Vacation! Puerto Rico!!!

Late August early September we went to Puerto Rico for the first time and it's LOVELY.  I love that it's a short flight from home (Chicago) to there, 4.5 hours and we are in a different world! Tickets from Chicago to San Juan is pretty cheap as well, ours was $410 but I have seen $280 for round trip ... that's pretty cool if you want a tropical destination on a budget! I'm always on a budget! LOL

Warning: Heavy loaded with pics! =)

We stayed in the middle of Old San Juan and it was a few blocks away from the Fort which is breathtaking! We bought tickets for the self tour and it was around $5-$7 can't remember for sure, but it's valid for 7 days entries to both forts.  

Old San Juan was just so colorful! I LOVE IT... especially this PINK building! 

this is the view from our very own balcony! beautiful in every way but we were right next to a few bars so it's gets a bit too noisy to sleep at night until the weeeee hour.

Our plan was to do a cruise to the Virgin Islands round trip from Puerto Rico and because we are on a budget, we booked our flight in advance and try to book the cruise the very last minute so it's much cheaper.  Keep in mind that it may not work out that way but we are totally find with spending 11/12 days in Puerto Rico.  I have no problem with that! We did ended up getting our cruise tickets for cheap! Yay! So after the first 2 nights of our trip we left for the cruise then comes back to spend another 2 nights in the new San Juan right on the beach with our booking from Air B&B!   

^this is practically our back yard of our condo we booked through Air B&B! 

All we did was eat and chill on the beach! 

 Living out or fantasy of being a mermaid and merman LOL 

And of course our signature writing on the sand everywhere we go to!!!! I have enough to serves as a collection to displays at home.... but of course never got to do so. 

We booked a car right after we got off the cruise to use for the next two days, of which we used to go to go to El Yunque Rainforest where we hiked and bath under the waterfall! First time for me! BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Plus we get to do it on our own time and our way, which is so much more convenience than taking a tour (I think the cheapest tour I found was $50/person for practically drive you there and take you back to the city ... so we saved at least $200 for the 4 of us)  that was pricey and not necessary since driving there and finding the waterfall was so easy and FREE! OMG the view  of the drive is just beautiful too!!!! 

The tower we came across driving up to the waterfall in the rainforest.

The gorgeous waterfall.... and my hubby is not bad either LOL 

it's a good 20-30 hike down to the waterfall from where we parked!  

Then after the rainforest, we randomly went to a beach where there's food stalls ect. to eat local food and just chill before we head back to the city. 

there's probably zero beach town that we don't like. LOL 

The following day we went to see the Window Cave that charges $20/person for a tour of the two caves there, the money goes into preserving the site which is great! I would not recommended though... sure the view is beautiful but the whole process of getting to the "window" to look out is not my cup of tea.  Plus it STINKS because those rocks formations were basically the sea base zillions of years ago so there's that fishy smell add on to all the  bats poop.  You could imagine ...  

We also went to the Bacardi ourselves and booked the tour at the distillery. If we booked with a tour office it would cost $50/person but we found out we could do it ourselves and we did with some help from the locals.  It's a ferry away across from Old San Juan and each ferry ticket is $0.50!!! YES that's fifty cents!!!! per person each way! Once we got off the ferry, there's a group of people that operates as "taxi" drivers to take you to and from the distillery for $4/person and yes it's the same price for everyone so you don't have to worry about being ripped off. They usually just loaded a full van of like 15 people for each trip though.  

Once at the distillery we bought our tour tickets for $12  per adult, and with that included a tour and a free alcoholic drink with a souvenir cup! How can you not be happy right?!!! 

We sure were happy!!!! 

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS? 50% OFF? HOW ABOUT 100% WHEN YOU DON'T BUY ANYTHING?

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS? 50% OFF? HOW ABOUT 100% WHEN YOU DON'T BUY ANYTHING?

Yup! I am happy to say that despite the fact that Sales signs are flooding around this time of year and especially Black Friday deals but I HAVE NO ITCH to buy anything! 

I am totally content with what I have and have no desire for more.  

I must thank myself for having to "marie-kondoing" my home in the last few months because now I feel like I have space in my home to breath and refuse to reload it with just "things" 

I would only buy things that I really need AND is beautiful/meaningful enough to put a smile on my face when I look at them.  That is definitely my new criteria for anything that's coming through my doors! 

I recommend EVERYONE to read Marie Kondo's book "Magic of Tidying Up" before you shop, before you clean, before you move.... just before you do anything ...read it... then you'd be grateful with what you'll do next! 

How do you deal with the lost of a love one?

I have no idea nor have heard about people around me talk about it.  

I don't know how to deal with it "correctly" and it makes me feel funny but not in a good way.   

