Travel

Engagement Story & Pictures!

June 27, 2017by StephLeave a Comment

June marks six months since Vishal popped the question and to commemorate the milestone, I’m sharing the story and pictures from the day he proposed!

On the spur of the moment in May, Vishal and I booked a ten-day trip throughout Japan and Cambodia. It was a couple months before while we we’re planning all the details when he asked if I’d be interested in a guided photography tour for one of the days we were going to be in Cambodia. I thought it was a wonderful idea, so Vishal said he would get it all set up. We left for our trip on December 8th and, after spending the five days traveling throughout Japan, we arrived in Cambodia for the second half of our trip! It was the day of our photography tour and our guide, Chris, met us at 4 AM to start our tour with the famous sunrise at Angkor Wat. We spent the whole day visiting all the temples and ruins, learning photography tips, and taking pictures along the way. As we were nearing the end of our photography tour through the temples of Angkor, our guide, Chris, took us to one last temple for a few more shots. It was a beautiful site in the middle of the jungle with no one else around. We climbed to the top of the temple and as I was looking around to plan our next shot, Vishal said he had a question to ask me. Unsuspectingly, I turned around and Vishal got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! After lots of hugging, kissing, and maybe just a few happy tears, we ended the day with a champagne toast celebration on a private river cruise into the sunset!

XoXo

Life, Travel, Uncategorized

Visiting India: Night Out at Upré

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017by StephLeave a Comment

One of the best parts of my trip to India was having some friends from college (who were traveling in Morocco) come stay with us for a few days!

We decided to do some exploring during the night and came across an awesome rooftop restaurant with panoramic views the city and water!

Upré is located on the terrace of Lake Pichola Hotel. It was a great place to spend our second night in India enjoying among great drinks and wonderful friends! I would definitely suggest requesting one of the booths along the edges for the best views.

*Funny story: While we were enjoying our drinks a grasshopper showed up out of nowhere and landed on me! I’ve been told Grasshoppers are a universal symbol of good luck, so I felt extra special.

XoXo

Life, Reviews, Travel, Uncategorized

Voodoo Doughnut: The BEST Doughnuts. Ever.

June 2, 2017by StephLeave a Comment

Happy National Doughnut Day!

It’s no secret how much I love and enjoy food- all of our travels are pretty much focused on trying the most buzz-worthy places in each city- but it’s pretty safe to say doughnuts are my favorite!

I’ve visited lots of different doughnut shops, but one always stands out as my favorite: Voodoo Doughnut.

I first experienced the pure deliciousness of a Voodoo Doughnut doughnut after becoming a Denver resident. We were driving down Colfax Ave and the bright pink building caught my eye. There was a line stretched out the door and around the block, but I made us pull over and wait. Even with the 45-minute line, IT WAS SO WORTH IT! Among their Raised Yeast, Cake, and Vegan doughnuts, my top two are The Homer (Raised Yeast) and Voodoo Doll (Raised Yeast).

Since this doughnut enlightenment in Denver, I’ve also checked visiting their Portland, OR and Eugene, OR locations off my list!

Doughnut lovers everywhere: If you ever come across a Voodoo Doughnut, wait in the line and get a big pink box of doughnuts!

As they say at VD, “good things come in pink boxes”.

XoXo

Travel

Priority Pass: How to Make Traveling Easier & More Enjoyable

May 23, 2017by StephLeave a Comment

This little black card will make your experience traveling SO much more enjoyable!

It is called Priority Pass and they provide access to over 1000 lounges worldwide while you’re traveling!

Our layover in Istanbul was pretty long, but Priority Pass makes traveling easier and more enjoyable by giving us access to airport lounges during our layovers to relax with food, drinks and even freshen up with a shower in-between flights! We also like to arrive to the airport a little earlier than usual to relax and enjoy ourselves with some food and drinks before the flight. This way, Priority Pass makes the vacation start as soon as we get to the airport 🙂

Vishal and I have been using the Priority Pass for about a year now and it has really made the difference in limiting the stress traveling can bring on. We’ve been able to use it during our trips to Orlando, Jamaica, Japan, Cambodia, Mexico, and India and I cannot imagine traveling without it now!

XoXo

Travel

Visiting India: Part One

April 28, 2017May 18, 2017by StephLeave a Comment

And we’re off!

The fiancé and I are on our way to India. We’ve been together for six years and I finally get to visit India and meet all of his family there! We also have two weddings to go to while trying to get some things crossed off the list for our own wedding.

