Today Derik and I stepped into a Korean gym for the first time since February 2012. We've basically been avoiding the gym for the past (almost) two years and with good reason. No one wants to pay a zillion dollars ($80-$100 a month) for a gym membership to a worn down, no a/c, dirty gym. For that price I'm expecting full blown celebrity status gym where fresh, cool water is served on silver platters. Am I wrong? I used to go regularly to the gym back when I was living in Portland, so adapting to a new workout schedule was tough. I've done Insanity multiple times, Jillian Michaels, yoga, and a few thirty day challenges. You can read more about my no-gym fitness routine here. Anyway. We have an upcoming epic two month trip (Hawaii and ... Read More
Archives for August 2013
Korea Doesn’t Care About Miley
Harsh but true. I heard about her little 'stunt' she pulled at the VMA's a few days ago, and ever sense she's been the talk of everything social media. I'm not going to elaborate except to say (with every inch of sarcasm), "Way to be classy." What's refreshing is the fact that not a single person in Korea knows or even cares who Miley Cyrus even is. I'm sure if they ever found out, they'd take one look at that nude-color plastic underwear set she was wearing, and they'd shut that door real quick. I'm pretty sure the only music stars they are aware of are the ones that have become a worldwide phenomenon. I'm talking The Beatles and Lady Gaga. But let's face it, the only music celebrity they really care about is Psy. My girl Patricia ... Read More
Step Into My Life
First of all, I can't believe it's already Wednesday (not that I'm complaining). I've seriously been up to my eyeballs in blog design, and am super excited for the ladies I've been working with to finally show off their custom made new looks! I didn't realize that design would be such a huge endeavor, but you all have been good to me. The Suitcase Designs is becoming a very prevalent part of my work life! In other news, I owe you some blog posts. I know lately I've been slacking on my blogging responsibilities, and you've been waiting patiently for new travel posts (especially about a certain vacation). I spent the first two weeks after my trip to Borneo trying to catch up in emails, comments, sponsor duties, and just normal life stuff ... Read More
Blogging 101: The Sponsor Game
There isn't a single blogger out there who will tell you that figuring out sponsorships for your blog, as well as advertising on others is easy. When I first took the jump into sponsorships I'll admit I had no idea what the heck I was doing. Thankfully there's grace in learning from your mistakes, and moving on. This post is obviously specifically for bloggers, sorry everyone else. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did, and cost you lots of hard work and money. In this post we'll be covering both buying and selling of sponsorship ads. Let's talk about buying an ad space. I wish it was as simple as: buying an ad + ad approval on target site = thousands of new visitors to your blog and potentially followers. ... Read More
Don’t Get Mugged
No really, it's a serious thing. To many times naive tourists head off to an unfamiliar land and aren't aware of the potential trouble that a pure lack of 'travel smarts' can cause. Yes I said it: 'travel smarts.' You either have them or you don't, and if you're even considering venturing off to a distant, foreign land you'll want to get some asap. There are too many stories circulating around South East Asia about how iPhones have been snatched right from someone's ear in Vietnam, a taxi driver in Malaysia screwing a van full of friends for 50 bucks more than he should have charged, and phony, overpriced tours that are often offered on the busy streets of Thailand. Derik and I have both have 'travel smarts,' more Derik than I. He is ... Read More
Introducing…(aka HUGE NEWS)
It's been a few weeks in the making, but I'm finally formally announcing my design site: The Suitcase Designs! Cue my heart beating at fifty million miles and hour and palm sweats. I've been dabbling with blog design since I first started blogging back in February of 2012. If you ask my siblings, I actually have a history with web design. When I was 12 years old, I went through a kick where I wanted to make my own website. I got a free domain through Yahoo and learned (all by myself) how to use html...css wasn't around then. As most childhood fads go, that design phase blew by as fast as it came. After moving to Wordpress.org, the freedom to use coding in my blog designs became almost limitless in my eyes. I discover new things each day ... Read More
Three Years Ago the Wedding Bells Rang
Well not really. We had our wedding on a cliffside (Ecola State Park) overlooking Cannon Beach, Oregon, and had our music played from an ipod hooked into a few speakers. I don't think a single person could complain of the beauty this location gave. No need for wedding decor, nature already took care of that! It was a great location for a destination wedding, and after I received the park permit for $15 dollars we were set to go. We had our wedding on a Monday of all days..mainly because it was one of the only days the park had available in August, and it happened to be on Derik's birthday. So yes, we got married on my husband's birthday. He jokes around that he planned it that way just so he wouldn't forget the anniversary. To this day ... Read More
Let’s Talk About ‘No Poo’ (FAQ 2)
I'm feverishly trying to catch up from my 9 day vacation away from my blog. I've waded through hundreds of emails, managed to catch up on sponsorship duties (thanks for being patient ladies), and am just now working on my blog comments. Thank you so much for hanging in there with me! I have a couple posts in which I receive at least 4-5 comments a day from, and those are my posts about 'No Poo'. It's a nightmare to me to even think about trying to answer all those comments from vacation! So I've decided to write yet another follow-up to my original post: I Don't Use Shampoo. It's been well over six months since I've stopped using shampoo and conditioner. If you are unfamiliar with the term 'no poo,' it basically means nixing shampoo ... Read More
We’re Back!
We're back from the jungle, and feelin' the Monday blues. Borneo was incredible, and definitely a very different vacation than Derik and I normally take. We're used to basking out in the sand and sun, getting sweet tan lines, and enjoying a cocktail on the beach. In Borneo there isn't time for that! Sure, there's plenty of pristine beaches, but why lay out when you have an entire jungle to explore?! Our 9 days in Borneo were chalk full fun things to do; we didn't even have time to get our scuba certifications like we had planned (oh well, we have Thailand and Hawaii coming up in January). We saw hordes of monkeys, did some snorkeling, cruised down a couple of remote rivers, and ate way too much local food (that extra five pounds doesn't ... Read More
