Uncategorized – 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!

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, Renovation, Uncategorized

Before and After in less than 22 minutes

January 3, 2019 10 Comments

Growing up I loved Saved by the Bell. There would usually be some sort of drama (Gasp, Jesse is on pills and we have an aerobics video to record). But then it always returned to happy perfection when Slater and Zach saved the day. Remove the commercials and, if you’re like me, you realize you can solve most of life’s problems in less than 22 minutes. (Even Screech occasionally found his coordination and had a few ‘special’ moments with Lisa within those 22 minutes. I’m telling you…I thought anything could happen in less than 22 minutes).

And I’m certain most of you reading this have also seen the magical home renovations on HGTV that occur in the same time frame. Well guess what my friends?! Our latest project is overdue on our own magical home reveal. Sure we did a reveal party but someone (me) was hitting the cheese platter too hard to remember to take any photos. And now that we’ve also hosted a few Christmas soiree’s, I want to do a proper BEFORE and AFTER photo share.

The actual renovation for our Pied-a-Terre (read more about it here and here) took a full 13 weeks. But today I’m giving you the pretty ‘tied with a big bow’ finished version. And in less time than our coveted 22 minute sitcoms. (Although please do let me know in the comments which project you want to hear more about). If I can add humor and helpful information to it then I promise to do a write up to share details. And when are vaulted ceilings and updated tile never not funny!?.

Just like I couldn’t wait to see Lisa Turtle find a soft spot for Screech each episode, I hope you too can see that this house was wonderful to begin with. It just felt dated and we love to find and restore some updated charm.

Oh…and because you know my family likes to keep things interesting. Our whole family fled to Mexico for a week in the middle of this 13 week project. What HGTV never shows you in those 22 minutes is the insane mental exhaustion of a renovation. Spoiler: beach cocktails help cure this ailment. We came back ready to finish. She is a beauty! Take a look!

Before with zero curb appeal — **THE BEFORE. Forget about curb appeal. You could barely see the house driving by!**

After. Sherwin Williams Shoji White. — **THE AFTER. Ahhhh! There she is! Bushes be gone and show us your bright white!**
**(more specifically Sherwin Williams Shoji White). You actually notice the big sprawling tree now as well.**

BEFORE. Come inside and look around! — **THE BEFORE. Come on in and let us show you around.**

THE AFTER: Even the models seem cuter in their raingear! 35* and rainy on reveal day. But for a family that ‘loves a rainy night’ these 8 foot glass front doors ‘are a beautiful sight’. Thank you Eddie Rabbit for my lyrical door description.

Split level with a split personality. Bold and confusing. — THE BEFORE. Split level with a split-second decision on which staircase to use. There were TWO staircases within 4 feet of walking in the door. If you’re indecisive like me, you’ll appreciate that we gave you one solid grand entry.

The After. Entry way — **THE AFTER. The largest doors I’ve seen in person with my actual eyeballs. A bright and elegant light with just a few grand easy stairs taking you into your cozy living area.**

Before Family Room colored in all brown — **THE BEFORE. A solid dark palette and turns out the fireplace brick was poorly assembled. One swing of the hammer and it all came down!!!**

The After with vaulted ceilings! Hooray! — THE AFTER. Why yes we did vault the ceilings! Installed real hardwoods, updated the fireplace that turns on with the flick of a switch (or by asking my 3 year old to do it)! And of course we gave her fresh paint – **Sherwin Williams Front Porch.Speaking of paint – that painting you are all going to ask me about is by Legendary Katie Murray.**

Before Laundry and Storage — THE BEFORE. The laundry room and storage was all one space. We redesigned the entire downstairs and think it’s much more user friendly. (do you spy one of the staircases that formerly led to the entryway?)

