If you’ve been following along awhile, you’ll know my mom and I are on a quest to check off all the major tennis tournaments in the world. We’ve done Indian Wells in Palm Springs, the U.S. Open multiple times, and, most recently, the Cincy Open tennis tournament. We’re also tackling our first international Slams: Roland-Garros next month and the Australian Open in January. And if you’re planning your own tennis trip this summer, here’s how to do just that in Cincinnati. FYI: Tickets going on sale today, so hop to it! About the Cincy Open Formerly known as the Western & Southern Open, the ..read more

When we found ourselves with a stopover in Qatar en route to Thailand, there was no question of whether or not we’d use that as an excuse to explore a new country. I’ve seen very little of the Middle East, and my husband had never been period, so 48 hours in Doha seemed a great way to introduce him to a region so rife in culture—and our flight on Qatar Airways made it a breeze to tack on a few days. This site uses affiliate links. All opinions and expenses accrued were our own. Why go to Qatar? Qatar is a fascinating melding of contrasts: an opulent country populated by humble people, a nati ..read more

My niece turned six this month, meaning there were a couple solid years of the pandemic where she and I spent a whole lot of time together having Taylor Swift dance parties. Lover came out when she was barely one, and she immediately took to it, without any nudging from me (I swear!). So when she asked for a Taylor Swift birthday party to celebrate turning six, who was I to say no? She didn’t go to the Eras tour, so this was the next best thing. For this Eras party, we did a lot of homemade crafts and repurposing of past decorations and photo props I had. If you want to get super elabora ..read more

For me, the big draw of Namibia was the dunes of Sossuvlei, the mirage that they are on fire as the sun rises and sets each day, a scene we were lucky enough to view from a hot air balloon. For my good friend and travel buddy Em, it was all about the allure of the Skeleton Coast. And our whole group was more than eager to dive into this sandy coastal spot especially when we learned we could go sandboarding in Namibia and race each other on ATVs once we arrived at Shipwreck Lodge. The experience did not disappoint—it was one of the highlights of our two-week trip through Namibia. Powered by G ..read more

I had this idea of Namibia in my head: windswept red dunes against a cerulean sky, the skeletons of dead, thorny trees rising out of a cracked white pan. Much of what we saw on the first two weeks exploring every corner of Namibia was not that—however, on our last stop, the empty bubbles of the African paint-by-numbers I had in my head started to fill out. We were here for the drama of the desert, yes, but we were also here for me to check off one big thing from my bucket list: take a hot air balloon ride in Namibia. If you’re one of many people I know who weren’t aware Namibia is even a sov ..read more

For the first time in six years, I didn’t write a monthly recap in December, not because I didn’t have a great month, but because it was so busy, I just lost the time and then before I knew it, it was nearly the end of January and seemed silly to still be writing about the holidays. And now February has almost come and gone, but what are you going to do? Life has been life. In truth, the holidays seems lightyears away. I think, in that month alone, we made up for those unspoken-of-years between 2020 and 2022 when social interactions were few and far between by doubling our calendars in 2023 ..read more

The Tennessee Valley Authority water system that dips into Alabama from both corners of Tennessee does more than generate power and control the river for residents of these states. This six-state series of dams and lakes provides vast wetland refuge for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds each year. If, like us, you’re keen on birding in Alabama, this is your ultimate guide for where to go and how to do just that. This project is in partnership with Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. All opinions are our own. About the North Alabama Birding Trail Midway through Alabama’s design ..read more

After arriving in Namibia from South Africa, we stayed one night in the capital of Windhoek where we would start our two-week journey through the country and back again. Windhoek is the center of commerce for the country, but doesn’t offer a lot by way of tourism, so it’s more a stopping over point than anything before you embark upon your Namibia safari. Note: We used Go2Africa to plan our entire Namibia trip. They were wonderful, and I can’t recommend them more highly—it took all the responsibility off of me, which was nice for a change! However, if you decide you’d rather plan your own t ..read more

I’ve been working from home for 16 years in a variety of media-related roles: as a writer, editor, project manager, photographer and production coordinator. And while, running your own business from home may seem like a dream, it’s not as cheap as many people may think. For one, equipment—cameras, computers, NAS systems, lighting—is pricey and, ultimately, you’re deducting what it costs to run a media company from your overall income, versus working for an employer where all of the overhead is covered. Is it worth it? Absolutely. And because I’m a meticulous lover of spreadsheets and expense ..read more

I don’t think it was hard to make 2023 a better year than its predecessor, but regardless, I have very few regrets from this past year and a lifetime’s worth of new memories. It was a banner year from a professional standpoint, not to mention some life-changing travels and plenty of quality time spent with my family and friends. Here’s how 2023 shook out for us. 2023 in travel There’s never been a year-end recap where travel wasn’t a main focus, and 2023 was no different. I didn’t take as many flights as years’ past, logging just 29 including connections. But several of those flights were ve ..read more