And here are a couple from my Pintrest!
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Monday, April 21, 2014
Barn Yard Chateau
A couple weeks back I was cruising Yahoo and stumbled across this article about old barns remade into beautiful home spaces!!! Ummm HELLO!!! I have an entire Pintrest board related to such projects. Check out the article HERE! One day this dream will come true…that one day may be when I’m retired and 60 but hey better late than never!
And here are a couple from my Pintrest!
And here are a couple from my Pintrest!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Insta Dump #1
I have had Instagram for over 2 years now but just now really started using it. I figured it would be a good way to increase my picture taking and a reminder that it’s ok to use my camera on my phone instead of an actual camera. LOL Here’s a rundown of my Instagram feed since I’ve started really using it.
Book Review: 2 Different Books
Over the past month and have I’ve read one really good book and another really weird and good in its own way book.
Before vacation I bought and started reading a book called Paper Towns. It was one that I just stumbled across via Amazon and thought it sounded alright so I bought it. It took me a bit to get involved in the book but after I did I just kept reading because I had to know then by the end the excitement and suspense had tapered off then it just ended sort of sucky and not at all like the author lead up to be. I was disappointed in the book and kind of felt like all that reading I had done to get to the end was pointless. It wasn’t a type of book that I usually go for and it was a bit out there for me. Either way it was an experience and I finished it on the plane ride home from Costa Rica. If it strikes your interest maybe read it but if you don’t you’re not going to be missing a HUGE story.
When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.
Now for the pretty good book that I started on vacation but finished a week or two ago is Jackie Collins' Confessions of a Wild Child. I had never read any of her books before and I think this was a great one to start with. Not only did this book keep me entertained it also kept me reading to figure out what happened in the end. Don’t you just love those type of books? I do. To top it off when the book ended I could tell that there must be more and well I was right. After searching online Confessions of a Wild Child is just the latest in the Santangelo series. Below is a complete list of the books in the series.
Lucky Santangelo. A fifteen-year-old wild child ready to discover life, love and independence. Daughter of the notorious Gino, Lucky discovers her mother's murdered body floating in the family swimming pool at the tender age of four. Since then Gino has kept her protected from life closeted in their Bel Air mansion. But in Jackie Collins' Confessions of a Wild Child, Lucky finally breaks free, and running away from boarding school the adventures begin. Boys, sex, drugs and rock n' roll - Lucky explores it all in preparation for the strong, kick-ass woman she eventually becomes. Delve into the world that Lucky rules!
I’m currently reading the first book that started not only the series but kicked off Jackie Collins career, Chances. I think this series is going to be great for me to read through the summer and enjoy every minute of the lake and sun!
Happy Reading!
30 Before Thirty
Seeing I’m 27 and almost ½ it’s a perfect time to get my 30 before 30 list together that way my mathematical mind will be at ease since I can split that evenly over the next 3 years and complete approximately 10 a year.
1. Sky dive
2. Get married- barely missed it 4/29/17
3. Road trip to the Carolinas
5. Pay it forward
6. Pay off credit card
10. Hit my goal weight and stay there
11. Start a new tradition with Hendrik
13. Build savings account up
14. take a sibling camping trip
17. run a 5K & 10K
18. Revisit Washington D.C. and soak in the history
19. Take a sushi making class with Hendrik
23. Make a quilt
24. Pay off student loans
26. learn another language... German or Frisian (Hendrik's Dutch language)
27. buy myself something frivolous and nice but not house related
28. join a charity or community organization
30. Have a Pretty Woman themed birthday party complete with red dress and limo to the opera
There you have it...anyone who would like to help me accomplish these goals you can send me the funds. LOL
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Costa Rica Wrap Up
- The money in Costa Rica is called the Colones and when we went the exchange was about 500 Colones for $1 US
- We found Costa Rica to be equally expensive as the US and at times even more so. Be prepared to drop at least $40 for a mediocre meal for 2.
- Research, research, research your rental car deals- oh and research some more. The fees are super hidden and everyone we talked to agreed that it was super expensive and quite the ordeal.
- I suggest that unless staying in just one area like a resort on the beach that you do rent a car and it be a 4X4. We saw so many cars with flat tires and we very grateful we had four wheel drive...this is mainly for the rain forest part of our vacation but either way it doesn't hurt. You never know where or what you'll end up in in Costa Rica. There are so many things to see and close enough you can take short day trips but a taxi would get expensive and in some places taxis aren't around.
- You will also need a GPS. We would have died or killed each other without ours because literally sometimes the GPS would just say turn right on road...no name no number. We would have never made it otherwise and the GPS never led us astray.
- Although some people know English we knew very little Spanish and it was difficult. I suggest getting a small book with phrases in it to communicate. The beach and tourist areas were easier but in the rain forest we found it hard to communicate. Luckily we did know key words which got us to the right place along with our American sign language LOL
- We learned early on that we should have flown into the other major airport in Costa Rica, Liberia, instead of San Jose because it was way closer to our 2 destinations. I had known this previously but I couldn't find any direct flight that were on the same day. They were all 2 day flights so I decided to make our vacation even more adventurous so we drove the extra miles or should I say kilometers. If you do take a trip to Costa Rica with a similar itinerary then flying into Liberia would be best.
