Costa Rica... Our first impression

Costa Rica, it has always been the one place Dr. C has wanted to go as long as I could remember. Finally our kids are old enough and we can do all the adventures we want while we are here so now is the time.

Our trip started with taking a flight that left at midnight. It's a 5 hour flight and I figured the kids would sleep the whole way. Once we got in the air, the cabin lights went on and drinks were served! I couldn't believe on an over night flight they turned the lights on. So, these 2 ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep. At least it was some sleep.

Then we arrive and the car rental that I thought was such a great deal was outrageous because of the added insurance. But, we are here so we let it go and are going to enjoy the almost 2 weeks we have. Exhausted, we got on the road, almost immediately, Dr. C is saying how much he loves this place. It really is beautiful! Everything is so green!

L was so tired, she was out pretty quickly in the car.

Until we stopped for breakfast... Then she was out again.

This is just some of the view on the road...

Later on this long 3 hour drive, the road got so curvy! It felt like I was on a never ending roller coaster. It would be turning so sharp to the right and all of a sudden switch to the left and Dr. C, not taking his time would make the car throw my body. All of this wasn’t sitting well with my stomach. I was thinking this day was going to be forever long and I just wanted to go to bed! But that got us to open the windows and hear all that different sounds the jungle has to offer.

Finally, we got to the hotel 3 hours before check in and our room was ready! Here is looking out the front door of our hotel room...

Here is the door on the other side...

We took a nap, had lunch and explored the pools that are fed fresh from the hot springs. I didn’t have high expectations for lunch because I have always heard the food here is so-so. I don’t know if I was just so starving or if the food was amazing, but I had the best salad ever. On of our dishes was a fillet minor salad and when it arrived, to my surprise, it was raw! But, what the hey, I’m in a new place, I might as well try how they make their food and it and it was amazing. I also ate 3 cherry tomatoes. (I hate tomatoes, but I was told they are different in Costa Rica.) They were edible here, that’s as far as I will go.

This is the view from our table...

This hotel is the perfect little slice of paradise in the jungle. There are a ton of pools with about 5 slides going into a different pool. All of pools are directly fed from the hot and cold springs.

After the pools we visited the different habitats they have here on the grounds, first is the crocodiles.

Butterfly gardens...

The flowers around here are so pretty!

Different view of the crocodile...

Turtles playing follow the leader. The 2 in the water are waiting to see if it's safe first.

We tried eating dinner in town hoping it would be a little less expensive, but not so much. Maybe we paid a little extra for this flaming plate. Anyhow, the food was amazing, even the kids loved it! Some new foods we tried at dinner were plantations (a less sweet cooked variety of banana) and papaya root. I thought I was going to be hungry this whole trip trying to find food without gluten and dairy. So far, so good. I think it’s the opposite, there is not much dairy and wheat and instead of starving, I'll just put on a few pounds.

After dinner we stopped at the town square and the kids and Craig had ice cream. (Tomorrow we are getting desert for me!) 

The night was topped off with a huge roach crawling on the bathroom counter. I’m not sure how I am going to sleep tonight. Costa Rica has certainly has its ups and downs, that’s for sure.

So far, our first impressions are, food is expensive but so far so good (lots of new things to try), roads are not marked well and people don’t even notice that there is a speed limit, the people are extremely nice and it is amazingly beautiful here. We haven’t seen graffiti or litter anywhere and it feels safer then at home. Everyone here is so happy! Oh and the bugs are not as bad as I expected!

Kristen

C gets a desk now too!

My neighbor offered me an old oak desk if I wanted it for either of my kids. When I went to look at it, I was shocked at what great condition it was in. It looked brand new, all the drawers rolled smooth and it it solid! Of course I wanted it! 

C has been asking for a desk since I was looking at desks for L. He has also been planning what color he wanted me to paint it.

This desk was quite fun to work on. There were no little cracks that I had to remove paint from first, I got to get right down to sanding and filling all the oak grain.

If you do this yourself, buy a fresh container of DAP Latex Plastic Wood. Mine was a little dried out, which made it really difficult to put on and it didn't get into the grain as well. I bought a new one and it went in much better.

C wanted a black desk, so I talked him into a dark gray desk with an almost black top. I went with an ebony stain and used spray paint on the desk. I wanted to try the mat spray over it, but I wasn't sure how it would turn out so I left it shinny. C choose the red chair.

We are slowly adding things to his walls now. Finally after 4 years in this house. 

If his room was a little cleaner, I would take pictures from far away. Here is his wall that we added stripes to, remember from this post to lighten up the room. He wanted that so bad, I couldn't understand why he wanted a black desk.

C picked out all the signs for his walls.

Hopefully he can keep his shelves a little nicer and not so cluttered. He is my organized pack rat.

Kristen

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

We are getting right into our gluten free grove and finding/creating/modifying recipes that are approved by the whole family and that don't make us miss gluten at all. (I wish I could say the same for dairy).

We are making these treats on a weekly basis right now and they don't last long. Sometimes the batch is gone in about 15 mins!

