living proof of God's grace & living free to share hope, encouragement & adventures
I love Brussels. The sprouts and the city. Brussels sprouts can be a polarizing topic, though, so I’m gonna stick with Belgium’s capital. Whenever I visit a new city, I’m curious to find an underlying element that sets it apart from any other place I’ve experienced. What struck me about Brussels is its juxtaposition of …
If you’ve ever thought: Gee, I’d like to visit several countries in a week! ...this post is for you. One thing I’ve learned from my solo travels is how much I can see in just one day. All it takes is an eagerness to explore and the stamina to stay in GO mode. Multiply that …
Continue reading One Week in Europe? How to Create an Itinerary for Four Countries
It may not be Christmas when you're reading this, but it's never a bad time to talk European Christmas markets. When a $434 roundtrip flight to Brussels popped up in my inbox (thanks to Scott’s Cheap Flights) I could not pass it up. Initially, (to save up more moolah) I wanted to book the latest …
Continue reading Best Things About European Christmas Markets
It started with a field trip in elementary school. Don’t remember which grade. Can’t say for certain what we visited. (Most likely that big ol’ Museum of Science and Industry.) What I do know? We took a bus to downtown Chicago and little girl me was IN AWE. Now, I’d been to Chicago as a …
The title says it all. My favorite adventures are the ones that get me up in the sky OR closer to it. Want proof? Here’s a compilation of past blog posts that speak to my love of all things skyward. The Day I Became an Adrenaline Junkie—This goes all the way back to my college …
Continue reading Adventurous Things to Do If You’re Not Afraid of Heights
I spent an entire week in Switzerland back in May 2018, and put a whole lotta effort into creating the perfect itinerary. But, the perfect itinerary also includes time for spontaneity—which is why I’m not surprised that my list of favorite Swiss experiences includes both planned and unplanned things. These are the highlights of my …
Continue reading Best Places to Visit in Switzerland: Lucerne, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, & Zurich
Where my foodies at? Because this post is for you. I don’t eat out much at home—I’d rather spend that money on trips!—so it’s a treat to eat out when I’m traveling. In my trip research phase, I do look at restaurant options. But overall, I like to keep it more spontaneous and just find …
It’s a given. No two people have the exact same recommendations for a travel destination. Naturally, there will be some duplicates, but we all just have our preferences. Before my O’ahu trip, lots of folks reached out with quite the variety of recommendations. Some recs I tried. Some I didn’t. But all were appreciated! They …
Continue reading My Top Recommendations for Oahu: Food, Beaches, & Hikes
If you don’t already know this about me, lemme fill you in real quick. I try to avoid being a tourist when I travel. Sure, I’ll take LOTS of photos and visit a few famous landmarks (here’s looking at you, Eiffel). But I wanna go beyond that, too—away from the crowds, off the beaten path—in …
Predictably, my desire to visit San Francisco can be traced back to the Golden Gate. What can I say? I’m bridge-lovin girl. Of course, my first suspension bridge love was—and will always be—the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan (aka. the Mighty Mac). But the Golden Gate? Easily number two. And, in this case, second place ain’t …
Continue reading Best Inexpensive Things to do in San Francisco
adventure and the girl 