Dolphin dives

{ Monkey love | Honduras | December 2012 }

When we decided to go somewhere warm for the holidays we knew we wanted a mix of jungly and beachy, so we looked toward the coastlines of Central America. Our first choice was this gorgeous property in Nicaragua built on a lake in the middle of the country that seemed perfect: green in every sense of the word, intimate, lots of places to explore, yoga out on a dock everyday, my style of food and comforts, but sadly worked out to be too expensive for us, especially since we wanted to do a solid two weeks.

The place we ended up choosing in Honduras isn't exactly what I expected, but one thing it delivers in spades is the junglyness. We're on a nature preserve of sorts and there's a family of monkeys here that are adorable (until they try to swipe your things), these squirrel/gerbil-type critters that scamper around, stately peacocks, squawky geese, iguanas that look like mini-dinosaurs and therefore freak me out when they sidle up to our palapa on the beach, roosters that crow at random times of the day, pheasants that look completely out of place and humble cows. Quite the motley crew.

{ Shiver-inducing iguana | Honduras | December 2012 }

But of all these wild beasts, the most amazing are the dolphins (which aren't running wild on the property of course).

I was somewhere in the neighborhood of about ten years old when The Little Mermaid came out and I was obsessed (until The Lion King, which is now and forever will be my all-time-favorite Disney movie, despite feeling like I should like Aladdin more since it features a Disney princess I can identify with). Anyway, point is, I watched that movie verging on daily for quite a few months after we bought the VHS, so I knew all the lines, the characters' expressions and the words to all the songs. I felt like Ariel and I were the same and I even tried to perfect a little mermaid/dolphin dive in the pool during swim practice (which may be why I was never a good competitve swimmer, too much time wasted flipping my imaginary fins around).

{ Sweet little guy saying hello | Honduras | December 2012 }

When R and I had the chance to actually swim with dolphins a few days ago it was completely surreal. They were these gorgeous, playful, cuddly (seriously!), laughing (again, seriously!) creatures that loved to impress and were crazy for our applause and cheers and whistles. It really was an incredible experience. They had this magnificent power, but turned to mush when they sensed we were happy. And their speed and grace! They'd zoom off, do back-to-back flips and then race back to us, stopping with a swift ninety-degree turn right in front of us. Then they'd loll over on their sides so we could scratch their silky smooth bellies. We were able to take some beautiful pics of us hugging our dolphins and us each getting a sweet little smooch from them.

One of the most amazing things for me was seeing my 6'4" husband become like a little boy again when the dolphins swam around him. I've seen him with babies and puppies, but he was absolutely enthralled by the dolphins and his giddiness was just as precious to me as the chance to flit around with dolphins and channel my inner Ariel.

If you've never done it before and ever have the chance, please promise me you'll take a swim with some dolphins. You won't regret it.

{ Showing off for us | Honduras | December 2012 }

And with that—Happy New Year's! Here's to a fabulous (hopefullly dolphin-filled...or at least dolphin-adjacent) 2013 for all

An unburdening

{ Peacock roaming about | Honduras | December 2012 }

This holiday I'm trying so very hard to "turn off", which is harder said than done (clearly, since I'm typing on a gadget at the moment). But, in this case, letting my feelings go here is probably a good, cathartic thing (versus mindlessly checking social media or work emails which is usually not).

A lot has happened this year: family situations, work situations, life situations (Hi Sandy!)—but the last few months have been especially challenging.

I took on too much work.

I dealt with natural disasters (although to a much lesser degree than many, but to a higher degree than everyone in my circles here in NYC).

I've had my life shifted a bit as we've had a houseguest for three months (yep, that's not a typo). Even though our houseguest is extraordinarily respectful and helpful and we have fairly opposite schedules, it still jars the rhythm of daily life for me. I'm the opposite of my brother in that I'm extremely protective of my space, my sanctuary. Our apartment is small (~650 sq ft), and each inch is put together and arranged in a way that calms and soothes me. I don't necessarily want a big house ever (although I see the benefits when you have a long-term guest), I just want a space that's sacred to me. And, it's taken a much bigger toll on me than I thought it would to not have the space to myself (when I say "myself", I mean R & I, although he knows how precious my space and time is to me and he gives me lots of both). Even now, while we're away, our guest is still at our apartment PLUS two additional ones. Granted, these are people very, very close to me, but that doesn't change the fact that knowing our home is being fully inhabited by someone other than us two makes my eye twitch.

