I’ve got to say, Nosara was way more my jam than Tamarindo. It was much less touristy and much more cute/chic/my vibe. That being said, Nosara was definitely still a tourist driven spot, but not the bad kind of touristy. If that makes sense..
ANYWAYS.
New vlog! From, you guessed it… NOSARA!
This was for sure my favourite part of the trip so far. The boutique hotel we stayed in was called the Vivo Nosara Hotel and it had the besttttt little brunch cafe on site. We had the smoothie bowls EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. because they were so good. The staff was kind enough to make me custom smoothies that didn’t include the approximate 56329 ingredients that hurt my stomach.
Ha… ha… ha…. kidding. But not at all. My stomach sucks and basically all the things hurt it.
I DIGRESS.
Meaning to say that the team at Vivo Nosara Hotel was awesome and worked with my ridiculous dietary restrictions.
Anyways, we had a great stay. I share all the best things to do, eat, see, and where to stay in further detail in the vlog above!
Make sure you give it a thumbs up on YouTube if you enjoyed the video! 😄
Well folks, there we have it! My very first vlog all the way from Costa Rica 🙂 Let me tell you, it is VERY likely that my hair will be in braids like this for every video/photo/whatever for this whole trip. The humidity does NOT do fabulous things for my mane.
I mostly just look like Monica from Friends when the crew went on vacation lol!
ANYWAYS,
We spent the first few days here in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. It is definitely a super touristy town with prices comparable to Hawaii… I KNOW. Who would have thought.
But it was still very beautiful and we had the best time. Watch the video above to see what Tamarindo looks like and what I did on day numero uno! (That’s me practicing my Spanish 😉 )
Writing to you now from Nosara, and omgggg is it ever amazing here. Vlogging today so I will have you fully updated in a few days. Still learning to edit these dang video thingymabobbers and it takes me a while lol!
Anywho, I gotta go. Ya girl has a date with a fresh fruit smoothie. #romance
The last week of my life has been consumed by two things:
1) fighting with my 9 year old laptop which is dying a shockingly fast death lol, and
2) preparing to MOVE TO COSTA FRIGGIN’ RICA!!!
Like, what?
I can’t wait to post my first instagram from Costa Rica with the caption “NEW NUMBER WHO DIS.” I’m such a loser. This legitimately excites me. You heard it here first folks.
Nobody steal my caption. #originalthots
Want to know the full juicy details on Costa Rica? Watch the video above and at about 6:45 mins I get my life together and tell you wtf is going on and WHY I am moving to Costa Rica!
This is what’s happening. Next week, I shall begin my Costa Rican adventure. And ya’ll are coming along for the ride!! This girl is finally semi getting the hang of vlogging and Ima film the whole dang thing.
I will also have a new laptop so the technical difficulties experienced this past week will hopefully be reduced to a minimum. 🔥
OK BABESICLES 🍦
I’m off to go watch some sort of trashy tv show. Haven’t picked my poison yet. But it’s gonna be minimal on the intelligence high on the entertainment value.
CANT WAIT TO BRING YOU TO COSTA RICA!!! Is this even happening?!?!
tbh I was super proud I got those two birds in the shot
Road trippin from Santa Monica –> Vancouver
Hello hello! If you follow my instagram stories (if you don’t, shame!!), you already know I have been on an epic road trip from Santa Monica to Portland for the last few days.
It was been a TON of driving (total driving time is something like 26 hours) but we have seen some pretty amazing sights. Pictured above, obviously. 😝 We drove part of the California coast, and part of the Oregon coast. Honestly I had no idea half the stuff we saw even existed so close to home! Girl was like 😍😍😍 for most of the drive.
I am writing to you from Portland, Oregon. We spent my bday night here last night at The Nines Hotel (highly recommend, the inside of this place looks like a Tiffany Box which OBVIOUSLY makes me v happeh) and went around and did some beer/cocktail tasting. There are so many “micro” and “nano” breweries here it is hipster heaven.
