Pinspiration

So I figure I owe y'all a few posts since I missed some while I had company in town. Yesterday was my husbands birthday and his favorite dessert is rice crispy treats so I thought I would make them in cake form (getting my idea from Pinterest of course!)

Here was my inspiration:

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And here is my version!

Happy birthday!

Top Places to Grow Old

I found this article on Yahoo! and wanted to share – I always day dream about one day living abroad. Whether it’s in the near future for work or it’s in the distant future for retirement, it’s always on my mind. In creating this list they used four factors: Income security, health, employment/education and environment.

15. Finland

14. Australia

13. The United Kingdom

12. Ireland

11. Austria

10. Japan

9. Iceland

8. The United States

7. New Zealand

6. Switzerland

5. Canada

4. The Netherlands

3. Germany

2. Norway

1. Sweden

Where do you want to live abroad? 

Houston to Destin and Back

Over the weekend I took my Norwegian friend for a road trip from Houston, TX to Destin, FL. On our way there we took a detour to New Orleans so she could see the city, we intended on getting some lunch but all the cafes around Jackson Square had a really long wait. So walked around the square and took pictures of St. Louis Cathedral and then we continued on our way. Before getting into NOLA we hit some pretty bad traffic from the LSU game and we didn't have time to stop at the USS Alabama before they closed. We rolled into Destin right was the sun was setting! Perfect timing!

The next day started with with us relaxing on the beach, we also took in some stand-up paddle-boarding (SUP). And neither of us fell which we were happy about! Around lunch we headed to the docks to board the boat that was going to take us parasailing (we used Sun Dogs next to AJ's Seafood). She had never been parasailing and this trip was all about doing new things! After that we headed back to the hotel for some more beach time before our sunset/dolphin cruise. We were able to get the dolphins to swim with the boat which was really cool!

{we like to wear safety gear!}

{thank you for the awesome pic GoPro!}

On the way back we made a pit-stop in Mississippi for a Swamp Tour at Gator Ranch. We held a baby alligator and enjoyed a ride in an air boat. They had plenty of gators for us to see and we saw two that were actually in the swamp (wild).

Our time in Destin was short but it was fun! There are actually quite a few stops you can make along I-10 to make your trip even more fun! You can stop at the Infinity Science Center and the stop to see the Blue Angels in Pensacola (we couldn't do this because of the government shutdown), there is even a little zoo along the way.

Have you ever taken a road trip? If so where to?

Florida is Calling

As excited I am about our trip to Europe in the spring I had to put that planning/research on hold because my Norwegian friend was coming into town and we needed to plan our weekend in Destin, FL. She is here for 2 weeks and although I have been able to keep her pretty busy here in Houston there really just isn't a lot to do. You can click here to check out what we did the first weekend she was here and we're going to be going to the Zoo today too!

Anyway, Saturday we begin our 9 1/2 hour drive to Destin. We plan on making a pit-stop for lunch in New Orleans and seeing the St. Louis Cathedral and having some beignets at a cafe. We are only going to be there for one full day and we plan on going parasailing and a sunset/dolphin cruise. We also hope to catch a gator tour on our way back into Texas!

Check out some of our pictures from the Houston Zoo!

200th Post!

WOW! This is my 200th post! Here are some fun things I put together to celebrate the milestone.

How to Sell a House

Travel RoundUp: March 2013

Vacation vs Stay-cation

TripAdvisor's Top 25 World Destinations: 2013

America's Worst Airports to Catch a Flight

Most Cliche Tourist Photos

Stay-cation in Houston, TX

Sorry for not blogging on Friday, I have a Norwegian friend in town and we have been all over town doing things. I thought this would make a good "Stay-cation" post. Here are some things we have done so far

1. Shopping - Shopping is very expensive in Norway so she has been supporting our economy by doing her Christmas shopping here.
2. BBQ - We went to Goode Co. BBQ for some of the Texas classic
3. Basketball game - We watched the Houston Rockets lose 115 - 116, good game!
4. Horseback riding - I thought this would be fun and I had a Groupon so it was 50% off, cant beat that!

We still plan on going to the Zoo and taking a road trip to Destin, FL. Very excited that she is here!

Travel RoundUp

Welcome October!!! 2013 is almost over! Here is your monthly Travel RoundUp

1 - The Concordia which crashed into a reef off Italy in early 2012 was finally turned right-side up.

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2 - Check out Romania’s tourist campaign.

3 – Buzzfeed has found 16 other things you could buy instead of a first class ticket on Singapore Airlines.

4 – The smog in Hong Kong has gotten so bad that they had to put up banners of their skyline so people could take pictures in front of it. Might not be the best time to visit. 

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5 – Yay! You might be able to keep your shoes on through TSA check points!

6 – A Qantas flight was grounded because they found an 8 inch (20cm) snake in the passenger cabin!

7 – A new building in London is responsible for melting cars and setting fires! Careful where you walk!

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 8 – Etihad Airways will be introducing “Flying Nannies” to help parents with their children during the flight. Talk about high rollers!

9 – Colorado has rebranded itself and so far it’s not that popular. What do you think?

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10 – In early September the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was opened.