Pirates Week: Parade and Doughnuts

Saturday morning we signed the lease for our one bedroom apartment in Lime Tree Bay. It's finally official - we have a real "long term" home! We move in next Sunday, which gives us five days to get settled before our first visitors arrive. I can't wait to fully unpack and get rid of these boxes once and for all!

That afternoon we made smoothies and sandwiches and ate them poolside. Then I took a nice little nap on my stomach...a very dangerous mistake! I was feeling it the rest of the weekend! We went grocery shopping before the parade since stores are closed on Sunday and Monday was a holiday. Unfortunately this took a little longer than expected and we missed the first part of the Pirate festivities. Apparently the pirates land their ship in Georgetown, fight the governor's men, then take the governor into captivity. As tradition holds, they will have rule of Grand Cayman for a full week before the governor is freed and banishes them for another year. So we missed all that, but got there just in time for the parade. My pictures aren't awesome, but Jenn has a much better account (and pictures of the governor's capture) on her post if you want to check that out.

The pirates ship docked in Georgetown:


Colorful floats and dresses


This was kind of an interesting float. A guy dressed up as a woman teaching a group of children?


On Friday we had these amazing mini homemade doughnuts at one of the local vendor stands downtown. Jenn was disappointed they weren't there again but Brent said my family made doughnuts for Fallapalooza this year and it didn't seem too hard. So on the way to Jenn and Nate's apartment, Brent and I stopped to pick up some biscuits (they didn't have original so we got Butter, Reduced Fat Buttermilk, and Southern Style). When we got to the apartment we totally took over the kitchen - Brent even wore Jenn's apron!

Confident chef...or not so much?


Getting ready


Our first attempt was a disaster - as soon as Brent dropped it in the pot it turned BLACK. Conclusion - oil too hot!


We decided to scale down and do our second attempt with a doughnut hole...


Shaking it in sugar


Pulling it apart...still a little gooey but getting closer!


After perfecting the doughnut holes, we graduated to another full size doughnut. This one was perfect!


Nate took some of the holes and put chocolate chips inside. Chocolate Logs (aka "Chocolate Dogs") = pure genius


Nate, so proud of his creation


Finished product. Isn't it beautiful?


Feeling pretty confident now - two at a time (plus four chocolate dogs)!


J&N already have their second guest visiting! Erin worked with Nate back home and is staying with them Saturday-Wednesday. We had a great time getting to know her this weekend!


We had a lot of dough left over (three rolls of dough was too much for five people, go figure). We only opened the Butter and Reduced Fat Buttermilk, but between the two I recommend the Reduced Fat. Still not sure what Southern Style means...maybe an adventure for another day!


For more pictures, you can check out my Pirates Weekend gallery. Still two more posts coming - Sunday Fun and Boat Trip Monday!

Pirates Week: Fireworks

As I mentioned in my last post, this weekend kicked off Pirates Week 2010. I don't know much about the history of Pirates Week, but I do know people love to get into it! Friday night was the first Fireworks celebration (there's another one next Saturday). Brent and I headed downtown not knowing what to expect. It was packed!


So many kids and adults dressed up as pirates filled the streets. There was also a costume contest and a pageant going on, which we caught glimpses of as we waited for the fireworks to start.


The fireworks show was surprisingly impressive. They went all out for the finale!


Obviously someone was enjoying the show :)


After the fireworks we met up with Jenn and Nate to check out the local food vendors. Most everyone had the same thing - BBQ chicken, lobster, shrimp, conch, turtle stew. Brent and I shared a plate of conch, and Jenn and Nate got some very "interesting" looking curry goat and chicken (you can check out their blog post for pictures). We stopped at Diary Queen on the way out, then hung out at our studio for a bit. I got to talk to Sarah and Garret on Skype for the first time, which was so fun! It was a great start to our three day weekend!

Home Is Where Your "K" Mug Is

Several people have expressed an interest in seeing our temporary home - the studio apartment in Lime Tree Bay. The owner had another showing on Wednesday, so after I cleaned up a bit I thought I might as well take some pictures. Here's the grand tour!

Sarah got Brent these great "K" mugs for his birthday. Just having them on the counter really does make it feel more homey!


The next shot shows more of the apartment than you might think! Straight ahead is obviously the kitchen, to the right is the front door, the closets to the left hold the stacked washer and dryer, and just out of view on the left is the bathroom.


The studio is beautifully furnished. I loved it as soon as I walked in. Unfortunately the one bedroom we are getting is not quite as "finished" looking. It's pretty basic as far as furnishings go. People have said that they can't wait to see how cute I will make the apartment, but I really have no plans to decorate or buy home stuff. These next two years will be a lesson in living simply!

The bed, which you can see in the bottom-right corner of in the picture above


Across from the bed is the TV (below). Brent BUILT this desk for me! I'm so proud of him! I spent my first day in the apartment working at the kitchen counter on a barstool with no back. It was so painful, I brought the patio table inside for the rest of the week! We got this desk at Uncle Bill's (kind of like Lowe's). It has a matching hutch too, but we are waiting to assemble that once we get in the one bedroom (the box was leaning up against the counter in the first picture).