Overall I couldn’t have asked
for a better vacation. As far as Costa Rica
goes- it was amazing. We got to see the
majority of what the country has to offer, got to see how the people are self
sufficient and super laid back, not to mention friendly and helpful. All around the rain forest towns, the little
cottage type houses have a cow or two, gardens, and fruit trees. We even saw a cute little village where there
was a nice community garden. They love
their flowers and take good care of what they have even if it isn’t a lot in
our eyes.
As far as Hendrik and I
go- I do admit that I was a bit weary going into this because the past 2
vacations I’ve been on with a significant other ended in my breaking up because
there was just things I couldn’t ignore any longer. No matter how much you know about a person when
you aren’t at home some things just become more obvious because you don’t have
your normal day to day distractions and these can be good or bad things. When you go on an 8 day trip with someone you
really know if you are going to stand the test of long term or not and with Hendrik
there were just good things reinforcing that this is the man of my dreams and
the man I am meant to spend the rest of my life with. We were not apart a minute of those 8 days
and I came home happier, more in love, and secure in our relationship than when
I left. I knew we would get along great because
we do know each other so well but we just had a great time, we never ran out of
things to talk about or laugh about. We
were adventurous and were both willing to do things that were out of the
ordinary. We experienced the culture of
Costa Rica and came away from the country feeling like we grew as people from
being there. I feel like we grew as a couple
and had time that was just ours to relax and learn about each other. without life's little quirks getting in the way. There were times on this trip where I just
felt so overjoyed and a flow of love that the only thing that could half way
convey it was a kiss and an I love you! I
knew this was the right path for me but now I’m even more sure of it. I can’t wait for the many more adventures that
I know we will experience together.
Links to the hotels we stayed in:
All our accommodations were just what I thought they were and we would definitely stay in all three again.
HAPPY TRAVELING
Costa Rica Part 2
Beginning the next leg of our Costa Rican vacation...for the first part CLICK HERE
Day 4- Tuesday March 11th
Day 4- Tuesday March 11th
Tuesday was the day we
checked out of Rio Celeste and headed to our beach resort on the West coast of
Costa Rica which is the Pacific side. The East side holds the Caribbean
Ocean. We had breakfast, checked out and drove about 3 hours to the beach.
We loved driving with the windows down enjoying the changing landscape of
winter rain forest to the dry summer landscape with views of the mountains in
the background.
 |
| More pineapples |
 |
| almost there |
 |
| our first look at the ocean |
We arrived a bit before it was time to check in so we changed
in the hotel bathroom and headed to get our first taste of Costa Rican
beaches. After check in we settled into our room and since we skipped
lunch due to our mini road trip we ordered club sandwiches through room
service.
 |
| lobby |
 |
| from the lobby looking out onto the pool |
Later that night we went to a restaurant recommended by the hotel
called the Golden Shrimp that was right on the beach. We listened to the
ocean and talked as we waited a good bit for our food. We both got
seafood and it was good although a bit bland. After dinner we took a walk
on the beach...the moon was about full so there was plenty of light to enjoy
the beach and ocean at night. We also went to a local grocery store a
short walk from our hotel to get bottled water and snacks for the beach over
the next couple of days. We realized quickly that we were in tourist
country because the prices in the hotel skyrocketed compared to our previous
hotel in the forest. After getting rid of the sand and sweat we watch an
old classic and a movie I love Working Girl. Hendrik had never
seen it but I think he liked it good enough...for a chick flick. LOL
On our 5th day of
vacation true to form we started with breakfast and weren't really prepared for
the itty bitty breakfast room the good sized hotel had especially when it was
made smaller by the team of 30+ rugby players that were very hungry and very
rowdy. After an omelet breakfast we hung out in and around the pool for
about an hour. That was just long enough for Hendrik to get
"bored" and want to do something so he went to the beach to ask about
massage pricing. He came back and after disussing the pricing we decided
to get massages on the beach underneath trees, each an hour long full body for
$45 each. We thought it was a really good deal compared to pricing at
home so we went with it. Not only were they super relaxing since they
were ocean side but the ladies who massaged us were really good and nice.
After lunch we drove to Tamarindo about 20 km away to check out the town and
also to hang around until dinner. We had recommendations from a man in San Jose
that there was really good sushi there. It was a tourist beach town with
a hippy flare. Not only where there tourist of all ages and classes but I
saw many backpackers and several hostels. It is also known for mild
surfing that is great for learners. Hendrik surfs at home on the lake
behind his boat so he was anxious to take a lesson. I lounged in a chair
and read as he took his lesson and learned the ropes of ocean surfing. He
got up and did great the first few times and then he said he started getting
aggravated and tired so after a two hour lesson he was pooped. We walked
around some more and then had an early dinner at a sushi restaurant that was
hidden down a stone passage between to souvenior shops. It was really
good sushi although different than we were used to and the atmosphere of the
restuaruant was so relaxing and secluded from the happenings of the
street. That night after returning from Tamarindo we crashed in our room
to rest for our sun filled day ahead.
