It started with a simple idea: “Let’s film a really quick, easy day-in-the-life video.”
Famous last words.
What was supposed to be a light little follow-us-around clip turned into a full day of errands, a nursery run that multiplied, a head-bump into a soursop tree, a Spanish lesson at the plant shop, and a whole lot of editing Nina created for herself. In other words — a completely normal Saturday for us here in Atenas, Costa Rica. So we’re taking you through it, exactly as it happened.
A slow morning at home
The day started the way most of ours do: coffee, the pool, and a loose plan.
Shawn was out skimming dead leaves off the pool — a daily job now, especially with a housewarming coming up next weekend and a chance some of the kids might swim. The pool guy comes Wednesday, so it’ll be fresh in time. Meanwhile the agenda took shape: record a few video intros, hit the vivero (the plant nursery) for soil to finish the last couple of planters, and start prepping for the housewarming. The food plan? Caribbean and soul food, potluck style — everyone brings something.
We also went to check the guanábana (soursop) tree, which is where Shawn caught his head on a low branch. Hard. That “nugget of yours” took the hit, and the tree won that round. This is the unscripted part we can’t fake.
The one thing that made this Saturday special: it was genuinely unplanned. No events, no obligations — a rare open day where we could just flow and see where it went.
The drive: date-night stories and Spanish practice
On the road to the nursery, the conversation wandered — which is our favorite kind.
We relived last week’s date night: Shawn’s Caribbean crab, and Nina’s lobster thermidor at Toyza 97 in Barrio Escalante, San José. It was Nina’s turn to plan and pay, so she picked the spot, and Shawn egged her into the lobster even though it was “market price” — a phrase that’s burned us before. This time it was worth it. Caribbean lobster, thermidor-style in a white cheese sauce with shrimp and mushrooms, good mojitos, an espresso martini, and home by 9:40 — which, on Costa Rica time, basically counts as midnight.
Our Friday date night is non-negotiable and we alternate who plans it, so there’s always a surprise. It’s one of the traditions that keeps the romance and intentionality alive even when everyday life is busy.
The drive was also a Spanish practice session, whether Shawn signed up for it or not. Vivero is the plant nursery, feria is the farmers market, and by the end of the trip we’d both added a new one: zacate limón — the local term for lemongrass, which is not the word either of us expected.
“We just need soil” (and other things we tell ourselves)
Here’s a truth about us: we cannot walk into a plant nursery and leave with only what we came for.
The stated mission was soil. That’s it. Nina even said it out loud — and then immediately admitted she’d “baited Shawn in,” because she already knew more plants were coming. We took the big truck specifically because we knew we’d overbuy. Lemongrass came home (Nina makes lemongrass tea constantly, and the last batch didn’t survive the old repurposed coffee-grinder planter it went into). Then mint for her iced tea. Then a hunt for banana peppers that don’t really exist here. Then a few more “just this one” plants.
We hit two nurseries. One’s a converted house — someone’s actual home turned into a plant shop, cat in the window and all. The second is a little family spot we love because they pot everything for you and load it straight into the truck through a window at the perfect height. When you’re hauling 50-pound bags of soil, those small conveniences matter.
The reality check
Somewhere around lunch — a quick sandwich back at home — the truth set in for Nina, who was also the one editing all this footage.
The “quick and easy” video had quietly become a full editing project. So the plan shifted mid-day to shorter clips just to get through it, which is its own honest little lesson: sometimes the simple idea is the one that runs away from you.
What we actually learned
By the end, we were wiped — and laughing about it.
Nina woke up inspired, sure she’d knock out an effortless day-in-the-life. Instead the day got away from us, and we never even got around to planting the lemongrass we drove all that way for. (That’s a tomorrow job — and Shawn offered to film behind the scenes for her since her hands will be covered in dirt. You’ve got to love the support.)
But that’s exactly the point. This is our real life here — the errands, the head bumps, the Spanish stumbles, the “we only need soil” that becomes a truckload, the two of us just being us. No script, no polish, just a regular Saturday in Costa Rica.
Your turn: Do you like these follow-us-around days, or do you prefer more structured videos — specific places, restaurants, waterfalls? Tell us in the comments. It genuinely helps us decide what to make next.