Travel Diary - Costa Rica

From +35 degrees to -35 degrees in a matter of hours. Our world is a crazy place isn't it? Our week in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica was hot, sunny and world's away from cold Ontario. Our days were planned around the sunset, and included a lot of reading, swimming, sweating, applying sunscreen, napping, and of course eating and drinking. To be fair, my dad's days were a bit more complex, as he was glued to his binoculars looking for wildlife (it paid off, as he finally spotted a Toucan on our last day). The other creatures we came face-to-face with included white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, crabs, sloths, spiders, a snake, iguanas and lizards, frogs, the list goes on. I was terrified, my family loved it. We swam in the ocean, shopped in the beach markets, laughed with the many friendly locals and enjoyed a whole lot of sunny nothing. It was a wonderful break.

I don't know about you, but after almost every trip, I am always reminded how lucky we are to call Canada home--bitter cold and all, we really are fortunate to live in this beautiful, free country.

Chloe's Closet

As promised in this post, I have pulled together the other half of what I will be packing for Costa Rica. This time, things are light, bright and airy. I found this light-weight collared shirt that I plan to use as a bathing suit cover up, which I think will work well when you want your shoulders protected. I also love the idea of using an oversized, gauzy scarf as a sarong (provides coverage, while keeping you cool). Hopefully I will have a lovely bronzed glow to compliment all of that white, otherwise watch for reports of a ghostly encounter that had Costa Rican beach goers running scared...

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  1. Shirt - H&M
  2. Scarf - polyvore.com
  3. Bathing suit - Victoria's Secret
  4. Beach bag - J. Crew
  5. White boyfriend jeans - The Gap
  6. Blouse -  H&M

The Decor Department - Tess' Bedroom

My sister Tess is one of those few lucky people who has known exactly what she wants to do with her life for as long as I can remember--a dance teacher and studio owner. And she shows that same confidence with her personal style and decor aesthetic. So when she asked my help turning her room into a more sophisticated space, I knew it would be easy working with someone who is so sure of herself. Coral, fuchsia and white were the requested colours, and she wanted to keep her orange feature wall. Let me tell you, this girl is not afraid of colour and it's fabulously refreshing. Sticking to a modest budget, we rolled up our sleeves and got creative. A few cans of white paint on the three walls, ceiling and trim brightened things up and we had fun painting wood letters (from the Dollar Store!) and making colourful pennants. Of course, signs of her passions are scattered throughout her room, from the pointe shoes and ballet barre, to her gorgeous tea cup collection. I can only hope the space properly reflects her bright and beautiful personality!