Travel Tuesday: Plane Ready

One of the most important elements in traveling (in my opinion) is what you wear/bring on the plane! I have a usual go-to outfit now that I'm always jet setting different places. I almost always wear leggings or comfortable jeans because they're practical and still look decent in case you run into someone you might know. A loose shirt is a must paired with a nice quality scarf. I can't tell you how many times I've used my scarf as a pillow or blanket on flights to make them a little more bearable. I personally like wearing boots with wool socks because I know my feet will get cold, but it's more convenient to wear ballet flats to slip on and off at security checkpoints. I like to wear a real watch so I can keep track of how long we've been in the air for. Some electronics make it difficult to track since you're usually changing timezones. And last but not least, a good bag that can fit my Mac, snacks, headphones  and a good book to keep me occupied on the flight. Here are a few of my favorites:

Sweater / Leggings / Boots / FOSSIL Bag / Kate Spade watch / Banana Republic scarf

I want to hear what your go-to airport outfit is! Any tricks of the trade?

Travel Tuesday: Southern Florida

It makes so much sense to me why people in Michigan get seasonal depression. I feel so relaxed, happy and rejuvenated after spending a little under a week in the sunny state of Florida! Since Alex couldn't get the week off for vacation, I invited my mom and step dad to join me on yet another adventure. We flew out of Detroit into Miami & boy was there a difference in temperature! On our first night we decided to get checked into the hotel and venture out for some fresh fish in Key Largo at The Buzzards Roost. We picked this restaurant at random, but it ended up being our favorite! Great atmosphere, great fish & the coconut cake was so freaking good.

My parent's bought a selfie stick while at the Grand Canyon, and I had way too much fun with it! We ventured out to Key West for a day where we ate Conch Fritters, BBQ & more fish. We had to walk to the southern most point in the US and try our selfie stick for the first time & it was a huge success! We waited all day for an epic sunset (even found the perfect bench) and storm clouds rolled out 10 minutes before it was suppose to set. Huge bummer, but we were just so happy to be somewhere with no snow we didn't really care :)

We decided to do a beach day & the front desk at our hotel suggested going to Biscayne National Park. We had to pay a small fee, but the beach was absolutely beautiful. After that we took it easy with a pool day, & our last day we visited the Everglades which was SO awesome!

It was a perfect getaway from our Michigan winter weather full of delicious seafood, sunshine & relaxation. I'm so thankful to work for companies that make it easy for me to live our my passion to travel. There's nothing quite like watching a sunrise in an airplane embarking on a new adventure. Here's to all you wanderers out there, may you never stop.

48 Hours in LA

Happy Friday ya'll! Since I'm on a new schedule at work, and I fly for free (well not really free I work my butt off) I decided to go to LA last Saturday-Tuesday to hangout with my friend Chloe! We met while we were both in Spain studying abroad and we've been the best of friends ever since. She  took me to all of her favorite places in LA. The first day, after a night of In-N-Out obviously, we grabbed some pastries from Huckleberry and headed over to Intellisentsia in Venice. If you're looking for some major hipster inspiration this is a prime spot to people watch. Oh, and the coffee was beyond delicious! We then walked around and window shopped for a bit before catching some lunch at Lemonade. They have tons of pre-made salads so we split a few. We took a yoga class later that night in downtown Santa Monica (I felt so very hip doing yoga in LA).

The second day we started our day with a hike at Runyon Canyon where the weather was sunny and gorgeous and I was dying of happiness to be outside in shorts and a tank top. After freshening up a bit we went to a tapas restaurant where we drank wine and shared our favorite spanish dishes outside. Since most of our study abroad experience revolved around Spanish food & wine, we were the happiest of campers. We then watched the sunset on Venice beach and walked the boardwalk. Since I fly standby, I decided to take the Red-Eye on Tuesday night otherwise I would have been stuck in California. In retrospect it wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world ;)

It was a successful 48 hours in California, but I was happy to be home and see my lovely husband and this little guy (who apparently was happy to see me too!) What are some of your favorite places to visit while in LA or California?
Have a great weekend everyone!
BlogThis!

Traverse City Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, Katelyn and I headed to Traverse City with our husbands + my sister and brother-in-law and Katelyn's brother and his girlfriend. It was a family getaway for 8! Our first stop when we arrived was at Right Brain Brewery, a quirky and unconventional craft brew house set in a warehouse-like building. We took the grand tour of the facility and got to see how their beers were made. It was really interesting.

