafting party! We headed down to San Pedro to attend "Crafted at the Port Of LA". There were so many creative booths and free arts and crafts activities for everyone in attendance. We met so many great artists and talented Etsy crafters. 

 Check out the photos below:

PHOTOBOOTH FUN!:

I need to get me one of these "air plants"!

TRAFFIC.

This is a music video that I put together today (it's my first video ever) and I used an original song from Victor called "Traffic".  I woke up this morning with this song in mind, and have been wanting to create a music video for it. I shot all the footage today after work, and surprised Victor with the video once he got home. It isn't amazing and you can tell it's my first time, I have yet to learn tons more about video editing but I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope to make more videos soon, and hopefully shoot an editorial video for Victors blog or his music.

 THE VIDEO DOES LOOK A LITTLE BETTER ON MY VIMEO ACCOUNT, LINK IS BELOW: 

vimeo.com/bftoafashionblogger

BLK XMAS.

BLACK ON BLACK:

DINING TABLE:

HOLIDAY CARDS:

With just a few days away from Christmas I decided to make a quick blog post show and telling the holiday decor in our apartment. This holiday season our theme was "black on black". We went back and forth between white and silver or gold but ended up with black and hints of silver/pewter. I love our green table (that Victor painted himself a couple years back) with all the silver decor and frames on it. My favorite piece that's on that table is the white frame with our American flag kissing photograph. We bought small ornaments from Wal-Mart (as well as our black Christmas tree) and filled up a jar with them, this is a simple way to add great holiday detail to your home, and can change the ornaments every year depending on your color scheme. This especially looks great with large vases. 

Our gifts are all wrapped with black wrapping paper and black/pewter ribbon from Paper Source. Of course Victor did most of the wrapping. The gifts that I wrapped are not as crisp and structured as the ones he wrapped. His penmanship alone gives the gifts a fancier feel. Victor was inspired by a celebrity's choice of gift wrap (black on black) for our holiday gift wrap. 

The dining table was put together by Victor; he chose the plates, star ornaments, and small silver tree center piece. I love that it is elegant yet simple, I think that is the whole feel of our holiday decor this holiday season. We have pieces that look elegant yet are still simple and versatile. 

We've received many Christmas cards these past few weeks and it is so very exciting! I've never really experienced this before I mean when I lived with my parents we'd only receive maybe 2 or 3 and one was usually from our dentist! It feels so good to know that our friends/family took the time to send out a card and write a sweet note inside. It also feels surreal and amazing to read "Jose and Victor Go..." on the envelope! Just a reminder that this is actually real life, this is MY life now.

 I hope everyone is as excited as I am for Christmas, and has

had a wonderful holiday season:

Merry Christmas!

@VICTOR_GO // @J_HDEZ