My dear friend A and I hosted a baby shower for another island friend, T. She is expecting her second child, a girl this time, and we wanted to do something for her so we had a lovely French cafe-inspired brunch at A’s house (thank you for hosting, A!!!). As a former event planner, it was so fun to get back in the creative saddle and pore over decorations, food labels and baby shower games. We had fun drinking mimosas and  A pulled out all the stops with homemade macarons filled with raspberry buttercream (what!? so good). It was an absolutely stunning day, and I hope T felt the love from the ladies that were there to celebrate her 🙂

It was a beautiful day, but a little bittersweet for me as I wasn’t able to attend a baby shower for my sister-in-law back home. I got to see her and give her a gift when I was stateside in April, but I missed out on all the shower fun. Her little one is due next month!

The next day I volunteered some time at a fundraiser for the Virgin Islands Children’s Museum. They have a great idea and are working to build something that the Caribbean has never seen before for the children of the islands. Having worked in children’s museums before, I had fun lending a hand at a table, making optical illusion rainbow spinners with kids. To learn more about what these intrepid ladies are trying to do, go to VIChildrensMuseum.org.

The Virgin Islands are in a severe drought and we are praying for some much-needed rain. The el niño system in the Pacific is keeping dry air over the Atlantic, leaving the Caribbean without any rain. It hasn’t rained (with any significance) in months.

The drought is much worse in Puerto Rico, but considering we are less than 50 miles away, the conditions are similar here. We already do our best to conserve water, but may have to buy water to fill our cistern. Pray that we get some rain, send some good vibes our way, and be thankful for the small conveniences of stateside living. Also, water is NOT an unlimited resource! Before living in the USVI I didn’t think a lot about wasting water. I am forever changed in this way. Want some easy tips for conserving water in your home? Click here.

Ok. Soapbox preaching done.

In other news, I’m absolutely nuts and am making August a Whole30 month. This “reset” consists of eating lean protein and veggies, only whole foods (nothing processed) for 30 full days. This means no grain, dairy, sugar or alcohol. WUT. I know. Crazy. I thought about posting once a day to get my mind off of all of the things I couldn’t eat but I didn’t want to bore you with my “ohmygoshIcan’teatyogurt” blabber every day. I’ll keep a running post drafted and let it go live at the end of the month. Another side note, I wrote a piece about Caribbean food for BVI Property & Yacht.

Stay sunny, friends!