The After. Spacious and Stylish Laundry Room. — **THE AFTER: A sizable (and stylish) Laundry Room. Large enough to host a gathering and pretty enough that you might actually run a load of laundry too!**

Before Bonus living area — **THE BEFORE. This was the large living space off of the laundry and storage area. They gave us a great space to work with. We just knew we could make it more functional.**

**THE AFTER. Smooth ceilings, reinforced header (au revior columns), and lots of places to stash the toys before company arrives!**

Before half bathroom — **THE BEFORE. This half bath was showing it’s age with a few dated design aspects.**

The After. Downstairs Bathroom — **THE AFTER: Downstairs bathroom. A few easy, inexpensive and simple updates!**
**So fresh and so clean!**

Before Master Bedroom — **THE BEFORE. Master Bedroom had a large layout with an area that we felt would be better used and appreciated in the Master Bathroom**

The After Master bedroom with a fresh design. — **THE AFTER. The Master Bedroom is still spacious with a seating area (out of view from photo). We think you’ll agree on stealing space for the Master Bath…..**

Before Master Bathroom. — **THE BEFORE. A tiny Master bathroom considering the overall size of the house. Itsy-bitsy shower and just the one shell-shaped sink!**

After Master Bathroom. Saving marriages with double sink vanities. — **THE AFTER. There’s room in here for two! Larger shower and a double sink vanity (because we believe in the sanctity of marriage).**

Before Master Closet. — **THE BEFORE. Previously the Master closet was accessed thru the bedroom. Our renovations allowed for a proper en suite.**

After Master Closet and En Suite — THE AFTER. Master Closet (En Suite) has an updated layout and is now accessed thru the bathroom. I love this because it means if you sleep in later than your partner, he can shower and get ready in one area without opening and closing doors and turning on various lights. (I might be speaking from personal experience here ‘5am Heath’).

Before Leigh Ann's bedroom — THE BEFORE. Leigh-Ann’s bedroom. I’m not sure who Leigh Ann was but she had 3 layers of wall paper and I was digging her ever-changing design ideas! As we did with all the bedrooms, we just freshened it up and made it move-in ready for anyone’s design to take shape!

Before single panel doors — **THE BEFORE. We replaced all 16 single panel doors. RIP Leigh-Ann’s room.**

The After. One of the bedrooms, now a girls dream. — THE AFTER: ‘Leigh-Ann’s Bedroom’.
Now Greenley’s bedroom and she loves having her own ballet barre along with two closets. #girlsdream

Before Hall Bathroom — **THE BEFORE. Layout was already large so we just updated with some of our favorite design ideas at the time!**

The After Hall bathroom. Floor to ceiling tile and a shiny vanity! — THE AFTER. The most commented thing on this Hall Bathroom thus far has been regarding the shiny finish on the vanity. It’s hard to see in the photo but just know it has serious luster and we love the way it pops with the gold accents and white tiled wall.

BEFORE backyard deck — **THE BEFORE. Most of you have seen the backyard from the pool here. But we also wanted to update this side of the yard.**

After backyard deck — **THE AFTER. Again we simplified things by reducing the stairs and opening up the area to better entertain your friends and family.**

Before the kitchen — THE BEFORE. I will end this post with the most requested room in the house….the Kitchen! I coined the wall to the left as the ‘isolation wall’ because the cook was literally cut off from the rest of the house. The space was too small to let others into the kitchen with you, yet being fully walled off, you couldn’t even pretend to be a part of the group.

The After. Kitchen looking out to the spacious and inviting living area. — THE AFTER. The kitchen now opens up to the main living area. The high ceilings make it feel more spacious and you still have easy access to the living area downstairs. You should have seen the 10 guys hauling in this massive marble island countertop.

After. Another incredible view of the kitchen with a pretty pop of color in the backsplash. — THE AFTER. Casing out the kitchen sink window instantly made it feel larger and we added the largest window we could find within our time constraints. Now this is a kitchen I can really spend some time in (I probably still won’t cook, but I will spend more time here).

Y’all this house (our Pied-a-Terre) is FOR SALE! We have moved our little family here until the next owners find it and I can whole-heartedly tell you that it’s wonderful! Will you stop by for a drink if you’re ever in Fort Worth? It’s seriously the perfect home for hosting. Tell me the details of this project you want to hear more about. You know I love to share!

Home, Renovation, Travel, Uncategorized

I’m on a Boat and….

