Ladies' Luncheon @ Palm Court Gardens

A group of we Ladies of Leisure met at Palm Court Gardens this afternoon. I have been to this venue several times now, but there were a few ladies who had not, so I was looking forward to sharing this pretty location with them. Our plan was to bask in the sunshine, enjoy the beautiful view of Basseterre Bay, walk the grounds, check out the Shell Works gift shop, chit chat, and enjoy lunch. However...the weather had different plans for us as soon as we arrived. After deciding to go sit outside near the pool to provide us with a nice breeze, we saw that a rainstorm was headed our way. Go figure. (And of course, it is currently bright and sunny as I'm writing this.) It eventually rained downpoured, and we had no choice but to move inside. And by 'inside' I mean into the actual owners' living space. The restaurant is designed for semi-covered, indoor/outdoor seating, but the the rain was spilling into every available seating area. Despite the rain and gloomy weather, we still managed to have a nice time...thanks to the staff who were very accommodating. 

The entrance to Palm Court Gardens.

I ordered 'rum punch' for lunch. I loved the conch shell-shaped glass. 

Normally, you can see the rest of the island from this view. Not so much in this photo. Instead, you can see the rainstorm slowly making its way towards us. 

I have a thing for chandeliers. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this one while we were inside for lunch.

Probably my favorite photo from this afternoon. From left to right: Tracey, Stephanie, and Tamsin, with their babies. As Stephanie mentioned, there must be something in the water. Good thing I ordered rum punch...

Tracey's Baby Shower

Yesterday, Tamsin and I threw a baby shower for our friend and coworker, Tracey. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon celebrating our pregnant friend, and her soon-to-be-born baby boy. The theme was anything ocean/beach-related, and we hosted the soiree at Silver Reef's outdoor pool.

Every guest brought either a dish or beverage to pass, so we ended up with enough food and drink to feed a small army. Or a bunch of hungry ladies and kids. Whichever. Anyway, I made 'Land & Sea' cupcakes, and they turned out really quite well. I stole was inspired by Martha Stewart's 'Shark and Beach' cupcakes, which of course I later pinned. I chose to make (from scratch), vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. My icing didn't quite turn out as 'wavy' as Martha's, but I got over that. Oh, and just so you know, they were very tasty!

I also stole found a freebie print set of Wishes for Baby cards on one of my Pinterest boards that I pinned a long time ago. I felt pretty awesome for actually making use of an idea I pinned!

As with all baby showers, we played a few games. Since we were hosting the beachy-themed party at a pool, I figured I'd incorporate our environment as well as our theme into the activities. We played Beach Ball Toss and Beach Dress-up Relay Race. No, I did not come up with the games myself. Haha. I found a list of them here. The guests seemed to think they were fun, and I didn't have to heckle them too much into participating. 

Overall, I'd say that everyone had a nice afternoon snacking, splashing, and seeing Tracey and her adorable pregnant belly. Only a few more months to go before Jaden Ty arrives!

The 'Land & Sea' cupcakes that I baked and decorated. Too cute! 

Shark fin!

'Sea' Cucumber Sandwiches.

Brainstorming ideas for the 'Wishes for Baby' cards. 

View of the pool and a few guests. 

Here I am, informing the girls on how to play the 'Beach Dress-up Relay Race' game. 

Here are a few of us playing 'Beach Ball Toss.'

Tamsin, Tracey, and me. 

The guest of honor and a few friends. 

Love for SKB.

There are ridiculous challenges and situations that go hand-in-hand with living on an island (that also happens to be a 'developing nation'). But...then I see views like these, and I fall right back in love with St. Kitts.

Stacey Visits Saint Kitts

I met my friend, Stacey, at Grand Valley State University in 2003. We lived next door to each other in the teeny tiny dorms on-campus, and became fast friends. Almost ten years later, we've maintained our college-initiated friendship, with quite a lovely history---if you ask me. We've been roommates, involved in each other's weddings as bridesmaids, and we've even worked together. However, these days we're forced to watch each other grow and experience life from afar...literally. 

After Stacey was married, she and her husband moved to Ohio, bought a house, and had a baby. A few years after Matthew and I were married, we up and moved to the Caribbean. While our lives have gone in completely different directions, it's always been easy for us to pick up wherever it was we last left off. So, when Stacey said she was planning on coming to visit me in St. Kitts, I was ecstatic! I hadn't seen her since New Year's Day 2011. I was really looking forward to reconnecting and catching up with her. And that we did!

She arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, and Matthew and I met her at the airport. Unfortunately, I had to go to work from 2:30-5:00 p.m., so I had to part ways shortly after our initial reunion. But don't worry—Matty kept her busy during the few hours I was away, showing her around, and giving her a brief tour. Once I arrived home, I made dinner, and we spent the evening catching up. We chatted about everything: work, school, family, friends, neighbors, sports, books, movies, current likes and dislikes—you name it. It was a great start to her vacation, at least for me. :) 

On Thursday, we spent some time at my friend's gorgeous infinity pool, and later that night we brought Stacey to Bombay Blues for her first Indian cuisine experience. Of course, we ordered her the butter chicken, bismati rice, and butter naan. NOM NOM NOM.

