Friday
Aug292008
Enjoy Labor Day Weekend
This is what I hope to be doing a bit of this Labor Day...
{Images via author's personal collection taken at the Indiana Dunes}
Enjoy the long weekend!
Entries from August 1, 2008 - September 1, 2008
Thursday
Aug282008
A Costa Rican Honeymoon: The Husband's Packing List
Last week I posted about how I overcame my "thorough packer" tendencies for my honeymoon by creating a packing checklist. Well, guys can have some packing "tendencies" of their own... my dear husband has the tendency to pack at the last minute and always forgets at least a few things. So he created a packing checklist as well. As requested, I am posting it in the event that it might be a helpful starting point for someone else headed to Costa Rica or Central America for a vacation.
This was my husband's packing list for 10 days, 9 nights in Costa Rica. He also had to keep his bag at 25 lbs for the local flight on a turbo prop from San Jose to Tamarindo.
- Jeans
- Cargo pants (wore when traveling, not packed)
- 4 pairs shorts
- Swim trunks
- Merill shoes
- Sandals
- 8 tee shirts
- 1 long sleeved shirt
- 3 button down, short sleeved shirts
- 2 Cameras
- Waterproof case for camera
- Rechargeable batteries
- Cell phone and charger (with International plan activated)
- Flashlight with new batteries
- First aid kit
- Benadryl cream (for bug bites)
- iPod
- Athletic watch (ie not valuable)
- Spare contacts
- Toiletries
- Novel
- Reservation confirmations
- Passport!
We didn't really use the flashlight or the first aid kit other than 1 bandaid but I did use the Benadryl cream for bug bites. You may also notice that we split up the couple items so to get a complete idea of what we took you can refer to my packing list here; for example I had the CR road map and he had the reservation information. This was about the right amount of clothes for him as he kept it pretty simple with shorts and tee shirts... and he didn't even forget anything!
If you have any specific questions about honeymooning in Costa Rica please feel free to email me (inthisinstance at gmail dot com) and I will be happy to share any info that I might have. You can also read all my post about honeymoon in Costa Rica here.
Thursday
Aug282008
Pretty Wedding Invitations from Wedding Paper Divas
I am in love with the letterpress invitations designs by Wedding Paper Divas. They are classic, vintage, current, and just lovely all at once. All coming from a company that has made ordering wedding invitations such an easy process {coming from a girl that spends her days thinking about how to improve processes}.
They introduced their letterpress line too late for me but my invitations may have have been a bit different if these would have been around 7 months ago when I was trying to decide what to do...
These are also close contender for my favorite:
And out of curiosity, I did preview several sample sets from their letterpress invitation line... They are just as pretty in person. I love the aesthetic of their letterpress. The envelope liners were perfect! Such a small detail that really adds to the whole package. And while I will be the first to say that DIY envelope liners are really easy, just the time savings in finding the right paper is worth the expense of having them come with the liners.
tagged 
paper
paper Wednesday
Aug272008
30! Really!?
Unbelievable. Seriously unbelievable. I am now a married gal in my thirties. Eek!
{Image via Martha Stewart}
Tuesday
Aug262008
The Budget-Friendly Out of Town Welcome Bags
The welcome bags for the out of towners was one of the DIY projects I decided early on that we needed to do, even if we had to find a very budget friendly way to do them. Since our families are scattered around the country, we had a fairly high percentage of OOT guest and nearly all of them were family. By starting early to gather items for the Welcome to Chicago Bags and keeping to the basics we were able to keep the cost to $3.50 each. **Update: These would have been a bit lower if I had created the "Welcome Letter Packet" using more budget friendly paper, I used Paper Source and an enclosure.
For the bags, I stuck with my keep it simple motto and ordered kraft gift bags from Paper Mart in sage green. At $0.38 each this left me with a bit more in the budget to fill them up.
I then headed to the Chicago welcome center in the Cultural Center at Randolph and Michigan Avenue over my lunch hour to acquire free Chicago maps, CTA maps, and a few brochures that fit my guests. I also found a really cute Lincoln Park shopping guide at a few stores on Armitage that were in sage green and white and coincidentally coordinated with my wedding... so collected a few of those over several months.
For the snacks, I incorporated a few Chicago brands but didn't want to force or overdo this aspect. I filled the bags with Quaker granola bars, Tootsie Rolls, Milano cookies, and a pack of Wrigley gum among a few other random snacks that I gathered when they were on sale. I also included little packs of Advil. **Update: One of the very budget conscious aspects of the Tootsie Rolls was buying a larger bag and splitting it up into many little cello bags. Any local candy or treat that you can buy in volume and split up would work.
