Latin Lingo just let me know that they've just put up their blue Chavo and Chilindrina shirt for sale on their website. Coolness. I did a post a few weeks ago of baby K wearing it. I bought it in the company's store in San Jose, but couldn't find it online. Until Now!

In the meantime, last week when I was in Los Angeles I hit up--at the suggestion of a friend--El Mercadito, on First and Lorena in East LA. As she had described it to me, "it's like a glorified pulga," and that's just about right. They sell everything from molcajetes to pinatas, pan dulce, boots, quince recuerdos and aceites to cure all sorts of ailments (or envidias). It's totally what I was in the mood for. In one of the tendajitos upstairs I came across a ton of Chavo, Chilindra and Chapulin t-shirts--for five bucks each, woo hoo. I literally salivate when I find a deal.

This is my older brother's DREAM come true. He can literally eat pan dulce like Cookie Monster gets down with cookies. I literally raided Xochico's online store when I saw this collection. I couldn't wait for my order to come in--and it finally did on Saturday.

First, I gotta say, the packaging these products come in is amazing. It's better than wrapped presents. It's authentic. Everything comes in pink boxes--just like it's fresh from the panaderia. I love that attention to detail.

The one thing I wanted the most was the massive concha cushion for baby K's crib. Sweet--check out the pic of Raggedy Ann testing it out. No calories, she said. I love what the tag on it said:

"Pan Dulce"

Mexican "sweet bread" comes in many different shapes, colors and tastes. These pastries often take natural forms like Conchas (sea shells), Cochinitos (piglets), Cuernos (horns), and Orejas (ears). Even basic forms like Empanadas (turnovers) often use native ingredients, like piloncillo, making them distinctly Mexican. Pan Dulce is part of Mexican culture and we hope you enjoy our whimsical interpretation of these Mexican favorite. 

I also got a coin purse for myself and some fuzzies for our ride. Yeah, I drive a mini-van, a V-Dub and I LOVE IT. It's the only thing that fits me, husband, baby, mom and "the girls" (our doggas).

Xochico also has an oversized empanada cushion and a concha backpack, too. The prices for their products run from $4 to $18. These products are carried in stores in Cali, Arizona, Texas, New York, etc. Here's the list.

Wearing a classic Mexican dresses is effortless, and baby K is pretty comfortable playing in them, too. The bright colors they come in make me happy, and the embroidered flowers make me feel hippy. I see them a lot in fuchsia, bright blue or turquoise and golden yellow. You can find some really nice ones--for yourself of the little one--in Aida Coronado's Etsy shop.

I gotta say, when I started looking to see where you could get them online the word "costume" kept appearing. WTF? Totally made me remember a story I heard from a professor in college, who said she wore one to a faculty party, and one of her colleagues told her he loved her "costume." Seriously. Ethnic does not equal costume. That's jacked up. But oh well, here's a comeuppance: the stares my husband got when he wore the men's version of this shirt in the DFW airport. That's right. Ugly B wore her Guadalajara poncho with pride, and our girls are gonna wear those little Mexican dresses whenever. Wherever.