48 Hours in Costa Rica
What I wore on my whirlwind trip to paradise.
Okay, WARNING, if you’re not the type to stalk people’s vacation photos online, this week’s newsletter may make you want to throw rocks at me. But I personally love a little vacation spread! And so I thought I might do some documentation of my mad dash to Costa Rica and back two weekends ago, to celebrate A Very Big And Important Birthday—my father-in-law’s 70th circle around the sun (Happy Birthday, Mario!).
You must be thinking: 48 HOURS?! You crazy lady! Why so short?! And that is a good question! The answer is this: in showbiz, people have been known to say (with a wink), “Want to book a show? Book a trip.” It’s a nod to the great ironic timing of the Universe—aka when it rains it pours, and when you finally make time to book a vacation, you may also suddenly get a juicy job offer that conflicts with said trip. The week before Christmas, that is exactly what happened to me!
I had been steadfast in protecting my “book-out dates” for our family trip to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday. Seventy is a milestone! Multiple bashes were planned, and lots of Costa Rican and American friends and family were coming in for the occasion. Additionally (and importantly!), going to Costa Rica is like a spiritual recharge for me. It is a huge perk of marrying my cutie husband that my heart feels so happy in his father’s native country, and we planned to stick around for extra vacation days after the big event. So, okay, I was very committed to this trip.
But you’ve read the title of this week’s newsletter! Obviously my plans changed. LOL. Generally, when I decide to protect time in my schedule for a big LIFE moment, I understand that I risk losing a job opportunity due to the scheduling conflict, and I make my peace with that. But then, almost three weeks exactly from the day I was supposed to get on a plane to paradise (the title of my new hit single) (jk), along came the chance to work on the show I’m doing now. Friends! It just seemed so fun. The show’s run otherwise fit neatly into my spring work schedule. I was really honored to be asked, and eager to work with the folks in the cast and on our creative team. So I crossed my fingers and attempted something that doesn’t often have a high success rate for us actors.
That is to say, I attempted to do both. I agreed to give up the bulk of my trip to be available for rehearsal, if I could have two days out (plus our scheduled day off) to attempt some absolutely bananas travel, and be there for the main birthday event. Lo and behold, our very understanding and generous creative team—we only have 10 DAYS of rehearsal total, which is bonkers-crazy—said yes.
Attempting to be in two places at once is not without its stress! All week prior to leaving I felt added (personal) pressure to learn fast, and to set myself up to come back as caught-up as possible. I would still be getting daily emails and rehearsal videos while away, meaning that even in The Most Beautiful Place On Earth I wouldn’t be fully unplugged. The trip would require almost nine hours of travel each way, which meant that a precious chunk of my time out would be spent on planes and shuttles. That travel time would be filled with many, many prayers to the airplane gods for safe, drama-free travel. I could not, for example, afford any extreme delays or customs chaos. (I thankfully ended up having only a little bit of both.)
In short, this was a moment when the packing needed to be as stress-free as possible. The outfit planning would need to be minimal! The lighter the luggage, the better! And so, behold: complete with time stamps, here is what I wore.
4:17 AM EST, Friday Morning, Brooklyn
Black ribbed cropped tee, navy blue pleated stripe pants, slip on sneaks, semi-packable (lol) puffer jacket, slick braid, hoops, watch. Priority was comfort, and an outfit that could flex both cold and warm weather.
5:46 PM CST, Friday Evening, Costa Rica
Two flights and a 2.5-hour shuttle later, I walked into our AirBnB. It was 4:30 PM and I had 30 minutes to get ready for beach cocktails. Following a cowboy shower, the slick braid became a JLo pony, and we topped her off with an on-theme 90s (burnt-brown-red) lippie. You’ve seen this dress before! Plus my TKEES wrap sandals (on sale here!). I found this little bag for $15 at a TJMaxx in 2021 when I was looking for a costume piece for a dance vid (everyone was making dance videos in 2021, lol).
11:04 AM, CST, Saturday Morning, Costa Rica
Breakfast + Beach. Gooseberry swimmie, black sarong, my pool shoes, the inaugural Costume Change short-sleeved button up. If you take nothing else from this look, take this visor, which is extremely easy to pack, and which three of us were wearing (in different colors), unprompted/with no advance discussion. (I bought mine in 2019 from a vendor who no longer sells on Etsy, but similar here.)
4:37 PM CST, Saturday Afternoon, Costa Rica
The big party! It was VERY HOT, which I am into, but I also tried to set myself up for maximum breeze receiving—arms out, stems out! This dress is from superdown. These shoes are eleven years old (from back when Julianne Hough made shoes) and in absolutely horrifying shape up close, but I like them for salsa dancing!
These Poppy Lissiman sunnies are SO FUN. A giftie from my sis several Christmases ago! Perfect party glasses.
10:22 AM CST, Sunday Morning, Costa Rica
My very sad departure. There was a brunch this morning that I wasn’t sure if I would make (and again, it was hot), so I tried to pack for both traveling and farewell breakfasts. White ribbed crop tee, Farm Rio skirt, Comme Si socks. (I swapped back into the pants I came in between flights/when I landed in the states.)
9:09 AM EST, Monday Morning, Brooklyn
I won’t tell you what time I finally got home but it was Not Early (or it was, depending on how you think about it.) Customs in Miami was absolute chaos; I do not recommend it. But here I am before walking out the door Monday morning, headed back to rehearsal! We can do hard things!
Wowza. A whirlwind right?! But, if you’re wondering—yes, it was absolutely 100% worth it. Do I wish somehow it would have magically aligned for me to keep my entire trip and still take the job? Le duh! But I count myself among the absolute luckiest people alive to have both a career and a family I love, so I happily took this compromise. And doesn’t it seem fun?! Except for that customs connection in Miami, it really, really was.
Okay goodbye from this girly in the middle of tech rehearsals! If you’re in New York, may I recommend seeing Once Upon A Mattress at City Center? And may we all embrace spontaneous travel, vacation dressing, and simplified packing in 2024. XXOO!
Costume Change is a styling newsletter (vs. a shopping newsletter). There’s no spon-con in the above—any references to clothing/shoes/shops, etc. are purely honest-to-goodness recommendations. As always, I hope that Costume Change first and foremost provides you with inspiration to shop and re-style inside of your own closet. Thanks for reading, and reminder to keep those comments kind!
Not me thinking about buying a visor.....
gorge per usual!!