Packing List Part 2

It's getting chilly out and I cannot wait to go home! I arrive the island of enchantment on December 13th and Ryan gets there on the 20th. So exciting! RSVPs are starting to roll in... Have you started to pack your bags???

I forgot a few things on my first "Packing List" blog. Some more thoughts:

• Shoes: Aside from a nice pair to go out and for the wedding, make sure you bring good sneakers for walking and sandals for the beach. You will see Puerto Ricans are obsessed with crocs so don't be afraid of wearing your most colorful pair. Also, if you are visiting a river I strongly recommend you get water shoes. If you don't have a pair you won't have any trouble finding a cheap one at any Walmart, Walgreens, K-mart, or any grocery store in the island. BTW, the biggest chain of grocery stores in the island is AMIGO, owned by Walmart.
• Electrical outlets/wattage is the same as the mainland, so no need to pack a converter.
• Your swimsuit! Hotels have towels and most of the vacation rentals provide them also. But I strongly recommend you double check with your vacation rental office.
• Your camera!
• By now I think that most cellphone providers work from Puerto Rico and don't charge roaming or long-distance. For sure: Sprint and AT&T work fine.
• If you have a portable GPS you should bring it. That being said, some rural roads in Puerto Rico tend not to be on them. Your invitation should have arrived with a map. Bring that with you!

Feel free to contact me if you think of anything else. You can find pretty much everything you buy in the states down in the island so don't stress too much if you forget to pack some essentials!

Food

Authentic Puerto Rican food is a blend our Spanish, African, and Indigenous heritage. You will also find a lot of Cuban influence. The aroma that wafts from kitchens throughout Puerto Rico comes from adobo and sofrito -blends of herbs and spices that give many of the native foods their distinctive taste and color. Adobo, made by crushing together peppercorns, oregano, garlic, salt, olive oil, and lime juice or vinegar, is rubbed into meats before they are roasted. Sofrito, a potpourri of onions, garlic, coriander, and peppers browned in either olive oil or land and colored with achiote (annatoo seeds), imparts the bright-yellow color to the island's rice, soups, and stews.

Make sure you try one if not all of our plantain dishes: mofongo, tostones, maduros, arañitas, etc. Rice and beans are also common staples. Some popular meat dishes are fried beefsteak with onions and roasted pork.

Street vendors are very popular. My godmother Connie jokes that you can do all your groceries without even getting out of the car. By the beach you will find vendors selling Alcapurrias, scrumtipus fritters, usually made with a batter of taro (yautia) and plantains, and are stuffed with either meat, crab, shrimp, or lobster. Puerto Rican-style arepas, which are nothing like their South American counterparts, are pastry patties made with wheat flour and deep fried until flaky, with a crunchy, bubbled surface. Bacalaitos are another very traditional Puerto Rican fritter, made with rehydrated and de-salted cod mixed in with flour batter. The best place to try all these delicious food is the 60 Kiosks of Luquillo, which are a long stretch of street vendors by the beach. This is a great stop after visiting El Yunque.

For breakfast, you must find a bakery and try the quesitos, which are twisted pastries filled with cream cheese. Mallorcas are a buttery bread grilled and sprinkled with powdered sugar, which can be eaten plain, with butter, or any combination of ham, egg, and cheese. Any kind of bread you try in Puerto Rico will be amazing. Any bakery will offer the staples: pan the agua, used to make sandwiches like the famous Cubano and pan sobao, which is a little bit sweater and softer. Finish up your breakfast with cafe con leche, a coffee beverage consisting of a strong or bold coffee (sometimes espress) mixed with scalded milk in approximately a 1:1 ratio, or a cortadito, a shot of espresso with a squirt of steamed milk. By the way, no matter the time of the day and no matter how hot it is outside, Puerto Ricans finish up their meals with a cup of coffee. For the most authentic breakfast experience visit La Bombonera in Old San Juan (259 Calle de San Francisco, 787-722-0658).

One note on Puerto Rican etiquette, as you are sitting at a restaurants, you will notice that strangers that walk past your table will say "Buen Provecho". This means good eating.

Restaurants I recommend you visit:

For Authentic Puerto Rican Food

Raices Restuarant in Old San Juan

One of our favorites.

Barrachina in Old San Juan

The birthplace of the original pina colada.

Bebo's Cafe in Cupey and Santurce

For Cuban Food

Metropol, locations in San Juan, Hato Rey, Guaynabo, and Isla Verde

Something different

Tantra in Old San Juan

Fusion of Puerto Rican and Indian food.

Wasabi in Condado

Sushi with a Puerto Rican twist!

Perurrican in Guaynabo

Fusion of Peruvian and Puerto Rican cuisine.

