PANAMA - THE INJURED LIST

so in typical christy fashion i injured myself while staying on a remote island.

coming in from surfing one day i jammed my two toes on rocks and sliced my big toe open on shell or coral. luckily for me there was a retired doctor staying at the camp working as a guide. he spent 30 minutes digging through my toe with tweezers picking out pieces of shell and cleaning it up to fight against infection. (apparently it's pretty easy to get staph infection in the jungle).

there weren't tools for stitches so he butterfly bandaged it up, wrapped some napkins around it and covered it in medical tape. i took a shot of rum and a pain killer and we went on with our day. needless to say i couldn't get back in the water for the rest of the trip.

chris took pictures of the whole affair like a good boyfriend does.

PANAMA - AT MORRO NEGRITO

we stayed at the surf camp on the island of Morro Negrito from sunday - friday. we definitely had the best bungalow - a little room perched on a hill with a balcony overlooking the most popular surf break.

we surfed and played scrabble and read and made bracelets and lounged in the hammocks and drank fresh coconut water straight from the source. in my world there's not much more you can ask for.

sure the place had some downfalls - like no running water for a few days, no power and an endless supply of jungle mosquitos who wanted to bleed us dry. but we were there together and had an awesome adventure and met a bunch of really amazing friends from around the world.

oh. and i got a killer tan.

PANAMA - GETTING THERE

we left for panama at 4am on may 28th.

we took a 5.5 hour plane ride to Panama City, then a 5.5 hour bus ride to Guabala and caught a car to Puerto Yurre. we stayed there for the night since it was raining so hard and the tide was too low to get out. the next morning we headed to the island in a boat.

AND... WE"RE BACK!

i'm a little tanner, a little blonder, and a whole lot more relaxed.

really wishing vacations never had to end.

tons of pictures on the way

PANAMA

starting at 330 tomorrow morning chris and i are trading cell phones and desk jobs for surfing and island vibes for an entire week. i might not come back.

NACHO CAKE

julia and chris KILLED IT by making me with the most aaaaa-maz-ing nacho birthday cake EVER.

the chips = fondant

the guac and sour cream = butter cream frosting

the salsa = gummy worms

ground beef = crumbled brownies

and the best part is it's all on top of a layer of caramel brownies!!

yeah.

whoa.

chris took some process photos while they were putting it together if you want to see.

pic via sunny (@sshokrae)

ON THE EDGE OF 30

today i turn 29.

i couldn't be luckier to have everything that i do.

i have the most amazing boyfriend who not only got me months and months of caramels and renewed my national geographic subscription, but he's also getting me my very own very first surf board.

my family, which keeps getting bigger and better every year, is the most amazing family ever. i love them and miss them so much. i'm so lucky to have such supportive parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts uncles and cousins.

and my friends. whoa. my friends. i have so many amazing people in my life that i'm so lucky to call friends. camping trips, BBQs, craft nights, beach bumming, long phone calls, surf sessions, and dancing in my living room. my friends really are the best.

anywho.

i'm a lucky girl. a lucky 29 year old girl.

I LOVE CAMPING

i really do love my friends.

and camping.

MAKING ANDREA'S PIÑATA

i was recently hit over the head with inspiration when learning about Confetti System (site, blog), and knew immediately that a giant gold piñata would be the perfect surprise present for andrea's birthday.

here's how i did it:

sure, it was practically indestructible since i used cardboard instead of paper mache (i couldn't figure out how to make the sharp lines with paper mache), but pretty sure she had a great time beating the shit out of 30.

big thanks to chris and jen for helping me cut a million strips of gold fringed foil, and nina for being an amazing consultant (always). PS, if anyone at Confetti System wants to give me a job i'll take it.