Flipping Tourist

Blog, Family Travel, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized

72 Hours in Paris is Never Enough Time

January 27, 2022 4 Comments

BUT…With an abundance of must see and do’s when traveling to Paris I’m here to say there is never enough time. Whether you have 3 days or 3 weeks you won’t want to leave. Book the trip in the capacity that fits what you can handle at this time. You’ll have no regrets and will always leave wanting more. Isn’t that the best way to see the world?

Below is my perfect itinerary for 72 hours in Paris. Listing a few highlights that are great for families or even just adults.

When traveling with kids I recommend booking a flight that leaves later at night and will have you arriving in France mid-day. This (hopefully) ensures your kids have at least 5-6 hours of sleep. For example, our flight left at 10pm and our kids were able to fall asleep almost immediately. It was a 9 hour flight and with their internal clock, they actually slept until we landed giving them about 8 hours of sleep! When we landed they were well rested and ready to hit the ground running! Another perk to landing mid-day means that your hotel room should be ready by the time you arrive. At the least, you can always drop your bags with the bellmen.

The best start to the City of Lights is strolling sidewalks until a cafe catches your eye. I’ve never met a happy hungry kid. This stop will be rewarding for all! Bonus points: People watching, cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates!

Next stop: The Eiffel Tower. This is usually the number one request for any kid visiting France so save yourself the trouble of them constantly ~~asking~~ demanding “WHEN ARE WE GOING TO THE EIFELL TOWER”?! Seeing it for the first time will have your kids in complete awe! The best way to go up the Eiffel Tower with kids is to climb the first 2 floors! There are 2 different tickets you can purchase.

One is for the elevator from floor to top.
The other is to walk up to level two and then take the elevator. Our kids absolutely loved the chance to climb the stairs for a bit. We made lots of stops as they were just fascinated. There are little signs to read along the way for all the engineering nerds like us! On the 2nd floor (which is as high as you’re allowed to climb) we got in the high speed elevator. Kids loved having the best of both in Eiffel Tower Transportation. Regardless of which ticket you choose to purchase you’ll take elevator all the way down. Don’t forget to grab a glass of overpriced champagne to celebrate as you walk around the top two floors of the Eiffel Tower.

A stroll along La Rive Siene is an ideal way to enjoy the sunset before dinner. Also termed “L’Heure Bleue” – a French expression referring to ‘the blue hour’ at twilight each night. Take in the culture rather than trying to cram in another touristy stop before dinner.

Our kids did a “food challenge” before Paris.

Food Challenge = trying new foods we might find in France such as: Croissants, French Onion Soup, anything with garlic, escargot. *it doubled as an easy way to get them to eat a few more vegetables too! This challenge made dining at nice restaurants in Paris more fun. They were so excited to order and option to all the menu options!

DAY TWO

Take advantage of the time change and let the kids sleep in a little bit while you enjoy a cappuccino and croissant. At some point you will have to wake them up though – then head out for breakfast at another Parisian cafe. We are obsessed with both the St Germain and Montmartre area. I would introduce the kids to their first French Metro and get off at the Montmartre stop. Buy a pastry before you ride the funicular to Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur. You will enjoy your pastries while having magnificent views of the city. From there you will enjoy the vineyard and meandering through all the artists at work.

No Parisian list is complete without recommending a visit to the incredible Louvre. Quick Tip: Skip the Mona Lisa and head straight to Napoleon’s Apartment. And for a truly enjoyable family experience in the museum splurge on a family guide. If you have extra time before dinner everyone will enjoy wandering the Jardin des Tuileries.

DAY THREE

Time for family photos with the Madame Eiffel in the background. We booked an early morning appointment with LaMour De Paris and the photos we received back are true works of art (cute kids make us look cute.) This is the perfect day to have breakfast with a view of Madame Eiffel and now we are set to explore the quaint St. Germaine area.

A light lunch is recommended before you head to your Chocolate Tour. While the highlight is tasting sweets from six local spots, the tour is so much more. You will learn the history of Chocolate with some fascinating facts about famous Parisians of the past. Our guide was a real life Mary Poppins and the kids still remember much of what they learned that afternoon. They also wanted to take a bit of Paris home with them. This provided the perfect opportunity to head to one of the fabulous departments stores. We suggest either:

Printemps Haussmann – It first opened in 1865 and is now home to some of the todays most elegant stores and unique window displays. Don’t forget to enjoy the rooftop bar if you are visiting on a nice day.

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann– A little newer as it opened in 1894. Today it is still known for the incredible Art Nouveau Style and great deals. Time your visit right and you might even catch one of their weekly fashion shows!

***Hope you’re jumping at the chance to visit Paris! Even if just for 72 hours!***

Have you been to Paris? If so, let everyone know in the comments what your MUST see is? If not, let us know what you’re most excited about! Thanks for sharing!

Blog, Travel, Uncategorized

Five Unique Cappuccinos Around the World

November 9, 2021 8 Comments

Woke up realizing it’s a very important day for those of us who survive on caffeine. Today we celebrate the cappuccino. A coffee that has just the perfect amount of foam and demands to be in a classic 165 mL rounded cup that makes you feel loved. I wasn’t a coffee drinker until I started working on SeaDream. SeaDream is synonymous with Cappuccinos. Should there be any mechanical issue with one of the cappuccino makers onboard, repairing it took priority over all else. As a crew member I drank one morning, noon, afternoon and night. And my European guests and crew would not even move into evening mode until that late day cappuccino and cigarette. Beyond my coveted SeaDream “pick me up” (always sprinkled with cinnamon because that spice helps your circulation and if you don’t count the 8 glasses of wine I drank every night I was practically the picture of health while working on board) I can immediately recall my 5 favorite spots to enjoy a great cappuccino around the world. We all travel for various reasons – maybe your next trip will involve one of these coffee spots:

ROVOS RAIL

Gliding down the railways of South Africa I would sneak a moment in the lounge car and my favorite bartender would deliver the creamiest cappuccino. Rovos Rail offers 3-10 day train voyages. It is luxury train travel offering journeys throughout Africa. I highly recommend upgrading your room when you go. While there is plenty of space to roam and dine in the open areas, you might find their smallest cabins to be incredibly tight. Regardless of room size – your cappuccinos are always included!