Anywho, today we are driving from Portland –> Vancouver which will definitely not be as scenic, so this will probably be the last of the photos I share from this trip. If you have ever driven from Portland to Vancouver (Canada) you also know it is a pretty borrrrring drive. Luckily, Troy (bae) and I have my beautiful singing talents to entertain us for the drive. LOL. I’m actually the worst at singing. Like, the worst ever. 😭
BUT!
We are stopping in Seattle today, which means I will likely hit up Din Tai Fung (aka the best Chinese dumpling spot everrrrrr) for some Xiao Long Bao. If you know what this is, you know what’s good. Basically Xiao Long Bao is a traditional soup-filled dumpling from Shanghai that is just TO DIEEEE FORRRRRRRRRRR. THEY EVEN HAVE TRUFFLE FLAVOURED ONES!!!! (Not excited one bit.😁) Anywho, follow instagrammmm for updates on my dumpling journey. I will likely post about it here too because dumplings = life. 😊
Well my dear friends, this would be the vlog for you!!! (Oh god I sound so salesy… but whatever, if I ain’t gonna sell my DOPE ASS VIDEOS, who will?! #realtalk.)
Anywho, this was a photoshoot I did with my dear friends at And Forever More Photo in Joshua tree, where we wore some stunning Anthropologie dresses. (Didn’t even know they had a line!) It was my first time visiting Joshua Tree, and oh my god IS IT EVER BEAUTIFUL.
My eyes could not handle all the beauty in Joshua Tree. So so so real. I really want to go camping there… and just like, be at one with the nature with a nice espresso martini in hand. That’s how you camp, right? RIGHT?? 😅 I would be great at camping. I know it. 😉
MOVING ALONG.
Joshua Tree. Bridal shoot.
Just to clarify, this was not MY bridal shoot, this was a creative shoot I modeled for. Saying this because I shared a photo on my instagram story and got a few crazed DID U GET MARRIED?!?! messages.
Lol so no, not married…. yet. 😉 JK jkjkjk.
Funny fact about me? I am not superstitious about anything but wearing a ring on my wedding finger. For this shoot my friends were talking about whether or not I should wear a fake engagement ring and I was like guys we CAN’T.😱 I have this weird voodoo belief-thing that if I put a ring on that finger I will never get married. 😂
#Logic
I told you… I’m weird. Anyways, was low key thankful I didn’t have to wear a ring for this shoot because, #cursed!!!
hahah
Kidding.
Anyways, hope you enjoy the vlog! If you do, please click into youtube and give the video a big thumbs up. You can think of it like a virtual hug.
xoxoxo,
PS: My boyfriend literally picked cactus pricks out from between my toes in this vlog. I really want to show you ALL sides of my life. Not just the pretty and insta-worthy ones. ❤
Yayyyy I love it when James Manzano and I work together on videos. His videography skills are like 100x better than mine, and his edits are SO DOPE.
With that, you should watch this vlog of mine from Vancouver! James absolutely killed it with the editing, and I had a really fun day that day. So yah, check it out.
K I NEED A MOMENT HERE FRIENDS.
I need to talk about my belated Valentine’s Day yesterday. 💞
If you aren’t into mushy gushy stuff, probably just go watch the video above and stop reading now.
Okay back to my moment. 😂
So Troy and I decided to not to Valentine’s Day on the 14th, because 1) it was a Tuesday, and 2) the restaurant scene is a hot frigging mess that day. Not a fan.
Sunday was our decided Valentine’s Day date. Troy planned the date and refused to tell me anything outside of: be ready at noon, it’s going to be a “mind-blowingly-awesome” date.
I was like KAY I LIKE ALL THOSE THINGS. 😄 Ready at noon I shall be.
The date started by us driving up the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara. We stopped for lunch along the way. But the drive itself is the real highlight here. Some of the most beautiful oceanfront is along this drive and it was prettttyyyyyyy. 🌊
Once we arrived at Santa Barbara I still have no fing clue what we are doing. Troy proceeds to tell me we have dinner reservations later at some mystery restaurant. I’m like k but what NOW THO..
