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Today as we celebrate this special day that Christ was born I am reminded that today is actually a birthday party of sorts. With all of the hectic business of trying to get everything done for Christmas and all of the commercialism of the holiday it was probably the first year that I didn't really feel the spirit of Christmas until today. I was enlightened this morning that we should have gifts to offer for this birthday party, especially to those less fortunate than ourselves. So, today in the true spirit of Christmas I give the gift of gratitute for the rich life I am blessed with. I also give the gift of peace to all of you and your families this special time of the year. Merry Christmas and may we all take time to remember the true meaning of this special day.
We will be open extended hours this Sunday, December 23rd from 10am-5pm and Monday, December 24th from 9am-4pm for all of you who have not yet finished or started your Holiday Shopping.*FREE Gift Wrapping Available
*Lots of great stocking stuffers for $10 and under
*Lots of great gifts for $20 and under
Thursday, December 20th - Don't miss our 1st Annual Men's Shopping Night from 6-9pmThis is perfect opportunity for all of you MEN who have not started your Holiday shopping! Get ALL of your shopping done in ONE night and enjoy holiday refreshments and snacks while checking off your list. You don't even need to worry about wrapping any of your purchases as we will wrap ALL of them for you FREE of charged. We can even ship your packages too!Saturday, December 22nd - Join us for an encore trunk show of local artisan Jean Ryan's work 'Madonna Arts' from 10a-2pm. This gorgeous collection of Madonnas are all hand-crafted by Jean herself. Please come join us to see this one of a kind collection.
Last year Charles took me to this funny, light-hearted play at The San Diego Rep written by local playwright and Latino actor Rick Najera. Charles and I enjoyed it so much that we wanted to let all of you know about it as it is only running through this weekend, the last show is on December 16th! Visit www.sandiegorep.com or call for tickets (619) 544-1000.
Thursday, December 13th - LATE NIGHT Shopping EventWe will be open this Thursday and every Thursday night during the holidays until 9pm so that you can stop by after work and shop at your convenience while enjoying a warm beverage and some tasty treats.Saturday, December 15th - MANO Imports Trunk ShowShop this ONE DAY ONLY from this amazing selection of beautiful textiles and 'Santos' hand-crafted in Guatemala. We will have Cafecito's famous 'Chocolate Mexicano' and Mexican Wedding Cookies on hand to enjoy while shopping.
Please come by tonight between 6-9pm for some festive Holiday Cheer, refreshments, music and fun-filled shopping! We will host our 2nd Holiday Open House tonight at our store and throughout our Gold Coast Center, the other stores in the center will also be open until 9pm. We will also host a very special trunk show of MADONNA ARTS by local artisan Jean York. You can view Jean's work on her website www.madonnaarts.com. Also, if you would like to help local families in need this holiday please bring a non-perishable food item to donate for the Encinitas Community Resource Center's 25th Annual Holiday Baskets Drive. We will also have a special gift with purchases of $10 or more of a charming hand-painted Christmas tree ornament from Oaxaca. See you tonight!
Don't miss us this Sunday, December 2nd at the famous Hillcrest Farmer's Market. We will only be there once for the entire month of December so if this is where you usually visit us please make sure to stop by. We have lots of new arrivals from our last trip to Central Mexico: hand-crafted and hand-painted tin mirrors and wall accessories from San Miguel de Allende, lots of amazing milagros art pieces from Morelia, our ever-popular floral belt buckles set in resin from Mexico City, fabulous Mexican iconic 'kitsch' jewelry and fashion accessories, and more! Come get a head start on your holiday shopping. All registered customers receive a special offer - $5.00 OFF your purchase of $50.00 or more and $10.00 OFF your purchase of $100.00 or more. See you Sunday!
For those of you who were not able to make it to our Holiday Sale this past weekend there are still lots of RED tags left on SALE merchandise which is anywhere from 30-90% off their original prices. Come in soon before they're all gone as this is a great way to start your holiday shopping - with an incredibly unique gift that you actually saved $$$ on! Everything from selected pottery to jewelry to milagros pieces and much, much, more!!!
Don't miss these: *17th Annual Encinitas Poinsettia Festival - Sunday, November 18th 9a-4p on Coast Highway 101 in Downtown Encinitas
* Our 2nd Annual HOLIDAY SALE - Friday, November 23rd - Sunday, November 25th
Select merchandise marked down 30-90% OFF original price! *South Park Walkabout - Saturday, December 1st 6-10pmStroll through this great neighborhood event that promotes local merchants. Visit our 'satellite location' at The Grove on 30th & Juniper.*Hillcrest Farmer's Market - Sunday, December 2nd 9a-1pSan Diego's best Farmer's Market and Open Aire Bazaar. Lincoln & Normal Streets (park in DMV parking lot).
*Annual HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE - Thursday, December 6th from 6-9pm. Enjoy holiday festivities and food while shopping. Special additional discount for registered customers for this ONE night only.
*LEUCADIA NIGHTS & LIGHT UP LEUCADIA- Friday, December 7th from 6-9pm. Stroll down North Coast Highway 101 and visit local merchants while enjoying 'Light Up Leucadia'.
*LADIES WHO LAUNCH INCUBATOR SERIES - Wed, Nov 28th - Tues, Dec 18th (3 Wednesdays and 1 Tuesday). This is an AMAZING women's networking group that we will be hosting an incubator for during this time. Visit www.ladieswholaunch.com/incubator-workshops.cfm/IncID/57 for details.
