Puh, finally got a bit settled in in Utah. Last days in Mexico consisted of packing, seeing friends, selling and giving away the last furniture and other things. Also stored 5 boxes at a friends house of stuff I wasn’t ready to part with. So much for clearing out hahhaaa…
Squeezed in some more Botox in face too…
Some last minute shooting that needed to be done. I painted this skirt which I think is awesome! Might be a tad much to wear in public though or what do you think?
Only had left over clothing to wear the last days so my outfits were very fashionable and coordinated! Should’ve just worn the penis skirt hahhaaa….
Hit the gym cause hauling boxes takes some strength.
Had a class of lighting and how to adjust focal points and depth of field with various techniques. I’m going to miss Leo’s classes!
Barbacoa lunch with Angel and his bf and amazing sushi & sake with Milla.
The last minute packing was no joke. I had planned to bring 4 suitcases, but the day before I realized I needed a fifth suitcase. Hunter was as always involved and supervising hahhaaaa…
Julieta who is Hunter’s extra mom when I travel came by and said bye too 🙂
The day before my departure someone picked up the bed and I camped out on the floor like the queen that I am 😉
I got to say that I was pretty nervous about flying with Hunter. I had created scenarios in my head where he escapes and runs around at the airport or in the plane. But I should’ve known better. He was nervous, but behaved so good 🙂
I had read that cats can overheat and you can cool them down with a wet cloth. I had a wet t-shirt and I put on him when he was panting. He also wore a calming collar.
On the plane he stayed in his bag and at the airport he came out and walked around and wondered what’s next…
It was a long day and I’m so happy all went well! Yesterday and today we explored the grounds of our new crib…
Waiting on a French Press from Amazon so been popping by Alpha Coffee for my caffeine. They got such good coffee and a great place to work at too…
Was going to hit the gym today, but the weather was perfect for some outdoor exercise. Went to this beautiful park and ran around bit and threw in some push ups and jump squats too.
That’s what I managed so far. Can’t wait to go hiking. Got a 4th of July party happening this week and friends from San Francisco visiting… How about you? Got some vacation coming up or already on it?
Last week on Wednesday I took an Uber at 02.00 am to the airport. Tried to sneak out without waking Hunter up, but no luck with that. When I grabbed my bags and was ready to head downstairs, he came out stretching and yawning and walked me to the door.
Sooo tired and happy when it was about time to finally board the plane. I find out that the flight to Houston is being cancelled because the plane is broken. Or I guess in less dramatic terms, has technical issues. Ugh!
There are not many options for flying from Mexico to Jamaica. They tried to find options, but all of them meant staying somewhere overnight and continuing tomorrow. I finally got the brilliant idea to look for a flight to Kingston in Jamaica instead. It wasn’t guaranteed I’d get on it though because it was overbooked. I thought some good thoughts, crossed some fingers, and at 08.40 am I flew to Atlanta instead. Pretty much passed out as soon as I sat down on the plane.
In Atlanta the pIane was overbooked and they started offering money to people to fly the next day instead. Luckily enough people took the offer and at 5.59 pm we took off to Jamaica finally! I think the Atlanta airport had very interesting artwork. Or is just me that has a dirty mind?
Got to the villa around 22.30 and met everyone. Chuck who I met last year from the US. So great seeing him again! Cyril from Sweden. More about him later. Dev from Australia, Alex who is Armenian, Derryck from USA (but grew up in South Africa and lived in Russia among other places) and Rob from South Africa but came from Cayman Islands the next day.
Thursday
Slept good and woke up at 7.30am. I always get excited if I have a pool or access to a beach and feel the need to get in instantly. Afterwards I had coffee and mingling while having a light breakfast.
Around 11am Mama Orah came over to give us a yoga session. If you read my blog last year you already know I love Mama Orah. I believe she’s past 70 years old and she just radiates compassion and you want to hug her which I obviously did 🙂 While the rest of us are in the shade yoga-ing she’s in the sun like it’s nothing! I’m guessing it was about 31 Celsius!
After that it was time for lunch and Marcel was the chef this time too. He cooks the best food and is a sweetheart!
What I like about this retreat is that there’s no stress. You have time to relax on your own or with the group. I love meeting new people, and we were a great group with a lot of interesting stories and experiences on why we all came here. Cyril is a writer/journalist from Sweden who I had only been in contact with on Instagram a couple of times. About a month ago he posted about psilocybin on his feed. I sent him a DM that I had micro-dosed and asked him if he didn’t want to come to Jamaica on a retreat with me. Cyril had been traveling for work and rerouted his return by Jamaica so here we were meeting for the first time.
Around 4pm we were on a private beach for our 1st mushroom dose. A lighter dose and I took 2 grams in a gummy and 1 gram of chocolate.
