Bruce

This is Bruce. His face is permanently grumpy, but his personality is so sweet. He's a little shy when he meets people, but when he warms up he is a big mush. He barks in his sleep. His favorite way to lie down is the sploot. His hind legs aren't the greatest due to a neurological issue but he is in no pain and he loves to play and walk.

He mostly grunts and sounds like a pig. He likes to sit in my lap sometimes and look out the window. He is afraid of the street cleaner and garbage truck, but not of vacuums or hair dryers. I have to clean his face 4x a day and he hates it. He is a Shih Tzu but his butt fur is curly.

We're not really sure how old he is! One vet said 2-3 and another said 6-7. We don't really care either way because he is the best dog. We're so happy to have him and you'll probably be seeing his face a lot more often on this blog and on my Instagram.

Travel Recap: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Our little trip to Puerto Rico was so lovely. The food, the people, the colors. We really loved it there. We spent a full 5 days there and stayed in an Airbnb close to Old San Juan and Condado. Here's a recap on the things we did/ate/saw. Click to expand the pictures!

Shoutout to my friends Jillian & Aimee who sent me their recommendation on San Juan!

 

3 Things to Do

El Yunque Rainforest: We did the 4-hour (there & back) hike to the top of the rainforest. Gorgeous views and the trails are well-kept! We kept trying to look for coqui frogs, but we could only hear their little chirping.

Bioluminescent Kayaking: We did this the same day we did the 4-hour hike and we were very happy-exhausted by the end of it. SUCH a cool experience kayaking in the pitch-black. Although, do check the moon calendars. We had a bright waxing quarter moon and it definitely made a difference in the visibility of the glow.

La Factoria: There is a wine bar speakeasy behind the bar, and another salsa-dancing room behind that. We were there a bit early so we didn't get to go to the salsa room, but the wine bar was really cool and they have their own menu of wine cocktails.

3 Places to eat

Kiosko Luquillo: A good place to grab some food before heading out to Luquillo beach.

Deaverdura: Get the sample platter! You won't be disappointed. Get some rum coconuts while you're at it too.

Kasalta: Breakfast sandwiches on mallorca bread. Still having dreams about it.

3 Things to See

Old San Juan & El Morro: A beautiful and well-preserved city. The colors of the buildings made my heart happy. El Morro is also very impressive and the views are great!

La Cueva del Indio: We were hesitant to check this out since it was an hour drive from San Juan, but we were so glad we did! It's basically a small series of rock formations and caves on the coast that you can climb on and it was breathtaking! Not a bad side trip. An hour to get there, an hour climbing around, and then an hour drive back.

Condado & Condado Beach: A fun area to walk around. Lots of restaurants and good people-watching. The beach is really nice, but the waves are a little strong for me! I would recommend Pine Grove Beach if you'd like to swim.

Bonus

I almost forgot! If you like art, you should go to Museo del Arte. It's small, but filled with a beautiful mix of classic and contemporary art. And the grounds in the back are lovely too.

 

Hope you enjoyed my little recap! We really loved San Juan/Puerto Rico and probably would go back. 5 days were perfect for our trip, but we would've like to visit Culebra and Vieques as well!

Snaps from Puerto Rico & Some Thoughts

Here's a little preview of our trip to Puerto Rico! What a beautiful, colorful place. A longer blog post about our trip will be coming next week and (possibly) a little vlog-style video.

To be perfectly honest, I've been having a hard time coming back to work and making art, a theme that began before we left. This is a little hard for me to share as this simple concept has sort of wrecked my mental health (but I'm getting help for it).

If there's anyone out there who's struggling like me, I would say to them: don't be so hard on yourself. Put down the social media and stop comparing yourself to others. Everyone's style of work is different and it doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you get there. And trust yourself that you will get there.