American Expat Finds Retirement in Costa Rica - Our Life in Costa Rica

Hey y'all it's your girl.

There is a website up called Overseas American, it's a new site catering to Americans looking to move or find work abroad. They contacted me a few months ago for an interview to publish during their "go live" phase in September.

And today I got an email that the interview is up. Check me out and then if you would be so kind as to Comment/Rate the interview/Share it (you can choose one or all) - we would like to get the word out for folks looking to make the move and also so that we can see how many folks have read it, I would really appreciate it.

You can click on the link below the toucan or click here

Muchas Gracias!

American Expat Finds Retirement in Costa Rica - Had to Share This One

Our First Christmas in Costa Rica

Lots of parties up on these ridges during the holidays. When its all over I think we will have attended 10 different events.

Here is a video of the Annual Solstice party hosted by our friends Jim & Irina. It was held on El Cajon which is the next ridge over from ours.

It was an awesome party. And what a lovely home they have!

Annual Solstice Party Dec 2016 from Devon on Vimeo.

Pink Linen in the Rain

We had big plans on Sunday to attend Barrio Escalante's La Luz outdoor food festival in downtown San Jose -- but we woke up to rain. (BTW-the rainy season was supposed to be over in Nov -- we are more than ready for the beautiful summer dry season!!) We were going to the festival with a group of folks in a rented 21 person van. The instructions were to meet at La Terraza B&B for breakfast at 9am and leave for San Jose at 11. Usually the rain here is intermittent and a shower in the morning is not indicative of rain all day but as luck would have it, once we arrived, we found out that the forecast for Sunday was for rain -- all day! So, our event was canceled -- however, since we were already there and a couple of folks had cameras, we decided to take some photos of the beautiful grounds. 

Also one of the ladies is a videographer and was shooting film for an upcoming ad for the B&B which I just might have a bit part in (stay tuned).

While cameras were out I had my other half take a few pics of me in my pink linen and also a couple of video clips of me using the bridge as a make shift runway. 

Canceled due to rain! from Devon on Vimeo.

Easy like Sunday Morning - Life in Costa Rica

Lily & Lola chillaxin as the sun come up over our ridge

What your clothing says about you

Things are a changin!

but...

one of the things that has not changed, is my love for fashion and design. 

We moved into a furnished house in Costa Rica. I brought very few of my personal belongings and the space did not feel quite like "me". After living with what we had for a while I decided to buy a couple of Costa Rican Rockers and also some pottery from Nicaragua. Next I added some other odds and ends like lamps, a few pictures and some kitchen items. Although it still isn't quite "me" it's coming along. We are planning to make a trip to Guatemala soon and I am eager to bring back some of their beautiful textiles for our home. 

My next project...

my clothes

Since we were not bringing a lot of clothing, I downsized my wardrobe and then selected the clothing I thought would be most appropriate for our new life and a very different climate (mostly based on what I had read from other expats).

Since we have been here almost 5 months I have learned quite a bit about how I want to dress and it turns out that I brought many of the wrong items.

It is next to impossible to have packages shipped into Costa Rica so I thought I would have to live with what I had brought, until, an expat friend told me that she makes trips back to Houston a couple of times a month and would be happy to bring back some clothing items for me.

So I set out to find myself some new clothing.

YES!!!!

(thank you Deborah!!!)

BTW - up until now I have NEVER ordered clothing online (unless it was something I had already seen and tried on in the store) 

So this was completely new to me.

I took to Amazon, reading the reviews and checking each piece very carefully as I knew that it would be very hard to return any of the items that I did not like or that did not fit properly. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered a site that specializes in 100% natural linen (the perfect fiber for the hot Costa Rican weather)

I want to feel comfortable and confident in my clothing

My new favorite place to shop online is Vivid Linen!!

Vivid's linen apparel is cool, stylish and comfortable. The boutique meets the demand from both men and women on linen wear.

link  Online Store

I found so many pretty things on their site that I went a little overboard (I bought tops only) and I was super happy when my friend delivered them to me.

I might also note that the packaging is 1st class. They are individually wrapped in plastic and then slipped into a very nice linen bag (picture below does not do it justice).

The clothing quality is amazing!!