KRAKOW, POLAND

Even in October it is already so chilly in Poland. With such a lively atmosphere in the town squares we spent quite a while meandering the streets. Finally popping in a restaurant that would eventually serve us the most delicious mushroom soup in a delectable bread bowl (move over Panera bread – Poland KNOWS what they are doing). But first I enjoyed TWO hot creamy cappuccinos and they even had cinnamon for me to sprinkle on top! NOTE: Nearby is the E. Wedel Chocolate Lounge and are we even friends if your mouth doesn’t water at the sound of chocolate?!

SAINT BARTHS

I don’t have any coffee photos to memorialize this but I adored working with the port authority in St. Barths and we would often meet in the cafe right in harbor where he would upend a shot of espresso while I would sip on my usual cappuccino. It was at one of these meetings that he informed me that Americans have completely missed the point of coffee. It is to be used to give energy and why are we wasting our time sipping fancy coffees that don’t have near the caffeine espresso does. A good critique from my Frenchman made me love my “american” sugared up cappuccino even more. It was also over another cup that he encouraged me regarding some other port authorty gals on another island that had given me trouble. In yachting there is a lot of crying and it’s always so nice when others that you only see a handful of times a year can cheer you up. NOTE: Despite what he said regarding espressos, the entire French island knows how to make all the fancy coffees. They cater to us ‘less dignified’ coffee drinkers. You can’t get a bad coffee on this island.

EVA AIRWAYS

In what world does an airplane cappuccino ever pass a taste test? In business class on EVA Airways! I had sipped on Vueve most of the flight to Thailand so I decided to try a capuchino before we landed. Bless my heart it was delicious! I don’t know how they managed to make coffee so good at 30,000 feet but the Eclat de Valrhona chocolate they served with it probably helped. Oh ya, and I was still lounging in the PJ’s they gifted me upon boarding. If you can ever turn your airline miles into Biz Class on EVA do not turn back. Still a tough decision as to whether the actual flight or the time in Thailand was the better experience! It was that good!

SEADREAM

The beginning of my coffee drinking ‘career’. The best thing about coffee onboard SeaDream is that by day 2 the crew will have your desired coffee style memorized. Caffe Latte with 2 sugars and a shot of Baileys? You won’t wait but a few moments for it once you sit down for breakfast. Yes, you are allowed to change it up mid-voyage but just know that they love to please and will attempt to have your desired coffee fresh and hot the moment they see you depart from your stateroom.

Hope you enjoyed this quick list! Where is your favorite capuchino from?

P.S. I have written the ‘C’ word about 20 times now and not one single time did it not have to get auto-corrected. ~~Cappa~~. ~~Cuppuchin~~. ~~Cappuchino.~~ Cappuccino: Easy to drink. Difficult to spell! In closing – I do realize that all 5 of my unique memories of sipping these have been void of my kids in tow. So maybe it’s more about savoring that peace and quiet vs the actual taste. Hope you travel to one of these spots and please let me know if you agree!

Blog, Family Travel, Travel

Flying During a Pandemic

July 27, 2020 1 Comment

Masked and Mobile. Wheels up soon. — ***Masked and Mobile.***

Let’s address the 747 in the room. We flew during a pandemic. There I said it. So I might as well share what it was like to fly on in June and July in what is the weirdest year of my life: 2020.

Airport was empty — ***If I’m honest it was actually a better experience than typical air travel. Not many crowds and everyone just SO happy they have some freedom to travel again.***

I hadn’t been out too much since the Rona came to the States. Our abrupt return from Europe back in March is a story for another day.

I’d only been to a handful of stores in the past 4 months and out a few times for cocktails with friends sitting socially distant on patios. Living in our small community it has been nice to support small businesses when we can. But not having spent much time INSIDE anywhere made gearing up to head to the airport seriously weird. Think about it, an airport is like hitting up the grocer, the mall, an amusement park and indoor restaurants all at the same time. Wow it was stimulus overload just thinking about it. But I can tell you we dipped our toes in the travel waters and I’m happy to share what I think made it ‘enjoyable’ (or maybe we just call it ‘bearable’ because the act of getting from point A to point B during a pandemic shouldn’t really be labeled as enjoyable):

Photo Ops with the easy boarding — *Still in PJ’s. Happy to add a new face mask* *accessory* to her 6am flight uniform.

Early flights: We took a 6:30am flight so I felt confident it was first flight of the day = cleanest? I thought of it as equivalent to those early morning shoppers hours they offer to the elderly and immunocompromised. The airport was not busy at all. We even found a prime parking spot as soon as we pulled into the carpark. Despite zero lines at security, TSA pre-check was still appreciated so we didn’t have to remove shoes or the 85 electronics that we travel with as small business owners and 2 kids in tow. As a test I went through the ‘regular person’ line and was out of security only 1.5 minutes after my family. NOTE: *in the eyes of a 6 year old, I was still the ‘loser’. We love us some competition.
Bags of sanitizer: I put a handful of sanitizing wipes in multiple ziplock bags. Each bag had enough to wipe down our seating areas for each flight, as well as a few spare bags for our layover in Chicago. We would use all the wipes and then stash them inside an empty ziplock to throw away. It was like our very own virus capsule that I’m sure the TODAY show would love to get their hands on to test and scare the bejezus out of us all.
Prayer. Ya’ll God wants to hear from you and He is listening. Pray for safety and travel mercies and look for opportunities to make smart decisions. Anyway, just mask up and don’t forget to send your prayers up too!
Snacks: In an effort to keep things as self-contained as possible I packed every sweet and savory snack that my pink North Face backpack could handle. (I love this Lululemon backpack but it doesn’t hold near to feed a family of 4 on the road).

That’s it. Seriously – you don’t need to go crazy with your preparation. We wore masks and washed hands frequently.

***Bags of sanitizing wipes. The new airplane activity to occupy the kiddos. This is 2020.***

*Hand washing tip for kids (and some of you adults may need this too): We put a little ink stamp on their hand and they have to scrub hands until it disappears!

