My wish list for traveling around. Everyone needs a good light jacket for any vacation and the headphones to make the travel part bearable.
1. BP round aviator sunnies 2. 4-in-1 adaptor plug 3. Twill Everlane Weekender bag 4. travel scale 5. travel blanket 6. fujifilm install mini camera 7. ASOS curved hem parka 8. malin + goetz travel essentials 9. FRENDS taylor headphones 10. TUMI Oslo Travel Bag
When it comes to planning a vacation, I spend the most time on lodging. I think other than the activities you actually do on the trip lodging is one of the most important things to consider. I will suffer through long layovers and airport changes to get a deal on airfare but I won’t be cheap on hotels. This doesn’t mean I stay at 5 star resorts by any means. I just prefer to spend money staying in the center of things rather than savings some money and staying near the airport or cheapest neighborhood. So this brings me to my number one rule of selecting a hotel…
#1 – Location. Location.
One of my favorite things about traveling is just wandering the city. I don’t want to spend money and my precious time taking a taxi or train 40 minutes into the city to see the sights. I want to be able to walk out my door and within 5 minutes be at the Louvre, the Taj Mahal, or the beach. Many people book the cheaper option of staying near the airport when travelling to multiple cities but don’t realize how much you will spend on buses and trains getting around the sights when you actually get there. Also, when you have limited time in a city, the last thing you want to waste your time on is sitting on a bus.
#2 Tripadvisor is your best friend.
Every booking site from Hotwire, Orbitz, to hotels.com has their own reviews and one hotel on booking.com may be a 4 star hotel but on another site will be listed as a three star. It’s sad but many sites post false reviews and trip advisor is the least biased site I have ever come across. Thousands of travelers use this site daily. I usually start by searching the city’s top hotels and then find a hotel in my price range and begin to search reviews and pictures. Trip advisor even has room recommendations so you can request a certain room that past guests have recommended.
#3 choose your rewards
I use booking.com for rewards. Although the rewards aren’t amazing I get 10% off every hotel and I find the prices are often lower than other sites. Plus I really love the usability of the site and how easy it is to change our dates, cancel bookings, and check your reservations once booked. Some people use hotels.com because you get a free night after 10 paid nights. These rewards expire after a few months so I would use these if you are going on long trips or travel often. Otherwise booking.com is what I would recommend.
These are my go to methods when planning my hotels. hope it helps!
So I have this problem where I can’t go to sleep at night without researching airfare and finding good deals. It’s not normal how much time I spend planning vacations. SO I have been helping a lot of friends get these deals lately and I decided I might as well offer this to the social media world also. Basically You can just tell me approximate dates and a location and I will find you the best airfare around. Guaranteed. Or you can get the whole trip planned out and let me be your travel guide 😉 spread the word people!
Recent airfare finds. SLC-Lima Peru $580 pp
LAX – OSLO $360 RT
SLC – SEATTLE $177 RT
A few weeks ago me and the mister took a last minute road trip to meet some friends in St George. I can never turn down a road trip even if we don’t leave the state. The first day there we decided to take a hike up Angels landing in Zion’s National park. I am embarrassed to say I have not taken advantage of this great state I live in and have never been to Zion’s before this trip. It was packed because of memorial day weekend and a little rainy but the view from the top was amazing. I am not much of a hiker but when its a little more strenuous and gives you a little adrenaline I am all for it. This hike is not for children and is very dangerous in the rain. We were one of the few people who kept on hiking once it started raining as you have to hold onto chains to make it to the top. Along the way I met some french people and practiced a few short words with them. Another of my favorite things about traveling is meeting new people! I am not very social in every day life but something gets in my system when I am exploring a new place and it makes me want to talk to everyone! The trip was short and we ended up just hanging out the next day and then heading back up north but the hike was well worth the trip and I would definitely recommend it! and from someone who is not so big on the outdoors, thats saying a lot….
