Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Skagway

Oh Skagway, my favorite of the Alaskan towns. We had a lot more time here than in the other cities--nearly a whole day--which may have had something to do with it. The town itself is so adorably picturesque, so we spent several hours wandering the streets, popping in and out of shops. Early on, in a souvenir shop, I noticed that the store sold magnets, keychains, etc., for all of our Alaskan ports (Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau) and no other towns. I thought that was a little bit too weird to be just a coincidence, so I did some quick research. It turns out that the cruise lines own a lot of the shops in their ports (or they act like some kind of mobster and charge them crazy amounts to be included in their "recommended" shops) which really rubbed me the wrong way. (Here is a pretty easy to read article that summarizes it nicely,) I think it's so easy to not really think about where you spend money on vacation, so I'm really glad I noticed that something seemed off, because after that we were really intentional about seeking out local shops to support, and as a bonus we met some really incredible shop owners!

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Tracy Arm Fjord

I don't even know where to begin with the Tracy Arm Fjord. It is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I kept snapping photos left and right, and still don't feel like I managed to do it any justice at all. The water was the most incredible turquoise blue--I would have sworn I was somewhere tropical if it wasn't 40 degrees outside! Pair that  with the towering mountains, waterfalls, and icebergs, and it truly took my breath away. It culminated at Sawyer Glacier, which you can see in the background of the first picture (and in several others--this is a bit of a photo heavy post!). I wish I could scoop you all up and take you there so you could see it in person.  (Be sure to check out the video at the bottom--I feel like it does a better job of capturing the grandeur!)

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

I'm not what one would call a prolific cook; while I genuinely enjoy cooking, it's also really time-consuming, and usually I'd rather spend that time reading or catching up on The Great British Baking Show. Every once in awhile, though, I come up with an idea that I just have to try out. Sometimes they bomb, most of the time they're okay, and every once in awhile they become a family favorite. This recipe definitely falls into the latter category. It's a pretty basic recipe that I came up with somewhere in the first couple years of marriage, and it's become my husband's very favorite meal.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

At Sea

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a "cruise person." It's not that I have any qualms about being stuck on a boat or being out in the open ocean, but I just don't get the whole cruise subculture. People have this stuff down to an art form and it's just so foreign to me. I mean, I don't really have an urge to buy Carnival sandals or get my photo taken with the Captain. That being said, though--after going on an Alaskan cruise this summer, if you asked me if I wanted to go again, I would say yes in a heartbeat

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Epcot

On our trip to Disney (click here for part one and part two), Haley and I spent a day in Epcot--it just so happened to be the Food and Wine Festival, Epcot's 35th anniversary, and my birthday, so it was quite a day! 

Thursday, January 11, 2018

The Great British Reading List

Since my husband and I are heading to England for a bit this summer, I decided that one of my New Year's Resolutions should be to binge on some British history books. Now, this isn't so much a resolution as it is just an intensification of my everyday life, but there are definitely some periods in British history that I want to learn more about before we go. Last fall, I tried digging a bit more into pre-history, Roman Britannia, and the Anglo-Saxon period, as those have never really been my thing, and I feel like I learned a ton. (In addition to reading, I also really got into The British History Podcast, which was super helpful-- I definitely recommend it if you like a little humor with your history!) I think focusing on one period really heavily for periods of time is definitely a good way for me to learn.

So for the next six-ish months, I'm going to be reading a ton. I'm setting myself the goal of two books per month; while I'm pretty confident it will be more like a book per week, I also want to give myself some grace, so I'm setting the bar at a level I'm confident I can reach. If you're curious about what books I've chosen, read on:

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Magic Kingdom

One of my resolutions is to finally get around to documenting all of the traveling I did last year. It's been a few months since Haley and I went to Walt Disney World...and I was pretty much immediately ready to go back as soon as we left. I had always maintained that I'm not a "theme park person," but it turns out I just hadn't ever been to the right theme park. 

We left early on the Friday before my birthday, and somehow managed to have the entire airplane row on a Southwest flight to ourselves, with an empty seat between us. Disney magic starts early, apparently. We arrived around 11, made our way to our resort, and then hit the ground running. We used Disney transport the entire time we were there--both to and from the airport and getting around the park. Avoiding the cost of a rental car and parking was pretty amazing, I must say. We didn't buy park tickets for Friday, but we did have tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (I wrote a little bit about that here), which got us into the park at 4. Since the party didn't officially start until 7, we had plenty of time to explore!

Thursday, January 4, 2018

White Christmas

I know it's January already, but I just realized that I never told you that we actually had a white Christmas this year. It started snowing about 3am on Christmas Eve, stopped midday, and was cold enough that it stuck around through New Years. I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times in my life that it's been snowy on Christmas Day, so it was pretty darn special. And naturally, I dragged my husband out in it to take some photos--is there anything more photogenic than fresh snow? 

I actually ordered this dress back in May to wear to the captain's dinner on our summer cruise to Alaska, but it didn't come in on time. Turns out it's actually pretty Christmas-y in the right context, so I'm thinking it's now my go-to holiday dress. Now if only every Christmas could be a white Christmas!

Monday, January 1, 2018

How To Actually Keep Your Resolutions This Year

Here we are again: the beginning of another year. It's easy to get caught up in all the excitement about healthy changes and resolutions, and no doubt you're feeling like you can take on the world right now. The thing is--and we all know this from experience--making resolutions is the easy part. The hard part comes 15 or so days down the road when your weight loss goal doesn't sound nearly as exciting as those free cupcakes at work. But don't worry--I've got a few tips that can help you stick with your plans for 2018. Turns out all that training in human behavior is good for something after all.

1. Set realistic goals. Here's the deal--you have to be honest with yourself. Are you really, really going to go from total couch potato to working out an hour, twice a day, every day--all at once? Are you going to go from drinking three XL fountain sodas a day to zero, and sustain it for a whole year? Are you actually going to stick to a budget that only allows you $20 spending cash for a whole month?

If you are, you're a superhuman, and teach me your ways.

The thing is, change is hard, and we can handle huge changes if we have high levels of motivation (like, during the excitement of a new year, for example), but we can't sustain them once our motivation decreases. The more extreme changes your goals require, the less likely they are to succeed long-term.

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