Kalaya Steede

Eating in Mexico can be a bit tricky. First you have got to know where to go and to know where to go you have to know someone who knows!  Second, don't be afraid to eat stuff. 1.  My morning ritual for the best tamales in the city. Tamale Stand 2.  Then I'd pick up a smoothie which was down the street from the tamale stand and next to Luna de Queso Deli .  Oh and right next to Luna de Queso is a bakery place to get awesome bread!  You would miss it if I didn't tell you. ANYWAY, I was kind of freaking out watching him put fresh banana, and then papaya, but then came the frozen strawberries!  OMG!!!  Am I going to get sick?  But my friend said not to worry.  This is a good place to get your smoothie.  Okay surrrrre. Smoothie Stand 3.   THEN we had a great meal at Diablo Panzon . Great service, food, atmosphere, and wine.   It was here that I was introduced to my first Malbec wine.  Nice! You must go...

I'm going to try something new here.  Instead of posting a long blog about my adventures I'm going to break it down.   Remember the saying? A picture is worth a thousand words. So where to begin? In the Aeroporta of course! That is the Aeroporta in Querétaro. See me sitting there in the front?  I'm talking to some dude who lives in SMA. I LOVE this airport because it is small and only 1 hour away from San Miguel.   I then hop on a shuttle and drive on over to SMA. This way you can take it all in (although I didn't have time for that).  Honestly I was asleep for the entire ride.   What can I say?   I was exhausted from waking up so damn early that day. So if you ever have the need to spend some time in San Miguel and skip Mexico City, then this airport is for you! AND YES... I got searched AGAIN as I always do.   Why is that? Have a great weekend everyone. Namaste Kalaya

Hola everyone! Here are some pictures of my last few days in San Miguel de Allende.  There are rocks and then there are ROCKS... On Saturday we went to go see some cave paintings and these rocks were massive! I had to climb this... to get to this... Which was awesome!  It was amazing how well preserved the paintings were. Here are the rocks we found along our cave painting expedition.  All the crystal you see was found by Jesse.  He has an eagle's eye!  Those black shard looking things are obsidian. Then it was off to visit our friend Kim.  He always has the coolest things to share. When we arrive he shows us a 300 million year old newly acquired fossil.  I have never touched something so old.  It stands 5 feet tall and in mint condition.  I asked Kim if I could have it but he respectfully said, "NO!".  Oh well, you never know if you do not ask! Orthoceras  fossil Check out that Zapata t-shirt! Pic...

I am going to talk about something real scawy! Ready? It is about visiting Mexico!  Now that is scawy!  hahahaha!!! While Sam was off running around a volcano, on our second day, I was enjoying my first cup of coffee and playing with a new photo app.  Check out all these pics. Where I had my morning coffee and journal writing meditation. I found some of Jesse's tools at the place we were staying at. Well after about an hour of waking up and messing around it was time to get into the studio.  Let us see if I can remember how to get to Jesse's studio.   Let the adventure begin!   Yes, you too can walk by yourself in Mexico.  Well at least in San Miguel.  I feel so comfortable there. Except for all those damn cobblestones!   I dread walking on those things.  I suggest good walking shoes.  No heels unless you want to snap your stiletto clean off! Looks kind of deserted for a Friday morning. That...

Yes I have returned from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico safe and sound! Was there any doubt?  hahaha!!! Oh how I have missed San Miguel and my friends who live there.   It is breathtaking when we round the corner of the hill as we approach the city and see the cathedral and all the lights below. I said to myself... Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I have much to share with all of you.  However, I must get everything in my head organized first.  Which is not an easy task.  Ha! I just wanted to drop a "Hola" and wish everyone a fantastic Friday.      ॐ Namaste Kalaya

Buckle Workshop August 23-25, 2013 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico It is that time of year again.  Register and come on down to Mexico for a three day workshop in Jesse Bert's personal studio. Who does not want personal attention?   And that is exactly what you will get from Jesse and myself when you join us for this three day adventure.  Click on the picture in this post or the picture of the buckle on the right and it will take you to the 2013 Buckle's personal blog for the workshop.   Hope to see some of you there! Namaste Kalaya

I think we were in the studio a total of three days (2 half days and 1 full day).  After all, we were in Mexico and cannot spend the whole week in the studio!  Okay...well...we could but there were places to go and people to see.   First day... Like I said in an earlier post...the first day in the studio was a lot of looking around.  We decided that I needed a belt buckle since we were doing a workshop in November.  I could not go around without my very own buckle! First decision was to decide on shape and size.  Second decision was what objects were going to embellish the buckle.  These sorts of details usually plague me for days.  I just cannot make things up on the spot!  I did bring along a skeleton from NOLA but that was it.  I then went to Jesse's stash of found objects looking for things to use. What in the world would I find in that bowl of found objects?  I guess what found me were two metal objects, a ...

Bonjour everyone! I wanted to share some exciting news.  Tinskulls will be making their debut during Art for Arts' Sake this Saturday, October 6th at Adorn and Conquer Gallery , 2038 Magazine Street!!! I will be there around 6ish so stop by, say hello, and stroll along Magazine. Tinskulls were all made from found objects, hand made rivets, recycled LA license plate and Mexican tin.  So fun to make and wear!  Tinskulls Also, do not forget to stop by and say hello to Ms. Catrina by Raquel Jasso and Jesse Bert at Thomas Mann's Gallery .  Catrina has been waiting for this weekend since August! I also want to mention that there will be a joint workshop with glass artist Ginger Kelley and Thomas Mann on October 6th-7th.  It is called... "Captured" Pendant Making .  Looks like pretty cool stuff!  Click here to find out more information. I am so excited and hope to see some of you out there on October 6th. ...