The Magic Gardens... Los Jardines Magicos

We chose to get married at the Magic Gardens because it seemed to be the perfect mix of our interests and cultures. We wanted to support local business and the arts in Philadelphia.

We also like that Isaiah and Julia Zagar have spent their lives beautifying Philly with their art. Recently their son, Jeremiah Zagar, directed a documentary film on a part of their lives called In a Dream. It has shown on HBO, and you can now rent the DVD from NetFlix. It is sort of a sad flick, but it does show how Isaiah goes about making his beautiful mosaics.

This is a photo with the artist, Isaiah Zagar on the wedding day.

The following information is taken directly from Philadelphia's Magic Gardens website.

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is a folk art environment, gallery space, and nonprofit organization that showcases the work of mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar… The installation…covers half a city block... A walk through the labyrinth will reveal sculptures from Latin America and Asia, bicycle wheels from a local South Street bicycle shop, Zagar’s hand-made tiles, and mirrors.

Zagar has devoted himself to beautifying the South Street neighborhood since the late1960s, when he moved to the area with his wife Julia. The couple helped spur the revitalization of the area by purchasing and renovating derelict buildings, often adding colorful mosaics on both their public and private walls.

Zagar started working on the Magic Gardens in 1994 in the vacant lot nearby his studio. He began by constructing a massive fence to protect the area and then spent the next 14 years excavating tunnels and grottos, sculpting multi-layered walls, and tiling and grouting the 3,000 square foot space. The installation pays tribute to Zagar’s many artistic influences, as well as the events and experiences of his life… and also references important elements of the wider world – Las Pozas and Day of the Dead and the dance community of Philadelphia...

Photo Update ... Fotos Nuevos

We just got the full lot of retouched photos from our photographer on pictage. You are welcome to order photos or other printed materials from the site, but we will be getting free cds with all the photos from our photographer. If you see photos that you want, but don't want to purchase, let us know. We can send it to you for free after we get the cds. Then you can print it yourself or just keep it electronically. We can also send you a cd, but she took a lot of photos, over 1000!

We also just found out that we will be featured in one of the "real weddings" sections of the magazine Brides: Philadelphia in the Spring/Summer issue. If you'd like a copy, email me and let me know. I'm guessing each issue is around $5? The feature will most likely be a 1-2 page spread of small photos and will explain where we had our wedding, reception and what our themes were...

Or you can see our wedding featured on Wedding Nouveau, a blog for intercultural weddings.

Thank You for Our Treasures...

We are working on handwriting each and everyone of you a thank you note, but we wanted to show you how we are using some of our gifts from you. We used some of the money to buy two beautiful storage pieces. They come from a store near here called Material Culture. The sun and the moon on the wall are pieces that Claudio and Marga gave us as gifts from Puebla. They are talavera pottery. And the cowboy on the horse is from Tono and Bere. It holds a tequila bottle that looks like a bucking bull.

This lazy susan was a gift from Bob & Barb Crowley. It is handcarved and came from the same town where Bri and Carlos got their engagement ring.

As you've noticed, we like a lot of color. These are a few of the dishes and kitchen gadgets we ordered from Anthropologie. They are displayed in a cabinet that Bri trash picked from the side of the road, and then painted over the summer when we did our series of renovations on the house.
Guess we were in a blue mood when we ordered all these glasses and plates! We immensely enjoy all our new treasures. We wanted to get things that we would use, not fine china that we would store away and only pull out once every 5 years for a special holiday meal. Please help us use our new kitchen gear, and come visit for a meal or a cup of coffee. Thank you all so much for being a part of our lives. Again, those hand written cards are in production. Look for yours in the mail coming some day (hopefully) soon.

xoxo Bri & Carlos

Halloween...Noche de Brujas

Halloween is Bri's favorite holiday. We had a party. Here are some photos of a small sampling of the amazing costumes that were to be seen. The soldier and the Hulk fight it out over who will get the Reese's cups and bob-for-apples first.

Doug, as a unicorn, won Bri's vote as best costume! But there were multiple contenders.

The kids were in the spirit of things. Christopher is "Scream", Alan as a transformer?, and Miss Yaretzy, the spider lady.
Sean and Sara as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Lois did some reporting on the Phillies and Yankees game of the World Series, which was also on that night.

Our Mini Moon... Nuestra Luna de Miel

For our mini honeymoon we went to the Catskills for a weekend visit. Bri really was craving some fall color and Carlos had a few days off from work.

We stayed at the Breezy Hill Inn and took in some cool shopping at places like Clementine Vintage clothes and Kabinet and Kammer in Andes, NY. We also at some great food at Heaven in Bovina, NY and at the Peekamoose Restaurant and Tap Room in Big Indian, NY.

The New Members of Our Family... Nuestra Nueva Familia

Now that we are hitched, we thought we'd expand the family sooner than later, so we went ahead and adopted two little ones from the Fairmount Pet Shoppe down the street. They are both from the ASPCA, but the shop is authorized to adopt them out. It is such a great idea and partnership. We love supporting the ASPCA and a local business all at once!

Little Eva and Ruby are approximately 3 months old. They are not biological sisters, but they get along just like they are. Fighting, playing, vying for our attention, cuddling, sharing each other's food, protecting each other, napping, becoming jealous, getting each other sick. We love them so much.

Ruby is the long haired calico grey. She is more affectionate, more of a trouble maker, and a voracious eater. Eva is black and white with a perfect little black heart shaped nose. She is more of a lady, a bit more shy, and much more fastidious.

Did you know that when cats get sick, you should give them chicken and rice soup? Also, chamomile is soothing for eye irritation. We are reading "Cats for Dummies" but we didn't get either of those two facts from that piece of brilliant literature.

Photos... Fotos

Our amazing photographer, Kella MacPhee, has a sneak peek up on her blog of some of our wedding photos. She took the photo we are using for our new banner for this blog. She is awesome and gave us the rights to our photos. When we get the total package of retouched photos we will post the link here.

Above, members of the breakfast club show off their lovely facepaint. And below, a tight squeeze on the sofa is not at all uncomfortable for lifetime friends during the wedding eve cocktail soiree.

We loved receiving all the candid shots from our fellow guests. We think some of you may have more photos. If you'd like to share, we have created a site on Shutterfly. You can go there to see, print, share, or save photos. Or you can befriend us on Facebook and share there.

The photo above, of us, was shot by Erica Maier. The one below, was of Val, by Val Lapinski. Doesn't she look fabulous?