Much Change

Hello all! Wow, there have been a lot of changes since I have dropped the blogging ball…ugh! I have a whole bunch of posts ready, but let me first catch ya’ll up a bit!

In January, Devin and I had a huge decision to make…where we wanted to spend the next three years of our lives. We painfully made lists of pros and cons and tried to come up with the perfect choice. Narrowing down the entire country to three locations we headed to our beloved Caribbean to get away and just relax, talk, and decide. During our 10-day retreat we spend countless hours and miles meandering down the remote beach at sunset and chatting while we collected sea glass. I am not sure I can think of a time that I have felt more content and happy! On our last day we agreed that while New York has permanently brazen itself into our hearts it was time to move closer to home. In the end it boiled down to the fact that you can always fill the voids of adventure, identity, and even friends, but you can never replace family. Ergo, we decided to head back to Seattle and settle close to both families! Here is my favorite pictures of my entire relationship with Devin and our "decision making" trip...

Landing at JFK life it us like a ton of bricks: moving trucks were reserved, house searching commenced, and the job search was on! Since then Devin was accepted at a Family Medicine residency in the Seattle area, we made all of our moving plans, I accepted a my dream position at the children’s hospital of my dreams (eek!), we shipped our car and motorcycle, took a final Eastern Seaboard vacation, bought a house (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Devin graduated and is officially Dr. Devin, we packed all of our belongings into a huge moving truck, drove cross-country, and moved into our new home. It has been a whirlwind, but I looking back on these past five years I cannot help but tear up with gratitude for blessings and beauty of my life! We are making lots of changes to our first home and we are excited to share those with you as we go. The picture on the left is the first time I went to see the house (after we had put in an offer!) and the picture to the right is us arriving to OUR home for the first time after an emotionally charged, exhausting, chaotic, four-day drive across the country!

I had placed JJTulum and this blog on hold as I was buckling under the stress of everything else going on. JJTulum will remain on hold for the time being; I need time to settle, start my new job, make a new business plan and make my home my haven first. For those of you who have been waiting to purchase bags…fear not, they will be back, no guarantees when, but they will!!! Blogging…well we are excited to share our endless projects and updates on our home with you here in the meantime. I will keep JJTulum updates on here as well when we are up and running again.

Thank you for all the love and support, the help, emails, prayers, and cheering! I miss New York so much and always will, my heart found a home there, but it is so wonderful to be back in Seattle with friends and family…you are precious and the reason we are back!!!

 

Sontiago

Three girls from work and I finally bit-the-bullet and booked a week long girls trip as far from the New York single digit weather and snow as we could...San Diego! It was such a wonderful trip, there are not words to describe! We did whatever sounded good, we slept, rested, shopped, ate, walked on the beach, went for runs, drank, and caught up with old friends...does not get much better than that! On this trip I fell in love with Instagram, so here is the trip via Instagram.

It was difficult to come back to reality, but the memories are so special. Jess, Kristina, and Lisa I sure love you girls, thanks for all the laughs, Advil, and memories...T-minus 11months till our next adventure?! Molly and Chase it was so wonderful getting to see you and catch up, love ya both! Josh and Cara you are a beautiful couple and it was an honor to get to know you, thank you for the amazing San Diego tours!

Follow me on the JJTulum Instagram if ya like, I am much better at keeping up with that than my blog at present! ;0) Happy Thursday all...

Working Hard to Hardly Work

Hello!
Devin and I just returned from a little holiday to Rincon, Puerto Rico! It was so satisfying to leave in the middle of an NY snow storm and arrive in 90 degree weather, warm water and sunshine!!! We both have so much on our plates all of the time that it took us a full three days or so to really relax and stop trying to work on thing from home. Once we settled in though, we were picture perfect beach bums!

We did manage to make it out to snorkel, suft, and take a catamaran cruise which we enjoyed immensely. Rincon is very small with very little there and nothing around...just what we like! It is known for its' surfing so we always had entertainment and the beach to ourselves.

The best vacations for both of us when we are "off the beaten track". We do not like large hotels, crowds of people, or tourist venues. What we do like is finding the local stops to eat and enjoying truly authentic grub! We found the perfect hole-in-the-wall place on this trip and ate the best pinchos, mofongo, and tostones...YUMMY! Here are a few snap-shots of us after dinner.

Each evening we would head out for a walk down the beach, chatting and collecting sea glass. It was the highlight of the entire trip! About a mile and a half down the beach we would turn around and walk west as the sun set. Deciding where to spend the next three years of our lives was our main agenda on this trip and what better back drop to make such a big decision than this?!