It has been 3 weeks since we’ve flown and we have all remained symptom/Covid free. Unless whining is a symptom. I’d say that a few of us have serious Post Travel Depression and aren’t fairing too well in the attitude department.

As for more on our experience in flight here are some highlights of how different it was.

***The required acceptance pre-flight.***

Southwest: The ‘Chick-Fil-A‘ of Airlines.

We flew Southwest from DFW – Chicago – MSP. We refer to our beloved Southwest Airline as our ‘private plane’ because we could always change/cancel/double book/book at the last minute. Basically we could treat a flight on Southwest as if we owned the plane!

The best part is Southwest currently boards only 10 people at a time (no red carpet or welcome cocktail, but leisurely boarding is what private jets are all about). And they mandate that the middle seat stay open (unless you are traveling together and WANT to use it (we DID NOT want to. LOL. But really, we didn’t). They will continue to keep the flights at this reduced capacity that allows ALL middle seats to remain empty thru September. Or possibly longer. We know all changes are fluid these days.

Middle seat empty on Southwest — ***Every middle seat stays empty!***

*Sunrise breakfast. Not always a fan of* *eat*ing on planes but feeling grateful to have a meal at 40,000 feet.

Love Field. The Tranquil Library of Airports.

***Her luggage tag says “You say lay over…I say Happy Hour”. LOL! But layovers are certainly less exciting when you spend it solely sanitizing and sitting. Away from others.***

Before boarding it was almost eerily quiet. Recognizing that this may have been the first mid-pandemic flight for most of us, we were all stone-faced and listening as the Gate Agent described the boarding process and reminded us of the rules that we agreed to upon checking in.

During the flight they reminded us that masks are mandatory except while eating or drinking. And to help keep those actions to a minimum they walked down the aisle once with a pre-filled cup of water and a small mixed pretzel snack.

Upon landing NO ONE clapped!! And I would say that is the biggest win of all! Why do people clap when a plane lands? I’m all for supporting people in the job they are doing, but why are we clapping for the landing? I can tell you in my experience people don’t clap during pandemic landings. Well done humanity.

I will end this anecdote by saying that I also appreciated that no one was crowding around the baggage claim. You guys – you NEVER needed to be crowding in the same area of baggage claim. No one would listen to me on this ~~opinion~~ fact, but now that we are all scared of germs I hope everyone will see how easy it is to spot and grab your bag from a safe distance.

***Why are they smiling? Because their parents didn’t have to fight the crowds of people that think hovering at the luggage belt is necessary!***

What are your thoughts on travel these days? Any flights you’ve taken or decided to re-book? Would love if you scrolled down to share in the comments 🙂

Blog, Family Travel, Travel

Zee Last Zurich Flight

March 27, 2020 2 Comments

As we slept soundly in our cozy Paris hotel room situated in the idyllic area of St. Germain du Pres, there was an announcement being made back in the USA alluding to a complete travel ban coming within 48 hours. Was it a game of ‘telephone’ gone horribly askew or did the announcement blatantly leave out some crucial facts to stir up a bigger mess? Either way jet lag (and pure excitement for another Parisian day) had me waking up at 3:30 am. I regretfully grabbed my phone to check the time – (why do we check the time when we wake up? How is that ever helpful to our sleep?) To my complete surprise, it was filled with over 30 text messages as well as long threads from the WhatsApp groups I have.

“GET HOME BY FRIDAY”

chocolat chaud {Hot Chocolate} — **Greenley embraced everything that makes the French, French. She would want to stay too.**

Do I wake Heath? No. Don’t panic. We will either go home or we will stay longer but nothing is happening at 3:30am.

Was it my audible sighs or the light from my phone? Not sure but something caused him to stir and I just blurted out what I knew.

His response to my proclamation stating, “We need to leave now or we might not be able to get home”: “Perfect” and rolled over and went back to sleep.

Ok, maybe it was discussed a bit more, but that is basically the result we both came to before falling back into a deep sleep only waking at 9am again.

I’ll go into more details on our discussions and what the following days in Europe looked like if you are interested, but today I want to share what it looked like as we neared the end of our time in Europe.

**Sledging in Switzerland**
(ok, fine. It was a fun alternative to skiing)

Matterhorn family photo — ***Not a single cloud in the sky. Ski goggles are just the bulkier version of sunglasses.***

***Final ascent to grab a bier and lunch before sledging all the way down.***

Sure ski lifts and mountain trains had shut down all over Zermatt (for those that don’t know our story, we arrived in Zermatt with SEVENTY pounds of ski equipment/gear to find out that we had lugged it all there in vain). But don’t feel too sorry for us – we learned about ‘skinning’ the mountain in true Swiss style and hiked daily to mountain top restaurants rewarding ourselves with delicious beers/views and sledging all the way down. But even with the ‘main’ attraction coming to a halt, the town bars and restaurants were still serving up yummy fondue and sincere hospitality.

It was hard to wrap our head around the urgency to return back to Texas versus enjoying what may be our last big vacation for a while.

Hot chocolate on a swiss mountain top — **Cute face, cute view.**

Zermatt Bier — **ZERMATT BIER after a 2 mile uphill hike = Liquid Gold.**

Not that we even had a true choice. Delta would not even consider changing our flights unless we wanted to fork over 12 GRAND to fly home early.

FRIENDS – I have never spent $12,000 dollars to GO on a trip. I was ABSOLUTELY not going to be spending even half that to COME HOME from a trip. early.

NOT HAPPENING.

I love Delta Airlines. And I had to trust that they would let me know when it was time to throw in the towel (for free).

That ‘towel’ dropped Sunday when they cancelled our Wednesday flight. After being on hold for over an hour (they had long since done away with the ‘call back’ feature. I assume they were trying to weed out the callers that didn’t have an urgent enough need to sit on an international call for an hour) the lady gave me only 2 flight options:

Depart on Monday (tomorrow)
Depart sometime next week (tempting)

We would make our way back to Zurich (while my dad and sister sourced hotels WITH A POOL for our last night before we returned to zee unknown). Zee journey from Zermatt to Zurich is one to ‘zeecus’ later.