I am finally slowing down a bit and have some time to get back to blogging. India was amazing, but so tiring. It was my first vacation where I was so excited to get home. I am not a homebody but was just so mentally exhausted from this trip. I am going to write this post as genuine as possible. When you go to India, be prepared mentally and physically. It is hot, humid, and emotionally draining. But if you are prepared, you will have an amazing experience.
First things first…My friend that went with me had a hard time with all the staring and smells and wasn’t too fond of India. It made it a little tiring on us both because I felt bad dragging her around and she didn’t want to leave the hotel at some points during the vacation. Make sure you and whoever you are dragging along to this country know exactly what they are getting themselves into. Having a good travel buddy is the key to a successful trip.
Next, be prepared for some serious stare downs..I had no idea how little american or european tourists would be in India. As a white female with only one other female I was stared down everywhere I went. Being white already makes you seem to be famous as these people do not often see white people and they are very intrigued. Or maybe it was because I was a white girl without a white male by my side? Either way, I had people taking pictures of me every where I looked. I had lines of people trying to take pictures with me, and at one point had to run away from a crowd because they kept saying one more one more! I personally thought it was kind of funny and made me feel pretty special having people line up to take pictures! On the other hand, you will see people trying to sneak pictures and staring you up and down and it can get uncomfortable. The key is to stare right back and not let it bother you. A few times when I was on my own and caught a group of guys staring I would walk as quickly as possible and never looked down at a map because I didn’t want to seem like I didn’t know where I was going. For me, this was all entertaining and fun to have people so amused with me, besides the creepy old men staring it didn’t bother me at all.
The Country is a massive port-a-potty…India is beautiful and great.. but lets get real here. It stinks. and don’t let people tell you otherwise. I loved india but I will admit it had its faults and people pooping and peeing in the streets was one of those things. If anything though it should make you feel very grateful for what you have. I know it made me feel that way. I remember sitting at the train station in Jaipur and watching a man hold his disabled child over the ledge so he could go poop. It is not a pretty sight and flies are everywhere but try to take in the positive and realize you are getting to see real life for these people. It is pretty incredible to witness if you can handle it.
Be prepared to be a forced vegetarian… This may not be hard for some, but for me I am a meat and potatoes girl all day every day. I lost about 15 pounds during my two weeks in India and I was eating as much bread, rice, curry as possible. I missed chicken and beef and any meat so much I just craved burgers constantly. This is not as big of a deal but is something to prepare for.
It is HOT. India is very hot. and humid. Be prepared for this. We went in march to try and avoid the summer monsoons and heat as much as possible but it was still brutal. My friend was so dehydrated and almost passed out at one point. We would often take breaks to go back to the hotel and get water. If we were too far away from the hotel we would stop and find cold waters and check for the seals before opening to make sure they were not broken. I’m sure you know this by now if you have researched india, but always make sure the seals are not broken. People will refill water bottles with contaminated water and that is not something that would be fun to deal with as a tourist.
Lastly, traveling takes a while. India is not a modern country like most european countries or the states. It is hard to get around on public transportation. Trains will be delayed, flights will be delayed, first class trains will not be attached (yes that happens, and happened to me) so don’t expect everything to go smooth. We had a taxi driver get pulled over by the police and were stopped for a while in Mumbai. Almost every flight we took took an extra 3 hours for us to get there. Transportation from the hotel did not show to pick us up at the airport in Mumbai…. THESE THINGS ARE VERY COMMON!!! Do not get upset or grumpy and just expect your day traveling to take 2-3 hours longer than you originally planned. This is the poorest country in the world and you can’t expect the same experience you would have anywhere else. If you can come out of this with a good attitude, your winning at india and india will love you back.
I am BACK! and so happy to be back in the states. My wifi was rough while I was in India and Nepal so I was slacking on the blog posts. I have so much to catch up on and can’t wait to download all my pictures and write up all my stories but until then I am sharing a few of my favorite travel bags. I am a hardcore shopaholic and ended up carrying a stool and large wooden frame AND rug and other various statues and objects on about 14 flights around the world and it was a pain but so worth it to have these beauties with me in my house!
