Toe-MAY-to, toe-MAH-to and toenails

A month ago, the bf and I were talking about taking a vacation (yes, only a month after our last vacation in Alaska. See what working does to us!) and somehow the topic of taking part in the Tomato Fight Festival on the streets of Spain came up. I had no idea what this was, but apparently it is exactly what it sounds like - a tomato fight in the streets of Spain. The bf insisted that this was a must-do item on his bucket list. So imagine the thrill when just a few days after this discussion I saw a groupon for the NorCal Tomato Battle at the Alameda County Fairgrounds! Being that this was the hugest coincidence ever (and much cheaper than a trip to Spain), I pounced on the groupon immediately. 

The Tomato Battle was this past Saturday, and they sure did they pick a hot day for a tomato fight. It was well into the 90s that day and all I could picture was hot rotten tomatoes being thrown at my face. Fortunately, when we arrived at the fairgrounds and caught sight of the pile of tomatoes, they looked pretty much in tact and weren't smelly, at least where we were standing. We later learned that these tomatoes were ripe tomatoes that were no longer fit for human consumption. Looking at the pile, I thought this is definitely not enough tomatoes for the hundreds of people here. Boy was I wrong (as you'll see later!)

Unsuspecting pile of ripe tomatoes

Before the actual tomato fight, they entertained the crowd with music, beer and a costume contest. Here are some of the cute and clever costumes. Trust me, you'll be thankful to not see some of the more revealing costumes people wore. 

Tomatoes

Probably my favorite - BLT

Spaghetti and meatballs (she later won)

Immediately after the close of the costume contest, the fence to the pile of tomatoes opened and the people went CRAZY! The fence was trampled to the ground and sweaty, intoxicated, screaming people pushed their way through to get their hands on the first tomatoes. Unfortunately we did not realize the gates had opened so soon, so we were at the back of the crowd gathering the tomatoes that had flown our way in hopes of relaunching them at our attackers (whoever they were). There were tomatoes zooming left and right, being tossed into the air and coming right for our faces! Hopelessly trying to  defend ourselves through our now foggy, tomato-splattered goggles, we picked up the remains of tomatoes and threw them back at anybody. If anyone is wondering what it feels like to be in a tomato fight, it's kinda like being in a really bad food fight with adults...some with incredible throwing arms. I swear some of the tomatoes that hit me were thrown by baseball players...they hurt! Some people were way more aggressive than others. The sneaky, conniving lady next to us threw a whole cup of tomatoes at this girl who retaliated by throwing tomatoes (meant for her) back at us! If you're reading this lady, I don't like you and watch out next year (I'm really only halfway kidding)

Accurate depiction of what I could see 

Once the tomatoes were all used up and people were covered head to toe in tomato juice, the crowd started to clear and the remaining hard core bunch continued to fight each other with the grimy mixture of tomatoes, mud and dry grass. It was at this time that I decided it was time to go! Although we didn't get to toss fresh tomatoes and we were by no means as smothered in tomatoes as others were, we did have a lot of fun and highly recommend this event to anyone who is up for a good food fight!

Before: Ready to get messy in our disposable clothes and free headbands

After: Tomato splotched and ready for a shower

After cleaning off and a nice hot shower at home, I decided it was time to have some fun with my toenails. I kept seeing leopard print nails everywhere (and by everywhere I mean Pinterest!) and while this may not be appropriate for my fingernails at work, I thought it would be fun for my toes! I have never really done nail art before and believe me this was super easy. The splotches are best imperfect and that's what makes this design so simple to do by yourself. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to experiment with their nail polish. 

From left to right: NYC Lincoln Square Lavender, NYC Park Ave,  NYC Chinatown, Wet n ' Wild Sparked,
INM Out the Door topcoat

That evening we got to have dinner with our friends at a thai restaurant. I'm a huge fan of thai food and just love thai curries and noodle dishes, but good food is always better with friends. :)

Sunday was more of a run errands and do chores sorta day, so no fun photos to share about that. The bf did get to upgrade his old phone to the Samsung Galaxy SIII. It was quite a toss up between that and the epic iPhone 5. In the end the Galaxy SIII won because of the google map feature, big screen and availability (we were told we could not get the iPhone 5 unless we ordered it and waited until the end of October). So far he really likes it, but I guess only time will tell. 

Well now it's getting late and I have work tomorrow so I guess I should go to bed. Good night!