I know I need to let (it) go.

Part of this two-week hiatus from life in Honduras is a chance to breathe in and out. To ignore those nasty niggles that someone is sprawled across my bed at this very moment. To turn off everything around me and just focus on the elements that we get to experience here together: fire of the sun, water of the sea, wind through the palm trees and this beautiful earth below our feet.

So far it's working.

(Although, it did take some major unwinding, but I might go so far as to say that I'm actually completely relaxed right now).

Merry Christmas from Honduras!

{ R surveying the sea | Honduras | December 2012 }

Christmas Eve means more to both of us in our individual traditions (which is good for our joint!), but in this land of no clocks, no Christmas trees and no midnight mass, all the days are melding together and I missed wishing you all on Christmas Eve, but here I am on Christmas Day!

Since arriving on Saturday we've been in (mostly) blissful ignorance of everything else in the world but this turquoise sea, this white sand, and each other. We're filling our days with frequent dips in the water, jaunts around this little island in a pair of kayaks, rowdy card games and keeping our things out of grabby monkey hands (more on that later). Hope you all are having a nice wind-down of your year, too.

Monday meanders: 4

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I'm currently on holiday in Honduras with the hubby (oooo alliteration...although I despise the word 'hubby'), but put this together last week before taking off. Enjoy—and hope you're all having a good start to your week!

+ Strengthening sweetness and stimulating spiciness: Oh me oh my, I could smell the scent wafting through the air just from reading this goodness from Rachel in Rome (her lovely picture shown above).

+ Flitting and flanerie-ing: So much to love about this post from Sarah in Sydney (hmm, sensing a pattern here) on the French idea of taking a wander around the city just to absorb and soak it in. No goal in mind, other than to revel in your surroundings and maybe indulge in a local goodie or interaction with your neighbor. It's slightly akin to the Italian "dolce far niente", or the beauty of doing nothing, although the latter doesn't necessarily imply a stroll. I think this makes my daily and weekend walks much more special because now they have a spot-on name, no?

+ Instastealing? So apparently a lot of the Instagram hullabahoo last week was just a result of bad writing and they have no intention of stealing your photos for advertising campaigns, of which only they will profit in. Good to know (not that I use Instagram all that much, but still...).

+ Spidey sense: Have to agree. Best. Picture. Ever.

+ Waldorf Astoria: Sweet story of a couple returning to the grand hotel where they spent their wedding night in 1952 for a milestone anniversary—turns out, the WA honors your original room rate (if you have your receipt, of course). So instead of paying $3,450 for a night, this couple paid $21. Excellent for the brand, but in general, just a cleverly awesome thing to do.

+ Celestial Lights: Gorgeous, gorgeous video of the northern lights above Norway, Finland and Sweden.

Honduran holiday

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R and I are spending our end-of-the-year in the Caribbean this year. We'll be celebrating Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, our wedding anniversary, New Year's Eve, New Year's day AND R's birthday far, far away—the first time we're doing the whole shebang, just us two.

To say we're ecstatic is an understatement.

I'll try to check in every few days, but in case you don't hear from me for a few weeks—have a lovely holiday, everyone and Happy New Year!

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A bout of the sniffles

{ A few weeks ago. Back when I felt as badass as my boots look. }

I've got this obnoxious bug and I'm pretty annoyed about it.

Mostly because I've been harping at someone close to me for months now to take better care of themselves: "maybe your day's meals shouldn't consist of just one cup of instant coffee and a sketchy hamburger", "maybe you shouldn't wear just a windbreaker when it's 38F outside", "maybe you should sleep more than 4 hours a night", etc. So when that person fell ill, I didn't say "I told you so", but I definitely thought it, especially when the cold lasted just over two weeks.