I plan to take some photos of me modeling the clothing (I also bought linen slacks from another retailer) and will share them here at some point in the near future. Stand by

link this is the yellow top pictured in the photo

It might be late in the year for some of you in the U.S but consider for warmer weather.

The styles are also very comfortable for those of us who like a looser fit.

They have a physical store in Hong Kong but thank goodness you can shop them online! 

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Coffee Grounds - I'll take you there!

This was originally the Saturday video/post for my blog The Aspiring Expats but since I finished the editing early. YAY!! (for once) I thought I would post it here first

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Marcelo took us on a tour of the coffee farm that is behind our house (Casa de Coffey) and down a steep hill. To be honest, I always thought we were living on the edge of a cliff, and if we went out too far, we would go tumbling down the hillside, crashing through the trees and coffee plants and land in the river (which of course would contain wild animals and snakes). Truth! (smile) Really though, all I can see from our patio is coffee and trees for miles (and of course the rose garden).

I had no idea!

We were both pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it is out there. There are paths and trees and flowers and lots and lots of coffee! No wild animals only the neighbor's friendly Schnauzer.

I am so happy we had a chance to see it and Marcelo was so nice to answer the 1001 questions we had.

Come along with us and see for yourself.

Today's video is about 12 minutes long, so grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (depending on what time you are reading this)get comfy, sit back and enjoy. (Excuse the audio in portions it is a little low - just turn up the volume a little)

Coffee Grounds - Exploring the farm from Devon on Vimeo.

 email subscribers click the link above

(If any of you come to visit  us "I'll take you there" out behind our house and walk along the beautiful paths leading to the river)

What's my size? The wacky world of women's clothing sizes

A question crossed my mind over the weekend as I was doing some online shopping for clothing. When it came to size selection, I had NO idea what size I should order. I am a person who usually has to try everything on to make sure it fits.

I'll let you know when I receive my orders. I might even post them here on the blog since I have not done a fashion shoot since I moved to Costa Rica. Stay tuned...

The women's clothing size issue has caused problems for me most of my life.

Men’s clothes on the other hand, seem to be labelled with pretty reasonable sizes. Shirts are labelled with chest sizes or collar sizes; trousers tend to come with measurements for the waistband and leg length. 

Unlike men's clothing, women’s clothes are a minefield. No matter what the item, whether it’s a blouse, skirt, pair of jeans, or a dress, it comes with a single size on the label: an apparently arbitrary number that refers to none of the item’s measurements. And as an additional complication, that size isn’t standardized across different brands, so someone who wears a UK size 12 in one shop might be a 10 in another, or an 8, or a 14, and the only way she’ll find out is by trying things on.

Have you ever wondered why?

“True sizing standards didn’t develop until the 1940’s,” says Lynn Boorady, fashion and textile technology chair and associate professor at Buffalo State University. “Before then sizes for young ladies and children were all based on age — so a size 16 would be for a 16-year-old — and for women it was about bust measurement.”

As American girth increased, so did egos. And thus began the practice of vanity sizing. Hence, there really is no standard sizing and the stores and manufacturers are free to choose whatever sizing they choose.

So, if you’re a woman, what all of this means is that you’re doomed to continue trying things on, or obsessively checking sizing charts online, until you find the size that’s right for you – most of the time, the number on the tag won’t tell you what you need to know. And as long as women’s clothing is mass-produced the way it is right now, that’s not going to change.  source

There's gonna be a Wedding!!!

Not me of course!!!

The other day Kathleen, Jane and I went into town.

Our mission: To find an acceptable fabric for Jane's veil

Jane & Kathleen are both part of the expat group of 10 couples 

that will be re-married  (under Costa Rican law) on El Cajon ridge this Saturday.

We went into town to get some last minute wedding items. Jane has a tiara which she plans to wear (a very heavy one) but beyond that -- she has no idea what else she is wearing (and the wedding is tomorrow)

This should make for a very interesting affair!!

Here's a clip of our little shopping expedition 

She's getting married! from Devon on Vimeo.

BTW- I will be one of the photographers and video folks who will document the event on Saturday!!!

Plus I feel a fashion reveal coming on

Stay Tuned!!!