Monday morning we traveled by desolate train only to arrive in an equally desolate Zurich airport. It was sad, but also incredibly lovely. Air travel with zero rush, crowds or that ‘pesky general public‘ has me dreaming of my grandmothers old travel photos. Where women wore hats and sipped martinis while boarding flights.

But I can assure you she never encountered the greeting we did as we arrived to check in with Delta:

*Gate Agent holding all our passports and lifting my sons new Swiss ball cap ever so slightly turns to me: “When did you graduate High School” (Is my anti-aging cream working or is this just an interrogation?)

His questioning continues (assuring me his first inquiry was not meant to be flattery): “What do you do for a living in the US”.

Well crap – how do I quickly explain that I mostly raise the kids, help my husband with his business, have my realtors license, do home staging as needed and also dabble in swim lessons during the summers. (Do I share all of this?) *I did*.

Gate agent was done questioning me. No one likes the over-talker.

Train to Flughafen. Empty. — ***Johnny Madison likes the over-talker. Because it takes one to know one.***
***(Empty Train Station in Zurich)***

To Heath the Gate Agent asked, “How old are you” (See Heath – you too should be using a night cream).

“What degree did you get from University”? (Heath now has questions for him. BOLD!).

And suddenly the gate agent says we may proceed with checking our luggage.

Zurich Airport. Ghost Town. — **May his eyes never see an airport so desolate again.**

Later that morning we would board our international flight with over 200 empty seats. Before takeoff the pilot and flight attendants would both announce that we were departing early and this was Delta’s “Last Flight from Zurich”. Even the crew that flew the plane over were dead heading it back to the USA sleeping in First Class.

***Over 200 empty seats on Zee Zurich Flight home***

But getting off this plane would prove to be the most interesting flight experience I’ve ever had. And you know I’ve spent some time at 35,000 feet. More to come…

Blog, Home, Party, Renovation

Party without the Panic

May 21, 2019 4 Comments

Our current home renovation is fully underway. But you know I didn’t allow one wall to come down until we partied in the original space. We signed the papers on the house at 10am Friday and put together a random last minute party for that same evening.

**Because time was of the essence, I built this on MINTED. Saved it as an image and then just texted the photo to friends and family that I thought would like to see!**

Party prep pre demolition — **Crafts and Kids. Totally stress free in a home that is set for demolition the next morning.**

Listen people, we don’t do all these home renovations just because we like seeing the beautiful outcome. Buying a home in desperate need of attention gives us another perfect reason to entertain. And we are NO ONE if not simple humans seeking any excuse to throw a shindig.

{See our last home renovation pre-party HERE. And that specific Before and After HERE.}

Some of you may ‘gasp’ at the idea of putting together a soirée last minute in a home that is minutes from being demolished. But let me tell you that this setting is EXACTLY the perfect place to host your friends.

Think about it: *Expectations are low. (unless you are a total monster, everyone has grace on the couple hosting a party in a dilapidated home they purchased only hours prior). Which leads me to the next major bonus: NO CLEAN UP! Can I say it again for those in the back? NO CLEAN UP! Don’t really have to clean before guests arrive either (a few cobweb dustings might be appropriate but don’t get too crazy). You certainly DO NOT have to clean up when they leave. Countertops filled with crumbs and muddy floors are the least of your concern when you know a demolition crew is just hours away from coming in to rip up floors and jackhammer thru some brick walls.

And while all this sounds a bit silly, to us it’s seriously fun! We would not enjoy spending time renovating homes if we couldn’t share the updates and progress with friends and family. It’s more exciting to share the home reveal when you’ve been able to share a true ‘before’ experience with others.

**Wall of Fame. Does is stay or does it go?**

Complete Self Portrait — **Self-portraits only a mother could love.**

We are all so busy this time of year – it’s actually the perfect time to keep your celebrations simple and focused on the fun of being together – unless of course you need some alone time. In that case, may I suggest you be the one that does all the shopping for a party. You leave for a few hours and your family never needs to know how quickly this can be done. #winkwink

I’ll include our shopping list and quick party tips below. For this particular party, it was the perfect weather to have doors open, kids playing outside. And of course we had the luxury of allowing them to color and glue on walls. Not to mention, no parents had to walk around pretending their kids know how to pick up after themselves. Because no one enjoys picking up after themselves so we should really give each other grace on this front as well.

CHARCUTERIE BOARD (this portion feeds approx 20):

(we like to purchase all items from our local Central Market)

1/2 pound Capricola

1/2 pound of Mustard Seed Salami

1/2 pound Sopreseta

4oz goat cheese

4oz Manchego cheese (add a drizzle of honey sweet thang)

4oz Blue Cheese

Vine of Grapes

2 handfuls of Olives

Handful of Corshons

Praline pecans

Dijon and Mustard Seed mixture

Add in Apple/figs/strawberries/etc.

*The key is a good mixture of savory to sweet along with spicy to mild.

Various Crackers (we {HEATH} make our own using a skinny baguette sliced up. Then toast up the slices and top with olive oil/salt/pepper). We {ME} also buy Water crackers and I’m very visual so anything else that pops out at me that day.

Simple party bites — **I love a good ‘come and go’ before dinner party. Lite Bites are so easy to prep!**

Drink set up — **Drink Station. Waters in the shape of an airplane and the plastic cups stacked high. We are David Tutera’s party nightmare!**

Have music playing as guests arrive (we always use our BOSE speaker wherever we go). Let guests know where the drinks are if they are not immediately visible when they walk in. Offer to take any bags and let them know where you will be putting them so they can easily find it when they need to leave. And if kids are involved certainly just put away anything you don’t want juvenile hands touching. Keeps everyone more relaxed!

I wish I would have taken more photos during the party, but isn’t that truly the sign of a good time. So much fun, never thought to find my camera.

As I write this we are hopeful that we are just 6 weeks away from moving into this completely transformed space. In the meantime…feel free to invite me over to your place. I promise to always be a good time. And let’s make a deal that you don’t have to pick up before I arrive!