October 23, 2018 4 Comments

Lake season in Texas is officially over. Sure, there is more than enough water, but I’m way too cold and full of pumpkin-spiced lattes to trapse around in a bikini. And quiet down now if you are already thinking to yourself that I should never trapse around in a bikini. This is not the place for body-shaming!

To keep my spirits up on chilly days, I like to blare songs from our ever evolving summer boat playlist. They are fun and sunny, but many tend to be so inappropriate. Why is that? Nevertheless, it reminds me of when I first learned the gravity of playing a foul language song to the wrong group.

When I began working for SeaDream (as a Yacht Director on the luxury line) the song ‘I’m On A Boat‘ by The Lonely Island, was released. (Grandma, do not click that link!) What you also need to know about me is that I’m the type of girl that ‘acts first, worries later’. Meaning, I don’t really think of my actions before they occur. This often results in fun. Yet, usually gets me into trouble. While working on SeaDream, I was basically removed from the real world. Week to week I had one goal and one goal only…receive perfect scores on our Voyage surveys. Ok, ok, I wanted to do a good job and be helpful to the rest of our crew. And I genuinely did want the guests to like me. But let me get real with you quickly. I didn’t check Facebook, I didn’t watch TV and I barely emailed with friends and family. I was consumed with creating daily itineraries that catered to the elite traveller. And of course I was constantly responding to Patty’s complaints about the pesky locals not taking the US Dollar (she brought 500 $1 bills to France and she wants to use them). Or maybe I was busy solving Mr. Wienfeld’s issue of needing crab legs for the 4th day in a row (because he didn’t realize we had fresh crab the last 3 days and today we don’t. This is now my problem). All that to say, I heard there was a ‘fun’ new song about being on a boat and didn’t realize the mass amounts of profanity throughout this Boat song. I was the naive world traveller….a ‘flipping tourist’ you might say. (NOTE: It isn’t actually until THIS VERY MOMENT that I am realizing this song was actually a SNL-skit thing. Cleary I’m still out of touch).

I just remember being incredibly ecstatic that an entire song had been written about my current life! Although, if I think about the language that gets thrown around at sea I suppose it shouldn’t have been shocking that the lyrics of a boat song were littered with f-bombs towards your mutha.

Before listening to even one chorus of ‘I’m on a Boat’, I just took it upon myself to download this ballad and blast these tunes through the entire yacht sound system. After about six lines of ‘Mother F*&@?$ boat’ I realized I had made a mistake. An ugly mistake. Our dear Captain wasn’t amused. I mean this is really bad if even lifetime seafarers are officially offended.

Music never really has been my thing.

So what is ‘my thing’? I’m not really sure, but it’s clear I’m always up for taking risks! To me it’s just a way of life. Whether it is risking my career on playing a song to the masses that I didn’t bother to preview yet or just taking a risk in designing and doing things differently. Why live life safe, when you can just LIVE?! (My personal motto is, “it will all just work itself out“. And this honestly bugs my spreadsheet-addict husband. He plans and organizes and over-prepares. For everything. You can imagine how upsetting it is to him to see me throw things at a wall and they actually stick. And look pretty decent too).

You may hear my life motto being mentioned a lot. Oh, also, Jesus has my back. Always.

But returning to the subject at hand. Boats. Growing up allllll I wanted was to have a boat. My parents had a canoe for a short bit. I don’t feel like that fully met my desire. Like not at all. They finally sold it (or donated it. Or sunk it. I need to ask them how one gets rid of an old rusty canoe).

As the years went on my parents would go on cruises and I didn’t get to go on a SINGLE ONE! Not a single one!!! The travesty! I let them know many times over how deprived I felt.

I should have saved myself the whining. If only my younger self knew that I would someday spend 2 years living and working on one of the best boats in the world – SeaDream. (I promise you LOTS more stories coming your way from my years on the water).

Then I found a man who wanted to marry me (sucker) AND he owned a boat. So it should be no surprise to you that our kids also love the water and have a boat obsession.

When it came time to move our oldest son from a crib to a bed we felt like we had one solid option to ensure this little guy would l~~ove~~ stay put all night in his new sleeping arrangement:

A BOAT.

