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Archives for 2018

Campervan Iceland with Happy Campers

Written by: Amanda // Category: Accommodation, Iceland, Location Reviews

Some people may find traveling around an entire country at almost 8 months pregnant to be a bit daunting, but it’s exactly what I wanted to do for our babymoon. The thought of a ten-day road trip with a baby, albeit doable, just made more sense in my head to take with just Derik and I while it’s just the two of us. After tossing around a few countries that would be nice to take an extensive roadtrip though, we settled on Iceland, and the only way that made sense to us  (to see as much of the country as we could in our short amount of time) was to rent a campervan and travel all the way around the Ring Road. I spent several days researching campervan companies and one particular company kept catching my eye: Happy Campers. Not only is ... Read More

A Taste of German Tradition in Spreewald, Germany

Written by: Amanda // Category: Germany

There’s nothing more exciting than stumbling upon a hidden gem, and I can truly say our visit to Spreewald, Germany was one of my favorite mini-getaways so far. Spreewald, named a UNESCO biosphere reserve back in 1991,  is known for its picturesque 187 sq. miles of canals that are used for traditional irrigation, and the natural organic products these canals and surrounding areas produce. If you’re currently thinking of a little venice meets fairytale forest, you’ve got the right idea. Spreewald is located about an hour south east of Berlin, and to be honest, when I first started researching it back in 2016, I wasn’t finding  that much info on what the area provided. Why drive several hours to visit such a strange and seemingly ... Read More

Changes, Life in Germany: an Unpublished Year

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me, Germany

It has been a hot minute since I’ve blogged, and have had itchy fingers to write again for some time. I’ve struggled with figuring out how to get back into it, especially since this year has had so many ups and downs, lots of new experiences, and yet has remained somewhat the same for us as we spend another 365 days living as expats in a foreign land. Since I began writing in 2012, I have enjoyed sharing what life is like abroad, trip itineraries, and dabbled a bit in some photojournalism, but sometimes it’s also nice to share a few personal updates so you get to know who I am as an individual. I touched on this last year, and I haven’t changed my mind on it. The few moments I’ve had to even consider writing, I’ve ultimately spent ... Read More

A perfect stay at House of Bruges

Written by: Amanda // Category: Accommodation, Belgium, Review

Last month, Derik and I made the spontaneous decision to go to the Beer Festival held in Brugge, Belgium. With over 400 different types of beer made from breweries all over Belgium and Europe, it was hard to say no. I was a bit worried accommodation would be slim-to-none since we literally decided a week before that we were going to go. After a quick online search (o.k. more like a couple hours), I discovered booking.com had the best options, and I reserved a place at House of Bruges. House of Bruges Review To be honest, I’m a little upset I didn’t discover this cute little B&B last time we visited Brugge. I loved our stay at Hotel Marcel, but the value for money, quaintness, and overall private experience House of Bruges gave us, ... Read More

An Overnight Layover in Singapore

Written by: Amanda // Category: Singapore, Travel

This post has been held captive for the past two years because I’ve had the hardest time sorting though pictures and figuring out which ones I wanted to share with you. Singapore is magical — I’ve never been to a city quite like it! The Singapore Changi Airport would be very difficult to miss if you’ve traveled Asia over an extended period; we had layovers a handful of times between 2012-15, but never had time to go out and explore Singapore until our third visit. The airport itself is a sight to behold, and if anything, correctly represents wonders the rest of the city has to provide. Derik and I were on our way to Europe from Bali , and it just so happened that our layover in Singapore was about 24 hours, so we decided to book a ... Read More

A Day in Brugge, Belgium

Written by: Amanda // Category: Belgium, Travel, Travel Guides

Last September, Derik and I took a spontaneous road trip to Brugge, Belgium. He had a hankering for a good Belgium beer, and I wanted to escape to a different country for an overnight trip. Knowing nothing of Belgium, we asked around (thanks Instagram Fam.) and the general consensus was to travel up to Brugge. It. Did. Not. Disappoint. The drive was a manageable 4hours 30 minutes, and we had zero issues with construction stalls, navigation errors, and finding our hotel. The tricky part was finding parking in September as most of the central parking lots were already full. We ended up parking at the enormous underground parking garage right next to the train station, and walked the 1.2 miles to our hotel (seriously an amazing walk on such ... Read More

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2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a coup Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a couple days enjoying the beautiful weather in the land of chocolate, cheese, mountains, and cows with bells 😍😍🤩. If you remember, we visited the same area  a month shy of two years ago but but the weather was quite the opposite! I’d have to say though, when you visit such a majestic and beautiful area, it doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re going to be in awe and love it anyway!
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