My Travel Essentials

We just got home from our Spring Break and Ava’s Birthday trip, as I’m re-capping my thoughts from each adventure it made me think of all my favorite travel essentials! I’ve rounded up my favorites today, these items make traveling easier in my opinion and are so helpful to have!

small portable charger | woven tote | dr scholl’s slip on sneakers | packing cubes | belt bag | silicone travel bottles | ifly carry on suitcase

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Ifly carry on suitcase- I got this hard side carry on suit case last October and I’ve been so please with the quality of this! I usually only do a carry on and I almost never check luggage so this size is perfect for me! I also love the rose gold color, but this brand also has other colors and sizes available too!

small portable charger- This is something I recently got for our trip to NYC. I knew we’d be walking a lot during the day and not heading back our hotel to take breaks, I knew I didn’t want to run out of phone battery taking pics and videos. This charger plugs into your wall, and only takes a few hours to fully charge. It’s nice light weight and doesn’t make your phone to heavy when it’s plugged in! Great for on the go!

silicone travel bottles- I like to have my own shampoo, conditioner, etc. when I travel, these work great for using your own products, they don’t leak and I like that they are flexible and you don’t have to worry about them cracking.

dr. scholls slip on sneaker- I wanted a good walking shoe that would be comfortable to take to NYC that was stylish as well, I’m so glad I found these! They were really comfortable for walking around the City!

belt bag- This Amazon belt bag has been such a great find, I use it almost daily! But it’s also great for traveling too, it’s adjustable and comes in a variety of colors!

woven tote- I usually don’t go for a non structured tote, but this one hag a structured bottom, and a large pouch that is re moveable to hold smaller items. I like having a bigger tote to travel in airports and bring a smaller bag as well. This tote is so well made, holds its shape well and a pretty neutral color.

packing cubes- These packing cubes are a lifesaver, and so helpful! Each of my kids and I have a set and they work well! We’ve had them for several trips now, and they have held up great!

I truly love all these items when I travel, I hope you’ve found them helpful too! Comment below your fave travel items or hacks!

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Nashville Weekend

We visited Nashville for the first time back in October, I wanted to share all about what we did, where we stayed and where we ate during our first time in the city! This trip was a long time coming; we had to cancel this trip last year because of sickness, and then again this year for work. We finally were able to make it work for my 40th birthday this year!

I’ve been planning this trip in my mind for a long time! My heart loves this city, and it’s weird because I’d never been before this trip, but I have a deep appreciation for the South, Southern culture and hospitality! There’s a lot of things that pull my heart to Nashville, and visiting confirmed even more when I love this place so much! I can’t wait to go back!

A few things to note about our trip that I think are significant;

• we traveled during the week (Tuesday-Friday) we didn’t wait in line for murals, and the city was generally less busy at most places.

• we stayed in 12 South- which is very walkable. We took Ubers everywhere else that was outside of 12 South.

Where we stayed: We stayed at the most adorable Airbnb property, located above Bar Taco and tons of cute shops. The apartment had everything we needed for our stay and after much research turned out to be the perfect stay for us because it was close to everything in 12 South!

One of the high lights of our trip was visiting and seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry House! It’s a must do in my opinion when visiting Nashville, even my husband who generally doesn’t like Country music loved the show so much!

One of the things we did in Nashville was walk, and walk A LOT! I think this is one of the best ways that you can see any city! What I loved about 12 South is that is was so walkable, tons of shops and restaurants in the area. One thing I loved so much about Nashville were the endless murals, adorable shops and food!

12 South neighborhood highlights:

I Believe In Nashville Mural

Draper James (Reese Witherspoon’s store)

Four Daughter’s Bakery

Frothy Monkey

Stoney Clover

Bar Taco

(tons of small shops/boutiques

Nashville is separated into neighborhoods/areas, another great spot is The Gulch! Home to the “What Lifts You Mural” (pictured below.) Lots of fun shopping, restaurants and museums.

