My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

The Super Cuban Dodger Awesomeness Winner

"Take me out to the ballgame..."

I'm so glad I will be seeing so many of you on Sunday at Dodger Stadium for Cuban Heritage Day. I'm excited to have my new coolest Dodger Blue Habana Brand Clothing tshirt to wear. I'll be there with my kids and I know it's going to be a grand "pachanga." 

Congratulations to the winner of all this Super Cuban Dodger Swag.

I know you will enjoy all this beautiful awesomeness.

Felicidades, Cristina!

Please send me an email with HEY MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line, so I don't accidentally delete it. Send me your mailing address and I will be shipping out your loot next week!

For those of you who are on 'Cuban time' and still don't have your tickets to Sunday's event, here's the timeline for all the fun.

Viva Los Dodgers presented by State Farm and Time Warner Cable at the historic 76 station will feature photos with fans from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal. Outfielder Alex Guerrero will take photos with fans from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Outfielder Yasiel Puig will greet fans on stage at 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and take part in a Q&A session alongside reliever Paco Rodriguez. Photos will be distributed to fans courtesy of Blue Prints.

“I’m an extremely proud Cuban-American and excited to be a part of Cuban Heritage Day this Sunday,” said Grandal. “I look forward to spending time with fans before I head out to represent the Dodgers at the All-Star game. My culture is a big part of who I’m and happy that the club organizes events like these.”

As part of Cuban Heritage Day at Viva Los Dodgers, musical entertainment will be provided by The Arsenio Rodriguez Project and Buena Onda. Dodger scout Mike Brito will also partake in a meet and greet with fans at 12:00 p.m.

Levy Restaurants will offer exclusively at Viva Los Dodgers this Sunday, the Cuban Dog. The Cuban Dog features a quarter-pound all-beef hot dog topped with ham, pulled pork, Swiss cheese, yellow mustard and pickle chips and will be available at Viva Los Dodgers while supplies last.

Sunday’s Viva Los Dodgers is a pregame component of Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium which will feature Cuban music mogul and 19-time Grammy award winner Emilio Estefan throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.

 

The Dodgers will present a community hero award to the Gavina family at Viva Los Dodgers. Gavina Coffee, a Cuban-owned business, has been a coffee tradition in Los Angeles since 1967. Cuban-American Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, will throw Sunday’s honorary first pitch.

All fans are welcome and can attend with a ticket to Sunday’s game. For more information on Viva Los Dodgers, please visit www.dodgers.com/viva andwww.losdodgers.com/viva.

Alabao!

The Super Cuban Dodger Awesomeness Giveaway

Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium is so close I can practically touch it. It's happening next Sunday, July 12th 2015.

Our friend and fellow Cuban, Emilio Estefan will be on hand to throw out the first pitch and it's going to be a wonderful day with all kinds of Cubanity (<--is that a word? I seriously think it should be) happening at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. 

Game time is 1:00 pm, but the fun starts at 11:00 am in Lot 6 with the fun Viva Los Dodgers Pachanga.

In honor of this auspicious occasion, I'm giving away a fabulous stash of all kinds of Cuban/Dodger related goodies. 

I'm calling it the Super Cuban Dodger Awesomeness Giveaway. (I was inspired by my friends on The Cuban Heritage Committee, who are my muses.)

Get your tickets!

There's still time to purchase discounted tickets and enjoy the family-friendly Cuban themed Viva Los Dodgers pregame festival in Lot 6. Fans can enjoy live music, player autographs, and various activies. Entrance is free with a paid ticket to the game. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, click on this link to purchase.

Get your tshirts!

Then, you need to get your t-shirts, of course from Habana Brand Clothing so that you can appropriately represent. 

Enter this giveaway!

But the best part is today's giveaway...

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium, Botran Rum, and My Big, Fat, Cuban Family, (Let's just take a moment to appreciate how accidentally cool this is. Thankyouverymuch) I'm giving away all the Super Cuban Dodgers Awesomeness pictured below.

Take a moment to appreciate all of this Cubania and Dodger swag.

• A Special Edition Dodgers Cuba/Puig shirt - autographed by Yasiel Puig #66 (Men's Large)

• A Limited Edition Habana Brand Cuban Heritage Day 2015 shirt - autographed by Emilio Estefan (Women's XL)

• A poly-spandex Property of Dodgers Baseball Club shirt

• A Clayton Kershaw #22 Bobblehead

• A LA Dodgers Team Name shirt

• An autographed copy of Emilio Estefan's autobiography, Ritmo Al Éxito

• An autographed copy of Daniel Amat's cd - Bilbao la Habana y vuelta

 

• An autographed copy of Gloria Estefan's beautiful cd, Mi Tierra.

• A bottle of Botran Reserva Ron Añejo - because Cuba Libre. Amen.

• Three (3!) LA Dodger Blue embroidered hats.

To enter this drawing for all of this Super Cuban/Dodger Awesomeness please leave a comment on this post and tell me:

• What's your favorite thing to do at a baseball game?

Is it the 7th Inning Stretch? The Kiss Cam? Heckling the batter? Do you look fabulous in Dodger Blue? Tell me.

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Thursday, July 9th, 2015 at 11 am PST. 