What is your favorite go-to party food?

Blog, Family Travel, Travel, Weekend Getaway

Spring Ski Season – do you need another reason?

April 23, 2019 4 Comments

Have your social media news feeds been filled with friends and family claiming ‘epic snow’, ‘best skiing ever’, ‘straight shredding’ or the bold claims of ‘First Tracks’? Ya’ll, they aren’t just exaggerating. It really has been one of the best years yet. And guess what? You still have plenty of time to make your own family {or friend} ski trip happen this year.

THIS IS NOT A TYPO NOR AN OLD POST! Many resorts are still open thru May this year due to ‘EPIC’ snowfall! I’ll include a link below to resorts staying open late this year.

Growing up in a ski-loving family I have an incredible love and nostalgia for the sound of the chair lift making its way up the mountain. If that sound immediately comes to mind for you, then you need to make your way to slopes. The soft buzz of the ski lift cables with the little bumpity-bump as your suspended chair cruises over the wheels propelling you further up the mountain. For me, only a new baby cooing can come close to raising endorphin levels like that sweet mountainous sound.

Ski Lift Loving — **Ski Lift Love. {ski photos help one learn how to photoshop because i promise you my nose was BRIGHT red in reality. #rudolph**

At the age of 3 my parents had me skiing. Even moving away from Colorado we would trek back annually for some of the best memories a little girl can dream of. I know every family has ‘their thing’. For me and the way I grew up, I wholeheartedly feel that giving your kids the gift of ski lessons is an awesome gift you can give for them. Just think: You get to do an activity with your kids as they grow older. You have their captive attention on ski lifts in between runs {something that no doubt becomes difficult to do as they grow older}. Plus you get to end your days with the laughter from silly falls and recapping favorite tree ski runs. And who knows – maybe one of you reading this is raising the next Lindsay Vonn!? If so, I want those front row Olympic tickets as my ‘thank you’ for this post.

G at 3 on the magic carpet — Even Lindsey Vonn had to start somewhere. This is G on her 3rd birthday! They call this the ‘magic carpet’, but I’d say it’s magical that my very ‘particular’ little girl loved skiing. Let them try…I’ll be you’ll be happily surprised!

And for the parents out there still wondering if they too should get their kids skiing, I’ll give you this one last sentiment. Think of a ski trip where there was that steep hill that you kept skiing past. Your friends were doing the big jump at the end. Your heart wanted to try it but your mind was like “Hell to the N!O! Think of the insurance deductible. This will really hurt if you fall and you’ll probably miss dinner too”, etc. (Does everyone jump to conclusions like I do when they are worried?). Then you finally either get up the nerve to try that big jump or you just get peer-pressured into going for it. Either way, you do it and the feeling of elation afterwards is incredible. Indescribable even. Your confidence soars and you’ll never forget that leap of faith. Well, that same feeling of pride comes from WATCHING your kids learn to ski. They take that leap of faith, putting on super short Frozen-themed skis and just point them down the mountain. We are not always given opportunities to do something for our kids that give both child and parent that equal sense of pride and accomplishment. #JustTryIt God gave us mountains and snow and man created the best way to experience it. (plus, it’s 2019 and ski gear has come a long way. The awesome quality means no one is whining about being cold like we did back in the ’80’s….with NO helmet) #survivor

Ski bunnies from the 80's — **No helmets and puffy mittens. You know this was a brutal ski day if goggles were in play because we usually just wore heart-shaped sunglasses. Skiing in the ’80’s was rad.**

**My cute cousin. Me blazing down the slopes (LOL) . And check out my moms earmuffs! #1980’s**

Sure it can be crazy expensive but there are ways around it and I’ll give you those money-saving tips in another post. Also – I bet if you added up your daily beach resort cocktails and half-eaten grilled cheeses, you’d just about equal a lift ticket so it really can be comparable to other vacation prices. *Another bonus….kids are working hard all day so they actually eat the dinner you buy them that evening. And if that fact doesn’t have you googling flights now, then I suppose your kids are better eaters than mine typically are?!

See On The Snow for a list of Mountain Resorts will be open thru MAY! Heath just returned from skiing Heavenly in Lake Tahoe last week and we can’t recommend this mountain enough. Especially for spring!

For Example:

Heavenly Panoramic. No Words. — **Lake to the far left. Green ranchland to the far right.**

You can ski all day and then enjoy a Pontoon lake boating adventure for evening. Standing from the top of the mountain you look to your left and see a pristine lake and to your right you enjoy beautiful scenery of snow flocked trees leading down to gorgeous green pasture. You have every weekend until Memorial Day to make your way to Heavenly

Quick Tips to make your spring ski weekend a success:

Book ski rental in advance with Christy Sports Booking even one day in advance saves you 20%. They usually send you a coupon as well so you can grab last minute forgotten items while renting and get a further discount.
If taking a little one to try skiing for the first time, talk it up to them, show videos of friends/relatives skiing and book your lesson in advance. You usually get a better rate and secure a spot. Again, these lessons are expensive, but think of it like this. You’re getting ‘babysitting’ PLUS your kid is learning a life skill. Put in the time and investment now and you reap the rewards in the coming years (and enjoy an adult lunch – rare on family ~~vacations~~ trips ).
If you are in need of lots of gear, think back to all those social media posts your neighbor put up over Spring Break. Most likely they aren’t going again this Spring, so reach out to see what you can borrow. If you prefer to buy, just know that gear is so well made these days it will last you for YEARS! I still have goggles and thermals that work perfectly 10 years later. Don’t judge.
This took a bit of a serious turn with the advice. But JUST HAVE FUN! It’s ‘seriously’ amazing to bask in God’s beautiful scenery while flying down the mountain. Even if you loose a glove, sorta wet your pants while trying to peel off layers getting to the bathroom or practically loose a limb schlepping all the gear to the mountain (I might have experienced in all 3 of these), it is all about the stories, the adventure and making memories.
Après Ski.

You have the rest of summer to enjoy summer! Will you get out there and sneak in a ski weekend this year? Or have I at least piqued your interest in booking a ski adventure for next winter? Let me know! I’m happy to post more tips on saving money, prepping, and where to go in the future!