I carry on as usual or so I tried but it seems like something inside died indefinitely.  Don't know exactly how to describe it.  Don't know how to ask for help sort it out.  Don't know if I should even ask about it.  I just feel lost... unreal.  Don't know how it got to this extend.  

In the past few weeks my life has been filled with heartaches and joy.  

Heartaches because we lost someone and disastrous news regards another that we hold so close to our heart. 

But joy for new life, our cousin just welcomed a baby boy to the family.  

But somehow grief just seems so much more evident and is taking the center stage.

I have a lot of great friends and loving family members right next to me.  Somehow, none of them is able to comfort me in this time of grievance.  Perhaps they too are suffering just like I am but chose to brave the poker face.  I wish I could sooth their pain as I wish someone would mine. 

I feel lost.  I feel lonely.  

I pray for the one that passed. May he rest in peace.

I pray for the one that's fighting the battle of life and death.  May you hear our hearts calling and not give up because we are not giving up on you.  

I pray for the ones that's grieving.  May you too find peace and have the courage to carry on no matter  what happens, and that I DO believe in miracles so don't give up.

I pray for me.  May I have guidance in this time of need and for this life I lead.  So I can have the courage to carry on live a life worth living.

Great reads from Nourishing Minimalism! 

Let Go of Guilt and Find Contentment

The Minimalist Wardrobe

I would like to share these interesting reads on why people chose to wear the same thing everyday!

Why I Wear the Exact Same Thing to Work Every Day

The Science Of Simplicity: Why Successful People Wear The Same Thing Every Day

I am very much interested in this because it really takes the stress out of putting outfits together day in day out.  But somehow it's not sensible for me to toss all my clothes right now and jump onto this. I however had started to purge my clothes and stuck to a very minimal pallet of blue (jeans), white, black, gray, and pink.  A few piece of other color here and there but not much and I like it!

I like the idea of picking up a top and bottom at random from my closet and it would just go perfectly together.  Which is why I paired down my clothes to the most basic style that I love and works well for me.  I am usually too lazy to take selfie of my outfits etc. so there's none to show for but for now at least you can poke at my brain by reading those articles! =)

Plus if you are into the Minimalist lifestyle but are not keen on the idea of an uniform then consider the a wardrobe capsule! I am definitely onto that right now! And I do believe in in... buy less choose well!

The Minimalist Bedroom 

I have my husband to thank for this, he does not like traditional bed and if it's up to him, he wouldn't even use a mat but that's just too hard core for me.  So when we rebuild our house, he custom builded our bed as a platform.  3/4 of our room is a raised platform and that's our bed! We bought the bed topping and used as a mat and that's about it! 

Reasons for not having a traditional bed is that we tend to have dust build up and stored crap under our bed, with this we can get rid of both problems! Plus no need to spend money on a bed frame, mattress etc. also it's wonderful for our backs, we have no back problems what-so-ever.  

Before I use to have bad back problems and when it aches so much I would have to sleep on the floor. I no longer have to deal with that! 

Marie Kondo and The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The term purge or declutter is not new to me but somehow they did not registered as it did when I read Marie Kondo's book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

The concept is not new either because her style is boiled down to one thing, does it "spark joy" when it comes to the things you own.  Basically all the minimalist I have read about says the same thing in terms of letting go of EVERYTHING that has no value or of use to you.

Marie Kondo says that if it doesn't "spark joy" then it has to go.  The only interesting and useful fact that made her different is that she gave you steps on how to declutter your home, starts with clothing, books, ...and last memorabilia.

You don't declutter by room but rather by category and in such sequence because clothes and books are easier to get rid of than sentimental items (if you start with that first you're in trouble because you'd sit there for hours on end, looking through pictures...etc. and reminiscing on the time you've had ... you will get nothing done!).

Let me tell you, Marie Kondo suggest that we make this clean up day like a holiday and we don't have to do it all the time, but as an "average" Asian American couple in a 1500 square foot apartment in Chicago, it's a hell-a-lot of work to even finish in a week! 

All I have to say is that when you want declutter, do it at your own pace.  Don't feel bad when you can't finished as planned, great if you do though. I have been doing it slowly for the past months and it feels great (and I'm not done ...but who's judging?). 

I use to do all kind of crafts, sewing, collecting random stuffs and things accumulate.  Plus I have an extra bedroom that used as a storage and walk-in closet all in one.  Apparently we sometimes don't even go in there because we can't find anything! NOW WE CAN!!!! 

I think the most important part in doing anything is to really understand ourselves and be realistic.

I hate to admit but I no longer have the passion nor the time to do crafts and scrapbooking (I just make photobook! no messy room to clean up after!) so I finally packed all of that stuff and asked my Facebook friends if anyone wanted them (so happy that it's going to someone who will actually use them ... people like us knows crafting supplies are not cheap and of course you want to buy everything! it's a relief to know it's not going to be wasted!) 

