Travel

Find travel inspiration for your next getaway with guides, stories, and tips for family and solo travel destinations around the world.

A couple weeks before I was set to leave for London and Paris, I thought a lot about what was most important to include on my Europe packing list. The obvious things that came to mind were a universal charger, my passport, and an umbrella.

Can peaches grow in Phoenix? That’s the question I asked myself when I heard about the Phoenix Peach Festival. It seemed unlikely to me that peaches could grow in such an arid climate, but apparently they can. My friend brought her kids last year, so I thought it would be a fun event to check out the Festival with my kids.

It was Friday morning and I was scrolling through Instagram like I usually do. It was any other day, except for the fact that I was prepping for a nearly 3-week trip to London and Paris for work. As I mindlessly scrolled through Instagram, I stopped short when I saw British Vogue was promoting their Vogue Festival, which was happening the weekend I was set to arrive in London. On the unlikely chance of me being in the worlds’ fashion capital the very weekend I arrived, I just knew I had to attend.

I travel a lot for work, which I really enjoy. The only downfall of traveling a lot, besides not seeing my kids for several days, is the lack of routine that comes with traveling. It can be hard to eat right and exercise while on the road, but it is not impossible. Recently, I was in DC for a week, and I actually stuck to my diet, lost a couple pounds and still managed to exercise every day.

Last week, I had the opportunity to experience Washington DC in springtime. I’ve been to DC before, but never in the spring. I was very excited to see the city in spring, as I’d heard so many great things about the cherry blossoms. What I didn’t expect was all of the spring flowers that were in bloom.

The idea for this store came about after attending a boutique opening in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. Initially, I planned to talk only about clothing boutique. After visiting a few Phoenix boutiques, I realized a lot of them carried things besides just clothing. I decided to extend my list to share what I believe are the four best boutiques in Phoenix.

Last weekend we attended a Phoenix hot air balloon festival, the Out West Balloon Fest, in Glendale Arizona. I have never seen hot air balloons close-up, so we thought this would be a fun, family and kid friendly event, and a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

I feel bad. I feel like the worst mommy in the world because I wasn’t in town for my son’s third birthday. I wasn’t there to wake him up, give him a giant hug, or wish him a happy birthday. I feel worse that we had to celebrate it on a day that fit better into my busy travel schedule.

I feel very lucky that I get to travel to some pretty cool places for my job (Dublin, London, Paris, San Francisco, New York…). This week took me to Montreal. I haven’t been to Canada in a couple years; my last trip was to Vancouver back in 2012. I didn’t have much time to actually consider what I would do with my free time because I was so busy prior to leaving for the trip. But the day before I left, I managed to check out trip advisor for the top tourist attractions. What made my list? Notre Dame Cathedral and Mount Royal.