The beers at Right Brain were phenomenal. Since I'm a big fan of stouts and porters, I loved the Naughty Girl Stout (which was a mint stout) and I was also a big fan of the Smooth Operator (Cream Ale). We definitely recommend paying a visit to this brewery, and if you can-- take the tour! The staff was extremely knowledgeable and fun.  

Our next stop was at Grand Traverse Distillery. We sampled several whiskeys and vodkas and practically made ourselves sick at this point. I never knew until now that whiskey gets it dark color strictly from the barrels they are in, they are never colored intentionally. What?!

The rest of the night consisted of dinner & drinks at the hotel while playing Cards Against Humanity. It's always fun to travel to different states and countries, but sometimes it's nice to be a tourist in your own state. Michigan has so much to offer and we're blessed to have weekend getaways like these.

What cities do you like to visit in your home state?

xoxo,
Laura & Katelyn

24 Hours in Denver

These last few weeks have been draining: physically, mentally & emotionally. My new job at the airport is most definitely the toughest job I've ever had and up until last weekend Alex and I didn't even take advantage of our awesome flying perks! So we decided to take a trip to Denver, even if for only 24 hours. One of my bestest friends, Maddie, lives there and helped us pack a whole weekend of activities into one day. Here's a perfect trip itinerary for a trip to the Mile High City:

We flew in and were picked up from the airport and headed straight to Boulder, CO for some hiking at the Flatirons. We decided to stop by Whole Foods and grab coffee, bread and cheese for a snack on our hike.

After burning all those calories from hiking, we decided the best way to replenish our bodies was to visit a bunch of breweries (duh). We stopped by Great Divide Brewing Co., Breckenridge Brewery and finished it off with a barrel-aged brew from River North Brewery. Everything was so delicious! I had never head of barrel-aged beer before, but I absolutely loved it! We opted to try three different flights at Breckenridge Brewery between the three of us and it was one of the best ideas we had all day.

After a few craft beers we decided to Uber back to Maddie's house (thanks, Daniel!). We then all walked from her apartment to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science where we watched the sunset over the mountains and Denver city skyline. It was so beautiful and photos really don't do it justice. The Denver Zoo was nearby so we heard the monkeys and cats while watching the sunset.

We then took a quick nap, freshened up & set off for a concert at The Bluebird Theater. Alex and I were definitely rallying at this point, but it was so awesome! 

Photo ℅ Bluebird Theater

Since we had an early flight to catch we went home a little earlier. We woke up SO early and we were the first in line at Snooze where I seriously had some of the BEST breakfast I've ever had. You can tell it's a popular place in Denver for breakfast because it was nearly full at 7:00am! It had a really cute retro feel to it as well.

After our great "snooze" all that was left was a flight to Chicago. There's something about Denver that just feels like home to me. Maybe it's the mountains that are constantly reminding me of how big the world is, or it's beautiful sense of community. Even though all we had was 24 hours there, it was just perfect.

For more ideas on what to do in Colorado, check out my post from last winter here.

Happy Halloween everyone! Anyone have any fun plans for this weekend? I'm headed to Laura's tonight for some pumpkin carving then we're going up north tomorrow for some beer and wine and good times :)

xoxo,

Katelyn

48 Hours in Nashville

There's nothing quite as exhilarating as a weekend of traveling. And by weekend, I literally mean 48 hours. As of late, Steve and I have been spending a lot of hours and miles in our cars. Ever since we returned from our honeymoon, we've spent very little time at our home in Grand Rapids. Between work, concerts, and traveling, we haven't had much free time. To be completely honest, I don't mind all that much. It's so great to be constantly moving.  

This past weekend I flew down to Nashville. I left Friday morning.. like REALLY early in the morning. Steve had already been down there for the week since he was co-writing with some other musicians and attending networking parties. He picked me up from the airport around 10am and we began our 48 hours in Nashville. 

Now, we've had several weekends together in this glorious city since we've been together, but we thought it would be fun to jam-pack our weekend full of delicious food and fun activities with friends while we were there for such a short time, especially since Friday was my very last PTO day of the year.

FYI: I did not bring my Canon on this trip because I packed the world's smallest carry-on suitcase that barely fit my 1 1/2 outfits. 

