Eeeww to the max

Looked down to my neighbor's place below the other day from my porch...into a hamper that they just have there for whatever reason. Its main purpose seems to be to fill with putrid water and breed mosquitos, but I could not believe my eyes. I know we have big spiders, but???? Really???!!! Seriously, the pics do no justice. Glad it's dead.

Jost is the Most!

FUN! We had the most incredibly fabulous weekend on Jost Van Dyke (Jost is pronounced 'Yoast') for Jason's 35th bday with our very special friend and tour guide Debbie. Jost is such a bitty little place that I've been to many times, but to actually go there and hang with the locals and rent a car to run around...it is just a totally different world. Debbie lived there for a bit so we got to hang with people we definitely would not have normally. Uncle Boy was a favorite. I mean, his name is UNCLE BOY. And he is the most amazing old dude ever. We stayed at Ivan's which is a famous spot for day trippers to pull up to for a day of drinking and fun, but actually hanging with the fabulous Ivan and looking at his old pictures was such a treat. It was drunken debauchery, as every Jost trip is, after all. Major dance party at Foxy's (I think pretty much I was the dance party); lots of my favorite St. Johnians (Garza family!) staying at Ivan's too; accidentally stealing someone's camera thinking it was Jason's phone-no resemblance whatsoever; meeting all the crazies on the little bitty 200 person island; having the bubbly pool all to ourselves and playing like little kids in the larger-than-average waves. It was absolutely paradise. And it is so close to St. John! Why has it taken me years to get over there to spend the night? Can't wait for the next go. In the meantime, photos (if my camera wasn't working so poorly, there would've been more)!

Uncle Boy! He's in his post-funeral leisure suit.

Bubbly Pool!

At Foxy's Taboo looking toward the dock.

Debbie and Jason enjoying at Bushwacker at Foxy's Taboo.

Another steep VI hill...looking toward Foxy's Taboo.

The Power of Engagement

Last Saturday Jason and I got engaged! He caught me completely off guard as we walked between downtown Charlotte Amalie and Yacht Haven Grande by whipping the ring out on the street. It was not a mushy moment, thank goodness. Just a good ol' fashioned "Will you marry me?" Followed by me staring at the ring saying, "I love it!" a thousand times over. We still managed to try to get a few St. Thomas chores done, but we essentially just celebrated.


That's the thing about living on a small island prone to partying...everywhere you go, someone gets you drinks. Rhumb Lines, a favorite restaurant and Jason's former employer, got us tequila shots, wine, and hacked off the top of a delicious bottle of Veuve Clicquot with a sharp knife. Somehow we did not end up hungover. That remains a mystery.

So now to not even think about planning for awhile. Summer 2011 will be wedding time, at some point. Below, the ring...I love it (and in the tradition set forth by Lani and Angie, on a piece of non-vegan food)! Big old aquamarine in the perfect light blue. I wanted aquamarine because it is a strong stone and it kind of has a Caribbean blue hue...an ode to our relationship thus far. Jason told me it is also his birthstone and the stone for the month of our anniversary. Now I love it even more. Also, people tend to think it is a rather big blue diamond, but those people don't know anything, because if it was, it would have caused several million. Fun to mess with some minds though.

Villa Fab

Another year, another successful Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park Gala. Check out the spot we had it this year. Soooooo amazing! I love this villa! You must peruse. The pool area and outdoors are so big it looks like a resort. Why can I not live this life? (We are really, truly working on it.) Oh, and of course we had to go through to collect and hide all those damn starfish they have everywhere since it is really not so friendly to the park to take live animals from the ocean. Small downfall.

Hot-lanta

So I had my first official trip to the South this weekend, but I must say, it was hardly a 'Southern Experience'. In fact, the only time I got a breath of fresh air was when I got into and out of the taxi on the way from and to the airport. Ah well, another day.

My time in Atlanta was spent SHOPPING. Seriously, hardcore shopping. It was kind of fun, and although it was for someone else's store, we got a lot of stuff to get excited about. Also quite psyched about getting a huge discount when these things arrive on St. John. But it is also quite annoying to have to be cruising along to another's whims. Especially since we have totally different ideas about style and priorities. It was really exhausting. So exhausting that I did not get to see my friend Caroline who I haven't seen since we lived in South Africa. Sadness. I just couldn't bring myself to move or speak after a day of intense running around.

But I decided to use this trip to also network for myself. I found a ton of awesome contacts for great boutique things, and it has made me soooo very excited to start my own thing. At some point. Back in Seattle. Or near there anyway.

Although it was totally annoying to have to share a room with the store owner and her teenage daughter, deal with their obnoxious travel habits (yes, she is the person who runs right up to block everyone's way while they try to board the plane instead of sitting and waiting for her seat to be called; and she also had a freak-out while landing in St. Thomas that meant several flight attendants having to attend to her....ACK!), and get exhausted to the point of illness, it was an awesome trip! Now I want to go back and actually EXPERIENCE the real South. Another day, or more likely another year.

Decade in Review

Graduated college, moved to New York, moved to Seattle, got a job, got more jobs, moved to the Virgin Islands, got a good boyfriend, got more jobs, turned 30.

Kinda boring, it seems. But there was a lot of fun in there too! Amazing friends, parties, trips, weddings, babies. So what about the next decade?? I will want it to read a little something like this...

Got married, moved back to Seattle for most of year, got kids, traveled A LOT, moved to Sydney, moved back to Seattle, moved to Paris, turned 40 (!!), moved back to Seattle.

I don't think that is asking too much!

Having a Moment

When your two good friends make an article in Vogue, it kinda rocks. Go Megan! Go Didi! Go greenissexy.org!