Good Morning from Costa Rica

Off to do some shopping in town

Have a great weekend!

Reflections on our new life in Costa Rica

Today I'm going to cover several things at once and get you all caught up.

Grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine for this one

First - We now have a cat. A kitten. He came to us on July 5th. We had our housekeeper take him away to give to a family that wanted him but about a week later he was back.

I took him to the vet to have him checked out to make sure he was Ok and got him his first vaccination, de-worming, nails clipped and flea and tick prevention. Total cost $24.

Turns out he is a male about 4 months old. He is in good health.

We didn't really want a cat since I already have 2 dogs but there are a lot of strays here and rather than have him mistreated or dumped along the side of the road we have let him stay. He does not come in the house (unless he sneaks under the screen) LOL He loves playing in the hills and in the coffee fields. We have a large patio so he hangs out there most of the time (napping on one of our many chairs). At night he goes up on the ledge under the roofing over the patio (I guess he feels safer up high)

Very smart cat.

We named him Luis - actually one of our friends from California came up with the name. Beginning with the letter "L" to go with Lily & Lola and because we live in San Luis de Grecia. Lavanson is an L and my middle name is Lynn. So quite appropriate.

People have said that a cat chooses you and that they are your angel. So....for now....We have a cat.

our little angel "Luis"

Second - Some of you may remember me buying lots of stuff (makeup etc) to bring to Costa Rica before I left SF. Many of you were perplexed and thought it was sort of odd because I should just buy things here. Well, I am so happy that I did -- because prices are crazy here for luxury items. I looked at a pair of Tom's (just a plain black pair) and they were $65 and up. I think @ Whole Foods the cost was about $58.

If you want to really save money here you have to adjust how you live. You cannot live the same way you did in the states. However, rent is so cheap that it is still worth while living here. My rent is $266/month (my 1/3) Rent in the U.S was $2,400 - you do the math!

Before I came, I bought lots of makeup - lipstick, etc but the one thing I did not bring was nail polish. Mostly because I heard that it would dry out and I figured "how much could it cost?" Really?

When I decided I wanted to paint my nails I went out and bought some polish at the Central Market. It wasn't too much. I bought a small polish remover and polish for about $4.

Costa Rica nail polish in teeny bottles

the remover is in small bottles (the images are much smaller than they appear!) The remover is not strong so you use up most of the bottle trying to remove your polish.

The polish was dreadful It chipped and peeled and just looked awful. It never went on smoothly from the start. Yesterday we were at the Auto Mercado (a grocery store which caters to expats) and I decided I was going to get myself a bottle of REAL polish with a brand name that I recognized.

So I bought 2 bottles of Sally Hansen (that is not a high priced brand)

The smaller bottle was $7 and the regular size bottle was $12.50.  That is about twice the price that it costs in the states. The Revlon polish was $14

also pure maple syrup is $30. My Genoa salami is $6 a pack (about 8 slices) REAL cheese is crazy expensive like $15 or something. Yesterday I bought 3 packs and got charged for 4 - with the nail polish and other items my bill was $105
fruits & veggies are SUPER cheap but you gotta eat like a local or you will go broke!

Of course there are many, many pluses - Our view is to die for and the weather is perfect among other things so we still love it here! 

Third - We finally bought a gas grill. Price was $275 assembled. (I think that was a pretty good price) We brought it home in the back seat of a taxi.  The gas can with gas was $75! (ouch)  - but you have to buy the can then take it to your local pulperia (neighborhood store) for gas refills. 

To break in the grill we decided to invite a few friends over. Especially since we NEVER had a gas grill and did not know exactly how to use it.

Our short party video is attached below

Our 1st Party feat the cat that acts like a dog from Devon on Vimeo.

Video link above

Oh and Lastly - We took the bus to Alajuela (22 miles away) yesterday so I could get my hair done by my new Sisterlocks Consultant. Her name is Dr Carmen Hutchinson-Miller and she was awesome!!! Did a great job and took about 2 1/2 hrs (normal) The price was $40. I pay $100 back in the states. Cost of the bus was $1.20 ea way and takes about 30 mins.  Some of you may remember I was searching for someone to do my hair before I left.

