New Year: New Door

Yippee! Yesterday our new front door arrived! I took the plunge on a somewhat calculated whim I bought a Crestview Door online. In December I spoke about the possibility of a new front door (here) but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Tiffany, friend and reader commented that Crestview doors was no longer going to be selling to individuals - instead they were going wholesale. This was news to me. So I jumped on it. I went to the Crestview Doors website - signed up for their email newsletter and the minute I received the notice of their final front door sale I knew exactly what I wanted. There were only about a dozen doors total. Many had been floor models and a few had damage. Two doors remain - and one is a crazy good deal! If you need a front door be sure to grab it. We got the Grover - pictured above. There were other less traditional models available but I thought this would be best. It would bring the house closer to what it should like and it wouldn't be too different when we decide to sell - way down the line. Anyway with all the work Mr. Monkey is doing on the front yard you will be in for a big treat when we post pictures of the "after" version of the front of the house. I'll end it like I started it - Yippee!

Modern Life in Puerto Rico

Friends, so I took a longer vacation than normal. Sorry for the month long hiatus. Thanks for coming back to check in for new content. I'm back and super excited to show off some of the changes that Mr. Monkey and I have been working on. Specifically the front of the house has some big changes. Mr. Monkey has liberated our front yard from that gawd awful chain link fence - yucko and yippee! First though I wanted to share a bit of our new years vacation with you all. I'm always looking for good design. And even in Puerto Rico and its island, Vieques, I found some sweet spots. We didn't stay at this hotel but I admired the Kama Hotel from the street. The interesting thing is that I've looked it up on the internet since my return and I could find very little information. Trip Advisor doesn't even have it listed. SO I'm not sure if it's new or not. If any of you out there have more info please share in the comments sections. I loved the idea of having a chandelier OUTSIDE! It looked great at night too with it's red lights creating quite the mood. Below you'll find pictures from the isla de Culebra. A small island with a population of only 2,000. As we were coming in on the ferry I saw these great buildings with an interesting structure. So I took a picture but there was a lot of sea spray on the windows and so the picture is a bit blurry. I read about this great restaurant before we arrived on the island and so we promptly called to make reservations. It turns out that the restaurant - Juanita's Bananas was located in this compound - where you can actually stay in the cabinas.  Click on the links and check it out - they're simple but you can't beat that view.

 food was delicious and much of it was grown right there on the property. We were told by the staff that the buildings were designed with tornados in mind. There are doors on both sides directly across from each other. Apparently when a tornado comes they just open up the doors and the wind and water blow right through the structures. I was really in love with the buildings and would love to go back and spend more time there. Also you can see the inside of the building was simple and the lights were creatively made from simple materials - wood, paper, and a bit of paint. Each light fixture was unique.  We ended up renting private residences when we were on the islands but it turns out there are also some great hotels. Next time  - because there will be a next time I hope to either stay at this uber modern hotel - Hix Guest House  - or this gorgeous house - Casa de Cristal. There was so much more to explore on Vieques that we could have stayed there another week  - easily. I'd love to hear from some others about vacation sites where you can rent great architecture in beautiful surroundings. Modern design makes a lot of sense too on remote islands where every resource is precious and waste is to be avoided at all costs.  Enjoy the pictures of paradise! 

P.S. My goal is to post new content once a week. But I'm not great about always posting on the same day. So if you want to be sure to get updated click on the link to the right at the top of this page where it reads "Subscribe to This Blog" and click on the "Posts" button. Thanks for reading.