birthday weekend

This past weekend was my birthday, as many of you know. Since I had plans on my actual birthday (Feb 26- the art show), Evan and I decided to celebrate early and spend the day at the beach and the night eating Mexican food.

We found a cool beach that isn't as accessible to tourists, because I don't think many people know about it. Playa Barrero is along the most beautiful drive in Rincon, and perhaps of the west coast! I took my GoPro out and shot some footage of the drive, I hope to show you later! Anyways, Barrero is past Corcega beach as you leave Rincon. It's flanked by a huge sea wall and there's many reefs and rocks along the shore, which just adds to its rugged yet beautiful allure. I'm so thankful we happened upon this spot, as I definitely plan to visit it often!

Here's some Hipstamatic prints of our day at the beach.

Then we followed the beach with some delicious Mexican food at our favorite place up in Aguadilla - Frijoles y Chilangas. If you visit up that direction, the restaurant is past One-Ten Thai off of highway 110, on the right. You won't be disappointed.

I got a little dressed up too :)

 

  So, that was my birthday!! I will be sharing all about the VERY successful art fest next time!
(I had lots of sales, lots of interest in my art, and potential business deal for a little shop here in Rincon!)

Lovely Links:

Did you know that there is a pro surf contest this weekend in Rincon? 

I just listed an awesome piece of jewelry in my shop.

Here's a sneak peek of my little cupcake creations from this weekend.

Don't you just want to go play in this field?

My brother got me a subscription to the new travel magazine, AFAR.

 

art festival this weekend!

I'm ready for the art festival this weekend!! Getting busy painting and prepping my table!
Of course, this also happens to be on my 24th birthday. No worries, Evan and I will celebrate tomorrow and Sunday morning/afternoon too :) If you happen to be in Rincon at the time, please come by and visit! I'd love to meet you and show you all the art I've been working on! Enjoy your weekends!!!

For those of you that can't make it, I'll be posting all about it next week :)

animal love

I knew when I moved to Puerto Rico that there would be a few challenges to this new lifestyle. No A/C, no convenient washer/dryer, no cost effective options for organic food (luckily, there's a small grocer that stocks some supplies!) One thing I will never understand though, is the treatment of dogs and cats by many of the locals.

I suppose it's just a different mindset and a different culture/custom situation. When I first visited Rincon in March 2011 (in preparation for our move from the States), I knew instantly that Evan and I would end up adopting other dogs. It tears at my heartstrings to see homeless dogs wandering the streets without a home or a family. Maybe it sounds silly, but you know that saying "dogs are people too" ? I totally agree with it. I view my dog like she's part of the family. In fact, I brought her with me on the move!

But it's not always unhappy endings for these dogs and cats. I'm thrilled to discover at least two organizations that take responsibility for these homeless animals. They provide medical attention, fostering and (in many cases) homes off the island. One, located directly in Rincon, is called Arf - Animal Rescue Foundation. The other is Save a Sato. (a sato is the word for "stray") You can contact either of these organizations, who are always happy for foster families, donations or just some help with managing all the homeless pets.

 Here are some of the cuties available from ARF right now. You can view more on their Facebook page. Are you planning a trip to Rincon? Would you like to bring back a bundle of joy? Get in contact with them!! (Evan and I haven't adopted any others yet... but I'm confident we will haha)


By the way, we've found solutions to our changes in lifestyle: Fans, fans, fans. Clean breeze, open windows all day long,  online shopping, bucket-clothes-washing outdoors (oh yeah, there's a laundromat too).



 Lovely Bits:
I'm going to make one of these. Or lots of them. 
These cupcakes sound delicious. Added to my list.
Check out this foxy fabric.


Well, have a wonderful week!!

San Sebastian Waterfalls

The most recent trip to San Sebastian waterfalls. If you haven't checked these beauties out yet, definitely add them to your "must see" while on the west coast. Still slightly off the beaten path, but becoming more well known amongst tourists (particular wave-less surfers seeking something to do to occupy themselves out of the water). Read about my second trip there [right here].

We had a couple friends visit from up north, so we obviously had to take them here. Check it out.

rope swing at the top of the waterfall hike

we hiked down the river to reach the first, and largest, fall

notice Evan's head down at the bottom right near the falls... gives some perspective

We love having company because it gives us even more motivation to check out more places around the island. New ones on our list?

Cave Tubing
Camping in Maricao 
Kayaking Gilligan's Island
Touring the coffee farms
Black Sand beach in Manati
Entomology Biodiversity Museum (because we're nerds, of course)
Toro Negro Forest with its random abandoned swimming pool
and the natural waterslide !

And that's just a small list!! We are just getting started. 

happy valentine's day

Our Valentine's Day in Puerto Rico.. our second Valentine's Day together, period. And we just remembered the day, last night. Silly us. haha. Hopefully you were a better planner!!
I think we are just going to have a nice relaxing dinner at home, followed by a movie. It's up early tomorrow for class, so no late night tonight!

looks delicious! click for source

 

Breakfast for dinner! My favorite.. However, I think we're doing salmon, some couscous and veggies for our little date night. What are your Valentine's Day plans?

