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Happy Halloween 2013!

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We really enjoy Halloween here at Zania.net. To celebrate the festivities, I’ve made some delicious Crisp Candy Corn Treats (click HERE for the Martha Stewart recipe), crafted some DIY mummy jars, decorated my door with our gleeful skeleton, put together a low budget costume for myself but I have yet to carve a pumpkin! Oh well. At least I was able to put together a cute Jack O’Lantern post for all of you to see. If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out HERE.

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This year, we’re headed out to Lincoln Road in South Beach, FL  with friends. I will be dressing up as Mary Poppins! I love that Julie Andrews. I’m just going to have to stop myself from singing “just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…” Make sure to follow me on Instagram as I will be sharing my favorite costumes of the night!

What have you done this Halloween? Upload pictures of your crafts, decorations or costumes on my Facebook Page HERE.

Have a Spooky and Safe Halloween!

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Announcing “The Baking Corner”

The Baking Corner ColorsOctober is here and I’m super excited to announce a tasty new series called The Baking Corner! I love sharing things that bring me so much joy and in this case, the decadent smell of oven baked sweetness! In The Baking Corner we want to give you delicious, easy, baking recipes you can enjoy with your family and friends. I was that girl who always took brownies to bake sales but by no means do I call myself an avid baker. That’s why I’ve enlisted some help… Continue reading “Announcing “The Baking Corner””

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Behind the Scenes “No te necesito” Video Shoot Part 1

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Hope you had a lovely long Labor day weekend! I know I did!

So, I recorded a music video! Woo hoo! This music video is for “No te necesito” an existing song in my “Dulce” EP on iTunes. (Yes! I do have an EP out it’s only $4.99 and you can find it HERE!) I released this album back in 2010. Since then, I haven’t done another EP or written a full song so I thought it was time to get back at it. This time it was all about having fun and not about what others thought was best for me. That said, I set out to get some “help me help you” favors and with a very limited budget got a music video. Anything is possible if you just ask for it. Here are some pictures to get you excited about the release!

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Here’s how I did it:

  • A friend from my previous job had been wanting to get back into his Mr. Director role and said he would record and edit the music video for free. He would then promote me on his site and vice versa. Sounded good to me!
  • A friend of Mr. Director offered a location for free with a bar and an area to set up a mini stage. Perfect! No permits, no fees. We were even able to set up days before!
  • Since I love decoration and DIY, guess who became the set designer? Moi! I looked for an inexpensive way to make a big impact since I knew that the set needed A LOT of love. I will show you what I did and how I did it on the B&A series soon.
  • I got some friends to be actors and audience members, paid them with refreshments, Cuban and Puerto Rican “pastelitos”, beer, some stand-up comedy with friends and a free download of my album. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
  • The 50% OFF clearance rack at Forever 21 provided my dress & belt. My super fashionable friend, Gaby, let me borrow a very cool necklace from her online store Alma Mei . The exact necklace is HERE. (Check them out! They have some beautiful items on their online store and the prices are super reasonable. As a plus, they also share their proceeds with different charities. So cool!) The shoes are Cole Haan.
  • Hair and makeup was done by the same talented gal, Eli, who does my makeup for Yahoo’s Miss Ideas episodes. You can follow her YouTube channel HERE. If you live in the Miami area you can hire her to do your makeup for any special event! She’s great!

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I will be announcing the release date of the music video through here and all my social media sites. You can connect with me at any time through the blog or find the link to my Instagram and Twitter on the column to the right.

If you want to see a previous music video I did for the movie SIN ELLA you can click HERE.

Thanks for reading & have a beautiful day!
Signature_Zania

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Mighty Thrifty Bowl

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Bonjour! I have to tell you about a recent and wonderful find at a thrift store! I had been looking for a small bowl for a while and the ones I liked were expensive (nothing new). I also didn’t want an average bowl. I wanted something of really good quality that wouldn’t make a hole in my pocket. Well, as I perused through the piled goods at a nearby Goodwill store, this pretty, dotted bowl caught my eye. I could tell it was of good quality because the glass was heavy and pristine. The dotted embellishments were also so cute. I had to have it! So, i bought it for a mere $5.

Months later, something fantastic happened. As I was reading the July/August 2013 issue of House Beautiful magazine, I turn to page 22 and BAM! a picture of my thrift store bowl shows up! I said, “Whaaat?” to myself and proceeded to read the caption; Pressed glass in classic design from 1964, reissued by Finland’s iconic littala factory. Two-quart Dewdrop Bowl in Blue, Green, and Clear, 8″ DIA. $65. huset-shop.com.bowl_2_zania

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I grabbed the bowl from my kitchen cabinet and carefully inspected it. “I think it’s the same exact one!” So it retails for $65 and I got it for $5. So cool! Needless to say, it might actually be the same one or it might be a replica, but in my mind that was a Mighty Thrifty find!

What have you found at thrift shops? Show me! I’ve also found many other things that are way more expensive elsewhere. You never know what you could find a thrift shop!

Happy thrifting!

Signature_Zania

Follow me on Instagram @zaniamusic. I love sharing my life in pictures!