Thanksgiving in Texas + What I'm Grateful For This Year

Happy belated Thanksgiving! If you couldn't already tell from the post title, I was back home to Texas for Thanksgiving! Last year I didn't accrue enough vacation days yet from starting a new job so I was unable to fly all the way home so I ended up just visiting a friend in Toronto (which wasn't celebrating Thanksgiving at that time) and it turned out to be the most miserable thing ever. I spent Thanksgiving Day looking at pictures on Facebook of my family and other families eating giant meals of turkey and mashed potatoes and pie and spending time with each other and I truly missed it all. So this year I made sure I had enough vacation days left over so I could be home for a week this Thanksgiving. And yes we did have two Thanksgiving meals because... why not?

2017 has been a hard year for many people (including myself), so I wanted to take time to give thanks for what I have in my life and remind myself that I shouldn't take things for granted. This isn't everything I'm thankful for this year because then this post would be way too long, but these are just the ones that I wanted to highlight.

Job Security - While the recession and high unemployment rates have been over for years now, I'm still so grateful for my job and the financial security it provides me. My job allows me to pursue my passion for traveling, it allows me to eat at all my favorite restaurants, live in a safe neighborhood, and treat my family. It's not always stress free to show up for work and get through the day, but I appreciate the life I'm able to live because of my job.

Pets- This year in July our family lost our longtime dog, Furry, due to old age. Furry first joined our family when I was 11 and he was a part of us for 14 years (over half my life). When we were forced to put him down because his arthritis made his daily life basically unbearable, it was extremely hard letting go. In fact, I'm positive that without the help of our 3 puppies that the recovery period would have been even harder. It made me realize the simple joy and happiness that pets can bring into human lives. Our dogs aren't the smartest or the most well trained, but they know how to love unconditionally. They don't care about your appearance or how successful you are in life or how popular you are. They just love us because we take care of them and they brighten up our lives with their presence.

Friendship- Two years ago when I moved to New York I was very nervous about my ability to not only make new friends in a new city where I basically knew no one, but also my ability to retain all my old friends who I wouldn't be able to see on a daily basis. 2.5 years later I can say that friendship is definitely one of the things I'm most grateful for. I wouldn't have made it through these past few years without both my new and my old friends. I'm so grateful for the way my old friends have been there to support me through the hard times and just lend a listening ear when I feel the need to complain or cry. I'm also grateful for my new friends who are always willing to explore New York with me, eat brunch with me (and trust me I'm always eating brunch), and keep me company in this big and busy city.

What are you grateful for this year?

Deep Dish Pizzas, a Shiny Bean, and Second Chances: My Chicago Adventures

The first time I went to Chicago was senior year of high school for an Orchestra trip and I was so tired from the excitement of going out of the state with my friends that I felt like I missed out on the actual trip. I also felt like I wasn't as interested in traveling back then and as a result, didn't fully appreciate my time in the city. So when my work trip perfectly aligned with a girls' weekend two of my sorority sisters had planned, I knew I couldn't waste a single moment of my second chance at Chicago. As soon as I stepped off the plane in Chicago, I was already impressed by their amazing airport!

We started out our girls weekend in Millennium Park at the shiniest and biggest bean that I've ever seen. Although the sheer amount of people there was definitely overwhelming, I still managed to sneak in a few fun photos. I would suggest coming here earlier in the day though to avoid the crush of people (and photos always look better with less people milling about anyways). The weather was gorgeous that Saturday and I throughly enjoyed my walk through the park. Don't forget to check out the Buckingham Fountain, which is just a 10 minute walk from the Bean! The Fountain reminded me of a smaller scale Versaille style fountain.

Next up on my Chicago bucket list was to drink bubble tea in Chinatown. And even though I do have a major obsession with bubble tea, the giant bottle of tea we received was even too big for me! I did really love the bottle it came in though because it was reuseable and could be put in your bag easily, which means I could take my time drinking the tea without feeling pressured to finish it quickly so I wouldn't have to carry an open cup. One thing that surprised me about Chicago Chinatown was that there weren't too many people walking around. If you've ever been to Chinatown in New York, the sidewalks are packed with people (local and tourists) taking in all the sights and smells or doing their grocery shopping. I thought Chicago's Chinatown would be a similar vibe, but it was pretty much empty on a Saturday afternoon.