Invitation RSVP

So, did you get your invitation yet? Did you love it? When they went to buy the materials for the invitation, the woman at the store could not believe that Lydia had designed them!

Now that you've received your invitations, there are three ways to RSVP:

• Calling one of the numbers that appear in the invitation RSVP card.
• E-mailing us at pearsonacevedo@gmail.com.
• Or, the easiest way if you are reading this right now: go to http://pearsonacevedo.googlepages.com/rsvp and fill out the online RSVP form!

We cannot wait to hear back from you. Only 89 days left before the big day!

Invitations are Out!

Invitations went out tonight! I have to send a big shout out to my mother, father, my godmother, my brother and my friends Lydia and Lorena for making this project possible! You see, Lydia designed the invitations, assembling was a team effort, and Lorena addressed all of them. So when you get your invitation know that it comes with a pinch of love from the most special people in my life.

I won't show you the final product just yet... But here's a glimpse of the assembling process! Enjoy!

Lore and Lydia: My chosen family. I'm blessed to have these wonderful women as friends.

Mari, my confirmation godmother. She was also my Calculus teacher in high school.

Even my brother helped!

My beautiful mother.

Lorena

Lydia

The before picture..... come back later this week and I'll show you more!!

Packing List and Airport Security stuff

With the beginning of Fall I thought it is a great time to go shopping for deals on summer clothing and accessories. I put together a packing list of sorts. Enjoy!

I'd recommend of course bringing sun glasses or any sort of hat to shield you from the Sun. The weather in Puerto Rico is warm year round so bring pleanty of cool clothes. Having said that, no matter how steamy the weather gets, Puerto Rican locals will not wear shorts. Puerto Ricans dress nicely when eating out, regardless of the restaurant. They even dress well when going to the grocery store. This does not mean that people wear formal wear, but they do dress well. Some people wear jeans when going out, but they are paired with dressier tops. You will very rarely see a woman wearing a t-shirt. So if you plan to go out at night, you may want to bring a nicer outfit, along with a nice pair of shoes.

For the wedding the most important thing is that you are comfortable in what you are wearing. It will be a semi-formal wedding. This is a little tricky because like I said before Puerto Ricans love to dress up, and the Puerto Rican definition of semi-formal is slightly more formal than semi. Because there is a good chance its going to be warm and humid and the reception is outdoors, I would stay away from fabrics like satin or taffeta that don't breath well. Some people have asked me about the protocol for a Catholic wedding and if a specific attire is necessary for entering a Church. I think that as long as you are not wearing a JLO style V-neck you'll be fine. The Church is air-conditioned (you will find Puerto Ricans love air-conditioning and keep rooms really cold) so I would definately recommend a shall or light cardingan in case it gets chilly during the ceremony and at night.

For toiletries, sunblock, etc.. bring as much or as little as you feel comfortable. In Puerto Rico you will find a Walgreens, a Wal-Mart, or a K-Mart in every corner so you will not have any trouble buying basic necessities at an affordable price. If you are bringing toiletries with you, don't forget the 3-1-1 rule airport security has for carry-ons = 3.5 ounce bottle or less (by volume); 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic zip-top bag; 1 bag per person.

Speaking of airport security, if you are checking bags on your way to PR, make sure you save your receipt. You will have to show your receipt to security on your way out of the airport and they will verify the receipt matches the tag on your bag. They are pretty strict about this rule.

Also if you are checking-in bags on your way from PR, the USDA will have to scan your bags before you enter the airport and tag them.

Hope that helps!

Invitations

Invitations are ready! More pictures coming soon!

Y como siempre, al llegar a un final, tambien llegamos a un principio

The title is Spanish for "As always, when we arrive at the end, we also arrive at a new beginning". I read this quote in the newspaper when I was in eight grade and it has stayed with me since. It happens that I always find it true. Every time I arrive at the end of a stage of my life, I always start something new.

As it happens this time, I just finished the first semester of my MBA at SLU. I was really busy with school, which explains the lack of postings lately. In the end it was all good. I'm happy with what I've learned so far and I've met wonderful people along the way.

And, of course, during my last weeks of class we closed

on our new home! We've been doing some work... putting drywall in the kitchen to replace an ugly recess ceiling, painting, buying new furniture and decorating. We are having a lot of fun making this little house our new home. Below are some pictures of the progress so far. I will keep updating as we finish the projects.

Kitchen Ceiling Before

Kitchen Ceiling After

Also, in the last couple of weeks, we booked our honeymoon. I have to go to Hong Kong for school from January 2-13. Ryan will meet me in Hong Kong and we are taking a 14-night cruise around South Asia, including Vietnam, Malasia, Singapore, and China! The cruise is called Costa Classica, and it is an Italian brand. We are so excited for this trip!!!! :D