The moment of waiting is finally over, our passports are being put to good use, and we're out discovering some more of the amazing world we live in! Just letting you know as a little PSA, I won't be replying to comments, posting on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for the duration of our vacation. Derik and I are going phone, tablet, and computer free, and I'm looking forward to a little R&R away from things! Don't worry, I'm not going to vanish entirely for three weeks: I have some lovely posts lined up for you! I look forward to reading all your comments when I get back. Wanna know where we will be? December 18th-30th South Pacific Cruise out of Sydney destinations being: New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and then back to ... Read More
Radio Silence
You may or may not have noticed my radio silence the last two weeks. I attempted to pump out a post or two in the last 14 days, but I pretty much threw that plan right out the window. On August 18th, I flew back to the States for my brother's wedding, and have enjoyed a blissful couple of weeks getting to know my adorable nieces, relishing moments with loved ones I haven't seen in 4 years, and drinking as many sonic slushes as humanly possible. Those 14 days ended up whizzing by as I knew they would, and here I am sitting in the airport waiting to board the my first out of five flights home to New Zealand. I realize I totally confused 90% of my Instagram audience who thought I was still in Dunedin, when I started posting photos of ... Read More
Instagram Favorites
Instagram. By now everyone (and their mother) has it or has heard of it. I started my Instagram account way back in the days when it was still new, and only like 12 Facebook friends of mine had it. My oh my has it grown. Instagram is a wonderful creative outlet for photos and videos, allowing users to share their lives with the rest of the world. To those of you who don't have an Instagram yet, it sounds weird I know. My husband still doesn't understand it. I've become rather obsessed with finding awesome travel and photography accounts to follow via Insta to get my daily fill on all things wonderful. I'm here today to spread the love and share my favorites! Also please let me know if you have more I can add to my ... Read More
Change is Inevitable
There's been a lot of talk on change, simplifying, and living minimalistically around the blogging world. I don't know what's going on with 2014, but I feel like everyone's taking an extra step to make life less about 'stuff' and more about the experiences. Maybe some people are just beginning to realize you really don't NEED a lot of crap to make you happy. I love the picture above that I captured while we were in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, because this little boy didn't need much to make him perfectly content. Derik and I watched him play with his pants (as comical as that may seem) for at least an hour as the sun went down. He was doing his own thing, happy to be alive and running around in the water and sand. If only life was always that ... Read More
21 Household Tips and Tricks
I'm all about simplifying my life and finding ways to make it easier! I've been taught 'life-hacks' from an early age, it's just a matter of regurgitating that knowledge of the things I consider normal practices and writing a post for you to benefit from! The 21 household tips and tricks below (actually 22, I through an extra one in last minute) are all used by me on almost a daily basis (yes, even in Korea). FOOD: 1. Strawberries rinsed in vinegar last days longer. 2. Putting your freshly opened ice-cream container in a ziplock bag will keep it 'first-use' soft. 3. Don't have an egg but you're halfway through making your batch of cookies? Use a mashed banana. BEAUTY 4. Olive oil takes off eye makeup as good (if not better) than ... Read More
Saturday’s Thoughts
-I'm wondering how many of you will be confused by the fact that it's Saturday here in Korea and Friday back in the States. Don't worry I get my times mixed up more than I'd like to say. -Dishes are the bane of my existence. I spend approximately 30 minutes washing them every single day, but the next morning I feel like there are more dishes in the sink then there were the night before. -My husband and I can't seem to fall asleep earlier than 3:00am on the weekends. I hate it. Especially since it makes us not want to wake up until 10am and half our morning is gone. -My Christmas tree doesn't look as full of cheer as it did last year, yet I used the exact same decorations. What's going on. -We made a 100% fully Korean dinner the ... 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
I love bloglovin!
It's Monday. The weekend went way to fast, and here I am running around like crazy for another week of teaching. My husband and I are totally over teaching at the moment and are pining for our vacation to Borneo (two short weeks!). I don't have much for you today...but I DO have an awesome link-up! If you have a blog and love to be social, this one's for you. <div align="center"><a href="http://www.northernbellediaries.com" title="Northern Belle Diaries"><img src="https://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/NBelleCreations/IheartBloglovin_zps92408d43.png" alt="Northern Belle Diaries" style="border:none;" /></a></div> ... Read More