by JP Esq | Apr 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
Today I had a date with my book and my debit card. We ventured out into Clay Terrace and after all of that shopping, I definitely needed something to refill my tank. Since seeing the movie It’s Complicated, I’d been craving Croque Monsieur. I knew Cafe Patachou had this on the menu. What I didn’t know, however, was that it was massive and would have been knocked out on the couch in utter food bliss.
by JP Esq | Mar 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
Since my friend is involved in ministry in Costa Rica, he invited me out to feed the homeless of Quepos with him. Quepos is a coastal town with a very clear line between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. There is a lot of drug use and quite a few people with little to no survival resources.
People from a few of the local churches often get together to feed people once a week. Each person brings their contribution {bologna, veggies, meat, bread, beans}. We met at a local church that had an open “kitchen” {basically a counter space} and we prepared the sandwiches using meat my friend provied and bread a bakery donated. We also had some beans/soup provided by someone.
We packed up everything & walked closer into town towards the shore/Malicon {where addicts & prostitutes & homeless gather}.
We distributed food & just loved on those people.
That’s where my heart is.
by JP Esq | Mar 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
Of course zip-lining & Tarzan-swinging through the jungle is right up my alley. I’ll try anything once {within reason}. And I already did the parasailing thing in Maui & earlier in the week in Quepos I relinquished control to MG as she drove us around in the middle of the ocean on a Jet Ski. {For a control freak this really is torture, but it was a good lesson for me}.
No trip is complete without a little scare-yo-mama adventure. Apparently, my mama doesn’t know the grown-up-almost-30 me. When I sent her this picture this was the exchange:
Mommy: “Is that you?”
Me: “Yes, who else would it be…?”
Mommy: “Well you’ve never been the adventure type. It’s taking us a while to get used to the change.”
Thanks Mommy. I think…
by JP Esq | Mar 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
My favorite thing to do is eat breakfast out. My favorite-favorite thing to do is eat breakfast out by the beach. BINGO. Enter: Raphael’s Terrazas.
This would become our morning spot for the week. The staff was super nice and even though it was high season, we always managed to make it in for a personal dining experience. In other words – it was empty. But not because it wasn’t fantastic.
My mother has been making plantain for us since I was a kid. I love you Mommy, but those Costa Rican women make plantain like no other. And of course, it comes with basically every meal. That and gallo pinto {black beans & rice}.
Breakfast #1 – success. Then it was on to the beach for a full day of wave watching…and getting completely fried crispy in that jungle sun.
And when I say crispy I mean it.
by JP Esq | Mar 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
Well let’s face it – I can’t sit still to save any person’s life let alone my own. So not long after returning from Kenya, I knew another destination was somewhere in my near future. After all, aren’t I the same girl who went to Disney World in February of 2005 and then booked a vacation to Maui for May 2005 immediately upon return from Mickey’s home? Yes, I is that girl.
A friend of mine is working in a Christian drug & alcohol rehabilitation program in Quepos, Costa Rica and that seemed like a perfect place to go. {See his blog here}. Sprinkle in a little law school spring break for my dear friend MG and there you have it folks: homemade vacay.
ORD-GUA-SJO-XQP. {If you don’t get that you need to travel more. It makes your skin glow.}. I love my city, but flying out of Indy is rarely worth the extra few hundred dollars. So, we first road-tripped to Chicago to catch a 3am flight out of O’Hare. With 6 hours to kill in Guatemala, of course the first thing we did was locate food. {P.S. – Guatemala’s airport is really nice & kind of cushy}. Naturally, in Guatemala we ordered: Dim Sum. Duh. {No, it’s not traditional Guatemalan cuisine so stop scrunching your forehead}. But it was so delicious.
We finally made it to San Jose and prepared to catch the smaller plane that would take us to the coast to Quepos. In order to get to the domestic terminal you have to exit the main airport and walk a block or two down the street to the smaller terminal {which is essentially connected in the back to the larger one}. Our next conversation went a little like this:
MG: “Are these the planes where they have to start the propellers?”
Me: “No, they aren’t…oh wait…he just started the propellers with a stick…”
Picture it. Me – in that. It was certainly comedy I’m sure. I think at some point I asked whether or not it was possible for your sinuses to explode, because I felt like I was having a stroke or some other severe problem as we climbed through the clouds. And let me assure you – you can feel everything. Every bump. Every cloud kicking the plane in a pouty two-year-old way for us invading their space. It was the longest 20 minutes ever. MG & I started praying. Loudly. I literally almost kissed the concrete when we finally did land in Quepos.
Stay tuned for more of the adventure.
by JP Esq | Jan 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
Well, happy new year my lovelies. My friend was home from Costa Rica & invited me to his parents’ house for some Indianapolis Colts football action. I happily carried myself there along with these French Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Crème Brûlée Buttercream icing. I even melted some sugar in the oven for a nice golden garnish. Let me admit to you now that I used a boxed mix for these. But not just any boxed mix: Wildly Delicious cupcake mixes from their LUXE line.
{Yes, these are the actual cupcakes I made & carried}
I promised myself a good kitchen experiment session to make these from scratch. Update to come…
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