It's been quite some time since I've posted. Have you seen the blog posts of our 2 week sailing trip through the Caribbean? That's the biggest reason, I've been getting ready to travel, then away, and still trying to get back on my rhythm. I'll get there, in the meantime, please feel free to peruse our trip, from our two favorite days, Day 5, and Day 11; to our absolute favorite island and resort in the world, Cap Juluca in Anguilla; to Day 9 taking us from one 5 star hotel to another, snorkeling over sunken ships, climbing through The Baths. Quite an adventure!
Once I'm all caught up, I'll begin writing more!
~ Sue
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Frequent Fliers
As you may know, my family travels a lot. My husband is a sports television producer and travels constantly, so because of that we as a family get to travel with him when we can, and take advantage of his ever accumulating frequent flier miles for vacations. I've compiled some of our bigger vacations in a blog. It's not as fleshed out as I would have liked. I would prefer to have done it from the beginning, but I retrofit some of the earlier ones in without all the text. I also didn't include many Caribbean trips or domestic vacations. Maybe someday I will. Oh well!
Before leaving
First of all, when you book your flight, check Seat Guru to find your best seat. The website is awesome and this way, you'll know just where to sit. Then make sure you check in online to save time at the airport.
Now, before leaving for the plane, I like to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. I use argon oil all over my body, followed by a body moisturizer, and I put a nice facial moisturizer on, too. I wear very little makeup on the plane, because it's likely going to be all over my face. If I'm going to want makeup on when I land, I'll bring it with me and apply in the seat before landing. (This only goes for a long flight, for short flights I will wear makeup.)
I also make sure I pack the following before leaving for the aiport:
- I'm very light sensitive when I sleep, so I bring an eye mask
- Jason is sensitive to noise, so he brings noise cancelling headphones
- Again, the planes are so drying, I bring facial moisturizer and lip balm to reapply as needed
- This one should go without saying, but hand sanitizer, and use it OFTEN. Everything you touch on the plane has been touched by hundreds if not thousands of people
- Water is very important. Buy a big bottle after security
- I also eat a lot when I'm bored, so I pack lots of healthy food: fruit, veggies, nuts and protein bars
How to dress
I remember when we used to get dressed up to fly. Now people literally go in their pajamas (gross) or sweatsuits. Just a tip, they will never upgrade someone dressed sloppily to first class. Never. It's in the rules. Here's my favorite outfit on a long flight (it's what I'm wearing in the picture above):
- Think layers! a loose fitting, comfortable tee shirt or tank with a black cardigan
- A large black pashmina which can double as a blanket or pillow
- Leggings are super comfy and fashionable
- A leather jacket or blazer
- Flats or riding boots. My feet swell, so now is not the time for pumps, and sneakers are only for the gym.
- Huge sunglasses. If I'm not wearing makeup, or I've gotten puffy on the plane, I just like to hide behind large sunglasses
Airplane Etiquette
We always know the amateurs because they have no idea about Airplane Etiquette. Don't be that guy!
- Wait for your row or boarding zone to be called, and wait someplace else, not around the gate entry. Don't be rude. I know the overhead space is a premium and with charges for checked bags, everyone wants to carry-on, but if you get onto the plane and can't find space, hand your bag to the flight attendant. You might be lucky enough to have your bag gate checked, which means it will be waiting for you as soon as you get off the plane. Even better!
- When you board, put your bag in the overhead quickly and get into your seat, you are holding up the boarding of everyone when you take forever to find the perfect spot for you bag. Also, if you are behind someone having trouble getting their bag into the overhead bin, help them out. Everyone behind you will thank you. One final note about overhead bins, please put your bag in the general vicinity of your seat, not in the first bin at the front of the plane when your seat is in the back. What will the people in front do? Go to the back of the plane to put their bags on? Come on!
- Once you've done that, sit down, turn off your phone, and sit patiently. The flight won't take off until that's done and it's YOU keeping the rest of us from going. Don't go to the restroom, don't go talk to your friend 5 rows back, don't talk on the phone and have the flight attendant tell you 5 times to turn it off.
- Now that you're in the air, someone asks if you can trade spaces. Here's the tip, never ask someone in an aisle or window if they want to trade for your middle seat. Not going to happen. Instead, try to trade like seats for like seats.
- Armrests: The person in the middle seat gets both armrests. Period. That's the rule. If you are in the aisle seat or the window seat, you can lean away.