We all were swimming and a rainbow appears. So cool. I didn’t expect to feel as much as I did, but I had a lot of visuals. The clouds were in 3D layers and I saw geometrical patterns when I closed my eyes. Felt a bit restless and lied down on a towel on my own and let go… When I felt that I was coming out of it I started listening to my music and dancing. Damn, I love dancing when ending my trip. It’s like I release all of the built up and leftover energy. I feel so free and great after… We also had a beautiful sunset on the beach before packing up and headed back to the villa.
Marcel had cooked us dinner and we sat talking about how our trips had been. Cyril and I sat up until midnight because he just has the craziest stories to tell about people he interviewed, wild parties, and wars in Syria and Ukraine he’d reported from.
Friday
The day started with coffee, chilling in the pool, breakfast and then another yoga session with Mama Orah.
After lunch we had individual sessions with Stacey who was our facilitator. She is from Jamaica and very calm and wise. We talked about my intention for the upcoming journey and how much mushrooms I was going to take. There will be a longer and separate post about this because this was probably my most powerful trip ever in so many ways. I finally understand the meaning of “The mushrooms give you what you need, not what you want” and it was so true for me on this trip. This is us getting to ready to take off…
The night ended with Cyril and I sitting up talking about our experiences until 2am. I felt elated and drained after and still had some visions when I went to bed and closed my eyes…
Saturday
One of my favorite things form last year is when we all shared about our trips. This morning was no different. Everyone was curious about each others journeys. Seemed like everyone had a powerful one. Stacey was also around to answer questions and listen to us sharing…
At 4pm it was time to head to another beach for our last dose. I only took 2 grams and felt it in my body, but didn’t really have any visuals. It also started raining so we had to take shelter and it’s different when you are interacting with other people versus just lying down and letting go. I also believe the mushrooms felt I’d received what I needed the night before so now it was mostly relaxing. Witnessed a beautiful sunset before heading back to the villa to chill…
On Sunday we packed up and checked in and Sand & Tan where I stayed last year too after the retreat. It’s a simple hotel right on the beach and it felt good to reflect on the past few days.
My favorite was to just walk out from my balcony and go swim first thing in the morning. There was barely any other people there so we were just journaling, talking, eating and hanging out. I went paddle boarding every day and just laid on the board. Was even able to get one sunset on the water on the board.
Lunch with gang. Anyone else think this sign is funny?
Dinner at the hotel…
Pulled myself together and worked a little. Can’t really say it feels like work when you’re on the beach in yet another beautiful sunset 🙂
Met this artist at the hotel and he painted this mural. I suspect he even might of planted this weed plant next to it 🙂
On the last night the last stragglers visited a strip club. I love visiting strip clubs in different countries. We had a couple of drinks and watched some great pole tricks before leaving and crashing in bed.
My flight was not until 2.30pm on Wednesday so I had time to swim and have breakfast with Troy and John who runs the retreat and Cyril.
The guy who runs Sand & Tan buys fresh caught fish every day from the fishermen…
Had to stop for some great jerk chicken on the way to the airport too…
Made it home and I feel much more relaxed. Something I’ve taken home is to feel more present. Be in the moment. I sometimes do 5 things at the same time, but I think I’m a bit more focused now and able to concentrate on only 1 (or 2) things at the time.
Hunter was very happy about me coming home and talked a lot before he slept glued to my side the whole night 🙂
I think I will have some other exciting news to share in the next few days 🙂 Just finalizing details now wohooo 🙂
The next retreat in Mycelia is June 23 – June 27 and there are a couple of spots left. If you’ve ever been thinking of going to a retreat, I can’t recommend Mycelia enough! Here is how our itinerary looked for the days we were there.
Hope you all will have a great weekend! Got plans? I’m going to polish my notes about the big trip experience and hopefully post it tomorrow. Hopefully getting together with Dayana today before she leaves for her summer travels. Tomorrow I’m helping Astrid with some computer stuff, but will read and relax too 🙂
I loved being in San Francisco! Familiar places, friends, a wedding. I want to live in Marin County! Took an early flight last Friday so I could squeeze in as many things as possible while there. I was doing well with my healthy eating the week before SF. No chips, refined sugars, or treats at coffee shops. That all blew out of the window as soon as I got to SF. I love clam chowder and a shrimp sandwich to top it off. Salad with that? No thanks, give me fries, hahahaaa….
A common sight in the Bay Area is self driving cars. Next to my Uber this car was just driving itself…
Tried a new coffee spot RÉVEILLE. Pretty good…
I had booked a Genius Bar appointment beforehand. My Mac was overheating and the battery lasted like 5 min. Turns out the battery was pretty much done. Ended up walking out with a new Mac and will use the old one as a back-up 🙂
Then went to my friends house and was served Espresso martinis 5 minutes after I walked through the door. That’s what I call hospitality 🙂 I love coffee cocktails! My night ended with more martinis and we ordered Indian food for dinner.
