Trip Report: Weekend in San Antonio, Part One – the Hyatt Regency
As I wrote about a couple months back, getting loyalty status with various travel brands can certainly make frequent travel a lot easier. Sometimes, it also makes it a lot more luxurious! Seeing as how I recently acquired Hyatt Diamond status for free, I figured it was high-time to take advantage of it. And since our […]
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Creating a Simple & FREE Anniversary Infographic
The hubby and I are celebrating our 3rd marriage anniversary today, yay! Since we tend to prioritize “experiential” presents more than actual “stuff”, we agreed to put any anniversary funds towards an upcoming weekend getaway instead of getting each other actual presents. However, I still felt like we should mark the day itself with a little […]
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5 Quick Meals for Beginning Cooks
This weekend I got to spend a couple days visiting some very dear friends of mine in Dallas, who also happen to be newlyweds. My friend, who’s never been much for cooking, was taking a fair bit of good-natured ribbing from her new husband about how often she served charcuterie for dinner instead of a […]
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Tomato Gardening 101
If, like me, you live in the Southern part of the country then you’ve probably recently come the conclusion that “winter” is just not going to happen this year. In central Texas, the last frost date is usually sometime mid-March, and since the 10-day forecast shows balmy temps in the 60s and 70s for our […]
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The Sandals Saga Continues AKA Worst Customer Service Ever
Yesterday, I published the blog “Not All Vacations Can Be Winners: Sandals 2016“. Apparently Sandals took notice. Today, I received a fairly worthless offer to shut me up. Suddenly, the lack of negative Sandals reviews online is making a lot more sense – they’re literally bribing people to take them down. Today, I received an […]
Read MoreNot All Vacations Can Be Winners: Sandals 2016
Updated 2/16/2016 3:53 PM: Once you’ve read this, make sure to check out my next post in which Sandals tries to bribe me into taking this down. I am very susceptible to good advertising. I think that’s why, back when the hubs and I got engaged, I was totally starstruck by the Sandals ads that I kept seeing […]
Read MoreMake Ahead Snacks for the “Big Game”
We like to play a drinking game whenever we watch a show on HGTV – you have to take a sip anytime someone says “open concept”. This game can get you very drunk, very fast. Because “open concept” is all the rage in real estate, but it has one fatal flaw – if everyone can see […]
Read MoreWhen Status Matters
This is a story about four statuses. Travel loyalty statuses, to be specific. And how your travel could be a lot more rewarding if you have one. The story starts back in 2013 when I was still doing a lot of work travel at my old job. I stayed a few times in Starwood hotels, […]
Read MoreOur Homemade Holiday Gifts (2015 Edition)
When I got married three years ago, this long-time only child had the privilege of marrying into a gigantic family. My husband is one of 7, and between his siblings and their spouses, my extended family, plus friends, neighbors, and coworkers, our holiday present budget looked destined to skyrocket. So, we started giving out homemade and diy presents […]
Read MoreWhat’s in YOUR Wallet? (or, An Introduction to Travel Hacking…)
So I talk on this blog (and my other writing project, The Points Guy) about travel hacking – the art of maximizing the benefits available through hotel loyalty programs and co-branded credit card offers in order to travel for free. We’ve been travel hacking for about four years now, and I estimate we’ve saved somewhere […]
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