We first grabbed a traditionally cheap and southern breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Yes, we have several in Michigan but we needed to get our biscuit fix. After satisfying our hunger, we headed to 12 South to relax in Sivier Park and grab some popsicles at one of my favorite places, Las Paletas. You don't know gourmet popsicles until you've tried them from here.

By the time we were finished wandering around 12 South, it was finally time for us to check in to our hotel. We headed there, freshened up, and set out to meet some friends in East Nashville for burgers at The Pharmacy. There aren't words for how tasty their traditional Pharmacy Burger is. At first I thought, "No way am I going to be able to eat this whole thing." Sure enough, 10 minutes later it was completely devoured along with the fries and washed down with a Sprecher hard root beer. It was such a satisfying meal. Steve ordered the Farm Burger, which contained ham, egg, and bacon with a side of sweet potato fries.

After enjoying the moderately-temperatured autumn evening while sitting in the beer garden with our friends Brian and Trisha, we decided to go out for drink in Midtown. We chose to go to Red Door Saloon, which is a place I went right before I met Steve in Nashville over two years ago. (We met at Loser's across the street. Fitting, right?)
If you've never been to Red Door Saloon in Midtown, I suggest you pay a visit. While you're there, look for the small holes in the floor toward the back near the bar. Crouch down and peek through the holes and you just might see a couple skeletons.

At the end of night one in Nashville, we headed back to our hotel and passed out after a long a productive day well spent.
Day 2 started with a trip back to East Nashville for some lattes and moto biscuits from Barista Parlor. I had been meaning to visit this place for quite some time and we finally did. Boy, was it worth the wait. The biscuit sandwiches we ate were one of the most delicious breakfast sandwiches I've had in the history of ever. Seriously, those biscuits! So. Good. I also had the vanilla bourbon latte, and yes, it was just as amazing as it sounds.

From there, we decided to go for a drive and see if we could find any of the cottages and homes on this list of "11 Breathtaking Nashville Airbnb Staycations to Rent Before Regulation Forces Them off the Market". We were unsuccessful, but decided we must book one of them for our next Nashville trip. Because just look at Music City's Tiny House.

c/o Airbnb

So what else do you do with a Saturday afternoon off? You go to the Nashville Farmer's Market, of course. It's a must-see every time we're back in town. Although we couldn't really purchase any produce during our short stay, I picked up some amazing handmade, all natural soap from Balneal Gardens Soap Co. 

We began to crave juice while being at the market, but we couldn't find anything other than smoothies. We decided to head out to visit The Urban Juicer. I ordered the 'cold buster' which seemed fitting since I was still kind of battling my illness from earlier in the week. Steve ordered something called the 'liver lover'. Gross name, awesome juice. 

For lunch, we met up with my friend Ashley of The Nashvillian Blog and her husband Jake at The Flipside. It was so great to catch up and finally meet her beau. She ordered to tater tot nachos because she said that's her favorite thing on the menu. We tasted them, and she was right. So good. Steve ordered "The Memphis" and I ordered "The Parm". Aside from the great meal, we loved the interior of the restaurant. It's so retro and bright inside. 

 When lunch was over, Ashley suggested we finally get our butts over to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, which was just across the street. It really is a shame neither of us had been there until this past weekend because it was the best damn ice cream I've ever tasted. I sampled a couple flavors but ended up going for the dark chocolate. It's a no-fail. Steve ordered the brown butter almond brittle. 

Although I wanted to fall into a deep and comfortable food coma, my brain put up a fight. We headed back to the hotel room, showered up, then headed to our friend's place in Germantown. Brian and Trisha are another couple that we love spending time with because he's a songwriter who often writes with Steve, and she's a fun and adventurous girl who I can easily spend a day chatting with about our love for Nashville. Steve baked his famous corn bread, Trisha made some broccoli salad, and we all took off to Franklin for a writer's round hosted by Terry and Wanda Seay. They are a couple known for hosting private house concerts with some headlining acts right in their very own living room. It was so great to finally experience what Steve has been telling me about since we met. The songwriters were all fantastic. 
There really aren't words to express my love for this city. My favorite childhood memories are located in central Tennessee and things really do come full circle. I'm sure it won't be look until we're back again. Until next time, thanks Nashville. We love you. 

xoxo,
Laura

Some photos c/o Nashville Scene