Author Archives: Sarah

Top Road Trip Tips

by Sarah | Leave a comment

Happy Thursday all! This month we’ve shone a spotlight on travel. We are sharing some new inspiration and tips and reposting some of our old favorites that didn’t get enough airtime. I looked at the calendar today in a state of panic, the month is nearly over! How will I fit in all this travel goodness? So I’m cheating a little bit by sharing a few posts at once. They have all been shared here before, but you may have missed them and that’s just not okay, so here are my favorite travel tips mostly pertaining to the perfect spring and summertime vacation: road trips!

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Cultivate a Life of Travel

Always dreaming of travel, but haven’t taken the leap? Or wish you could fit it in more often? Here are my 28 tips for cultivating a life of travel. Continue reading …

The Best Travel Shoes for Women

by Sarah | 2 Comments

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Sorry dudes! I don’t want to mislead you and have you think I know the best travel shoes for you, I have a good idea of what they are, but I definitely know the best travel shoes for women. I’m not going to overwhelm you with a huge list. These are my all-time favorite travel shoes and of course, they’re more style suggestions than anything. You don’t have to get the exact brands and colors to make them a great shoe, but here’s what I’ve worn around the world. I’ve only walked on six continents though so who knows, there could be one I’m missing. Continue reading …

Airline Meal Hack

by Sarah | Leave a comment

This month, in anticipation of summer vacations, we’re doing a few travel-related posts. You can see our full archive of travel posts here. If you’re flying internationally, check out how to survive an international flight, see how to make your hotel room feel like home, and learn how to enjoy big holidays when you find yourself alone abroad.

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Some international flights are so damn long that the only thing you look forward to is the distraction provided by the next meal. The lights turn on and the flight attendants start to take formation, lining up behind their carts ready to serve, but you’re in the last row and there are literally 400-600 people ahead of you in line. Waiting for honestly what could be an hour is killer, especially if you’re starving, but luckily I’ve stumbled upon a hack for getting served first on international flights. Continue reading …

Two Bits

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Happy Friday! It’s crazy how a day can carry such emotion, right? Slogging through Monday, hittin’ our stride come Wednesday, feeling great ’cause it’s Friday, and then the mild anxiety creeps up on Sunday. My feelings about each day are a little bit different because I am self-employed and work from home, but for some reason Friday is still the freaking best. I usually put in a good amount of work on Fridays and Saturday, but it just doesn’t matter. There’s nothing like that Friday feeling. Cheers to Friday!

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If you need a little inspiration for your weekend, here are a few suggestions :

Look up a new to you trail and go for an epic day hike. I’m taking a crew on a 7.2 mile hike with over twenty waterfalls next weekend – you should join us! Here is a registration link. Continue reading …

East Coast Road Trips

by Sarah | 2 Comments

This month, in anticipation of summer vacations, we’re doing a few travel-related posts. You can see our full archive of travel posts here

FH000025The weather is officially warm enough on the east coast for road trips and car camping. Actually, now is the best time to take a road trip because it’s not so hot that you’re practically suffocating and getting a sunburned while driving. Road tripping and car camping is my favorite way to travel the United States. I’ve driven across the country a couple times and up and down the east coast more than I can remember.

Vacationing in the U.S. is more expensive than many countries in the world, but if you have a car it’s easy to stay on a budget. I  like to keep it cheap by packing snacks and cold brew coffee and staying in airbnbs or camping out. There are plenty of ways to skimp and save, I’ve actually compiled a list of ways to save money on a road trip.

My idea of a great road trip is nailing down a few destinations, not driving more than 5ish hours a day, pumpin’ some tunes or podcasts, and generally leaving the game plan wide open in case something calls to me. With that in mind, I wanted to share a few of my favorite byways and rough road trip itineraries with you. Continue reading …

34 Alternatives to Disposable Plastic Products

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Happy Monday! In honor of Earth month, we’re sharing 34 alternatives to disposable plastic products. I hope you had a swell Earth Day yesterday. Initially I had a little lake kayak paddle planned, but a friend called and suggested a food truck rodeo in downtown Chapel Hill. After sharing a serving of every and anything that called to us, we headed to her deck to sit in the sunshine and plan a camping adventure. Soaking up eight hours of beautiful North Carolina sun was actually epically earthy. I enjoyed it to the max and ended up passing out well before midnight, a first in weeks for me!

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The food truck rodeo was a no waste event, meaning everything that could be recycled or composted was with the help of volunteers who stood by each trash can instructing consumers where to discard their plates, cups, and food scraps. It’s almost unfortunate that we need that type of vigilance to get it right, but we surely do. Besides proper waste disposal, the coffee truck was selling stainless steel straws! They don’t do lids or plastic straws, hooray!