We left from SFO with just 25 hours of flights until we arrive in Udaipur! I’m flying on Turkish Airlines and IndiGo for the first time and so excited. I’ve heard great things about Turkish’s in-flight amenities and food/drink offerings and IndiGo was a no-brainer decision for budget-friendly traveling within India.

And I’m, of course, traveling with my favorite Osprey Farpoint 40L!

XoXo

Fashion, Life, Tech, Travel, Uncategorized

What I Learned From Someone Stealing My Phone in Thailand… and Other Tips for Traveling Abroad

December 8, 2015December 8, 2015by Steph3 Comments

My trip to Thailand was one of the best experiences of my life- It was my first time traveling internationally. It was a bit of a culture-shock once we landed, but I learned more about myself and the world out there that I had yet to experience. While I had the best time in Thailand, on my first full day in Bangkok, I was the victim of pickpocketing. Not even realizing the “Beware of pickpocketing” signs around the temple- of course-until after i fell victim, it happened in the matter of less than 5 minutes.

I have come up with a list of some Do’s and Dont’s for traveling abroad with links to handy items below!

Do yourself a favor and DON’T bring a backpack to use as your daily bag. I bought a Longchamp ‘Le Pliage’ Backpack specifically for this trip, thinking it would be the easiest way to travel so my hands would be free. I loved that it had a zip top and flap to cover- figuring this made it extra safe, but it didn’t, and my new iPhone 6 was stolen. After reading tons of articles, the best choice would be a crossbody of messenger-type bag. Two of my favorites are the kate spade new york ‘cobble hill – ella’ leather hobo (on sale right now) and the Longchamp ‘Le Pliage Neo- Medium’ Tote. I always bring my Canon DSLR and GoPro with me on trips, so I like a roomier bag. These two work well, but each also come in a smaller size if you travel light . With these bags, you can zip them up and keep them in front of you and have the pickpocketers not see you as a target.
DO bring an external battery pack. Life-saver on those long flights where you may be stuck in a seat that DOESN’T have a working port (true story). I love the external battery pack I bought from Amazon. It’s a little thick, but can fully charge my phone six times!
DO write down all of the names, addresses, and phone numbers for the places you are going to- think hotels, restaurants, attractions! Do not rely on technology, because we all know things happen-Batteries can die, wifi can not be found, etc. The person in our group in-charge of the hotel address kept it in his email and once we reached the town, he phone didn’t work and we spent the next two hours walking around town trying to find the hotel… not the best situation.
DON’T over-pack. I was in Thailand for 12 days and I fit everything in one carry-on and a small personal and it was still too much! I’ve been spoiled by being able to stuff an insane amount of stuff in my carry-on and I knew, as long as it fit in the overhead compartment, I was good! Imagine my shock when learning, first-hand, that most international carry-on items are subject to size AND weight limitations. I bet you can guess how my experience went. I either had to pay weight-overage fees or was forced to check-in my bag and pay outrageous checked baggage fees. Save yourself the trouble and pack smart and light. It’s also a good idea to invest in a handheld scale to be certain you’re good to go.
DO have fun 🙂 Remember to enjoy your time on your adventure. Go with the flow, roll with the punches, and fully embrace the surroundings and cultures. Appreciate your opportunity to see a world different from your day-to-day life!

With Love,

Steph

ksny ‘cobble hill – ella’ leather hobo- On Sale @ Nordstrom

Longchamp ‘Le Pliage Neo – Medium’ Tote

Travel, Uncategorized

Steph in Singapore

August 3, 2015December 8, 2015by StephLeave a Comment

Some interesting observations while in Singapore:

Singapore is absolutely the cleanest place I have ever been
Gum is illegal- no where sells it and no one has any
Singapore is home to the 100th Starbucks location 🙂
At first, you don’t realize what it actually is, but the Singapore SkyPark is the coolest place and gives the best views of the area

With Love,

Steph

Travel, Uncategorized

True Life: I’m Traveling Internationally for the First Time!

June 25, 2015December 8, 2015by StephLeave a Comment

In one month, it turned from a random and wild idea to actually stepping foot onto the plane for a 12-day adventure throughout Singapore and Thailand!