Stayed at another friends house in Mountain View. In the morning I need coffee like pretty much right away. I threw on my sneakers and walked to my old coffee shop Red Rock Coffee. So beautiful walking through the neighbourhood. So green and everything was in bloom. OK, a little overkill with all the rose photos, but they were so big and beautiful. (I have like 20 more if someone has a rose fetish lol).
After the coffee I painted my face and then drove out to Turlock. It’s 2h outside the city, in the middle of farm lands for almonds and apples. Then you turn in on a small road and arrive at a lavender farm where the wedding was held. It was like a green oasis in the middle of nowhere…
In the beginning of the ceremony the person marrying the couple asked everyone to put down their phones and to actually participate fully in the moment instead of taking pics or videos. I thought that was a really nice initiative. When Salma & Jared finally stood by the altar, the person said, ‘OK, I know you all want that one pic for Instagram, so here is your moment.’ Hilarious! phones came out so fast, including mine, and everyone got their shot hahhaaaa… It was a great wedding as they are one of the nicest people I know and I got to know when living in Mountain View. Here’s a photo of me looking like I’m dressed for a S&M party, and I snapped this pic of S & J when they where taking some wedding photos in the sunset.
Spent the night at an Airbnb in Turlock. On Sunday day I wanted to check out Marin County. First stop was Larkspur. Wow, what a cute little village! Bonus that they had an Equator Coffee there too AND a Swedish cardamom bun that I just haaaaad to have!
From there I drove through Corte Madera to Tiburon. Such a beautiful drive with houses by the water and so green and lush…
Had lunch with friends, pictured here is gorgeous Romina with Lucy, and the view from the restaurant…
I could easily see myself living somewhere in these hoods! Drove over the Golden Gate bridge back to Mountain View…
It was a fast and great trip over all. Almost forgot to show you this cool hat I found while shopping. Obviously had to have it!
On Thursday I visited Tatiana to laser off some sunspots skin bumps or whatever they’re called on my face & neck. I look like I have some skin condition, but doesn’t stop me from going out and it’s healing nicely 🙂
While on the laser topic, I went and injected and lasered my spider veins yesterday. They require constant maintenance and this Dr is super good and my legs look a lot better than before…
Feels good to be back at the gym. Been doing longer and more cardio based workouts. I like switching up my exercises and I hope I will feel more comfortable with running soon. Running is my least favorite thing with burpee broad jumps!
Did some ‘artistic’ work as well 🙂
And as usual Hunter is close by, but he doesn’t care about being in front of the camera as much as I do hahhaaa… He counts the seconds until I release him from my grip!
While on the topic Hunter. Milla came visiting and Hunter was quick to lay next to her and get scratches 🙂
There was a bazar the week before last and I had some stuff for sale. This Day Tripper jacket from Psychonaut Explorer among other things 🙂
I had a friend who had some surgery done and I went to a checkup with her. As you can see I’m great at support taking selfies instead hahahaa…
Other than that I’ve been to school and tomorrow I have the studio booked and I’m going to practice lighting on Ximena. Then me drinking coffee and and a couple of cute doggies I ran into 🙂
Popped a microdose yesterday and was smart and baked cookies before incase I would get cravings 🙂
That about concludes what I’ve been up to. Plan to bake my paleo bread today and maybe visit Milla because she got one of those hairless cats.
It’s good to be back, but damn, the jet lag is rough! Been to the gym twice and it feels like it’s the first time ever hahahah… Note to self: don’t skip the gym on holidays! Good to have Hunter jet lag with me, and he likes the Japanese cat treats I bought him 🙂
Anyways, here comes the rest of my Japan trip. Before heading to Kyoto I had breakfast with some people still left in town from the wedding. Not your usual eggs & bacon…
Then jumped on the bullet train that took a little bit more than 2h straight to Kyoto. Not a problem when you bring a few(?) snacks. The breakfast didn’t quite hit the spot.
Guess train rides build an appetite so I got a Wagyu burger for my dinner in Kyoto. Super tasty and it was nice to have something else besides sushi and yakiniku.
Strolled around after and checked out Nishiki Market at closing time. The market is packed with food stalls and other little stores.
Straight for coffee the next morning and starting with Goodman Roaster. Thumbs up!
Then walking in the rain and checking out what Kyoto has to offer. Everyone was on the look out for cherry blossoms. Wherever they were there were always people taking pics. Why should I be any different 😉
Then more coffee and tried Okaffe Roasting Park. Here they don’t rush to make your coffee. It was almost like an art form and there was always some latte art in the milk. Another superb coffee spot!
After a nap I headed back to Nishiki Market to eat dinner. WOW, the amount of people! It came to a total stand-still at moments. Tried some different seafoods and it was amazing!
Finished off with some sake at the room 🙂 Iit’s party-o’clock somewhere in the world, right?
