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And finally, some of our best from the beautiful city of Vancouver!
Vancouver
30 Friday Mar 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Picture Taking Time, Traveling Chick
Category Archives: 12 in 2012
Seattle
29 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Picture Taking Time, Traveling Chick
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Portland
28 Wednesday Mar 2012
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Hostels and Train Stations
27 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Traveling Chick
Like I mentioned Monday, we stayed in hostels on our recent trip, and rode Amtrak Cascades to go from city to city. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our hostels and train rides!
In Portlandia, we stayed in a beautiful home that has been turned into a hostel.
In Seattle, we stayed in a hostel, the Green Tortoise, literally across the street from Pike’s Place Market…
And then the train ride to Vancouver…
And in Vancouver, we stayed at the Samesun Backpackers Lodge, right on Granville.
And finally to the train station to head back to Seattle for our last night…
Traveling on the Cheap
26 Monday Mar 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Traveling Chick
Well, Jonathan and I have just returned from a very successful week-long trip to the Pacific Northwest! We spent two nights in Portland, two in Seattle, and two in Vancouver – then we went back down to Seattle for our last night before heading to the airport in the morning. We had a great time, and I have lots of fun pictures to share with you this week. But first, I thought I might share some of our tips on how to travel cheap. There are trips for splurging, and there are trips for saving…and this was a trip for saving. Trust me, we tried to keep our expenses to a minimum!
1. Book your flights on points.
Now, I know I have a job that travels a lot, but there are so many ways to earn frequent flier miles. It’s all about loyalty. Get a credit card with rewards – I use a Southwest Airlines card. Even if you don’t fly a lot, every purchase you make will earn you points. So will occasional bonus offers and survey reward programs. Pick an airline, and get loyal! Then you’ll get yourself some free flights 
2. Hostel it up.
If you haven’t ever stayed in a hostel, it’s time you do. If you are on a budget, and you like meeting people, then this is the only way to go. Most hostels have 4, 6, or 8-bed dorms for around $25 a night, per person. They usually have free breakfasts, wifi, even some dinners. AND they ALWAYS have events going on, so if you are traveling alone you can join up with the group and have some fun.
3. Grocery shopping can be done anywhere…
Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you have to pay a ton for meals every time you need to eat. Did I mention that hostels have full kitchens, where you can store food and you can cook? On this trip, Jonathan and I bought fruit, turkey, wraps, and other food and made our lunches and snacks ourselves all week long.
4. Airplane food & drink
Ask your flight attendants for an extra peanut or pretzel snack for later…they are usually happy to give it to you! You can also sit next to the weirdest guy on the plane, who happens to hand you ALL of his extra snacks. And if you’d like to have a drink or two while you are on the plane, don’t buy their $7 drinks! Pick up a few mini bottles of your favorite drink onboard…just keep them under 3 ounces each! Here’s my honey, loading up on our free snacks!
5. Happy Hour
Apparently, not all happy hours are right after work. We found a restaurant in Portland that had a late night “happy hour.” We had a meal for about $6! There are lots of apps out there that will help you find food deals in real time, no matter where you are.
6. Public transportation…also known as walking.
We walked a LOT and it was great. First, it’s the best way to see a new city, and to get some sense of direction. Second, it’s free. So brace yourself and wear tennis shoes. And now and then, you will need to take a train or subway, but when you can, take the opportunity to get some exercise and learn a city by foot! We only spent about $15 total on transportation around the cities on our trip. Plus…you’ll get to climb an enormous hill and get this view:
7. Set your priorities.
Our priorities were: see as much of the cities as we can, and meet new people. So this is where we put most of our time and energy. We also made time to relax, and hang out around the hostel and in local coffee shops and such. We took the time to sit at a few different bars for a while, getting to know the people around us – many of whom were local.We also really wanted to see the sites, so we chose to take an Amtrak train from city to city. The view was to die for, the ride was comfortable, and it was comparable (if not cheaper) than taking a bus or some other boring transportation. You get views like this when you take a train along the Pacific Ocean:
8. Still be sure to treat yourself!
Don’t get your panties in such a tight bundle that you don’t enjoy your trip. Make space in your budget for one or two nice meals, or a particular activity you care about, like a museum or tour. We had one really nice dinner out, and it was totally worth the splurge.
Anyway, I hope these tips are helpful! We had a blast on our trip – we were gone for a long time and saw a LOT. And now we can say we’ve seen a whole new area of the country, one that is beautiful and friendly! Keep an eye out for a lot more pictures this week.
