It’s the end of September and I’m finally catching up on my recaps.

February 2025 really was balanced between my homebody self and my explorer genes being activated, as the month ended with a trip but started with serious nesting.

First off, obligatory cat pics.

I really do want to do a bit of a tour of the downstairs to show my home now compared to the empty house I rented, but vignettes will have to suffice for now.

A used furniture dealer helped me find the perfect piece for my dining room to store all my cleaning supplies and tools without it screaming “This is a utility closet!” In one side, I mounted my Dyson vacuum cleaner charger and discovered cleaning BLISS! It’s the little things, amirite?

I’ve always wanted a dresser like this for this spot, so when I saw this inexpensive version in pine, I jumped on it! I mounted my fish from Puerto Morelos above it.

The fish really complements the flamingo in my stairwell.

(my iPhone HATES this paint and refuses to make it look like its lovely self. I swear my house is not that garish!)

After finding a different piece for my office, my fireflies moved to my bedroom, which is where they clearly belong:

I was a super happy Izzi internet customer for years, but started to have issues with my service and decided to move to TotalPlay so I could have faster upload speeds.

Since I had new wiring being run, I decided to make a decision I’d regretted not taking when Izzi ran cable and switched my living room around! This closed up the room, making a cosy living room area with the couch a reasonable distance from the TV and gave me a proper separate entrance.

I can’t believe I don’t have a good before picture of the old layout. The TV stand was on the left where the wardrobe is now, and the couch was where the TV is, leaving a vast sea of open floor in the middle. The acoustics of the room are so much better now.

I found this wardrobe, which I was surprised had the same footprint as the TV stand that used to be there, to use as an entrance closet. All the drawers and cubbies are stuffed with purses, while the rain coat, boots, and sweaters hang in the tall portion. This really finished off the house.

The last thing I wanted was a proper filing cabinet for my office as I’d outgrown the two boxes I’d come here with (we’re still SO FAR from a paperless world!). I was surprised not to find many used ones online, so did a shoutout on my neighbourhood group. A fellow quickly responded that I could have this ugly thing for just $500 to cover the gas and time to bring it to me. It fits perfectly in my office closet.

I still wasn’t done and got these two cabinets for the “bonus” room. One has crafting supplies, the other tools and home maintenance things.

The rest of February was detailed in previous posts. 🙂

March was just work. Holy smokes. There is no in-between in my field. I’m either overbooked or not booked. I did a ton of cooking, including a super decent attempt at poutine after finding the right potatoes on the same day I came into possession of fresh Oaxaca cheese (which squeaks just like cheese curds).

Really, the only exciting thing about March is that I agreed to take a friend’s dogs for the summer while he travelled!

Here’s Lily:

And here’s Roscoe:

They’re super sweet and I’ve loved having them here.

Who would have thought that the drive from Puerto Morelos to my hotel in Cancún would be the easiest part of a day’s drive that started in Akumal?

Booking.com outdid itself with my Cancún stay. In fact, I’ve found my “spot” in Cancún where I can escape Mérida for working breaks, and I already have one planned for June! I stayed at Sina Suites, which offers the perfect combo of apartment and luxury hotel at a two-star price. Located in a residential neighbourhood on the lagoon, the hotel is very quiet, but just a quick walk from a bus stop to take you to the action of the hotel zone or centro. I had a one-bedroom apartment for my three nights, with a private balcony overlooking the lagoon, the basic kitchenette allowing me to enjoy breakfast at my pace, but the pool zone offering poolside drink service and food from a decent restaurant if I wanted to be pampered.

My plan in Cancún was to hang out with my bestie and go out for meals, plus to enjoy my hotel. I had thought to do a day getaway to Isla Mujeres, but just never got the oomph to get up and go. But I have an idea of a few things I’ll want to do on future trips to Cancún.

I ended up at two fancy restaurants during my time in Cancún. The first was Harry’s Grill, a steakhouse, definitely not my first choice since beef isn’t my favourite. I had a great pork chop, though, and split a crab claw appetizer with my friend’s husband, since she doesn’t like seafood.

The next night, we went to Fred’s, a seafood spot. My friend wasn’t happy with her meal there, but her husband and I went all out, sharing a huge platter of grilled fish, octopus, crab, lobster, and shrimp. Everything was so good, the best seafood I’ve had on this side of Mexico!

The last night, I took them for tacos at a local-recommended Taquería Los Chachalacos, which was excellent even being in the heart of the tourist zone.

Now, some random pictures of my Cancún stay.

View of the lagoon from my terrace.

I loved having breakfast at this table every morning. Those chairs were so cosy.

Enjoying the poolside area at Sina.

Excellent enchiladas from the Sina restaurant. I complimented them on the fried onions, a detail they remembered when making my burger the next day! The burger and fries was also good. There are a few restaurants close-ish to the hotel, but having one on site with good options was so convenient.

The Caribbean Sea was a stunning shade of turquoise the afternoon I spent at my friends’ resort.

Much as I enjoyed my pool and sea side time, I’m really not much of a vacationing type of gal. I’d generally rather go out and do activities. Two more days and I would have made it to Isla Mujeres. Thank you to my stylist for my purple toes — she gave me a free pedicure spa as a Christmas present (!), and I saved it ahead of vacation.

My ridiculous but delicious cardamon-based cocktail at Fred’s.

It was so hard to drink out of that thing!

Sunset over the lagoon at Fred’s

Amazing super buttery chocolate cake at Fred’s.

One the best parts of the Cancún hotel zone is the bus service! There’s so many buses, with some routes running 24 hours a day, and all for $12 pesos! From where I was at Sina, it was faster to walk to a bus stop and get on a bus than to wait for a taxi to pick me up. It would have been close to $160 to Uber or taxi each way between Sina and my friends’ resort, so the convenient and generally comfortable buses were extra appreciated. This was the buzzer to get off the bus I took home from Fred’s, LOL!

One of my clients stayed on the lagoon a couple of years ago and warned me that her first morning, she saw a giant crocodile! These signs were all over both shores of the lagoon.

My only complaint at Sina is that being an older complex, it was very humid, so everything I brought smelled terrible by the end of my stay, a common traveller complaint for hotels in this price range along the Mayan Riviera. I’ll be better prepared for my next trip to mitigate that inconvenience.

Saturday morning, I met my friends for a fabulous buffet brunch at their hotel and then pointed the car home at noon. I’d be regaining an hour, so my ETA was about 3:30. The drive home was almost eerie as once I got on the Mérida-Cancún cuota, I had it all to myself until the first tollbooth! Getting through that was slooow, but otherwise, the drive was surprisingly efficient.

I only got fuel twice on this trip, in Cancún before leaving and then in Mérida before returning the car, for a total of about $1,200. I only paid tolls one way, for a total of about $650. So tolls would have equalled gas if I’d taken the cuota both ways, something that has been true since my earliest days of road tripping in Mérida.

I kept the car until Sunday afternoon so I could get groceries first. I was a little sad to let the car go, but like my truck it is really too big for my carport and was tricky to bring in and out. The return process was smooth and I got my full deposit back. I’d rent from Alamo again.

My little vacation was just the reset I needed to start early Monday morning on a real-time trial and a bunch of other jobs that has accumulated in my absence. It was good to be missed!

And speaking of being missed, my girls were definitely happy to have me back. Alma had had a little misadventure and spent a few days at the vet’s, so she seemed especially glad to have her mom back. Dodger ignored me the first evening back, but then insisted on sleeping with me Sunday and Monday nights. I’m glad they were so well cared for in my absence.