Dia de Los Muertos a la BB.

Those that have followed Babushka and know her. will understand her circular way of thought. Being CubanAmerican, the celebration of Dia de los Muertos was not known to BB, we tend to have our daily altar, but the events of the day coincided with the holiday- in Babushka's mind. 

No insulto intended to anyone on this or any other day.

 

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

Dia de los Muertos isn't celebrated directly in Casa BB. Being of Cuban descent, altars are a daily thing and no particular days set aside for loved ones, unless you're name is Barbara, or another celebrated saint. That being said, Babushka loves the premise behind the Dia de los Muertos celebration and realized that in her own way she did celebrate.  Here then are the events del dia:

Social Vegan, Vegetarian Food, Tallahassee Florida

Started a madre/daughter afternoon having lunch at the Social Vegan, a new vegetarian foodspot in Tallahassee. We went there porque Little One doesn't eat meat, because BB vegetarian??

Ni Muerta!  (This is why it clicks with the day. Si, that's how Babushka's cerebro calibrates.)  Anyway, the food was delicioso!! But BB should have known that when she saw the available literature.

Conexion Newspaper where BB has been a columnist for over 7 años

Next, onto an infamous, must visit, local legend, the Tallahassee Auto Museum.

And BB thought she was a collector!!  Wow and Woah. Don't let the nombre fool you Beautifuls, there is much more in the museum than just cars. Tienen pianos, knives, dolls, toys, sports memorabilia, Star Wars, Star Trek, Tractors, mejor dicho, what don't they have???  Aqui, a little video from an amiga who works at the museum, Debbie Potter. 

Some highlights:

Batman, with the actual cars used in the movies and series.

Elvis, definitivamente a BB favorite.

Since this museum honors the past, Babushka thought it very apropo to visit on this dia.

Y for this too...

The actual Presidential Hearse that carried Abraham Lincoln's body to burial. 

Our last stop, after all that walking, we crossed the street and had pedicures at Elegant Nails. 

And why was this part of this post? Think like BB and guess.

Dead Skin.

Que?? Thought there were only Dad jokes??  JU SO FONII!!

Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead ala BB.

A dia to reflect and celebrate.

Babushka Besos a Todos.

Cuidensen.

P.S.  Halloween finds a bag of "the good stuff" for tri-co-treaters que never come.

 So, Sweetie and BB are left with the task of sacrificial munching.

Maxine

Oh Si, #BloggingBranson Baby!! Dia 2- Stone Castle Hotel, Beyond the Lens, Legends in Concert, Rick Thomas Illusionist

 This is a hosted fam trip to Branson MO, #BloggingBranson.

Opinions shared are Babushka's. But if you go there, they'd be yours too.  😉

Legends in Concert, Rick Thomas, Illusionist, Beyond the Lens

Stone Castle Hotel & Conference Ctr.

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

Feliz and ready to start day 2 of our #BloggingBranson adventure, we made our way to breakfast.  Desayuno is included in the hotel stay, and is served from 6 - 9 am everyday.  It's an interesting set up actually.  There are tres buildings that comprise the Stone Castle Hotel, connected by covered walkways. Little confusing the first time out, pero after that your tummy leads you. 

Down home cooking is DELICIOSO!! And the vista is too.  We enjoyed our desayuno of sausage patties, bread, scrambled eggs, country gravy, muffins, butter, juice, and coffee. Of course coffee. It's a special blend and Sweetie and BB had seconds. Actualmente, we had seconds of everything we tried. Sweetie filled up so much that he decided to go back to bed! So off to discover Branson went BB and Little One, a lovely mother-daughter time.

We drove around Branson Missouri to see the strip. And boy is there a lot to see!!

  Little One and BB decided to visit Beyond the Lens porque it seemed so interesante.

Beyond the Lens, Bronson MO

Epic proportions for an epic exhibit of soooo many American memories! The entrada gives a good indication, grande and airy, at times a bit scary. Ya veran, you'll see what Babushka means...