A Show At Bluebird {12 in 2012}
23 Thursday Feb 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Life As I Know It, Picture Taking Time
Though I have been to one show at the Bluebird before, I would love to go much more often, considering I live so near by. And so, I added the Bluebird to my 12 in 2012 list. On Friday night, after telling me we were going to “a movie,” Jonathan surprised me with reservations at the Bluebird instead! It turned out to be a great night of good music. We are just so lucky to be in a city with such great live entertainment. Here are a few pictures from our night in the round…
A Library Card Adventure {12 in 2012}
20 Monday Feb 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Life As I Know It
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This was a great weekend of knocking off 12 in 2012 items. On Saturday, Jonathan took me downtown so that I could get my first Nashville library card, and he could renew his. We had a great little library adventure!
A little fuzzy, but adorable nonetheless.
And now I finally have my library card!
And then, we adventured around the capital building, the military branch of the state museum, and then the state museum itself. Who knew there was so much to do downtown?
Seattle & Vancouver {12 in 2012}
25 Wednesday Jan 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Traveling Chick
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Something exciting is on the horizon!
Since Jonathan and I met, he has told me time and again about a wonderful trip he took to Seattle, then how he took the train to Vancouver, and how beautiful and fun the whole experience was. Well, we’ve been saving up our Southwest miles, and guess what? We recently booked our FREE flights to Seattle for an entire week in March (over his spring break). I have been to Seattle once, but it was a long time ago for my cousin’s wedding, so much of our time was filled with family events. We did visit the space needle and the pike place market, but my memories are hazy. I’m looking forward to re-experiencing it all as a grown up, as well as taking my FIRST trip to Canada.
During the trip, we will stay in a hostel like we did for Boston, see the sights, and meet the people. I can’t wait for another fun adventure with my boy. This is also half of one of my 12 in 2012 items – the other half is a trip with mama, which is ALSO happening in March! March is simply going to be a blast.
Stitch Witchery {12 in 2012}
20 Friday Jan 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Life As I Know It
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I have successfully completed my first item from my 12 in 2012 list. I pulled out my pile of “clothes to be repaired” and sorted it out. Some were not worth saving, but some were. And I saved them with stitch witchery.
This was my first experience with stitch witchery, and I’m now obsessed. I like to sew, but there are some things (like an old pair of brown pants) that would be hard for me to hem without leaving a very visible trail behind. Here’s how it works:
Cut a strip of stitch witchery and place it between the two pieces of fabric you want to repair.
Cover with a damp cloth, and turn your iron to “wool” setting.
Hold your iron on the spot for 10 seconds, but don’t move the iron up and down. Then flip the hem over and do the same on the other side. Let it cool and check how you did. Magical!
I also reorganized a few sections of my closet to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing (really just for me…no one else would even be able to tell). So I count this item as FINISHED!
12 in 2012
04 Wednesday Jan 2012
Posted in 12 in 2012, Life As I Know It
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I don’t really do resolutions, because I feel like if you want to make a change, you should have started five minutes ago. Why wait another day? Why put it off? A few that I’ve adapted over the last few years… Stop counting calories. Pray more. Pay attention. Get in a daily/weekly workout routine.
So I don’t really have any new resolutions to share with you. Mostly, I want to keep it up, and keep challenging myself. But since both my 101 list and grad school are over, I feel the urge to make a to do list for the year…for 2012.
And so I give you my 12 in 2012 list. These are not earth shattering goals by any means. But they are mostly things I’ve been wanting to do but haven’t gotten around to. So with this list, I commit to these 12 things for 2012.
12 in 2012
Dear self – here are twelve things you should be sure to do in 2012…
Travel…to Seattle and Vancouver with Jonathan and take a 60th birthday trip with mama. (done) {Charleston with Mom} {Portland, Seattle, Vancouver with Jonathan}
Money…build my savings account to my goal – I’m currently at 30%.
Learn…to read a knitting or crocheting pattern.
Sew…a skirt.
Make…homemade ice cream.
Develop…research, plan, & create an Etsy shop.
Experience…a class with Jonathan – cooking, dance, etc…anything we both want to do!
Enrich…get a Nashville library card; visit the downtown library; and visit the Tennessee State Museum, too! (done)
Music…see a show at the Bluebird Café. (done)
Give Back…take Alexis volunteering at least twice; teach her how to make friendship bracelets.
Improve…repair that pile of clothes in the closet or get rid of them! And do a serious closet/under the bed clean out, while you’re at it. (done)
Chill Out…give yourself a break!
