Hispanic culture

I love living in Downey. The Hispanic culture is woven throughout our city. I visited a friend's birthday party recently and was first entertained by this mariachi band. I didn't understand any of the words, but the music was lively and joyous.

The second Hispanic aspect of the party was the food. These caterers brought their own grill to cook three kinds of meat and soft tortillas. It was a joyous celebration.

How have you experienced Downey's Hispanic culture this week?

Is it a boy or a girl?

Recently, I was privileged to witness an interesting custom to tell loved ones the sex of an expected child. This couple had the typical doctor's visit, including the ultrasound to determine the sex of the child. But the doctor did not tell them, but instead, wrote the sex on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope. The couple then gave this envelope to a friend who then baked a cake with either blue or pink frosting inside.

With family and friends gathered for a revealing party, some wearing pink or blue t-shirts to state which sex they wanted the child to be, the couple cut the cake to reveal the frosting inside. I loved the sign on the table and found out that since they found out that she was pregnant, the couple had been praying this prayer with their two boys.



Their dog, Lady, was biased.

She said oui!

Tonight we celebrated the engagement of Allison and Drew. Allison, of course, is one of Downey Daily Photo's bloggers and photographers.

If you've followed our blog for any length of time, you'll know that we love Paris! So it was only fitting that tonight's celebration had a French theme. From quiche to eclairs to champagne and French wine, we feasted and toasted in French.

Congratulations, Allison and Drew!

Spring tea time

Today we had a tea party bridal shower at the house. It was a warm day, perfect for a tea party!

No room in the gallery

This is a picture of Bastard's Bar and Grill up the street from Stay Gallery, where I really was tonight. Since it was so crowded however, not only could I barely get inside to put my present in the pile of donations before I got pushed back outside, but I couldn't get any pictures of the night's "goings on". So to get warm and out of the rain, I stopped by the bar-b-que and took a few shots of the bar tender and the stranger next to us ordering, get this, a Merlot with ice. To see the actual event of the toy drive and ugly sweater party, see stay-gallery.com.

Tailgate party anyone?

Tailgating has become a national past-time for some, becoming an event in itself.  I thought it was funny that the Urban Dictionary defined tailgating as  "The act of going to an event venue with absolutely no intentions of seeing the performance or game. Only the sheer intentions of partying hardcore with random tailgaters."

This car was set up for some serious tailgating.

At last, the grand opening

Tonight was second night of the grand opening event for the Stay Gallery, the new art gallery in downtown Downey. (Click here for previous posts about the gallery.)

The walls are covered by the work of 20 local artists, which includes paintings, photography, and more. It was fun to be part of the crowd viewing the wide variety of artwork.

The two-day event is the kickoff for a fundraising campaign, whose goal is to raise $20,000 for further renovations in the gallery. Future renovations include a loft for office and conference room space, and outdoor spaces in the front and back of the gallery.

Here to stay

The Downey Art Vibe held a sneak preview event at the soon-to-be-opened Downey art gallery, the Stay Gallery. They're "here to stay."

Clearly there's a lot of work still to be done, but a lot of progress has been made too, and tonight was a night to celebrate that progress. It was also a night to have fun on the walls—a last chance to be wild and crazy before the walls become nice and neutral backgrounds.

Custard? Good. Jam? Good

It was a "Friends" New Years for our group and one of the best parts was the trifle. Seriously, what's not to like? Of course, our trifle did not contain meat!

Happy New Year to all.