By Evan's cousin, Kim, at Steps Beach with Desecheo island in the background

Enjoy your special day, friends! Give some love and hugs to your friends and family!

Coming up, I'll share some photos and experiences from yesterday's daytrip to San Sebastian waterfalls!
 

places: bamboo treehouse

Last semester, Evan and I visited an art show at the Bamboo Treehouse in Rincon. This is a beautifully landscaped property with construction composed predominantly of bamboo. You can actually stay in these accommodations for a small vacation too, if you desire! The owners are both artistic and creative; we loved strolling through the gardens and igniting our senses with the beauty of the nature around us!
You can check out their website here or visit their AirBNB site here.

outdoor toilet!!! Getting back to nature

If you are looking for some nice places to stay in Rincon, check out these beautiful houses:
Casa Colina & Peaceful Hillside Manor - both the same house, different floors. Beautiful!


Lovely Bits:
This is a beautiful 65th Anniversary party! I love it!
Check out these reasons for traveling to and in Asia
A wonderful sketch artist I just discovered.


Almost the end of the week!

back in time

Check out this amazing video of Indian block printing. What a fascinating art, no? It's beautiful how talented these people are!


When Evan and I first moved into our house here in Rincon, there were already an assortment of wall decorations in every room (we replaced many of them with pieces of our own taste). I came across this old photo of the view of Steps Beach from the top of our house... in about the 1970s/80s?

I enhanced it a little bit. If you compared it with a picture from now, the layout looks much different. More houses, mostly. This picture is actually of Tres Palmas marine reserve (which didn't exist at the time the photo was snapped) on a day when it was "breaking". Usually, this part of the coast doesn't get swell, unless it's too powerful for most surfers of the area. Maybe a couple times a year this point will break. I love that a little red VW bus was captured in this moment.


I wonder what it was like to live in Puerto Rico a couple decades ago? From talking with several locals and long-term expats, I've discovered that Rincon was somewhat off-the-map for tourists, until about the late 70s. Then a very few number of Americans moved down here to paradise, where they didn't have to work and could just soak up the sun (and judging from the looks of a few of them, they've soaked up enough sun). What a life, right?


Today, I was online searching for some summer time conservation programs. I want to enhance my field and get a little more experience in conservation work, as I seek to focus on that aspect with a future career. I found one interesting program called Marine Conservation Cambodia. I sent them my CV and a little message, so we'll see what happens.







Loads of Lovely Bits:
I found this really neat shop of real butterfly and insect mountings. Beautiful!
Beautiful handmade linen skirt from Holland.
Supple leather luggage for traveling.
Wouldn't you just love to live here?
Here's a neat surf art blog of lots of beautiful surf inspired pieces.
The 10 best places to live to avoid world conflict. I bet you can't guess them all.

Have a lovely week! Check back often to see what's up around here. I'm going to be visiting El Ultimo Brinco waterfall here in Rincon, as well as finishing up some art!

daydreaming

Well, it turns out that our department will not be closing [hurray!]. At least, not right now. So, thank you to friends and family for all your thoughts and prayers. It has been much appreciated.

One thing I have noticed around Rincon (and probably the majority of Puerto Rico) are the numerous car clubs. All sorts of car clubs: classics, modern, antique... Chevelles, vintage VW buses, new style Jeep Wranglers, Toyota varieties... They usually tour the towns on Sundays (and sometimes, very early in the morning). Blaring sirens, imitating police calls.. driving very slowly through all the residential streets. It's quite interesting - as long as you can understand their form of entertainment and avoid getting incredibly annoyed. My favorite part is people watching. The women get very done up - hair did, nails did, prom dresses galore. Just to sit in the back of the car as the dads or husbands drive through the towns in these, flaunting their cars. 

Well, some of you may know my Dad's hobby of car collecting. He has a particular interest in classic cars - mostly Fords. His retirement plan involves opening his own vintage car restoration shop - something I hope he does sooner than later. It's his passion, and he's a pro at it. For sure.

I've always had an admiration for his talent. I think I get a lot of my creativity from my Dad (my Mom is a creative person too!). He is an artist, but not in the same medium as myself. His talent shines when he brings a junk heap into a shiny, car-show-worthy classic. It's incredible.

There are two cars that I want once I get settled back in the States. A 1970s turquoise VW bus, and a pale yellow 1950s-1960s Fiat 500. Obviously, the bus is for traveling and exploring the US. The Fiat is my gift to myself after completing 3 degrees. Since both involve some unknown sum of money, the actually timeline of these purchasing is to be determined. But I can daydream nonetheless:

{all images, click for sources}

Little Bits:
I got a letters from around the world in the mail today! I love my friends

I finally found an amazing church here in Rincon. Will post more about it after my next visit this Sunday!

These are super cute shoes from F21.

Have a wonderful weekend!! I'll be doing more crafty and grant writing. Want to see some of my things? Check out my little online shop here.