pura vida

as promised, here are a few photos from my recent trip Costa Rica.  i went with my best friend from home, Claire, and friend Tara, along with six other girls.  we stayed in Jaco Beach and took a boat to Tortuga Island one of the days.  the mountains throughout Costa Rica were beautiful.  the ride from the airport in San Jose to Jaco was close to two hours, and it was the perfect opportunity to take in the landscape and see the little restaurants and fruit stands on the side of the road.

the view from one of the tree stands i was on during our canopy tour.  i almost didn't make it due to the one too many margaritas i had the night before.

not so smooth landing.

guacamole at The Backyard.

the guacamole in Costa Rica exceeded my expectations.  i made it my mission to order it every time we ate out.  it was so much lighter and creamier than the guacamole i'm used to.  the chips were delicious too.  they always came out fresh and warm, and were thick and crunchy.  they were the perfect vehicle to deliver each bite of goodness.

The Vista Mar.

we stayed at the Vista Mar, which was conveniently located right on the beach.  the hotel had its own restaurant and served in the open, just as the majority of restaurants in Jaco do.  so, every morning,  i ate my dos huevos with rice and beans looking out at the Pacific Ocean.

breakfast of a champion.

Tortuga Island, where Jurassic Park was filmed.

view of the water while laying on the beach at Tortuga.

gift store in Jaco.

unfortunately, there weren't as many treasures, in the form of jewels, as i had hoped for.  gift shops in Jaco were filled with candle holders, bowls, and other nick nacks carved from mango wood.  i bought myself a couple of bowls to hold rings and other jewelry.  the one bowl is actually made out of a coconut shell, and some how has swirls of cinnamon carved into in it.  when you hold the bowl close enough to your face, you can smell the spicy cinnamon.

Claire and me.

chalupas at Wishbone.  by far, the best meal i had in Jaco.  i was stuffed after eating the first one, and still managed to eat the second.  they were simply that delicious.

enjoying a piece of pineapple upside down cake that i saved for the plane ride home.  i have little self control, and ate it before i even went through security.

back to life...

...back to reality.

i'm back in the States from an amazing time in Costa Rica.  however, the week ahead of me unfortunately entails two papers and a microeconomics exam.  the papers, i can handle.  the exam is a different story.  see, me and economics, well... we don't get along too well.

to hold you over, here are a couple pictures of me in my gypsy 05 dress.





i'm also carrying my rebecca minkoff morning after clutch.  i was convinced i wouldn't be able to travel safely without a cross body bag, and i've been wanting a rebecca minkoff for some time now.  i've been secretly coveting my friend alyssa's neon yellow MAC for some time now, so getting one to ensure that my personal belongings would be safe (in a beautiful bag) seemed like the perfect excuse.

i love how the bag looks with certain outfits when you shorten the chain by looping it through where it usually hooks, and instead hooking it by the leather shoulder strap.

i'll post more on the details of my trip once my week dies down... that is if i make it through my exam aliiive.

hola Costa Rica

and the verdict is...



essie canyon coral.  i decided that i'm going to save the orange for the summer.  i have found the best top coat ever: seche vite dry fast top coat.  honestly, my nails remain unchipped and shiny for over a week.  this stuff is good.



i spent this evening packing for my trip to Costa Rica!  i pick up my friend Tara who is flying in from Buffalo to Orlando tomorrow.  our flight leaves 6 a.m. saturday, and we're meeting up with six other girls.  the eight of us are first stopping at my friend's uncle's casino for lunch in San Jose, and then were making our way to Jaco Beach for eight days.  the only other country i've been to is Canada, so i'm pretty excited to put my passport to use.  of course, i desperately needed a passport case, and thankfully my mom found this one for me.  the lime green is so cute, and the inside is cotton candy blue!



the first thing i thought when i knew i was going on this tropical vacation was that i needed a maxi dress.  it took several weeks to find the perfect one, but i finally found it.  i've wanted a gypsy 05 maxi for some time now, but have been nervous to order online not knowing how the sizes run and how the dye job looks in real life.  lucky me.  i found one at indigo here in Gainesville... on sale!  this baby was originally $146.00 and i got it for $60!  i love it.



the length is so perfect.  it drags.  that might urk a lot of you.  but in my opinion, there's nothing worse than a short maxi dress.  a maxi dress that falls at the ankles just cuts you off too soon.  the longer the length, the more lanky you look.  woo for that.







the back on this is just perfect.  it's very revealing which is a nice contrast to how much the length covers up.  i'll show you better pictures of the dress from when i wear it on my trip.

well, i've got my fedora ready for when i step off the plane.  i plan on eating a lot of guacamole (among other things), reading My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, drinking fruity drinks, and zip lining through the jungle.  time to finish updating my iPod.  adios Gainesville!

a splash of color

i have a confession.  i love to wear black.  i'm trying to overcome this issue and have been adding more patterns and colors to my wardrobe...  baby steps.  but, in my opinion, the best accessory for anything black is colorful nail polish.  i can't stop buying bottles of it.  i have bottles that i haven't even used before, but love anyways.  for example, absolutely alice from opi's alice in wonderland collection (i swear it's a collectors item!).

and then there's the bottles that i've drained and have had to replace.  take, for example,  opi's overexposed in south beach or yoga-ta get this blue. i'm doomed when they discontinue these two!   right now i'm mustering up the courage to wear a good man-darin is hard to find from opi's latest hong kong collection.  i think it could be perfect for when i go to costa rica next week.  but, i'm not sure if i'm an orange nail polish person yet.  i'll let you know the verdict.