Headed to the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine the next morning. I knew there would be people and I think half of Kyoto was there at 8am in the morning! Still a beautiful hike up and and lit a candle for family & friends who have passed at the top 🙂
And some things that caught my eye on the walk back…
All the fresh air, the climb, and heat made it necessary for a coffee stop and then a sugary waffle-thingy on top of that…
Walked by a place called Skål which means ‘cheers’ in Swedish. Nothing Swedish about the place. Had to go in and check to make sure. Looked like they had good food so I decided to try it. The portions were really small, and super good, so I ordered a 2nd plate. The guy that took my order and payment looked impressed 🙂
Also found Stumptown coffee at a beautiful outdoor mall, bought a new perfume after a lot of testing, impressed by the selection of kimchi and noodles at the grocery store, bought a seal-vibrator at a sex shop, ate more yakiniku saw more shrines… And bought this superb second hand kimono for $15.
I loved all the great coffee places in Kyoto. For me it was the wrong time to be there as I think it was too many tourists. It was hard to get a table at restaurants at night because everyone was fully booked. I see the charm with the small alleys and maybe I would’ve liked it more if I visited another time…
Decided to check out Hakone on the way back to Tokyo. Wow, this was my spot! This is right after getting off the train and going to my Airbnb.
I was so excited to get a bedroom with the Japanese style where you just unfold a mattress on top of these mats. I sleep better on hard surfaces so this was perfect for me. I had to google about this and supposedly it’s a better way of sleeping for your body and posture. Maybe my future bedroom 🙂
Hakone is famous for their onsens. They are bath houses with hot springs. After I checked in I went straight to one called Tenzan. Wow, it was so nice and I liked it since they had baths outdoors. You put your clothes in a locker. No swimwear needed or allowed. Then you wash yourself and visit the different pools and saunas. It was so relaxing and it only cost $10. No photos allowed from inside so got these from their website. There were more pools, but my favorite was sitting inside the cave 🙂
Starving afterwards and decided to grab food at the restaurant there. I saw there was raw horse meat on the menu and went for the safe bet ordering fish, shrimp and veggies. The shrimps were tiny little things with shell, head, and everything. The fish was tiny too, but good. Maybe not my best meal of the trip but I had some chips and cookies from 7-Eleven after hahahha…
Was supposed to head out and see The Hakone Open Air Museum the next day. While I was having coffee I discovered there were hikes in the area. Opted for a 3 hour hike instead and it was a really nice trail along Lake Ashi.
When finishing I went straight back to the same onsen as the day before. Perfect after a day out sitting in the hot water just relaxing…
I wish I would’ve had more days in Hakone. Smaller and more chill than Kyoto. Not as crowded and there were more things I would’ve wanted to check out. I would’ve done hot springs every day! One can always hope to visit again 🙂 Took the bullet train back to Tokyo while snacking on chocolate shroomies 🙂
Dropped my bags off at the hotel and headed straight to brunch with friends from the wedding… I think I visited the dessert table like 4 times 🙂
The next day I went to a micro pig cafe. They have so many different animal cafes in Tokyo with owls, hedgehogs, capybaras and snakes for example. I started wondering if Hunter would accept a micro pig as a buddy, but I think he’s happy being the only one getting attention so it’s a no 😉 But they were very cute…
A photographer wrote me on IG and asked if I wanted to shoot while in Japan. Why not? Got to put in a little bit of work while travelling 🙂 I wanted to shoot at a love hotel. Basically a hotel where couples can go and hang out, (and more), away from home as many live with their parents. They have them here in Mexico too. You book them per hour. So after cuddling with the piggies I met the photographer at Lapia Hotel and booked a room. You get free popcorn and can pick a costume to wear too. There are vending machines for lingerie and toys too. Very cool! It was a great shoot and the photographer was great. Here are a couple of behind the scenes pics and a couple of shots I put on IG. More coming 🙂
I had initially planned to go to a snake cafe after, but opted to join some friends at a Muscle Girl Bar instead. It is just what it sounds like, a bar with muscular girls. You get a protein shot when you came in and for about $30 USD you could drink as much as you wanted. The girls danced, poured shots in peoples mouths for tips, did pole tricks and pull-ups. There was a whole menu for what you could buy for tips, butt kicking, face slaps, being sandwich between 2 girls (only for girls though) etc… It was a fun experience and the girls were fun.
