In Search of Fenty Beauty

Been watching a lot of the reviews on Fenty Beauty by Rihanna. No Sephora in Costa Rica so on our recent trip to Cancun, I went in search of Fenty products. I plan to do my own review shortly.

Pre Packin Mexico Bound from Devon on Vimeo.

Wedding Series - Sephora in Playa del Carmen, Mexico from Devon on Vimeo.

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

I cast my vote for Friendsgiving!

Friendsgiving is a growing trend, but one I had not heard of until recently.

The genius of Friendsgiving is in its name—before now, Thanksgiving has always been about the gathering of family members, dissimilar people from different generations with different philosophies and attitudes who only share a last name and receding hairline.

The idea behind Friendsgiving is to have a relaxed and enjoyable meal with friends  it's a celebration with people you consider another type of family to you.

While Thanksgiving can often be a stressful day,  Friendsgiving should be fun and stress free. 

I picked up these 2 guys in Guatemala - aren't they cute

Not sure what we will be doing for the holiday but I vote for "Friendsgiving"!

The no fashion, fashion shoot in Guatemala

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday. 

I didn't get around to doing any fashion shoots while in Guatemala

so I thought I would substitute some pictures of our hotel and the grounds along with a few pics of me.

Have a great day!

Breakfast @ Hotel Atitlan 

Lake Atitlan, Panajachel Guatemala

Seven Days in Guatemala

For those of you following our journey:

I know it's only been 5 months since we arrived in Costa Rica, but... when the travel bug calls, we gotta answer!

As it turns out, we would need to make our 2nd "border run" around the 3rd week of November. Since Lily & Lola will be arriving today we decided it would be better to make the border run a little early and give ourselves more time with the girls before we had to deal with leaving them with a pet sitter.

So the big question became "where should we go?"

We studied our bucket list of favorites.

We both enjoy traveling to historic sites. The cost of a round trip airline ticket from San Jose Costa Rica to Guatemala City is about $168 and the travel time is less than 2 hours. (BTW - the cost of living is also lower in Guatemala than it is in Costa Rica) We had also seen a couple of episodes of HGTV's House Hunters International where expats had settled in Lake Atitlan and the beauty of the lake and the volcanoes was something that stuck in our minds.

We checked airline and hotel prices and made our decision from there.

It was not a very difficult one.

And the winner....Guatemala

We planned to visit the beautiful, vibrant old Spanish cobblestone city of Antigua -- and no trip to Guatemala would be complete without a stop at what has been called, and is (IMO) the most beautiful lake in the world, Lago de Atitlán! Its shore is dotted with 12 small towns and villages, each with its own unique personality,  

Our trip would be for 7 days Wed 10/19 - Wed 10/26

First up Antigua -- and a local tour recommended by a friend

Tour Elizabeth Bell 

Thursday, October 20^th 2016 – National Holiday

9:30am            Meet your Antigua Tours guide at Hotel San Rafael for a private Cultural Walking Tour around this World Heritage Site. The tour focuses on the city’s history, cultural trends and restoration efforts. Walk to the central park to visit the City Hall Palace, focus on the Royal Palace, visit the Cathedral with its majestic ruins, and learn about Maya archeology at the Maya Jades Museum. Complete the tour at the best museums in town at Paseo de los Museos (Hotel Casa Santo Domingo) at about 12:30pm

$30 per person for the private tour includes entrance fees and beverages x 2 people = $60

(minimum 2 people)

About Antigua 

Antigua Guatemala means "Ancient Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala.

Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or la Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala at an altitude of 1470 meters (or roughly 4,800 ft), famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture of Sevillan style roots, as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

During colonial times it was known as "Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala" and was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, between 1541 and 1776, when the capital was moved to the newly established city Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala city) after the earthquakes of Santa Marta ruin the city for the third time in the same century and civilian authorities will use that as an excuse to weaken ecclesiastical authorities -following the recommendations of the Bourbon Reforms undertaken by the Spanish crown in the second half of 18th century- forcing the regular orders to move from its majestic monasteries to fragile temporary structures in the new city.

Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of Sacatepéquez Department. source 

Antigua has a flourishing and diverse expat population. We enjoyed our stay very much and plan to go back often!

Please check out our video below

I like it! from Devon on Vimeo.

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!!!

The Awesome Ridges of Grecia - Our life in Costa Rica

There are many reasons why we chose to live in this house, but one of the main reasons is... the view.

In the words of many who live on the ridges of Grecia "It is to die for!".

Grecia has 5 ridges that lead to the top of the Poas volcano and they all have spectacular million dollar views of San Jose and the Central Valley.

Someday I will photograph views from all 5 ridges but today's post are the views from our ridge, San Luis. We are at about 4,300ft. Each day we awake to the beauty of Costa Rica. The next ridge over from ours is El Cajon where many expats live. The video today is the view from our patio over to that ridge.

You can see coffee for miles. The plant and animal life is abundant. The owner of our house grows 80 different varieties of roses which we can see if we look down from our patio.

It's a beautiful and peaceful existence. It's a great life and we Love it.

So thought i would share with you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Ridges of Grecia, Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

email subscribers can click the link above for video

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

Happy Labor Day to my U.S friends & family

XOXO from Costa Rica

Pantone New Colors for 2016

WHAT IS THE PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR?

A symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.

 ROSE QUARTZ & SERENITY COLOR PAIRINGS 

For the first time Pantone introduces two shades, Rose Quartz and Serenity as the PANTONE Color of the Year 2016. Rose Quartz is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure. Serenity is weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times. source

The 210 new colors range from the blackest of black to the most brilliant white.

With color trends constantly shifting and redefining themselves, our collection of 210 new shades gives you a greater range of creative expression and ensures that your color palettes are fresh, modern and relevant.

see them all here

FALL 2016: A Unity of Strength, Confidence and Complexity

The desire for tranquility, strength, and optimism have inspired a Fall 2016 color palette that is led by the Blue family.

love this color

Not finished yet but getting there - Costa Rica bedroom redo

If you know me, you know that I am a girl who LOVES color. Bright Colors!!

Although the decor in the home was Ok (especially since it came fully furnished) - it was not exactly "our design taste". Many of the things we could not change, like the furniture and artwork (or the lack of it).

In the bedrooms I've wanted to add some of the colors and design that I like by changing out the duvets, however, try as I might, I have yet to find a duvet in any store where it did not come in combination with a full sheet/pillowcase/sham combination. Even that would not have been too bad except I have not been fond of the designs.

Before

In the box we shipped I had a brightly colored cloth shower curtain from one of my previous apartments (I really like the bold colors) and yesterday I decided to see if it would fit on one of the queen size beds. Although it could stand to be a tad bigger, it made it across the bed and there was enough room to tuck it in the bottom and the sides.

Of course since it is a shower curtain it did not have matching sheets or pillowcases. The closest color I could find (that I had brought with me) was orange. Not a favorite but doable in a pinch if I covered with throw pillows.

     throw pillow purchased in Grecia

shower curtain 

After

The cool thing was that I bought a throw pillow in downtown Grecia and it was a dead ringer in color, but I only had one. I made a trip into town to purchase more -- but as luck would have it, they had no more in stock. I compromised and chose a deep burgundy. I also had a green pillow which I had bought in town and it looked OK so I used it. While I was in town I decided to replace the dark blackout curtains with 2 lighter sheer panels in a light lavender/purple. 

new curtains

I recently purchased a full length mirror since the house only had ONE mirror! (previously I had purchased one for the 2nd bathroom) but have not been able to see what I look like below my shoulders since I got here.

The room is a work in progress. Next up I will change out the orange pillowcases. I also need an additional stand in the room.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Have a great weekend!!!