Thanks for sharing in our getaway! Happy week to you all.

New Year's Unresolutions

Happy New Years!!!

I have not blogged in almost two months...I will spare you the great anxiety that this causes me. With the dawning of a new year it seems fitting to go over all my grand resolution for 2013. However, I have decided, after much introspection, that my resolution for this year is to actively attempt to not be bound by lists, rules, resolutions, and goals. Allow me to explain...

I have been so frustrated with my constant, tireless work without accomplishing what I am setting out to do. I stopped and looked at the problem from a nurse perspective, instead of a "me" perspective. There are currently eight criteria in the DSM (psychiatric book of diagnosis stuff), of which one must meet four or more of them to be diagnosed with OCPD, along with other things. It is safe to say that I match EXACTLY all but one of them! Haha...

1.      is occupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules to the point that the key part of the activity is lost;

2.      demonstrates perfectionism that hampers with completing tasks;

3.      is extremely dedicated to work and efficiency to the elimination of spare time activities;

4.      is meticulous, scrupulous, and rigid about etiquettes of morality, ethics, or values;

5.      is not capable of disposing worn out or insignificant things even when they have no sentimental meaning;

6.      is unwilling to delegate tasks or work with others except if they surrender to exactly their way of doing things;

7.      takes on a stingy spending style towards self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes ; and

8.      shows stiffness and stubbornness.

As you can see, this list is exhausting and when I step back and look at it objectively, I am not sure how I keep up with it...and there in lies the problem, I cannot keep up. I have lost the joy of many things because they quickly become a task that must be divided into categories and lists with rigid deadlines and consequences. While I do not have the diagnosis of OCPD, everything must be done to utter perfection or it is a complete failure in my skewed perception. There are parts of me that know this is ridiculous but this is how I live my life and I subconsciously slip back into this process before I know it.

Last year I set a goal of 26 DIY projects and I did not complete them, although I have the rest of the projects completed. I have been so stressed this year to take the perfect pictures, describe the processes perfectly, and post blogs on the timeline I deemed necessary. This did not happen and so I have spent a year being stressed, still failed, and yet everyone is still breathing and life goes on!!!

Thus, this year, I will work mindfully to be productive while not losing the joy in life and the activities I enjoy most. I will blog when it sounds fun, bake when I feel inspired, photograph because I am deeply in love with film, and design/sew because it is my favorite hobby. I will continue to post DIYs and recipes but there will be no promises, no lists, and schedule! I am hoping by breaking my idea of how blogging (or life for that matter!) works I will stop paralyzing myself with the anxiety of the task and just post!!!!!

Whew...the end!

Thanks for listening to my public therapy session, I feel so much better! Hopefully you either feel relieved that there is someone out there more crazy than yourself or happy that you are a free spirit and have no clue what I am talking about!!! Either way, thanks for reading and be ready for more posts hopefully soon!

For the Love

Textile...the mere words sends chills of joy down my spine!!! I really never had a chance at not being madly in love with textile. As a toddler my mother worked part-time at a fabric store and growing up her exuberance for the texture, color, pattern, and sensation of fabric are among my earliest memories. Now, my passion has given birth to my business. While shopping at Ikea with my mother-in-law I came across this treasure of a book, Love for Texiles and as a special treat, she purchased it for me. I have spent the past two weeks pouring over it and falling even more hopelessly in love with textiles and photography.

 The photography is beautiful; sun bathed, wistful, and romantic. Here is an example...

 There are simple DIYs that involve little or no sewing and would be a perfect addition to update a room or home! They are truly delightful. Quotes are mixed in and the entire effect of photography, fabrics, design, projects, and ideas are so inspiring! For $7.95, this might just be a perfect Christmas gift for someone special. Here is my favorite picture and quote in the book. I love the moment it captures and quote sums up my life...

"A real dream life should be full of love and laughter, tenderness and sunshine, homemade food and plenty of textiles. Patterns that shout or whisper, colors that grab or just touch. Soft fabrics that bring out the best in us."

Snip Snip

I will hold off on posting about Thanksgiving because with two families and two birthdays in the span of four days, our celebration is far from over!

Well, after four-and-a-half years, I chopped off twenty inches of my hair today!!! While there has been some controversy over Locks-of-Love, I still donate to them every time my hair grows long enough. I figure it is better to donate it than toss it in the garbage where there is no chance it will do any good. And since children with cancer are an issue that I see on a daily basis at work, it is close to my heart. After much combing and some help from my mom and aunt it was easy enough to hack off.