As a pizza lover, I wasn't going to leave Chicago without savoring the famous Chicago deep dish pizza. I wasn't 100% sure that the thick crust would taste good to me over my usual thin and crispy crust pizzas. but both Giordano's and Lou Malnati's was delicious! And yes I did eat two different brands of pizza! Although, I found it weird that the tomato sauce would be on top as I personally prefer tons of cheese over sauce, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed the thick crust and various toppings.

Sunday morning we rushed to the Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower) to be one of the first people in line to take those iconic sky ledge photos, but sadly there were TONS of people already in line waiting for the 10am opening. But we weren't going to give up! My friends and I actually waited in 3 separate lines to take photos in 3 separate boxes. Definitely #dedication. The photos were worth it though! In the future if I were to come back, I think I would definitely come on a weekday instead because the number of people there was even more overwhelming that the Bean.

I stayed in the centrally located Hyatt Centric The Loop hotel and absolutely loved it. It was modern and serene and offered the peaceful getaway I needed from the hectic city below me. To be honest, I wasn't use to all the space after being cramped in my tiny New York apartment! Tip- There is a snack and coffee lounge on the 3rd floor of the hotel if you need a quick pick me up.

I'll be posting a separate post detailing all my Chicago food adventures so stay tuned! I ate a LOT when I there.

Keep Calm and Drink Wine: A Weekend in Long Island Wine Country

I've wanted to visit the Long Island wine country for a while now, but wasn't old enough to rent a car for the longest time. So the first thing I did once turning 25 was to book a trip with my friends to the North Fork region of Long Island for a winery adventure. I know there were several wine tour options where a giant bus brings you from winery to winery, but after much research we didn't feel like the nicer wineries were the ones that were being chosen for the tours so that's why we decided to go our own path.

First up, we toured the beautiful and classy Macari Vineyard where we had the opportunity to taste a flight of 5 wines with their gorgeous grape vines in the backdrop. While I enjoyed the white wines immensely, I found the red wines to be a little too dry for my taste. Although in general, I usually prefer sweeter wines. Macari also had a food truck in the back serving savory looking pizza, but we were already full from brunch so... definitely saving this for next time! The 5 wine flight costed $20, although there were other options for $25, $30, and dessert wines.

Our second winery for the day was the family friendly Baiting Hollows Farm Vineyard. In addition to creating wines, BHFV also rescues horses! A portion of its proceeds goes towards the caring of these horses, which is simply amazing. This winery allows you to choose the amount of wines you want to taste and allocates the cost accordingly. I chose to taste 3 wines, which ended up being $9. The Reisling 2014 was by far my favorite wine of the day and I even went home with a bottle. If you are looking for a peaceful wine setting, BHFV definitely isn't for you as there are kids running around, people dancing, and live music playing.

The best part of having your own car is that you get to stop whenever wherever you feel like it. We passed by the cutest little sunflower farm and decided to jump out for some epic photos with giant sunflowers! Later, we also passed by what we thought to be a Christmas tree farm, but turned out to be just a garden nursery with trees meant for landscaping. Still, it was interesting to see and smell all the trees!

One of the items on my East Coast bucket list has always been to do apple picking as that was something Texas never offered (probably because all the apples would die in the intense heat). Since we had some extra time, we decided to stop by Lewin Farms on our way home for some fruit picking (and eating). It was $8 to enter but the amount is credited towards the end cost of your picked apples. Picking the apples was an interesting experience and definitely made me appreciate Mother Nature and all the hard working farms that deliver fresh crispy apples to my neighborhood market.

Which photo was your favorite? Have you done wine tasting in the Long Island area?

3 Days in Montreal

Because of all the recent happenings in the news and in politics, there's been so much talk about how appealing Canada is. Personally, I don't know too much about our Northern neighbor. The last time I visited was when I was 8 and my parents forced me on a plane to Vancouver in the middle of winter for a reunion with family friends (definitely not my favorite memory). Since moving to New York however, I've realized that the eastern coast of Canada is only a 1-2 hour flight away, thus making it the perfect weekend getaway. So when my sister came to visit I immediately suggested we head up north to see what Montreal is all about. Here are the highlights from our trip!

