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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may expectations ( + april wrap-up)

eeeep. it's may. busy time for us as we're moving toward the end of the month, which means we'll be packing-up from here on out. we're not going far, just a few miles south of here.... so i'll be getting up close and personal with a familiar neighborhood.

 i also expect to be outside playing a lot more this month-- we joined a kickball league, and while it seems to be centered around drinking, i'm actually looking forward to the exercise aspect of it (no joke). bathing suit season is coming up and i'll take what i can get.

here's what i was up to in april (and my fancy instagram photos too):

march re-cap

two DIY projects to bring some pink in your life

people who make things - sara lowery ng of noble house designs

my newfound love affair with texas dewberries

stationery shop is open for biz.... charm & fig

totes cray cray & ping pong ( look, i enjoy writing like a tween).

juicing.. this batch had a single beet in it. it's a pretty saturating vegetable & helps purify your blood among other things. plus, make's everything pink for a few days... :)

I'll do a full-on juice post soon!

mas sparkles por favor.

swoon for spoon. hey britt daniel.

margarita at tacos a go go in the heights! we'll miss this place when we move.

me & jon watching a friend play at a crawfish festival. sunny days.

mailing off my friends & family samples for charm & fig.

max was born!

me & max. just a couple hours old.

wahoo! sending off some etsy orders.. clearly, i need to purchase some stamps worth more than 45 cents. 

my home town is celebrating the arrival of its minor league baseball team and brand new stadium. thanks to my dad for inviting us! we had a blast. 

the stadium is gorgeous... it was definitely designed for families. every where you look, there's something for kids to enjoy... and pretty good beers on tap (saint arnold!).

 

texas blackberries & sorbet

over easter weekend we went to woodville, texas to visit jon's grandparents. the weather was gorgeous and we heard from a bird that blackberries/dewberries were ripe for picking. (note: we learned dewberries are blackberries that grow on the ground.. who knew that tid bit?).

here i am thinking about cool it is we found a handfull of berries. us city kids are so easily amused.

we found a jackpot of ripe berries! it was worth all the little thorns to get them.

our final stash.

when we got back to the house, we made some jam with raw honey from the bees on the land (we were in our own episode of portlandia. is it local? is it local? is it local? yes.)

when we got back to houston, i was quick to make some dewberry sorbet with our beloved kitchenaid mixer. 

so good. perfect summer treat! 

blackberry sorbet recipe

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

3 cups of blackberries or dewberries

juice from two small limes

pinch of salt

in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water. bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and a syrup is formed. let cool to room temperature.

blend the berries, syrup and lime juice in a food processor until smooth. put the mixture in a bowl and chill for at least two hours or up to one day.

pour the cold mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. for our kitchen aid mixer, i had it on level seven for 15 minutes and and level 10 for five minutes. spoon the slushy mixture into a freezer-safe container and place parchment or waxed paper directly on the surface to prevent ice from forming. cover tightly and freeze until form, at least two hours.

 

all about the fruites & veggies

it's saturday -- that mean's we're on our way to pick up our weekly load of food from rawfully organic.

jon signed us up this co-op a few weeks ago, and when he came home with the first load i was AMAZED by how much food we got for less than $50.  just see for yourself...

here's the box we picked up last week. it definitely lasts us through the week and encouraged us to eat more at home and get creative with our cooking (kale chips, juicing, fruit 3 times a day, more salads, cauliflower curry, etc.) plus, it's seasonal, local & organic.



here's a the pre-packed boxes.. $48 for one and it comes with spinach, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, pineapple, apples, cucumbers, strawberries, oranges and more. the stash changes from week to week depending on what is in season, but you get a heads up on what to expect.

a HUGE kale salad we made. (this is a serving bowl, not a personal sized one...)

if it looks like we won't be to eat all the fruit & veggies before our next load comes, i just juice the rest of it. this food below was juiced into two cups of vitamin goodness. (and just what i needed for my flu recovery).

ta-da! we are obsessed.

candied lemons recipe - easy and oh so good

candied lemons



if you like lemons, try this. there's no excuse. it's easy and chances are you already have these ingredients.

in a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. add 1-3 thinly sliced lemons and simmer until translucent, 5 - 10 minutes.

drain and let cool completely on a rack before eating. store in sealed container in the refrigerator.

margarita cupcakes - cinco de mayo

cinco de mayo!

apple tart

thanks to my bf for watching gordon ramsay and getting inspired by this delicious apple tart! man, puff pastry rules.

pulp & juices

citrus fruit yields more pulp than you know what to do with & colorful cocktails.