We had just moved into a new home (the 3rd home for our 2-year-old boy). His new room was so spacious. We couldn’t just do a bed that looked like a boat. We knew we wanted to take an actual boat and make it look like a bed.

Down we trekked to Eagle Mountain Lake and let the Harbor Master know that our young son loved to sail. This kind man found us an old sailboat that he was thrilled to give to a young sailor. And construction began.

A new paint job (royal blue for that authentic nautical look) and a platform to fit a twin-sized mattress. Heath and Johnny Madison spent a few weekends getting the boat prepped to set sail up our staircase. Meanwhile, I hunted for a PG version of ‘I’m on a boat’. Doesn’t exist.

Friday afternoon was boat move-in day. And it started raining as soon as the 5 man crew arrived to hoist the ~~sails~~ boat over the banister. I wanted to panic but remembered a boat is built for water. Still to this day, I couldn’t believe we made a 14-foot sailboat fit up our stairs and into our sons room.

Moving in the boat — ***It took 6 strong men and an equipment loader to bring in our 2 year olds bed. And they say kids are spoiled these days…***

How many guys does it take to slide a boat into a bedroom. — **This was the point of no return. It had been hoisted up the stairs. Now we all prayed it would fit thru the doorway.**

The boat bed fits! — ***Can you believe this beast fit?!?! Our movers certainly have ‘choice’ words for us after this move.***

That night we told our son ‘bon voyage’. He climbed in his new bed and slept all night. We think….Heath and I celebrated with several margaritas so it is possible that we just snoozed right through it.

Ready for America's Cup — **Our version of the ‘America’s Cup‘ is: Whoever sleeps past 7am wins Gold!**

Narrow Draft on the boat bed — **Thankfully this boat has a shallow draft (I’m sure that means something to real sailors, but to me it just meant it could fit through a doorway!)**

Will you please tell me a song you have accidentally played to the wrong crowd?! Or share your favorite boat songs so I can add them to my playlist for next summer!

Blog, Travel, Uncategorized

Thaim for Meat

July 31, 2018 4 Comments

“I help you.”

The story of a Brisket, Spicy Spaghetti Sauce and Thailand Immigration control.

Banyan Tree pool with our meat luggage — ***Swimming up to the prettiest luggage carrying the juiciest meat. Featuring the BEST LUGGAGE***

To start things from the very beginning, let’s go back to the week before we departed for our two-week vacation to Thailand. I was headed to meet a friend and her kiddos for an impromptu play date (one of many outings to stave off the mom-guilt pre-departure). En route to meet our friends, Heath called and said I needed to meet him. He had just picked up the frozen, vacuumed-sealed Brisket we would take to serve as our lunch on Day 4 of the sailing portion of the Thailand trip.

So I had to call my Vegan friend and let her know that I was canceling our date….because of a ‘Meat Situation’. How’s that for furthering her beliefs in avoiding animal meat.

I rushed that 6 lb. baby brisket home and stored her in the freezer. Along with our Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, the spicy spaghetti sauce, and Central Market jalapeño sausages. These would all make the trek to Thailand and need to be as frozen as possible before we travelled for 32 straight hours.

Tasting the Spicy Sausage Spaghetti sauce — **If you promise not to tell the other sailors, I might have double-dipped on sampling this mouth-watering spicy sausage sauce we froze for flight to Thailand.**

Fast forward to the afternoon of departure and we filled a soft-sided YETI cooler with freezer packs and our frozen goods. Said a quick prayer over the bag (there is nothing too silly to say prayers over. God loves to provide!) (we use a vacuum sealer like this: Vacuum seal for better frozen transport!)

Dallas to Houston Hobby. Bags made it!

Press play to see how smooth rolling AWAY LUGGAGE is. Even filled with household supplies and scrumptious meat!

We loaded an Uber with all 5 bags. Checked in at Houston international and checked all bags onto Phuket. Houston to Taipei and the air temperature was -65* so we knew our cooler would be just fine! Taipei to Bangkok. Bangkok to Phuket.