Noteworthy in The Gulch:

Uncommon James (Kristin Cavallari’s store)

Kittenish (Jessie James Decker’s store)

Biscuit Love

Milk and Honey

What Lifts You mural

The last noteable area Nashville is Broadway! This is where all the honky tonks are, and close to that is a new shopping area on 5th & Broadway with tons of shopping and restaurants. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of the bar scene (which we aren’t) it’s still a must do, just to see it! We went to 5th & Broadway one evening to eat some Nashville famous hot chicken (Hattie B’s), do some shopping and see a few places on Broadway.

Where we Ate: (left to right, all locations in 12 South)

Frothy Monkey : They have a few locations in the metro but we ate at the 12 South location for breakfast one of the days, and made a few trips for coffee throughout our days. Highly suggest the oak milk vanilla latte and french toast. This is a Nashville hot spot and well known restaurant, it was worth it.

Emery’s Wood Fire Pizza: We were looking for a fun spot for my birthday dinner, and this was perfect! We absolutely loved this place, they had wonderful wood fired pies, great apps and fun drinks. The truffle fries were my fave!

The Butter Milk Ranch: We tried this place out for breakfast one of the days, I loved the modern decor vibe! Think Mad Men! They had the best biscuits at this place, they were so flaky and good! My husband ordered the breakfast sand which, and I ordered the Buttermilk Ranch breakfast!

Four Daughter’s Bakery: Also, a great Nashville famous spot! Famous for their layered donuts, they have several flavors to choose from, coffee and other drinks are for purchase. There’s a cute eating areas outside with a play area for kids too.

To see more of our trip to Nashville check out my Instagram highlight of our trip here. We truly loved our trip to Nashville, there is so much to explore and do- we could have easily spent a few more days here! We felt like our time was just enough time to see and explore the things we wanted to see as first timers, and it only confirmed Nashville we will be back! In the words of Dolly, “see ya’ll real soon!”

Our Stay at the Strawberry Inn

I’m finally getting around to re-capping our trip to the Strawberry Inn! Let me back up a bit, I’ve wanted to stay at the inn for a few years now. We even had a trip booked that we had to cancel due to my Grandma being sick. Last month we finally made a trip work out to go for a stay. Orion and I haven’t been on a kid free weekend in a few years. So we decided to kick off our new year with a trip together to the Inn. It takes a village you guys, my sister-in-love flew in from Dallas to watch our kiddos and we headed out on our way.

The Strawberry Inn is located just two and a half hours North of Phoenix. You can drive there in no time, and it’s the perfect little getaway too. The inn is self hosted meaning you check in all online, and they send you a code for a lock box for the key to your room. There is a property manager that’s on call for any needs. We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days. It was the perfect little getaway, and I don’t really suggest longer than that, unless you plan on staying during the Summer months when some of the festivals are going on around Strawberry/ Pine, AZ.

Read on, for where we ate, what we did and fun pictures!

First up, the INN! It’s gorgeous and so beautifully done. The owners of the inn actually live in the Phoenix area and own this property. It’s been completely re-done top to bottom and it’s so charming and cute! Totally Chip & Joanna vibes all the way.

I loved that there are lawn games available for you to enjoy. Porch rockers, and a porch swing too! I mean how cute is this?!

We arrived on a Friday afternoon, checked in and got settled. Then we headed for a hike really close to the Inn on Strawberry Trail. We watched the sun set before heading back to get ready for dinner.

Friday night we ate dinner at The Old County Inn. We actually loved this place so much we ate dinner here two nights in a row! The first night we had pizza, which is what they are known for. And the second time we tried different appetizers on the menu. Both nights were delish, and the service there was awesome. They also have an area of outdoor seating with heaters for when it’s cold, and a lawn game area with corn hole too!

We had breakfast one morning at the Randall House, which is a cute little restaurant in an old house. It reminds me of my Grandmother’s house. I had the most delish hot cocoa, complete with a giant marshmallow! I had the egg breakfast sandwhich and hash browns. Orion had eggs and pancakes.

