And Our Padawan is a...

For what seems like weeks (reality it’s been only like two), Gus and I have been keeping another huge secret. A secret that has kept folks on pins and needles - the sex of our Padawan (Youngling for those of the extra nerdy kind). 

I have to admit to you guys that I honestly have been genuinely surprised at the hype this has caused amongst family and friends. Folks have tried during this time to fool us into revealing our secret...to which all have failed. We were even bribed with money and, at one point, dinner and a big ticket item off our registry, but honestly, everyone finding out all at the same time felt a lot more fulfilling than letting it slip to anyone. 

Our gender reveal happened on Sunday, February 11th and we couldn’t have been more thrilled with how everything turned out. Check below for some of the highlights.

Because...what kind of jedi would we be if we didn't weild our own lightsabers 😅

🚨Baby Bump Alert!!

Group Photo!! There seemed to be an overwhelming  show for Those on Team Girl.

And here’s the reveal!! I explained that we would be revealing the sex two ways. One would be by way of lightsaber, where either the lightsaber would be Blue or Red. Another indicator would be the from the smoke that would come from blowing up the Death Star (like in Episode 4 of the Star Wars Saga..see clip here).

HERE WE GO!!

😂 🤣Ok...for real now...Here we go! 🎉

Gus and I are so excited with the fact that our Padawan is a boy. It was both of our first guesses from the very beginning. #nolie Now we are just planning and preparing for his 💙arrival (guys, you have no idea the relief it is to write a pronoun instead of “it” or “spawn”). Well, until our next update! 

P.S. - Want to know where I got my supplies? Here is a list below:

Gender Reveal Smoke Stick (Wire Pull to Start) - Gender Reveal Supplies

Box - Target (Office/School Section)

Wrapping Paper - Michaels (Value Section)

Decor - Only One Mark, Inc. (Blog post for instructions on how to make the box will be posted sometime soon. 😉)

P.S.S. - Wanna see the video? Click here!

2018: A New Adventure for a New Year

As another year has come and gone, I can't help but be so grateful for what 2017 brought our way. 

Going into 2017, I wasn't sure we could top all of the exciting things we, Gus (my husband) and I, had experienced throughout 2016. We took two trips out of Miami and got to see New York and Las Vegas for the first time ever. The fact that we both got to see a city get covered in snow right in front of our eyes and got to see the beauty and glory that can be found in the wonder that is the Grand Canyon. We also had FINALLY bought our own little casita and felt like life was finally starting to move forward. 

But oh, how 2017 showed up to impress. While there were some not so fun moments that will remain nameless, this past year really opened new doors with new possibilities that can best be described as dreams come true. In April, I made a huge decision to take a leap of faith and make Only One Mark, Inc. my sole source of income. As scary as that was (even to say it out loud), it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. While this change hasn't been easy (nor did I expect it to be), I'm still learning new things one day at a time and even surprise myself from time to time with the #girlboss looking back at me in the mirror. Another major decision was to rebrand Only One Mark, Inc. in August.  It not only gave the company an update it desperately needed, but also opened the door to allow Gus to take a step back behind the scenes and I a step forward to being the main voice for our company.  

And how could I forget all of the wonderful design opportunities this new year presented for OOMI as well. There have been so many wonderful clients that I just couldn't be more grateful for and so many opportunities from Vendors to help bring details of their styled shoots to life. So without further ado... below are some highlights from this past year including our #2017bestnine that was generated from our 2017 top Instagram posts.

Our ##2017bestnine

But wait! I've saved the best for last...

You may or may not have noticed that things have gotten a little quiet (too quiet even for me) on our blog and social media profiles. Well, there is a huge reason for it. 

🎉 Gus and I are so excited to announce that we are EXPECTING!! 🎉

We found out on Halloween that we were expecting our own little Padawan (aka young Jedi in training). While we don't know if it's a girl or a boy (and trust the #teamboy & #teamgirl guesses have begun between family and friends), Gus and I couldn't be more excited about this new life chapter. Baby G is already loved so much by so many and I can't wait to share more with you as each month goes by. #maytheforcebewithus ✨ 

Wedding Invitations Are Family Heirlooms

When I was small, I remember moments where I or my sisters would ask my mom to tell the story of how she met my dad. Something about listening to their random meeting always seemed to intrigue us. You see, my dad actually saw my mom in traffic and proceeded to follow her home. He would pull up next to her and signal for her to pull over. Being the smart woman my mother is, she kept signaling him to follow her home knowing my grandfather and uncle would be home. Once they arrived to my grandparents house, my dad ended up meeting my mom's family and formally asked her for her phone number and to take her out. It was definitely a different time then, but always a fun story that would lead to how my dad proposed to my mom and finally when to the story of the day they got married.

