I turned 30!

On November 14th I turned the big 3-0!! Because 30 is the last, big, milestone birthday I'll be having for a while (10 years?) I decided to go big. I forced 5 friends to go to Sayulita, Mexico (my favorite place)  with me for an entire week to ring in my new decade.

My birthday was on a Monday, but Sunday night at midnight we rang in my birthday with beers by our private pool and swimming and some super cute 3 and 0 sparklers Beth brought from home and the happy birthday song, of course!

Monday morning we made breakfast at the house (beans, rice, peppers & onions with runny eggs and Cotija and avocados on top and fried plantains on the side with coffee, yum!) and all ate together at our outdoor table. It was kind of cloudy that day but still really warm and I wanted to go to Secret Beach (AKA Playa Los Muertos) which is basically my favorite place that exists and I wanted to swim in the ocean and since it was my birthday everyone was on board with whatever I wanted to do which was the best. So, we grabbed some beers and towels and books walked to Secret Beach to spend a few hours playing in the waves, climbing rocks, reading books and buying more beers for 15 pesos from the pop-up beach bar.

^^Walking to the beach on my birthday^^

 ^^Me on my 30th birthday on a rock at Playa Los Muertos, Sayulita, Mexico^^

 ^^Pt. 2^^

^^Beth getting surprised by a giant wave^^

 ^^Josh in the ocean at secret beach^^

^^Holaaaaa! I'm on top of the world!^^

When Beth and I were swimming in the ocean at Secret Beach we kept seeing all these little bubbles in the water and we got totally freaked out. Turns out they were schools of little fish swimming up to us and then jumping out of the water to feed/try and eat us (obviously). It was borderline terrifying but also the funniest thing ever. We floated in the waves and laughed for like an hour and it was the best. It was exactly what I wanted to be doing on my 30th birthday.

When we started to get hungry the girls minus Katie (Me, Beth, Emily and Kylee) walked into town to The Real Fish Taco to get octopus tacos, margaritas and guacamole for lunch at my request.

^^Birthday Octopus Tacos, marg and guac^^

After lunch we went back to the house to hang out for a little while and then eventually shower and get ready for the evening. Before heading down to watch the sunset from the beach, all the ladies took a shot of tequila and Josh took a picture of our shot of tequila (thx Josh!!).

^^corralejo shots for the ladies on my bday^^

We rented a big, beautiful house for my birthday complete with a private pool(!!) which was so amazing. It was a block and a half from the beach too, which was great. Every evening while we were there we would grab beers from the fridge, walk down to the beach and watch the amazing sunsets. On the night of my birthday (which was also the night of the Super Moon!!) we walked down to watch the sunset and saw a crowd of people. We obviously walked over to investigate and we found that a nest of baby sea turtles had just hatched and were making their way to the ocean! BABY SEA TURTS AND I SHARED A BIRTHDAY BECUASE OF THE SUPERMOON AND IT WAS THE MOST MAGICAL THING! And because of the crowd of people surrounding them, none of them were eaten by birds and they all made it to the ocean and I feel like I have a v special connection with them. XO baby turts!

 ^^I was SO EXCITED to see the baby sea turtles^^

 ^^Go baby turts, go!^^

^^Look at how presh they are!^^

After all the baby sea turts made it to the ocean we settled in on a blanket to watch the sun set. Because it had been cloudy all day the sunset was gorgeous!

 ^^Transport me back here, please?^^

 ^^Sayulita birthday sunset^^

 ^^beach babe selfie (terrible)^^

 ^^Best friend, me, best friend in law^^

^^The Chicas!^^

After the beach there was more tequila and a speaker phone call to my parents (thanks for giving birth to me, but Katie has just poured me another shot of tequila, so I have to go, LOVEYOUBYE!!) and another tequila shot for the chicas!! And then there were street tacos that cost like $3 total for all 6 of us and were sooooo delicious (shot out to Kylee for taking us there) and more shots and this CRAZY "shot" that my "friends" got for me that was on fire and poured over a bunch of glasses that cascaded down into a bowl and the bartender threw this sand stuff at it which made it spark and the fire go crazy while everyone in Mexico sang happy birthday to me with the lights out in this random bar, and then I drank the shot through a straw and it was giant and hot and sooo strong and then I was drunk.