- If you need to go to the restroom during a flight, please don't use the seats in front of you as your crutch. It's not at all fun to be woken up by the shaking of your seat by someone grabbing it by your headrest and shaking you. Also, try not to bump or kick the seat in front of you if you can at all help it. (This also goes for movie theaters, but that's another post). And don't forget those touchscreens on the backs of the headrests, don't pound to hard on those either.
That's all I can think of for now. Happy Travels!
~Sue
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| Jade and me in the new first class pods. |
As people who fly a lot, we have a few tips for long flights.
Before leaving
First of all, when you book your flight, check Seat Guru to find your best seat. The website is awesome and this way, you'll know just where to sit. Then make sure you check in online to save time at the airport.
Now, before leaving for the plane, I like to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. I use argon oil all over my body, followed by a body moisturizer, and I put a nice facial moisturizer on, too. I wear very little makeup on the plane, because it's likely going to be all over my face. If I'm going to want makeup on when I land, I'll bring it with me and apply in the seat before landing. (This only goes for a long flight, for short flights I will wear makeup.)
I also make sure I pack the following before leaving for the aiport:
- I'm very light sensitive when I sleep, so I bring an eye mask
- Jason is sensitive to noise, so he brings noise cancelling headphones
- Again, the planes are so drying, I bring facial moisturizer and lip balm to reapply as needed
- This one should go without saying, but hand sanitizer, and use it OFTEN. Everything you touch on the plane has been touched by hundreds if not thousands of people
- Water is very important. Buy a big bottle after security
- I also eat a lot when I'm bored, so I pack lots of healthy food: fruit, veggies, nuts and protein bars
How to dressI remember when we used to get dressed up to fly. Now people literally go in their pajamas (gross) or sweatsuits. Just a tip, they will never upgrade someone dressed sloppily to first class. Never. It's in the rules. Here's my favorite outfit on a long flight (it's what I'm wearing in the picture above):
- Think layers! a loose fitting, comfortable tee shirt or tank with a black cardigan
- A large black pashmina which can double as a blanket or pillow
- Leggings are super comfy and fashionable
- A leather jacket or blazer
- Flats or riding boots. My feet swell, so now is not the time for pumps, and sneakers are only for the gym.
- Huge sunglasses. If I'm not wearing makeup, or I've gotten puffy on the plane, I just like to hide behind large sunglasses
Side Note: While flying I like to keep to myself and wear headphones and read. Everyone has their favorite way to fly, but for me, I make a playlist that will get me in the mood for my destination, load it onto my ipad, and read while listening. It's one of the few times I'm not working, so I like to take advantage.
Airplane Etiquette
We always know the amateurs because they have no idea about Airplane Etiquette. Don't be that guy!
- Wait for your row or boarding zone to be called, and wait someplace else, not around the gate entry. Don't be rude. I know the overhead space is a premium and with charges for checked bags, everyone wants to carry-on, but if you get onto the plane and can't find space, hand your bag to the flight attendant. You might be lucky enough to have your bag gate checked, which means it will be waiting for you as soon as you get off the plane. Even better!
- When you board, put your bag in the overhead quickly and get into your seat, you are holding up the boarding of everyone when you take forever to find the perfect spot for you bag. Also, if you are behind someone having trouble getting their bag into the overhead bin, help them out. Everyone behind you will thank you. One final note about overhead bins, please put your bag in the general vicinity of your seat, not in the first bin at the front of the plane when your seat is in the back. What will the people in front do? Go to the back of the plane to put their bags on? Come on!
- Once you've done that, sit down, turn off your phone, and sit patiently. The flight won't take off until that's done and it's YOU keeping the rest of us from going. Don't go to the restroom, don't go talk to your friend 5 rows back, don't talk on the phone and have the flight attendant tell you 5 times to turn it off.
- Now that you're in the air, someone asks if you can trade spaces. Here's the tip, never ask someone in an aisle or window if they want to trade for your middle seat. Not going to happen. Instead, try to trade like seats for like seats.
- Armrests: The person in the middle seat gets both armrests. Period. That's the rule. If you are in the aisle seat or the window seat, you can lean away.
- If you need to go to the restroom during a flight, please don't use the seats in front of you as your crutch. It's not at all fun to be woken up by the shaking of your seat by someone grabbing it by your headrest and shaking you. Also, try not to bump or kick the seat in front of you if you can at all help it. (This also goes for movie theaters, but that's another post). And don't forget those touchscreens on the backs of the headrests, don't pound to hard on those either.