So, needless to say that when we were clearing out a family storage locker recently, we found some of the most precious momentoes of our family's history. Things that have fabulously stood the test of time. These pieces are some of the only momentos they have from their wedding day..

Photo Credit: Dipp Photography | Design + Print: Nuñez Printing & Invitations

Photo Credit: Dipp Photography | Design + Print: Nuñez Printing & Invitations

It's an incredible feeling to have been able to see this piece of my parent's history together. Just to see how simple and yet how elegant the invitation was. And let's not forget the small reception card placed for guests to know where to go. Ack...it just makes my stationers heart go a flutter.

Photo Credit: Dipp Photography | Design + Print: Nuñez Printing & Invitations

And...let's be frank here, the fact that my parents actually have the polaroid photos from that day could almost be compared to the cell phone photos from today. Their invitations are truly family heirlooms that are an important piece to their beginning. 

Although their photo albums weren't found in the best condition (friends, take these and other important photos with you if you have to put stuff into storage), it was still a blessing to see these captured pieces of what was my parent's beginning.

The most important photos of the ceremony made it to this small album.

Photo Credit: Dipp Photography | Wedding Photo Credit: Louis Martinez

Photo Credit: Dipp Photography | Wedding Photo Credit: Louis Martinez

So in closing, I want to stress something to you that may make a little more sense now after seeing these small, irreplaceable treasures. Friends, don't let anyone tell you that you don't need invitations or a photographer, videographer...anything for that matter. I would encourage you to do your own homework, work out your budgets and see what is most important to you. I can tell you wholeheartedly that I'm so happy they have these pieces to not only share their story with my sisters and I but to the rest of the family to come.

My Parents at Our Wedding | Photo Credit: Baron's Visual Images

Our Wedding - 11.11.11

Unless we are friends on Facebook, there is something I've never really shared with the world. You might have heard all of the funny stories, scares and precious moments during a meeting between sips from your coffee cup. But honestly, I can't believe it's taken this long to share it. 

Family, Friends, Blog Visitors - I give you some photos from our wedding.

Yup. The day 10 years in the making, 7 years dating; November 11, 2011 was the day that Gus and I were married.

According to Gus, his day got started with waking up at 5:30am. He was so excited, he couldn't sleep anymore. So instead, he ran laps around what would be our apartment complex to try to get tired but that didn't work. 😂  The rest of his day was spent hanging out with his friends at what would be our apartment, playing video games and hanging out. Once they were ready to go, he gave his groomsmen their gift (a flask with their favorite superhero on the front) and took a celebratory drink.

Back at my parent's house, I spent all day watching my favorite Disney Movies and spending time with my bridesmaids. My youngest sister even made a sign for the front of our house. Once we were all ready to go, we headed out to our venue.

Our wedding was themed after the movie Aladdin. We kept the main colors navy and gold with accents of other bold colors that reminded me of all the treasure found in the Cave of Wonders. We had place card holders that were small golden elephants, Moroccan lanterns centerpieces instead of flowers, and my favorite detail, a magic carpet that we would be married on. And another detail we decided upon was dressing up our ring bearer and flower girl as Aladdin and Jasmine. I'll let you keep scrolling to enjoy the magic that unfurled that night. 😉 ✨

One of the major snafoos but one of the funniest moments of our wedding was that unfortunately, the DJ could not play the song I had chosen to walk down the aisle to. When they tried to play it, a loud boom screeched over the sound system 💥  and my poor ring bearer ran back up the aisle screaming for his dad. Thankfully we had a backup song from some Disney themed instrumentals that we had playing prior to the ceremony. So a lesson for all: have a backup plan and don't stress if something goes wrong. It will just forever be part of your wedding day story. 😅

And WE GOT MARRIED!! The rest of our night was filled with lots of laughter, dancing, and more memorable moments. 

And there you have it...our big day in a nutshell. It was a day we will never forget.