The Importance Of Having A Handy Partner
Growing up, my parents and siblings didn’t know how to do ONE practical thing.
At home, if a bulb burned out, the car battery died, or the oven was unplugged, we needed to call a handy man to fix it. No way around it. In one of our many family car trips, we got a flat tire… my dad and older brother took 2 hours to change that tire! 2 whole hours. 120 minutes. TRUE STORY! Taking that long to change a tire doesn’t only mean that you are unpractical, but that if the end of the world should come, you are guaranteed to die within seconds.
In a way, being surrounded by a bunch of useless people in your childhood is a blessing in disguise because once you have lived life with a handy partner there is no going back – it becomes a Tinder requirement.
Hence, George enters the scene.
When I met George 15 years ago (holy smokes. That is a 1 and a 5 next to each other), I was impressed. Aside from changing bulbs, charging batteries and plugging appliances, the guy fixed his own cars, repaired all his gadgets and changed tires in less than 3 minutes. Can you believe that? This is huge for those of us unschooled in functional activities.
Now that 15 years have passed, I am seriously spoiled and dependant on this man that repairs and builds whatever he feels like.
Now, don’t get me wrong. George has many faults but those have been overlooked thanks to this one advantage. Every time I have a foot out the door, I am reminded about the end of world being near and my only chance of survival being that man that I am trying to leave behind… which makes me wonder: how do people survive with partners that are not handy? When stuff breaks in the house, who fixes it? When you buy a vintage lamp that doesn’t turn on, who mends it? When you have to install wallpaper in your kids’ room, who does it?
It is a luxury to walk around a flea market, see whatever old piece you wish, and know you have this guy at home that can repair it. My kids, for example, blindly believe that George would fix their toys no matter the damage they inflict on them, and he does, except for that plastic train toy they tore into pieces and then flushed down the toilet. One thing is to be a handy man; another one is to be God.
This is the Halloween robot costume that George did for the kids. Lights, switches, and a robot voice transformer included. Very sweet, don’t you think?
Here is a photo of George with Victor doing their famous standup trick. Victor was only 7 months. This is not handy, but pretty adorable.
How about you? Do you have somebody handy in your life? If not, how do you solve daily problems like a broken washing machine or a dead battery? Would love to hear.
Also, a post about being called after your husband’s name, how many kids is enough, and, camping in Idyllwild.
We went skiing to Big Bear back in January. It was the first time for Víctor and Max, and they both loved it. How could they not? There was plenty of snow and 60 degrees weather… only in California.
Look at this little one on his mini-skies! People were so surprised to see him going down the mountain with us. He is a tiny creature! He was, without a doubt, the youngest kid on the mountain that weekend. 
And here he is in the middle of Snow Summit mountain… totally exhausted. 
A well deserved meal. I have never seen my kids eat so much.
Big Bear Village is a cute little town with nice restaurants and coffee shops. After spending the day skiing, it was fun to go there to have dinner and relax a little bit.
Max couldn’t make it through dinner. ha!
Back in LA, Max’s favorite hobby is eating ice cream. 
This is a picture of Salt & Straw, one the best creameries on the west side.
Hi there, Víctor!
Did I mention Max can read? Not really, but he looks super smart here.
I found this picture of George when he was 25 years old, so very cute, and he still has that jacket!!
George and my friend’s son, baby Andrew!
As some of you know, I have been obsessed with the Flower Market in DTLA. I have been there almost every weekend for the last 2 months. I know the vendors, the flowers, the smell. I love it so much, I am always finding new excuses to go.
Hey, Max!
Victor being very helpful – decorating for Easter.
More ice cream!!! and filthy children. 
There are a lot of hugs and kisses going around in our house.
Here is me trying to take a picture for my profile. George thinks is too cold. I kind of agree so I am just posting it here. Also, as you can see, I am not a fan of makeup. 
Eating at Maple Block Meat, the best meat restaurant in Culver City. It is just excellent.
Max and I spending our Tuesdays together.
Having brunch at S + W Country Diner in Culver City. This place is so good it gets crowded 10 minutes after opening. You need to be there early! BONUS: Lots of toys for kids to play with. Perfect!
My friend Sarah celebrated her birthday at the Commissary in the Line Hotel. We had brunch with friends in this gorgeous place. It was fun! and the only hip thing I have done in the last 3 months, so I am sharing it here. 
Another proof that I am not into makeup. 
My favorite part of the Commissary was the mismatch-vintage dinnerware they have. Look at this beautiful coffee cup I got!
Hope you enjoyed the photos! Have a wonderful day!
As I mentioned before in 
We met the weekend before to go to the
Cute, don’t you think?
Ranunculus galore!
These two rascals getting into those foam blocks before the workshop started:
My beautiful friend Charlene taught the workshop. She has a special gift for finding beauty in everything she does:
We wanted to use edibles in the arrangement, so we bought kumquats. For flowers, we got pincushions ranunculus and anemones. We found that 2-3 pincushions, 5 ranunculus and 2 anemones was enough for a frontal arrangement. Everybody ended up using more flowers because they decided to do centerpieces that could be viewed from all sides, this meant that a lot of people ended up cutting greens and flowers from my garden to be able to fill up the whole vase! That was probably the best part: foraging for beauty. Here are more pictures:
It is unusual to have these kind of meetings for friends. I think that is the reason why everybody was so happy to participate in this workshop. It is nice to do something different that is DIY related, don’t you think?
The end.
