Sweet Escapes

Even though we are technically living our dream, there are times when we just need to get away. A place to escape, but somewhere where we don't have to go far. In cases such as these, there are two outlets that seem to fit our needs best. Earth Lodge for days and the MonoLoco for nights. Semana Santa was one of those times. While it was fun for a while, it also got to be a bit much, so we turned to the usual suspects.

Enjoying a peaceful afternoon high above the madness of Antigua at Earth Lodge.

Wild and crazy late nights at the MonoLoco, where everybody knows your name!

Catching Up

After a week of really great company, I find myself alone this peaceful afternoon with a bit of time to play catch up on my blogging. Please forgive my absence over the past week. I put the blog on the back burner and focused my time and energy on having fun with our visitors. As I sit here this afternoon, Brandi & Mike are on their way home, the laundry is drying out on the line & FINALLY room has been made for more photos on our over loaded hard drive, which means it must be time for some final thoughts on Semana Santa....only 2 weeks later! I last left you with some images of processions and alfombras early on in the week, but as Holy Week passed on, the crowds grew larger, the processions more frequent and the alfombras more elaborate.

Check out a little more of what we experienced.

First came the making of the alfombras.


And then of course the appreciating the alfombras (with lots of photo taking).

Processions happened all week long.




Both day and night.


With the crowds growing daily.


Always with Jesus first....

.....followed by Mary.....

.....and then the clean up crew!


And by Sunday afternoon, the crowds were gone and nothing was left but this.

Want to see & hear exactly what we did? Watch these.

Semana Santa Day from Krista on Vimeo.

Semana Santa Night from Krista on

Giggle, giggle, snort, snort

It was just another day strolling through the market when we stumbled across this.

Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. A pig's head.

How will anything back home ever compare to the ordinary things that we experience here?

I don't want to leave.
I love Guatemala.

Ready or Not

Here they come! Yay! Today we'll be receiving our very first non-family, non-work related visitors in Guatemala, Brandi & Mike!

We (or at least I) go way back with these 2. Brandi was my neighbor for the majority of my Pennsylvania childhood and Mike didn't live far away either. Then a few years after Ben & I moved to Denver, they also came to Colorado. Even though they lived a few hours away, we still got together whenever we could and Ben & I even spent the very first night of our Guatemala bound road trip with them in Glenwood Springs! After we left Colorado, they did too, so we're super happy to be able to hang with them again. They are always up for an adventure, so we're gonna give them one, Guate style!

Lemonade with a Twist

While whipping up yesterday's Coconut Cream Brownie Delight, I also decided to concoct a fancy schmancy lemonade to entertain guests. So here I am to share my secret recipe with you. Invite the girls over for a relaxing afternoon on the porch and you'll knock their socks off with this delicious combo!


1st mix up some Classic Lemonade:
1 1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use limes)
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
Stir in a pitcher until the sugar dissolves and add in about 5 more cups of water. Garnish we lemon slices and plenty of ice.

Now try this twist:
Lemon-Mint Cooler (add to the classic recipe)
1 c. torn fresh mint leaves
2 12 oz. cans club soda

But wait - you're not planning on having the girls over any time soon? It's ok, make some of these for a sweet treat around the house.

Lemon-Mint Ice Cubes
1 1/3 c. water 8 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp. sugar
a handful of fresh mint leaves

Combine the water, lemon juice and sugar in a small pitcher and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture into a standard ice cube tray and add 1 mint leaf to each slot. Freeze. Add to an glass of water, sip and enjoy.

Now if all this talk of summertime goodness has got to super exited, then don't fret. It's not over yet! Here are a few more variations on good 'ole classic lemonade that will be sure to schmancy up your summer days!

Tropical Lemonade
(add to the classic recipe)
2 6-oz. can of pineapple juice
1 12-oz. can of apricot nectar
2 12-oz. cans of ginger ale

Ginger Zinger
(add to the classic recipe)
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger - peeled & grated
1/4 c. honey

Farmers' Lemonade
(add to the classic recipe)
16 oz. fresh strawberries (stemmed and pureed)
1 c. heavy cream

Loco for Coco

A while back in Colorado, I across this recipe a while back in a Real Simple magazine of clipped it out and added it to my recipe scrapbook. I'm not really sure why we brought the recipe scrapbook along to Guatemala - we must have been thinking we'd have tons of free time to try out new recipes - but because it's here we do try to make use of it. A couple of months ago I was flipping through looking for a fast and easy dessert recipe when I came across berries in coconut cream. While I don't really love eating pure coconut, I do love anything that is coconut flavored. I remember having seen some Ana Belly Crema de Coco for just a couple Q in the Bodegona (our local grocer) and everything else I had on had.

Berries and Coconut Cream
2 lbs. berries (whatever kind float your boat)
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. cream of coconut

In a large mixing bowl, gently toss the berries sugar and lime juice. With an electric mixer (I did it by hand), beat the heavy cream and cream of coconut until soft peaks form. Serve with the berries. The first time we did try it with the berries like the recipe suggests, but there was so much left over we had to do something else with it. Hmmm.....well it was sort of like icing, so why not try it on top of brownies. It turned out great! Add a couple of sliced up strawberries and you've got a delicious, easy, breezy dessert! Since then we've served up this strawberry, coco, fudge delight several times.


I've tweaked the recipe just a bit too by adding the sugar and lime juice into the creamy mix. I love the citrus tang and plus it's a great way to use up some of our tons of limes that we always seem to have around. I was thinking about whipping up my specialty for any impromptu Semana Santa gatherings that may happen, but after a stroll through the market this afternoon I returned home without having scored my strawberries. Ben brought home a big bag of mangos the other day though (a gift from Otto), so maybe I'll slice them up and see if it's any good. I have a feeling that it is pretty hard to mess up coconut cream brownies!


Is all this talk about chocolately goodness making you thirsty? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on a little something to wet your whistle while chowing down on your coconut cream brownies!

Today is....

Today is super special.
It's the 33rd birthday of this guy.
This guy, who is still a ball of laughs 11 whole years after I met him.

Would you have ever guessed that he
is not just another young college dude?
(and if you can't tell, that is the butt of a monkey that he's pinching!)

To celebrate, tonight we'll be joining some friends at the Monoloco.
Hopefully we'll be having just as much fun as we did the night I snapped this photo, too!

Happy Birthday Ben!
I love you!