You have to be over 21 to enter this drawing, but you don't necessarily need to be Cuban or even attend the game. Also, I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. The giveaway items were donated and I am happy to share the love. Go Blue!

Cuban Food Poster - A Giveaway

We had a big party this last weekend. We served a very cool Cuban sandwich themed menu. I'm going to tell you all about it in a few days, but today I just wanted to share that Every. Single. Person. that came through my kitchen made a comment about my Cuban Food Poster. 

Every. Single. Person.

My favorite inquiries were the, "Where did you find that?" questions. At which point I made myself blush a little and cast my eyes downward and say, "Oh, that? It's my own design." (I've pretty much gotten this act down to a science, but that's not important right now.)

I even had an Italian friend suggest I do an Italian food one, which I think I absolutely will, but that's not important right now.

It made me think that it was probably time to do another giveaway, so here it is!

I'm going to be giving away Three (3) Cuban Food Posters to 3 lucky winners.

Each poster is unmounted and  printed on heavy duty premium luster paper with archival fade-resistant inks. I will send the winner the size of their choice. They are available in the following sizes:

• 5" x 7"
• 8" x 10"
• 11" x 14"
• 16" x 20"
• 20" x 30"

It looks just like the photo above. Black background with white lettering and some distressing for an aged texture.

To enter the drawing for a chance to win one of the 3 posters, please leave me a comment on this post and tell me...

• What's your favorite comfort food? (I'd have to go with picadillo, myself.)
• Who makes it the very best? (Your mami? Tia Cuca? El Palacio de los Jugos?)
• Do you have any suggestions for other food posters? (BTW, I already have a Salvadorian Food Poster in my shop.)

Leave one comment only, please! 

Remember that if you want to enter the drawing for the poster, you must leave a comment on this post and I'll choose THREE winners on Thursday, July 2nd at 11:00 am PST.

Gracias and Buen Provecho! 

If you're the impatient type (and you know who you are), my posters are for sale over at my Etsy shop: Marta Darby Designs. The 16"x 20" is only $21.00 plus shipping and handling. 

I also have a larger size (20"x 30") and a (16"x 20") on canvas, but that's not important right now.

Also, if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to my mailing list so you never miss a thing! Look over on the right where it says JOIN OUR FAMILY! Gracias! xo

I Love Coffee - A Winner

One of the most fun things about doing giveaways is reading over your comments. When I do, I often wish I could give every single person who entered a prize, but sadly, that's not possible, at least today it's not.

Anyway, the way I choose a winner is I take the number of comments (excluding any duplicates) and enter that number into the True Random Number Generator on Random.org. and that gives me the number of the winning comment. It's a lot more efficient than putting all the comments into a hat, and sooo much more 2015.

The winner of the Cafe La Llave Bag of Coffee Awesome (according to the very impartial Random.org) goes to......

Congratulations, Maite!

Please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line so I don't accidentally delete it. Send me your mailing address and I'll get out your coffee goodies to you ASAP. 

Thanks to all of you for participating. (Maybe I could give out gold stars for Participation?) And a great big, thank you to Gaviña Coffee Roasters for their generous donation to this giveaway. 

Disclaimer: I received a bag of coffee items like the one shown to enjoy and another to give away. I was not compensated by Gaviña to do this. I just happen to really love their coffee. Also, all the opinions are my own.

I Love Coffee... - A Giveaway

I'm wearing a hairnet. And I'm posting the photo on the internet for the world to see. And I'm pretty okay with it. 

WHO AM I??

I have a wonderful giveaway for you today. But let me just tell you how it came about.

The Cuban Heritage Day Committee (of which I am a proud member) had a meeting at the Gaviña Coffee Roasters plant. You know how much I love coffee and I love the Gaviñas, so of course I said YES!

I've taken this tour a couple of times and I swear to you it never gets old. Plus the amazing fragrance of fresh coffee is everywhere and quite intoxicating. 

The freshest beans, the highest standards, the most delicious coffee - it's not accidental that Café La Llave^® is one of the best espressos out there. And for us Cubans, good espresso is...everything! 

So we toured the beautiful plant. I'm not going to post photos of the rest of the committee in hairnets because I'd really, really like to keep my friends, thankyouverymuch.

But here we are afterwards, in all our Cubanity, after having toured and having been fed. And having had our über-fresh cortaditos. 

L to R: Alina Bacallao, Maylen Calienes, Betty Porto, Leonor Gaviña, Lucy Vega, Rose Trujillo, myself, Martha Barbee

I'm so grateful to our lovely host, Leonor Gaviña for her gracious hospitality. And to the Gaviña Coffee Roasters for their generosity in providing today's awesome coffee giveaway.

Full disclosure: I was given a bag of Gaviña Coffee Goodies to enjoy and another to give away. I was not otherwise compensated to write this post. The opinions and text remain my own.