 ^^Shot #2 for the chicas^^

^^Birthday selfie with Beth^^

After we finished our amazing tacos and I finished my bowl of warm fire water we went to the swing bar to sit on swings and drink more (WHY?) and be warm outside in the middle of the night in November, because Mexico!! It was so good! Kylee also walked down the street and got us churros from the churro stand to share which was perfect. Fresh churros! Birthday goals, you guys!

^^Swing Bar^^ 

^^chicas on a swing^^ 

When we decided to move on from the swing bar, we said goodnight to Josh and Katie who were a little drunk and tired. Beth, Emily, Kylee and I then went to Don Pedros which was hosting a salsa night. Don Pedros was right on the beach which was great and when we got tired of watching the salsa dancing and taking a million terrible selfies we walked onto the sand and finished our beers next to the ocean.

^^Super sober, obvi^^

At that point we were all fairly sloshed and tired so we started walking home. Beth and I spotted a taco stand, so knowing it would help our hangovers the next day, we grabbed tacos to eat back at the house. Then, about 10 steps later, we drop the tacos on the street. Again, super sober. So we go back, get more tacos, eat them sitting on the ground on the side of the road, walk home, chug water, probably drunk text anyone who will pay attention to us since we finally have internet and pass the fuck out.

^^Street tacos on the street, which puts my birthday taco tally up to 3X!!^^

Miraculously my hangover the next day wasn't even terrible. Mexico, you so good to me! xo

It was everything I'd hoped and dreamed for my 30th birthday and I'm so thankful to all of the people who flew to a different country to celebrate with me for a whole week. Friend goals, birthday goals, and motherfucking life goals... am I right?!

Cheers to 30 years, babes!

The best things we ate in Sayulita

As I mentioned in my Sayulita overview post, I wanted to do an entire post about the food in Sayulita because it was mind-blowingly good. After our driver picked us up from the airport in Puerto Vallarta, he took us to a big grocery store so we could stock up on some essentials (water, beers, margarita supplies, guac supplies, yogurt, eggs, etc.). Katie and I agreed that if we were to do it again we'd get definitely have the driver stop at the store again, but next time we would get more water, maybe more beer and no food (ok that might be a lie, we would maybe get the guac supplies again). The food at the restaurants in Sayulita was soo good and so cheap we ended up eating out and eating delicious Mexican food (I will never tire of Mexican food, it was a dream) for almost every meal (minus yogurt before yoga a few days). We did, however, do a good job going through the alcohol and water at the condo! Spring break, woo!

There were so many good places to eat in that tiny, beautiful town. I figured I would break them up by BEST OF categories. A bunch places we went didn't make the list at all because either (a) they were good, but not amazing, or (b) I couldn't remember the name (looking at you, taco place in the alley with the sketchiest bathroom ever according to Katie, but with great tortillas and quesadillas and tacos). I think that Katie and I were pretty much on the same page with all of these recommendations, although I didn't consult with her before publishing (sorry Katie). We spent a lot of time in Syulita talking about what the best food was though, and I think she would agree with most of the below!

SAYULITA 2016 BEST OF (FOOD):

BEST TORTILLAS:
Mary's: Mary's, oh my goodness. There are not enough good things I can say about this place. It is the best restaurant in Sayulita, and once we discovered it, we went here every day. Their tortillas were mind blowing. Thick, warm, handmade, and had the best flavor. If someone could teach me how to recreate those tortillas I would be forever grateful. YUM. They made the perfect wrap for a chili rellano, hugged a taco in the best way and were even good at breakfast!