And then I came down with some scratchy-throated, stuffy-headed nonsense this weekend and felt slightly less vindicated. Although in my defense, I really think I've been struck because I've been:

+ Working way too much (day job + evenings/weekends on two side projects + citizenship applications)

+ Slightly overdoing it with holiday/family commitments (the last of which was on the eve of my downfall—but I don't regret one second or bite of my company's amazingly indulgent end-of-the-year dinner: 8 wine-paired courses of delight)

+ And, the weather did this ridiculous roller coaster last week with 60F one day and 30F the next and I didn't dress appropriately.

+ Plus, I should have been hibernating all weekend to recoup, but instead worked nonstop, which I'm sure didn't help.

I don't have a real fever, and apart from one minor sensation of nausea, I don't feel flu-y, so I've made the perhaps pig-headed decision to not take medicine. A course of Nyquil & Dayquil is always my go-to, but I'm wondering if I could just let this yuckiness run its course and not deal with medicine hangover.

But now that we're approaching Day 6, I'm feeling less tough and more silly about it.

I just went outside and propped myself up against a building on my office's chichi Soho corner to turn my face to the sky and soak in some bright sunlight and that was about the best I've felt over the last few days.

Just a few more hours to get through and then I can recuperate somewhere far, far away with nary a computer in sight but lots and lots of sunshine.

Oh, the places you'll go

{ Riserva dello Zingaro | Sicily | September 2010 }

Sometime during a college break I wandered into my mom's craft room and grabbed a scrap of lavender cloth and used it to bind a notebook—it had beautiful paper but a horrific cover that needed to be hidden ASAP. On one of the first pages of the book I scrawled out a "life plan" (almost 0 of which has actually happened, so there's that) and a list of places to go (some of which has happened).

For inspiration, and to remind myself, here's that original list, along with some additions...and annotations (for the places that I think about often):

+ Scandinavia: specifically, the Aeroe Islands, the Åland Islands, Copehnagen, Lapland, Gotland, Malmo, Reykjavik, Kullaberg, Nordkapp and Skagen, to start. (ETA: North Cape of  Norway)

+ Egypt: I've been obsessed with Egypt for years, especially Ancient Egypt. I would have fit in so well—no one loves flitting about more in light-colored linen, gold/copper/bronze and gem stones, and lounging about on marble slabs in spas than I do. Not to mention: powerful women, hedonism and an ever-present emphasis on learning. I would do Ancient Egypt so well. Would love to do 10 days of intense travel through the interior and along the Nile, book-ended by a few days at a seaside resort.

+ Grecian Isles: I spent a few days in Athens and Santorini a few years ago, but I always thought it would be nice to rent a boat and a captain and sail through a portion of the country's maze of islands for a few days...or weeks.

+ France: I also wouldn't mind seeing the French countryside—I don't know if just seeing Paris/Versailles should really count as checking this country off of my list.

+ Turkey: There was a line in that movie "A Walk to Remember" about being in two places at once (and the guy makes the girl's dream come true by having her straddle the state line), but I'd like to do the same in Turkey—except, straddle two continents, crisscrossing between Europe and Asia and enjoying all that that means: the collision of food, culture, art, architecture, spices, attire, etc. 

+ Prince Edward Island: I do have a thing for Anne Shirley and Avonlea, you know.

+ Spain, specifically, Andalucia: On the fateful trip when I met R, I almost didn't. I had originally planned to spend that month after graduation in Spain, but I ended up in Italy. Almost 8 years later, I still haven't seen Spain.

+ Caribbean Cocoa trail: I've actually spent a bit of time in the Caribbean, but there's a smattering of more "exotic" islands that I'd love to trek through, especially after reading this NYT piece about the Cocoa Trail.

+ Ireland/Wales/Scotland: I like rolling hills, greenery, whiskey/scotch, dogs, horses, castles, foxes and tartan. Plus I don't mind gray/overcast weather, so really this trip should have happened by now. (Am a little worried on the food front, but, I'll manage).