That's all I can think of for now. Happy Travels!
~Sue
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
a.muse ~ inspired travels
As I've mentioned before, because of my husband's work, we travel quite a bit. We've literally been all over the world... between us, we've been to all but 1 state in the US; throughout Europe, Mexico, and Canada; every continent except South Africa (that trip is coming, though), including Antarctica; and to nearly every island in the Caribbean, and Hawaii.
On top of this, I'm a planner. It's what I do inherently, and what I do well. When I plan a trip, I know when the museums I want to see are closed, what's the best time of day to visit a park, where to shop for what I'm looking for, what the best public golf course is, where to watch the best sunsets, everything goes on the itinerary. I've planned trips for friends and family that included trips to the islands and Europe, and I'm often helping brides plan their Honeymoon as well. I can't tell you how many times I've steered a wedding client away from advice given by a travel agency because they have buckets they put every wedding couple into and don't think about the couple's personality and needs. There's more for honeymooners than Sandals!
I'm thinking my first branch will have to be into the vacation planning. I've been asked so many times about my where to go on a honeymoon or to share my vacation plans so someone can copy our itinerary so many times, I think it's time to expand a.muse into travel!
On top of this, I'm a planner. It's what I do inherently, and what I do well. When I plan a trip, I know when the museums I want to see are closed, what's the best time of day to visit a park, where to shop for what I'm looking for, what the best public golf course is, where to watch the best sunsets, everything goes on the itinerary. I've planned trips for friends and family that included trips to the islands and Europe, and I'm often helping brides plan their Honeymoon as well. I can't tell you how many times I've steered a wedding client away from advice given by a travel agency because they have buckets they put every wedding couple into and don't think about the couple's personality and needs. There's more for honeymooners than Sandals!
Enter: a.muse Inspired Travels!
I'm thinking my first branch will have to be into the vacation planning. I've been asked so many times about my where to go on a honeymoon or to share my vacation plans so someone can copy our itinerary so many times, I think it's time to expand a.muse into travel!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The Evolution of a Blog
Like my profile says, I have a real Renaissance soul, and am passionate about many things. While I may have started out wanting this blog to be about my business, I find myself always thinking of things I could be blogging about, but they are not always necessarily about events or event planning. I think my business may evolve into a business more about "Inspired Living" with branches that deal with parties, style, healthy living, travel, and general lifestyle branding, so why not start with my blog. At least I'll find it more interesting, too! So here are some new tags you can expect from me:
Style
- Obviously dealing with fashions, but could also be hairstyles, shopping tips, makeup finds, random pictures of outfits I love. This is one that spills out into a lot of places in my life, because I like pretty.
Healthy Living
- This is what inspired me write this post. I was running and thought of the things that I wish I knew when I started running. That made me think I should post that somewhere for people to know, which lead me to this post. Healthy Living could be healthy recipes, workout tips, inspiration, updates on my training, anything!
Gluten Free
- I could have put this with Healthy Living, but I'm thinking it needs it's own tag. You see, I have autoimmune disease and it's effected directly with consumption of Gluten. Since I've been gluten free (January 1, 2012), I have felt better than I have in years. I'm always learning about new recipes, finding new products (wait till I post about GF beer), and learning tips about managing this lifestyle.
Home Decorating
- See Style, I like pretty. I love filling my surrounding with pretty things. Even though I don't love my house, I do love my home. I'm constantly making changes to it. Updating room and collecting inspiration for upcoming projects around my home.
Cocktails
- Part of Events, for sure, but I've been on a kick for seasonal cocktails. I'll post some for you.
Overheard at the Dinner Party
- Okay, so this is a catch all for all of the things I find interesting in life. Stuff I would talk about at a dinner party. It could be politics (though not political), news events, interesting articles I've read, a conversation to start, anything!
Travel
- This is already a tag, but I'll be able to do more with it now. We travel a lot and I've already got a blog devoted to our families bigger vacations but I thought I could elaborate more here, especially when it comes to travel tips, or plans I'm making for upcoming trips.
Entertainment
- I love art, film, books, music, and great television. I'll share some of my favorites, including the books I'm currently reading for my book club! You might get turned onto a movie that you've never heard of, or a killer running playlist of music, or find the next book you have to read!
I hope you enjoy this journey with me!
Love,
Sue
the muse of
a.muse inspired living
Style
- Obviously dealing with fashions, but could also be hairstyles, shopping tips, makeup finds, random pictures of outfits I love. This is one that spills out into a lot of places in my life, because I like pretty.
