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.

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!

Business is in the Bag

Good Tuesday afternoon to you all!
We are safely in Seattle for a time and have been sending prayers and our love to NY and the east coast through the hurricane.
Devin is doing a few rotations in the Seattle area for med school, so I get a vacation from work and a chance to get caught up with all the JJTulum stuff that I have been pushing aside for the last few months...Eeeekkkk! Daily blog posts and some new DIYs and recipes is also in the plan. I will be working hard to start and finish the next line of bags we have coming out the beginning of next year! Packing an entire business across the country was no easy task.

A large duffel, a little creative packing, 62 pounds, and a fiasco of crazy repacking at the airport later we have JJTulum in Seattle and now the real work begins. Tune back tomorrow as I will be giving a sneak peek at four fabric combos that will be ready in January!!!

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!

Lone Star

It is hard to believe we have been back home from Texas for over three weeks now! Time just keeps catapulting forward at a faster and faster pace it seems. We really had a wonderful time experiencing Lone Star culture and visiting with family, here are some more pictures of our trip.

The first day Devin had his exam (the purpose of the trip), and then we spend a few days resting and playing at my aunt and uncles house. Good food, hot weather, pool time, face masks, and s'mores were on the agenda. And just a tip: S'mores in 108 degree weather is a really bad idea!

I wanted to find a special project my cousin and I could do together and I found just the thing, thanks to Pinterest. Custom mugs for my aunt as an "I love you" gift were so much fun to create using colored sharpies.

Devin's college friend Andrew and his girlfriend live very close to my family and we were so happy they agreed to take us out to downtown Houston to see the city. We had the best BBQ of our lives, SO YUMMY! I went to my first real western store and got a cute pair of cowgirl boots, which I figured were a must in Texas. We ended our evening at the most adorable restaurant, Tiny Boxwood's. Luckily Andrew and Melissa had been there before and wisely cautioned us to save room for dessert. Their high-end, homemade doughnuts, fudge/peanut butter mouse cake, and cookies were worth the entire trip to Texas alone! Wow...if you are ever in the Houston area check this place out!

By the end of the week we decided it was time for one of Texas' most famous pastimes...the shooting range. My uncle has the coolest collection of assault riffles, shot guns, hand guns, etc. We did some damage to those targets and despite a gnarly burn and temps over 100degrees we had a blast! We stopped by Old Town Spring for some more BBQ and shopping. What a cute little town!

The last few days of our trip we had the added bonus of my mama and brother being in town. We finished our Texan adventure with some wonderful family time in the pool, going out, and of course lots of eating!

Marrying a doctor sounds glamours but marrying a medical student is far from. We realized during this trip how burnt out we both were and how desperately we needed time together. Our busy lives leave precious little time to just be together, chat, and relax. This trip was a well needed status check and was rejuvenating. Devin is back into the thick of his last year of courses, but we are trying to carry some of our vacation with us and take time to connect on a daily bases. Sometimes you have to get away to get a better perspective and refocus! Yay for vacation!

Sun, Sand, and 'S'elebration

It is crazy to think that a week ago I was waking up to the sound of waves crashing on the rocks below my Cabo, Mexcio penthouse villa…sigh! Last weekend Devin and I headed down to Mexico for his sister’s wedding. It was such a wonderful time to be with all of our precious family. Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures we snapped!

Here is the gorgeous view from our balcony!

Devin and I on the beach after the wedding.

 There was so much to do and see we were all pretty tired by the end of the trip, but what fun we had!

 My nephew stole my heart from the very beginning and he still is my number one guy. He will be three this summer and is one of the sweetest and most well behaved little ones I have seen. I am such a proud Tia JJ! This is his mama and I smoochin’ on the most handsome guy at the event.

It was a beautiful weekend for a beautiful bride. Kenzie is such a fun person to be around, her smile in infectious. She was a beautiful bride!

Thank you for sharing some of our highlights from our trip! Hope you are have a happy weekend all!