**-67* Outside Air Temperature. Perfect frozen food flying weather!**

Standing at the baggage belt it is always thrilling to see your bags come thru the little window. 1, then 2 and finally all 4 checked bags appeared. Considering how many millions of people a day travel, I find it miraculous when bags arrive after an itinerary like that. I know sometimes we can get heated and frustrated when our bags don’t make it to our final destination, but isn’t it actually amazing that they can? But that is a conversation for another day.

Not wanting to celebrate too early, we walked confidently towards baggage immigration. Four bags went thru the scanner…and only three came out.

We came face to face with an Immigration officer looking at us incredibly confused. AHHHH! I looked at Heath and asked him what was in that one. Under his breath with ventriloquist lips he said, “the meat”. (Did I mention we brought knives, a waffle skillet, HORRIBLY tacky khaki pleated pants for a costume party. All things that could have been offensive to Thai Immigration).

Somehow I was the one requested to open the offending suitcase. And then to open the YETI cooler tucked inside. As we stood next to the two large banners explaining the ZERO tolerance for bringing in fruit, the immigration officer pulled out the spaghetti sauce.

Friends, insert the age-old debate determining if tomatoes are a fruit OR a vegetable. Which side did my immigration friend fall on? Does he know what spaghetti sauce is based upon?

The language barrier stopped us a bit…but Heath intervened announcing, “it’s a sauce. Made with lots of tomatoes. TOMATOES.”. I looked at him wide-eyed and whispered, “STOP. SAYING. THAT WORD.

Heath:, “huh?”.

Me: with gritted teeth, “Stop saying ‘tomatoes’.”

Then our immigration friend spotted the Brisket.

“What is this?”, he asked. We quickly pulled out an ice pack and said, ‘Oh this is just an ice pack”.

With a giggle he very obviously pointed to the brisket.

Ohhhhh that! Heath responded, “It’s cooked meat. Smoked. Brisket. You know it? It is cooked.”. (because only monsters would bring raw meat?)

The immigration officer asked us how many we had. We proclaimed, “only one sir!”. I mean, again, we aren’t monsters.

So there we stood with 6 lbs of USA meat and a bag of tomatoes.

He turned to Heath and said, “I help you.”. (WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!)

We remained confused as he walked to a desk, opened the top drawer, lifted a yellow legal notepad and grabbed a crinkled well-worn pamphlet from underneath. You know, the kind of pamphlet that looks like it’s been in your back pocket for about a week.

I knew this is where the Immigration Officer would show us line by line how we’d have to leave this all behind. All I could think of was how I wished I had eaten more of the spicy sausage spaghetti sauce now. What a waste…I started hoping that he would at least take it home to let his family try it (and you know me…I was going to beg him to let them try…tell the full story of how we made it, annoying him with my long-winded story hoping it would bless his family).

But in flash, he just placed the pamphlet in my hand and began gesturing for us to go ahead and enter Phuket. Contraband and all! What? Was this were we should have snuck him a $20? We didn’t know and didn’t want to cause more trouble so we just packed it up, bowed profusely, and thanked him a million times. Then sped to our transfer car waiting outside.

As we drove away from the airport, Heath and I high-fived each other in disbelief that we got away with it all. I pulled the ratty old pamphlet from my purse to have a look. Wait! What? He had given us a pamphlet about Quarantining your pets.

Please quarantine your pets! — **The well-worn pamphlet that somehow allowed us to bring in USA meats and fruits.**

Immigration rules not applying to food. — **None of this applied to Brisket or spaghetti sauce. But I suppose that was the point? Thank you Thailand!**

Oh my gosh!!! This Thailand trip is going to be amazing! No rules….just real good fun!

What have you ‘snuck’ into a country before? Any wild things you’ve travelled with that made you nervous? You know I love a good story…let me know!

Blog, Travel, Uncategorized

Passport Pickle: Your Passport is a really big dill

April 17, 2018 4 Comments

Sorry not sorry for the puns. You gotta get playful with words when discussing boring governmental documents. There is nothing jolly about taking a 1 inch square photo resembling a mugshot and filling out paperwork ensuring (despite mugshot appearance) you are not a threat to society.