Blog, Travel, Weekend Getaway

Six Quick Trip: A Series. 3 of 6

March 15, 2019 2 Comments

Sláinte!

If you’re like me, you knew NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) had great food, smooth jazz, traditions galore and was known for a wild Mardi Gras. What I didn’t realize was the best event this city puts on is the The New Orleans St. Patricks Day Parade(s). *but I’m happy to join you when you go for other festivals if you want to change my mind.

But back to St. Paddy’s Day NOLA style – There are several parades and you will head home with a suitcase full of cabbage, Irish Spring and anything green that is tossed your way.

All the parade flair — **Pro Tip: Bring a cooler for your drinks, then you’ll have a way to carry home all your loot post-parade!**

NOTE: Drinkers and non-drinkers alike can relish in my advice on spending St. Patricks Day here. PROOF: I found out I was pregnant the day before departing on a girls trip to celebrate (and wasn’t yet ready to tell anyone my surprising news). Living on water and mocktails, I spent all weekend LOVING the St. Paddy’s Day scene while telling every bartender in town that I couldn’t drink alcohol, but my friends needed think I was. Thank you to all 250 bartenders I came in contact with over those 4 days. Every single one of them quietly celebrated me and then hooked me up with a delicious mocktail! Props to New Orleans – a city of fun deception!

St Paddys day parade NOLA — **If it’s green, Irish or related to cabbage they will toss it!**

So many beads — **And also beads. But none of that crazy ‘exposure’ needed. Just wear GREEN and act a fool!**

While NOLA is city with enough options to entertain you for a year, it is the perfect little weekend getaway. And in the spirit of the upcoming holiday I’ll specifically share how to conquer St. Patricks Day NOLA style in the most fun way. Oh the luck (Pun intended my little Leprechaun!!) of me staring this quick trip series to line up with a great holiday getaway!

PARADES – In true NOLA fashion, they take a day and turn into 1.5 weeks of celebrations. There are several large parades surrounding the March 17th holiday. They typically start mid-day so you can meet with friends and go to a block party (where you will meet new friends), or grab oysters at Casamento’s on Magazine Street or just hang at your Air B & B while brunching and donning yourself in all the green you can bring. A list of full details is here. Items tossed to us while parade-watching were: cabbages, necklaces, toys, dog treats, and more. Cabbage is the theme here so I hope you don’t have some gastrointestinal issues cause you’ll be catching this fibrous veggie in all forms of plastic, plush and beyond. P.S. If doing the parade in the Irish Channel, hit up Parasol’s for a Po Boy.
MARDI GRAS INDIAN SUPER SUNDAY – we had no idea this was happening when we went and several ladies happened upon it. I think it’s common for this to occur over St. Patricks day weekend and you can’t miss it! Mardi Gras Indians from various groups perform and their costumes are beyond unique. (a few of them reminded me of the real life fluffy thingamajigs that pop up on that arcade game that you try to whack with a mallet. Maybe a bad example but the point is that the costumes are fun, lively and stir up fun emotions. If in town, please take advantage of witnessing such a unique spectacle! (It’s on Sunday. A super Sunday indeed!)
COCKTAIL SAMPLING – A Sazerac at the Roosevelt is basically as important as getting your passport stamped upon returning to the USA. And have you tried the French 75 at Carousel Bar? (I actually broke down here and drank this cocktail. Moms…my kid is now five, total chill, sorta smart and wants to go to Paris more than Disney. I’d say preggo moms should flock here stat. Must of been that French 75). Pimms Cup at Napoleon House (shoot…I think I had one of these too. The kid is mostly fine)! And don’t forget happy hour at The Columns Hotel. If you have a friend in the city, they will absolutely invite you to their architecturally fascinating home and entertain you over stories and champagne (aghhhh…there I go again. I couldn’t turn down her Veuve Champs. I really do think the my kid is {mostly} advancing.).
LARK IN THE PARK – An annual fundraising event hosted since 1982 with fabulous food, drinks, and great entertainment. The setting is in City Park. A large group of us went and everyone was having the best time hitting the small bites in a big way. The assortment of 30+ delectable food vendors is a non-drinking, preggo momma’s dream. And meandering thru the dreamy city park setting at night is a dream. Finally when the band came on and the dance party started I really tried sell my little secret by bringing the whole group shots (this trick is fabulous – everyone loves the surprise and they never think to check if the delivery girl had one or not. To be clear – I didn’t. But is this whole sneaky drink post making me sound like a lush?)
DINING – Assuming you all know to grab beignets from Cafe Du Monde, I want to be sure your restaurant list also includes: Jacques-Imo’s for unpretentious, regional cuisine. And for all of you that will only eat their Gumbo while dining with fine white tablecloths then you must make a reservation at Commanders Palace. And for those of you who just need to eat on the run, I can promise you plenty of one slice pizza stops and the hot dog vendors are 100% *recalls my 21 year old college-self. But I’m going to skip linking any of those :/.
UNITED APPAREL LIQUIDATORS – I’ve been to NOLA 10-15 times now and just about every visit I pop in this perfectly located shop on Chartres Street! It’s a small square shop crammed…CRAMMED..with designer apparel, shoes, handbags and more. Ya’ll I basically loathe shopping and could mostly care less about name brand or not but this eclectic shop is in the perfect location (just down from Jackson Square) It is so easy to take quick look while wandering the streets that help make this city famous. I’ve found incredible quality (name brand) skirts, dresses and shoes for a prices that are better than Target. I promise you there are better stores with lovelier customer service, but their sweet prices make a Shopbop mega-sale look preposterous.

Block party party swing good for pregnant mothers — **HONEST TO GOD – I went and joined this party to take a ride on the swing! No wonder my first born likes a good party! The perfect activity for a non-drinking pregnant mom!**

French 75 at Carousel Bar. — **The French 75 while taking a spin at the Carousel Bar.**

With so many fabulous spots and festivals in New Orleans – will you tell me what your personal favorites are? Scroll below to share with me please!

