Ode to Ikea.

I love Ikea.

The store is set up in rooms

Will they let me stay?

That's my Haiku to Ikea.

I'm thinking about these chairs for my kitchen.

Today, anyway.

My house has a little mid-century/modern vibe going on but I have a mix of furniture and style. I think it's called eclectic or so that's what I like to think. 

I'm liking these chairs. I want to go play at Ikea and check them out. 

Ikea. Why must you be so far away?

Sweet embroidered flower pillow.

The blog "What about Orange" had some links the other day all about flowers. I found this cute pattern for free here. It turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. And I do!

Three more pillows...

This is the before.

I made these before the Open House. I wanted to make more but I had so many projects in the works and in the mind that I just couldn't do it.
Until today.

I had the material. I bought it before the Open House. I had the pillows. They were old and in storage. Boy, I'm glad I kept them. I didn't want to spend any more money.

The old pillows are quite lumpy BUT they were free.

I recovered three more today and THIS is what I wanted for the Open House but I'm HAPPY I got to it today! I LOVE how they turned out!

Cat.

 

Our cute cat likes to climb or rather, she likes to see the world from a higher perspective. I wish I could have snatched the camera quickly as she climbed the trellis-like wood strips on those doors.

Flowers and wedding plans....just under two months away!

We are going to choose flower arrangements today (at a florist of course) for the reception but first we are going to Home Depot so Sheyla can pick the right color and shade of paint chips for her colors.

We are home.

Sometimes, the food was really good (like this chicken was the best chicken I had in Costa Rica). Sometimes, I didn't eat so much. I think I'm pickier than I thought.

I loved being able to look outside and see the ocean. I will miss that terribly but we have a pretty spectacular view right here in our own back yard.

We had to wait in three different lines at the airport. This was our third. It turned out to be a very long day just to get home. We landed in Salt Lake City about 12:20 am. I really don't like to fly. I get motion sick so easily and  I have a hard time sleeping sitting up. I was so grateful to be able to sleep in our own bed, flush toilet paper in the toilet, take a nice, consistently, hot shower and be home!
We couldn't have gone if Jeff's mom hadn't stayed with Davis. We appreciate the time and energy she put into taking care of Davis and everything else while we were gone. What a gift she gave to us!
We had a marvelous time but we were both ready to get home to our family, home and country.

There's no place like home.

Pura Vida, continues...

These white breasted blue jays were everywhere. One morning at breakfast there was one above us in a tree close by. He had caught a bug that looked almost like a grasshopper and he proceeded to rip it apart and pieces of wings, legs, and other bug body parts drifted down close to Jeff's plate. Funny.

The raccoons wanted food and tried to beg for food. How cute are they!

I wouldn't have thought this area as dry as it is. Cactus.

On Thursday we went on a tour of Rincon de la Viega. It was about an hour and a half away. Not bad but mostly dirt roads. Another adventure!

We went on a 2 1/2 hour walk around this National Park. It was beautiful but very hot.

Jeff improved his Spanish (he doesn't get many chances to use it) over the week we were there. He served a mission to Guatemala about 25 years ago.

We saw a family of white faced monkeys. How amazing is that!
We also saw Toucans and a wild turkey (well, it's called something else) flying in the tree tops. We saw something that is like a rabbit but has short ears hopping through the forest.

Then we had a little hike to a very beautiful waterfall and we swam in this river. Very refreshing!

Tamarindo and Playa de Conchal.

On Tuesday, we were going to ride a public bus to Tamarindo but found out that there were only a few buses a day that went back and forth to where we wanted to go so we decided to go another day. We found a place that would take us for $20 and they told us we could go free if we attended a sales pitch. They said it wasn't the same as a time share but it really was. It was brutal for about 2 hours but we got free lunch and free tickets to go to the place where we really wanted to go. We were later told it could have taken us 6 hours just to ride the bus.

We then took a taxi to Playa de Conchal, a very beautiful and mostly secluded beach. It was a paradise!

We walked and walked and sat (in the shade), and basked in the beautiful vistas!

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

We're leaving tomorrow. I really really really miss my family. I don't miss the snow.
I AM very very grateful to live where we do (the United States of America) and to have so many many many blessings!

I'll be back soon.

It takes too long to upload any pictures. Usually, it doesn't work. I'll post when I return which will be Saturday. I miss my family but it makes me a little sad to leave this beautiful place.

Pura Vida!

This is Lake Arenal, a man-made lake that is muy grande.

These are Howler monkeys jumping in the trees. Actually, they aren't super active but I just said that because of the 10 little monkeys jumping on the bed.

We stopped at a coffee place that, we are told, serves the best coffee in the world. We got Mango juice and Coca Cola Light. The mini bus was full of tourist, about 20 people, and we had fun getting to know people from Canada, Oklahoma, Chicago and other places.

These are Pisote, which are a part of the Racoon family but they mostly reminded me of cats. They are super cute. The bus driver pulled to the side of the road so we could see these up close. I never knew that they existed.
How cool are they!

We stopped in La Fortuna for lunch, a quaint town that is close to the Arenal Volcano.

This is a volcano but it was covered with clouds so we couldn't see any lava (which they say you can see at night).
We hiked in a lush green rainforest which was beautiful!
We soaked in hotsprings that looked like large black hot tubs that went up a hill and they were heated by the volcano! It was amazing! The tour guide told us that we looked 10 years younger! She says that to all the tourist.
It was heavenly!

Costa Rica is beatiful!

This is the walk down to the office and restaurant.

Beautiful trees everywhere!

There are so many dogs everywhere too. They are so sweet.

This is on our way to Liberia. We rode a public bus, which was an adventure in and of itself.
The landscape is so beautiful and diverse.

There are iguanas everywhere. So many animals!
We rode in a taxi the other day and the guy told Jeff that he used to sell real estate but the economy has changed so much and there are less tourist he now has to drive a taxi. There are so many taxi drivers. We may not be helping the people of Haiti right now but we are helping the people of this little area of Costa Rica. We are so very grateful to be here!