Weekend Moments

While Costa Rica has a vast diversity of flora and fauna, one thing it lacks are coffee shops, there are some, but rarely like the ones I'm used to from my times in college towns (Berkely and Durham). You know? Those coffee shops with perfect dim lighting, where you can sit down for hours doing work, sipping a nice warm drink and no waiter or staff comes around every 10 minutes asking if you want to order something else... well, those kind of coffee shops are rare here in San Jose. Fortunetely I found just the place this weekend and it was a specially nice surprise when I headed out after working quietly for two and half hours the owner stopped me and say "wait, I want to give you a little gift", and she wrapped one of their amazing muffins for me. Free. 

This little moment reminded me of a quote from Tortilla Curtain :

Here is some pictorial evidence of this little surprise plus a little more from the weekend.

I have been reading "Just Kids" by Patti Smith, a Christmas gift from my bff (Dyan) who knows my reading likes so well, and I must say I simply love it. Highly recommend it!

Cheers to small acts of kindness.

xoxo,
Pilar

Nothing is Permanent ...

Last week I traveled home to California, although the last minute trip was due to a sad event- my grandma's passing- the trip did include some very necessary family time and lovely moments with some of my closest friends. Instead of packing in a million things and going out, I did a lot of relaxing, thinking and sharing meals with loved ones... after just a few days in the golden state I truly felt a new surge of positive energy. So here are some beautiful images and wise words to keep in mind and inspire you through the week.

So take a moment to breath in, relax, and let the troubles fade away....

PS: in the coming days this little blog will be having some of its "first" moments with a guest post by  some inspiring ladies and a few other surprises.

xoxo,
Pilar

(images #1 & 3 here, #2 here)

Words of Wisdom: Albert Camus

On a very tough Friday afternoon, these words help me stay strong.

xoxo,
Pilar

(image unknown source)

The Quote Book: I love Jack.

I have posted about one of my dearest possessions, my quote book, before. So I thought I would share a few other quotes from its pages. One of my favorites (if not my favorite) authors is Jack Kerouac, although Jack was no saint, I find his writings- so full of beauty and nostalgia- deeply touching. So it is no surprise that my quote book is filled with plenty of Kerouac quotes.

Jack always reminds me of travel, of road trips, and of the endless quest for meaning... So for a little Monday inspiration here are some of my favorite quotes by the leader of the beats.

(Siena, sun going down)

(70s roller skating party with best friends)

(the road, North Carolina)

 (fireworks, Barcelona)

Have a lovely Monday, and remember to burn like a beautiful roman candle.

xoxo,
Pilar

Sunday's Best: Random Array & Remembrance

This week's favorite links don't have a common thread or theme. They are simply online finds that have intrigued and inspired me this week.

- This story about a 130-year-old embroidery house in Paris makes the whole "made by hand" concept take a whole new meaning.
 - Birthday time (mine was in June) always makes me a little bit nervous and stir crazy, but this birthday ritual might resolve all my birthday woes...
- With another work-week looming close, you might need a little work-wear inspiration, head on over here for some work appropriate yet chic fashion ideas.
- And speaking of inspiration, if you are lacking ideas for easy, healthy recipes these simple stir-fries, where veggies are the star players could be the answer for this week's cooking.
- But if what you are really craving is a delicious cocktail, you might want to try the gorgeous looking (and hopefully even better tasting) recipes inspired by fashion week

Lastly, I wanted to take a little time to remember the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and send positive thoughts to anyone that lost a loved one that day. NPR has a touching slide show that you can find here.

And remember....

with love,
Pilar

(image here, quote here)

The Quote Book

One of the my most prized possessions is my Quote Book (or rather Quote Books, since I am on my second one). Over the years, I have jotted down in this simple journal my favorite quotes from books, songs, poems, movies, lectures and even once from a graffitied wall. Revisiting these journals serves me as a type of therapy. There are long beautiful poems and intricate ponderings on morality. As well as lyrics from pop songs and excerpts from philosophy books.

Today, though, this silly (yet very wise) rhyme stood out:

"As you ramble on through life, brother,

Whatever your goal,

Keep your eye upon the doughnut,

And not upon the hole"

It's from an amazing book by Margaret Atwood, "The Blind Assassin", which has a plot line much more serious than this quote may indicate. 

