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Things I Love – #1
Neocutis Journee with SPF 30 – my tinted moisturizer for day. 
Crème de la Mer for night – it is expensive but if your skin is dry, there’s nothing like it. 
Nutrafol for women – this product has helped thicken my fine hair. Even though the recommended dosage is four capsules / day, I only take one capsule / day. It will take 3 – 4 months before you notice a difference. Side benefit, my nails are super strong and grow really fast.
Laura Mercier almond coconut milk soufflé body crème – this scent makes me smile. I get compliments regularly when I use this body lotion.
Lucia candles – I discovered these at a vineyard in Napa. The scents are very subtle, so consider using them in a small area like a powder room. I bought all three of these scents.
Gray Malin photos – I own both of these and I’m always changing my mind about which one I want to buy next. 
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Traveling with a Pet
When we decided to live in Scottsdale, Arizona for two months this winter we knew we wanted to drive so we would have our own vehicle, we could bring more of our own things and we could bring our Maltese / Shih Tzu, Sadie. Sadie has only traveled with us to visit family so traveling long distance with her was going to be a new experience.We decided that we would take five days to drive the 1,814 miles from Saint Paul, MN to Arizona. As soon as we had our route mapped out, I started searching for pet friendly hotels in each of our stops. I utilized Yelp and TripAdvisor to find the pet friendly hotels and then read reviews to finalize where we would be staying. I found out that most of the pet friendly hotels have specific rooms set aside for guests with pets so we had to book in advance to ensure we had one of those rooms. If you aren’t already aware, there is typically a pet fee of $50 / night.
At our first hotel stop, we brought Sadie’s bed and travel bag with her bowls, food, treats and toys. We unpacked a little and took her for a short walk. Once she had eaten her dinner and seemed settled in the room, we thought we would try a quick trip down to the lobby bar and see how she would handle being alone in a strange hotel room. Well, we didn’t even make it ten feet down the hall before she started frantically scratching on the door. So much for going out to dinner.
From that point on we either ordered room service or we took Sadie with us to pick up dinner to eat in our room. She was just fine being alone in the car, so we were able to go inside restaurants for lunch while we were on the road. Of course, we either parked near a window where we could watch her or one of us periodically went out to check on her.
Traveling with a pet is a little like traveling with children, all of your decisions are made around what works best for them. Luckily, we quickly adopted a routine of going for a nice walk at each stop and then having dinner and cocktails in our room.
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Choosing a Travel Destination
I love to travel. I’m not necessarily the best travel planner in the world but I am very organized and a little obsessive when planning a trip. Therefore, my friends and family know if I have been somewhere they are going, I most likely have a document compiled with what I think are some of the best hotels, restaurants and things to do in the area. So, I thought I’d share my trip planning process in a series of posts.
How to Pick Your Destination
Most people have a destination in mind, but if you’re planning a trip from scratch, consider who you’re traveling with and what they like to do. Is it a vacation with your spouse, family with children, another couple, a girlfriend or two, or a large group?
Spouse or Significant Other: I love planning a trip with just my husband. Usually we’ll brainstorm about what we’d like to do or come up with a general destination such as going South for warmer weather, going to visit friends, or going to see a historical landmark or area we’ve never been. Honestly, most people have no shortage of trip ideas.
Family including children: Traveling with children has its own challenges. No one wants to listen to a whiny child on a vacation so it’s worth your time to plan a family trip they will enjoy. When our children were young, we went to an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen with a Kids Program. When we mentioned the Kids Club to our children, neither one wanted to go. The next day we told them if they agreed to go we would come back in one hour and if they weren’t having fun, they didn’t have to go again the entire trip. When we checked in an hour later, we were thrilled to discover our children were having a blast and they promptly told us to leave. The next morning our children were up bright and early and kept asking if the Kids Club was open yet. Win – Win!
Couples: When planning a trip with another couple think about what you enjoy doing together. When planning a trip with our favorite cocktail and dinner companions, I knew good restaurants and cocktails would be important but we also wanted some fun daily activities – Napa Valley was a perfect fit! We also know a few couples where the guys like to golf while the ladies prefer to “spa” or shop. I haven’t found a golf destination that doesn’t have a spa and good shopping. And, I’ve been to A LOT of golf destinations!
Girlfriends: When planning a trip with girlfriends think about how active they like to be; for example, I have one friend who would be happy to sit by the pool all day and go out to a nice dinner every night. I have another friend who would go nuts sitting by the pool all day and has to do something active like going on a hike or bike ride. The common theme with most of my girlfriend trips seem to include some form of relaxation (beach, pool, spa, yoga), some sort of activity (museums, hiking, theatre, concerts) and enjoying great restaurants.
Groups: Typically, a group trip starts with a destination and then the group grows. For example, we are currently planning a group trip to Scotland. This trip started when the men were all golfing one day and discussed how they all wanted to golf in Scotland. And, my smart husband said, “I can’t go to Scotland without my wife.” Or it might have been, “My wife would kill me if I went to Scotland without her…” Regardless, all of the other men quickly agreed and it became a group trip with four couples.
Once you know who you’re going with and have a general idea of where you’re going, it’s time to start your research and finalize your destination. Talk to friends and family who travel, request recommendations on Facebook and search online. Some of my favorite travel information sites include: TripAdvisor, Travel and Leisure, Jetsetter, Thrifty Traveler and Pinterest. I also tear pages out of magazines whenever I read about a fun travel destination and keep them in my travel folder. If I come across a great travel destination online, I’ll add it to my Travel folder on Pinterest. Once you select your destination, you’ll need to get there and you’ll need some place to stay.
Next Up: How to Get There and Where to Stay
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Visiting Napa Valley
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Margarita
Who doesn’t love a scratch margarita?1 1/2 ounces blanco tequila (I use Patron or Casamigos)
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce orange juice
1 – 2 ounces fresh lime juice
agave or simple syrup to taste
(simple syrup: heat 2 parts sugar with 1 part water until dissolved, chill in fridge for up to 6 months)If you like salt on your rim, pour a little Cointreau onto a plate, dip the rim of your glass in the Cointreau (the high sugar content will make the salt stick better than using lime juice), then in salt.
Fill your glass with ice.
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well and strain into your glass.
Enjoy!
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2018 – The Year of Change
I’ve thought about starting a blog for a while now, but I wasn’t really sure what I would write about, who would read it or, most importantly, how to do it. We have a lot of changes happening in 2018 so I thought why not give it a try. Worst case, I’ll have a nice online journal.Two significant changes happened this January. Our 20-year-old daughter left to study in Copenhagen, Denmark for a semester and my husband and I are trying to live (and work remotely) in a warmer climate for part of the winter.
My husband and I have lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota for 26 years. For many years we’ve talked about owning a second home in the perfect warm weather location with amazing beaches (for me) and fabulous golf courses (for him); but since we haven’t found that perfect place yet, we decided to just jump in with a trial relocation for the months of February and March.
After several discussions, over many cocktails, we decided to rent a home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Many factors included: direct flights to Minneapolis / Saint Paul in case of a work crisis; my parents own a home in Mesa, Arizona; many of our friends visit Arizona during the winter; there are wonderful golf courses; and I found a great house with a heated pool – not quite a beach, but it will do for our first attempt at snow-birding.
We’ll see how these changes impact our lives long-term. Regardless, it will be an exciting year… come along for the ride.