farewell to 2012

2 January 2013

2012 was an amazing year, it might sound cliche, but i really think it worked out quite well for us. we had a few ups and downs, but the high moments really exceeded – we started feeling like home in provo, we got married in portugal with a few of our closest friends and family and we had a few amazing trips too. here are some of my favourite blogging moments of 2012 –

guest posts from friends visiting and sharing their view of turks and caicos – natasha, my mum and my sister ines, carleth & adrian who came for their wedding, pedro who i hadn’t seen for more than 20 years, and marta who was such a positive surprise.

our turks and caicos favourite weekend get aways – amanyara and parrot cay.

10 things i love and don’t love about living in provo, an island that has been do good to us and has made me learn so much.

portugal, spending some quality time with friends and family.

cuba and mexico, our most amazing trip, and where we got engaged.

a couple of weekend breaks to london, where i always feel like home.

playing tourist at the conch festival in provo and crab fest in middle caicos.

beach spots and our favourite things to do on island – long bay, turtle tail, chalk sound, babalua beach, caicos dream tours and paddle boarding.

a sneak peak to our day (can’t wait to share more on our wedding – next week!!)

on and off island foodie spots, y’all know how much i love to eat – viajante, abc kitchen, lemon 2go coffee, hartwood, infinity bar, the f lounge, caicos cafe, and garam masala.

some favourite hotels from our trips, minervetta in italy, romaneira and mercearia da vila in portugal, the nolitan in new york, coqui coqui in mexico.

his dive story column, james’ diving outings on island and when traveling, more than 20 posts this year!

thanks giving and our first christmas in provo.

a huge thanks to all of you for following along, for your never ending support and all the sweet messages throughout the year…can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store – love xxx joana

ps – find me instagramming, twitting and pinning.

2013 soon to be

31 December 2012

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a year ago i was flying back to provo, after spending our christmas holidays in portugal. i was so tired from the flight, and jetlaged, i couldn’t get myself up from the sofa to spend the year at the beach…and then i regretted it. so tonight we are going over to our friend’s place for dinner, and then heading to the beach for the fireworks. and i’m kind of excited for it, like our first new year’s eve by the beach.

if you’re visting, go to somewhere or ricky’s on the beach for some island party, we might go there too!

happy new year to you all, may 2013 be even more special and exciting!!

ps – a few dinner suggestions if you haven’t already booked: beach house, lemon, or the newly opened le bouchon du village.

christmas day in turks and caicos

30 December 2012

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this was what christmas day looked like for us, can you believe it? i kind of had to pinch and remind myself of how lucky we are to live here, enjoy these beautiful beaches and this weather all year long. so on christmas morning, instead of having breakfast and opening gifts with my family back home (as i have done all my life) we headed to grace bay club to see santa arrive by boat. in my imagination santa always came down the chimney, but in the provo we don’t have chimneys – thus santa had to find another way to reach us. it was a beautiful morning, there was a great atmosphere at the beach, the kids were all excited, everyone was out in a happy mood, wishing each other a merry christmas and drinking mimosas. and we took pictures of santa too.

i hope your christmas was a happy one too!

gotta love coffee

27 December 2012

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hoping you all had an wonderful christmas. today it literally felt like boxing day part two…i spent the morning having capuccinos with friends over at lemon 2go coffee.

i’m sure that if you’re on island you’ve had, or at least heard of, sam’s capuccinos. not only you get super creative coffee art in your latte or cappuccino, but they are the best on island too.

the most original one is definitely the provo snorkeler – how cool is that? and my favorite is the christmas tree – it beats any starbucks-pumpkin-caramel-chrismassy drink!

check out my instagram for a few more!

lemon 2 go coffee is located on grace bay road, in front of salt mills, call them on 1 (649) 941-4487 or check their facebook page.

happy holidays from turks and caicos

24 December 2012

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wearing flip flops and going for a dip in the sea on christmas day is a whole new experience for us. we are missing our family and friends back home, but we are so lucky to be having a warm christmas under the sun with all our provo friends!

we look forward to seeing santa arriving by boat at grace bay beach tomorrow morning, and watching maskanoo on grace bay road on boxing day…and i’m sure james will find time for some diving too!

we wish you all a merry christmas, filled with LOVE, HEALTH, HAPPINESS and lot’s of LAUGHTER!

picture from my instagram of the seven stars christmas tree.