The Gaviña Coffee Bag Giveaway contains the following:

• 1 Cafe La Llave^® Espresso Green Tote Bag
• 1 Don Francisco's Coffee Mug (that's my fave)
• 1 lb. of Don Francisco's Coffee Family Reserve Breakfast Blend (ground)
• 4 - 2.5 oz samples of assorted Don Francisco's Coffees
• A box of 12 cups of Single Serve Don Francisco's Coffee Breakfast Blend - compatible with Keurig^®, K-Cup^® Brewers (not affiliated with Keurig, Inc.)
• 1 10 oz. Can Café Gaviña Espresso Coffee and Cappuccino Base
• 1 demitasse Café Gaviña Cup (that's Eric's fave)

To enter this drawing for the Gaviña Coffee Bag of Awesome,

Please leave a comment on this post and answer one or both of the following questions:

• Tell me your favorite coffee drink. (espresso, cortadito, macchiato...)
• Do you make it at home or do you go out in the world to find it?

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose one winner on Monday, June 8th, 2015 at 11am PST. 

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy coffee, and that's pretty close."

SPAM® Bag of Fun Winner

You always manage to surprise me. 

1) Because just when I thought maybe I was the only one who had any memory of the deliciousness of SPAM^®, you guys bring the good stuff.

2) Croquetas made with SPAM^®?? COUNT ME IN! 

The winner of the Wonderful SPAM^® Bag and all of its Spammy contents is...

Congratulations, Pilar!

You've won the following -

• 1 SPAM Tote Bag
• Sunglasses (these are Eric's favorite because they're super polarized)
• Cutting Sheet
• Can Holder
• Pen
• SPAM Can Bank
• SPAM Temporary Tattoo
• SPAM Spatula (say that 3 times, really fast)
• SPAM Slicer
• Wine Glass
• SPAM Cook Book
• SPAM Apron
• SPAM Mug
• SPAM Pennant
• SPAM Pot Holder
• And a variety of SPAM product

Please shoot me an email with HEY! MARTA I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line, so I don't accidentally delete it. Be sure to include your mailing address so that they can ship your SPAM^® Gift Bag to you ASAP.

Again, I'm grateful to the good folks at SPAM^® for sponsoring the giveaway. They provided the gift bag and invited me to the event, but I was not otherwise compensated for this post. Opinions and text are all mine.

Be sure to check their schedule. The SPAMTOUR Truck may be coming to your area soon. Follow along on social media by following the hashtag #SPAMCAN.

Also, I'm totally going to make SPAM^® Croquetas. Genius. 

I have a few more giveaways coming up in the next few weeks so please stay tuned! 

The Spamerican! Tour Surprise - A Giveaway

I was recently invited to cook with celebrity chef Sunny Anderson. I know. Shut up. Of course I was going to attend!

The surprise was that she was kicking off The SPAMERICAN!^TM Tour and would be cooking - wait for it - with SPAM^®.

FYI: The SPAM Brand invited me to the event and provided me with a gift bag like the one I'm giving away. All the opinions and text are my own. 

Do you remember the ubiquitous blue and yellow can that was in everyone's mother's pantry? Go right now and read about the 6 simple ingredients that go into each can of SPAM®. It's okay. I'll wait.

Wasn't that interesting? 

I know a lot of us Cubans from my generation remember it fondly. In fact, my mom used to make a wonderful Arroz con SPAM^®. I am not kidding. In fact, I'd forgotten all about it until I attended the event and my memory was jogged. It was like Arroz con Salchichas, but with SPAM^® instead. And it was indescribably delicious.

Full disclosure: I just haven't eaten SPAM^® in a lot of years.

That all changed at this event. 

A group of us bloggers jumped right in with Sunny as she extolled the wonders of SPAM^®.

"For many years now, I have been a fan of the SPAM^® brand; its flavor and versatility lends itself to so many different cooking styles and recipes. The SPAMERICAN!^TM Tour brings together such a unique curation of SPAM^® dishes and is a celebration of the iconic taste that Americans and chefs, like myself, have grown to love."

I guess I shouldn't have been, but I was mildly surprised that some of the younger people present had never even tasted it in their lives. And I loved seeing their faces when they tried it for the first time. It was a where-have-you-been-all-my-life look of surprise.

The entire place was decked out in all kinds of SPAM-aliciousness. 

The SPAMERICAN!^TM TOUR kicked off at our event in LA with Chef Sunny Anderson unveiling a special menu.  The truck will be traveling to popular events across the country, it will feature partnerships with local chefs.

At each of the 12 stops, fans will enjoy a signature recipe, alongside some SPAMTASTIC^TM creations from local chefs, all while experiencing a taste of the brand's fun-loving personality.

Sunny made Coconut SPAM^® Spears with Spicy Pineapple Chutney. (recipe follows) While the cooking was happening, the SPAM^® Tour Truck kept sending out the tastiest creations. Imagine a cocktail party with all the hors d'oeuvres made with a little bit of SPAM^®. 

Guys, it was so deliciously genius.

The sweet and sour fragrance of Sunny's chutney was to die for. The SPAM^® was sliced into spears, rolled in beer batter and deep fried to golden perfection.

Here me now and believe me later...they were crazy-delicious.

