packing list: my 5 travel splurges

as I’m planning for our trip to Bali this month, I’ve started a list of things to pack. last month I shared my 12 packing essentials [which will definitely be coming with me] but today I want to talk about the non-essentials.

I have a long history of being an over-packer. like, bringing a full size suitcase on a weekend getaway over-packer. sometimes I just bring too many clothes, sometimes I bring heavy or awkward souvenirs like my Nana's antique glass candy dish. but I thought it would be fun to share some of the things I’ve regularly splurged on stowing away in my bag over the years.

1. emergency manicure kit: it’s no secret that I love painting my nails. but I also hate having chipped polish. so when I plan to be traveling for a longer period of time [especially to a beachy location] I’ll pack one of these remover wipes, a bottle of polish and quick-dry topcoat. just be sure your caps are screwed on tight, and pack the polish in it's own ziploc baggie. [trust me, I speak from polish-covered experience.]

2. my hair dryer: my hair takes a LONG time to dry, and one of the things I hate most about traveling are the wimpy hotel blow dryers. they can also be pretty damaging to your hair [and cause some serious frizz.] my dryer is a few years old but super powerful- most days I can get away with not having to straighten my hair if I dry it thoroughly. I've tried leaving the dryer at home and bringing my straightener instead... but 5 minutes of using my dryer will beat 20 minutes with a hotel dryer + 10 minutes of straightening any day. 

3. too many shoes: this is one packing habit I think I've almost kicked. in the past I have been guilty of stowing away up to five pairs of sandals in my bag... they're light and don't take up much space, so I found this indulgence easy to justify. BUT. most of my sandals are pretty similar [as you can see] and bringing only 1 or 2 pairs that will match with everything isn't actually that difficult. 

4. camera gear: if you count my iPhone, I traveled everywhere last year with 3 cameras. my load got a lot lighter after I got my EOS M and started leaving my extra lenses at home, but the instax [and film] had to come with me as part of my 52 weeks project. I also always bring my spare battery + charger, remote, travel tripod, and waterproof iPhone case.

5. workout clothes: let’s be honest. you always think you're going to keep with your workout schedule on vacation, but you never do as much as you plan. when we went to Thailand this past summer I was training for a 10 mile race, and I managed to run twice while we were there. but instead of bringing one set of clothes to rinse + reuse, I packed 3 sets. oops.

with all that said… I will probably be packing nailpolish, my hairdryer, three cameras, and at least one set of workout clothes for Bali. if I plan to use them all, it’s not really a waste of space, right? I’m also curious to know… what are the things you always splurge on adding to your suitcase? I can’t be the only one who doesn't pack light!

the cup of coffee that fueled the writing of today’s post was sponsored by Brittany. she drinks her tea with sugar and blogs about her quest to create life experiences by traveling over at Life Changes ii.

[linking up with Nicole for treat yo self Thursday. and then watching some Parks + Rec]

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the writer's block: looking ahead to the new year

welcome to the writer's block: a monthly feature where I take a break from the typing and let a few of my sponsors share some information about themselves + their blogs.

last week I shared with you some of my plans for 2014. where I will travel, what I hope to accomplish, a few exciting events, and my motto for the year. I asked those same questions of the lovely ladies hanging out on my sidebar this month, and today I’m sharing their plans for the new year. read a little bit about them and what their 2014 has in store, then be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello!

the basics: I'm Dannielle and I'm from New York and found myself in England with my boyfriend and our two cats. I write about our travels, life, and other things I like. Join me on my journey to fit myself into the English culture and to fuel your wanderlust.

travel plans for this year: Where I will travel in 2014... I'm hoping to Greece! It's one of the countries at the top of my list right now. More realistically probably France and Belgium as my friend is coming to visit and I want to take her to my favourite bits.

an upcoming exciting event: A move to London is on the cards! So that will be exciting when it actually happens. Circumstances prevented us from going in 2013, so fingers crossed 2014 is our year.

her motto for 2014: My phrase for 2014 will be 'Get it done.' I get so easily distracted and I want to actually finish projects that I start this year, and learn the new things I've been putting off (I have two beginning knitting books to be read). No more putting things off!