I was pretty beat and a bit drunk when I made it back to the hotel. Put on a face mask and my April fools joke was that I had adopted this bird I found. I actually found it while shopping for fun stuff for my shoot and thought this birdie would look good on my head 🙂
The last day in Tokyo was spent walking around and I bought some gifts. Walked by the famous Shibuya Crossing, the iconic intersection. Traffic is stopped in all directions where everyone can cross in all directions…
Coffee break and spotted some cherry blossoms…
I got an reservation at Sushi Nakamura for my last dinner in Tokyo. A friend who spends a lot of time in Tokyo and loves sushi recommended the place. It was Omikase style with sake pairing. It was definitely in the top 5 of food experiences in my life! The sushi melted in my mouth. Also the first time I tried uni, but not my favorite. There was so much food ands sake I rolled/wobbled out of there hahahaa…
Needed a boost of coffee before heading to the airport so I relented and made a cup of instant coffee, having to use the free toothbrushes the hotel offered to stir it with. Very classy…
Took the train to the airport and the flight home felt super fast since I slept most of the way 🙂
It was a great trip. I’m amazed how clean everything is. Even the public bathrooms are spotless! No smell, no paper on the floor or drops of whatever (most likely piss on the floor)… And I love the toilets that wash all your holes, fan that dries you and some even had music that you could play for privacy! Also something I’d like for my home! A picture of one of the toilets where the water was filling up from the top after flushing. Or was it for washing your hands? LOL
The train and subways was the same way. No litter or stained seats. People stand aside orderly when you exit and even if it’s crowded there’s no pushing. Maybe due to all the signs they have up…
There’s also no smoking on the streets. There are designated areas, street corners or smoke rooms at hotels and malls. There was a lady who used clothing rollers to clean up the entrance mat at the hotel…
Here comes the usual leftover pics…
Such a beautiful wedding and great to see friends I don’t get to see often. I loved Hakone and hope to explore more of Japan one day.
Hitting the gym in a bit and got Lesha coming over later to teach me some more Photoshop and Lightroom. Got a lighting class this week too and hope my sleep will be back to normal any day now!
Japan is very cool with a lot of differences compared to other countries. I’m rubbernecking, people watching, eating delicious food, walking and looki-looing, drinking, shopping and I feel like I would need a month here to have the time to and see do everything I want.
Let’s start from the beginning. The flight was on a Tuesday a week and a half ago at 00.50. In my head that meant Tuesday night, before becoming Wednesday morning. Luckily someone who understands time better than me pointed out that it actually means the night of Monday. I found this out 24 hours before my flight. No stress though, and Hunter and I enjoyed coffee & milk in bed before he did his best to help me pack…
The flight was delayed so I grabbed some wine while waiting…
It was perfect to take a red-eye flight, and I arrived at 7am the next morning. Super smooth to grab the bus right outside the terminal into the city. Just checked the bags at the hotel and headed out. Had a Verve Coffee right by the hotel. I used to drink Verve when living in California.
Checked out Cat Street and molested a competing Puma 😉
This was an awesome coffee place – Coffee Mameya. It was a high-end coffee shop that only offered pour overs from different roasters around the world. You got a chart, your barista talked about the different options, and then made you your coffee pour over style.
There was also some sushi and pancakes before a ‘yakiniku’ dinner at Kokokara. Soooo good. Kind of like Korean BBQ where you cook your own meat and pickled veggies.
The next day I had a local guy take me shopping. There is a lot of options here and so many secondhand stores for luxury items. I was mostly amazed they have my size in bras here so bought some.
I then headed out on my own to the Harajuku area and walked around. So much fun and and packed with people!
Another yakiniku dinner… I could eat this stuff every day. I love the small spots with just room for like 10 people. I’m getting hungry just writing this…
Started Friday with coffee from Streamer Coffee Company. They have this seasonal special called Sakura Latte (for the pink flowers called Sakura or cherry blossom) with some pink sprinkle on it and I could’ve had a liter of it!
Then finally met up with some friends and Annie, the bride to be, and catched-up over lunch. I look like a pink panther next to Annie who’s always dressed like a supermodel!
More coffee and walked through Yoyogi Park. I thought there would be cherry blossom everywhere, but only spotted a tree or two here and there. People said it has been too cold and wet so they are late. Someone actually wrote me on IG yesterday and said that they are supposed to start blooming NOW. They better hurry up because I only have a few days left hahahaa…
When walking I came across a store with a Finnish name – Hyvää Matkaa. It means ‘have a good trip’. Obviously I had to go in and check it out. They even sold ‘vihta’ which is the dried branches of a special tree that you soak up before hitting your back with it. The best part was the chocolates, and I couldn’t resist buying some and ate them in 3 minutes!
Fancy sushi tasting menu for dinner. Luckily they were showing pics on an iPad of what we were eating because it was all in Japanese.
On Saturday while running around town I suddenly hear someone yell Puma. It was Mar who I met at the psychedelic retreat in Mexico in November last year. So crazy, what are the odds!
At night it was the wedding rehearsal and I got to meet almost all of the other wedding guests who were from all over the world. Went to a bar after and I had some tasty Espresso Martinis…
Then finally the big day for Annie and Nick’s wedding! I found a makeup artist on Instagram and Hanna was great.
The wedding was amazing! Short ceremony, photos after, and then a delicious dinner! I could consider getting married in this style LOL… Naaah, won’t be walking down any aisles and making lifetime commitments anytime soon 🙂
The day after the wedding I took the bullet train to Kyoto. Love the efficiency here, no f*cking around. Train leaves and arrives on time. I will write another post about Kyoto. Now I’m in Hakone and this might be my favorite spot here so far. Well, I’ve only been here less than 24h so far, but the Onsen (hot spring baths) last night was the best and I plan to go back tonight 🙂 Tomorrow heading back to Tokyo and have a shoot planned, visit a mini pig cafe, and a snake cafe too!