Coconut SPAM^® Spears with Spicy Pineapple Chutney

Ingredients

• For the Chutney
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoons mild yellow curry powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts (plus more for garnish)
• For the spears
• 1 12-ounce can of any SPAM^® variety
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup soda water, ice cold
• A pinch of salt
• Canola oil, for frying

1. Make the chutney. In a small sauce pan on medium heat add the pineapple, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar, curry powder, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook while stirring until the pot begins to bubble a bit, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of warm water. Stir until smooth. Pour this mixture into the chutney. Stir to incorporate. Turn off heat and allow to cool. Once cool, stir in the scallions (remember to leave some for garnish!).

2. Prepare the spears. Fill a large pot or deep fryer with canola oil, leaving a few inches at the top. Bring the temperature to 375° F. Cut the SPAM^® in half lengthwise and then cut each half into five long spears. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, coconut, cornstarch and lemon zest. Add in the soda water and egg. Dip the spears into the tempura batter and slowly lower the battered SPAM® into the fryer. Let fry for 5 minutes or until brown and crispy. Remove to a sheet tray lined with a wire rack. Serve the SPAM^® spears with a side of Pineapple Chutney.

One of the funnest parts of this event, besides cooking with Sunny, was all of the supremely clever SPAM^® merchandise from the SPAM^® Tour. In fact, I confess I'm kind of becoming a SPAM^® Snob. (Don't judge me.)

And because I love you (and the SPAM^® peeps are supremely generous) I'm doing a giveaway for a great big bag of all that is good and holy about the SPAM^® brand. Believe it.

Also, you know what's really fun to say? SPAM^®. But that's not important right now.

The SPAM BAG Giveaway is for the following:

• 1 SPAM Tote Bag
• Sunglasses (these are Eric's favorite because they're super polarized)
• Cutting Sheet
• Can Holder
• Pen
• SPAM Can Bank
• SPAM Temporary Tattoo
• SPAM Spatula (say that 3 times, really fast)
• SPAM Slicer
• Wine Glass
• SPAM Cook Book
• SPAM Apron
• SPAM Mug
• SPAM Pennant
• SPAM Pot Holder
• And a variety of SPAM product

1) To enter this drawing for the SPAM^® Bag of Fun (That's not really what it's called, I just named it that.)

Please leave a comment on this post and answer one or both of the following questions:

• Tell me what your remember about SPAM^®.
• Go to this link: SPAM^® Recipes and tell me what sounds good to you!

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose one winner on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015 at 11am PST. 

Also, as I was writing this post I keep thinking of this Monty Python skit. But that's not important right now either. I just cracked myself up.

Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Package Winners

As always, I'm grateful for all of you who take the time to enter my giveaways. Plus it makes me feel like I can show my gratitude by offering you something of value.

I appreciate that you don't all live in a climate conducive to growing veggies and herbs, so I acknowledge those of you who entered the giveaway and are feeling excited to get your garden growing. 

So, again, thank you.

The winners of the two Scotts Miracle-Gro^® Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Packages are:

and

The winners will each receive:

• 1 Scotts Yard Care Wet/Dry Grip Gardening Gloves
• 1 Scotts Miracle-Gro® Stainless Steel Floral Cutter
• 10 Miracle-Gro® Growables® Combination mulch, seed & fertilizer pods for assorted herbs and vegetables.

Congratulations, Cindy A. and Faustino!

Please shoot me an email with HEY! MARTA I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line, so I don't accidentally delete it. 

Be sure to include your mailing address so that I can ship your Box of Gardening Fun to you ASAP!

Also, when you get that veggie garden growing, I want to see pics, or it didn't happen.

Again, I'm grateful to Scotts for sponsoring the giveaway. The opinions and text are all mine.

I have a few more giveaways coming up in the next few weeks so stay tuned! 

Hello, Summer Garden! - A Giveaway

California is fickle. 

It can be 100 degrees one day and back down to 65 the next. It's been a relatively mild Spring and we are now barreling towards summer and that means Outdoor Entertaining Season. Can I get an "Amen?"

Eric and I have been planning a Big Birthday Bash. It should have taken place this weekend. However, because California is acting out like a spoiled child right now and the weather is not cooperating with our plans, we've had to bump our celebration out another month. 

I'm okay with that. It just gives us more time to attend to last minute garden details.

Remember last month when we started loving and feeding and refreshing our lawn and garden? Scotts wants to know how I express myself in my garden. Hello....Flowers!

I'm a Flower Lover. Anything that will give me lush green leaves and gorgeous blooms has my heart. Also, the whole planting, pruning, watering stuff is part of our family's DNA. It's just an activity that we love to do together. Well, mostly Eric and Jonathan do the heavy lifting and I just shout out commands, but that's not important right now.

As you can see, the time and care we took last month and Scotts Miracle-Gro® has totally paid off. Be prepared to be amazed by my flowers...

My favorite Disneyland Roses are really putting on a show for the entire neighborhood. Seriously. Neighbors stop as they're walking by to ooh and aah and make comments and smell my roses. (Win!)

 

My hydrangeas, too. I always get a little scared that this might be the year they decide not to bloom because they want to stay dormant. Using the Scotts Miracle-Gro® has changed all that. I know I'm practically guaranteed some beautiful blooms. You can pick all these products up at Walmart, of course.

I really want you to get in on the fun of sprucing up your garden, so with a generous donation from my sponsor, Scotts, I'm excited to share today's giveaway. 