Now I will have to admit that I do not have the time to do any sewing either but I will still keep my sewing machine because it doesn't takes up a lot of space plus I need it to hem or alter my clothes or sew curtains etc. I will be getting rid of all of the fabrics I have stored (I have so much because I originally was going to sew curtains for the whole apt. only then I found other fabrics I like so I bought them too! Then more fabrics for upholstering my sofa. etc. .... NOT doing any of that stuff now... they have to go.) 

I feel bad that people are bring more stuffs into their home when I am trying to get them to understand that they should be getting rid of stuff not adding on!  But then again, they may value it more than I would ever will, plus it's their choice what they want to do with their home! 

Here I will post a few pics of my before and after.  Please don't judge me! =) 

Still have lots of room to grow!!!! =) 

That very night, half way through the book I had 5 bags of clothes bagged up! 

Take everything out 

Cleared the office book shelves (filled what all kind of stuff and half of them are not even useful!) 

Now everything I love and use is in its place! 

I think we should all do this, roll up our socks and organize them.  Only then you'll know how many you have (we have distinctively 4 seasons so we have different types of socks hence we need more than 14 pairs - my ideal number because you have to do laundry at least once every two weeks right!?) and that you do not have to buy more.  Same with with your undergarments, we do no need a whole drawer full (get rid of old and stained ones and the ones with those running threads ... make the effort to throw it in the garbage bin!)  

*Fun facts: this picture was stared in an Marie Kondo article online 

http://www.popsugar.com/home/Proof-Marie-Kondo-KonMari-Method-Works-37622676?slide=0

FOLD YOUR CLOTHES!!!! fold it so that it can stands up by itself! I usually fold my jeans in 3 and put them in the drawer but usually only 8 can find in one of my drawer, now I can fit 17!!!!! so I practically can have all my jeans, pants, leggings all in one drawer. SO MUCH SPACE LEFT!!! 

 DON'T JUDGE ME. I don't know what is is but I never thought about this back door entrance which serves as a mudroom, pets area.  It's messy and ugly with different types of shoes shelves.  GET RID OF THEM! Get matching ones so it looks neat and anything with closed door is a plus. MUCH MORE EASIER on the eyes! So here I go... IKEA!!!! BISSA shoes case!!!! LOVE THEM and at $39.99 PERFECT!!!!
I use the top to put our hats and dog treats! My husband's construction clothes and knick knacks now go into the last columns. NO MORE CLUTTER!!!!! WOOHOO!

THE CLOSET! 

No more walk in closet and open space where you can see clothes everywhere.  Lucky for me three of these closet FITS PERFECTLY wall to wall so it looks like it's customer made in my other bedroom.  Our bedroom does not have a closet specifically requested by MOI when we rebuild our building because I do not want clothes be all over my bed and in site in my bedroom. So I have a whole room next door as a walk in closet and that's just too much.  Having these put in (IKEA! this whole side of the wall cost less than $500) I had to scale down my clothes and happy to do so.  Just so you know it's now both mine and his clothes- all fits in here.  I HATE mismatched hangers so no problems there but I did buy new ones at Cosco that are nonslip which I totally LOVED! 2 boxes with 37 hangers each. I am now scaling to just that much clothes or less to be hung for me.

I LOVE THEM!!!! 

AND THE MAKEUP 

My daily essentials are here.  I got rid of so much crap.  I use to have tons of eye shadows and etc. from MAC which I love but my make up routine have been simplified to this, face wash, toner, moisturizer, sheer liquid foundation, blush, bronzer, eyeliner, and lipstick. So everything else must go.  

A lot of people asked me why I would get rid of things I had spend so much money on before because it just doesn't make sense to them, well money is already spent whether I am getting rid of them now or not, it's still gone, but I can make a choice that I am NOT  letting those things clutter up my house and that's what really matters now. 

One of my favorite spot in the house... my couch. I had never loved a couch so much as this one... my husband think I could even get rid of the pillows but I LIKE THE BLINGS!!!!! 

Being minimalist doesn't mean you have to get rid of everything, it's about having the things that you love and rid yourself the ones you don't! 

WELCOMING MYSELF BACK TO THIS BLOG!

I have been neglecting this blog since .... I can't remember and that's exactly how long it has been.

I an now re-inspired to write again and this time hopefully more often.

I don't now if it would be of interest for people to read, if it is ...GREAT... if not then at least it serves as writing practice, so it's a win-win for me!

Instead of the usual PINK AND BLINGS, COOKING, TRAVEL bits I think I will be writing a considerable amount on MINIMALISM.

I considered myself to be an amateur minimalist because I am only beginning to go into that direction.  I love the idea of minimalism (read more on this here  Minimalism-explained) and the lifestyle that comes along with it.  I will share my journey here.

Cheers to me for writing again!

Yours Truly