Passports are no laughing matter. The first thing a ticket agent will ask you for at airport arrival is your current documentation. And no amount of sweet-talking, candy bribing behavior will get you on a flight. Expired or forgotten passport? Kiss your camelback ride thru the dunes of the Sahara goodbye. The good news is that Gate Agent Vicki isn’t even going to let you check your bags, so at least you still have all your stuff. ‘Cause you ain’t going anywhere!

Stamps in a passport — **Can’t fill your passport with fancy stamps while it’s sitting in your top drawer at home. No one cares that you ‘remember right where you left it’.**

Disaster aside, you can still have a good time when handling issues that may arise due to this important document. Or lack there of, as the case may be.

Read todays post and file it away

Because Passport dilemmas happen everyday.

And yes, even to you Mr. ‘Type A’.

And oh boy, if you fall into that ‘detail-oriented, organized, Type A’ personality category, a passport mishap will majorly stress you out. I don’t fall into that category so let my “skill” of navigating solutions to self-inflicted disasters help you.

Before I left for for Iceland and Ireland last month, my sister Molly came over for dinner and to get settled in to stay with my kids for the weekend. She would be joining us in Ireland the following Thursday.

Or would she?

Molly mentioned that she sent her passport off to be renewed 8 weeks prior and still hadn’t received it back. Umm, this was concerning me. To me! The girl who wings EVERYTHING and never pays to rush packages because I just want to roll the dice. But I knew the average turn-around time for passports (currently) was about 3-4 weeks. Something was up. I brushed aside my initial curiosity that they were heavily investigating for something my sister was framed for. That only happens in movies, right?

The only other explanation was that her passport was stuck or lost or something. It really didn’t matter. All that did matter was that she had a flight leaving the country in 4 days and needed to come up with Plan B. She’s cute ya’ll, but cute don’t cut it at Border Patrol. Immigration Officers only want to see your mugshot in book form.

We first made several phone calls to the Passport Helpline. There are too many safety measures for anyone on the phone to really help you. They couldn’t investigate as it would be ‘invasion of privacy’ and could only tell us to call back 72 hours prior to departure. I wanted to solve this because my empathy levels always score high. Knowing she would be back home frantic for a passport, would impede my personal travel enjoyment. Or does that just make me selfish? Do not answer that!

How did we solve this debacle? We were lucky that we lived only 1 hour from a real life Passport office. I was able to make her an appointment online for 10:30 the next morning. This was perfect. She had to wake up at 6am. With my 2 toddlers. And drop Heath and I off at the airport.

She would then have just enough time to drive the hour (with my energetic children) to make her morning appointment. The Passport office only sees people with proof of travel within the next 2 weeks. While they can do same day passports, they often ask for you to come back again the following day. It would be a 3 hour investment of her time. This was made extra fun as she kept a 2 yr old and a 4 year old entertained. (I thought of her often while sipping prosecco at 40,000 feet en route to Iceland). Thankfully she had an early morning appointment because after a lot of back and forth, they finally agreed to produce a passport for her at 3pm. Perfect because that gave her time to circle Dallas while the kids (my kids) napped. Then it was back to the Passport Office.

Auntie Moo and kids with Passport — **It was such special bonding time for an Aunt and her Niece and Nephew solving real life governmental documentation problems.**

The only thing more unfortunate than spending a day with little kids at a governmental office, is that they made her retake her photo. She was totally unprepared and is probably going to kill me for sharing these photos.

Passport comparison photos — The photo on the left was taken intentionally. 8 weeks before she travelled. A bit of makeup and properly blow dried hair hides the death-like stare that CAN NOT be avoided in photo on the right. But pride has to be put aside when you need to fly!

Molly in Ireland — **Molly made it!! Crisp new passport in hand. Only slightly more important then our fancy wedding fascinators.**

In case you find yourself without your little blue book and you are 2 weeks from travel then you need to STOP READING this! Find the nearest Passport Office HERE.

Take your extra passport photo with you (if you don’t have one bring lipstick and a comb. You can pay to have one taken there).
Plan to spend the day there, or block off the following morning to return for pick up. (This may turn into your Pre-vacation. Without the booze or sunshine).
Bring proof of international travel (your flight is preferred vs. just a hotel reservation).
You must make an appointment (This can be done HERE)
And bring money as the expedited fees will be added in. (Oh look, spending extra cash…it really is like a mini-vacation).
Oh…and leave your weapons at home. Although, it seems they do allow children so that rule seems fuzzy to me.

