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Happy New Year

julie comfort — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:53:57 +0000

TOP TEN THINGS WE'VE ENJOYED MOST ABOUT BEING BACK IN THE STATES:
1. The Family. All 35 of them.
2. Movies in Movie Theaters. Popcorn. Uncomfortable seats. Surround sound. Noisy whisperers. Endless trailers. All that stuff. Pure bliss.
3. Snow.
4. Whole Foods.
5. Great Steak.
6. Soft sheets and a firm mattress.
7. Fast wireless.
8. New York, New York.
9. No mosquitoes. At least not this time of year.
10. Paved roads.

TOP TEN REASONS WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK TO COSTA RICA:
1. Warm weather.
2. Sunny beaches.
3. Swimming every day.
4. Our friends (our family away from family)
5. Fajitas at El Castillo.
6. Getting back to work.
7. Riding our bikes.
8. Monkeys howling in the yard.
9. Reading in the hammock.
10. "Nanny time."

Happy New Year. 2008 will be hard to top, but we're gonna do it anyway.

Happy Holidays

julie comfort — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:51:16 +0000

Between packing, moving, shopping, traveling, and partaking in the holiday festivites, I plan on being a bad blogger for the next three weeks or so. But as soon as we return to Costa Rica we have some fun shoots planned and I look forward to posting those in January. We will also be making an exciting announcement about the future of Comfort Studio sometime after the 12th, so stay tuned.

We will be spending the holidays in New Jersey, hoping for snow, so Tully can discover the joys of sledding, snowball fights, and building real snowmen. Hopefully we will get into the holiday spirit once we arrive there on Monday, because it's pretty easy to forget it's even December here. Aside from the occasional strand of twinkling lights, there are very few reminders that Christmas is upon us. We don't watch a ton of tv, but it seems that even the over-the-top bombardment of Christmas commericals is at a minimum this year. Plus we both grew up on the east coast and have come to associate holiday season with fuzzy hats and mittens and fires in the fireplace. Not much of any of those things in these parts.

I hope everyone enjoys a lovely and cozy holiday season with friends and family. Warmest Wishes from all of us at Comfort Studio. I have a feeling 2009 is going to be the best year yet.

The Lagarita Fiesta

julie comfort — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:35:25 +0000

Part fair, part rodeo, and part dancy party, the small town fiestas that happen every weekend leading up to the holidays are pure Costa Rican enjoyment. All the locals come out to celebrate, eat, mingle, sing karaoke, get down, and in the case of the men, show off their bull-dodging-while-intoxicated skills. We were lucky enough not to witness any gorings, though we've heard tales... As per usual, we had the camera in hand documenting all the local flavor. The color images are Joe's, the black & whites mine.*

*This one color shot of Tully chowin' down on a caramel-stuffed churro is mine, too. And yeah, it tastes as good as it sounds.

Eight-headed Tully

julie comfort — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:00:14 +0000

It's quite possible I have too much time on my hands these days.

Giving Thanks

julie comfort — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:22:52 +0000

22 adults + 9 kids + 4 dogs + an $85 turkey + 2 football games + 40 beers + 1 birthday cake = a Costa Rican Thanksgiving.

Let me introduce you to Surfside's most eligible bachelors...

Catch 'em while you can, ladies...
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Kale

julie comfort — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:08:37 +0000

I had the pleasure of doing a portrait shoot the other day with Kale, who is nearly two, and just a bundle of energy. I chased him around the grounds of the San Jose Marriott snapping photos and enjoying the company of him and his parents. I captured tons of pictures of the back of him as he was nearly constantly running, but I did get a few good ones of his adorable face.

Gabriella

julie comfort — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:02:43 +0000

New Blog Feature

julie comfort — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:05:02 +0000

I've received a few inquiries about purchasing images seen on the blog, so I'm excited to announce a new blog feature that will allow you to buy fine art wall prints of select images on this blog. They make great gifts and wonderful souvenirs from your trip to Costa Rica. Just click on the "Buy This Print" button under the image to be taken to our web store.

And if there's an image you're interested in from previous or future posts that doesn't feature the option to buy, just post your request in the comments and we'll add it to the store.

Granada, Nicaragua

julie comfort — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:02:45 +0000

We just returned from three days in the lovely city of Granada in Nicaragua. Interesting fact: Granada is the oldest city in the Western Hemisphere. Smelled like it, too. But we had a nice time, ate some impossibly inexpensive meals, (and some questionable ones), and visited more old timey churches in one day than I have in the rest of my travels combined. We even took a horse carriage tour of the city. Muy divertido.

Lost in Costa Rica, Part II

julie comfort — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:43:36 +0000

Yesterday we had a perfect day. We took off heading south making our first visit to see what Tamarindo was all about. We passed through, taking note of the abundant variety of restaurants and shops lacking in our tiny town, and feeling satisfied that we had seen the place without ever leaving our car, we continued South along the coast, following signs (when available) to Playa Avellanas. We did take one wrong turn on the way and the road suddenly ended at a security gate (???) so we turned back and eventually found ourselves at a little parking lot on the beach where a group of surfers were unloading their boards. Tully was asleep in the back and I felt we should just head on back to the main road and keep going toward Playa Negra, but Joe insisted on getting out of the car for a minute to check out the beach.

I'm so glad that he did. What he found was the perfect little beach hideaway, the lovely Lola's. It's a simple beachside restaurant with hand carved wooden tables and chairs scattered among the shade, hammocks strung up between palm trees, large pieces of driftwood artfully arranged for relaxed lounging, and of course, Lola herself, a giant spotted pig wandering the grounds. It was paradise... with a bar. We chose a table closest to the seaview and ordered some delicious bocas (appetizers), smoothies, and beer and spent a blissful couple of hours before we made the quick drive home, soaking wet (thanks, Tul).

I also thought this was the perfect place for a wedding, so if anyone is looking for an off-the-beaten path, romantic, and beachfront locale for an intimate wedding, definitely check this place out. I don't even know if they do weddings, but they definitely should. I was also thinking that I would love to shoot an engagement session here, so if any of my future clients are willing to take a few hours out of their day for a little side trip, I promise it will be worth your while. I'll drive, and I'll even buy the beers. Just sayin'.