Surprise in the City of Bridges

It was early - early for me at least - when I snuck out of bed. In the bathroom was the pregnancy test I'd hidden in my travel toothbrush holder the night before. My period was late, my BBT I'd been tracking religiously every morning was still elevated, and it was B's birthday; it seemed like the right time to take the test.

Must-have Travel Beauty Products You Should Bring On Every Trip | Interview with Model Darci Clark

Traveling is exciting and fun but can be so  hard  on your body! And packing the right products when you only have so much space can be tricky. That's why I've interviewed Kansas City fashion model Darci Clark , the creator behind  @mymmodelreality  and  mymodelreality.com , after her recent southwest road trip to find out what her favorite travel beauty products are that she recommends for any girl wanting to pack light and look her best.

Southern California Travel Guide

Picture it: blue ocean waves, tall palm trees, surf culture, shop after shop after shop catering to tourists, fashionistas, and foodies alike, maybe even a few movie star sightings. Can you tell what I'm describing? Did you guess Los Angeles? Wrong!

4 Travel Must-Haves | My Carry-On Essentials

The first half of 2018 hasn't been very travel-heavy for us -- which has been refreshing! I've been able to focus on decorating our apartment, working on business plans & budgets with B, and start recording what I enjoyed or disliked about our previous trips as I started our new joint Instagram account - @thepashenpassport . 1. Phone charger So this one is a bit of a no-brainer, but I figured it's a must on the list! Both our phones take the same charger, and since they are our main (only) camera, having them nice a…

Where to Find Kansas City’s Coolest Wall Art

The cold didn't keep us inside this weekend! Between a family dinner with one of our New York cousins and a church service that took too long to leave because we couldn't stop talking about all the craziness that is this week it feels like we barely saw the inside of our apartment. Because we were avoiding cabin fever, we took a drive through downtown Kansas City to 4 well-known murals all of which would be easy to get to from Main Street using the KC Streetcar. We did these in a loop, starting and ending in the River Market. But …

VRBO Review: Hopping Houses in Italy

B is a much more go-with-the-flow travel person than I am. Growing up, my Mom planned every detail of our family road trips. She had an expandable folder binder thing that held maps, sightseeing stops, coupons and gift cards for food stops, hotel reservations, and even the schedule of events. I'm not nearly that organized about everything, but I was stressing about Italy. Big time. We were lucky that we had family in Florence to stay with initially, but since B & I joined them at the end of their Italian stay (they were moving on …

Countdown to Italy

photo from https://www.bellaitaliatour.com/tours/cinque-terre-by-boat-one-day-trip-from-pisa/ Have you ever wished for something so hard that, once it happens, you can’t believe it’s real? That’s how I feel about my upcoming trip to Italy. I haven't been overseas EVER and I can't wait! In just under a month I’ll check off the second-most anticipated destination on my travel to-do list (I'm keeping my top-of-the-bucket-list travel destination a secret). The only problem? The only thing B & I have booked for our first two-w…

We're Moving! KCMO

Exciting things happening now that Marriage Year One has drawn to a close.  We have officially put  down a deposit on our future home in Kansas City, MO and have new jobs starting January 2016! It took a lot of searching to find our new apartment, and a lot of the lofts and historic buildings in the Power & Light and Crossroads districts of KCMO had appeal but we have settled in beautiful River Market. In River Market we are a stone's throw from downtown, walking distance to the farmers' market and a variety of restaurants…

California Road Trip pt. 2

Instead of trying to get the rest of the crazy California trip (including the boys getting stuck on the mountain and me waiting with my brother for 5 hours longer than originally planned) typed up, we made this video! video music: Parachute by Chris Stapleton

California Road Trip

My husband likes to adventure.  He spent a week on the Guadalupe River with his best friend, two backpacks, and a canoe -- all of which you can read about here .  Our most recent escapade involved 30 hours in a car to reach Mt. Shasta outside Redding, California.  The car made the trip, barely! Pit Stop in Arizona Luckily, B really likes to drive so I didn't have to drive the whole way there (I did have to make up for it on the drive home). Day 1 Our first full day in California we spent at Lassen State Park hiking to 10,000 fe…

Guadalupe River by Canoe

These two set off for the headwaters in Hunt, TX at 5 am on July 21st. They were armed with a cooler of ice that would melt into potable water, a fishing pole, two hiking packs, easy-to-eat food, and one cell phone that could not turn off.  We prayed the battery would last the week they estimated it would take to reach Seguin, TX. They put in right after sunrise, and I drove the lonely hour back home fighting sleep so that I would make it to work on time.  These are my favorite photos from their sendoff.

New York: A Weekend in Manhattan & Babylon