But for today, lets be lighthearted and focus on the positive, sweet and sugary things in life. 

I am definitely stopping by the bakery on my way to work this morning. Happy hump-day, everyone!

xoxo,

Pilar

(image: here)

Subtleties...

...sometimes as work piles up, the rainy season hits and mosquitoes attack your every bare inch of skin one may feel a bit overwhelmed. And sometimes, when on top of all these things, you come home in the pouring rain to your bathroom being inundated with water one may also feel a bit like this:

...but then karma, god, luck or whatever one may call it throws you a bone. As I flipped through the channels on my T.V, a commercial for Stranger than Fiction came on and I remembered how much I loved it, so I did some googling and this quote was the perfect antidote for my sense of helplessness.

So cheers to the little things in life...  the nuances, the anomalies, whether they are a delicious treats...

... or kind embraces...

...here's to the subtleties in life.

xoxo,

Pilar

(all images here)

Beauty.

In my last post before the long hiatus (here) I mentioned that two good friends would be visiting, during their time in Costa Rica we took weekend trips to two of the most naturally beautiful and truly breath-taking places I have visited: Drake Bay and Tortuguero National Park. The first one is a fairly undeveloped  beach location in the south Pacific of the country and the second one is an incredibly wild and lush jungle, with a tiny town in between a river and the Caribbean Sea. 

These trips, besides providing much needed bonding time, also reminded me of the diversity and incredible beauty of the world. There are many characteristics that we often appreciate, such as kindness or intelligence, and by comparison the word beauty can seem shallow. However, appreciating the immense beauty of our natural world is one of those things that brings me a sense of peace and reminds not to take the small (and big) beautiful things for granted. 

boat ride at sunrise

muddy trekking

sunset at the beach

my friend's artsy picture of my tat

beautiful sky

reflection

What beautiful things inspire you to stop and wander at the world?

xoxo,

Pilar

Remember me?

I'm the girl that writes this blog. Yes, it has been a while since the last post. I won't make excuses, but today it hit me that I was neglecting to do something I truly enjoyed...so as a summer objective I will take the time to ponder, share pictures, thoughts and hopefully some inspiration.

For now here is a simple message:

with love,

Pilar

I'm a lucky girl!

Sometimes it is necessary to say it out loud "I am very lucky... and I should be thankful for that." It has been a tough year for my family and at points everything seemed so overwhelming. But in the end, I know I have many things to be thankful for and near the top of that list are my wonderful friends.

Tonight, two of my closest undergrad friends, Jovanna and Jessica, are coming to visit. They will be in Costa Rica for the next ten days, and to make this visit even more special, it will be the first time I see Jessica since she left for the Peace Corp on February 2009! Needless to say, I am very excited and extremely thankful for the time we will get to share.

So, keeping with this positive-thinking post, here are some pretty things and pretty thoughts to keep a positive outlook on life.

Although I have had a very productive blogging week, that productivity will almost certainly decrease in the next few days, but I will come back with lots of positive energy and pictures to share.

xoxo,
Pilar

(images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 

Well, hello there!

So I have been totally M.I.A from the blogging world for the last couple of weeks, but I think I have a  (or a few) good reasons. First, a childhood friend came to visit, then, my mother came to visit, and then, I had to catch up on work due to the time off I took for said visits.

Although the last few days have been crazy, it was well worth getting to spend time with some of the my dearest. And now I am leaving in less that 48 hours to Chicago for a "business trip". That makes me sound so grown up, but in reality I am more excited about getting to see this than doing networking for my firm.

I will try to update in the next few days, but if I don't, I at least wanted to share some beautiful inspiration I have found during the last weeks.

like taking the time to smell the flowers and enjoy small colorful things...

...savor a tasty, girly drink (specially if it's a little spiked)...

... let your toes sink slowly into the sand and relax...

 ...or enjoy one (or a bunch) of your favorite chocolate treats....

and always remember:

Hope everyone's week is going well!

xoxo,

Pilar

(images: 1, 2, 5, 6 here and 3,4 my own)