Big Foot w/ BB

They have "TECHNO-TAINMENT" that'll have you there all day!! BB's not much for a virtual mundo, but this one was definitely worth going into.  Matter of fact, we visited again the next day with Sweetie because we knew he'd enjoy it as much as we did. Moments in American history, Pop Culture, Aliens, Big Foot, interactive exhibits, so much pa' cer Beautifuls! A definite place to enjoy con familia and we could have continued, pero it was time to pick up Sweetie to go to a show. Will share more about Beyond the Lens in the next post, but pictured are just some of the highlights the whole family will enjoy. 

Feibu Beyond the Lens Branson

IGrammy Beyond the lens attractions

Legends in Concert. Now what kind of entertainment strip would it be without celebrity imitators? Bueno, Branson definitivamente has some of the best. This is such an interesting and fun way to introduce and reminisce. For her part, now after watching "The Blues Brothers" on stage, BB wants to see some of the original films, and remembered fondly Mama's love of The Tempations and Elvis. A wonderful time was had by everyone in the theater. 

Feibu  https://www.facebook.com/LegendsInConcert

Tweety  https://twitter.com/LegendsBranson

IGrammy  https://www.instagram.com/legendsinconcertbranson/

The final show of the day was Rick Thomas's Mansion of Dreams.

 An award winning illusionist, he performed 15 years on the Vegas strip and now calls Branson home.

And what a casa it is Beautifuls!

The Andy Williams Moon River Theatre is spectacular. It truly shows the classy, simple elegance that was Andy Williams' style y persona. Just being there made Babushka nostalgic and so glad this teatro was still in existence.  

And not only is it in existence, it is currently magical, inside y out.

To be honesta, the scenery was mysterious and on the verge of macabre, pero  magical it was for sure.  The show just took you into another world with wonders and wizardry, pero before you got too swept away, the "real mundo" was given credo too.  Rick brought children onstage to participate and lighten the air, and then adults were brought up to entertain from the audience tambien! Si, a family show, not only by audience participation, but as most shows in Branson, it was a family show,  as Thomas' wife and fur babies were major elements. For BB, that is what real magic is.  Go, you'll be enchanted.

Feibu  https://www.facebook.com/rickthomasmagic

Tweety  https://twitter.com/rickthomasmagic

Enchanted, Encantados, that's what we were/are with Branson. 

To our casita in the castle, to rest y mimir feliz, looking forward to the next dia.

BB2U

Christmas in Miami- The Store

Maybe because it's an unseasonably 74 degrees Up North in The South, or maybe because this will be my first Christmas without any of my trio or family, but I'm thinking about Christmas in Miami.  And when I think of that, I think of and remember,

Christmas in Miami

And to those of you rembered this pic from my Bayside post , oh you're good!
 Y  a los que pensaron en  pork,black beans and rice- JU SO FONII!!!  and probably Cuban too.

 Continuing.

Of course Babushka was intrigued by the name and had to see what this store had inside.  

As my grandmother La Tata would say, it had maravillas!  

Por supuesto it had the obligatory flamingos and other tropical and seaside ornaments.

and the sports teams

But then it had-

Did you notice the one in the middle?  If BB had been able to, he would have "left the building". 

Now you KNOW the coffee ornaments were soooo BB.

Quickly I averted my eyes to stop any further temptations 

 

and discovered snow in Miami!!

It's the coolest thing!  Y si, the pun was intentional.

A white flaky substance (reminded me of instant mashed potatoes) that when added to water becomes cold to the touch and very well could pass for snow. 

 Maravillas I tell you, maravillas.

Now for you traditionalists out there, you have not been forgotten.

And speaking of tradition, I plan to start my own when I go back to Miami.  This store will personalize the ornaments you buy- maravilla!

Every major event will be commemorated with an ornament, starting with,

Bride & Grooms, Couples

If you've been following Babushka for awhile now you know she believes in serendipity and signs.

  Bueno, considering my trio of angels will now all be in Miami, I am coffee crazed and I'm also of Chinese descent. I had to smile when I saw this.

Oh Si.  I will be back to celebrate Christmas in Miami.

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.

P.S.  Part of the charm of the shop were the attendants   Unfortunately BB lost the names of the two lovely ladies and hope they contact me to give them publicly the appreciation they deserve.