Dominican Republic Trip

Hello hello! I hope you are well & thriving 💕

This past month, my friends and I were finally able to take the trip we’ve been planning since March! The intention for the trip was to get away from the chaos of life whether it was a living situation, stuck in too much of the same energy or just needed to be by bodies of water. We all needed a new clarifying experience and the Dominican Republic was it!

The first time I went to DR was in high school for a volunteer trip. We raised money through donations, bake sales and part-time jobs to get it done. It was great because we were able to buy supplies for a school and got to hangout with them and spent a few days helping rebuild a man’s home. My Spanish was probably better then and it was a large group of us so it was a fun 10-day trip.

For our trip, we arrived in Santo Domingo to meet up with some family, grab a rental car and get going . A few ganepas and ripe mangos later, we hit the road for 5hr drive up to our EcoRetreat in the hills: Parariso

I loved this Airbnb! have had themed rooms based on the attractions closest to you. We had Flamingos in a pool with koi fish right outside of our sliding doors! They were so beautiful and relaxed and we even sat outside with them to stretch in the morning or take a quick breather. When you step into the rest room though, there’s an outdoor shower AND A PARROT CAGE. They were so funny and kept trying to get our attention and spy on us showering. Very silly but boy have they seen a lot.

They had great accommodations from the long edgeless pool to the jacuzzi, free use kitchen and resting areas all around the property. We definitely enjoyed it like it was a private resort just for us. It definitely helped that there was breakfast everyday, fresh guava, passionfruit and mango juice, just amazing. I could have eaten like that for the rest of my life tbh but I love the spice of life so I aim to try new things when I can..

We spent a few days at La Playita Beach with a new adventure every day. The first day we hung out at the beach and met our guy who would make all the magic happen, “rainbow braids” is what I like to call him. Compliments and Pina coladas on command! We just relaxed and took pictures the first day. 

Second day, he arranged for us to go horseback riding through nature and by the beach. We ran into a farmer and his cows, a field of orange flowers and back down the road we once came from. It was amazing but I almost lost my flip flops! Luckily our tour guide Juan was nice enough to tie them around his waist for me so I rode barfoot. 

Third day, we managed to take a small boat off to some of the other beaches along the coast. One was really beautiful but was trashed the night before by someone having an absolute rager, or maybe they just don’t get cleaned as often. Either way, super secluded and quiet.

We had one last adventure and it was to ride donkies through the wilderness to Salta de Limon! It was breathtaking to see and feel the mist coming down the water. there were so many people there swimming, jumping off the water and checking out the cave underneath it. Also seemed like a good place to take pictures with a Macaw if you wanted to.

late night dinner

Quick night at el Maraquire, a one night stay at a very interestingly arranged motel. It could have been someone’s home and had a gated project style pool outside of the rooms. It was there that I discovered I had a few HUGEEE mosquito bites on my neck. we did end up shopping at a bunch of little bodgeas for snacks and alcohol which ended up being pretty fun as we drove another 3 or so hours to our next destination.

Last Destination: Casa Cliff

this Airbnb was cute but it just became a nightmare overtime. We walk in to admire the kitchen, 2 rooms, bathroom, pool and the beautiful walk along the beach. it was only after the person taking care of the property left that we realized… most of the furniture was sticky and covered with ants, there were almost no utensils to cook with and the property was poorly taken care of before our arrival. When we went to use the pool, we found 2 crabs living in it, waiting for a drop of water.

The boardwalk was actually nice and lead us to take pictures and use it as an unofficial runway. at the end of the boardwalk was this stone seating area that was perfect to spy on the bar next door and to have a little smoke sess.

We still ended up trying to make dinner only to settle for ordering in. We didn’t end up going to the resturant next door until the day we left. it was a nice spot with good drinks but I’m glad we didn’t make that the main spot.

When all was said and done, we really did have an amazing trip and really got the rest and recuperation that we all needed to take with us back into our respective realities.

Going Outside of My Comfort Zone

Creating Content and Opening Opportunity

I just want to say thank you to those who have been keeping tabs on me during quarantine, I appreciate it and I see you. Being able to stay inside and just restructure my life and my attitude towards reaching my goals has helped me tremedously and improved my creative process in a lot of ways:

1. I learned how to schedule myself AND not overbook myself

   This for me was hard because I’ve had a very regimned life. I grew up going to private school and eventually public school with multiple extra-curricular activites. Even going to college I spent my freshman year in a transistions program with a very small group and they created our schedules for us to relieve us of some of the hassle of having to choose.

   By getting an empty dotted notebook in a beautiful sunshine yellow, I was able to set up my planner almost like bullet journal and gave myself 4 slots per day to assign major tasks, appointments and due dates. This worked for me because it forced me to have to take the time to see and write down my month’s plans, my week by week per page and each day’s goals. (If you want to know more about how I organize my week, let me know and I’ll run through it in my next post!) it keeps me from trying to do too much at once and overwhelming myself but I can also see 2 weeks at a time, what am I doing and how much am I doing all at once.

2. I started treating myself better during quarantine because I had to (I wanted too but I NEEDED to too)

   As someone who works in the beauty industry, it’s crazy to me that I didn’t take care of my body the way that I should have been but let me tell you, I almost ran out of masks during all of this mess. Hair masks, Feet masks, Face masks, body scrubs, all of it and MORE! I took the time to eat better knowing that I didn’t have to leave my house. I had all the time in the world to cook and now is as good a time as any to whip myself into shape. Chloe Ting and skating in my kitchen also whipped me into shape too! 😂 When you are in more harmonious mind set, everything feels more intentional and prescise. I realized that my internal body and external body weren’t on the same level and things needed to be balanced differently.

3. My creative self felt free to pursue more as I adjusted into who I want to become.

   This is still ongoing but I want to acknowledge the changes that I’ve made to my art as time passes and how I’m choosing to expand myself. One of my goals is to become a creative director, to design and model products, and to create whatever I envision and that includes the content on here. All of us have dreams to do and be more than what we are at the moment and that takes time. I’ve grown so much since this year has started from learning my boundaries with myself and others but also trying new things from modeling for local brands to really making sure my website and things I sell are of high quality. I’m working on making that even better and even more consistent but for the time being I hope I’m doing alright by y’all.

   Over the past few months, I’ve really challenged myself to become a new person with an even higher work ethic than I’ve had in the past and really filling a void in myself and the world around me.

   How will you challenge yourself to be an even better you?