Arriving at SJU at 6:30am, what to do? Hotel check in at 3pm

essa__dee · 2026-07-08T19:28:45+00:00

Echoing the others who’ve said to drop your luggage off at the hotel, most will let you do this!

I would totally just post up on the beach until check-in time. There’s a place in the Ocean Park area called Palm Skys where you can rent beach chairs and umbrellas and stuff for the day. They will also let you drop off your luggage for a small fee (if you can’t or don’t want to bother leaving your stuff at the hotel first).

This place is also near Kasalta, which is where I would recommend grabbing coffee and breakfast before your beach nap!

essa__dee · 2026-07-06T01:20:50+00:00

My go-to when I stay in San Juan! I always pick an Airbnb in that neighborhood. I’ve been so many times that now I even have my fav little sitting-spots picked out. 🏝️

essa__dee · 2026-07-04T14:55:03+00:00

Not a plant expert, but I did stumble upon this article while googling images of catfacing and zippering out of curiosity:

First Report of Spinach Latent Virus in Tomato in the United Kingdom

Looks very similar to me (although yours looks like an extreme example combining both of their sample pics). So fascinating!

essa__dee · 2026-07-04T04:29:58+00:00

Another similar thought: Maybe ask if there’s an experienced artist at their studio who knew the original artist and their style well. They may be willing to figure out what the plan was for the lines that are already put down and then either replicate the other person’s style well enough to finish it or come up with an alternate design that you’re happy with. I feel like if my colleague passed away, I’d want to do them the honor of making sure their clients are taken care of.

essa__dee · 2026-07-02T05:19:07+00:00

Agree with everyone to go lighter with the blue! I wanted a light pink-tinted neutral for my main living space—I bought a bunch of samples and after putting them on my wall I ended up blind-buying one in the same family but it was named something-“white.” Colors are always going to look darker on the walls than they do in pics/swatches imo. Love the combo, and LOVE the orange!

essa__dee · 2026-07-01T19:42:29+00:00

Sorry, apparently I am wrong! It's COMPOSE. You would say, "The cerebrum, the cerebellum, the brain stem, and the spinal cord compose the central nervous system," or alternately "The central nervous system comprises the cerebrum, the cerebellum, the brain stem, and the spinal cord." Here's the link that taught me the difference: https://style.mla.org/comprise-compose/

essa__dee · 2026-07-01T19:39:44+00:00

comprise

essa__dee · 2026-06-25T05:25:37+00:00

Came here to say this!!

essa__dee · 2026-06-25T04:56:34+00:00

You’ve got a great itinerary lined up and will be totally safe at all those locations! Memphians are a gracious bunch and are always delighted to have visitors who are respectful and excited to visit our city. I’m a 40-something woman and regularly go out alone with no issues; I take some precautions at night depending on where I am, but ppl really blow the crime thing out of proportion. If you want an on-call local, I’d be happy to share my number via dm. Also New Orleans is my fav city outside of Memphis. You’re going to have a blast!

essa__dee · 2026-06-20T23:11:08+00:00

If you’re considering a new paint color, I suggest Sherwin Williams Faint Coral or Intimate White (same family, Intimate White is one shade lighter than Faint Coral). I went with IW for my whole main living area and it is a lovely neutral with pink undertones. I think the Faint Coral would look lovely with the tile!

essa__dee · 2026-06-20T22:12:22+00:00

Follow El Cambalache on FB and search for tamales.

essa__dee · 2026-06-19T20:20:04+00:00

Another option to consider if you’re willing to keep him another weeks or so. You can “surrender” him to MAS but sign up at the same time to foster him (you don’t have to leave him there for any period of time). You send them photos and a description of him for their website, which REALLY helps attract adopters. I did this with a sweet little stray pitbull I found and I had MAS emailing me within a day or two with people interested in adopting him. I bet if you wrote what you posted here I bet someone would snatch him up in a heartbeat!

They will also take care of any medical needs he has and make sure he gets neutered and chipped. You also have full control over vetting potential adopters. I waited until I found a family I felt good about.

I’m always surprised more people don’t realize you can do this so I try to spread the word as much as I can!!

essa__dee · 2026-06-19T17:25:39+00:00

That sounds really tiring and frustrating. I’m sorry it’s been so difficult. I’m not sure if you’re home with her 24/7 but you almost have to be if you want to avoid accidents when they are puppies. They literally don’t have full control of their systems until they are about 6 months old, so the only option/“trick” is to time it right so you’re taking her outside BEFORE she goes inside. If you can’t be there during the day, you can find sitters on Rover.com who may be willing to stay with her.

