Living in Another Language

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Korcula Town to Stari Grad with MedSailors

Written by: Amanda // Category: Croatia, Review, Tour Reviews, Travel

There’s nothing more beautiful than experiencing the sunrise or a sunset on the ocean. Although the Philippines wins in my book for best sunsets in the entire world, Croatia definitely gave it a run for its money while we were sailing through the Dalmatian Islands with Medsailors. After our overnight in Vis, we took off for Hvar (enjoyed some swimming activities along the way) and spent the evening in Korcula Town before heading over to Stari Grad. The day was a blur of sun, sailing, dolphins (didn’t grab my camera quick enough), seafood, drinks at sunset, and tons and tons of laughter and games. Do I even need to mention the gorgeous location?!? I couldn’t get over it. Our port stop was a bit of a drive from Korcula Town, ... Read More

Sailing to Vis, Croatia

Written by: Amanda // Category: Croatia, Review, Tour Reviews, Travel

In a matter of less than a week, Derik and I will be embarking on our second sailing adventure with Medsailors.  It’s hard to believe it has already been a couple years since our last trip (seriously, where did the time go), and since we’re back in Europe, we though it would be fun to end this summer with another epic vacation. In all transparency, our last sailing trip was sponsored, but we had the best time in Croatia and believe in this friendly little company so much, we wanted to go again on our own dime! As we get ready for our second trip (location TBA), I thought I would take a few days and sort through photos and memories of our time in Croatia! Our first official stop was on the old military island of Vis. Vis, one of ... Read More

Norway in a Nutshell

Written by: Amanda // Category: Norway, Review, Tour Reviews

Norway has always been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. There’s just something about the quaint little villages nestled between gigantic rocky cliffs, the tasty seafood that no one can ever get enough of, and all the friendly people that beckon a person to visit and stay a while. Last summer Derik was tied up with school and I had a bit of free time on my hands, so I took a couple weeks off and traveled to Germany to see my brother-in-law, sister, and three sweet little nieces. During the time I was visiting, we took a 5-day trip to Norway with Norway in a Nutshell, and I absolutely fell in love. I’d have to say out of the very few countries we’ve visited in Europe so far (I think our tally is at 7), Norway has stolen my ... Read More

Exploring Kenai Fjords National Park with Major Marine Tours

Written by: Amanda // Category: Alaska, Cruises, Review, Tour Reviews, United States

First of all, I can’t believe it’s been since May that I’ve blogged. I didn’t mean to take such a long break — I was trying to soak up every last minute I had in Alaska before leaving. I’ll be posting all about our adventures hopefully for the rest of this month and next, so we can move on to other things and new destinations! I’m super excited to share with you today about our time touring the gorgeous Kenai Fjords National Park with Major Marine Tours! I had a really good friend from Germany come visit me the last few weeks of June, and we wanted to take a cruise to see both the glaciers AND wildlife, and couldn’t quite decide what tour to choose. This is where Major Marine comes in, they had such a variety of cruise tours on their ... Read More

5 Reasons to Book a Yacht Charter This Summer

Written by: Amanda // Category: Croatia, Review, Tour Reviews, travel tips

I would have never considered booking a yacht charter for summer vacation…until we got the chance to go on one last summer with MedSailors. I honestly thought yacht charters would totally out of our budget range, and that's why they were never in the radar. Turns out I was wrong, and I'm glad I was! We had the best time sailing the Dalmatian Coast (Croatia) for a week with Medsailors (they also have tours in Greece and Turkey), and I can't wait to tell you all about it within this next month! There are a couple different yacht charter options, you can either: rent out one for yourself (aka you are your own skipper), or you can join a company that provides skippered yachts (aka you don't have to worry about a thing). For us, skippered ... Read More

Bali Cooking Class

Written by: Amanda // Category: Bali, Review, Tour Reviews

I've always wanted to join a cooking class. You'd think after visiting 20-something countries including Italy, Thailand, and Japan, we would have snuck a few in there, but alas, we failed to (shame). Because of this, we made it a point to schedule in a cooking class during our time in Bali, and for $27 USD we couldn't pass one up. Derik and I spent 30 days in Indonesian paradise last July, and found ourselves gravitating to Ubud on the days we didn't have anything planned. I'm not sure if it was the cheap villas, the cultural experience, or the mind-blowing food, but Ubud was love at first sight in 2012, and better yet in 2015. After reading a few reviews online, and our good friend Melanie (who, crazy enough, was on our tour through New ... Read More

Kaikoura Dolphin Encounter

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Review, Tour Reviews

The horn blared loudly signifying it was okay to jump in, and we slipped off the end of the boat into the icy cold water, immediately surrounded by a pod of 250-300 wild dusky dolphins. I couldn't believe my eyes as I sat there floating on top of the water looking to the left, right, behind, and below me — dolphins were everywhere! Having the opportunity to swim with dolphins may just be [hands down] one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my entire life. Kaikoura truly is the hidden gem of the South Island, and if you're one of those that takes the extra time to visit, you'll know exactly why it's so special. This coastal town is nestled right between the ocean and the mountains, giving you scenic views every direction ... Read More

An Adventure Tour through New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Review, Tour Reviews

Once Derik and I figured out we would be leaving New Zealand in a matter of a few weeks, we were hitting things pretty much full throttle trying to arrange flight tickets, get out of our rental agreement, what to do post-New Zealand, and packing up our stuff. We both had this nagging feeling like we hadn't seen enough of New Zealand (or even participated in an official New Zealand tour) to be completely satisfied before we left can you ever be completely satisfied?. Yeah, sure we lived in NZ for an entire year, but if you've ever visited you'll know what I mean when I say you can't ever have enough of "the most beautiful places on earth." That's where Haka Tours came in. First of all you should know that I love planning and knowing ... Read More

Central Otago Wine Tour

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Review, Tour Reviews

I knew from the second I found out New Zealand was prime wine country, that I wanted to go on a wine tasting tour. I'm not quite sure why it didn't make my NZ bucket list, but would it be cheating if I threw it on there real quick just to cross off? It should have been part of the list for sure!  For Valentine's Day I wanted to do something fun and romantic with Derik, so I booked a last minute wine tour through Appellation Central Wine Tours. Central Otago (and Queenstown) is only a few hour drive for us from Dunedin, and honestly I have no idea why it's taken us this long to drop by this area during the summer! We've visited Queenstown three times previously, but all have been in the winter/early springtime. If it says anything, we're ... Read More

Currently on Instagram

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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