Happy Easter by the way and wish you a fabulous weekend. 🙂
Happy being back to blonde. Angel came over and decolored the yellow out of my hair and fixed the roots.
On Tuesday I finally had my class in lighting. The school has a smaller studio where we practiced. Started basic and then got to experiment a little. Scheduled another class for lighting when I’m back from Japan 🙂
Then experimented some more at home. Not really, I just have crappy lights for my homemade content hahhaaaa…
Saw Tatiana on Thursday for my second session of NCTF. When I’m there waiting for the numbing cream to kick in, hugging the support piggy and complaining about my under-eye wrinkles, she goes to her cabinet and pulls out a package. It’s called Aqu Lift and one of these packages has 5 needles with threads. I had one package done for each eye. Crazy looking and thank god for the numbing cream!!!
I had to film it because I thought it was so freaky looking, so if you have a needle fetish, here you go 🙂
To top it all off she did the NCTF using my face like a punchingbag for needles and covering my face in a blood red mask hahhaaaa…
I also had the permanent cap put in by the dentist. If you ever consider dentistry work or injections, come to Mexico. It’s so much cheaper and as long as you go to a well reviewed place, you can save a lot of dinero! If I move back to USA, I will come back here and fix everything that’s broken 🙂
Now you’re going to get my best tip of the week – fast and delicious apple pie. I made it twice this week and I changed out the brown sugar to coconut sugar. It’s so delicious, you only need the ready pastry dough, apples, sugar, cinnamon, butter and egg. It doesn’t look so good here in the pic, but trust me, make double portions right away 🙂 You’ll find the recipe and instructions here – https://natashaskitchen.com/apple-cinnamon-slab-pie/
Too much apple pie and Dayana convinced me to go out to Santa Fe on Friday and do a class of booty & abs with her at the Commando gym. Checking the results after. Dayana passes but I need like 100 more booty classes!
A very cool barista I know here got this awesome tattoo because she also loves magical mushrooms!
Hunter says hi and has found his new spot. Can you find him?
I’ve cleared that spot for him now, and of course he hasn’t used it since. Maybe it was more comfortable with all the chargers and cables there…
Here we compete for the title ‘Best Double Chin” in this pic… He loves half-laying on my belly when we go to bed, then he starts to fall asleep and sliding down. By some automatic reaction his claws come out to try to hold him in place. Worst idea ever, but what Hunter wants, Hunter gets.
I just finished shooting my Swedish friend Sanna who’s an artist. We got to use a studio and I got to practice my photography skills. We shot a lot of cool stuff. Just have to go through them before I show you 🙂 Here’s just a screenshot of from my IG story.
By accident this morning, I realized that my flight to Japan is tomorrow night and not on Tuesday night! Got to head home and wash & pack. Julieta is coming over to live with Hunter and make sure his needs are catered for like the king he believes he is hahahahaa..
Started my week getting better at manipulating and enhancing pics in Photoshop with Leisha. I found her at the gym. One day we talked and it turns out she has been teaching Photoshop and Lightroom in a university before moving to Mexico. I asked her to start teaching me, and now we have lessons planned 🙂 If you start seeing pics of me looking 25, wrinkle free, huge a*s in perfect surroundings, you know my classes are working hahhaaaa…
Until then I’ll keep injecting some Botox and whatever else I can get my hands on. Got some Botox and was supported by the office mascot.
I had lunch planned with Angel on Tuesday. He said he was going to cook and I thought that I’d be gone for like 3h. We ended popping 4 bottles, smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes, and talked about life on his balcony. His dog Charlotte kept us company. It was great catching up, but next time I’ll aim for a little less drinking and smoking LOL…
Ximena and I were shooting the next day. Felt a bit worn out from the night before, but my motto has always been ‘party hardy, but you never skip work because of it’. I’ve never cancelled a shoot or other work because of a hangover. That’s just being an amateur 😉 Luckily I found leftover pizza in the refrigerator and ate it while shooting!
Hunter thinks the attention from Ximena should focus on him a bit more while we are shooting. He usually just crashes in her lap until he gets what he wants or she gives him a snack.
They called form the dentist and asked me to pop by since they had to do a new mold of my tooth. They told me I didn’t need numbing, but I told them to numb it anyways because I don’t want to feel anything while she’s digging around in there with various tools!