Day 6- Thursday March
13th
Thursday was our last
full day at the beach before heading into the city so I wanted to do an
activity and as you've probably figured out the man who wanted nothing but a
beach vacation gets bored at the beach easily...I think if I want a lay in the
sun and read all day type of beach vacation that is going to be a girls trip.
LOL After breakfast we headed back to Tamarindo so Hendrik could rent
just a surf board and try it out on his own since he had the lesson the day before.
I think he enjoyed going out into the waves and figuring it out and he did
great. Around noon we headed back to our hotel because I had booked us a
snorkel trip on a catamaran for the rest of the day. A car picked us up
around 1:30 and took us to the bay area where all the boats anchor. They
don't have docks so water taxis took us out to the catamaran. We sailed
out for about an hour and half, had drinks, visited with each other, and just
enjoyed being on the ocean. Once we hit our snorkel spot we got our gear
and off we went. It was pretty windy that day and the current was pretty
strong as well but we held hands and snorkeled and saw lots of neat fish and
sea creatures together each taking turns pointing out stuff to each
other. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes to an hour before swimming back
to the boat to have a light lunch and more drinks. On the sail back to
the bay we struck up conversation with a couple from Rhode Island.
We loved talking to them and learning things about their state and also
comparing our Costa Rican experiences. Note: they had a VERY
similar situation with their rental car so it is just that way not a one time
incident with us. After we returned from our snorkel trip our light lunch
had worn off so we decided to try a restaurant we had seen while walking around
the area near our hotel. We got fish, rice, chips and guacamole, and I
had a salad. We really didn't like the food at this restaurant and I
pretty much ate my entire salad and sent the rest of my plate back pretty much
untouched. We went back to the hotel to crash after getting a lot of sun
that day and I stayed up in the bathroom all night long with a horrible
horrible stomach ache. I chocked it up to the salad since every time I
eat salad out of the US I get disentary. The salad was also the only thing that
I ate a lot of and Hendrik didn't everything else had been the same and I also
had been drinking tap water the entire trip so that couldn't have been it.
 |
| eating popsicles to cool off |
 |
| it was a hair raising day |
Day 7- Friday March 14th
We checked out of the
Flamingo relatively early after breakfast because we weren't really sure how
long it was going to take to drive from the coast back to San Jose, especially
since I was still very sick with my stomach ache. We headed out about
9:30 and we arrived at our hotel in the city right at 3. We checked in
and decided to head to the rental car office to return our car. We had
originally made plans to return the car the next morning at the airport but
seeing we weren't familiar with the area and the man we were meeting spoke
strictly Spanish we felt more comfortable returning it the day before to the
office where we rented it and then taking a shuttle to the airport. Less
confusion and also less stress at 4 in the morning. What would normally
take 15 minutes took an hour and half due to bad traffic. The workers in
the city get off at 4 so it was right in the middle of rush hour. Once we
got back to the hotel we walked the pedestrian boulevard which is full of
shopping and things to see right in the city center. We had to do all
this at night since it took us so long to take the car back but we did get to
see city life. I also have a confession about this night....due to my
stomach bug and not eating anything for 24 hours I really didn't want to risk
getting sicker and flying the next morning so I was a complete American and
even made Hendrik participate and we ate McDonalds for dinner that night:( I
know shameful but I had been comlpletely emersed in Costa Rican culture for the
past 6 days and I really didn't want to chance it. We turned in to our
hotel around 10 and I did get a bit of sleep that night even though the
bathroom was frequented.
Day 8- Saturday March
15th
We woke up dark and
early at 3 to get checked out and a shuttle to the airport. It is a good
thing we got up early because even though we had to wait around an hour before
boarding the security lines were pretty long and we also had to pay a tax
before leaving. We left San Jose around 6:45 Saturday morning and arrived
in Phoenix for our connecting flight around 11:45. We got my checked luggage
and made the trek through the airport and waited in the most ridiculous
security line that I've ever been in in my life....lets also remember I would
fly into Baghdad, Iraq and it wasn't this bad. We were definitely not
impressed with Phoenix's airport. It was crowded with equipment, set up
was not functional, it was outdated with contributed to the first two gripes
and just all around a mess. Our outbound connection was delayed 30
minutes due to cleaning the ancient airplane we got on which then made us late
arriving into Dallas...about 3 hours late. Since we were late leaving
Phoenix that means we didn't miss the mega storm that hit Dallas. DFW was
shutdown and our plane got diverted to Austin where we sat (ON THE PLANE) for 2
hours waiting on DFW to open. finally around 7:15 we go word that we could take
off and we arrived in Dallas around 8:45. The Marriott shuttle picked us
up and took us to the north hotel where my car was parked. Boy after long
travel days and detours we were exhausted. Hendrik was also looking
forward to eating some non fast food but by the time we got out of Dallas into
somewhere that had eating joints it was after 10 and too late. We
hightailed it home without stopping at at 11:30 that night I was making
spaghetti noodles and pesto for supper. My belly needed the carbs and it
was good, let me tell you! LOL