Scotts has given me one of these for myself (Yay!) and I'm happy to announce that I'll be sharing the love with two lucky MBFCF readers.

I'm giving away, not one, but two Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Packages from Scotts Miracle-Gro® for you to do some fun summer gardening yourself. 

Included in this Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Package

• 1 Scotts Yard Care Wet/Dry Grip Gardening Gloves
• 1 Scotts Miracle-Gro® Stainless Steel Floral Cutter
• 10 Miracle-Gro® Growables® Combination mulch, seed & fertilizer pods for assorted herbs and vegetables. (Come to me sweet basil!)

1) To enter this drawing for the Veggie & Herb Garden Starter Package from Scotts Miracle-Gro® 

Please leave a comment on this post and answer one or both of the following questions:

• Tell me your favorite garden flower. 
• What's growing in your garden?

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose two winners on Friday, May 29th, 2015 at 11am PST. 

Remember to always read and follow label directions for the referenced products.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Scotts . The opinions and text are all mine.

 

 

 

 

Mother Ring Winner

Do you know what makes me smile?

I read each of your comments, particularly the ones from those of you who entered my recent giveaway for the beautiful Mother Ring Charm Holder. And what I read was the pride in those few lines. "These are the names of the people I love most." I love that. 

And I get it. As a mother, I think I take the most pride in the four lives I've brought into the world. So, thank you all for sharing your loves and I wish every one of you could win. 

Sadly, I could only choose one winner. The rest of you may want to consider ordering the commemorative jewelry from my friend, Pam. You can contact her through her Facebook page, Pandora Lee Originals. 

To choose a winner, I went to the site, Random.org and plugged in the number of comments into the True Random Number Generator. Whatever random number it picked was the winner. In this case, it was Jackie.

Congratulations! Please send me an email with all  with HEY, MARTA I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line (so I don't accidentally delete you) with your contact information and I will connect you directly to Pam so she can get started on your beautiful Mother's Day creation.

I'm so delighted all of you played along. Thank you so much! 

The Mother Ring Revisited - A Giveaway

My mother has a beautiful "Mother Ring." If you don't know what that is, it's a ring with a stone that represents the birth stone of each child in the family. Click on this link to read that story.

I have always thought that I wanted one. You know, one that represents each of my kids. But I already have my mom's ring, so I have been wanting something of my own. But what?

A few weeks ago my dearest friend in the whole wide world sent me an updated version of The Mother Ring. (Because "ring" - get it?)

First, let me tell you a little about my friend (my BFF!), Pandora - her close friends call her Pam. She's funny and smart and the most caring person you would ever want to know. I've known and loved her for the past 40 years, which is pretty much a lifetime, isn't it? 

She won't mind me telling you that she has MS and that some days are better for her and some are worse. On her good days she can be found making jewelry in her little workshop. 

Check out her Facebook page: Pandora Lee Originals. 

Anyway, back to the Mother Ring. Here's what's on the other side of those little bars:

She stamped each of my kids' names and the year of their birth on each one and attached each of their birthstones. I was surprised to find five instead of just four. That's when I realized she had added my grandson, Asher. I'm seriously in love.

Amy, my first-born arrived in June of 1983 and is my Pearl of Great Price. Perfect and beautiful.

Adam was born in July of 1986. The red garnet is his stone. He's my crazy-making, passionate one.

Lucy came to us in August of 1993. Represented by the peridot, which is bright and rare.

Jon was born in December of 1995. The blue stone is Tanzanite. Unique and interesting.

Asher, our grandson was born in August of 2014. Another peridot, but in a smaller package. 

Could I be any more in love with a piece of jewelry? It's such an elegant piece and absolutely one-of-a-kind. 

It hangs on a long 20" silver chain and I've worn it pretty much every single day since I received it. I lovingly caress the bars and play with them throughout my day as I send up prayers for each one daily. It has become a talisman of the bond I have with each of them and also reminds me to bring each of their names and cares before God. 

I have ooh-ed and aah-ed over this piece so much to Pam until I have finally succeeded in talking my very generous friend into letting me offer a giveaway on my blog for one of these gorgeous custom pieces for one lucky reader, just in time for Mother's Day.

So let's do a comment drawing shall we?

What you will receive if you are the lucky winner:

One custom made silver charm holder, exactly like mine, with the names and birthdates of each of your kids engraved on silver bars, along with each of their birthstones. 

To enter the drawing for a chance to win your own custom made "Mother Ring" like the one pictured above, please leave me a comment on this post and tell me...

• How many kids do you have?
• What are their names and birthdays?

I will choose ONE lucky winner on Monday, April 27th, 2014 at 11am PST.

Thanks so much for reading my blog and best of luck!

I am not receiving any compensation for this post. In fact, I've purchased the custom jewelry from Pandora Lee Originals to offer as a giveaway gift to one of my readers. The opinions are also my own.

Cuban Food Poster - Winners

Seriously, people. I read every single one of your comments and I swear that your love for Cuban food shows right through. Thank you all for participating and sharing your favorite foods and your stories behind them. 

I'm grateful that you are enjoying my poster. Thank you for that. I love mine. And I figured you'd love it, too. 