I have never truly traveled international (my cruises to the Bahamas don’t count), so I am just so ecstatic and excited to have this opportunity to travel to the complete other side of the world to experience a different culture, eat new foods, and try my hand at navigating in a place where I don’t speak the language. I’ll be making stops in Singapore, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and the Phi Phi Islands.

Stay posted for updates on my travels. Time to take-off!

With Love,

Steph

About to board!

Love this tank from Arsenic and Lace. Gilmore Girls for Life!

Find my Gilmore Girls tank from Arsenic and Lace

Find my Longchamp ‘Le Pliage’ Travel Bag at Nordstrom

Travel

#TBT : California Summer

February 5, 2015May 19, 2015by StephLeave a Comment

With the weather teetering between 20 and 50 degrees and tons of snow here in Denver, I thought it be nice to throw it back to the my much warmer trip to northern California over the summer. It was my first time visiting the state, not to mention the my first time to the west coast, and I was instantly in awe by San Francisco, the scenic views, Pacific Coast Highway, and WHALES! I still can’t believe I saw whales just out in ocean roaming freely and giving me (and the hoard of other people stopped in amazement) a nice little show.

From the moment we flew into the city (on my favorite airline, Southwest, obviously) I couldn’t believe where we actually were. We did so much throughout our trip and all in just four days! We made San Jose our home base during the stay, which made traveling between San Francisco and down Pacific Coast Highway super easy. On our first day, we took a drive down PCH to travel down the “17-Mile Drive” and check out the most picturesque little town of Carmel. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. We saw whales, sea lions, and admired the views from the stops along the drive. (Weird thing we noticed: all of the squirrels we encountered were extremely fat. Like, they were mutant squirrels. See picture below for reference)

Over the next few days, we saw the red woods, walked on the Golden Gate Bridge after hiking through the park to it, walked throughout the city, experienced all the quintessential touristy things to do, and took a day trip out to Napa Valley for some awesome wine, We also visited Alcatraz, which was SO cool! I highly suggest doing the audio tour when you go there. The narration makes the experience seem that much more real. Another highlight of our trip was taking the hike to the park that over looks the Golden Gate Bridge. We did it with friends who live there and met up with more to end our hike with a picnic. We had drinks, tons of food, music, good company and all with the GGB as our backdrop. It was the best last day in San Francisco I could ever imagine.

I was seriously in amazement the entire time we were there and, basically, the only adequate way to describe my trip is “a travelers’ paradise”!

Check out below for pics from my travels!

With love,

Steph

Reviews, Travel

The Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club

December 24, 2014May 19, 2015by StephLeave a Comment

Before my move to St. Louis, I had a “last hurrah for Florida” trip to a place I knew I would miss and wouldn’t be able to enjoy while in landlocked Missouri: the beach!

My boyfriend and I, along with my family, set out for The Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club in Naples, FL.

From the moment I parked the car, I was immediately relaxed and in vacation mode. I was greeted with citrus-infused water to get things started and made my way through the beautifully decorated lobby.

This place truly is a beachfront hotel with a sprawling layout, on 125 acres on the Gulf of Mexico. The hotel offers onsite golf, tennis, and spa. They have four onsite retail shops, an amazing pool complex (featuring a tiki bar, two different pools and two hot tubs), multiple dining venues and options, and 34,000 sq. ft of meeting/event space. You really never have to leave the resort, since anything you could want to do on vacation is just steps away in this resort.

We had two guest rooms and one suite, that boasted beautiful beach-front views. All of the rooms were absolutely amazing. The best were so comfortable, the bathrooms were impressive, and the rooms all came with a wet bar area with a sink and mini fridge, which was very convenient. My mothers suite featured two rooms connected by an in-between-room door, one room with a king size bed and the next room set up as a living/dining area and two bathrooms. The living area included a pull out bed for extra sleeping space. My biggest pet-peeve are hotel rooms that aren’t clean when I check-in, and these rooms were spotless. I was extremely happy with the rooms.

Our vacation at The Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club was simply wonderful and we were graced with equally wonderful weather. We spent our time relaxing at the pool complex and beach (with their incredible concierge-type food and drink service), eating at all of their different venues (their Blue Crab Salad was the absolute best), and taking in the breath-taking sights. The staff was so attentive and courteous, they really made our stay that much better.

Check out the pics from my stay below and be sure to check out the hotel website at naplesbeachhotel.com.

With Love,

Steph

Unfortunately, the pictures on took on my Canon were somehow deleted while uploading, so sorry for the lack of room and property pics 😦