Plastic straws and my wish to ban them forever is actually what inspired this post of 34 alternatives to disposable plastic products. There is just no reason for us to go through so many, so often. Two at once?! I want to punch that drink right out of your hand. I’m not saying I’ve never done it, but I am saying I will never do it again. I once spent an entire afternoon picking up trash on one of my favorite Thai islands and by far the most common item was plastic straws. It was heart breaking.

Major benefits of swapping disposable plastic for reusable items :

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Two Bits : Earth Day Edition

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Happy Friyay! There’s a party goin’ on around these parts as we celebrate the kiddos’ April birthdays with their little buds. Mimosas for the moms, a kid corner for cupcake decorating, this delicious cashew dip for fruits, some veggies and hummus, lox and bagels all around. That’s really all it takes for a good time. We think that the less you try to coordinate, the easier and more enjoyable the event. Some simple prep beforehand leaves you with very little ‘to do’ during party time giving you the time and energy you need to chat with guests and actually enjoy yourself.

Besides a cupcake decorating station, we’re handing out ‘bug bungalows‘ to each of the kids so they can play outside and capture some specimens. Kate bought them from a local toy store, they’re sold out on Amazon, but here they are on another online shop.

Tonight I’ll catch a redeye to Philly, arrive Saturday morning, and finally see my pup, Cash, after more than forty days away. Hooooray! I’m excited to feel the air in Pennsylvania and see what’s in bloom, but I’ll head right down to my bug bungalow in North Carolina.

Sunday is Earth Day and I plan on spending a sunny afternoon kayaking on Jordan Lake followed by a long hike through the mountain laurels with Cash. While I normally encourage disconnecting in nature, now is a great time to snap some photos of the natural changes you witness and any wildlife you may see to upload to iNaturalist. Being a citizen scientist is helpful any day of the year, but what better day than Earth Day?! If you’re wanting a bit of mindfulness, check out the video above and get a primer on flower gazing, a form of meditation that you can take to the trails or your garden.

 

 

Read With Me : Nature’s Healing Spirit

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Want to know something neat? Each time you click through to Amazon from our website, we are kicked back a few cents from each purchase with no extra cost to you. If you ever feel like going wild on Amazon, click through from our site and you’ll be supporting us at the same time! Thanks, yo.

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Sup nerds? Are you Reading With Me this year? Last night, I finished two great books. Nature’s Healing Spirit being a quick, devourable read that I finished within three sessions of picking it up. The other, How Emotions Are Made : The Secret Life of the Brain took me nearly eight months to comprehend, and let me tell you, it was sad and shocking when the kindle book ended abruptly when my progress bar told me I still had 40% of the book to read – damn you Appendix A, B, C, and D! More on that read a different day, today it’s all about Nature’s Healing Spirit – Real Life Stores to Nurture the Soul by Sheri McGregor.

Nature’s Healing Spirit is a compilation of  33 accomplished writers’ experiences with the natural world. Some passages are straightforward, concise, and clear in tone, while others tiptoe into the narrative and only slightly pull back the shades on their personal lives. Some stories have a succinct ending while others leave you wanting for more. Luckily, each author’s piece is followed by a short biography where you can find other published works and their websites.

You’ll Enjoy Reading Nature’s Healing Spirit If :

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Devil’s Garden Utah & 5 Reasons to Visit National Parks in Winter

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Winter doesn’t stop us. Read about winter hiking, winter van camping, winter photography, snowshoeing, and winter hammocking. Oooo and here’s a link to our favorite winter adventuring jacket.

Feeling cooped up? We know it’s technically Spring now, but if you’re wondering what to do with your last few weeks of what feels like winter, we have a solution for you. Go visit a National Park or Monument before they get hella hot and busy. Here are five reasons why you should visit a national park this winter. Added bonus? We included all the info on Devil’s Garden located in The Grand Staircase of Escalante, Utah. It’s the perfect place to head off to before it gets too hot.

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Welcome April

by Sarah | Leave a comment

 On the first (or second) Wednesday of every most months, you can find us checking in with what’s coming up on the calendar, both literally and figuratively. 

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Spring is officially here, but have you seen the signs in your own backyard or city? According to the National Phenology Network, the Spring leaf out continues to arrive early in the West, Southwest, Ohio Valley, and parts of the Mid-Atlantic, compared to a long-term averages (1981-2010). In parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, we’re about a week behind schedule and conversely parts of Nevada and eastern Washington, Oregon, and California are 4-5 weeks early.

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