Friday was a busy day, but definitely fun. I brought her to Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor, Palm Court Gardens, Port Zante in Basseterre, and The Strip (for Friday night beach volleyball). We rounded out the night at Reggae Beach Bar for Lobsterfest, where we dined on lobsters the size of our arms!

Saturday was spent at Shipwreck Beach. We soaked up some vitamin D, went snorkeling, and enjoyed the beautiful island views. That night, even though semi-exhausted, we decided to head over to The Marriott. After the tour, we sat at the sports bar and enjoyed a few Caribbean beers, along with the live Calypso-esque music. We also took part in one of our all-time favorite activities: PEOPLE WATCHING. Free entertainment at its best, folks.

On Sunday, Stacey joined me and Matthew at our intramural flag football games. And she even participated! Afterwards, I drove her out to the peninsula to Spice Mill Restaurant. We had lunch, and then admired a lovely view of Nevis while out on our beach chairs. We had a late start to our 'beach day,' but it was still very enjoyable.

Monday was sad. It was sad because she flew off de island that day. But before I dropped her off at the airport and choked back my tears, we enjoyed one last lunch date at the The Marriott's Bohemia Beach Pool Bar & Grille. We even kicked off our shoes, and walked on the beach for a bit.

After lunch, we went back home, and I helped her pack. Then the inevitable arrived, and I had to bring her to the airport. It was a quick goodbye because I couldn't handle much more than a hug and a wave. I sobbed on my way home. Stacey coming all the way to St. Kitts to visit meant so much, and it was like having a small piece of 'home' with me for a few days. I loved being able to show her around, as well as introduce her to our island family and closest friends. We definitely squeezed in a ton of quality time, and I couldn't have been happier. What a blast!

@ Timothy Hill scenic turn-out.

We wear our sunglasses at night.

Stace posing by a Traveller's Palm.

Nice photo...except for Matthew's lovely addition.

Dressed and ready for dinner. 

@ Caribelle Batik

Jurassic Park.

@ Palm Court Gardens 

@ The Strip for Friday night beach volleyball. 

Go, Stace, go! 

Abby's Pool Day

My fellow desperate housewife and lady of leisure, Abby, is pregnant! Well, this isn't really 'new' news anymore, especially since she's due this month. However, we decided to have a pool day to celebrate both Abby and her baby girl. Bruce, from the Prep School, kindly hosted the soiree at the St. Christopher's Club's pool. You may recognize the pool from this previous post.

We are all so excited to meet Abby and Jacob's baby. I've been working on a few projects for her, and hope to complete a few more before she arrives. Oh! Forgot to mention that her due date is Feb 29th, but I have a feeling that she will be a March baby. Just a hunch. :)

Here are the photos from the pool day. I also included a onesie dress I refashioned and a ribbon blanket that I sewed especially for Abby and baby.

Momma Abby!

Here's the blanket. Pretty cute, huh? Abby and Jacob picked out the fabric back in the US, and I had the ribbon on hand.

Minky fabric on the backside. 

Abby gave me a few onesies that she felt were going to be too small for baby girl. So I cut off the bottom, sewed a tube of fabric together, and then sewed said tube to the onesie. End result: DRESS! 

I just love this print!

Swimming Lessons

On Tuesday, Diana and I decided to start swimming laps at her 'Crackhouse' Pool. Always looking for a way to hang out and to incorporate a little exercise into our lives, we figured that swimming laps would be perfect. We'd get to splash around in the pool, enjoy the sunshine, and burn some calories. It turns out that this was a great plan, and we're going to continue with this activity. We swam about 15 laps to start and then worked on perfecting our butterfly stroke and our flip turns. Oh yeah, we be gettin' nerdy in de pool.

And off we go!

Workin' on our butterfly stroke...LOL.

So proFESH.

Happy Birthday, America!

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, and although it's an American holiday, there were plenty of celebratory events on de island. Matthew and I headed to Elvis' Love Shack to play cornhole, hang out with some other students &VIPs, and relax. After a game of cornhole with Emily and Taylor, we decided to get some dinner and wait for the fireworks at Shiggidy Shack. However, after we finished our dinner, we decided to skip out on the fireworks show. We were told the fireworks would start around 7:00/8:00 p.m., but we factored in 'island time.' Needless to say, I did not feel bad for not waiting around.

Instead, we purchased some ice cream at Pizza Boys, (thanks for the treat, Yawgles), and headed to Emily and Taylor's apartment. This particular holiday is a big deal to the Yaw family, so of course, Taylor had purchased some fireworks at school earlier in the week. He was generous enough to share with Mateo, and off we went to the beach to watch the boys cause sparks and make noise. Woohoo!

By the time Matthew and I arrived home, it was almost 9:00 p.m. From all the running around on the beach, Matthew opted to use the plunge pool upstairs to cool down. The dogs and I joined him (minus the getting into the pool part), and watched the long-awaited fireworks from the balcony. It was a pretty nice showing...for St. Kitts. :)

The four of us at Shiggidy Shack for dinner.

Yes, that's a head lamp he's wearing...

Boys and fire...*sigh*