2008 August Archive at The K-Claw Blog

Archive for August, 2008

The family that plays together stays together!

Published

on August 20, 2008

. 0 Comments

After spending time with the Mendoza family we were just as excited to hang out with my cousin Elen (on my mom’s side) her husband Noel and two damn near cutest kids you could ever hang out with~Aiden and Logan. First this family doesn’t stop playing, ever. Their house is like a toy house for both kids and grown-ups. I swear it was like going to an amusement park!

Rowan and I were introduced to the Nintendo Wii Fit, then we played Rock Band (which is amazing, because i am the anti video person…but it rocked :D). If we had more time we would of probably gone on their boat to wakeboard, or take the jet ski’s out for a spin. Oh yeah Noel also has a dune buggy he’s working on…..and of course the family snowboards as well!

Aiden is five and Logan is two. Aiden is an awesome little snowboarder/wakeboarder and he can also play Buddy Holly on the drums during Rock Band! Logan is two, the best way to describe him is like a tank that runs over people. He’s so rough and tough but very, very smiley and happy kid. I’m sure in no time he’ll be doing all the action sports like Aiden, well unless he takes up football first!

We spent our only afternoon with the family at Leucadia beach. The beach was awesome, and of course Rowan and I rented boards. What came as a surprise to us was….. Elen and Noel have never taken the kids to the beach in San Diego. Sure they’ve been to the beach in Mexico, but not in their own city! Yeah Rowan and I felt pretty special.

Rowan taught little Aiden to surf and he stood up quite a few times…in fact I think Aiden caught more waves then both of us! We figured it only made sense for Aiden to learn surfing, now he has the all around action sports experience!

Elen and Noel make being in their family fun, those kids are going to grow up so stoked and NEVER EVER want to leave their mom and dad’s house

Thanks guys we had a blast!!!

Little Aiden and me

Picture Aiden drew for his mom & dad:

Logan having fun w/dinner

ooh la la…..

Published

Shirley

on August 10, 2008

in fashion, houston and life

. 0 Comments

What a great weekend! A friend of mine, Anya Lloyd opened her boutique, Chicle de Anya, on Houston’s most eclectic street in the Heights. I met Anya in our Fashion Sketching class a little over a year ago. She’s an amazing artist with a good eye for funky style that works. I was so impressed with her store front and the over all feeling of her space. She is selling her own creations as well as stocking her boutique full of fun, youthful fashions that are all grown up at the same time– its a great balance!

If that isn’t enough to make you want to check her store out….then go for the cool styles she imports from Japan that you won’t find any where else in H-town!

Way to go Anya I am so stoked for you!

Me & Anya

Chicle de Anya store front

Tennis & Surf Anyone?

Published

Shirley

on August 6, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

The last two nights of our Costa Rican vaction was spent at 15 Love Bed and Breakfast, a tennis hotel that also offers surf lessons. Rowan and I had to check this place out. Oliver & Emily are the wonderful owners of this beautiful bed and breakfast. I couldn’t believe that a place like this existed. Its my two favorite passions in life all rolled into one.

We shared stories of how K-Claw started and Oliver and Emily shared their experiences about building the hotel and making tennis the center of its activities. The courts were in great condition and the whole hotel was decorated with so much much pizzaz and modern amenities. The breakfast they served up was fresh and delicious. The next time my ladies doubles team needs to practice, I think we’ll consider making this place our home court

Rowan and I played tennis the first night, and after 4-5 hours of surfing for the last seven days, we weren’t very agile. Regardless, we had a fun time complaining about how sore we were while we chased tennis balls around.

We met two cool couples the same age as us, Jamie & Kate from London and Karina & Tiness (i know i spelled his name wrong..sorry) from Zurich. Karina is cardiologist, Tiness a dentist, Jamie a realtor and Kate works for The British Independent Films.

The last night we played doubles with both Emily & Oliver. Emily’s got a really wicked forehand, but it makes sense since her husband is the tennis pro! It was really fun to hang out with those guys. Rowan and I always admire people who are passionate about what they do, it inspires us to do the best we can with K-Claw!

View just walking in the main door.

View walking out from our room

Isn’t it awesome?

I got binoculars for my b-day…surf check from my room!!

Oliver & Emily….Emily is sporting the K-Claw Finesse Dress!

Tamarindo sunset

Jamie, Kate & Me

Last night in Costa Rica!

Good Obsessions in Costa Rica

Published

Shirley

on August 6, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

Howdy Folks! Rowan and I just got back from Costa Rica last week, man it was difficult to get on the plane back to H-town. We spent 7 awesome nights at Playa Guiones, which is located on the North Pacific side of Costa Rica. The last two nights we stayed at a tennis & surf camp in Tamarindo.

I decided Costa Rica would be the best place to satisfy my new surfing obsession and my 30^th b-day. We signed up for surf lessons at Innocent Surf School. Ru & Gem are the kick ass owners of this establishment. Jack is another instructor at Innocent and we had the pleasure of surfing with him our last day. By the seventh day Rowan and I were soooo incredibly tired, but luckily Jack had enough charisma and enthusiasm for all three of us! We had so much fun learning how to surf that we’ve convinced ourselves we need to live by the beach!

Rowan and I shared our experiences starting up K-Claw with Ru & Gem, and now they are scheming up plans to offer Innocent Surf School apparel from rash guards, t-shirts to bikinis. I know these two will succeed, they have such good energy about them.

Playa Guiones was a wonderful place to visit. There were a lot of ex-pats living in the area and friendly locals. I chose this place because it was less touristy than other beaches in Costa Rica. I didn’t want to shop, bar hop or do organized trips… I just wanted to sit in a hammock and surf all day long.

We met a lot of cool and interesting people during the surf lessons. Netysha left her job on Wall Street and decided to surf for two months and write a blog about her experiences, Surfing Nosara. I totally respect her for taking the time to follow her passion–it takes a lot of courage to do that. Patrick her boyfriend was a hilarious dude that we enjoyed surfing with. He always had a way with words in the water, especially when a set was about to pound us in the impact zone! We also had a little visitor everyday for breakfast, Tico the cat. Since we were in the jungle, we called him our jungle cat. I love cats so Tico just made our vacation more perfect.

My birthday couldn’t of been any better. I was in the water caught a few good waves, saw an amazing sunset and then had a wonderful dinner with eight people we just met. I had the largest grin on my face the whole day, thanks guys!!