Wherever She Goes

Hello friends!!! In one of my last blogs I mentioned a couple of really key items I neglected to take with me on our trip to Wilmington , and how I really wanted to make a packing list template I could print out to help remind me of anything I could possibly ever need.  Remember that??? :) Well, I have been working on it for a few days now and have come up with an extensive list of items; I am adding an item here or there as I think of it, but I believe the list is pretty complete. My travel style and travel needs vary greatly from one trip to another, so I have attempted to think of anything I have ever needed to take on a trip to ensure I would remember that item if needed. When I am traveling for work I always take kitchen items with me including a mini rice cooker, mini blender and travel water kettle.  This helps me save on eating out, but more importantly, helps me to eat a bit more normally so my stomach remains happy.  I am often teaching during work trips so maintainin

SEA TURTLES...yeah, I have a problem...I LOVE Sea Turtles!!! Last weekend my family went to the beach, more specifically the Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Surf City, Topsail Beach area of the North Carolina coast.  While we had only been there once before we quickly fell in love with the area and knew we had to go back.   After booking our AirBnB our amazing host sent a list of some local attractions we should check out; at the very top of the list was the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center .  I have had a love affair with sea turtles for quite some time, but had never had the opportunity to see any up close and personal.  Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to experience some time with them! We just happened to visit on the first Saturday they were open for tours in 2018 and man, was it packed!  We waited in line for almost 2 hours before we actually got to see any turtles, but I'm so glad we stuck it out.  We were able to see seve

4/18 - Update! The packing list is finally complete!  You can read about it here :) Happy Tuesday! Rookie mistakes...we all make them, but some are truly face-palm moments.  We just returned from our first spring trip of 2018 and I made 2 rookie mistakes that I vow never to make again. Mistake #1:  not bringing a scarf Mistake #2:  not bringing lavender essential oil Story of mistake #1:   We decided on a long weekend trip to Wilmington, NC and Topsail Beach, NC and had been watching the weather pretty closely since we have had a super crazy winter here in NC.  I knew a cold rain storm would be blowing through on Saturday, but the lows ended up being much colder than predicted.  While I had a hoodie and a jean jacket I could layer to keep warm a scarf would have been a great extra layer to help keep my neck warm.  I really have no idea why I didn't bring one, they literally take up no room and can be used for a ton of different things...this is one mistake I plan to nev