I want to taste and glory in each day,
and never be afraid to experience pain.

Sylvia Plath

Photography by Denise Blasor

LEN.T.JUELA GOES LOIZA STREET

With its grey facade and lively window
displays, Len.t.juela carves out a
beguiling presence on Loiza Street.

San Juan -- "Fabulous." "Welcoming."  "I 
love the sparkle and the exclusivity of each
piece.""It's Not a store It's more than that. 
It's culture, family, good taste, love. Good
stuff!!!!!!!"

That's the sort of enthused comments
you'll find posted on the Facebook page
of vintage boutique Len.t.juela in response 
to the store's new location on Loiza St.  

All deserving plaudits.

The new store is a winner. It sports a hip,
industrial look (notice the black cement floor),
lots of colorful details and an eclectic mix of
glass cases to enshrine all the lovely objects 
of bygone decades that store owner Valeria Bosch
and her partner in vintage Bryant Huffman have 
culled for their clients' consideration.

The new locale gives Len.t.juela the kind of 
visibility missing from its former location,
which was just around the corner but off the 
main drag. 

It is sure to translate into more traffic and
consequently more business for this special 
store that proves yet again the value of 
recycling. Well-made products can live if not
forever,at least a very long time, and each
user contributes a story to each object as
it passes from one person to another in a
continuing chain of ownership.

Here you will find clothing (on its official opening day, frocks were flying off the racks),costume 
jewelry aplenty, accessories
like bags and hats,plus
items for home or hobby 
(from pretty china cups 
to old cameras and movie 
cameras).

The store is accommodating: its hours run from 11 am to 7 pm so people can stop by after work, a
perfect detour to make after a long day and a way to while away a little time while the customary 
late afternoon traffic eases up. 

len.t.juela, 1852 Calle Loiza
next to Oro Centro 787.408.7111
Monday through Saturday, 11 am to 7 pm

Photography by Denise Blasor

All that lives must die eventually,
passing through nature to eternity.

Shakespeare, "HAMLET"

OF RAGS &  RICHES

It turns out that donating used clothing may not be such a
helpful thing after all.

True, it may fill a donor's heart with satisfaction but based
on recent online reports, only a small portion of the
clothes that people donate is actually kept by charities
to either donate or resell in their stores. The rest is sold off
in third world areas where these goods compete with the
textile industries in some of these countries, to the
disadvantage of these industries and the vital jobs they
represent.

So next time you want to head over to the Salvation
Army or some other charity organization, donate only
the best clothing and the rest, well, you're better off cutting
up the material into pieces of different sizes and keeping it
handy around the house to mop off spills, use as dust cloths
and for other home cleaning duties that would otherwise require
paper towels.

Photography by Ulrike Blasor

Where is it, this present?
It has melted in our grasp,
fled ere we could touch it,
gone in the instant of becoming.

William James

☛  A SIMPLE TIP: Those plastic pouches (with or without
zipper locks) so commonly used for packaging these days
are not usually recyclable; it would be great if companies
would find an alternative that is environmentally-friendly.

In the interim, use these bags to fill with water and place
in the icebox for a convenient ice pack to soothe a sprain,
aching joints, or arthritis flare.

Artwork by Lorraine Blasor

Today you are you, 

that is truer than true.

There is no one alive

who is youer

that you.

Dr. Seuss

Cupcake Madness

New York has Magnolia Bakery, tucked away on a corner
of Bleeker street and made famous by the ladies of Sex &
the City. San Juan has its own heaven for cupcake madness
and it too is tucked in a corner on the ground floor of Casa
Bella in touristy Condado.

The cupcakes at Vanilla Bean Cupcakery are truly scrumptuous.
Nanette Cordóva, the woman behind these delights, makes them
in nearly two dozen flavors but no matter which one you choose,
you can't go wrong. At $2 a pop, these small, delicious confections
reward the palate without ruining your diet or your figure.

True to her beginnings as an interior designer, Cordóva turned
the Condado store into the visual equivalent of her baked
goods: luscious pink walls, white glass display cases to show off
the wide selection of cupcakes all neatly lined up like precious
jewels in their white trays, and a wall chockful of motivational and
life-affirming sentiments set off by decorative frames suggestive
of flowery cake ornaments.

Vanilla Bean combines the joy of baking with the joy of design:
Cordóva's twin loves, a double treat for the price of one.


Vanilla Bean Cupcakery
1400 Magdalena Ave. Condado
787.283.8989/6868
Tue through Sat. 9 am - 8 pm
Sunday 11 am - 8 pm
(Other locations: Torrimar Shopping Center &
Galeria Paseos)


ⓒ 2014 Lorraine Blasor, All Rights REserved☂