Then is was time for a little trip to my friend Kayla's House of Hair to let the professional fix the mess!!! Kayla is the best, no doubt about it. I have known her for years and traveled all over the world with her, and besides being an exceptional hair dresser, she has an infectious smile, heart of gold, voice like an angel, and amazing personality. Each time we visit I leave feeling inspired and refreshed and today...so did my hair!

 

 If you are in need of a wonderful cut, color, or hair treatment and can get to the Tacoma, WA area, give her a jingle (253.334.4175).

 Thanks so much Kayla, you are best, girl! XOXO!

PB-and-O

My mother left the house with an immaculate kitchen...this is what she came home to...

 Haha...oops! The past few days had been rough and baking is always the best medicine for my down moods. So, I made pumpkin whoopie pies, muffins, and grilled chicken yakisoba! Growing up, PBandJ sandwiches were my favorite food, but pumpkin-blueberry and oatmeal (PBandO) muffins may be my new favorite food!

 A co-worker of my mother's made this yummy recipe up...and it is truly heavenly. Here is how you can make your own!

Mix the following ingredients together:

• 1cup flour
• 1cup quick oats
• 1/2cup oat bran
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp baking soda

Mix the following ingredients in another bowl:

• 1/2cup brown sugar
• 2Tbsp canola oil
• 1cup applesauce
• 1cup pumpkin
• 1 egg

Directions: Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Add 1 cup frozen blueberries and 1/2cup chopped walnuts (optional, I did not add them). Scoop into greased muffin tins or muffin paper cups. Bake at 350 degrees for about 23 minutes. Check with a toothpick to see if they are done. Cool for 15 minutes and take out of muffin tin.

These are so perfect on these chilly fall mornings! Enjoy!

Tidbits

It seems that with each day I age, the days get one hour shorter!!! Time is flying! We have continued to have a full and busy agenda in Seattle. Time with family and friends has been our highlight and we feel blessed to have wonderful people in our lives! Here is what we have been up to...

My mother-in-law is the queen of hosting the most incredible parties. I am constantly in awe and so inspired by her yummy food, decor vision, and selfless work! Last week she threw a party with Devin's high school friends. It was so beautiful and it was a perfect evening of munching, chatting, and drinking. How fun to catch up with so many old friends at once. Thank you MamaP, you are really the best, I want to be just like you when I grow up! ;0) Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take any pictures during the party, but here is sample of the decor and a few of the treats...

After an evening of partying the night before, my mother and sister-in-law and I headed out for morning mani/pedis. I decided to be daring and do my ring finger a different shade...so scandalous! I like it though.

Saturday night, thanks to some family friends, Devin and I bore the cold and went to our first University of Washington Husky football game of the season. It was brutally cold, but we were well bundled and had a wonderful time. We were very confused when the first bus pulled out as it was barely full....that is when we realized we are New Yorkers at heart now. The SEATS on the bus were full and in Seattle that means a full bus! Haha...we missed our crammed in, standing shoved against someone else, public transportation in NY! I have to say I could get used to an entire seat to myself though!!!

Sunday...well everyone knows what to do on Sunday!!! It was church, brunch and football...Perfect day! This picture is one of my very favorite. My in laws have always been so special to me and I feel beyond blessed to have such a wonderful family. I went from having one brother to a total of four brothers and four sisters, all whom I love dearly! The family room is where we all hang-out eating, laughing, chatting, crying, wrestling, napping, playing, and reminiscing. This photo captures all of the chaos and fun. Just lazy time with the most precious people! And yes, this is exactly what we all looked like all day long!!!

Today is Devin's first residency interview!!! Last night we had the dinner that proceeds each interview and then today he headed off looking as dapper as ever. He has such a way with people and his humble, confidence is charming; I am sure he is rockin' it! The interviews are making the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel for med school seem brighter and brighter. He has interviews this entire month so keep us in your thoughts and prayers, the results determine the next three years of our lives!

Thanks for tuning in! I am off to sew again as I spent yesterday baking, I will share the recipe tomorrow!

