My sister-in-law sent me a link to this pillow she just found on Etsy and said it was "pretty frickin' brilliant." Totally. The Mija sweet upcycled pillow made from vintage embroidered girls dress is exactly what the name says it is. Now I know what to do with the toddler's adorable little Mexican dresses when they no longer fit her. Bust out the sewing machine that hasn't seen the light in the past three years y ponerme a trabajar. For a little boy, I could totally see a Guayabera-inspired pillow? Hmmm. Love Etsy for the creativity and inspiration.

I am a sucker for DIY. Once in a while, I'll dig out my crafting crap from the basement and give it a whirl. It's all those specialized tools I bought at Michael's -- that in the store I was totally convinced I needed -- but have no idea how to use mostly because I'm not patient enough to follow written directions. Oh yeah, I also have a pretty sweet Singer sewing machine that my husband bought me for Christmas around the time Project Runway made its debut. Yeah, me and how many other people thought that they'd somehow learn how to sew and become brilliant designers overnight, make it on the show the following season, and become Tim Gunn's darling. Ha! The clothing I attempted to make was hideous and unwearable. Carry on, carry on.

These days, I have no delusions about having time to learn how to sew or even cook a meal that takes longer than fifteen minutes to slap together. Good thing that now I feel a vicarious sense of accomplishment just by watching h HGTV or Food Channel -- or Biggest Loser :)

But if I really feel like actually accomplishing something, I can always go to a crafts show. I don't mean an old school crafts show, either. I'm talking about the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair that happens every fall in DC. It's like the physical embodiment of Etsy -- with tons of indie artisans and young hipster crafters hand-making everything from felt or crocheted toys; recycled silver or clay jewelry; original prints to hang on your walls; screen-printed t-shirts or onesies; reusable coffee sleeves; headbands and tons of other stuff. Lots of recycled, lots of felt, lots of hand-sewn, lots of unique singular style.

And lots of overusing the words cool and cute. But it's pretty much true -- everything there is pretty much cool and/or cute.

Last year, I bought the most awesome stuffed and mounted unicorn head that hangs above the toddler's crib. Love it so much, I'll even overlook that Candycorn's story is that this unicorn is meth addict from the Plushkill Forest and could possibly scare the child as soon as she realizes its not like her other toys.

I also got a fabulous for-mom family birdie necklace for myself -- great gift, btw.

This year's show was this past weekend and the husband bought a cute bunny love t-shirt for the toddler.  And I totally regret leaving without buying this nameplate necklace that says Mala. I'm totally going to get it on the Etsy store. Makes me think of the song by DLG: Juliana que mala eres. Que mala eres Juliana.

THANK GOODNESS FOR ETSY. And the Etsy Addict iphone app :) It's like the Crafty Bastards that keeps giving all year long.

We have boring switchplate covers in our house. White ones. Some super old ones with layers of paint encrusting the edges to the wall. And our dining room light switch is naked and showing all its stuff. Super classy!

Now these switchplate covers are the kind that only super cool people put in their house. I saw these in a shop at the Placita Olvera in Los Angeles. I especially like the lucha libre ones--and in particular the ones of El Santo, who is like the Elvis of lucha libre.

I don't really watch lucha libre, but I have a fascination with the early luchadores as folk heros (like Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon) and the films of the '50s, '60s and '70. I've done quite a bit of reading up on it and watched a few of the films. It's very dudish, but I just like classic lucha, like the idea of two identities or two sides to everyone (like Dos Borreguitas :).  I think as soon as I get around to it, I'll put up one of these switchplates in baby K's room. Gotta balance the pink with something testosterone-filled.

You can find similar switchplates here and here and here online. There's also Dia de los Muertos, Frida and Loteria switchplates. Most are less than ten bucks.

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.

If you've ever been to Nicaragua you know these cane rocking chairs are ubiquitous in the Central American country. These sillas abuelitas often take the place of couches in a living room, line the porches of beachfront properties in San Juan del Sur, chill in the hotel lobbies in Granada, etc. And they are amazingly comfortable, probably because the weaved cane cushions the toosh better.

This pint-sized silla abuelita is at baby K's grandmother's house, and it's more than thirty years old. I've tried to find these specific types of mecedoras online but they are tough to find--this was the only site I could come up with.  Which is exactly why I've started buying things like this when I travel, instead of these kinds of chingaderas. Oops, there's a curse word. Oh well, it's a word I tend to use a lot, especially when I start cleaning, sorting, cursing about useless things we've accumulated. So let's ease into it here. This a blog about baby products--babies and kids aren't going to be reading this, silly!

And if anyone knows where to find these here in the states, let a mama know. Gracias.