NATURAL HAIR RULES!!!

after my lock retightening

Dr Miller and me

I won this one hahaha

Home Sweet Home - Costa Rica Reveal

We've now been n Costa Rica for 18 days and are finally starting to settle in.

The home we are renting has 3 bedrooms 1,700 + sq ft), 2 full baths, living room, kitchen with lots of gadgets & gas cook top but no oven only a toaster oven, dining room and TV room. It came completely furnished with EVERYTHING! And, I do mean everything.  Including a state of the art camera surveillance system. I think there are about 8 cameras monitoring the property which we can see on TV and we have access to on our phones. There was really nothing that I had to supply except personal items and food.

As it ended up most of the things I shipped turned out to be duplicates of what was already in the house. I brought about 8 towels, some dishes, silverware, a couple of sets of sheets, the throw pillows (which were used to cushion breakables in the box we shipped), some books, knick knacks, clothes and pictures. We didn't bring anything too big and nothing that was very expensive as we did not want to take the risk of breakage or theft in shipment. Now we have lots of doubles!

We have a gardener and a housekeeper who comes in once a week from 7am - 12noon (she is not included in the rent but we pay her 10 mil (which is about $20). She cleans the house from top to bottom including windows and speaks only Spanish. We got an app called iTranslate so we can chat with her but mostly we are just trying to learn Spanish. Our classes will start in July.

One interesting thing we discovered is that the houses in Costa Rica are made of cement, hence NOTHING sticks to the walls and you can't hammer a picture hook so as you will see by the photos we ended up hanging a few things on the nails that were already there and in the 3 cut out niches in the living room where I managed to fit three of my pictures and he 4th one hangs all alone on a big wall.

cement home in Costa Rica

I also brought a very light sheer wall hanging which you will see in the photo hanging on the living room wall. I think it looks great but please note - about 15 minutes after I took the photo it fell to the floor like everything else we have tried to hang. So....we are still trying to figure out how we can make the few pictures we have stay on the walls.

Ticos are obviously not as vain as we are because there was only 1 mirror in the entire house. So we went out and purchased a mirror for the 2nd bath. I also plan to get a full length mirror as well - just trying to figure out how to get it home on the bus! LOL

The houses also have no screens on doors or windows and most of the locals leave their doors open all day. We would like to do that as well for cross ventilation but due to insects/bugs we keep the doors closed most of the time. We bought some screening from EPA, the Costa Rica equivalent of Home Depot, and tacked it to the door frames with push pins since it is wood.  I ordered some magnetic screen doors from Amazon which Charles will bring in a few weeks when he comes and we are getting a handyman to make us some frames to use to make window screens.

We are having some difficulty getting cable. We ordered it but so far about 70 channels are missing. I can watch soccer, the music channels and a handful of Spanish stations (which I hope will help me learn the language) Most channels I have tried to access via my Apple TV are blocked for use outside the US. Might have to get a VPN.

The only other open item has to do with humidity. Although it doesn't really feel humid, let's face it - it is the rainy season so we are looking into a dehumidifier for the closet in the master bedroom. When we leave the doors open all day I think I can feel a bit of dampness on the clothes and don't want to take any chances.

Other than that - everything thing else is going well.

We could not have asked for a nicer house. No suicide showers! We have hot water in the kitchen, laundry room and the bathtubs. There is no hot water in the bathroom sinks. I am getting used to it since it isn't cold outside.

Another big plus is that the house has new septic so you can flush toilet paper down the toilet. YAY!!! Before about 1975 every home had clay pipes and a septic tank in the yard, so in most homes in Costa Rica (and many B&B's) you will find a waste paper basket in the bathroom next to the toilet with a plastic supermarket plastic bag in it (many with a pedal flip waste can).  This is where you dispose of your toilet paper after use. (we still have a pedal can in our 2nd bath - altho it isn't for waste disposal) This takes some getting used to. If you are in Costa Rica you can ask if the pipes are clay or PVC. If they are PVC, then no worries. Flush away.

When you are a guest in a home or a B & B where there is a sign in the bathroom that says "por favor no tire el papel higienico en el indoor" (please do not throw toilet paper in the toilet),  please don't.

We LOVE the house and our new life in Costa Rica. Everyday is a new adventure.

