The Secret Location Revealed - Dîner en Blanc Costa Rica 2017 - Our Life in Costa Rica

Upon Arrival
Our secret destination was...

Museo de los Niños - San Jose
 Children's Museum, San Jose Costa Rica
Site of 2017 Dîner en Blanc

and THIS is why I LOVE Costa Rica!!!

Unique Museum

The museum, which is situated on an isolated rise just north of downtown San Jose, is one of the premier examples demonstrating why Costa Rica is so unique compared to other Latin American countries.

Not only was the Children's Museum the first of its kind in Central America, its location in an old military prison was chosen to send a message that the future of the country would not consist of wars and political struggles, but the education and care of its children.

Additionally, by establishing the museum in what was formerly the main military fortress of San Jose, Costa Ricans have chosen to remember the lessons of the past, with such buildings serving as daily reminders of what might have been if the country remained embroiled in civil wars.

Because of its size, the former prison was particularly suited to become the Children's Museum, which boasts more than 32 exhibition rooms and numerous activities and experiences for kids both indoors and outside.

and......

Here is our video highlighting the glamorous and magical 7 hour event condensed into 8 minutes & 40 seconds

Enjoy!

Can't wait till next year!!

If you are in Costa Rica we hope you will join us 
or sign up for an event in a city near you


Email subscribers click link for video

Dîner en Blanc Costa Rica 2017 - Our life in Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

Art of the Table - Our Life in Costa Rica

"The waving of the white serviette!" All Dîner en Blanc guests know that this beautiful moment signals the opening of a unique and magical dinner with amazing company. (photos not back yet, taken by drone)

Saturday night,  4 different cities from all corners of the globe waived their napkins and celebrated with their friends and neighbors! 

Cheers to Diner en Blanc - Tauranga , Dîner en Blanc - Ho Chi Minh City , Dîner en Blanc - Johannesburg, and @Dîner en Blanc - San Jose, Costa Rica 🇨🇷!" ✨

Art of the table

Crate & Barrel Sponsored a Prize For The Best Table Setting

These are photos of our table in various stages of decorating and throughout the evening

The candles would no stay lit due to the wind (note to self - "next year bring covered candle holders" The lighted balls ended up inside of the lantern to make enough light for the table

Early table prep

Lighted balls now inside the lantern

The table is not complete without the honorary Eiffel Tower

The remaining 2 photos below are a couple of neighboring tables 

There were some truly FABULOUS table designs

Meet our Neighbors - Our Life in Costa Rica

Hahaha bet you thought the parties were over!!

Well, not so fast. The holiday parties may be over but appears there is pretty much non stop activity going on in this neck of the woods (El Cajon). They call it the party ridge.

I have such a hard time answering the question "So what do you do all day?" If you read this blog you pretty much know the answer to that question. We are busy almost all the time!!

Saturday night we went to a birthday dinner and tonight (Sunday) we were invited to a dinner party (if the house looks familiar, that's because it is. It is the home of Jim & Irina. They are the couple that hosted the Solstice Party a few weeks ago)

Dinner was to meet these two -- Roy & Kimberly - our neighbors. They live about 3 houses up the hill from us on the same side of the street. Imagine. We have never even seen them. Their house is behind a very tall gate, so that might be why. Kimberly is a co instructor for a yoga class further up on our ridge and...I am going to start going. Meeting time 6:45am tomorrow!  We have to w-a-l-k up the ridge to the class, however the classes are free. 

This was NOT even one of my New Year's resolutions!!! 

Kimberly is also an interior designer and did the interior design for Jim & Irina's beautiful house.

The menu was spaghetti. Irina made homemade pasta with special consideration for Lavanson's vegan diet (which he always appreciates). 

Irina and Jim really know how to host a dinner party. We have been to their house for dinner once before. It is like eating in a fine restaurant.

I brought the dessert - which was a tropical fruit mixto. I spent half the day chopping. Then I made a very good dressing from basil, mint, honey, lemon, lime and ginger. Pretty good -- if I do say so myself. Sorry no photo.

Lots of wine and rum! Of course Irina makes her own bread too - as many expats here do. It is "heaven" Yum!!!

Jim & Irina have their sausage made to order by the people who run one of the restaurants in town. The outer sausage is using their requested ingredients - fennel and more spice and less fat. The inner sausage is what the restaurant serves on its menu. Both are delicious.

A toast to new friends and old!

and to yoga in the morning!

A Kick-Ass Costa Rica Send Off - Relocation Costa Rica

We are coming to the end of our time here in the states as we will be heading out to Costa Rica in less than 2 weeks!

We have some absolutely wonderful friends who gathered on Saturday night to throw us 

one

kick-ass party.

Good friends, Good food, Good gifts, Good laughs =  A Great Time

and the BEST GOING AWAY PARTY

EVER

(short video at the end of the photos)

Oh and the BEST Bernie Sanders cupcakes (made by my Hillary supporter friends)

because

"Yes, we all can get along"

Best Going Away Party - EVER!!! from Devon on Vimeo.