Other tips to help you avoid last minute Passport frantics:

Your passport needs to be valid for at least 6 months beyond your travel dates. If you don’t travel often, check your passport when booking flights to be sure you don’t need to update anything. If you travel often, you probably have your passport memorized in the same brain bank as your home phone number. And you might run out of pages before you even need to renew. (NOTE: You can no longer add pages to a Passport)!
As I type this I could almost promise you that you’d get your USA Passport back within 3-4 weeks. But plan for 6-8 weeks to be safe. And feel free to borrow my children should you need to make a run to the passport office. They are now experienced.
Keep your packing list short! Sometimes we get so bogged down by jewelry and clothing options that we forget the most obvious. No matter where I’m going, I recite the mantra: “Passport and Credit Card. Passport and Credit Card”. As long as I have both of these things, I can take care of anything lost/forgotten/stolen.
Keep a photo of your passport on your phone. This won’t really help you fly if you don’t have it in hand (I’ve been with friends who have tried). But it will make replacing it easier and quicker when abroad. This would involve help at an Embassy. More on that another day.
Passport Offices can also be used for Life or Death emergencies. You must provide all the usual application documentation in addition to proof of the life or death emergency. Proof of an emergency includes a death certificate (translated), a statement from a mortuary, or a signed letter from a hospital or medical professional.

Want more passport stories?

Listen in as my friend Koula shares how she solved her visa situation abroad HERE and HERE.

And you have to hear how my friend Brice solved his forgotten passport story while in Puerto Rico. It’s GENIOUS and you can listen HERE.

Tell me in the comments – what problems or solutions have you encountered! I’d love to share more!

Passport lost in snow — **Can you imagine all the important things that are found when the snow melts at ski resorts?**

Travel, Uncategorized

CheerioooOH NO my laptop is gone.

March 1, 2018 4 Comments

Leaving my purse with all my cash at a pay phone in Sevilla. Booking my flight home from San Juan TWO weeks later than my husband (found this out at the airport when I couldn’t check in). Missing my fight by 3 minutes because I just wanted one more sushi roll in Miami. Crashing my 4-wheeler in Mexican sand dunes. Twice. All things I’ve actually done. #survivor. And my trip to Africa didn’t ‘disappoint’ as I can now add another heart-stopping story to the list.

After a relaxing afternoon spent napping and lounging in my London hotel room (a day room at the Sofitel London Heathrow) we headed to the airport. The hotel is just a 20 minute cab ride to Terminal 3 where my flight that evening would depart. It was such a perk having that day room and getting to shower and lallygag around all afternoon. But we quickly rushed out in hopes we could grab a pint in the lounge preflight. Lounges mean you get to avoid terrifying airport food.

Cheese layered salad is not a salad. It is cheese — **Things I DID NOT eat on my London layover. Cheese layered salad. So basically, cheese?**

My flight that evening to Cape Town, South Africa would depart at 6:10pm.

4:41pm. I neared the security belt and bent over to grab my computer out of the assigned pocket in my carry-on backpack and place it on the tray table. S#@T. It wasn’t in there. Panic. Looked inside my rolling bag. No luck. F%$*!!!!!!!! The look on Shelley’s face, my very experienced and organized companion, was priceless. In her shock she was certain that I had placed it elsewhere. This is possible as I’m not totally organized, but I know myself better than that. My characteristic that trumps my disorganization is forgetfulness. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “I know I left it sitting on the bedside table. I remember leaving it there. I’ll be back”. Then I darted.

Have you seen Phoebe from ‘Friends’ running? Her arms waving wildly and legs all askew. Every limb independent of the other. That was exactly what I looked like as I took off to hail a taxi. My carry-on and purse flailing behind me.