Hope you enjoy the video! Remember it takes me anywhere from 4 - 16 hours to upload a single video here!!

Pura Vida!!

Costa Rica trip quick catch you up

Finally

After 3 years of planning, research and weekly meetings, we are in Costa Rica! Yay
We are beginning our stay in a cute little town called Grecia.

All of our plans have come together pretty much as I envisioned. (thank goodness)

I gave up my apartment on 5/12 and spent the next 2 weeks with Lavanson & Charles. We packed up the items of furniture which I am keeping and they are safely stored. My car was placed at my brother's house.

On 5/28 we flew from Oakland to Los Angeles to spend the next few days with a friend and on Tuesday May 31st we left Los Angeles on a (red eye) 12:57 am Delta flight to San Jose Costa Rica.

We upgraded seats to Delta Comfort for extra legroom. The 5 hour flight was very pleasant.

Taxi to Grecia

Upon arrival we breezed through immigration/customs and not one of our 8 bags was inspected (although I did take a piece of advice which I read about and we got one of the many porters to take our bags through for us - I gave him $10).

We ordered a taxi from Randall Perez who has a taxi service in Grecia and the driver was waiting with my name on a sign (he also had my picture in his hand). We were pretty hungry so on the ride to our house we asked to stop at a little soda (restaurant) and grabbed a bite to eat. Then he drove us to our new home where the owner's sister was waiting with a key. Easy breezy.

The airport is about 45 minutes from Grecia. Taxi was $60 (no tips required or expected in Costa Rica) - we are about 15 minutes from center of town on a ridge at approx 4,100 feet.

I will post more pics of the house and neighborhood and daily life very soon

Stay tuned

Our Home with a View in Costa Rica

How often do you rent a house

sight unseen

in a foreign country no less 

and then -- just happen to connect with

not one 

but TWO recent tenants? 

The answer for me, would be

NEVER!!

This move has taken on a life of its own!
It has all magically come together, which is another reason that I feel this is the right house for us.

Today, I was in touch with Tina, a former tenant. And guess what else??? Tina and I share the same birthday, May 8 -- which was yesterday, Mother's Day!! Crazy huh? 
Tina shared some additional house information with me and when I remarked about how all of the pieces were falling into place -- she said, "you'll be amazed at how often this type of thing will start to happen!"

I call it serendipity!

Sarah and her family are the most recent tenants and I was fortunate enough to see her comment on Facebook before we rented the house. 

She is the mother of 2 small children and has a blog called Something Adventured.
It was very nice of her to send me so much information regarding the house. It made our decision a lot easier.

I also read her blog post "We Found a House." She has given me permission to share the story, in its entirety, with you today.

We Found a House

We met at the city square, talked for a while, and then headed up to her barrio on one of the mountain sides of Grecia. It is amazing how high you climb within 15 minutes of leaving the city square! She showed us a house that was vacant in her neighborhood. We were in love!! This house not only fit our needs perfectly, the layout could not have been better. We were supposed to meet a Realtor to view a few more rentals, but cancelled as we knew this is what we wanted.

It has 3 bedrooms of which one is ours. The master bedroom has a corner window that the bed looks out. It is hard to get out of bed with a view like this!

The kids are sharing the bedroom next to us

 there is a 3rd separated from the others that we are using a guest room and an office on rainy days. 

Most days we will be working outside. 

There are 2 bathrooms, each with spa jet tubs. The master bathroom tub could fit our whole family if we wanted it to! I am not a bath person, but this is something I may have to test out. The kids have tried out each and are super excited to be taking baths again! 

The dining room is in the center of the house and has a skylight, which is perfect for the afternoon sun. The kitchen is very nice and even has a dishwasher and hot water (this is not usually the case here). There is a gas range that I’m loving. I have never cooked with gas before and this is awesome! We have a living room in the front of the house and a separate TV room in the back. The house has an electric gate to come into the property, as is very common here. And there is a covered porch/car port in the back.

