Bronson

After loving the film Drive so much, we decided to check out Bronson....another film from the same director.


It was really amazing!!

Running Songs: Part Deux

With marathon training officially beginning in a couple of weeks (just joined the LA ROADRUNNERS), I have been thinking about revamping my running songs playlist. I have been searching some running blogs for inspiration and have to agree with the masses that Eminem's "Lose Yourself" would make a pretty good addition.......damn catchy beat with a good build up for those inclines!!!

Here are some of my faves from the past couple months which will indeed remain on my list.:

LUPE FIASCO-Around My Way

This song kills it. Lupe has made the playlist at least 7 times with gems from 'The Cool', "Food and Liquor" and well, a couple from "LASERS' (was a sucker for that Trey Songs jam). Around My Way has me running fast and wanting more....cant wait til 'Food and Liquor 2' comes out at the end of September!!!!!!

JJAMZ-Heartbeat

Dreamy indie-pop that is perfect for taking things down a notch.

ST. VINCENT- Cruel

Fun, funky and at times mildly awkward but has a steady under beat that is good for maintaining consistent pace.

All those and more will be on my playlist for the 80's run over Labor Day. As I type, I realized I should add some 80's jams on the list in honor of the race theme!

Any favorite jams?

Harmony Hotel-Nosara

We stayed at the Harmony Hotel in Playa Guiones. While the area is definitely a surfer hotspot, there is also peace and relaxation to go around. And some good food to boot. The hotel restaurant had some of the best dishes I have eaten in awhile. The basil based salad dressing? Amazing. Fresh fish? Check. Homemade yellow spicy pepper sauce. Awesome. Ginger infused vodka! Yes! Many of the veggies/herbs etc are grown on site in their organic garden.

The view at the end of the jungle path from the hotel

Outdoor shower in our bungalow

Open air lobby

Organic vegetable garden in the middle of the property

Costa Rica: Playa Guiones

Yesterday around 9pm we arrived home from our Costa Rican Honeymoon. It was definitely not what we expected and there will be more on that in another post....specifically in regards to the whole Eco-Toursim movement. Now back to the post at hand: The town in which we were staying in was called Nosara, but after arriving, we realized that our location was more accurately placed as Playa Guiones. In Nosara, there are several 'Playas' or beaches. The closest to us were Pelada and Garza and each one has a few shops and restaurants associated. Our Playa, Guiones, seemed to be the busiest in regards to tourism.....there were several surf schools, hotels, a couple mini-supers (one of which was organic) and some tourist type souvenir shops. However, despite the previously described presence, the town definitely had a sleepy and quiet feeling. Shops and supers were closed by dark...in this case 6pm and some places were closed by 5. At certain points during the day, I could be one of just a few folks on the beach.....a drastic (yet welcome) difference to the crowds seen here in LA. Here are some snaps from Guiones:

Beautiful glass bottled beverages are at all the mini-supers

Casa Tucan: Home of some pretty noisy karaoke. Would
you believe it?

Beautiful Playa Guiones

A final beachside resting place in Guiones

Probably THE most accurate map of the area....
even GPS crapped out on us as we neared
the coast. Places do not have addresses but
rather are found based on their proximity to popular
businesses or landmarks. 

Jungle growth over headstones