I wish I could choose all of you, but that's why I can't be trusted with these kinds of decisions. Which is why I go over to random.org and plug the number of (legit) entries into the True Random Number Generator, which then gives me well, random numbers.

The winners of the Cuban Food Posters are (drum roll, please)...

 

 

Congratulations! Please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line (so I don't accidentally delete it) and be sure to include your mailing address and I will ship out your posters ASAP.

For those of you who were so patiently waiting and did not win, you still have the option to head on over to my Etsy shop and buy the poster for yourself, or for your Mami, or for your Tia Cuca. She loves this kind of stuff.

Here's the link: Marta Darby Designs

 

I have two sizes of posters: 16" x 20" and 20" by 30". And also a 16" x 20" wrapped canvas. 

 

Thank you again for participating in my giveaway. I'd so love to see this poster in every single Cuban kitchen. 

Happy New Year Cuban Food Poster(s) Giveaway

I've got all this great Happy New Year energy going right now and I have so many stories to tell and I'm going to San Francisco next week to visit Pixar and Skywalker Ranch. I just feel like I want to share the love and happy vibes.

If you were in my town, I'd say, "Hey, come over for dinner. I'll cook you something Cuban." But since that's not likely to happen, how about I just do a Happy New Year Cuban Food (Poster) Giveaway? 

Yes. I think it's a wonderful idea. 

If you were coming to dinner, I would be torn. What to serve? Check out this poster and just try to make a decision.

Because I look at this one every day in my kitchen, I think I'm going to try to master the art of making Pan Cubano. (See? It's not just cool looking. It's motivational, too.)

 

So much Cuban food. So little time. *sigh* 

I'm going to be giving away Three (3) Cuban Food Posters to 3 lucky winners.

Each 16"x20" poster is unmounted and  printed on heavy duty premium luster paper with archival fade-resistant inks.

It looks just like the photo above. Black background with white lettering and some distressing for an aged texture.

To enter the drawing for a chance to win one of the 3 posters, please leave me a comment on this post and tell me...

• What's your favorite comfort food? (I'd have to go with picadillo, myself.)
• Who makes it the very best? (Your mami? Tia Cuca? El Palacio de los Jugos?)

Leave one comment only, please! 

Remember that if you want to enter the drawing for the poster, you must leave a comment on this post and I'll choose THREE winners on Wednesday, January 14th at 11:00 am PST.

Gracias and Buen Provecho! 

If you're the impatient type (and you know who you are), my posters are for sale over at my Etsy shop: Marta Maria Designs. the 16"x20" is only $21.00 plus shipping and handling. 

I also have a larger size (20"x30") and one (16"x20") on canvas, but that's not important right now.

Buena Suerte and Happy New Year! 

 

The Cuban Table - A Winner

Do you know what I love most about running a comment giveaway on my site? Well...your comments. Seriously, I love hearing about who the best cook in your house is and about your favorite foods to cook. 

That, and I have some cool things to give away. I wish all of you could win because this is such a beautiful cookbook.

Or as we say in "good Cuban," Ana Sofia Peláez and Ellen Silverman, "You ATE it!"*

NOTE: *This particular Cuban phrase loses everything in translation. "Te la comiste" means that you did an amazing job. See? Everything sounds better in Spanish.

Congratulations to the winner:

Beatriz Navia, you won! Please send me an email with "HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG!" in the subject line. Include your mailing address so I can send you your very own copy of The Cuban Table. You are so going to love it!.

For the rest of you, you MUST get a copy of this cookbook. It's available on Amazon. Here's the link: The Cuban Table by Ana Sofia Peláez and Ellen Silverman. 

Thank you to Ellen Silverman Photography and Hungry Sofia. Congratulations on a beautiful project.

Buen Provecho!

Cuban Heritage Day - Ticket Winner

As I'm writing this, I have "Take me out to the ballgame" playing in a loop in my head. I am anticipating the excitement of arriving at Chavez Ravine for the big day on Sunday.

From last year, I remember the awesome pre-game Viva Los Doyers party with the Charanga Cubana playing classic Cuban music. I loved being surrounded by all my Cuban people as they came to enjoy the music, the game, and especially the "Cubania." 

I can't wait to find our seats inside Dodger Stadium. I love looking around and seeing a sea of Dodger blue shirts. I'm so excited that one lucky MBFCF reader will join me and my family and all the rest of the Cubanity on Sunday, August 17th to cheer on our boys in blue (and expecially our home boy, Yasiel Puig.)

Congratulations to Daniel Swaby! He won this fantastic Dodger Gift Pack and the tickets.

I will need your shipping address ASAP so I can get those tickets and all the Dodger Goodies delivered to your door before Sunday. Please shoot me an email immediately with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line. 

I look forward to meeting you and having you join us for the Best Cuban Baseball Party this year! 

"It's time for Dodgers baseball!" 

Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium 2014 - A Giveaway

We're super excited to be a part of Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium again this year. And the Dodgers are super excited to host all of us loud, fanatical Cuban baseball fans. 

From the Dodgers site: 

Our Cuban-themed Viva Los Dodgers festival will begin 2 hours prior to first pitch, and fans can enjoy festive live music including performances by Alfredo Rodriguez and Charanga Cubana, player autographs and various activities. Admission to Viva Los Dodgers is free with a paid ticket to the game.