As amazing as the house is inside, nothing compares with the view outside. Breath. Taking. Have I mentioned that we are on the side of a mountain? We are near the top of it and the view is awesome! We can see 4 volcanoes from here with the most well known being Poas, which is off to the left of our view. The biggest one we can see is Turrialba. No worries, they are off in the distance

We plan to go to Poas at some point to hike and will post more about it then. And we are surrounded by coffee fields (mountain grown coffee, anyone?) and can see farms and towns for miles and miles. We can see the neighboring barrio that is in the “valley” (it’s really still on the same mountain), several barrios beyond that,  and we can see to the city of Alajuela. On a clear night we can see the lights of San Jose as well.

We have a lot of privacy here, yet we have neighbors close by. The ones we have met are awesome and we look forward to meeting others. We live in a typical Tico barrio right off the main road.  There are small stores at each end of the barrio, a panaderia (bread store), and two restaurants. There is an organic farm in town that sells delicious vegetables and coffee. They have a monthly event where they show you around the property as well as have a mini farmers’ market. It happens to be today, so we will be going there shortly. There is also a soccer field and a recreation center that offers exercise classes and team sports.

The temperature is lovely! We have around a high of 80 each day (85 is a hot day here) and lows in the 60s at night. One day it only got up to 72 and that is considered a really cold day here. I will take it!! There is no need for air conditioning or heat. We just open the windows during the day and shut them at night.

We are about a 2 hour drive to Jaco Beach and about an 1.5 hour drive to Puntarenas Beach. Going to San Jose or Alajuela takes about 45 minutes each way. However, we can get most of what we need in Grecia. We are only about 15 minutes from the town square and there are local food vendors galore and several supermarkets for other things we may need.

Our landlord is great. He speaks English as well, which is super helpful as we learn Spanish. And his voice totally reminds me of El Macho from Despicable Me. Ha!

We moved in a week ago and it already feels like home. The kids love it, too! There is a small yard to play in and there is a lot to do around town. As for the lady we met that led us to this house, she is amazing! We are very excited that she is going to be watching our children. She has also become our first friend here in Costa Rica and I think we will remain friends even if/when we decide to leave. I believe God led our paths to cross and I am so very grateful.

This view, though….

If you have a chance, please check out Sarah's blog Something Adventured - she writes in detail about her time in Costa Rica and her current life in Spain. 

You can find Tina on her podcasts Start Something.

BTW - There is no multiple listing service or central database in Costa Rica.

Thank you Sarah & Tina for all of your help

What's Underneath

The other day I bought several cute swimsuit cover ups by Raviya. I may use them to cover up swimsuits but I also wanted to be able to just wear them around when I'm in Costa Rica and the weather is hot. 

The problem was, I didn't have a bra to wear underneath.  Let's just face it, my breasts are way too big to go braless! And I am way too old to have my bra straps showing. The last time I tried to find a strapless bra I was much younger (although I have always had ample size breasts). I remember not being able to find a bra in my size in a strapless that would hold up my breasts so I gave up trying, and to this date I figured I could not wear a strapless bra.  

Well, obviously things have changed on the bra scene because I marched into Norstrom the other day and discovered I had several options in strapless bras.

They were very comfortable and actually held the boobies up! 

So I bought 2. They are by Wacoal and also come with straps so you can wear them under other clothes as well.  Go figure!!

What's Underneath by urbandoggs featuring a full figure strapless bra

A New House for us in Grecia Costa Rica

It was a very Good Friday for us!

Here's our new home 

and breathtaking view

nestled in the middle of a coffee plantation

WOW. This one caught us by surprise. We never expected to find a house 2 months before relocating AND sight unseen. Our plan was to go to Costa Rica in June, stay in a little apartment we rented in Grecia while we looked for a house to move into (hopefully) by July. 

And here's where having friends and connections in the location you plan to move to comes in handy!

Not to go into great detail but here's how it all came together.

I met my expat friend, Annette on Facebook prior to our trip to Costa Rica last year. We met in person when we visited. She, along with several other expats have been keeping an eye out for available houses for us. 

