Mother's Day kind of snuck up on me this year, but I still have a gift list for you, full of plenty of things you can get in time for your the amazing woman/women in your life. If those awesome maternal influencer(s) in your life are anything like my mom, they love traveling and gadgets. While you could go with candy or flowers, I bet they would enjoy something a little more personalized and long-lasting.  Mom's often do all the work and get almost no recognition or thanks. Get her something she really wants this  year.  Non-tangible Splurge  gifts - Sometimes ..read more

It's been a long time since I've updated my list of 30 things that I love when it comes to travel. Things that I'm into and I love on trips. As you travel and it shapes your world, you learn new things about yourself and become a better traveler, packer, and, hopefully, person.  I listen to a podcast called Wonderful where a married couple talk about "things that are good, things that we like, things that we're into" and I like to check in every once in a while and do the same, but when it comes to travel. 1. Interactive museums - I love a normal museum, but I think the creativity ..read more

Yes, I spelled it Arte, because we're going to Arte Museum, one of the newest immersive attractions in Las Vegas. It's art that moves and involves you. It's very similar to Hopscotch here in Portland (and Austin), where each room has a new theme and you move through each exhibit at your own pace.  At Hopscotch, the exhibits are very light focused and at Arte Museum, it is very nature focused. There are tons of photo ops, or you can just choose to soak in the vibe and feel at peace.  You start with a banger by walking into a room full of waterfalls. Almost everything is projected an ..read more

By now, we all know that the airplane tray table is the dirtiest part of the plane, followed pretty close by the seatback pocket, where everyone puts their garbage. The pocket is never big enough for things you want to put in there either, or you're in danger of forgetting whatever you've put in there because it's out of sight. The solution: bring your own pockets. Serenity Organizers has this awesome tray organizer that slips over the airplane tray, so you don't have to touch it. It has 3 small pockets and a large pocket, for all the things you want to have on the plane with you without hav ..read more

As you know, I am a big advocate of packing light and doing laundry on trips, in order to maximize the small space you have. A small capsule wardrobe can really become a larger travel wardrobe when you mix and match and a lot of times that means you'll have to do a bit of laundry. Of course, you may just need to do laundry in an emergency situation, as we did when we found our washing machine didn't work in Edinburgh. I always travel with some laundry sheets and a pop-up hamper. Laundry sheets are great for travel, because they take up almost no space and you don't have to hope the store ..read more

It's that time again. Time to start planning your summer travels, if you're going somewhere. Don’t wait until the last minute, because that’s when you’ll pay the most. Airfare alone can jump as much as 40% during the summer months, so here are some tips to help keep you in the black this year and have an amazing time: Shop for airfare on Tuesday and Wednesday and look for flights that depart on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday for the lowest fares. New fares are posted every Tuesday and Wednesday are the perfect time to get the best deals, and when you fly on less popular days, you can pay ..read more

After posting about how I packed a week's worth of clothes in a backpack, I promised you a post on how to pare down your toiletries. I have been working on bringing fewer or smaller things on my trips when I travel, which might be difficult for those who want to take their whole routine on vacation with them. Even when I do more than usual, I still don't use too many products. I find that doing things more simply when I'm away from home both gives my skin a break when I'm also getting more exercise, so I am not dealing with extra breakouts, and I don't have to keep track of so many things th ..read more

I don't know about all the other ladies out there, but I'm so tired of pockets in women's clothing either being super shallow or non-existent. Sometimes, you just don't want to carry a purse or other bag, or you aren't allowed to bring one into a venue, but your pockets are insufficient for keeping things inside or secure.  More than once I've put something in the pocket of my jeans only to sit down and for it to fall right out. Cool. The only useful pocket is a back pocket where I put my phone, but I'm 100% not putting anything else in there, not just because my phone is already in ther ..read more

Last month, I took one of my yearly trips to Vegas. This was a short trip, because I was there for the Travel Goods Show, but I still took time to do some of my favorite free things and also splurge on some food and attractions I wanted to get to.  If you're headed to Las Vegas, or thinking about visiting and worried about your budget, let me take you through some great free things to spend absolutely zero dollars on, except in gas or via Uber (or the Monorail, which I highly recommend): Bellagio Conservatory I love the Bellagio. There are some great places to eat, luxury shops where I ..read more

It's been a while since I did a pack with me post. Earlier this month, I flew to Las Vegas for the Travel Goods Show and I packed everything I needed in a backpack, because I'm a short, weak person, and I don't like to struggle to get my bag into the overhead on the plane. Now, I also brought a roller bag with me, because I knew that I would be bringing quite a bit of stuff back, but it literally only had a rain jacket in it.  I posted this video on my IG and had people asking me how I do it, so I decided to do a whole post on it. I know a lot of people struggle with packing light, so ..read more