^^Tortilla dreaming^^

Yeikame Traditional Mexican: Blue corn tortillas that were thick and delicious and I want to eat them every day. I was super full at the end of our meal and still somehow found room for one more tortilla (see below, NOM). I woke up my first morning back home craving these tortillas. Not anything else, just the tortillas. Also, when we ate here for dinner on our last night (mistake waiting so long) our 15 year old server gave us 2 free shots of house tequila (each). And it was good. We partied it up on our last night. Killing it!

^^Salsa sampler at Yeikame along with a shrimp tortilla. It should be noted that the white cubes of cheese in the sampler platter were super delicious too, but the tortillas really stole the show!^^

 ^^Blue corn tortillas for the win. Even better after some Mexican Vegas beers, a margarita and some complementary tequila^^

BEST GUACAMOLE:

Latitude 20: We wandered into Latitude 20 on our second to last day in Sayulita and asked the owner and bartender (both ex-pats, Eileen and Ryan) where we could get the best guacamole in Sayulita. They said there. We were skeptical but also on a mission to eat as much guac as possible while in Mexico (no joke, we ate guac at least once a day while we were there, often we had it multiple times a day -- so I'd consider us experts on this topic), so we ordered some to go with our beers. It really was the best guac we had in Sayulita and we wrote a Trip Advisor review to prove it! Go there, get the guac, have some tequila, hang out with the really nice bartender (Ryan) and 1/2 owner (Eileen) and speak English for a few minutes, it'll be great.  

^^Latitude 20 guac and beers FTW^^

BEST TACOS:

The Real Fish Taco: We headed to the Real Fish Taco on a break from our Macramé workshop because it was right across the street and boy, was it an amazing find. Katie and I both tried a trio of tacos (fish, shrimp and octopus) with cold beers. We both agreed that the octopus was the star of the show. The ladies working there made the tacos on an open grill right next to the street, so Katie and I intently watched them make delicious food, trying to learn their secrets (we didn't), while sipping our beers. It looked like the octopus was boiled and then grilled, and it was so, so tender and flavorful. We ended up going back two more times for more octopus tacos. They were my favorite tacos of the entire trip.

^^Octopus tacos and cold beers are what dreams are made of^^

Mary's: The Mary's Tacos at Mary's were OMG SO GOOD. They had shrimp, roasted poblano peppers and this awesome sauce (literally) on them that we think was a chipotle aioli, and they were assembled on top of some of the best tortillas in all of Sayulita (mentioned above). They were so good we sent multiple strangers asking for recommendations there for the Mary's Tacos (even though you can't really go wrong with anything on their menu).

^^These were the fish tacos at Mary's, not the Mary's tacos. Tortillas were still amazing, and bonus points because our vacation friend, Heather, was in the background of the picture^^

BEST BURRITO:

Burrito Revolution: During my first visit to Sayulita in 2009 I had a burrito at this place I remembered only as "Burrito Bar". I remember that it was on a corner near the town square, I remembered what the menu looked like, and I remembered that it was the best burrito of my life. Flash forward to 2016 and I'm doing extensive research trying to find this place online. The best conclusion I can come up with is that the name wasn't burrito bar, it was Burrito Revolution. We sought out Burrito Revolution for lunch our first full day in Sayulita and ended up coming back probably 4 times during our trip. The Shrimp burrito was my favorite, and Katie loved the pork, but we both agreed that the red sauce was what put this place over the top for us. We liked that sauce so much that we would use like a 1/2 bottle between the two of us on our burritos and when we got back to Seattle, Katie even recreated the chipotle aioli type sauce we got there (she did a really good job too!). Anyway, during our last Mexico meal here I asked the owner if Burrito Revolution used to  be in a different location. He confirmed my suspicion and I left high fiving myself like a dork.

 ^^Best ever shrimp burrito, guac and beer^^

^^Bonus beer pic, because it was my last Mexico beer, during our last Mexico meal, RIP^^

BEST PLACE TO GET CHEAP BEER:

Mexican Vegas: Pay 30 pesos, throw rocks at glass bottles, break the bottle, win beer. Need I say more? We were obsessed.