Blog, Travel, Weekend Getaway

Six Quick Trips: A Series. #2 of 6

March 6, 2019 6 Comments

With a small airport right in town, this quick trip begins as your plane descends. Arriving into Palm Springs is beautiful with the mountainous scenery. Grab a window seat and try spotting the famous pools littered amongst a sea of golf courses. Upon landing you walk off the plane and you’re immediately hit with crisp mountain air. #InstantVacationMode.

Tandem Biking in Palm Springs with a sky only God could create — **HI! Welcome to Palm Springs where you can walk, bike, golf cart, etc. to any place your heart desires. THIS IMAGE IS NOT PHOTO SHOPPED! It is just the real deal Palm Springs**

Just about every hotel has a pool, as do most Air B&B homes. We stayed at this homefor a girls weekend and then at a friends personal home for a couples weekend. Bonus – the hotel pools are available for public use so you can spend a day trying out the pool scene at a hotel you may not have wanted to spend the whole weekend in. (perfect solution for those of you indecisive like me).

WALK! – The remainder of my recommendations are going to be about eating and drinking, so you are going to want to plan time for exercise. I can easily suggest getting your steps in via shopping the estate sales, frolicking down the historic Palm Canyon Drive, walking the museums and trying to hunt down some of the homes that make this city eclectic. And I suppose a round of golf on one of the 124 pristine golf courses could also spur on your appetite. NOTE: Both of my visits to this city I have arrived saying I would absolutely hike one of the perfect trails. Spoiler: My tennis shoes never left my luggage either trip.
The Nest– it’s a bit outside of Palm Springs proper (Indian Wells) but the nightlife is hilarious, fun and I recommend you make a dinner reservation so that you are sure to get inside and grab a front row seat for the late night elderly love fights.
Parker Palm Springs– If you’re a baller stay here. If you just want to play like one, then eat and drink here. The lounge and bar area is just perfect. You can ‘parker’ there for a while.
Ace Hotel Swim Club– If you’re a people watcher like me, then you may enjoy the crazy pool scene at Ace.
Ritz-Carlton – and if you also love to set your eyes on beautiful scenery, then you will absolutely love grabbing a cliffside beverage at this chic hotel high in the hills. Put this on your ‘right when we land’ list. Seriously – we went straight from the airport.
Copley’s– this is my favorite dinner spot! Reserve a table outside, order wine. Let the menu take you where it will. It is ALL so good!

Wolfskill and Pine cocktail at the Ritz — **This Wolfskill and Pine cocktail had me ‘pine-ing’ for more time overlooking this great city.**

Yoga skills post cocktails. — **And after a few of those dreamy cocktails – you may show off your ‘wolf-skills’. Thank you for indulging my puns so I could share photos from the impeccable Ritz.**

You can spend quite a bit of time googling or asking around for Palm Springs suggestions. You will literally have to move to Palm Springs to see, do and eat at all the recommendations available. Even my friends with homes in this flawless city can’t see and do it all. But a long weekend in this city is perfect, because you CAN get a taste of what makes this city so wonderful. That is why I have included it as #2 on the ‘Quick Trip List’ (catch #1 here)

Air B & B lounge — **So whether you’re pulled up to a historic city bar…..**

Air B&B pool with view — **Lounging by a pool with a view….**

Parker Hotel Palm Springs — **Or just hanging at one of the famous and fabulous hotels…**

Palm Springs panorama — **Palm Springs is eye candy in every way possible. It is the type of weekend getaway that fits any type of travel group – couples, girls, families, etc!**

If you saw this Before and After post where I referenced Saved by the Bell, then you may be surprised that in two visits to Palm Springs I still haven’t made my way to the famous hotel where Jessie’s dad was getting married and where Screech reminded us that he gets sea sick on a ferry in 3 feet of water. But that is another reason to love this city – you leave with more new ideas for your return.

What is a city that you can’t wait to return to because of a missed bucket list item? I love to know! (scroll to the bottom for the comment section)

Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend Getaway

Six Quick Trips: A Series. #1 of 6

February 27, 2019 2 Comments

Heath and I were surprised (and yes, thrilled!) to find out just 6 weeks after getting married that our honeymoon had been, er, more ‘successful’ than we could have ever imagined.

If you don’t catch what I’m putting down: I GOT PREGNANT ON OUR HONEYMOON. This meant that within 10 months of being married our Mr. and Mrs. titles would transform into Mom and Dad. Our lifestyle would forever change. But we could never stop traveling!

We just celebrated our 6th anniversary so in keeping with that number theme, I’m sharing 6 of my favorite quick getaways over the next 6 weeks. It’s been fun to find easy ways to quickly escape reality. And because all of these destinations have so much to offer, I’m pairing it down to the 6 ‘must see or do’ for all 6 cities (aren’t you glad I’m not writing a numbers-themed post on our 25th anniversary?!) I’ll start this series with the little getaway that made me really appreciate my adjustable waist ski-pants:

Post-Partum ski trip. — Mom brain! Returning from our day of skiing and I realized we had zero photos to document this monumental moment in my life – That I could survive being away from my child….and that I should also resume working out. Air is thin for a new momma in Colorado!

1. WINTER PARK

Kicking off the list with our 1st anniversary 36-hour escape. Our son was just 2 months old so it was the very first time we travelled without him. I was still living in nursing tops and stretchy pants but felt compelled to slightly come out of that newborn haze for my first time away without le bebe. After creating 3 pages of baby guidelines/timings/tips I’m sure my mom and mother-in-law ~~laughed~~ cringed as we headed to catch a flight for a one day ski adventure in Winter Park.

Depending on where you’re traveling from flights to/from Denver are very inexpensive! We used our Southwest Airlines points redeeming only 5k points round trip. If you put your standard household bills on this card for a month or two (and pay in full, on time), you’ve automatically found your ‘free’ ticket to Denver. Then it’s an easy 1.5 hour drive to this mountain. Just long enough that you fully appreciate the pretty drive before getting too antsy for your arrival.