It's funny what we find acceptable on this island. We would never get a pressed wood desk like this back home, or get a car made in 1996. But the goal here is to keep it simple and keep it cheap. It's actually pretty freeing to not be caught up in "stuff." Further evidence that I have let all decorating sense out the window - we bought one pink and one blue towel yesterday (his and hers). Not white! Not matching! I must have lost my mind.

My favorite part of the studio? Ta da!


We eat every breakfast and dinner out here. Since we've had cooler weather recently, I have turned off the air and just kept the door open all day. We sleep with it open too. I will really miss this once we move in the one bedroom without an outdoor area.

A quick peek at the bathoom and the tour is over. Not much to see, but it's home (for now)!


This week was SO much better than last week. I don't know if it was just getting settled in the studio or back in a routine, or maybe me just deciding to have a better attitude. But the week flew by and living here is starting to feel normal. One thing that's really helped...getting back in the kitchen! Making homemade quiche and muffins, what therapy.


I am also loving being able to walk to the grocery. Cost U Less is right across the street. I think I have gone 5 out of 6 days this week. Yay for avoiding needing a car!

I took these outside pictures of Lime Tree Bay this morning. LTB is right on a canal...perfect for docking the jet ski we hope to get this weekend!


Pool overlooking harbor


Pool overlooking gym and office (tennis courts to the left)


Pool overlooking our soon-to-be apartment (yes, that's our unit on the right!)


Unit #60 - we sign the lease (hopefully) Saturday


The gym, another great on-site amenity that keeps me from driving (praise the Lord)


So that's "home." I'm sure more pictures will come over time and after we move into the one bedroom. And hopefully family and friends will come visit and see it in person! Two weeks till Jess and Ben get here!

This weekend kicks off Pirates Week. It's a national festival for Grand Cayman. Each section of the island (Georgetown, West Bay, Bodden Town, etc) gets it's own Heritage Day. There are fireworks, races, parades and street dancing competitions. I'm pretty excited! Brent also gets Monday off for Remembrance Day (like Veterans Day). Hooray for three day weekends!

Happy Friday everyone!

Where's Walter?

Brent's sister Lorren just uploaded some pictures of Walter on facebook. Don't worry, he's in good hands...

Eating Out and Weekend Fun

As I mentioned in my last post, we had dinner at Deckers Grille and Lounge last Thursday night. This was such a fun place! Great covered outdoor eating area, live music, pretty lights. The food was amazing as well. I forget the exact name of Brent's meal, but it was something like pork ribs with bacon wrapped pork tenderloin on top (lots of pig!):


I got Caribbean Lobster "Mac n Cheese" which was Mascarpone, Havarti Grana Pedano Creame Sauce, topped with Homemade Bread Crumbs & aged Cheddar. YUM!


These pictures were taken with my point and shoot. Since it's not as zoomed in as my 50mm lens, we were able to get a classic arm-out self portrait:


Jenn and Nate's first guests arrived Thursday night, and we got to see them a couple times this weekend. We went out to eat at Calypso Grill Friday night. I didn't take any pictures during dinner, but I stole this one from Monica's facebook.


The desserts were amazing. I got chocolate bread pudding and Brent got Sticky Toffee Pudding, which is a traditional British dessert you can find at several restaurants on the island. It lived up to the hype!

The owners of our studio apartment are trying to sell the unit so they had an open house on Saturday. We had to be out 8am-1pm, so we crashed at Jenn and Nate's. They made a big breakfast for everyone and then we sat out by the pool.

View from Jenn and Nate's living room:


The weather this weekend was really different. We had a pretty "chilly" weekend by Cayman standards. About 75 degrees and SUPER windy. It felt like fall! It's not the wind from tropical storm Tomas, but it's the north wind that is pushing the storm away from us. The ocean was so choppy and rough. In our first three weeks here, I've only seen it smooth as glass so this was really something. You can see the waves a little in the picture above.

Hanging out by the pool - too cool to take off our pool cover-ups!


Thanks for sharing your friends this weekend, Jenn and Nate! It was so great getting to know Megan, Geoff, Monica, and Robby!

Hotel Life and Some Week 3 Updates

Hello hello! I'm so sorry that it's been 6 days since my last post. This week has been crazy busy for us. We stayed in the hotel an extra two days while we tried to figure out the housing situation. The realtors weren't able to get a hold of the Lime Tree Bay apartment owners. We found another one bedroom in the complex that was just as good, but not available until Nov 21. So we needed to make a short term plan. Luckily we also found a studio apartment in Lime Tree Bay that was available for the months of November and December. We asked if we could rent just through November and they agreed. So at 11pm Tuesday night we moved most of our stuff into the studio. We slept in the hotel that night and moved the last couple things at 6am Wednesday morning.