^^A rare shot of Mexican Vegas in the daylight when it was being set up^^

The pop-up bar at Playa los Muertos: On our last day at the beach they even had someone who would walk around and ask you if you wanted anything to drink. Beach service? Yes please! And beers were only 15 pesos each which is less than $1 USD. Ahhhh-mazing! Oh, and as a P.S. they also served Micheladas which Katie loved and loco-coconuts which were huge, rum filled coconuts and they were really great and really cheap too!

^^Best beach bar ever!^^

^^Beach cocktail of my dreams^^

The grocery store: Purchase beer (preferably Tecate Lights in a can), take beer back to condo, drink cold beers by pool, win at life.

 ^^Beers by the pool errrrryday^^

^^View of the pool from our magical condo. I love you, pool^^

BEST TEQUILA:

Latitude 20 (tequila shots): Latitude 20 taught us the magic that is "fine sipping tequila" in a shot glass, accompanied by a slice of orange sprinkled with cinnamon. I never want to drink tequila any other way. You take a bite of the orange wedge, then a sip of the tequila. Repeat until drunk. Cheers!

 ^^tequila, orange, cinnamon = perfect combo^^

 ^^Stoked about our tequila shots^^

^^Ryan the bartender had his very own tequila, pictured here, and it was delicious^^

BEST BREAKFAST:
Mary's: If I haven't convinced you to go to Mary's while you're in Sayuilta clearly I haven't done a good job with this post. Their breakfast was awesome, and their coffee didn't taste like instant (sidenote: it was SO hard to get decent coffee there, everything was instant, it was bizarre). We went twice for breakfast, including our last breakfast on our last day. The Chiliquiles were the best I've ever had, also, refried beans with breakfast? Yes, plz.

^^The best chiliquiles I've ever had and a fresh carrot, orange, ginger juice we bought on the street next to the restaurant^^

Chocobanana: I had been to chocobanana for breakfast during my visit to Sayulita in 2009 and I didn't remember being super impressed with it. We decided to give it another shot this time around because it always seemed really busy and they had a real espresso machine. It ended up being OK this time around (breakfast tacos are never a bad decision), but I would definitely go to Mary's over Chocobanana if given the choice. The thing that Chocobanana did really well though, was their "world famous Chocobanana" which was a banana, on a stick, dipped in chocolate and rolled in toppings (coconut was the best) and then frozen. I ate just this and iced coffee one morning for breakfast and it was awesome. I could eat one every day and be happy! They were great in the afternoon too.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Sayulita Café: We stumbled upon the Sayulita café on our first night in Sayulita. We were both starving from a long day of travel (to THREE countries) and when we saw this place which was busy, advertising the best chili rellanos, and with outdoor seating, so we hurried over and snagged a table on the street. Katie had the chili rellano which she said was the best she'd ever had, and I had the shrimp fajitas which came ablaze in flames which were really good too. We both had margaritas and split ceviche which was the best we had on our trip with big pieces of fish, and guac. I think Katie would definitely recommend this place if you're looking for a chili rellano (she said their was even better than the chili rellano at Mary's *gasp!*) and we both agree you should go there for the ceviche!

^^Shrimps on fire!^^

SKIP:

Don Pedro's (for dinner, go for drinks or dancing): Don Pedro's is rated really highly on Trip Advisor and apparently has Salas Lessons on Monday Nights that we were sad we missed. Additionally, it's right on the beach so the view is great and the service was good too. Maybe don't skip all together (and don't skip if you're homesick and need some non-Mexican food) but just go for drinks and an app. The food was ok but expensive and not mind blowing like so much of what we ate in Sayulita. Do get the scallop sushi appetizer and mojitos if you go though.

^^Good mojito, awesome view at Don Pedro's^^

Popsicles: There are artisanal popsicle stands everywhere which I loved the idea of, however, after enjoying a few popsicles and having them not be that great, I quickly decided I'd rather have a chocobanana or a cold beer over a popsicle any time of the day or night. I know, I know, I was surprised too!