Phoebe running wildly — **Visual reference for anyone that missed F-R-I-E-N-D-S. Please tell me you already knew what I was describing.**

Of course you can’t just grab any cab outside the busy Heathrow airport. But I didn’t realize that because in times of distress I don’t do anything intentionally. I’m more of a ‘panic and act’ type of person. I rushed up to the first cab I saw like a lunatic banging on the window. He sent me away. Saw another cab a little further off. He was appalled at my madwoman behavior but was at least helpful and pointed me in the direction where taxi’s were properly lined up waiting for guests.

I hopped in the cab at the front of the line where I was greeted with a “Cheerio”. No cheer here mate…instead I let him know this was a ‘Fast and Furious‘ mission.

Oh great. It was now 5pm and London also observes the fun tradition called ‘rush hour traffic’. I assume that’s why the famous movie is titled, ‘Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift’, rather than ‘Fast and Furious: London on a Weekday’. That cab ride TO the hotel was painful. I passed time by panicking. And praying. And checking my carry-on 8 more times. Could God make my 15” MacBook appear? Not this time. I then called the hotel in hopes they would have my computer ready to hand over at the front Concierge Desk.

5:10pm (now one hour before my flight departs). I arrive at the hotel and encounter many staff people who have no idea about the missing computer, nor seem to realize the urgency. Grabbed a ‘fit-ish’ looking guy and we ran to the room I had only checked out of an hour prior. No computer. Now I was just pissed. I might be missing a flight all for a computer that has randomly disappeared.

5:14pm. There are literally 4 people just looking around the front desk confused about a computer, yet they think someone may know something. Hey, no rush. Just let me know when you have an update. Should we grab a cup of tea and talk about it, while picking up stacks of paper to look for it?

5:15pm. Knight in shining armor (armor=the shiny Sofitel name badge), runs up with my precious Apple MacBook Pro! I screamed a million thank you’s (everyone loves a loud American!) as I ran back to my taxi. As we cruised back to Terminal 3 my incredible driver kept giving me his traffic updates and encouraging me by telling stories of other forgetful and disorganized travelers who had no chance of making flights. I was feeling totally pumped that I wasn’t near as idiotic as those other tourists.

I returned to the airport (and hugged my £120 chauffeur – the equivalent to about $500 billion USD by the way. No one said mistakes were cheap). But now the security line was total bananas. An entire Japanese school was ahead of me, along with every other overnight flyer just arriving. Rules are made to be broken. I began ducking and weaving my way through the security line maze. My genuine panic as I begged person after person to be let in front of them had many endeared towards me(naive thinking?). Or maybe it was just sheer sympathy as most knew, as well as I did, that I still had another security check to go and then needed to book it past 30 gates before my fate would be realized. Nevertheless, many strangers happily let me cut in front and wished me luck.

Oops. I forgot to separate my liquids. It’s truly embarrassing when you cut in front of no less than 100 people, dash thru the security line like a pro, then stand there. Waiting. And waiting. All while they re-run your bag of liquids. I almost just told her to trash it, but my SkinCeuticals serums were included and there are ZERO FLIGHTS WORTH ABANDONING THAT GOLD! Humbled, I waited. Then repeated this whole ‘poor desperate me’ act at the next security check point.

Finally…free!

5:50pm. (the flight doors would close in 5 minutes). Although I had word from Shelley that the flight was still boarding. Actually her exact text from earlier said, “It’s a hot mess of people. Gonna take a while”.

Texts from Shelley - a hot mess of passengers — **A HOT MESS! My kind of travelers!**

I sprinted. Well, it felt like a sprint. I was winded like I had been sprinting. I must have look fatigued (or at least desperate enough I would be a hefty tipper) that a man in a cart quickly drove me the last 12 gates worth.

My Zippy Chauffeur ride to the gate — **My Chauffeur reminded me 3 times that he likes tips. But he didn’t specify a currency!**

I SAW SHELLEY! And an open door! I couldn’t believe it. I got in a work out, solved a problem and now was going to arrive in South Africa as regularly scheduled. There was just one last piece of this ridiculous puzzle. And it wasn’t too pleasant:
So as I take a seat in what will be my home for the next 12 hours, IN coach, I start to get an oh so familiar feeling….let’s just say things were already a getting a little “cramped”. It’s going to be a great flight!!!

Tell me – what’s the worst thing you’ve left behind while traveling?