I added in 2 water bottles with custom labels. I had made a set of these back in the spring but did a slight redesign. Directions on how I made these posted here. We bought the water when it was on sale at the local grocery store. Water bottles are really fairly inexpensive to add as the 24 packs are often on sale for around $4... compared to the average $6 for bottle of water at the hotel.
One of the things that I received compliments on from guest was the "welcome packet" that included a letter, itinerary, trolley schedule, hair/makeup schedule (for the girls), recommended restaurants, and a list of our favorite things to do in the area. Guests found this very helpful and I saw it being carried around all weekend. **Update: This was one of the pricier aspects of the welcome bags as I did use Paper Source products. This could also be done with less expensive materials to bring the cost down. Printing multiple pages per page helped keep the cost down.
Then I closed up the bags with a simple Chicago skyline clip art label that I made. I also used my handy circle cutter to cut the name tags; my handwriting is horrible so I opted for printing. These are very similar to the design for the favor tags.
{This picture was really dark so I tried to correct the colors... still not the greatest photo or the actual colors but you get the idea.}
And of course I had lots of help with these little welcome bags...
I know that brides often struggle with whether a welcome bag for out of town guests is necessary or if it is just an added expense. I felt that these were something to make the end of a day of travel a bit less weary for my traveling guests. Welcome bags don't need to be extravagant; even with a small budget you can collect a few snacks and add a note to welcome guests to your hometown.
tagged DIY, ITI: A Wedding, my wedding in Weddings
DIY, ITI: A Wedding, my wedding in Weddings Monday
Aug252008
Labeling the Restrooms: DIY Signs
Stills sans wedding day photos, I am going to post about a few of the DIY projects that I didn't have time to write about before the wedding...
Restroom signs were one of the DIY projects that when I mentioned it people would look at me like I was a little nutty. But having been in the uncomfortable(annoying) situation of not knowing if the restroom is for men or women and not really wanting to waltz in and be in the wrong one... I thought a little sign designating Men's and Ladies' restrooms would add a enough piece of mind for guests that it was worth the effort. And before you say "don't they have signs there..." my venue doesn't have signs designating the restrooms as gender specific. So we made them!
I was about to give up on this project due to the price of ordering a sign. Then I randomly found inexpensive wooden signs during a trip to a local Michael's. And at $2 each for the signs plus a bottle of sage green spray paint (estimating at $5 from Home Depot) this project was a very minor line item in the budget...
Dan took on this project and became the paint king...
To create a stencil we printed the wording and used an exacto knife to cut out the letters. A paint pen worked the best to keep the lines clean.
And since we were creating signs... I had my painter whip up a ceremony sign.
We used a staple gun to attach grosgrain ribbon... and viola! We had signage!
tagged DIY, ITI: A Wedding, my wedding in Weddings
DIY, ITI: A Wedding, my wedding in Weddings Saturday
Aug232008
Productivity Gains
I wonder if one of these days the standard cubicle office will become a thing of the past. Really, I do think I would be much more productive in such a bright, pretty office as this one from Pottery Barn.
{Image courtesy of Pottery Barn}
Friday
Aug222008
A Costa Rican Honeymoon: The Packing List
I have a confession to make... I am an over packer. Always have been. When we went to Hawaii last spring I actually had to pay more because my suitcase was so heavy.
So when we booked a flight on the smallest of turbo props from San Jose to Tamarindo my husband informed me that my bag would have to weight in under 25 pounds... eek!
{Images of Nature Air flight from author's personal collection}
So I made a packing list for our Costa Rica honeymoon and pretty much stuck with it. I also weighed my bag at home to know if I could squeeze anything else in there. I have to say, Costa Rica is the perfect vacation to pack lightly- even for over packers. The packing list is pretty basic but it helped to keep me a bit more organized...
- Skirts - 3
- Sundresses - 4
- Shorts - 3
- Jeans (you never know) - 1
- Tank tops - 5
- Tee shirts - 2
- Swimsuits - 4
- Beach cover up/tunic - 2
- Three quarter length Tee - 1
- PJs
- Flip flops - 2 pairs
- Toiletries
- Sunscreen
- Costa Rica road map
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray (very necessary)
- Camera
- Hat
- Spare contacts
- Ear plugs
- Ipod
- Novel/Beach read
- Umbrella
- Passport!
We also had a few extras that we ended up not needing really like hiking shoes and the ponchos but we had planned on doing more hiking than we did. I will say that it was pretty nice to have a more manageable suitcase and a "uniform" of skirts and tanks or dresses... little thought went into which outfit to wear that day! I just might be reformed into a light packer...
