Today

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast while waiting for the husband's car to get an oil change.


Went grocery shopping.


Mosied on over to 5th & Olive to watch soapboxes race down the hills.


Bathed a smelly pug.


And carried on with life as normal.

Strangely, we were not judged, raptured, abducted by aliens, seduced by sirens, or anything of that nature.

Weird. Cuz I could have swooorn I saw this billboard a few blocks away threatening that some serious business was really gonna go down today. Hmmm. Maybe tomorrow?

Happy Birthday Nala

My sister's first dog turned 3 years old this weekend. I remember when she brought her to our parents' home for the first time. Nala was like a miniature puffy toy bear. Now's she all grown up! Naturally, we had to have birthday cake to celebrate. Nala had a blast partying it up with her 2 besties: sister Tink and cousin Lola.

Play Time in Da Park

Our poor little baby pug. We live in a concrete jungle, so grass and open space is something foreign to her. When she gets play time in grass, she goes cray-cray. Out of control. It makes going to the park that much more fun.

Feliz Cumpleaños Lola

Heads up: if you're not a dog person, read no further. You might find this post a tad ridiculous.

When we got Lola six months ago, her previous owner told us that she was 6 months old. She didn't know Lola's exact birthday so we just backtracked 6 months and gave her an arbitrary birth date. That date happened to pass this weekend. A year is a pretty big deal in dog years, so we had to celebrate!

We invited some of our neighbors with dogs for a doggie get together complete with treats for the furry guests and sangria for the pack leaders.


Lola demanded a photo op on her first birthday. She received it.

Can you tell that we adore our pug?

One of my favorite persons to follow on twitter is Cesar Millan. He once tweeted:

"Think of your dog as having come into your life for a reason – to make you a stronger, confident, more assertive person."

I couldn't agree more. Raising Lola has been such a cool experience. It's frustrating at times, no doubt, but she has the sweetest and most innocent soul that it's difficult not to love her. She is as stubborn as any other pug, but she knows who her pack leaders are. It is truly rewarding. :)

Raise your hand if you love your dog!

Lazy Sunday

I've been swamped with school and home projects lately, and this weekend was no exception. I'm in the middle of midterms so I spent most of the weekend studying. Just my luck, Sunday was such a gorgeous day here in LA (albeit a bit cold) that I couldn't resist taking a study break. So we threw on our jackets, grabbed Lola's leash, and headed out on a family outing.


One of our favorite things to do in the city is go for walks. There are so many cool spots to see in downtown and I think that walking is one of the best way to experience it all. On Sunday we took a stroll through Little Tokyo, and then headed north to the Placita Olvera (aka Olvera Street). I've loved visiting this place ever since I was a little one. This little Mexican corridor is so quaint and has so much character. It's def very touristy, but it's nice to visit once in a while. You can also score some good Mexican food on the cheap. Had we not given up meat for lent, Mr. Tortolito and I would have for sure indulged in some tacos de carne asada.


We ended up sitting at the plaza doing our fair share of people watching, all the while wishing we were in Mexico at one of the real plazas. I can't wait to plan another trip to our beloved Mexico sometime soon.

We enjoyed some horchata and tried to keep Lola from running after strangers.

Lola was quite the attention-grabber throughout our little outing. Makes sense, though. How can you not love her adorable pug face?

Lola

Wanna know what the best form of birth control is for a young, inexperienced (w kids) couple?

A dog. More specifically, a puppy.

{Lola. The pug.}

We're not planning on changing diapers anytime soon. Don't get me wrong, I love childrens but we're having too much fun being young and in love in the city. But, I've been wanting a dog for so long. We finally took the plunge, and let me tell you: holy shit it's a lot of responsibility! It's enough to remind us that, no, we indeed are not ready to take on the real responsibility of another human being just yet. Luckily, we're capable of taking care of a puppy...barely.

Let me break it down for you: this dog has needs. You need to train her to not pee-pee or poo-poo in the house, she needs to be exercised, you need to feed her, you have to worry about what to do with her when you and your husband will be out of the house, gotta clean your house all the time cuz she smells like dog and you don't want your place smelling like dog, you gotta discipline her when she misbehaves (sad face), and you have to teach her shit (like sit, stay. You want her to be obedient and smart, right?)

{Lola. Learning.}

Oh, you have to play with her too or she might go crazy.

{Lola. Playful.}

Lola wants attention all.the.time.

{Lola and mommy. Quality time.}

She is so worth it though! Lola is the craziest puppy; she brings us hours of entertainment and laughs. So while we won't be poppin' out the babies anytime soon, we'll have plenty to keep us occupied in the meantime.

{Lola. America's next top model.}