Spice it up!

I wonder how hot these little suckers will be...?

Shooting the shoot..

Heres one more from the video shoot yesterday, of Quiana getting a shot of the clients hair... I wish I would've taken an "after" photo as the end result of the girl in the pink was incredible! 

Indulgence Promo Shoot

This morning we shot the long-awaited promotional video for Indulgence Salon and Spa. Quiana, a fantastic photographer on St. Croix is beginning to shoot videos now and so we had her come in to do her first one here at Indulgence. I was the bridal hair model, so you'll see my wedding dress there in the background :-)

I cant wait to see how the video turns out!

Just because...

Someone posted this picture of Facebook this morning and it was too funny to NOT share. Maybe St. Croix's new fashion? Lets hope not.

Thanks Irene :-(

The beautiful arch that Geoff had been working on - ruined.

Trees are still standing, but not the stove...

Goodbye eggplant bushes...

We made it through Irene safe and sound. Unfortunately, our plants didnt.

It really was a surreal 24 hours - the storm kicked in around 6pm on Sunday night (St. Croix was on lockdown curfew as of 6pm), and I was even on skype with mum at the time... by about 8pm, the winds had picked up so much that we had to bring everything inside - our BBQ, motorbike parts, furniture etc. Water was coming through our shutters, so we had to pull all the computer parts away from the window area.

The generator was going non-stop until 2am, when it died on us, and after several attempts at fixing it, Geoff wasnt able to so gave up and went back to sleep.

The next morning, the skies had cleared but the wind was still really strong. I took the day off but Geoff went to work - the roads were very quiet... as we didnt have running water, I "showered" in our pool, where I even washed my hair.

After an announcement was made on the radio that water and ice supplies were running really low, I made a beeline to the grocery store to pick up a few gallons of water.. there was only about 12 left on the shelves. As for ice, it was already all sold out. Generators - same deal.

After about 28hours with no power or water, we finally got it back - and were lucky that only our dairy in the fridge had gone bad by that stage.

Its kind of worrying to think what may have happened if the storm had've been bigger. For an island that has lived through Hugo, with 6 -12 months no power, no fresh food, months of looting and violence as a consequence of such a big hurricane, it really surprised us to see that St. Croix was not more prepared. Sure, Irene was nothing compared to Hugo, but it could've been, and 12 hours after it hit, there was barely any drinking water left available? We've learned our lesson with not relying on a generator or doing a grocery shop a day before a big storm, but hopefully St. Croix will learn theirs too.

Watch out St. Croix

It is eerily quiet this morning. If it wasnt for the weed-wacker, I think I'd still be asleep. The birds are quiet. The trees arent even swaying in the wind. The sun is shining but I'm not hearing any cars starting up for a beach day.

Irene: due to hit St. Croix today, late afternoon or evening. This is going to be a big one, and possibly build up to a hurricane by the time it reaches Puerto Rico. They're predicting 7-10inches of rain for us, with 20 inches by the time it reaches Haiti. Poor guys, they cop every one bad.

If we're out of cell phone/internet touch tonight, you know why. Keep your fingers crossed that our crops wont be destroyed!!

Guineps

This morning on our walk, Alpie and I came across a guinep tree! This little fruit with its intense sweet-tangy flavor in native over a wide area of the tropics, including South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and parts of Africa and the Pacific.

To eat it is interesting. The skin (rind) is easy to crack open, and then you slide the whole fruit in your mouth (about the size of a big marble) and you just keeping sucking it for a few minutes until all flesh eventually comes off and you're left with a pit. Yes, to eat even five of these is extremely time-consuming... a good weekend fruit :-)

Success!

Our first home-grown watermelon turned out to be a success! It was super seedy, but very juicy, I'm looking forward to the next few that are already growing. Unfortunatly we had another that was ripe - and surprisingly YELLOW inside, but our landlord got it with the weed whacker. :-( 

Reminisce

One of my yoga buddies, Tamarah just opened her restaurant this week in one of the most beautiful areas of St. Croix, Queens Quarters.

Reminisce Restaurant - I've been following the lead up with the growing of their own veggies and herbs, raising their own chickens, hoops they had to jump with getting their business licence and the hiring of wait staff.. and today was their long-anticipated open house!

We enjoyed a variety of drinks, including a Cruzan coffee (espresso, Cruzan rum cream, chocolate and whip cream) and a Guava Mojito (Mojito with guava puree and guava rum) as well as this delicious seared sesame ahi and a caprese salad.

We wish Tamarah and her hubby all the best in their new business endeavor and will make sure to spread the word! Thank you guys for a great afternoon!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reminisce-Restaurant/119598464792418

STX Food & Wine Experience

Throughout my job hunting, I was linked with Sara, the organizer of St. Croix Food and Wine Experience, which is named one of the best 10 Best International Food and Wine Festivals by Forbes Travel and is also one of the biggest events in the Caribbean!
After several weeks of emailing back and forth, we finally met today at Polly's, a cute little cafe on the west end of the island. Over coffee, we got chatting about work and volunteering possibilities for the event - which most of you know would be right up my alley with my background, education and passion for food, wine and events.

We're currently discussing a possible role for me in the social media aspect of marketing...yay! :-) I am a self-confessed Facebookaholic and more than anything staying in touch, connected and up to date with everyone (hence this blog). 

I am sooooo excited to begin taking part in such a prestigious event not in the catering side of things this time, but actually in the marketing field!
http://www.stcroixfoodandwine.com/

Tropical Storm Emily

The last six days, Caribbean islanders have been holding their breath, watching the forecasts and getting everything strapped down and prepared for Emily - the first of the major storms/hurricanes of the season.
My friend Vicky, who lives on a boat together with her boyfriend in a Marina, took the last week off from work to get everything ready in case of a hit, and locals have been swarming to supermarkets to stock up on canned and dried foods.
Let the season begin.




***Update*** Emily passed south of us, giving St. Croix a wild night of thunder, lightening and LOTS of rain. Fortunately nothing was destroyed other than our basil plants.. our pride and joy :-( 
Haiti, unfortunately lies directly in Emily's path.