She doesn't even go here

As a native to Las Vegas I have seen the Bonanza (supposedly world's largest....) Gift shop 3.8 million times in my life, but also as a native to Las Vegas I have never actually gone inside. It's pretty much the weirdest thing two Las Vegans could be doing on a Friday night, but spontaneity took over on our way to Luv its for custard (which is as "local" as you can get, so that counteracts our charlatan tourist expedition). It's exactly as you would imagine it to be. 

P.S. I bought a tiny cactus.

Southern Caribbean Photo Diary

Congratulations on making it to the bottom of this ridiculously long line of photos from our Southern Caribbean cruise! We started in San Juan and made our way through St. Croix, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados. We went with the greatest friends and also made some friends along the way, which is a slightly depressing thought now, considering the chances of ever seeing them again.  The memories alone are enough to make me laugh out loud and realize over again how making our way to somewhere new is always worth the penny pinching before and afterward.  It's interesting how traveling can satisfy that discovery itch not only for geographic locations but for yourself as an individual. Antigua was my favorite place we stopped (see the water in the 5th photo from the top) although they were all absolutely beautiful.  When we docked in St. Lucia we hopped on a pre-arranged private boat tour with a smiley man named Julian and his friend Johnson.  Their motto is "No pressure, no problem," which of course we adopted the second we heard it.  They took us to see some incredible things including the Pitons, and let us jump off the back of the boat to go snorkeling.  The neatest part of the day was our lunch break, which included a homemade St. Lucian meal at "mama's house," a little home hidden in the tropical mass of trees on the mountain.  The food was delicious but the fact that we were sitting in a real home, with the birds flying through the windows and laundry hanging out to dry between the trees outside made it an experience I will never forget. The entire week was filled with cry-laughing, relaxing, eating+eating, and every shade of happiness I could imagine.  Here's to memory making! 

It's the holiday season

Here we are in Nashville where we spent our Thanksgiving weekend eating tons and playing with family.  I've been all over the place the past few weeks, in LA twice, NYC again for a week, then Nashville, and now finally home just in time to put a tree up in our empty living room! I'm currently battling the sore throat/flu and aches that I always get this time of year, but if it weren't for this I wouldn't have had the time to sit in bed and edit the few photos I took from my past trips.  This time of year cannot be topped by any other! I'm feeling especially grateful for relatively good health and my family.  Happy holidays! xo