OLD TOWN

The influences of Europe on this city are obvious. There were French signs and French inspired architecture everywhere. But both my sister and I felt like the cobblestoned streets of Old Town with its tiny shops reminded us of Prague the most. Take your time strolling around because there is so much to see here!

ST. JOSEPH ORATORY/ BIOSPHERE

Our two most favorite places were the St. Joseph Oratory and the Biosphere. The Oratory is simply beautiful to wander around (there is a gorgeous Journey to the Cross garden that is a definite must see) and best of all, it’s free! The Oratory and all its sites took us around 2 hours to explore so make sure you have time to wander around. The Biosphere is a museum all about the environment and is located inside a giant golf ball looking structure. If you like to learn while traveling, this museum is a good choice. It's actually located on its own separate island, but luckily there is a subway (yellow line) to take you there.

PARC DU MONT ROYAL

All the guide books said that hiking up to the top of Parc du Mont Royal to observe the view is a must and I can tell you from personal experience, the view is gorgeous! Tip- if hiking is not for you, there are a few buses that will drop you off close to the peak and you can just walk along a path for about 10 minutes instead of hiking for 45 minutes.

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL

While the Montreal Notre Dame is not as magnificent as the Paris one, it’s still worth a visit. The outside facade appears to be an exact replica of the one in Paris and the inside is breathtaking as well. Make sure you bring cash as the $6 entrance fee is cash only. Bonus- we went during an organ concert and had the opportunity to hear their organist play several classical pieces.

CHINATOWN

What is a trip to Montreal without stopping by their famous Chinatown? Chinatown is located within walking distance of the Notre Dame so its the perfect place to stop for a quick snack or lunch after touring the Cathedral. It was not as big as I thought it would be (just a few streets), but it was packed with delicious Asian bakeries, tiny restaurants, and tons of pedestrians. Look how cute these Keroppi matcha buns are!

Have you guys been to Montreal? What was your favorite thing?

Best of Savannah

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Labor Day Weekend. On one hand we have a free day off from work, but on the other hand Labor Day signifies the end of summer and the closure of a bunch of my favorite NYC summer activities (free kayaking, beach, seasonal rooftop bars). As a result, I rarely travel over this weekend because I want to soak in the last feels of New York summer life.

This year, however, my friend and I decided to make plans to visit Savannah, Georgia because we had seen photos of the charming Southern town on Instagram and instantly fell in love. The vacation was everything we dreamed of and more (even though I did forget my sunglasses and my iPhone officially went to heaven). Savannah was so cute! But fair warning, there was a lot of walking involved. Savannah did not have a good public transportation so it was either walk or Uber everywhere.

We relaxed by the pool of our amazing hotel, The Westin Savannah Resort and Spa (its actually located on its own island across from downtown Savannah!), and had an amazing view of the river. Tip- look for hotels on discount websites such as Priceline or Hotwire. That's actually how we ended up with The Westin! The hotel even provided a free ferry service to bring us across the river to downtown.

We took Instagram worthy photos at the Wormsloe Historic Site. I loved smelling (and seeing) the giant Spanish moss trees. And yes, my friend and I did bring our hats to Savannah! The site is huge and the road of trees actually last over a mile. The first mile is a working road so cars are coming in both directions. Its suggested to have your Uber drop you off at the end of this 1 mile road for photos of the trees without the disruption of cars passing. We didn't know this in advance (and we weren't going to walk the 1 mile) so we ended up jumping in and out of the road to take photos and avoid cars.

We toasted our Southern vacation on The Bohemian rooftop, where we again had amazing views of the river. My blueberry vodka lemonade was delicious!

We toured the beautiful Owen Thomas House and had the opportunity to learn more about Savannah’s history. I would recommend coming here earlier in the day to reserve your tour time. The tours book up fast and you're only able to view the house through a guided tour. They also only allow same day tour reservations so you can't pre-book.

We meandered around downtown Savannah and saw all these gorgeous squares and Forsyth Park.

I fell in love with the beautiful houses!

Which picture of Savannah was your favorite? Have you guys been to any of these sites?