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.

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!!!

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!!!

Good Morning from Costa Rica

Off to do some shopping in town

Have a great weekend!

Shopping in Costa Rica - it's all an adventure!

You might wonder what we have been doing with all of our spare time since arriving in Costa Rica.Well, the short and the long answer to that question would be, mostly "shopping".

I am a gal who loves to shop, however shopping is much different here in Grecia. That goes for food as well as household items. There is no Safeway, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Home Depot here. Also accommodating food for a vegan diet adds an extra layer. It reminds me of the options available in San Francisco back in the 80's. You can find organic foods but you really have to look for them. I know that it is not quite as difficult on the Caribbean side or even on the Pacific side but here in our little corner of the world it takes a little more time.

We have gone to several stores so far. The closest one was a pulperia.

Our neighbor Vinny drove us to the local pulperia. Vinny is one of our landlord Marcelo's cousins and speaks pretty good English. I think just about everyone on our street is related to Marcelo. (I remember a time in the states when things were the same way)

In Costa Rica small grocery stores like our corner stores are called pulperias.

Our little neighborhood pulperia is called Super Linda Vista

The store is operated by Christian (a very tall Tico)

It's neat and clean and has a variety of products.

but...

Not too many brands that we recognized

Vinny was very helpful recommending what to buy

The store that offered us the most familiar shopping experience was the Auto Mercado Supermarket in Alajuela (the next town over from us - and Costa Rica's 2nd largest city).  Auto Mercado is the most expensive grocery chain in the country! The store was beautiful and full of all the brands I recognized. They had a small selection of organic fruit and produce and even carried Kendall Jackson wine. However since part of our goal was to live more economically, no money would be saved by shopping there so....it was fun while it lasted but we will need to pass on making tis our go-to grocery store in the future. 

The Auto Mercado

We also shopped at Rosvil Market in Grecia. They have a very good selection of food. The store is pretty big. Something that stood out to us was that -- the store will deliver your food to your home for you. You shop and then tell them when you will be home and they deliver - no charge! I don't have any photos but I am pretty sure we will shop there often.

There is a pretty big feria (Farmer's Market) in Grecia on Friday and Saturday. We missed last week but plan to go this week.

Other options for fruits and vegetables include the Mercado Central (Central Market) which is right at the Grecia bus station, where we went today. We took the bus for the 1st time. The bus stop is about 500 meters from our house and is uphill (or I think about 5 city blocks). 

The Central Market has many small shops and offers a variety of products. There was also an organic store, Macrobiotica. 

These are pics of our trek to the bus stop - it is uphill all the way

Yes please wait for me

                            Please check out that blue sky - it is absolutely gorgeous

from the top of the hill

Finally we made it to the bus stop - after stopping about 3 times to catch our breath

This is the bus stop - you can tell by the yellow line - that is the ONLY marker

The adventure continues

a little taste of downtown Grecia (sorry for the shaky video)

What will I do tomorrow?

In my mind I had pictured a very calm final week at work, ending with me going into the office on Friday to turn in my ids, laptop and say my good byes to co workers. However, it was not to be. Everything that could happen, did happen, and I finally left the office close to 4pm exhausted and stressed. A client emergency arose on Tuesday and was still not resolved when I walked out of the office on Friday. A perfect example of why it was TIME for me to retire!

I had to keep telling myself "I am retired" but I wondered just how I would feel the day after my retirement. 

As it turned out, a couple of good friends had the perfect remedy. They picked us up on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning and drove us to Half Moon Bay to spend some time brunching, shopping, walking the beach and hanging at the beautiful Oceano Hotel & Spa. 

The City of Half Moon Bay rests on the Pacific Coast between forested hills and some of the most beautiful coastlines that California has to offer. It is located approximately 28 miles south of San Francisco and lies within the western most portion of San Mateo County.

I used to go to Half Moon Bay quite often back in the day. We enjoyed attending events at the world famous Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society. It was quite the happening place to be. Live Jazz on Sunday's at the Douglas Beach House. Still alive and going strong. It has been in existence since 1964. 

Oceano Hotel and Spa, is a premier 4-star luxury hotel. It is surrounded by coastal adventures and breathtaking views of the beautiful Northern California Coast. Set in the heart of a bustling fishing harbor.

Relaxing in the lobby of the hotel. 

The rooms are beautiful too with rates starting somewhere around $360/night

I'm looking forward to this "retired" life!