After a week at home recovering from jet lag, unpacking, and easing back into my space after Europe, this past week marked my first full work week—and it felt like both a gentle reset and a reminder of how grounding…
What a 24-Hour Flight Delay Taught Me About Patience and Personal Growth
If there’s one thing travel loves to test, it’s your patience. And after a beautiful trip that filled my camera roll and my heart, I thought the journey home would be the easy part. Instead, I was treated to an…
Travel Reflections from a Birthday Month Abroad
While my time abroad may be coming to a close, the memories from spending half of my birthday month in another country will last a lifetime. Even if I forget all the little moments that made this trip so special,…
Finding a Piece of Home When Everything Feels New
The thing about traveling that I’ve been reminded of on this trip to Europe is how foreign everything feels when you have to navigate life in a new country. And before you say, “Well, duh, Vanessa, you are in another…
The Best Travel-Friendly Skincare Products I Never Leave Home Without
One of the hardest parts of traveling—especially for nearly three weeks—is deciding what to bring. Clothes are one thing, but choosing which skincare products make the cut? That’s where it gets tricky. I’ve always been a light packer (if I…
Touchdown in Europe: A Day of Jet Lag, Joy & Just-Go-With-It Moments
After weeks of planning, list-making, and packing (and repacking), the day finally arrived—I was Europe-bound. There’s something about wheeling a suitcase through an airport that instantly shifts your energy. Suddenly everything feels possible again. Maybe it’s the thrill of a…
A Birthday Filled With Horses, Cake, Friends, and Pure Gratitude
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that birthdays are less about the number and more about how you feel stepping into a new year. And this year, turning 39 felt nothing short of special. I kicked…
The November Agenda
Up until a few years ago, the countdown to my birthday began at least 30 days in advance. But as I’ve gotten older, the excitement I once felt for my “birthday month” has mellowed a bit. That’s not to say I don’t…
Midweek Reset at Scribner’s Catskill Lodge
Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself—and your creativity—is to step away. That’s exactly what I did this week with a quick getaway to Scribner’s Lodge in the Catskills, and it turned out to be the perfect reset….
How Duolingo Helped Me Finally Stick to Learning German
{Heidelberg, Germany} One of those things that always seems to be on my to-do list—year after year—is learning another language. If you’re a regular reader around here, you probably know it somehow ends up on every annual goals list. And…
Travel Diaries: The Top 5 Moments from My Trip
It was a whirlwind start to the new year with weeks of travel—and what an adventure! If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ve probably felt like you were right there with me, thanks to all the content I’ve shared….
New Year, New Traditions: How a European Getaway Shaped My Start to 2025
The start of a new year often brings a relaxed mindset, a fresh perspective, and perhaps a few new goals. For me, the beginning of 2025 comes on the heels of a weeks-long trip to Europe filled with daily sanity…
