The Añasco Tower is a fun quick stop to make when you drive into Rincón on the 115 that offers gorgeous 180 degree views of the sea. A great place for a photo shoot too! Check it out some time on your drive in to town!
Tada! Torre de Añasco and a little tree pose for ya
Looking to the east toward Mayaguez -Check out the Flamboyans!
And to the west around the Rincón Peninsula
B and Me
Last Monday we attended and I participated in the 2nd Annual Rincón Hot Sauce Contest. It was a pretty rainy day, but cleared up quite a bit toward the evening. I competed with a mango-jalapeño sauce that was somewhat similar to my award winning sauce, Hot Kiss, from last year. I gathered and used the mangos that continue to grow and fall from the huge tree above our cabana.
Some mangos and jalapeños
I also made another cute label. This time the sauce was called Mango Jalapeño Tango.
Britton says they were “salsa” dancing 🙂
Considering the rain and cooler weather there was a pretty decent turnout. We had fun trying all the different salsas. Of course there were some that were just too hot for my taste and took a whole can of beer to wash the burning sensation away!
Set up at the Rincón Balneario
¡Cuidado!
We hung out for quite a while. We even saw our neighbor and his uncle hanging out at the Balneario bar. I had him come over to the event and I think he regretted it. His face turned bright red after eating the burning peanuts. I tried to warn him to only have one peanut but he ate about 3! Pobrecito!
Our neighbor José on the far right turned the color of Britton’s shirt after eating the pique.
Later that evening the psychedelic/rock punk band Blacks en Tela played live and we enjoyed hanging out and hula hooping. About half-way through they tallied all the votes and announced the winners. I won 1st place for best label art and 3rd place for best flavor overall! Not too shabby! (You can find a full list of the winners at this page.)
Jamie, Trina and I were three of the winners and we won these great tie-died shirts
It was also the evening of the summer solstice and we saw a beautiful sunset before the full moon. Overall a fun, fantastic evening. Thanks Frances and Greg for all your hard work in putting this together!
A fiery end to a fiery hot sauce contest
We recently went to one of the most beautiful weddings we’ve ever been to of some wonderful friends. We are so happy for them! It was held right on the beach by the Marina in Rincón and the reception was directly adjacent at the posh restaurant, La Copa Llena.
Awesome tropical decor
Fun, friendly guests!
The beautiful and happy bride and groom! We love you, Tommy and Juni!
Once you are married, you can’t help but think back to your own wedding whenever you go to a wonderful wedding like this. We also thought about our honeymoon to Puerto Rico that ultimately brought us full circle here.
Take a long gander at this man in pants! First time he’s worn pants out in nearly 3 years! Wonders never cease! We can actually clean up from time to time! haha
The food was a delicious modern take on Puerto Rican cuisine
And we danced the night away!
The gorgeous bride and me! Someone said we looked like sisters. What a compliment!
This was our first wedding we attended in Puerto Rico and it was fantastic! It’s pretty cool for them to have a “destination wedding” right where they live! Congratulations to the bride and groom!
This is part of a series on finances. Here’s Part 1: How we live on just $1000/month.
Living in a super tiny indoor space (and a park-like outdoor space) as well as having a careful budget, has really helped to understand what is important and what is not. It has helped me to weigh in whether or not this or that purchase is really worth those valuable dollars, resources or space. In 300 square feet, even a new pair of shoes can take up a pretty large amount of real estate. As I have discussed before, many of our modern problems could be alleviated by simply not buying as much stuff! And we subscribe to this philosophy quite a bit.
But sometimes in this modern landscape we do still need to buy things. This is a point when you need to be careful where your dollars go if you are serious about becoming financially savvy and financially independent. But there can be lots of temptation and marketers that would have you believe that spending gobs of money is the only way for you to get your goods. I recently saw an ad posed as an article in a magazine that made me laugh out loud.
Do you see what I see?
At first glance it seems innocent and common enough. There is a list of the must-haves for going to the beach: Laura Prepon’s supposed picks. A tote bag, cover-up, bangle bracelet, bikini and wide brimmed hat. What made me laugh though, was when I totaled up the cost of these items: $298 for the tote, $98 for the cover-up, $75 for 3 bracelets, $225 for a bikini top and $150 for a bikini bottom, and $40 for the hat. Or a total of $886! And that is not including tax which in Puerto Rico would be about $102! So around $1,000 just to wear very little to the beach?!
What’s in Cassie’s beach bag?
It got me thinking about my beach gear. Like Laura Prepon, the swimsuit from Marshall’s was the most expensive item at $25 (and both the top and bottom! Imagine that! You don’t have to choose whether to go topless or bottomless -haha). The hat from Me Salvé was $1.99. The tote bag I’ve had for about 15 years and I think cost something like $15 back in the day. The cover up I recently got at a clothing swap, so essentially cost me just cleaning out my clothes that no longer fit me (this is the best idea ever! -thanks Ocean State of Mind!). Regarding bracelets, for one thing I don’t wear any jewelry to the beach, but I just threw them in to be comparable. The green one I got at Kohls in Greeley for about $2 and the bead one was a gift from my momma (thanks Mom!) that I think was something like $10. For a grand total of $53.99! With tax that would be about $60 total. Quite a difference especially when you look essentially the same as if you had spent what the magazines want you to think you need!
Are you beach ready at $60 or $1000?
So be careful what you buy and be careful what you read. Sometimes just reading or watching things like in magazines, catalogs, TV, internet, etc can make you want things that you would never have thought about before and also plant in your mind a sort of normalcy for spending outrageous amounts of money. Remember, if you are seeking financial freedom, your dollars are your freedom fighters so use them wisely! And while bargain shopping can be a game in and of itself, the truly best way to save money (not to mention the resources it took to make the items!) is to not spend it!