We are now (sort of) settled in our new home. We are not fully unpacked since this is yet another temporary arrangement. It's a little discouraging to still have unpacked boxes and things without a "place." But the apartment is beautifully furnished and has an awesome outdoor patio so we are liking our little home. And I can't say enough how HAPPY I am to be in Lime Tree Bay. I'm so glad we held out for it. On Wednesday we finally heard back from the first one bedroom, so we put in another offer on Friday and are once again waiting to hear back. We lowered our offer this time because the second place we saw was the same price and had an enclosed patio. But we liked everything else about the first place so wanted to try there again first. We'll see what happens. Who knows where we will end up!

I meant to write a little summary post on our life in the hotel but I am just now getting the pictures uploaded. We get a lot of comments about how incredible it is that we live in Grand Cayman, and for the most part that's pretty true. But here's a glimpse at the not-so glamorous side...

First the boxes.


We picked these up our 12 boxes at the beginning of our second week in the hotel and they stayed stacked in the living area. Good thing we aren't claustrophobic people! Funny side note - when we got boxes from the Kroger in Cincinnati, they only had feminine hygiene ones left. So most of our boxes have tampon and adult brief brands on them. How embarrassing!

Here's my computer set up...not too shabby.


We've shared pictures from some of the fancy restaurants we've been to, but not every meal can be that ritzy. I got this vegetable lasagna from Cost U Less and we had it a couple nights. A little runny but overall pretty tasty. A typical hotel night would consist of us eating dinner then climbing in bed to watch Community Season 1 on the laptop as we eat Haagen-Dazs straight from the pints (Brent always gets pralines and cream and I've gotten dulce de leche and vanilla caramel brownie).


(Side note - see that KFC cup Brent's holding? We went to KFC one night the first week and Brent saved the cup and kept it filled in the fridge the rest of the hotel time. I think he liked having a straw? Not sure.)

Our pathetic fridge. Let me break this down for you: half eaten lasagna that's uncovered because we have no foil, jar of jelly, bag of baby carrots, and Brent's gross KFC cup. Then there are some stolen ketchup packets in the door compartment. We ate so much peanut butter and jelly during these two weeks! I was so happy when we moved into the apartment and got - yippee - tuna!


We did have a palm tree out our window, which was nice. Not something I saw too often in Cincinnati...


One of our last days at the hotel we decided to go down to the pool and order fun drinks. This is the grill where we ate breakfast every morning:


Check out the hot pool boy:


Brent's piña colada


My Cayman Mudslide (so delicious)


Now we are settled in our studio apartment and getting into a routine. This week has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. The studio is very nice, but still not a permanent situation. I'm such a homebody...I'm having a hard time living without a real "home." There's been a couple weepy moments this week. I have been dwelling on the things I miss in my Cincinnati world - my nice home office, my fully stocked kitchen, the outlets in my bathroom, a grocery store I know my way around (and I know will stock milk every week) - instead of the awesome things we will only get to experience here.

There were some really great moments this week too. Brent and I went out to eat on Thursday to a restaurant called Deckers. We had a wonderful time together (yummy food too - I have pictures to post later but they were on my point and shoot). We decided to set aside a date night each week to enjoy each other and the fun Cayman restaurants. I love this idea because it will be great to have date nights already built into a routine that we can continue once we have kids. I also got to use the Lime Tree Bay gym three times this week, and spent Friday's lunch at the pool. Laying in the sun I was reminded how privileged and blessed I am to be living on an island. Instead of stressing about the uncomfortable parts of living in a new foreign land, I should be embracing this once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

Sand Volleyball Tourney

Hey everyone! It's Brent here writing a quick post about our fun island activities. My first day at work was last Friday at the annual "beach day." This is an 8 team competition of all PwC employees in the Cayman Islands and is a mix of sporting events, races, wacky tasks, and even some drinking games. The competition lasts only about an hour and a half and the remainder of the time is spent socializing and playing sand volleyball. I haven't played sand volleyball in years (if ever), but I had a great time. So, when I heard there was a sand volleyball tournament the next day, I decided to get involved.

Katie came along to soak up some sun and snap some photos, like the ones seen below. That's me in the (very) colorful shorts.

Nice form, right?

Sacrificing my body

The backward bump

I'm pretty sure I hit this one out of bounds - can't win 'em all.

After Katie set the camera down, she was invited to rotate in the game. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of her, but she played along and did a GREAT job. She was a really great server. She always got the ball in play when she served and she had a great time. Very impressive for someone with very little volleyball experience. I could not be more proud of her. Also, she unanimously won the most encouraging player award, what would you expect?

It was a day filled with sun that was followed by an afternoon nap. Saturday evening, Katie and I went to Jenn and Nate's apartment to check out their amazing new place. We had pizza and watched some TV shows. Every time we hang out with them we realize how similar we are and spend most of the time laughing. It's a lot of fun.

We are having a great time on this island and we both agree this is going to be a good adventure. You can look forward to the next post because we should finally know where we are going to live by then.

Thanks for reading. Love you all.