First, the details: The game is against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, August 17th, at 1:00 o'clock PM. If you haven't already, you can still get tickets at the Los Angeles Dodgers Site. 

Then, you need to get your t-shirts, of course from Habana Brand Clothing so that you can appropriately represent. 

But the best part is today's giveaway...

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers and My Big, Fat, Cuban Family, (Let's just take a moment to appreciate how accidentally cool this is. Thankyouverymuch) I'm giving away all the Dodgers Awesomeness pictured below.

• A Los Angeles Dodgers Blanket
• A Dodger Blue zip-up hoodie (XL). (Which I'm seriously tempted to keep, but that's not important right now.) 
• A Yasiel Puig Bobblehead (you know you want one.)
• A page of Dodger/Puig stick on images.  And......drum roll please......
• A pair of tickets (2) to the game! The coolest part of this is that you will be sitting with us! That's right. Come and enjoy a Dodger Dog with me and My Big, Fat, Cuban family. 

To enter this drawing for the 2 Dodger Tickets and All the Very Cool LA Dodgers Paraphernalia please leave a comment on this post and tell me:

• What's your favorite thing to do at a baseball game?

Is it the 7th Inning Stretch? The Kiss Cam? Heckling the batter? Do you look fabulous in Dodger Blue? Tell me.

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Sunday, August 10th, 2014 at 8 pm PST. 

BEFORE YOU ENTER, please double check your calendars and make sure you can attend the game on Sunday, August 17th. Thanks!

Say it with me: "It's time for Dodgers Baseball!" ~Vin Scully

Los Angeles Cuban Festival - A Winner

Me and Amy with Pitbull

I love doing giveaways here on my blog. I seriously love hearing from you folks and I appreciate that you take the time to write out some thoughtful responses to my questions. Thanks for all your input.

I'm delighted that I can now add to my growing list of "Best Cuban Restaurants in the LA Area." Thanks, guys!

So, the LA Cuban Festival is coming up in about 10 days, people! I'm hoping to see some of you there. I wish I could give you all free tickets, but The People In Charge Of These Things have limited me to giving away a set of two tickets. (For which I'm totally grateful.)

For those of you that are wondering how this is done, here's how I chose the winner. 

1) I took the number of entries and entered that number in the True Random Number Generator over at Random.org. 

2) I took a screen shot of the result so you could see how it works.

3) I gave each one of your entries a number and I did a screen shot of the winner.

 

4) I then write this post and congratulate the winner. 

The winner of the Two Free Tickets to the LA Cuban Festival on July 13th is Ed Nuhfer. Congratulations! I'll forward your email to the generous folks at Fiestalegre Promotions who will provide your tickets to this year's fabulous LA Cuban Festival.

For those of you who didn't win, please be sure to buy your tickets soon. I still hope to see you there! 

Again, here are the details...

Date: Sunday, July 13, 2014
Time: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Place: Rainbow Lagoon Park, Long Beach (Across street from Shoreline Village)

Performing

• Issac Delgado
• Timbalive
• Charanga Cubana
• MC Paloma Morales
• Super DJ Robby
• DJ Warapo
• y mas ...

TICKET INFORMATION

• Advance Online* (before July 12, 2014)
• Order directly from the Fiestalegre website.

Also, the photo of me and my daughter, Amy Kikita with Pitbull at the top of the post has nothing to do with the LA Cuban Festival. It's just to get your attention. No, Pitbull is not going to be at the LA Cuban Festival, but I am!

I just think it's a cute photo. And I like to randomly talk about That Time I Met Pitbull. There's an equally cute story about that photo. (This is a few years ago when I was still straightening my hair. Now I'm all-curls-all-the-time, but that's not important right now.)

Why do I even bring up Pitbull? Because if you come to the Festival (which I totally hope you do, because hello! Cuban music and food and dancing!), you must stop by and say hello to me. Then we'll have our picture taken together and you will be just one degree away from Pitbull. 

As you can see, my Cuban logic is completely intact. 

A Bright Summer With Pier 1 - Gift Card Winner

From the day we set up our new patio furniture from Pier 1, I swear we have been out there enjoying it Every. Single. Day. We find any excuse to get ourselves out to go sit on the comfy cushions and watch the world go by. 

I feel ridiculously proud of this. I thought we spent a lot of time out on our porch, but now it's become A Thing.

The other morning, I made cinnamon rolls. (Every now and then the urge hits, what can I say?) Eric was working outside digging and fixing up our new planters. 

"Can we just eat out here?"  (I have a feeling this is going to be happening a lot this summer.)

Which is how the Darbys of Mission Viejo ended up sitting outside decadently eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast on their new, beautifully re-designed porch. Look at me, living the lifestyle magazine life. This is the stuff my dreams are made of.

Every morning I can find Eric out there doing his morning reading. It makes me happy to see him so content.

All this to say that I'm super grateful to Pier 1 Imports for the awesome inspiration for our new outdoor living space. It's made a huge impact already on our day-to-day living. Also, the weather has cooperated beautifully. We're seriously on the cusp of summer and my plan is to spend as much time here as possible, thankyouverymuch.