Turns out, until dinner we would be WINE TASTING! 🍷🍷🍷
Something about me to know, I fucking love wine tasting. It fuels my soul. And I’m like, really really good at it. hahaha. I was so happy. It was awesome.
We tasted away, and got progressively more drunk as time went on. I embarrassingly documented this on my instagram stories but what else is new. I have no shame.
It’s time for dinner and Troy had to drag me away as I was begging to “pleaaaaaseeeee just do one moreeee!!!!”🍷I was having fun, don’t judge my alcoholism. You know how it is. 😉
He managed to get my away from the vineyards to go to this little Japanese restaurant. It had (hands DOWN) the best Japanese food I’ve ever had. And you know me, I like to eat a LOT, and am super picky about quality. This place, was the SHIT. (Like the good ‘the shit’ not literal shit.)
Anyways it’s one of those fancy shmancy restaurants where they have one set menu, and that’s it. No a la carte bs here. This is what we serve, and you will like it.
OBSESSED.
I am 99% sure I was making inappropriate groaning noises super loud through the entire dinner and other people were looking at me and wondering wtf was going on.. BUT IT WAS SO GOOD. Just thinking about it now I want to drive back up there and relive the experience. 🍲 🍥 🍣
If you are interested, the restaurant is called Yoichi’s. If you are ever in Santa Barbara, GO. Trust me on this one. You will love it.
****Disclaimer: the entire meal was delicious, except for the desert. Major fail on their part because after such an over-the-top amazing meal, they should have finished strong. Still would go again tho cuz everything else was unreal.
Anyways, thank you Troy for a fabulous belated Valentine’s Day. I love you and appreciate you. ❤
Ok going to do my laundry now, and go to bed. Was that weird I told that whole V day story here? LOL jk nothing is weird here at this point.
Ah yes, here it is friends! My official travel vlog from Lake Tahoe. I love this because I feel like I get to have you along with me on my trip. Much more personal 🙂
We skied a total of 3 days, and I give my reviews on all 3 mountains local mountains we tried: Northstar, Squaw, and Alpine Meadows. Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places, and there is nothing quite like traveling into the nature for a few days.
If you guys like this vlog, it really super helps my content get shown through the YouTube algorithm if you throw it a “thumbs up” and/or leave a comment! 👍🏻
More importantly, it helps me learn which videos you like the most. 😊
I need to go to sleep meow, because I am meeting a friend for an early morning hike tomorrow. FITNESS AND SUCH. 💪🏻
Last night we arrived home pretty late from our ski trip to Lake Tahoe. It was one hell of a great trip. Tried to snap as much as I could on my instagram stories, but I was so happy just skiing and enjoying life that I actually kind of forgot about instagram for a hot minute.
THE HORROR. 😱
I. Know.
It was legit a like a day, but I missed doing my usual snap-everything-I-see-and-do routine. 😝 Also there was barely any service, not because we were in a super remote location, but because I have what is likely the worlds shittiest cell carrier lol.
I digress.
Our trip to Lake Tahoe was abosultely amazing. We were there for 4 days and did 3 full days of skiing. I was a happy little clam indeed. ☺
We stayed in a condo right at the base of Northstar Ski Resort, which were as ski-in-ski-out as it gets. Literally about 6 ft between the base of the ski hill and our front door. Not too shabby at all. 👌🏻
Throughout the trip we actually skied on 3 different mountains.
DAY 1: NORTHSTAR!
Northstar is pretty flat, but a really chill fun mountain. The pictures of me getting loose at the champagne apres above are at Northstar. They do a pretty epic champagne toast at 2 pm every day.
Like, YES PLEASE?!
So if you are novice/intermediate skiier or an advanced skier who likes to be lazy, this is the mountain for you.