Hit the gym and feel that my fitness level is pretty good now. The tan is getting there too 😉
And impressed some chicas at the gym with the strength of my ‘rack’ 🙂
I crave nature here. Went out to the woods and did a small hike. I think the next place where I’ll live will have closer/easier access to trails and nature. Yes, thinking that it might be time to move soon…
Excited about this upcoming week. First Angel is coming over tomorrow to fix my hair. The yellow color doesn’t feel very bueno. On Tuesday I have a 4-hour class on lighting at the photography school. Got class with Leisha too and Spanish. Hopefully doing a shoot with a friend to check my skills too. Pizza night with some friends who recently went to Japan to get all of their tips.
Thank you for the tips you guys sent about Japan. After the wedding which I think will be fabulous and fun, I have a list of things I want to do. I hope to visit a Muscle Girl Cafe and a cafe with Capybaras. A day to see Mt Fuji and maybe pop by Osaka. Maybe take a Samurai class and sake tasting. I’m very excited to be going!
And some more attention on Hunter since he loves it. Almost more than me hahhahaa…
Got back from La Paz yesterday. Sun, seafood, ocean, and a couple of Margaritas 🙂
Landed in the evening and headed straight out for food. Everyone said La Paz has great seafood and these tuna and smoked fish tacos at Hambrusia were sooo good!
Priority numero uno for me in the mornings is my coffee. That’s a lie, feeding Hunter comes first actually. Since Hunter stayed home with Julieta, I checked out Doce Cuarenta for caffeine and breakfast which was great.
Passed by Gratitude and tried their coffee too. Very good and went back a couple of more times during my stay.
After a couple of relaxing hours by the pool it was time for a late lunch at Claro Fish Jr. There was all kinds of options like tacos, burritos, tostadas, seafood cocktails, aqua chillies and to have your seafood fried, smoked, battered or raw. I finally settled for this huge seafood tower that was as big as one of my calfs!
Found and negotiated with an Uber driver to take me to the dunes and back. No problem to find Ubers in town, but not so many available to take you back if you head outside of town. It felt very remote driving out there and I remember wondering how many bodies laid buried there. Yes, I watch too many movies…. But I really liked it and the beach went on forever.
Only had a cocktail and french toast for dinner when returning to town. One of my big dreams when I was kid, to just eat dessert 🙂
I was supposed to snorkel with sea lions and check out the Espirito Santo Island the next day. Unfortunately they cancelled the tour necause they said the water was choppy and it wasn’t going to be comfortable on the boat. I hit the Uber driver up and went to check out the town Todos Santos. It’s one of the Pueblos Magicos here in Mexico. Meaning ‘Magical Town’. It was very cute. Started by checking out Hotel California. Supposedly the Eagles song with the same name was inspired about this hotel. I just googled it, and it turns out it’s not true. Hahahaaa, but cool story though 🙂
More fish tacos and coffee while walking around town…
I saw these cool and a bit freaky masks made with animal hide. I kind of wished I’d gotten one 🙂
There was this cool pink wall with cactuses. Not sure if they were for sale, but if I had to pick one, it would’ve been this one LOL…
Then headed to a beach called La Cachora. Barely any people there and the waves were huge. There’s something very peaceful walking barefoot on sand and hearing the ocean!
If I ever go back, I would definitely plan a couple of days in Todos Santos 🙂
Next day it was time for a whale shark tour. It was kind of the whole purpose of this trip. They only swim here at certain times of the year and I really wanted to swim with them. And it was amazing! They are so majestic and you’re just a little fart next to them. I did bring my GoPro to film underwater, but then decided to just observe them. It would’ve been hard because you have to pay attention to stay alongside them when swimming. This was the highlight of my trip!
A little bit more pool time after that. And bikini pics…
The Uber driver had been going on about the fantastic Margaritas at this place called Buzos. He wasn’t wrong! Tamarindo is now my new favorite flavour in Margaritas or Mezcalitos by the way! I think they were almost a liter and I was drunk when walking to dinner hahhaaaa…
Grabbed breakfast at this place called Paradiso yesterday. They were playing vinyl records and I obviously noticed the Black Pumas. Not bad 🙂
Better to not be starving when going to the airport so I stuffed myself with this so I could get through my 2h flight 😉 La Mäsa is a very popular coffee and bakery in town.
And the leftover pics of a cute cat, piñata store, and ME 🙂
It was a great trip and I felt I needed some beach and pool time. Feel refreshed now. Booked my Japan trip for next month this morning. Very excited. I want to see more than Tokyo and I’m considering Kyoto. Have you been? Or do you have any other place in Japan to recommend?
Need to go buy food for next week now. Hunter has a special order of some ground chicken mix that has come in that I need to pick up too 🙂
Catch you later and wish you a fabulous week coming up!
If you’ve been following my adventures for a while, you’ll remember I visited Jamaica and the Mycelia mushroom retreat last May. It was one of the highlights of last year’s experiences for me. I’m now thrilled to extend the invitation for you to join me on my next journey at Mycelia.
I’m currently in talks with the Mycelia team to organize a special retreat tailored for my friends, readers, and followers. Whether you’re a curious first-timer or a bit of a psychonaut like me, Mycelia offers a unique setting to work on yourself.