My Four Favorite 'F' Words

Lately, I have been challenged as I read some of my favorite blogs by how easily and freely people seem to share such deep and personal issues. I have always been an extremely private person with people that I do not know well and the thought of opening up that way, especially online, is quite terrifying. Yet I am constantly enthralled by their posts and find comfort in knowing that I am not alone in various struggles, let downs, disappointments, failures or questions. I started my blog with no idea of what I was doing and I am slowly learning. While the goal of Life's Little Clevers and Unexpected Endeavors has been to share my business process, ideas, recipes, DIYs, and life adventures I do believe it is time to add a new element. As with everything baby steps are the way to start and balance is always the goal.
Looking back on my posts, something is missing. I believe it is my heart and a bit of realness. Everything is shiny and polished as of course I get to choose what I share and what I do not. I do have a very happy, organized, OCD, and clean life, do not get me wrong, but somethings there are crazy messes all over my house just outside of the camera lens, and sometimes I set goals that I want to share but am scared of failure so I do not. There are journeys that I dare not share because if they do not pan-out then people would know I started something that did not workout....GASP! ;) What am I trying to say?...I just want to be more real, share the good, the bad, and the ugly all with a cherry on top...just because that is my style!
This all came to a head with this image that I saw when I entered my room to get ready for my run today. I snapped the photo and thought I should share what it meant to me...

The four most important things in life to me are my FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS, and FITNESS!

I have not shared much about my faith on my blog because I do not like when I feel people are pushy about it so I have just left it out. However, it is something that I value deeply and is a part of everything that I do. With a busy schedule I have not had time to do as many Bible studies I would like and so being on vacation I picked up a book I heard about called A Beautiful Offering, on Casey Wiegand's blog. I am only a few chapters in but I am already enjoying the author's point of view and the meaning she volunteers. I will let you know what I think at the end!
My family and friends are the best, there is no explanation necessary! I love you all dearly, and my time away from New York has made me realize how much the east has become my home and how much I miss you all, even after a week!
Fitness is a constant balancing act for me: always has been, always will be. I am an "all-or-nothing" personality in every aspect of life and health and fitness is no exception. Ergo, throughout high school and college I worked out excessively and it became an unhealthy addiction. I saw the warning signs and decided that a healthy life was more important to me than being an unhealthy ideal of skinny and so I walked away from it all....running, weights, dance, hiking, soccer, training, etc. Once you travel down that road it has a lifelong game of being fit and active, while taking care of your body and being healthy.
After so much time away from intense exercise I have decided it is time to set boundaries but get back into shape. A few months ago I told Devin that I wanted to start running again. I started doing Pilate's about two years ago and totally love it, but I was not in the cardio vascular shape that I want to be in. The first day I decided to run three miles, a mere warm up in my previous running days, but a worthy goal in my huffing/puffing state. A half mile into it I was white-knuckling the sides of the treadmill and had intercostal retractions to rival any of my respiratory babies at work on a bad night!!! Discouraged I headed home and decided that I was no longer a runner.
My mindset has been to train and then blog about the marathon I am finally able to run. Blogging only after the fact to show the end result but none of the pain and struggle of the process. However, in a pursuit to be more real about my journey I thought I would share that I have finally given in and decided to do a little 5K while in Seattle. I am running every-other-day and slowly I have been able to add distance (and the ability to breath) to my runs! I am so scared I will end up not doing it and then look like a failure for everyone to see! I will post periodically on my progress and pursuits and hopefully can encourage others to take bite-sized goals too! My lovely work ladies...I am so excited to do the Diva Run with you next spring, thanks for your inspiration!
Whew I do not do this personal stuff very well, hopefully it will be easier!!! Thank you for reading!

Azaya Blue Scarves

So today we headed down to the City to see the Azaya Blue trunk show at Henri Bendel that I posted about yesterday. Even though we have made the drive many times now, I still get so excited to drive through Times Square...like in my own car....like THE TIMES SQUARE! Haha...I am like a giddy little girl on her first trip to Disney World. And every time, without fail I have to take a picture out the windshield to make sure it is real.

We were able to see my sister-in-law and the designer of Azaya Blue's new scarf life, Nicole, and do some shopping! I was so happy with my new scarf, here is the link to the one I purchased, it is the second one from the left, but I have it in a light sand color. Not for sale on the website yet, but I do believe it will be soon.

I am working a bit of overtime tonight so we decided to pick up our pizza and sat at home in our Seahawks (that is Seattle's football team for those of your who may not know) jerseys and ate pizza and cheered. It was a wonderful day!

Azaya Blue in NYC

Hello all!
I am so excited, my sister-in-law and designer of Azaya Blue's scarf line, will be in town this week for a trunk show, at Henri Bendel on 5th Avenue (between 55th&56th) October 18-19! Her scarf line is gorgeous and is the perfect autumn accessory to spice up your wardrobe. She is a brilliant designer, savvy business woman, amazing mom, loving sister, and beautiful inside and out.