On Good Friday she messaged me early in the morning to alert me of a possible home for rent which was posted on the Facebook Grecia Forum. I took one look at it and all its amenities and immediately contacted Shirley (representing the owner). Shirley gave me more information and I was even more interested, however, since I am in California,there was no way for me to check it out for myself. Annette doesn't have a car and the bus was running on a holiday schedule, so she contacted another expat friend, Kathleen who does own a car and who happened to live close by. Within a few hours, Kathleen was at the home meeting with Shirley, taking notes and snapping photos (by this time there were also at least 4 other interested parties)

Kathleen returned from her meeting with a glowing review. I had been the 1st person to inquire about the home which gave me a little advantage. Time to act, if we wanted to get this one, was the clear message. I even contacted the former renters to get their opinion. After going back and forth with Shirley and ironing out all the details, we secured the home on Saturday morning.

It's ours and I think we are going to love it!  

BTW - Costa Rica doesn't have regular street addresses in most of the country. Reference points are often used in lieu of addresses. The houses often have names. I think this one has a name as well but we are going to refer to it as "Casa de Coffey" 

Stay tuned for more pics and info

Grecia is noted for its unique church, Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, made entirely of pre-fabricated steel plates painted red.

Happy Easter everyone!

Big shout out and our deepest thanks and appreciation to Annette, Kathleen & Shirley!

We could not have done it without you!!

The Rules Are, There Are No Rules!

I've been mulling over in my head over the last few months about what to pack for our year long trip to Costa Rica. I say year long because the plan is to go over for a year and then reassess whether we want to continue living there or possibly move to another country. Either way we'll be coming back home next year to take care of business, tend to any medical needs and restock our supplies. 

My dilemma has been about how much to take and what to take. I've read a lot of information about how to pack for Costa Rica and every single thing I've read has emphasized taking very few things and suggests that the clothes you take include short sleeve tops, flip, flops and casual skorts. Most of the expats have found little use for any type of dressier clothing.

At first the tips really bothered me because although I like to be as casual as the next guy, I also like to dress nice. I'm not in my 20's so the way I dress tends to be a little more dressy. I plan to attend cultural events like the ballet and the symphony. I just can't see myself in yoga pants and flip flops everyday. 

If you pack too light you run the risk of running out of clothes. I would not be happy if I only had 5 or 10 clothing choices. I think you should wake up in the morning and be inspired by what is in your wardrobe. Even in Costa Rica.

Style is personal. It comes from within, from knowing who you are and who you want to be; not from wanting to be somebody else or following someone else's rules. So I decided to be myself and take as many things as I want. To me its better to be safe than sorry. 

photo source

You can never please everyone so dress in what makes you feel amazing. Living abroad you most likely will have a different style than that of the locals. Adopt what you like and mix it with your own sense of style. 

Your wardrobe should contain only amazing choices. If you don’t like the way you look in something before you leave, you probably won’t ever wear it on your trip.

Here are some tips I agree with.

Tips for Travel in Costa Rica 

1. Take the lightest cotton "sun veil" fabrics to wear on or near the beaches. Sarongs over matching bathing suits can double as evening dinner wear. Denim is much too hot near beach areas. A light cashmere shawl is great to wear evenings in San Jose.

2. Consider packing a pair of quick dry pants with zip-off pant legs. They will keep you warmer, protect you from the mud in cloud forests and avoid mosquitoes. 

3. When you are traveling in Costa Rica avoid revealing clothes. Try to dress tastefully and elegantly. Pack light clothing made of cotton which is perfect. You can wear jeans or shots too, but not too short. But the best way is to dress simply and elegantly. If traveling in the mountains, bring a warm jacket, the higher the altitude the colder it is.

4. Take very casual summer separates--shorts, tops. If you intend on being in Cloud Forests or volcano areas, take rubber shoes--cheap ones that you can throw away at the end of the trip. It is very wet and these work great. Take a slicker or rain gear even during dry months. They have very soft gentle rains. Go with neat, simple items--a few skirts and long sleeve tops for night. People do clean up in the evening but not fancy.

5. In San Jose during the rainy season (May-November), people usually carry umbrellas--brightly colored "sombrillas" for women and black "paraguas" for men. In the mountains, a lightweight rain poncho is usually more convenient.

6. Oh and do bring all of your bras as they are very expensive if you have to buy them locally. 

Now, the only thing left is for me to choose which items to take. I have an assortment of clothing already picked out. I am going to following the 10 rule meaning I will take 10 of each type of clothing (dresses, pants, etc). Hopefully I can fit everything in 3 suitcases.

I'll report back.