costa rica part three - furry sweetness on the coast

the third leg of our trip started with some kittens. there was a littler staying at our hotel in manuel antonio, and it was a delight to see them every day. 

hoooray, i say. happy to get in the water after hiking in manuel antonio national park.

we spotted a group of monkey's ont he beach. there was about a dozen of them swinging through the trees and they entertained us for about half an hour. here's our best shot:

a few treasures from playa hermosa

me trying to snap some photos of surfers in playa hermosa

and i got one! they were SO good. scary waters though.

back in manuel antonio.. we lucked out and were able to borrow a waterproof digital camera from our friend. thanks cristina!!

pretty succulents in san jose.

jon, being a boy and climbing trees in manuel antonio. this photo is not color corrected at all..  the sky and waters were are THAT gorgeous.

eeep... a pretty big lizard. no thank you.

that's it! where to next?

 

scarf swap!

i participated in meredith's scarf swap this year, and man i'm feeling pretty lucky that i got paired up with crystal from coffee at nordstrom. she did her homework and got me these colorful, patterned scarves. they're long, gauzy and will add a punch to any outfit. (see her scarf post here).

guazy may be a odd requirement for a scarf, but let's face it... i'm in texas and as much as i love chunky knits, it's not very practical in this tropical climate. i can easily wear thinner scarves as the weather transitions from fall to winter and from winter to spring.

thank you crystal! be sure to follow her blog -- she's got great style and is a hop, skip & a jump away from opening up an online store. 

 

bach party in the hills - neon and neutral invites & party pics

so excited to share theis post with everyone --- this has been a little pet project of mine for awhile. as mentioned before, andie & i share a love for all things neon & nuetral -- as apparent with our bottle project.

for her bachelorette party invites i took that mutual love to heart and created a fun invite suite to let the invitees know the busy and fun activities the bridesmaids cooked up. we were headed to the texas hill country, for a some relaxation, wine & lots of silliness before the wedding.

my right brain was thrilled to bring a detailed itinerary to the table. my left brain wanted it to fold up in a tiny envelope sealed with striped neon washi tape.

needless to say, we had a blast! here's a few photos from the weekend... 

one of my favorite shots with the bride, posing at hula hut in austin.

andie and her maid of honor, ms. lindsay.

this was a well-documented weekend. everyone snapping photos in the limo.

the bride & her bridesmaids - all great ladies that she's known very well. and sometimes the bully each other :)

my shoe shot. wearing 3 inch wedges on some hill country terrain. and not a broken ankle, hah!

and my favorite photos of the weekend.. morning after photos. thanks to all the ladies who humored me in taking this photo. there was not primping for these photos and they're still looking pretty hot.

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costa rica part two - monteverde & the earthquake

 our long-tem stop on the trip was monteverde, known for it's cloud forest reserve. we stayed at a small bed & breakfast called mariposa, where there was lots of flowers and butterflies to enjoy. here's an interior shot of the hotel. i wanted to take this striped blanket home with me!

walking inside the cloud forest reserve... again, my rain boots were the best thing i could have packed.

repelling down a 150 foot waterfall! this was so much fun and a little bit scary. our tour guides were awesome!

jon repelling down a waterfall

me walking in a cloud. i loved this weather!

jon overlooking a cliff at the cloud forest reserve. this is where we were when the earth quake hit! we were about an hour away from the national park's ranger station, so we weren't quite sure how 'bad' the earthquake was when it happened. we were surprised to find out it was a 7.6-7.9! we caught the tail-end of the quake in this video.

the gift shop at the park! a true bummer because the gifts in this shop were actually handmade from locals and not just crap from china with costa rica stickers on it.

the day of the earthquake, we headed detoured from our plans in order to not deal with the earthquake stuff (our original plan was coincidentally go where where the earthquake had been) and found a beautiful black sand beach where we watched some excellent surfers. the waves were so powerful... you couldn't pay me to get in this water.

next stop.. manuel antonio..pretty beaches, monkeys & sunshine.

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costa rica - part one - first impression

costa rica was awesome. my first impression was... wow, this place is gorgeous. flowers everywhere. waterfalls coming out of mountains everywhere. the people were so nice. we rented a car and drove around most of the central country and the central pacific coast. 

i couldn't stay in bed if the sun was up (and it came up early!) we mostly stayed at bed & breakfasts and took morning walks to wake our bodies up. we spent a lot of time hiking and a lot of time driving (and kind of fell in love with our rental car, jimney).

first walk of the trip - 5:30 am in san antonio, costa rica.

a hospital that belongs in a wes anderson film.

the BEST sunscreen. seriously... totally obsessed with this sunscreen. olive oil & coco butter. feels great on the skinny.

pretty plants outside our hotel

we were driving in the mountains, through a town called zarcero and saw these faces carved into bushes.  how cool is that? 

more zarcero. smelled like christmas trees.

flowers in zarcero

hydrangeas in zarcero... i was pretty surprised to see so many hydrangeas all over central costa rica. no complaints - love a good hydrangea.

breakfast in punta areanas. 

jon & i on another morning walk

stopped to check out this pretty lake

jon, chasing waterfalls.

me & the waterfalls. my boots were lifesavers! dry feet are happy feet.

 happy to find a brewery! volcano brewing. this place is amazing. all you can eat, drink, tennis, swim & sleep. we just stopped by  for a taste but would love to stay next time around.

more to come!

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it's september - i'm outta here. (+ auggie re-cap)

ah. we're at the beach. on plane. climbing a volcano. catching a wave.... living la pura vida. (ok, maybe in 12 hours we'll be there).

thrilled that i'll be spending the first part of september in costa rica.. the middle part of september in the hill country celebrating one of my best friend's bachelorette and bringing in cooler weather as october nears. bring it on! so ready for fall. and ready to run in some cooler weather. (did i mention i signed myself up for a half-marathon?!)

here's what you missed in august:
a very pathetic july re-cap
new couples shower games at charm & fig - good for baby shower or weddings
some custom work & moving announcements at charm & fig
my countdown to costa rica - etsy treasury and a wipe out!
taking time to make some freaking lemonade.
neon & neutral moleskine journals. made with lots o' love & hand-carved stamps.
a very one-of-a-kind shower invite: tex-brit baby!!

some fun instagram photos along the way... (are you following me yet?)

a view of buffalo bayou park from my mothers -- looks like a 1950's architect's rendering of a model park.

working on a FUN project. will reveal the full thing in late september.

jon & i's attempt to recycle some wine glasses.

goodies from the pinpoint method. check 'em out.

mas projects. neon & neutral.

favorite donut. shipley's strawberry sprinkles. donuts are better than muffins in every way. (taste, calories, joy, etc.)

a good running day for me.. 5 miles.

sprinkles cupcakes - houston, texas.

picking out postcards from penguin books collection.

bracelets made from recycled flip-flops. these colors make me happy!

jazzed up my already peeling mint manicure with some color. just in time for costa rica.

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