After that it was time to explore the farmer’s market there and some local antique shops. Where we picked up some local honey and gifts for our kids and sister.

We did a little more hiking the second day too. Before going back to the inn to read, relax and take a nap. Do you know how much I enjoyed an un interrupted nap?! Seriously, the best.

We had the best weekend away, I highly suggest going if you haven’t yet. It’s the cutest little getaway spot! To book a room visit the inn here.

What's In My Travel Toiletry Bag.

We recently came back from an eight day trip to the Midwest to see family and friends. When I travel I like to have all the essentials but don’t like to over pack. Over the years I’ve narrowed down what I really need when I travel and what works for me. I thought I’d share with you all the things I pack in my travel toiletry bag; a couple things to note:

• all my items are either travel sized or products put into travel sized containers.

• all of my toiletries are Beautycounter products unless otherwise noted.

• as mentioned I bring only what’s needed so I don’t over pack.

My travel bag is a Kate Spade nylon cosmetic tote. I love this because it’s nylon it wipes clean with just water. It’s easy to clean and has plenty of pockets on the inside, and a hanging strap to use on a hook. Here’s a peek at the inside.

I keep travel size of q-tips and just refill this when I get home after every trip, same with the cotton balls. Dr. Bronners travel soap for my body wash, I also keep this container and refill. Floss, and cleaning cloths for my glasses. I get these travel ones from Target optical.

Next up all my shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. I use these travel size bottles and just fill them and refill them after each trip.

Comb | Makeup remover wipes | tooth brush

Most all of my brushes are from Eco Tools, I love this brand so much. They are quality and very affordable, if you need to get yourself some new brushes I highly suggest this starter set- it comes with everything you need.

Natural Deodorant | Day Cream | Night Cream

The smaller front bag is from the same collection and it holds all my makeup for travel, if you’re curious about what’s in this bag check out my simple makeup routine here.

Girls Getaway Beach Weekend at The Carlsbad Inn

This post is brought to you by Grand Pacific Resorts & The Carlsbad Inn. Thank you for helping support the brands and companies that help make this blog happen. 

Last month my best girls and college roommates had a girls only getaway weekend in Carlsbad, CA. If you haven't ever taken a girls trip before I can't tell you enough how awesome it is to have a few days kids free and just enjoy time with friends! Four of us came together from all over the U.S. for this weekend together. 

Today I wanted to share with you about our trip which included our stay at the Carlsbad Inn. Carlsbad is my new favorite spot in California to vacation ever since going their earlier this Summer with my family. 

Carlsbad is the best little beach town and the location of the Carlsbad Inn is right in the heart of Carlsbad Village. It's close to all kinds of restaurants and shopping, all within walking distance. We didn't drive at all the entire weekend! Check out their full list of resort activities. 

The Carlsbad Inn sits on a gorgeous property that over looks the ocean. Not only is the property beautiful but everything you could ever need is right there on property. One of our favorites we took advantage of was the beach cruiser bikes you can check out for a few hours at a time. We rode all the way down the beach and back. It was the perfect morning on the beach together. 

Our room over looked the ocean, there's nothing quite like waking up to the ocean and falling asleep to crashing waves at night while on vacation. The suites come with fully equipped kitchens, we even cooked a few meals so we weren't eating out every meal. We rested well each night on the super comfy beds! 

Just minutes away from the beach, you walk off the property and you're at the beach already. The Carlsbad Inn has beach chairs, sand buckets and boogie boards available for you to use on the beach as well. We took full advantage and parked it right in front of the ocean for the day. Taking in the ocean and having fun on the boogie boards! 

We had the best girls trip! We all kept saying how much of a dream location this was to stay at for our trip together! We're already thinking there's no way we can top this and have just decided to come back to the beach. 

Time like this is precious together. Grab your girlfriends, take a trip. I promise you won't regret it. Find out more about staying at The Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort visit their website here www.carlsbadinn.com