On one of our last days in Mexico Katie and I were contemplating how it is that the food in Mexico is so much better than the [Mexican] food in the states. We decided it's because the ingredients down there are fresher and more flavorful (it's summer all year long!). Also Mexican Grandmas? I'm sure they play a role. Whatever it is, I want to go back immediately and eat everything all over again. It was sooooo good.

Cheers!!

Sayulita 2016 AKA SPRING BREAK WOOOO!

My childhood best friend, Katie, is a 1st grade teacher, which means she gets spring break (spring break, wooo!) and that is magical. This year for her spring break she and I booked a trip to Sayulita, Mexico, a place I'd been wanting to return to for like, 7 years. We left really early Saturday from Seattle, flew to Canada, then down to Mexico. We flew over the Grand Canyon on our way there (both of our first times seeing it) and when we arrived in Mexico our driver was waiting for us at the Puerto Vallarta airport with cold beers and Beyoncé on the radio.

 ^^Katie and I during our layover in Vancouver, BC^^

 ^^WE MADE IT! And there are beers here! YAY Mexico!!^^

^^Beers and Beyoncé in the back of the car. Mexico is THE BEST!^^

Our first full day in Sayulita was semi-rough for me. We decided to go sit in some lounge chairs on the beach and upon walking onto the sand I was stung by a bee on my wrist. After drinking some beers we headed back to our place, and on the magical road leading to our condo, we found some more beers, some guac and some ceviche. It was great. There was a lime in my beer. It kept hitting my tongue when I would drink from the dark, glass bottle. Eventually I took the lime into my mouth and bit down. It was crunchy. I spit out the lime. The lime was actually a really, really giant fly. Death. Dying. Dead. Then there was this giant moth thing the size of my hand at another restaurant. And then when we got home that night, I saw the most giant spider I've ever seen in my whole life on the fence around our condo. Also, the main air conditioning unit in our living room made really loud sounds in the night that sounded exactly like someone breaking into our apartment and walking around. We both got basically zero sleep the first 2 nights. After we realized we weren't being murdered and turned off the main AC, we slept much better though.

^^Katie and I, right before I ATE A FLY^^

^^DEATH^^

The rest of the trip was a million times more relaxing with a lot less bug stuff. We went to some morning yoga classes. On our second, full day we took a cab up to Punta Mita and took a surf lesson which was great and exhausting. Katie stood up, I didn't, but I still rode some waves on my knees and shit, which was good enough for me. Also I saw sea turtles swimming by me while I was in the ocean, so that was cool.

 ^^View of the beach from the Surf Shop in Punta Mita^^

^^Punta Mita^^

Another day we took a macramé lesson from the cutesssstttt shop ever called Evoke the Spirit. It took like a million hours but eventually we finished and were able to take home our works of art. There was also a really beautiful cat at the shop who I was obsessed with. OH and we took a break during our lesson for lunch and Katie and I went to The Real Fish Taco, across the street and had octopus tacos which we ended up having multiple other times because they were mind blowing. That being said, I want to do an entire post on what we ate and loved during our trip because it was THAT good.

 ^^Evoke the Spirit^^

^^Evoke the Spirit^^

 ^^Katie doing Macramé^^

^^Me with my (mostly) finished macramé project back at our awesome condo^^

One day we were walking around and shopping and drinking coconut water straight from coconuts and we decided to walk all the way across town, through the cemetery, and we ended up at Playa los Muertos which is my favorite beach of all time. It is mind blowingly beautiful, small and secluded. The ocean there is fairly calm and you can body surf even if you can't swim well (me) and there is a small bar on the edge of the beach equipped with a ton of fresh fruit and beers to make you all of the tropical drinks (I had a giant coconut filled with rum and other juices) or Micheladas. I could live on that beach. We ended up spending our last 2 full days laying on the beach and body surfing in the waves, and reading our books, and sipping cool drinks. It was the best way to end a vacation. When we would get tired from all the sun and hungry from all the body surfing we would walk back into town and stop for tacos before heading home for a nap/pool time/shower before heading out for dinner and drinks.

