Time for a New Routine

One month into retirement, two sets of house guests, 4,000 miles across the country and Iā€™m saying itā€™s time for a new routine.  Time to start living my new life as a retiree.  Again, that is. I haven’t had a chance to establish a new routine, so now I’m plotting that out. Cooking and Cleaning […]

Hitting the Road with Some of My Oldest Friends

Because gifted authors use settings as characters which are rich and alive, our road trip traveling through the South has made me feel like I was hitting the road with some of my oldest friends as many wonderful books were brought to mind. Texas Friends Traveling between Austin and San Antonio brought to mind Tres […]

Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Biloxi and Mobile

Moving on from the wonderful time we had in the Lafayette area, we visited Baton Rouge, New Orleans, then Biloxi and Mobile.  Here are a few things we did. Louisianaā€™s state capitol in Baton Rouge was a new stop for us. I’ve been to NOLA several times, but not BR. No offense to anyone in […]

Lafayette, Louisiana Highlights

Would you call me crazy if I said trees were my favorite of the Lafayette, Louisiana highlights?  I am utterly obsessed with Southern Live Oaks and magnolia trees.  The camellias here are also as large as trees so letā€™s throw them into the mix too. There must be a hundred photos on my phone of […]

Choosing Between Chain and Boutique Hotels

While planning our trip we batted around lodging choices and even considered camping along the way.  Somehow that got nixed so weā€™ve been staying in hotels. This is how we’ve been choosing between chain and boutique hotels. Itā€™s a balance between budget, comfort, safety and hopefully a little charm if we can find that too. […]

Packing a Portable Party

My darling friend Jann and her fam get together from different states and do a big super bowl party in a casino suite in Reno where she lives. They love this tradition and love it even more when their team the Seahawks are playing. Well, no such luck this year, but they’re doing it up […]

One Way to Pack Clothes for a Long Road Trip

There are a number of ways to get creative when packing clothes for a long road trip.  Hereā€™s what I decided to do. DF Shira has a lot of experience with long trips and gave me the suggestion of packing daily outfits in two-gallon storage bags, placing them in bins and then transferring daily needs […]

Massimo Electric Cooler ā€“ Honest Review

A long road trip requires a nice cooler.  Well, we have a really nice one.  And this is my honest review of the Massimo Electric Cooler. For the Mount Rushmore road trip we took in May, hub ordered the Massimo 50 liter electric cooler through Costco.  But.  It didnā€™t arrive in time.  When Denisse and […]

A Simple Valentine

Whether itā€™s romantic, or itā€™s all about the kids, or itā€™s for your loving gal pals, a simple valentine celebration can still be a special. Pulling out everything I own that is pink, heart shaped, vintage or flowery helps put me in the mood for valentine decorating.  Using what I have is always my motto, […]