I recently met Ana Maria on a Monday night at the Menifee Lakes Country Club Karaoke that is run by Nicole Farrell from Frenchnote Entertainment.

Ana Maria does many things but one thing for sure, she sings like an angel.  She started singing at the age of seven and over the years she sang on television in Mexico City and made lots of appearances, as well as singing on many radio stations. Her then husband and the father of her four children did not like her singing in public, so being the dutiful wife that she was at that time stopped singing except for family parties that he was also at.

Ana Maria is from Sinaloa, Mexico.  She has four sisters and two brothers.  Her whole family migrated to Escondido, California in 1953 where one of the owners of a big avocado farm where her father was working, helped him bring his family to California.  She went to school and got married in Escondido and had her children there.  Both of her parents are now deceased.

When she was growing up, she also loved to sew.  At a young age she started doing alterations. She is the mother of four children, two daughters and two sons, all of whom live in California.  After her second marriage fourteen years ago, she moved to Murrieta.

Her current husband Martin has been operating the Sew & Vac repair business for over 30 years.  He started in Escondido, then they opened a store in Old Town Temecula.  Six years ago, they moved to their current location in Murrieta.

Two years ago, Ana told her husband she thought she would go look for a job.  He said:  "I don’t want you to work.  I want you to do things for yourself that will make you happy."  She thought about it and remembered how much she loved owning the boutiques she had in previous years, one in Escondido and one in Lake Elsinore.  She told him:  “If you give me half of your store I can again do my boutique.”  He agreed and that was the beginning of Ana’s Boutique.

Ana loves people and has such a wonderful personality that people young and old love her.  Her mother told her when she was very young that she was such a great bargain hunter.  That is why she loves to seek out all the warehouse sales for great bargains in women’s clothes, hats, shoes and accessories.

Ana’s Boutique is the best kept secret in town. What fantastic items are displayed.  Stunning, unique jewelry and amazing purses, boots of all kinds, including beautiful cowboy boots.  Her clothes are very fashion friendly and the great thing is if they need any altering, she can fix them for the buyer. There are many more beautiful items and she adds new things all the time and what’s unique is that they are one of a kind type items. So this is totally a SHOW UP place to check out.

 Sixteen years ago after her divorce from her first marriage, she started singing again.  She sang at the Million Dollar Theatre which was founded in February 1918 by entrepreneur Sid Grauman as Los Angeles' first movie house.

Ana is in constant demand to sing at rodeos across California, and has lots of outfits, including hats and boots.  Most of the songs she sings are in Spanish as she sings with Mariachi Bands.  She recently performed for the Mexican Fiesta at the Oasis in Menifee with a 17-piece Mariachi band.

 She loves doing alterations and just finished altering sixteen prom dresses and many pairs of pants for the young men for upcoming graduation events. She does lots of wedding alterations.

Singing of course is a great hobby.  She loves to go roller skating at the Murrieta Rink with her grandchildren.

You can find her taking part in lots of community work.  She sings at many fundraisers including helping a San Diego little league raise funds. She is happy she can use her voice for many great causes and her performing allows the group to make money.  Her voice is amazing.  She always gets standing ovations every time she performs.

Ana loves to cook and her husband Martin loves Mexican food.  She likes to make him special dishes.  He is a great husband and together they both get to run businesses they love and still be together every day.

Martin is a master at repairing vacuum cleaners and sewing machines.  He has some in the store that he refurbished and sells.  Their businesses continue to grow through customer referrals as their customers know how much they go out of their way to take care of them and the great work they do to serve them.

Ana Maria loves Thanksgiving.  She gets to do all the cooking and usually has about fifty family members and their families together for dinner at her home for this wonderful day.   

Because they are pretty well tied to their businesses, they don’t get away as much for vacations.  They try at least twice a year to take a week or so to visit family in Missouri. They have gone to such other places as Modesto, San Francisco, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.

I was surprised she had never been on a cruise.  She really does not like cruises. In growing up in Mexico, she lived across from the beach and every day she would swim and dive for turtles, sometimes as late as midnight.

I know Ana Maria and Martin would love to have you stop in to both of their shops.  Ana’s Boutique is totally filled with hidden treasures.  If you have a vacuum or sewing machine issue, Martin is the man that can fix them.

I know this beautiful and unusual boutique will be the place I will again SHOW UP at as I loved all the items (especially the size 8½ sequined boots.  If they were a size 10, I would have walked out with them as they were awesome)!   I plan to take her some of my gowns to her for alterations, as they are now too large for me.  It is a great place to find a unique pair of cowboy boots at very affordable prices.

The minute you meet Ana Maria, you will love her.  She is one totally beautiful individual who is now my new friend.

You can find Ana’s Boutique and Romans Sew & Vac at 40119 Murrieta Hot Springs Road,  #C-101, Murrieta, CA., telephone 951-461-4286