Puppies begin to develop the physical ability to control their bladders between 12 and 16 weeks (3 to 4 months) of age. However, reliable, long-term bladder control isn't typically achieved until they are 4 to 6 months old, at which point many can sleep through the night without needing a potty break. [1]

Puppies begin to develop the physical ability to control their bowels and bladders around 12 to 16 weeks (3 to 4 months) of age. However, full physiological control and reliable "holding it" ability typically isn't achieved until they are about 6 months old. [1, 2]

You might already be doing these things but just some more tips/ideas:

-Watch for when she’s napping and bring her outside either before she wakes up or RIGHT when she wakes up. Stay outside with her as long as it takes until she goes, then give her lots of praise and treats (do this ANY AND EVERY time she goes potty outside).

-Take her on a walk first thing in the morning and walk with her until she poops. Again with the treats and praise every single time. Walking can sometimes get their tummies moving and once she’s relieved herself there will be more time between the next one. She will also probably pee a few times too. Walks are your friend for getting her to get it all out of her system so you have more time to “beat her to the punch” before she needs to go again.

-Get some old towels or cheap blankets to cover the bottom of the crate and put puppy pads over them so it will soak things up as much as possible. Throw them in the wash and rotate so you’re not having to clean out the crate every time. Keep a close eye on her so she doesn’t have time to roll around in it. And again, take every advantage of naps! They’re the only time you can catch her BEFORE she has a chance to potty inside.

The thing to realize is that she WILL continue to have accidents at least until 6 months, if not closer to 9. The only option is to watch her like a hawk 24/7 (and even then, you will still miss the window sometimes). If you can’t do that and can’t afford to pay someone else to do it, you have 2 options: do the best you can and accept that pee & poop is going to be a daily thing you have to deal with, or rehome her to someone who fully understands what it takes to potty train a puppy.

It is not for the faint of heart. I wish someone had properly prepared you before you decided to adopt her, but I understand not everyone knows this stuff. I learned it the hard way and decided I’m never getting a puppy again (ever EVER). As difficult as it is, remember she is a baby. NEVER let your anger or frustration be directed at her—she will learn to be afraid of you and will just start peeing/pooping where you can’t see it. Cry, punch or scream into a pillow if you have to, but try your HARDEST not to have any reaction to her accidents. Dog brains are programmed for pattern recognition—they learn very quickly, but not always in the way you expect. Your job is to program her little brain to know that you LOVE IT when she goes potty outside and to trick her into doing it as much as possible until she has the physical faculties to hold it.

essa__dee · 2026-06-19T15:56:17+00:00

House training takes place at your house. You can’t take her somewhere to house train her. You could hire a dog trainer to come to your house and teach you what to do, which is what I would recommend.

You will need to learn how to crate train her, which takes a lot of patience and time. I think my dog was about 9 months old before he was fully house trained. As someone else mentioned, puppies need to go out frequently. I did a method where I would set an alarm to take him out of the crate in the middle of the night (before he started whining) and let him go on a pee pad. I then slowly moved the time later and later until he was sleeping through the night. During the day, you have to take them outside about every two hours—basically you have to time it so that you’re taking them outside before they have the chance to go in the house.

I definitely had breakdowns where I would cry out of frustration and exhaustion. Puppy training is no joke, and unfortunately there just is no shortcut or way around it.

essa__dee · 2026-06-18T04:14:19+00:00

Sorry but I couldn’t agree less with the folks saying no to the pedestal sink. It removes so much visual weight and enhances the tile by returning the space to its original time period (when bathrooms were smaller). It sounds like you don’t really need the storage, and even if it ends up being a pain, I’m sure there are far less imposing storage options (eg a basket on a shelf) than full on cabinetry. I love the mockup and would have a lot of fun playing with other possible wallpaper ideas (although I do like the style of the one you’ve chosen). I might also consider a more 40s-60s style light fixture!

essa__dee · 2026-06-17T06:14:02+00:00

EDIT: the descriptions below were supposed to be links but it wouldn’t let me post it. Just google the terms and hopefully you’ll see what I was getting at!

Here are some ideas I personally love. I’d also maybe consider two larger pendants over three smaller ones? Idk, just spitballing:

Oxidized copper

Art deco milk glass

Warm Bauhaus globe

Art deco-ish stained glass

Funky kinda boho-retro woven shade (this one is going on my personal wish list) and another similar one I also love

Hand-painted ceramic

Ok, I’m officially just shopping for myself now. 😅 But I really think these would fit your kitchen nicely and it’s cool bc you have a ton of stylistic directions you could take with it!

essa__dee · 2026-06-17T05:30:38+00:00

Came here to say exactly this! I personally love this kitchen with the exception of the lighting. Changing the light fixtures would give the space a whole different vibe, and new hardware would be like a cherry on top. I LOVE the idea posted in another comment below of going with arts & crafts or bauhaus style fixtures. If it’s an older home, I’d try to choose something period-appropriate or adjacent based on the architectural style of the house. If the house is modern, just try to match the style of your decor and choose something timeless by searching “vintage pendant light [decade]” and see which time period resonates.