^^The freshest coconut water^^ 

^^Katie and I killing it at this whole spring break thing!^^

^^View of Sayulita while walking to Playa los Muertos^^

^^The cemetery you walk through to get to secret beach^^ 

^^Playa Los Muertos in all its glory^^ 

^^Katie at Playa Los Muertos the day we discovered it^^ 

^^beach porn^^ 

^^yoga by the ocean^^ 

^^the tiny pop-up bar by Playa los Muertos^^

^^Boozy coconut by the ocean^^

^^Hammock by the ocean^^

We stayed in a condo which was about a 10 minute walk north of downtown Sayulita. We were both obessed with the street we stayed on. It was littered with little restaurants and bars and pop up shops, there was lush greenery on both sides of the street, a field filled with Iguanas and pretty, colorful paper flags strung overhead. When we got to the end of the street we had to cross the shit river using the SKETCHIEST foot bridge and when you got across the bridge the horseback rider men would harass you to ride their horses, and then you were in town. But, the best part of our street was that at night Mexican Vegas popped up. Mexican Vegas is the name we gave to these stands that had a bunch of glass bottles displayed in a booth, and a bunch of rocks out in front of the booth. You would pay $20 pesos to throw 3 rocks at the glass bottles (usually if you missed all three they'd give you an extra rock for free) and if you broke a bottle you'd win a beer. If you broke 2 bottles you'd win 2 beers, and if you broke all 3, you won a 6 pack. We never broke all three, but both of us broke 2 a few times. We would stop at Mexican Vegas (that's what we called it, no idea what it was actually called) on our way to dinner and a lot of times on the way home too. We would walk with our beers home and then get in the pool, buzzed and full until we were ready for bed. One night we made friends with the guys running Mexican Vegas and we taught them English words and phrases. One guy wanted us to teach him how to say "You are so beautiful. Do you like to dance? I can take you in my car" LOLLL. Nailed it.

^^Our street, walking toward our condo in the middle of the afternoon^^ 

^^Katie Killing it at Mexican Vegas^^

^^My Mexican Vegas winnings!!^^

^^Mexican Vegas Amigos^^

Other things! On our very first night in Sayulita we met this guy who was waiting on us at the open air restaurant on our street where we stopped for a beer. His name was Juan. We saw him again the next day after I drank the fly and we were asking him for restaurant recommendations and then Katie may or may not have had an awkward bathroom situation occur, but I guess that's beside the point. We eventually told Juan we wanted to eat something exotic, like iguana. He told us "I know a tree" and "we can kill an iguana and cook it" (meaning I could kill the iguana, and Katie could cook it and he would supervise). We were SUPERRR excited until like 2 days later when we found out (1) its illegal to kill an Iguana, (2) that "tree" was an iguana sanctuary, and (3) if I tried to kill an iguana it would probably fuck my shit up. Those fuckers are scary! Also turns out Juan is super sketchy. We ran into him again on his last night and we were pretty sure he was on a lot of drugs. #winning

^^Iguana^^

There were iguanas everywhere though. In the sanctuary tree (which you walked by to get to Playa Los Muertos), in the sports field on our street, and on the side of the street every so often. I'd never seen an Iguana in the wild before!

^^We spotted 15 iguanas in this tree sanctuary^^

Everyone in Sayulita was genuinely so, so kind and happy to see you always. We made lots of friends while we were there, with other tourists, with ex-pats, with the locals. It was great. I guess it would be hard to be mad when it's constantly sunny and beautiful and you live in the land of a million tacos and beers that cost barely more than $1, right? I can't wait to go back. Until next time, Sayulita...

 ^^Mango Margarita the size of my head (it was a bad idea)^^

^^downtown Sayulita^^

^^Walking to dinner from our hotel on our last night in Sayulita, of course with a beer in hand^^

^^Katie and I on our way out to dinner on our last night^^

 ^^Tequila shots served with an orange wedge sprinkled with cinnamon at Latitude 20 on our last night^^

 ^^Until next time, Sayulita^^