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
2 C Gluten Free Flour (I use Pamela's Bread Mix)
1 t baking soda
1/4 c butter (melted) **
1/4 c coconut oil (melted)
3/4 c pure maple syrup
2 eggs
2 over ripe bananas
1/4 t cinnamon

Mash the bananas then mix with all the wet ingredients. Add the dry and beat on high till smooth. These muffins are gluten free, so don't worry about over mixing, it won't make them tough. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

If your kids don't like banana chunks, put all the ingredients in the blender, blend it up real quick and pour them in the muffin tins.

**Dairy free option: Substitute butter for coconut oil.

I hope you enjoy them as much as our family does!

Kristen

Re-finishing Oak

If you have been following for a little while, you have slowly seen the Mr. C's office transform. We have been working on the front waiting room but have not been able to finish it. In the mean time, here is the magazine rack that I have re-finished.

I have mentioned before that oak is everywhere. I wanted to update this magazine rack.

I filled in the wood grain with some stainable wood fill.

Then sanded it down smooth.

I wanted to show the difference, so on the inside of the rack, I didn't fill the in the wood grain. You can still see all those tiger stripes in the oak.

Here is the front where I filled and sanded. Quite a difference in the look of the wood. It still has some variation in the color, but it does not at all look the same.

Here is the finished rack! I was really happy with the way it turned out.

Yes, the wall is a different color. But, I can't do a final reveal of the waiting area because there are a couple major things that are not finished and it just looks, well... unfinished. Even a couple patients have asked if we are moving... Hopefully we can change that soon.

In case you missed them, her are some posts on the hallway and Mr. C's office.

Kristen

Weekend Project

L got her very own sewing desk! I found this adorable desk on Craigslist...

Unfortunately, I was not in the mood for a project this big. This desk needed a lot of work! The pulls needed to be scrubbed, not just cleaned, really scrubbed, just look at that rust!

The paint was thick with lots of wear.

I really didn't want to dive into this project so I went to a furniture store looking for a couch and found this cute cheap desk. I was with a friend that warned me, price matches quality. I didn't care, I just wanted simple. I got it home, put it together and was already regretting my decision. My husband was appalled! He was so against this desk, plus, L's room stunk that night like chemicals. The desk was all particle board and it was missing paint in some areas. 

I told my husband I would get the other desk if he would watch the kids and dog all weekend while I worked away. So, I took the desk back we went and looked at the craigslist desk in person and had to get it. It was old, well built and perfect for L's needs. He LOVED that the drawers were tong and groove. I liked that it was solid and I could make it just how L wanted. She is a very particular little girl.

I was going to sand it all, but Mr. C said I should use a stripper first. I found an eco friendly one so that worked for me. It hardly had a smell at all.

The stripper worked so well!! I still did a lot of sanding to make the desk as smooth as I could because L wanted it white with gold drawers. White shows everything.

The drawers were the easiest so I started with those. L was insistent that she had gold drawers and I think it's a big deal to let my kids personalities come out in decorating their rooms. (Within limits of course.) She actually wanted drawers that were gold, light pink and dark pink. That was a bit much so I convinced her that if we did that, the desk might not grow with her, she may get sick of it.

I was worried about the pulls because they are 2 different sizes, both unusual sizes, so I was hoping when they were cleaned that L would like them. Unfortunately, when I cleaned them, 2 of them were real solid brass. The rest were brass plated. I should have left them rusted and tarnished, that would have looked much better.

First coat of paint and the desk is looking great!

 After all the work cleaning the handles and searching the internet, Hoby Loby, World Market, Home Depot, Osh, Ace (who has thousands of pulls), I could not find matching pulls in 2 and 2.5 inch. I even looked for some pulls that would look good together and this size is near impossible to find! I found a couple 2 inch ones, but no 2.5 inch. So, I painted them white...

I really don't like them white, so I ruffed them up a bit. Still don't like them, but they are better. I bought some hammered paint, but L absolutely doesn't like that color. For now I am going to let them sit for a while, I screwed them in loosely incase I find what I'm looking for in the right size I can replace them. I may just paint one the other color and put it on so L can get used to it then I can change them all. But overall I love the desk and her little spunk that comes out in her decorating.

Don't forget the last picture, there is a little surprise when she opens the drawers.

L got her pink on the inside of the drawers and it's not just light pink. The spray can's I used to paint the inside of the drawers was terrible!!! They must have been really old because I shook and shook them and they were spitting out particles and the color would change. Some of her drawers fade from light to dark. If I had started with the pink, I may not have finished the project!

Now, she can sew all day long and we can still eat dinner on our table. (That little bag on her chair, she sewed herself!

If you are interested, here are some of the products I used on this project.

For desk:



For the drawers, I used the same Universal line but in a Metallic and the color was Champagne Mist. I can't find it on amazon at the moment.

For the stripper:



To clean the handles (it works great on pots and pans also):



Now, I need to work on her wall...

Kristen