Devin and I will be there Thursday, October 18th in the evening to shop and then get our John's Pizza fix! Hope to see you there!

Vermont

IT IS AUTUMN!!!

So for some reason this year I have been quite resistant to the close of summer and beginning of fall. I am a warm-weather-girl through and through and so being I am always somber as I have to kiss my 85 degree days goodbye for the year. But this time around I have really put up a good fight! This past weekend Devin and I headed up to Vermont for a few days and all of the beautiful trees and fresh air, finally helped me cave and start to enjoy fall. After 267 pictures it was difficult to narrow them down. There a lot in this post, but assure you I really did cut out so many....

This is was part of amazing hotel room! We had a perfect view of the changing leaves on Mount Mansfield from the window and a cozy fireplace to stay warm in the mountains.

We did some sightseeing around Lake Champlain and shopping on Church Street in Burlington. Such an artsy area, we both could see ourselves living in a town like that someday!!!

American Flatbread is an organic, brick-oven, pizza restaurant in Burlington. I had read about how amazing it was and so we thought we would see for ourselves. I would HIGHLY recommend it. Although we laughed at that we had come from NY to get pizza in Vermont I have to say that it was the best pizza I have had...sorry NY!

We discovered that mustaches are very "in" right now...who would have guessed. We saw books, poster, T-shirts, toys, and even a cars with mustaches.

From the beginning of "Devin and Alejandra", Ben & Jerry's has been the pinnacle of our relationship. One Christmas my sister-in-law gave us a grocery store gift card. I was not sure what to think until reading the card and finding out she had bought us months and months worth of Ben & Jerry's for our home-dates!!! It was so much fun to visit the factory, it felt like coming home!

Stowe, VT was home-base and we are so happy we it was. The picturesque churches, barns, bridges, and horizons were breath-taking and serene.

On our last day we took the Auto Toll Road up to the top of Mount Mansfield and enjoyed seeing for hundreds of miles in every direction. You can see all over Vermont, Canada, New York, and Massachusetts. The changing leaves were worth every mile of the drive!

On our way home Devin saw this brook in the rear view mirror and flipped a U-turn so we could capture it. I think it sums up Vermont quite well, full of life yet peaceful and serene!

 Happy week to you all!

Oh Brother...

If I could compare my brother and myself to a body of water, I would be that bubbling brook that is bumping, jumping, and bouncing over rocks and trees at lighting speed and seems to be going in every different direction at once. They are the ones that go flying over ledges and make beautiful waterfalls only to crash and burn on rocks below. My brother is my opposite. He is the ocean, calm, predictable as the tide, rarely ruffled, even keel, and magnificent. Ten years separate us, he is ten years my junior and as time has passed the tides have shifted. Growing up he was always wanted to do whatever I did, go wherever I went and hang out with my friends. He looked up to me and I adored him more than anything. Now at over six feet tall and almost 18-years-old I literally look up to him! Daniel is a wonderful young man. Shy, quiet, kind, loyal, loving, and crazy smart! He plays baseball like a pro, holds a 4.0 going into his senior year of high school after taking nothing but AP and Honors classes, and he is still the best brother a sister could ask for! It is fair to say I want to be like him when I grow up! Before school started he was able to come out and spend almost two weeks with us, it was a blast! The main event was the Yankees vs. Red Sox game that our parents treated us to. Daniel has always been crazy about the Yankees and although I am the New Yorker it has taken him some work to convert me to a Yankees fan...

The rest of his trip we spent playing video games, hanging out in the park, eating, and playing our childhood favorites: Uno, Backgammon, etc. I am terrified of being hit in the face with any sort of ball. I was hit in the eye as a child and have a deep respect for round things flying through the air at my face! Daniel is patient and after 12 years or so I have become decent at his favorite pastime...wiffle ball. I approach it more like swatting a fly and figure if I hit the ball with the bat then the ball cannot hit me in the eye....I get a lot of hits! I did not find out until later than all of the curve balls are saved for his brother-in-law and I get the nice slow pitches down the middle....I did not tell him that I played easy on him with Guitar Hero! ;)

Our tio (uncle) lives in NYC and is one of Daniel's favorite people! Devin had not been able to meet Tio yet and so we all met in Time Square for some shopping, dinner, and dessert. What a perfect afternoon!

Being so far away from my family is the only thing I still dislike about New York. It is times like these that get me through! Daniel was the first boy to ever steal my heart and although Devin came along and swept me off my feet, Daniel will always be my number one guy! I love Brother, thanks for being you and thanks for coming to visit!