I have a bag similar to this and it is such a dream! So here are a few that are perfect for world travelers! (click on the image for link)
Packing is a beast but sometimes my favorite thing to do. Don’t laugh but I will pack weeks in advance because I just get so excited for my upcoming adventures. I am heading to india + Nepal in 3 weeks and have started to get together my packing list. Here is what I have so far and after traveling to Morocco this summer I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what I want. just a heads up I am NOT a tight packer, I love to get dressed up and have lots of options so I am not that packer on pinterest that can go to europe for 2 months with 3 shirts and one pair of pants but I have definitely learned that their is a compromise between looking good and having cute clothes and not lugging around a huge bag or two for weeks at a time throughout airports and trains. I am also a big shopper so ALWAYS leave room or bring an extra bag to bring home all my treasures. Here are a few must haves I thought I might need abroad in India and I will be updating my actual packing list and what I missed or needed after the trip!
2 Harem Pants – lightweight and modest
4 lightweight shirts
2 Maxi Dresses – one is a tank top and one with sleeves for modesty and a little nicer for dinners and going out and one for the beach and in places where I can show a little more skin
2 lightweight pajamas
1-2 running outfits if you want to workout and for any adventure activities you plan on doing! Remember to keep them modest if you are in a conservative country like India or Morocco
2 bras and 2 sports bras – when its hard to do laundry I don’t want to have to worry about doing it every day and I plan on running at the hotel gyms and I sweat a lot so don’t want to be re-wearing bras every day!
A full outfit to carry in your carryon bag just incase your bag gets lost at the airport
1 swimsuit for hotels
Running Shoes & Comfy walking shoes(i usually go for birkenstocks or something of that sort) & one nicer pair of sandals for going out
2 scarfs and headbands for covering up – I plan on buying a scarf and coverup when I arrive to stay more reserved in certain areas
And now for the important little details when visiting an underdeveloped country:
Adaptors & surge protectors
Nepal and India Visa (this took me 4 months to get so start early!)
Get your shots in order a few weeks in advance! I am taking malaria pills and got shots for Typhoid and Hepatitis A
I haven’t used Cipro yet but have heard it works wonders and would like to avoid “delhi belly” at all costs so have that in stock for my trip
Jetlag prevention pills
Probiotics – start taking them the month before your trip abroad. They will help with the side effects of malaria pills and hopefully prevent you from any unwanted stomach issues during the trip
Candy for kids to pass out in villages, especially if you will be in rural areas : I was in morocco this last summer and had a half drinken coca cola in my purse and a little girl ran up to ask for the “coca”. I wish I had more to give and in the past have passed out candies in Samoa and Brazil so have made it a point to have some packed for india!
Make sure you tell your banks that you will be out of town and have all of your pins and whatever necessary to get money out. It can be stressful to be stranded and locked out of your bank account!
Antibacterial Wipes and baby wipes for bathrooms – especially in Morocco or India or countries similar.
Water Bottle Purifier – if your like me and don’t want to be spending a ton on water and the necessities and are ALWAYS thirsty Brita has a water bottle that filters the water and saved my life in morocco as I was sooo dehydrated the majority of the time.
Mosquito Repllant
I was also told to bring snake repellant? I need to research more on this one but it is on the list!
Another thing I like to do is to carry a travel journal with me and record my experiences. I am not a journal writer any time but when I travel. It is a fun way to look back and perfect activity for trains and flights. I also started carrying a little watercolor set with me and watercolor journal to try and paint places I visit. I am a terrible painter but it is fun to try and record a memory or place in that way and as bad as I am I do think Im getting a little better the more I do!
Another thing I do is research. I love the internet it is a glorious little place where you can find all the answers to your questions and I love to be informed. I don’t want to spend so much money getting somewhere and miss out on experiences because I didn’t know they were there to do until I return home, so I make it a point to figure out everything I know that is possible to do in the area and then decide what I want to do most. Also, I make sure to be very aware of cultural traditions and laws. For example, I met a couple in morocco that said they had friends that were put in jail for 2 weeks because they were sharing a hotel room and weren’t married. You want to be very prepared and aware of customs so you don’t end up getting stuck in a situation like that!
