Have you joined the new travel site from Gilt Groupe?  I am completely loving Jetsetter.com even if it causes me to have travel envy on almost a daily basis.  They list some amazingly gorgeous places that inspire the travel bug.  And I love that it is pretty well rounded in the offerings from both a locale perspective (both international and domestic based) and price points.

Looking for a short-long weekend getaway?  They have some pretty fabulous places in the states.  Take these for example... Sonoma and Atlanta are short plane rides or drives away.

 

Looking for something more exotic or international?  Maldives and Greece are on the menu of sales this week!  I am drooling over both of these...

So if you haven't checked out Jetsetter, you just might want to even if only to drool at the pretty places.  Here is an invitation if you need one!

Happy hump day!

My current quest is to find a lovely little restaurant for Saturday evening in the West Hollywood area...  While I can be particular, my requirements this time are pretty simple: non-chain, local, fresh-from-the-market focus on the menu, casual, a hint of romance would be icing on the cake.  Any ideas?

 

{image by Anthony Citrano Photography} 

February is the perfect month for daydreaming about a little romantic getaway.  A nice escape from the day to day is just the way to refresh and recharge.  I am loving the idea of a cute small town and a charming inn.

The mellow beach town Cayucos California sounds like just the place for a relaxing long weekend.  And The Cass House Inn looks like a lovely setting for getaway for two...

Cass House Inn looks beautiful... and like a lovely way to beat winter doldrums.

The kitchen and restaurant looks amazing.  I love their photos on flickr.

 

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!

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!

{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}

{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.

Tamarindo was the first town that we stayed at in Costa Rica. It is a very cool "surfer town" with a laid back vibe... perfect for relaxing after the wedding. The beach is expansive and there are plenty of restaurants within a short walk. If you are up for a bit more activity there also lots of tours out of Tamarindo, much like most of the tourist areas in Costa Rica. While we here here, we decided to focus on relaxing so lots of beach & pool time and dining.

We stayed at Tamarindo Village which is a small secluded hotel with villas. For the same reasons we selected this place I would not recommend it... We loved the villas and that it was a bit removed from what I will call "the strip." However this meant we were hiking up and down a muddy road to get to the beach or to anywhere to eat. If I were to "replan" our honeymoon I would stay at Hotel Capitan Suizo or Hotel Tamarindo Diria.

Hotel Capitan Suizo looks gorgeous and is directly on the beach. We stayed at a different hotel owned by the Small Distinctive Hotels in Costa Rica group and based on that wonderful experience would try another one of their hotels.

Hotel Tamarindo Diria has a perfect location and very pretty grounds. You would be able to walk down the beach to a variety of restaurants or down the street to rent a scooter.

For breakfast Grinds was one of our favorite restaurants. It is a little ways from the beach but worth finding. The same location becomes Kahiki in the evenings and we had one of the best dinners in Costa Rica here. The chef is European and moved from New York... and they had the best mojitos of the trip!

Nibbana Bar is another wonderful option for drinks and/or dinner that I would recommend. The atmosphere and service are great... And they make yummy drinks. It is a pretty open air restaurant on the beach with a great view for a sunset.

Several people recommended Nogui as being one of the best restaurants for dinner but we were pretty unimpressed. However, maybe we just didn't order the right thing...

Overall, Tamarindo is a fun place to vacation... whether you are looking for relaxing by the beach, taking surf lessons, or going on tours to volcanoes. Enjoy!

Since I am waiting to write about many of the wedding topics until I have the photos, I thought I would share a bit about our Costa Rican Honeymoon... but I will keep it brief as to not bore you!

After the wedding we were definitely in need of some rest and relaxation. And we had been dying to break in our passports so we jetted off to Costa Rica. We definitely rested and relaxed and found time for a little adventure...

One of the things that took center stage on our trip was dining... We went to some very cool places for meals, tested out the local snack foods, ate lots of fresh fruit, and of course had to have a pizza night. One of the things I noticed in Costa Rica is that they really embrace dining al fresco as many of the restaurants are open air which was very cool.

The various modes of travel added in the adventure aspect of the vacation. From sitting on a plane on the tarmac in Miami for 4 hours to driving up 4WD only, clay roads in the rain with no idea what the road name was (I don't think they have names personally). To getting weighed before boarding a small turbo-prop plane and waiting for the cattle to cross the road. To discovering that in Costa Rica "No Paseo" is not a phrase you want to hear and that temporary bridges can be very scary... Good thing my husband is an excellent driver!

Costa Rica is of course an ecological wonderland... We saw some pretty cool animals like a toucan, scary spiders, an active volcano, and just amazing vistas of forests and interesting plants... I even got to watch a monkey play in a tree while I sat on the terrace sipping my morning coffee!

And of course, just had good ole quality couple time! We hung out at the beach, played at the pool, did a little hiking, checked out a butterfly farm, goofed around at dinner, and just enjoyed traveling together... and being able to spend time together that wasn't filled with wedding projects/errands!

We primarily stayed on the Pacific Coast in the towns of Tamarindo, Quepos/ Manuel Antonio, and Herradura with a detour to Arenal. I do recommend Costa Rica as a honeymoon location however I would spend more time in Arenal and Manuel Antonio. I also definitely felt like we saw more of the "off the beaten path" side of Costa Rica while had a car. While we were definitely ready to come home, it was a fantastic trip filled with many amazing memories.

This raffia hat from Lucy to protect while lounging poolside or at the beach...

These cute little poplin 'Corner Store Crops' to wear while strolling around town from Anthropologie...

This sunny little bikini from Anthropologie would match my sunny mood...

I can hardly wait to be a 'honeymooner!'

**Update** I have to have this palette from Nars that I saw on Wedded Bits this morning to add to my honeymoon packing list. What a pretty set of colors all in one space saving compact. I love NARS Orgasm blush so how ideal to have all the other complimenting shades for an easy, low maintence, flirty look... for Costa Rica or even just every day here in Chicago.

{Image from NARS via Wedded Bits}