I want to thank you all for entering the giveaway. If you want to be inspired, go through the comments on the last post: Hello, Summer - A Pier 1 Giveaway and see what everyone would choose for their outdoor space. You guys are kind of fantastic. 

Oh, yes! A winner. I chose one, of course.

I took the number of entries (not counting the doubles - you know who you are or maybe the website glitched on a couple, but that's not important right now) and entered them into the True Random Number Generator on Random.org which chose a number (randomly, of course). 

The winner of the $50 Pier 1 Gift Card is:

Congratulations, Laura!

Please send me an email that says, HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line (so I won't accidentally delete it). Include your home address so I can get this gift card out to you ASAP. 

Thanks again to all of you for participating! A very special thanks to Pier 1 and Latina Bloggers Connect for sponsoring this really fun summer giveaway. The opinions are all my own.

Hello, Summer. - A Pier 1 Giveaway

Today's the day for the Big Reveal and a cool Pier 1 Giveaway. My patio is seriously so bright and inviting now. I'm so excited to share.

To see where I started, read my original post here: Making My Summer Bright With Pier 1.

My vision was to create a new, brighter and much more inviting space in the front of our home on our porch. Like I told you before, we spend a lot of time there and I knew I wanted something that felt super welcoming.

I also knew I wanted lots of color. I wanted it to practically scream, "Hello, Summer!" 

I trotted off to Pier 1 with my trusty iPad mini under my arm wtih all my Pinterest pins ready to feed my inspiration. Wasn't that super post-modern of me? I know. 

If you're feeling it, you can follow me on Pinterest by clicking here: Marta Darby on Pinterest

I chose the furniture first. I knew I wanted the rattan and I was totally drawn to the Pier 1 Coco Cove Collection. So the question then became: What color? 

We had just recently painted our home a bright yellow, so I decided the Mocha would add the most dramatic contrast with all the bright colors I intended to add, so I went for it. 

I ended up getting the Coco Cove Settee, the Ottoman (to be used as a coffee table), and the Armchair. All in that beautifully rich Mocha. 

I'm thinking I can now call this my Outdoor Oasis. Behold the awesome...

I confess that choosing the color for the cushions was much more of a challenge. I wanted them all. And while I love online shopping, is there anything better than seeing and touching and dreaming in person? 

Kudos to the friendly Pier 1 gal who was completely helpful and gracious as I was moving furniture and cushions around in the store. Because it's very difficult to commit to new stuff unless you establish a relationship. Am I right?

I opted for solid seat cushions in bright green for the settee and orange for the armchair. I chose the Kaeden pillows to pull in all those fabulous bright colors. 

If you've been following my crazy on Instagram (I'm Smrtqbn, by the way), you know that I have been a little bit on the obsessed side with these ceramic stools. I just couldn't decide between red or green. If you know me at all, you could have safely guessed I'd go for the red one, of course. Because....hello...RED.

I think it makes an ideal plant stand, don't you? I'm thinking that if I just had one Summer accent piece to choose, this would be the one. 

The ottoman is the perfect size for us to use as a coffee table, and of course to put our feet up when we're not. I added the red lacquer bamboo tray for when we serve drinks out here. I'm so looking forward to my Saturday Porch Time with my next-door-neighbor and friend, Debbie. See how wonderfully inviting this looks?

If you look a little closer, you will see that there's a $50 Gift Card from Pier 1 that could possibly have your name on it.

That's right. Today's giveaway is a $50 Pier 1 Imports Gift Card for you to do some mad summer shopping yourself. 

1) To enter this drawing for the $50 Pier 1 Imports Gift Card please click on this link - Pier 1 Imports and choose a few items you might like to have on your own Summer Outdoor Wish List. (Or maybe it's your Summer Entertainment Wish List, or your Stuff I Really Like Wish List. You choose. It's your List, after all.) Maybe you need a gift for someone special? 

2) Leave a comment on this post and tell me what you chose. 

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Friday, May 30th, 2014 at 11am PST. 

Hello, Summer! 

Disclosure: This is a compensated campaign campaign in collaboration with Pier 1 Imports and Latina Bloggers Connect. The opinions are all my own.

A Falling Star - The Winners

I hope all of you had the chance to check out the Book Trailer for Chantel Acevedo's new Cuban-American novel, 'A Falling Star.' I love reading all your responses so much. There's so much shared history that we have being Cuban-Americans. Thank you all for your beautiful entries.

Sadly, (or happily?) I only have 2 copies of 'A Falling Star' to give away. 

Congratulations to the winners:

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and

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Please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line (so I don't accidentally delete it) which contains your mailing address. Your books will be on their way to you ASAP!

Thank you again to all who participated and shared. 

This beautiful book can be purchased as an "Advanced Copy" via the Carolina Wren Press website exclusively. Here's the link:

A Falling Star - Carolina Wren Press

Also, if you're in the area of Charlotte, North Carolina, Chantel Acevedo will be doing a reading at Park Road Books on May 8th at 7pm. Here's the link: http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/author-event-chantel-acevedo-falling-star

I'm so proud to support this project. Congratulations and a big thank you to Chantel. Please continue to share her awesome with all your friends.