We will see how well I do packing for our anniversary trip to Europe {hopefully} next year as that will be a whole new ballgame.
Next week I am going to post about a few of the DIY projects we did for the wedding but that I didn't have time to post about when we were working on them. Have a good weekend!
Thursday
Aug212008
A Costa Rican Honeymoon: Herradura
Our last stop in Costa Rica was the town called Herradura. This was the most relaxing part of our honeymoon as we really just "hung out." Herradura is just a few kilometers north of Jaco which is a very popular vacation spot, is easy to get to and from the airport in San Jose, and also is relatively a short drive to Manuel Antonio so day trips there would be a feasible option if staying in Herradura {or Jaco}. And while you will see more than a few billboards for hotels/resorts and land for sale sign, the area is really beautiful.
We stayed at Villa Caletas, which ended up being my favorite hotel of the trip. The hotel is up on a cliff which you get to by driving up this long, twisty private drive. The grounds were very lush and gorgeous. The infinity pool was really amazing as was the private beach. I highly recommend this hotel as it is truly an escape from everyday life and quite romantic. But definitely have a car as we did need to drive to elsewhere for dinner or to go hiking.
{Pictures taken at Villa Caleta's in Herradura}
We enjoyed Jaco Taco for Mexican and Steve and Lisa's, which was one of the many roadside restaurants that have nice views. Bagelman's was a little disappointing and I wouldn't make the trip from Herradura to Jaco for this place.
One of our favorite restaurants in Costa Rica was the place we went on our last night there... El Pelicano. The view was beautiful, the service wonderful, the drinks tasty, and the food delicious. This restaurant was noted as having a "Costa Rican" style and an ever-changing menu.
{Picture taken at El Pelicano in Herradura}
As I mentioned, our itinerary for Herradura was to relax and we did just that. Alternating our time between the beach and the pool and restaurants and the terrace off our room... Villa Caletas was the perfect hotel for the final days of our honeymoon. There were many tours offered in this area and through the hotel if you are looking for a more activity oriented stay.
{All images via author's private collection}
Wednesday
Aug202008
A Costa Rican Honeymoon: Arenal & Manuel Antonio
Those of you familiar with Costa Rica may be saying how can you post about Arenal and Manuel Antonio in one post as they are not exactly close to each other... So this is where one of the "adventures" came about with our trip. We were not planning to go to Arenal. However when the bridge on the road to get us from Tamarindo to Manuel Antonio was out (this where we learned the phrase No Paseo!) the detour that we had to take took us up to Arenal. I am thrilled that we ended up spending time in Arenal even if most of it was by car! So while I don't have a lot of recommendations for these areas due the short time period spent here I will share what I learned...
Arenal is a gorgeous part of Costa Rica and we left Costa Rica saying that if we go back we want to spend the majority of that next trip in this area. I definitely recommend having a car here... and make that a 4WD! The driving can be a little intense as the roads are very twisty but you will see so much of the countryside and amazing vistas by driving. Things to do in Arenal: Arenal National Park, Lake Arenal, Monteverde Cloud Forest, and multiple hot springs. There are the activities that one might expect: fishing, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, ATV tours, hikes to waterfalls, etc.
{Image of Arenal volcano from author's personal collection}
If we go back here and spend some time in the area, we would stay at the Tabacon Grand Spa. I can't recommend this place as I didn't get to stay here but as we drove by I sighed and said "We should have stayed here!"
Manuel Antonio is a very popular vacation spot in Costa Rica. So if you are planning your honeymoon or a vacation to Costa Rica you have undoubtedly seen quite about about Manuel Antonio. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend as much time here as we planned. However, the time that we did was wonderful. The area is gorgeous and has its own personality.
If you are driving and staying in Quepos... once you hit Quepos most of the hotels are up the hill, follow the signs towards Manuel Antonio.
We stayed at La Mansion Inn and loved this boutique hotel; it is gorgeous. We had an ocean view off the terrace that was amazing. The hotel bar is the Bat Cave which most guys will find entertaining. The Jacques Cousteau Restaurant was lovely.
{Image of Manuel Antonio sunrise from author's personal collection}
We went to the hotel Si Como No for breakfast before going to the butterfly garden. This hotel looked nice but I am not sure that I would stay here for a honeymoon. It is very kid friendly which is cool but the kid water slide at the pool seemed a bit more kid friendly than I would want for a honeymoon. The butterfly atrium was really cool and we had a lot of fun here.
There are so many beautiful hotels and things to do in Arenal and Manuel Antonio that it is easy to see why they are top spots in Costa Rica to visit.