Top Six:

Ski! The best part about leaving our little baby for this getaway was that having the activity of skiing forced me to take a break from checking in on him so often. We spent the whole day either burning it out down the mountain or freezing our way up the lift. Pulling out my phone to check-in just wasn’t a priority. Guess what! Baby survived and is thriving! It’s ok to not check in for a few hours at a time!
Apres Ski! You won’t find a better view than Sunspot. At 10,700 altitude, this is where you should reward your hard work on the mountain.
Dinner at Volarios – they boast of ‘elevated Italian cuisine in a down-to-earth setting’. And whether you skied hard or just spent energy bundling up for the cold, noshing on plates of delectable pasta should never be missed.
Waffle Cabin. Do I even need to sell you on this? Chocolate covered waffles at the bottom of the slopes. (and one in the village as well). I say go to both. Just to compare and be certain you love this tradition as much as everyone else.
Tubing – because this is 2019 and we like instant gratification. Can we all agree that sledding down a hill is way more fun when you can eliminate the hike up hill? Spend the $30/hour to get to use the conveyor belt taking you to the top and then enjoy the ride as you cruise one of 4 lanes complete with twists and turns.
Lodge on Vasquez Creek – Walking distance to shops and a block from the slopes. This home available for rent (and equipped with the mountain must (a hot tub) is a great spot for large groups! You can reserve it here.

Heath and I love to refer to Southwest Airlines as our ‘Private plane’ (a term stolen from another frequent flier). But truly – you can book and cancel as you please. Most routes offer a dozen options a day. And the crew is always so friendly. Thanks to this airline we’ve had so many fun weekend getaways that are no more expensive and the same travel time as most drivable options. Come back next week to hear my 6 suggestions for a city that will have you ready to SPRING forward!

Where is your FAVORITE weekend escape?

Blog, Home, Home Projects, Renovation

Ballet Barre

January 15, 2019 2 Comments

The After. One of the bedrooms, now a girls dream.

Heath and I created a baby Ballerina. So now we’ve gone and done what every obsessed dance parent would do:

We built a Ballet Barre.

And now I will play ‘Choreographer’ and teach you to do it too.

For the love of dance. — **My friend said to me: “*Don’t ever let her loose that way she is looking at herself*“. May we all raise confident kids!**

At the age of two we thought it would be so fun to sign our daughter up for the local dance studio in town. Having seen a few episodes of TLC’s Dance Moms and knowing competition is stiff for these tiny dancers, we knew it was time to take her dancing to the next level. Sure we had wood floors installed at home (read: lots of professional grade practice area), but we knew her foundation in ballet was critical. And because her passion for dance was strong, we wanted our 2-year old daughter to know she could practice 24 hours a day. This commitment made it easy to select her bedroom as the prime location for installing her personal ballet barre!

Ok, ok. Maybe the above paragraph is laden with sarcasm. If you didn’t pick up on that, I do hope you can agree how stinking cute it is for a little girl to have her very own ballet barre in her room. And I sure hope you know how! much! fun! little kids have dancing in the mirror at this age. They are constantly impressed and filled with adoration for themselves. May that confidence never cease!

So whether you have the future Swan Lake lead in your house, or you just love the idea of giving more opportunities for your child and her friends to have creative dance and play, we have the quick (and inexpensive!) steps for you to do this in your own home!

HARDWARE YOU WILL NEED:

Handrail Bracket (two) Linked here
1-3/8 inch Hardwood Dowel (cut to length desired. Ours is 40 inches in length. Linked here
Mirror (you can be as creative as you like, but be certain it will fit behind and in between the two handrail brackets.
Screwdriver (we use a cordless electric screwdriver because we hate to bust a sweat.)

THAT IS IT PEOPLE!!! That is all you need!

(hello, Saturday morning project!)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLATION:

Sink one handrail bracket into a stud at desired height. (using this stud finder here can be very helpful.)
Making ‘dad style’ jokes about ‘studs’: optional
32 inches from your first handrail is where you should find another stud (studs are always set every 16″ unless they had to alter for a various wall).
For height placement measure where your ballerina wants it. Ours is certainly not set to the ‘industry standard’. Don’t tell .
If you are doing a longer ballet barre than we did, you could space the handrails further apart…using the 16″ rule again to make installation safe and easy. But keep in mind that you’ll need a handrail bracket at least every 48″, so if you are doing an incredibly long ballet bar, you may need multiple handrail brackets.
And for the Grande Finale: Hang mirror on the center (by placing our handrails 32″ apart, this ensured that we would have a stud to hang the mirror on smack dab in the middle! #KISS method: Keep it simple studs.
Finally, prepare yourself to have the lead dancer in the next recital (or at least just to up the fun quotient in your home)!

Handrails secured to studs 32" apart. — **Ballet bar Step One. Handrails set 32″ apart…securely attached to studs!**

Securing the wooden dowel to handrails. — **Place the pre-cut 1-3/8 inch wooden dowel and secure to handrails.**

Little hands can even help — Love a project so quick and easy that even the toddler feels like she can help. (as opposed to many other times when yelling might come into play…what’s the ballet term for ‘let daddy finish’?)

Measuring up to be a great ballerina — **Measure twice. Cut once. Rules to live by for a boss baby ballerina!**

Double check to see it is all secure — **Once all is set perfectly in place. Double check that everything is tight and secure. If your kids are like mine, their strength is unbelievable.**

Phoebe Fawn and her first pair of ballet shoes. — **The Grande Finale: Add a few little details because this is decorative too. I added her first pair of ballet shoes and her favorite dolly, Phoebe Fawn from Hazel Village.**

Encouraging and inspiring dance. — **Sometimes her little dance space inspires creative movement…..**

makeup mischief — And sometimes it inspires her to take a little too much creative liberties! Either way…we love this space so much we’ve created it in TWO homes now. Shall we call this photo the official ‘Tableau’ (some sort of Ballet term that means it depicts the entire play..and I’d say this photo does indeed depict our life!)

Please scroll down to the comments to let me know if there are other projects you want details on…or share photos of your tiny dancer! Doesn’t get much cuter than seeing kids decked out in their dance attire!

**A ballerina always knows who to thank for her dance journey! Post recital smooches for her most excited fan!**