Travel

Florida in February, Or: That Time I Met Joey Fatone

September 17, 2024

I’m writing this blog post more than 6 months after, and I still can’t believe this happened to me.

I work on the marketing team at Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and every February, we have the Sales & Marketing Awards, or SMAs, to celebrate our hard work from the previous year.

We all fly into Orlando from across the country and get together at Hard Rock Café at Universal Orlando. There’s a theme every year, and the company goes all out—decorations, costumes, food, drinks, and entertainment. This year’s theme was Mardi Gras, and the headliners were none other than Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone of *NSYNC.

A Few Days in Paris

August 18, 2022

After celebrating Athina’s wedding in Aix-en-Provence in southern France, we took the train back up to Paris! Neither of us had been before this trip, so we spent a few days exploring the city. It wasn’t nearly enough time, but we loved it nonetheless!

Aix-en-Provence for Athina’s Wedding

August 16, 2022

I just got back from the most amazing trip to France. It was my first time visiting, and it was for an absolutely beautiful reason—my best friend’s wedding!

Athina and I have known each other for 18 years now (yikes that makes me feel old). We met in high school, and had lockers next to each other almost every year. We still talk almost daily, even though she moved to France back in 2013.

When I found out she was engaged, I immediately knew I would do everything I could to attend the wedding. The pandemic made it a bit trickier, since we weren’t sure where the world would be at and whether we’d feel safe traveling. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, and French President Macron was highly involved in mediating the conflict.

Basically… it was just another year in this crazy world that we’ve somehow grown numb to.

Thankfully, everything worked out for Sean and I to attend Athina’s wedding and explore a bit of the country she now calls home. There’s a lot to cover, so I’m going to split our trip into two blog posts!

Life Lately

October 27, 2021

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Well hey there! It’s been just over six months since I’ve blogged regularly, and I’ve really been missing it. A lot has changed since my last update!

Florida in October

November 6, 2019

While most people were living up the fall weather last week, Sean and I headed south for a very warm week in Florida! And it turns out it was for the best, because Michigan had some pretty crazy wind / rain / snow while we were away!

A Short Trip to Traverse City

June 19, 2019

And so continues my “A Short Trip to _____” saga that is 2019!

This past weekend, Sean and I went up north to Traverse City for my friend Lexie’s wedding! She’s one of my very first friends, and now we can officially say we were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings. 🤗

Because Sean and I had never been to Traverse City together, we decided to make a long weekend of it from Thursday afternoon through Sunday morning. And it worked out, because in the end that’s what a lot of the wedding party did!

A Short Trip to Chicago

May 7, 2019

I feel like “a short trip to _______” is my theme for 2019. I feel like I just got back from Los Angeles, and suddenly I was hopping on a train to Chicago for Angela’s birthday! In no time I’ll be heading up north to Traverse City and then south to Charleston! What a crazy exciting year.

As I mentioned in last week’s Sunday Scratches, I headed to Chicago last week with Randi (who lives in Chicago) and Angela, plus two of Angela’s friends Rafa and Carolina (who I now consider good friends!).

Angela wanted to see Hamilton for her birthday, and we discovered that, because of Chicago’s residency since 2016, it was actually easier and cheaper for Angela, Rafa, and Carolina to fly all the way from southern California to Chicago and see it there. And since Randi lives in Chicago and I’m less than 3 hours away, we made a big trip of it!

A Short Trip to Los Angeles

April 9, 2019

The past few days have been full and this introvert is so happy to be home. We had an amazing (but short!) trip to Los Angeles this past weekend, so I wanted to hop on and tell you all about it!

How to Find Cool Shit to Do In Your Town

March 14, 2019

Whether you’ve just moved to town or you’ve been there a while, you’re probably looking for cool shit to do. Maybe you want to make new friends or you just need to mix up your routine. But where the heck are you supposed to begin?

A Case for Unplanned Picnics

June 17, 2015

If you haven’t heard, tomorrow is International Picnic Day. National Picnic Day is April 23, but in Michigan the weather just isn’t quite right for a picnic at the end of April. June, though? You betcha.

Picnics have always seemed fun, but I never have them because they seem so daunting. Once you find the perfect spot, you have to get a cute basket, proportion all of the food, find a blanket to spread out, and then carry all of your trash back with you.

It wasn’t until mid-May that I found out how easy picnics can be as long as you lower your expectations. I give you: a case for unplanned picnics.

50+ Staycation Ideas for When You Can’t Travel

May 27, 2015

I absolutely love traveling. Whether I go to the next city over or the other side of the world, I really enjoy experiencing something completely out of the norm.

But what happens when you can’t travel? Whether it’s because you can’t swing it financially or because you have too many obligations at home, it can be really difficult to get out and about.

Luckily, there’s this marvelous thing called a staycation that gives you the best of both worlds, so to speak.

So, what are some ways to have a staycation wherever you are? Here are my favorite staycation ideas. Only one thing is required–bring your camera with you everywhere!