Healthy Living
- This is what inspired me write this post. I was running and thought of the things that I wish I knew when I started running. That made me think I should post that somewhere for people to know, which lead me to this post. Healthy Living could be healthy recipes, workout tips, inspiration, updates on my training, anything!
Gluten Free
- I could have put this with Healthy Living, but I'm thinking it needs it's own tag. You see, I have autoimmune disease and it's effected directly with consumption of Gluten. Since I've been gluten free (January 1, 2012), I have felt better than I have in years. I'm always learning about new recipes, finding new products (wait till I post about GF beer), and learning tips about managing this lifestyle.
Home Decorating
- See Style, I like pretty. I love filling my surrounding with pretty things. Even though I don't love my house, I do love my home. I'm constantly making changes to it. Updating room and collecting inspiration for upcoming projects around my home.
Cocktails
- Part of Events, for sure, but I've been on a kick for seasonal cocktails. I'll post some for you.
Overheard at the Dinner Party
- Okay, so this is a catch all for all of the things I find interesting in life. Stuff I would talk about at a dinner party. It could be politics (though not political), news events, interesting articles I've read, a conversation to start, anything!
Travel
- This is already a tag, but I'll be able to do more with it now. We travel a lot and I've already got a blog devoted to our families bigger vacations but I thought I could elaborate more here, especially when it comes to travel tips, or plans I'm making for upcoming trips.
Entertainment
- I love art, film, books, music, and great television. I'll share some of my favorites, including the books I'm currently reading for my book club! You might get turned onto a movie that you've never heard of, or a killer running playlist of music, or find the next book you have to read!
I hope you enjoy this journey with me!
Love,
Sue
the muse of
a.muse inspired living
Friday, July 29, 2011
Fancy Party Ideas from Turkey
While on vacation in Turkey, I picked up a few fancy things that I plan to use in upcoming events. Here are the top three...
1. Fancy drinks: We were in Bodrum one night and I ordered a mojito that come to me with a lit sparkler poked through a piece of lime. It was very festive!
2. Fancy foods: The food there was prepared so simply, but tasted so great and would make for wonderful passed hors d'oeuvres. A spicy chicken shish-kebab or adana kebab could replace the same old chicken satay, and sigara borek could replace the requisite spanakopita every time.
3. Fancy coffee: Instead of offering espresso, try a Turkish coffee. Even the process of watching it being made and poured is beautiful.
1. Fancy drinks: We were in Bodrum one night and I ordered a mojito that come to me with a lit sparkler poked through a piece of lime. It was very festive!
2. Fancy foods: The food there was prepared so simply, but tasted so great and would make for wonderful passed hors d'oeuvres. A spicy chicken shish-kebab or adana kebab could replace the same old chicken satay, and sigara borek could replace the requisite spanakopita every time.
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| Sigara Borek is feta cheese and parsley wrapped in filo dough and fried. |
3. Fancy coffee: Instead of offering espresso, try a Turkish coffee. Even the process of watching it being made and poured is beautiful.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Istanbul or Bust
As a planner, I'm sure you will understand that when we travel, I plan EVERYTHING. Down to the smallest detail. When we went to Italy, I not only had our hotels and cars booked, but I downloaded our own walking tour of Pompeii to follow, I had the Vatican's schedule with us, I mapped out our route along the Amalfi coast, there was nothing left to chance. I like to know what to expect at every turn and have a backup plan in place in case something doesn't work out. I research every leg of a trip so that there are no surprises and by the time we get there, and I can practically give the tour myself. My husband, on the other hand, never wants to know too much about where he's going so he can be surprised by the whole thing. He goes in with no expectations and lets things unfold for him. I've had to learn to schedule in some free time for him because he doesn't like to have me schedule us too much, he likes time to explore. [Is that weird? I schedule in time to be spontaneous?]
Which brings me to the topic of this post: We booked our flights to Turkey this summer! I went to Turkey some 25 years ago, on a family trip when I was a teenager. My parents were born there, but have lived in the US since they were teenagers, so it was really special for us. Now I'm going to take my teenage daughter there and I can't wait for July to come already. We are planning a few days in...
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| Istanbul |
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| Cappadocia |
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| Sail the Mediterranean |
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| Ephesus |
Between client meetings, vendor meetings, building a business, caring for my family, etc. THIS is what's been on my mind. I'm obsessing over the planning of our next family trip!
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