The delicious taste of Watermelon, with or without the booze! - Black in Costa Rica

I was walking through our local Whole Foods market the other day and I began to wonder about all the different kind sod fruits available in Costa Rica. I knew there would be many new ones to try but I wondered about the availability of my old friend the watermelon. It's my go to fruit during the hot summer season. 

The Spanish word for watermelon is Sandia and the Spanish word Melon is a cantaloupe.

Costa Rican watermelons, cultivated primarily on the Central Pacific and in Guanacaste have been selling well in European and North American markets,

There is nothing more refreshing than an ice cold cocktail and this Costa Rican Watermelon Mojito will fill the bill in popsicle form. Quick to make and definitely fun to eat.

Recipe Read more

According to a recent report, the countries of Holland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Poland and the United States are some of the nations that import Costa Rican watermelons.

Even though Tico watermelons only make up 2.1 percent of the total U.S. watermelon market, that portion still accounts for 10.3 million kilos worth approximately $2.7 million, the ministerio said.

Holland has become the fruit's primary destination. Costa Rica shipped more than 14.2 million kilos there.

ingredients:

3/4 cup frozen coconut meat, slightly thawed 

1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1 1/2 cups frozen watermelon chunks 

1/4 cup coconut water

2 tablespoons honey

salty lime sugar

1 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon flaked sea salt

and the zest of one lime





In total, Costa Rica has exported more than 37,756 tons of watermelon worth $7,417,051 in the months between January and May of this year, the ministerio said. That's a 22 percent increase from last year.

Eat it, or drink it, either way it's very refreshing fruit and good for you as well.

Consuming fruits and vegetables of all kinds has long been associated with a reduced risk of many lifestyle-related health conditions. Many studies have suggested that increasing consumption of plant foods like watermelon decreases the risk of obesity and overall mortality, diabetes, heart disease and promotes a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, overall lower weight.

Wine in a Box? Get your "wine on" Costa Rica style

I have read on numerous sites, from numerous sources, that wine is not a very popular drink in Costa Rica. Ticos seem to prefer beer or rum.

Now of course, just because they don't grow wine grapes in Costa Rica doest mean you can't get wine. Wine grapes cannot grow in hot, humid weather. That fact helps to drive up wine prices.  One way to keep prices down is to drink box wine.  Being a California girl I am not accustomed to sipping my wine from a box. So to find out what kind of wine my fellow expats drink...I took to social media and posted the question on one of the Costa Rica forums I belong to. And boy did I get answers. 
Two hundred and seventy of them to be exact!

here's what they told me-  Expats are, in fact, still enjoying wine and bottle wine is available. The most popular are from Chile, Argentina and Spain. However the cost can be double the price of wine in the U.S.  Many expats have moved to Costa Rica and are living on less money so they are not interested in spending so much of their disposable income on wine.  So they look for ways to budget,  I received loads of advice about which wines to drink and where to buy them.  One hint was to buy them at the duty free shop by the baggage claim.  There are also a few wine clubs which can help you save some money. 

One of the favorite box wine favorites is by Clos, an inexpensive Chilean box wine

A couple of commenters suggested trying a Malbec, bottle wine.  I've had Malbec before. So, later that evening we made a trip to our local Whole Foods to select a bottle of Malbec. 

While we were in the store, guess what we saw??
this brand new display!

Go figure! 

So we bought our first box wines (a mini Pinot Grigio and a mini Chardonnay).  We opened (and drank) the Chardonnay during the 49er game on Sunday (haven't checked out the Pinot yet).  I have to admit, it really wasn’t that bad (although my other half gave it a thumbs down). Certainly not anything close to that awful 2 buck chuck. I could actually drink this.  I’ve been paying a hefty penny for the Wente Brothers Rivas Ranch Chardonnay which I took a liking to after our recent visit to the Wente Vinyards.

The 500ml minis are priced @ $5.99 and the 3-liter is $23.99 @ Whole Foods

Great Wine Shouldn't Cost the Earth

About Bota Box

Premium wine in a box? You bet! Bota Box produces premium California wine in 3-liter box and 500ml Tetra Pak, both made from environmentally-friendly packaging. Bota Box 3L is packaged in 100% recyclable, unbleached, post-consumer fiber printed with soy-based inks. Using state of the art FlexTap™ technology, our wine is kept fresh for up to six weeks after opening, allowing consumers to enjoy a glass of our award-winning wine without worrying about waste or spoilage. Bota Box offers ten popular 3-liter wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Shiraz, Old Vine Zinfandel, and a red blend called RedVolution.

box wine missing the cap

But we had a little issue.  A problem with the cap. It came completely separated from the box and caused the wine to dribble down the side of the glass and onto the table. We finally had to resort to a funnel. Hopefully this was just a bad box, or possibly we removed the cap incorrectly.

box wine cap which came right out of the box

Now I dare say that I doubt the box wine they have in Costa Rica is as good as the Bota Box, but I’ll wait until I get there and can sample theirs BEFORE I make that decision. So stay tuned. 

As I was advised on the forum "don't knock it till you've tried it."