DAY 2: SQUAW
I can’t EVEN with the name of this one. Like, just say it out loud… s q u a w….. Not the prettiest. BUT, the skiing here was super fun! Lots more terrain and a bunch more challenging runs. So you aren’t sleeping half the time while you are skiing. lol.
DAY 3: ALPINE MEADOWS
Also so great! A variety of terrain here, so it’s good for any level of skiier. My only complaint would be the food was so nasty it was almost inedible. And it was hella expensive. Not impressed. I mean, all ski resorts are way overpriced but at least you expect the food to not look like something served at a federal prison. You know? I don’t ask for much. Just edible.
And of course, I was vlogging this whole trip! So I will share the video in a few days so you can get some visuals on all these different mountains. Really excited about this vlog, because you really get to come along with me on this trip. Pretty awesome.
Time to go start getting ready for dinner. Tonight I am making some sort of mushroom/quinoa/arugula concoction that I will 99.99% be insta-gramma-lamma-ing. Stay tuned if you’re into that kinda thing. 😜
A quick hello from Yosemite. We arrived yesterday just in time for sunset and were able to catch some gorgeous magic hour light here. ✨
Legit to get this photo Troy and I were RUNNING through the forest like a couple of wild hoodlams to get to the spot where the sun was still shining (shit was rapidly setting) and scraping our knees and falling all over the place.
(I’m crazy, fully aware lol)
Mid run we realized there was a path just a few meters to the right of us, where the normal not-psycho people were walking to get to the same spot.
TYPICAL. 😂
I mean, whatever right? If it takes running through a thick forest to get “the shot” before the sun sets… gotta do what you gotta do.
Maybe this is why everyone hates millenials… hahah 😆
Anyways, Yosemite is INCREDIBLE. We really didn’t have enough time to actually explore the entire park, as we only arrived shortly before sunset. Way way way too much to see even in a whole day. So we are planning a proper 3 day trip or so in the summer to go back and see everything that Yosemite has to offer.
I might even camp. 😱 A slightly horrific and wild thought, but it might happen. At least it would make for good comedy lol.
For the short while we had to enjoy Yosemite yesterday, I honestly could not have been more impressed. There is just no feeling in the world like realizing how tiny and insignificant you and your problems are. Hahah really though! When you are sitting at the base of this majestic cliff, it honestly makes your problems seem SO insignificant. Because you realize how small you are in comparison to this rock, and even this universe.
OK that got real philosophical. Not typically my style but the mountains give me alllllll the feels. ❤️
Moving right along….
*Awkward cough*
…
Today we are in Lake Tahoe!
We are staying in this dope condo in the North Village, and though there isn’t a lot of snow it is still fun fun fun. Nothing makes me happier than being in a ski village, and obviously skiing.
It is my sport, my life, my love. If you are new to Skinny Belle, I actually grew up downhill ski racing (aka those weirdos in the spandex suits who race around the poles in the snow) so this is really the only sport I am good at haha! Wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Ok off to go bother Troy (bae) and make him come with me to get my ski bindings adjusted to my new boots. As one does.
I feel like Venice has a bad reputation. Or, just the wrong reputation. In my not-so-humble opinion. 😜 lolz
When you think of Venice, California, you probably think about the boardwalk, tacky t-shirts, hot dogs, and just straight-up weirdos. 😣That, ladies and germs, is NOT WHAT IS UP.
You can see that ridiculousness in about t – 5 minutes and then you will be good for life. I promise.
This vlog is all about the great side of Venice. The stuff you actually want and neeeeeed to see. Venice is the freakin’ best! It just tends to get a little misrepresented at times by the tourism industry.
Oh yeah, and we got into a fight part way through the day hahaha. I included a bit about that. Because there is nothing worse than people pretending everything is peachy-keen when it’s not. Sometimes, while touristing, you have a little spat. It happens. Then you move on and get some prosecco. LOL! Watch the video, you’ll see what I’m talking about. 😉