Dates: May 22nd – 26th
How much? USD $3495 (excluding extra beach hotel days).
Before attending, there will be a call to make sure this experience is a good fit for you. Also a call with the facilitator before attendance.
I fell in love with Jamaica and the Mycelia Retreat and it was an unforgettable experience. The team, led by knowledgeable guides, created a fun and relaxing atmosphere. From Marcel’s home cooked daily meals to Mama Orah’s soothing yoga sessions, while Troy’s kept a watchful eye on us all 🙂 For me the whole trip was perfect.
Mycelia is located close to Ocho Rios in a beautiful villa nestled in the hills overlooking the Caribbean Sea. It has an amazing 9 ft deep salt water pool and a hot tub where you can relax and work on your tan 🙂
It’s a 4-day retreat, including 3 days of medicine, the psilocybin doses are tailored to each individual. We start with a smaller dose on the beach and the dosages increase in later sessions. When the retreat ends we have an option to stay at the waterfront beachfront hotel and I recommend a couple of extra days post-retreat to process your experience.
Many of us did last time which I really enjoyed because it gave us time to talk about our journeys, paddle board, and just hang out.
Here are links to 2 of my posts from Mycelia last year if you want to get a feeling and read about my experiences there.
I recommend you check out Mycelia’s website where there’s more info. This is the website for Mycelia Retreat – https://www.myceliajm.com/
Mycelia was featured on Al Jazeera’s Mindset docuseries last week and you can watch it on their website or here’s the link to see it on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_DZwKOG1xA
I’m so excited as this will be my 1 year anniversary at Mycelia, and I hope you can join me 🙂 Feel free to reach out to me or Mycelia if you have any questions.
Went for another staycation last week. I visited and stayed in Tepoztlán again, and I love it there. Very chill with great restaurants and bars. I’ve heard that it gets packed during the weekends though. I prefer to visit places during the week when it’s not too crowded. That way you never have to wait for a table and there are plenty of Airbnb accommodations to choose from. This was our casa and it was great!
Checked in and took a stroll. We passed this beautiful cemetery…
Grabbed some food and I found this awesome cowboy hat to hide my bad hair days with 🙂
There is a bar called La Cueva – the Cave. It feels like you are in a cave made of trees. Grabbed some cocktails and in the end we ended up eating there too. Got a new cute kitty-buddy that I shared my meal (not cocktails) with. I know a lot of people think you shouldn’t feed dogs or cats in a restaurant, but I do because I just can’t resist them 🙂
Next day Ximena came down and we got some work done. First, test the lighting, and then action..
Lot of swimwear. I love working outdoors!
How awesome is this t-shirt?
Dayana came down and joined us. We headed for a late lunch at La Veladora. They have a pool area for hotel guests, good food and it’s very relaxing there…
There’s some great sculptures, and I tried to imitate one of them. Pretty accurate or what do you think?
Had time to chill for like 10 min and switch outfits, then we stopped by La Cueva again for pre-dinner drinks.
Dinner was at the Amomoxtli hotel. Been there before and it was great then. Now it was just meeh. Not very good service, but my Piña Colada was very good 🙂
Passed a local bar on the way back and decided to make a pit stop. It was packed with locals and you could order 1 liter beers and blue Smurf drinks hahahaa… Settled for some beers and Tequila shots.
When we arrived home we had these horses outside our place. Not sure if they were wild, but they were just strolling the streets…
Back home we felt like an after party. Unfortunately no one brought a speaker, but a coffee pot did a decent job 🙂
Next morning we walked to Cafe de la Milpa. It’s an amazing farm to table restaurant. You sit outdoors and they have a community garden there. I can imagine myself living like this in a few years with all my rescued animals 🙂
We worked on our tans by the pool for a bit before checking out. Then we headed to the main street in town. Lots of shops, restaurants and bars…
Or you can buy yourself some scorpion infused Tequila…
I wanted to do this hike up the mountain Al Tepozteco at the end of the main street, but there just wasn’t any time. Or energy I might add… There are some old pyramids up at the top and it’s supposed to be very cool. Next time…
Grabbed some lunch and I’m showing off my beautiful new bag I got from Dayana. And my Pussitive hat 🙂
The restaurant had the best painting so I thought I might as well imitate that one as well 🙂
I also got this mug after we finished the drink in it 🙂 I think the chicas on mug look like me & Dayana. Chicas Borrachas means Drunk Girls hahahaaa…
Found some leftover pics. All together it was a great little trip and it’s only about 1,5h from Mexico City so definitely go if you can 🙂
Best part about coming home is Hunter of course. He doesn’t think I need to work when I’m back so he plants himself on the computer, or just stares at me until I either feed him or go and take a nap with him 🙂
I went to a great event this weekend and went eating Colombian food and shopping with Dayana yesterday. I will make another post about it. Heading to a camera store now to look at cameras 🙂