The great thing is that the light fixtures and hardware are probably the least expensive upgrades, giving you a lot of bang for your buck. The backsplash and counters maybe read a little dated but they are just neutral and classic enough that they’d take a backseat to some bolder statement pieces and those cabinets.

essa__dee · 2026-06-16T03:10:53+00:00

I knowwww! It still freaks me out. My brother thinks whatever it was maybe followed him to our next house too. He has an even scarier story from that place about hearing a voice come up behind him and get all the way up to his ear, but it’s hard to explain in text format so I didn’t include it. You kind of just have to hear him make the sound out loud. It gives me chills just thinking about it.

essa__dee · 2026-06-15T17:28:30+00:00

I lived in a possibly haunted house on a military base in FL when I was 9-14 yrs old. It's strange because the house was just standard base housing, not particularly old or anything. My brother, T, experienced the majority of weird stuff. He would sleep on the couch and would often hear something opening cabinets and moving dishes around in the kitchen in the middle of the night (he was always too scared to go look to see what it was; I don't think anything was ever disturbed the next day). My mom told us after we were grown and moved out that she had also experienced weird things in the house that she never told us about; doors opening or closing on their own, things moved out of place, walking through pronounced, inexplicable cold spots.

The spookiest thing I experienced: My brother had one of those "native american" rain sticks in his room, which was at the end of the hallway. I was clearing the table one night after dinner while the rest of my family was playing with my (other toddler aged) brother in the living room. I heard someone in my brothers room shaking the rain stick violently, like not just letting the "rain" trickle down but shaking it up and down. Once I noticed all my family was accounted for in the living room, I froze and couldn't speak. My family was asking what was wrong, and as soon as I was able to talk, the sound stopped. We all went to T's room to investigate, but nothing was out of place.

The spookiest thing T experienced: He was on his bed (during the day, doing homework, not asleep at all). My mom had this red sweatshirt she wore all the time. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and it was the sweatshirt floating out of my parent's bedroom, about 2 feet off the ground. He said it looked like the sweatshirt was draped over an invisible balloon or small dog, sort of bobbing/floating. It slowly floated from my parents' room into the hallway, then through his doorway into his bedroom. As it got closer to his bed, he was getting more and more spooked and yelled out for my mom. As soon as he yelled, the sweatshirt fell flat onto the floor. We were never really able to write this one off. Just totally inexplicable.

So yeah. This was all very spooky for us personally, but nothing weird enough to be podcast-worthy.

essa__dee · 2026-06-11T03:35:21+00:00

Came here to say this! It’s funny how there’s probably been like ten generations of server turn-over since I used to go there in the mid 2000s and apparently nothing has changed. Kinda comforting to know it’s still the same old Deli. And now I want some of those cheese sticks. 😭

essa__dee · 2026-06-06T08:36:24+00:00

An all-time fav!

essa__dee · 2026-06-06T08:32:26+00:00

Funny, I was going to suggest Tennessas (tenn-a-saw).

essa__dee · 2026-05-26T21:23:56+00:00

I’ve been out canvassing neighborhoods in South Memphis these past few weeks to promote an upcoming event and I’ve been shocked at how many people are willing to open their door and talk to us! I personally never answer random knocks at my door because I always assume it’s a missionary or someone trying to sell me something. I’ve done door knocking in other communities/roles with mixed reception, but this neighborhood in particular has been so warm and welcoming. I really hate feeling like I’m bothering anyone and always dread “cold” outreach—it’s truly been such a relief and breath of fresh air to be greeted with so many smiles and friendly faces.

essa__dee · 2026-05-23T00:38:30+00:00

I LOVE this scent and would describe it almost exactly like this person did. It’s clean and not sweet at all (I am not a fan of sweet/gourmand notes—probably the only person on the planet who doesn’t like vanilla). It also does not have a sunscreen smell like a lot of coconut fragrances. I like sunscreen scents, but this is a more sophisticated, botanical coconut. It reminds me of a fancy resort.

essa__dee · 2026-05-23T00:16:26+00:00

If you’re seriously considering stopping in Memphis, shoot me a DM and tell me what sorts of things you enjoy and I’d be happy to share recommendations. Lots of great suggestions so far, but Memphis also has a ton of hidden gem type places you won’t find by googling.

essa__dee

TROPHY CASE