My last piece of advice when preparing for a trip is to be open to the adventure. Their will be a time when you miss a flight or your train is 3 hours late or the guy next to you stinks like curry and has dirty feet he is putting on your bag and you just need to shrug it off and enjoy the ride. Traveling is not for the faint of heart and if you spend your energy and time getting frustrated you won’t enjoy the experience. So whenever your sweating and lost in the middle of foreign country don’t get stressed just laugh and then enjoy the adventure of figuring your way back. It should always be fun, no matter what happens!
Paris is just a dream already but for the food lovers like me it is straight out of heaven. I would fly to paris just to have a pain au chocolate and some french bread. Of course their are the popular French Onion Soup and Beef Bourguignon which are a must when in Paris but here are a few of my favorite places that you should make a stop at in this magical city! La Fregate is a little restaurant on the opposite side of the seine than Notre Dame and is one of my favorites in the city for french onion soup. The restaurant is a little pricey ($$) but the french onion soup and french bread is worth it! Of course after stopping by the louvre you need to go by Cafe oAngelina and get some of their world famous Hot Chocolate. Each time I have been to paris I go visit the Arc de Triomphee and then take a walk around the Champs-Elysses and hit up Laduree. You can’t even imagine the pure joy when I got to try my first Laduree macaroon back in 2012 on my study abroad. Is that normal to dream of food your whole life? probably not, but i did. Laduree is filled with delectable yummies and another one I love is the St Honore Pastry. This last summer I had a photographer ask to take a picture of me eating mine? So if you see me in some Amsterdam food magazine please send it to me because I would love to see my mouth digging into that piece of heaven. 
can you tell how happy I was to spend so much on something so little?
Everything in france is just better, even the butter. You haven’t been to paris unless you’ve walked into the local Boulangerie and picked up a loaf of french bread and bought some Le Beurre Bordier at le bon marche.
Like I have mentioned already on this blog is my love of Pain Au Chocolat. Meat, Mexican, Bread, and Ice Cream are my four main food groups so you can understand why these little chocolate croissants are one of my daily meals.
In the Latin District is a cute little shop called Amorino’s. Go there and you will not regret it! L’inimitable avec Stracciatella is my favorite (nutella and chocolate chip) and yes I would spend $9 on gelato at least once a day. This stuff is just divine and maybe its because I had it daily I just don’t think anything compares but either way its still dayuuum good.
I am not big on fish or weird foods but I will try them and Escargot is just a must. I’m not saying I didn’t gag. but really its not that bad. I just had it in my head I was eating snail and couldn’t really get past that.. Le Petit Chatelet is a little restaurant on the seine that may be a good option for trying some of these famous snails.
And last but not least. No trip to France is complete without sitting underneath the eiffel tower with that crepe in your hand and chantilly ( whipped cream ) all down your shirt. Do yourself a favor and get the banana and nutella crepe but you HAVE to make sure you go to the crepe shop right next to the carousel across from the Eiffel Tower. your welcome.
I consider myself an art nerd and whenever I travel am always on the lookout for artwork (in my budget) at antique markets to fill my dream gallery wall. Here are a few inspirational walls I am loving.
Perfectly spaced contemporary art wall
Artwork stacked on shelves
Symmetrical but still random gallery wall
perfectly eclectic wall
Asymmetrical wall
Wall of Mirrors
Contemporary and Simple Wall
What type of gallery wall is your favorite?
I am on the search for the perfect setts for an entry area for a client right now. We originally decided to go with this..
the avalon love seat in a velvet but then of course they shut down the US store right before we were going to order it! Ah.. So I have been searching high and low for another option that isn’t too big and bulky and is the perfect shape. Here are a few favorites I came up with..
And the winner was the Blair Bench from Ballard Designs. Fabric is undecided so far..that is what so great about Ballard Designs.. They have so many options for fabrics or you can even choose your own and send it in for them to upholster. Im so excited to see the end result!
Shelby Elese 