When we started traveling to San Miguel in 2002 I had never been to Central Mexico before. Now, 5 years later and who only know how many trips I am always searching for something I have not yet seen to discover and do! This trip I was on my own for a lot of the time while Charles was working so I had a lot of 'excursion' time to hunt and search for new resources as well as new inspiration. There are always new stores, restaurants, and galleries popping up in San Miguel every 6 months we visit there. This trip I was sad to see one of our favorite restaurants (Azafran) no longer there and replaced with a new trendy spot. I spent additional time in the 'Mercado de Artesanias' this trip where I discovered a source for something special I have been hunting for - this truly is my joy - the hunt and aquisition of new artisans creating something beautiful for us to bring back to our customers.
Spending time with 'Chilo' (Cecilio) is always an adventure for me while in San Miguel. Chilo does not speak very much English and I speak 'un poco' of Espanol (I end up using added hand gestures and facial expressions to get my point across). Jose who works in Chilo's tallere speaks some English and attempts to be a translator but it doesn't always translate exactly. Regardless, I always am amazed at his talleres' craftmanship and creativity. Sergio took me to the tienda's upstairs tallere where Jose and some of the other artisans were hand-painting the beautiful tin we do so well with at our store. It is always fasciniating to see how much additional work is put into the finished product. Usually several layers of paint are used to achieve their gorgoeus aged looks in their 'El Nido' mirrors and to see them apply by hand gold and silver leaf is incredible. I brought back several new hearts and crosses from the tallere for our customers and ordered more of the beautiful 'El Nido' mirrors that consistently charm us. We hope when we take our first 'Aesthetyx Experience' tour to San Miguel (slated for August 2008) to spend a day in both of Chilo's talleres so our customers can see and appreciate all of the hand-crafted work that goes into every one of a kind piece.
We were so enchanted by the towns of Lake Chapala and Ajijic just 45 minutes outside of Guadalajara. We had heard about this fairly new show called 'Maestros del Arte' that would showcase many of the famous 'Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art' from the original Banamex exhibition as well as other extremely talented artisans from states ranging from Jalisco to Michoacan, to Oaxaca, and more. The event was held at the Lake Chapala Yacht Club and was a gorgeous day to shop! This was a very well organized event that really celebrated the artisans and gave them a venue to sell their artwork to many enthusiastic and eager customers. Next year we plan on hosting one of our 'Aesthetyx Experience' tours in conjunction with this show as we feel our customers who thoroughly enjoy meeting the artisans and shopping directly from them, just like we do!
If you are a tequila connoisseur you must try the new specialty line of tequila 'La Forteleza' by 5th generation Sauza, Guillermo Erickson Sauza . It is a delicious line of tequila that comes in Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo and is packaged in a gorgeous glass bottle with a top that looks like the 'pina' of the agave plant (the part where the liquor is extracted from after it is roasted). Saludos!
Last Saturday Charles & I had one true 'Mexican Adventure'! We headed to the town of Tequila, 1 hour oustide of Guadalajara to visit the Sauza Family Museum and 'La Vila' - the beautiful agave plantation of friend Guillermo Erickson Sauza who is the 5th generation of Sauza's still making tequila the old fashioned way. The 'adventure' part was the movie-like bus ride to Tequila (which was not our original plan but we were on a tight schedule). The bus took twice as long to get us there but it was worth the ride. We were taken on a tour of the Sauza Family museum in the main square and then walked to 'La Vila' where agave and bougainvillea great you at every angle and rustic stone arches and cobblestone walkways pave your way. The original distillery is on this magnificent property and Charles & I were fortunate enough to get a tour of it. We also saw the 'cava' (cave) where the finished tequila barrels are stored, very fasciniting!
Earlier this year Charles and I lost 'Papa Chuck' (Charles' father) and it has been hard knowing he is no longer physically present with us. I especially looked forward to Dia de los Muertos this year as I wanted to do something special in his honor. Papa Chuck was our 'honoree' at the head of our community altar and I think he really enjoyed the Fiesta. We made sure we left out some of his favorite things for him to enjoy- Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream and a bottle of Jack Daniel's. I embrace the beauty of this celebration because it truly honors those who have passed in a very reverend manner which I personally feel is so enlightened.
This year thanks to Sandra who volunteered to make the famous 'royal icing' we had 10 fabulous colors of icing to decorate the sugar skulls with. Sandra, thanks for taking time to make all of the batches - everyone thoroughly enjoyed making a big colorful mess, especially the kids! Next year our goal is to offer Sugar Skull Making classes before Dia de los Muertos for groups with kids since it's SO much fun!!!!
Our customer Pat Ward really knows how to dress it up! Pat came to our event decked out in her fabulous hat hand-made to look just like Posada's famous 'Katrina'. Next year I think we should have Katrina hat contest, thanks for the inspiration Pat!
We are so glad so many of you came out on November 2nd, the true 'Dia de los Muertos' for our celebration 'La Dulce de la Vida' (the sweetness of life). We are especially grateful to all of you who participated in our community ofrenda (altar offering). It made is so special to see so many of our customers' loved ones honored on our altar. For those of you who we didn't get to say 'Adios' to we kept all of the mementoes if you would like them back otherwise we will continue to collect them and put them out again next year.
Aesthetyx is proud to announce that we were selected as 'The BEST of San Diego'by San Diego Magazine, June 2007visit www.sandiegomagazine.com and click on the photo of "The Best of San Diego' cover on the Home page and scroll to pg. 2 about half way down to read their review. You can also pick up a copy of the magazine and we are on pg. 114 botttom right corner.We were thrilled to hear the news and will strive to continue to be The BEST!
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