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, […]

Week Wrap Up

My first week of retirement was busy and didnā€™t go a thing like I had planned.  There were no lazy days sitting by the pool (or by the fire) reading.  There was only one long walk.  But there was fun to be had and friends to share it. Here’s my week wrap up. And a […]

DYI Mirror Tile

In one of my recent YouTube viewings, I watched a video on a $7 Walmart DYI Mirror Tile Hack.  The theory is you buy a $7 mirror from Walmart and use leftover tile sheets to frame it and class it up. When I shared the video with John we agreed we could try it on […]

Target Dollar Spot

The Target Dollar Spot really delivered during a recent shopping trip.  I had as much fun as a kid in a candy store and I brought a small haul home. To be quite frank, our Target is in the hood.  No offense if you live in the hood, of course.  But when I visit other […]

Iā€™m Retiring! (Again)

Well, hereā€™s the big news around here.  Iā€™m retiring.  By which I mean Iā€™m retiring again.  I tried this three years ago and my retirement lasted seven months.  But.  This time, I think Iā€™m ready. And.  Weā€™re hitting the road.  For a month.  Yep.  Weā€™re loading up Johnā€™s Big Red and heading out. Iā€™ll have […]

Winter Patio and Excellent Online Customer Service

A bit warmer, dryer weather led to a winter patio spruce up.  My honest report on some excellent online customer service after all the holiday hoopla! The holidays gifted us with a lot of rain.  I pulled all the cushions under the patio cover and we hunkered inside for about a week. The firepit beckons […]