learn more about Dannielle on her blog Chic-a-DeeDee

a few posts she thinks you'll enjoy:

first New Zealand post 

advice to my pre-expat self

or follow along with:

twitter + bloglovin + instagram

the basics: The Art of Balance was created as a way for me to share my journey to a life of balance and stress-free living. I share my struggles and (successes!) living happily in spite of having anxiety in hopes of connecting with women all over the world who may share some of the same issues. If you follow along, you'll also learn about my love for dogs, reading, and helping others. I believe in cultivating my own happiness and balance in life and hope to inspire you too!

travel plans for this year: My fiance and I are still working out the details on what kind of honeymoon we can afford. Our top two locations would be Greece (mine) and Ireland (his) but we're pretty sure we'll have to put that trip on hold for a year or two. We recently started looking at Saint Lucia as a possibility because it has the best of both worlds: a little romance, privacy, and relaxation and a ton of awesome opportunities for adventures like waterfall hiking, zip-lining, and mountain biking.

an upcoming exciting event: That's easy, I'm getting married! My fiance and I will have been dating for almost 6 years (we're getting married 5 days before our 6th anniversary) and we still don't live together. We've always lived within 10 minutes of each other and spend plenty of time staying at each other's place, so we never felt the necessity to move in together. (Which ultimately makes my very traditional family happy.)

her motto for 2014: Go with the flow and let the little things go. For someone with anxiety, letting the little things go is really important to keeping stress levels low. Since 2014 will be full of life changes and lots of planning, I want to be intentional about keeping my stress levels low. I know that wedding planning can be really stressful so I want to be able to go with the flow and not stress about all the small things.

learn more about Codi on her blog The Art of Balance

a few posts she thinks you'll enjoy:

cyber bullying

the day my life took a turn

or follow along with:

twitter + pinterest + bloglovin

the basics: After finishing college with no interesting job prospects in America, I decided to move to Moscow, Russia, take a job as an English teacher, and start a blog. I decided I'd live in Moscow for just a year, but now it's my fourth year in Moscow and I just married a Russian! My blog is a mix of musings on being an expat, explorations of Moscow, and stories of everyday life in Russia!

travel plans for this year: It's a quick start this year! January 1st will find me in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for a not-so-romantic honeymoon! Beyond that, we're crossing our fingers for some super exciting travel in 2014 -- barring any visa issues for my husband, the Russky!

an upcoming exciting event: Big plans are in the works! If all goes well, we should be relocating to Chile in the summer/fall.

her motto for 2014: вперёд! (vperyod!) A Russian word that means "forward!" I've been feeling like my life has been a little stagnant and I'd like to shake it up and move forward in 2014!

learn more about Polly on her blog A Girl and Her Travels

a few posts she thinks you'll enjoy:

An open letter to future Moscow expats

Answers from the Russky (get to know us!)

or follow along with:

instagram  + twitter

ps- if you'd like to be a part of next month's writer's block post [and hang out on my sidebar] there are still sponsorships spaces available! I'd love to have you!

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january goals + my new job

last week, I started a new job: writer and blogger.

I hear you asking yourself, wait, wasn’t she doing that before? yes I was [and I have been taking it seriously!] but now I've decided to make it officially official. now I have a work schedule - one that I’m forcing myself to keep to. even though last week was a holiday week, I wrote. even though on Friday morning I woke up feeling like I had gotten a collective 15 minutes of sleep and all I wanted to do was stay in bed, I wrote. even though I missed a Passionfruit chat and the season 4 Downton Abbey debut today, I wrote. I have a schedule and I’ve been sticking to it.

my January is all about and getting things done. and we're leaving for Bali in 2 weeks! which means there's a lot to accomplish before I go. to help keep me on track, I'm setting a few goals for the month:

1. book-specific writing sessions 3-4 times a week: I feel like I'm just starting, but already I want to get ahead. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try book writing while on vacation. I don't want to lose the habit, but I don't want to drag my laptop with me. [or waste precious beach time.]

2. wrap up sponsor business: this is my first month of hosting sponsorships and I'm still learning, but I want my sponsors to feel taken care of. my first full-post sponsor feature will run this week! I'm both nervous and terribly excited to share these lovely ladies with you. and my new sponsors will be starting right when I'm flying out- I want to be sure to welcome them and set things up before I go.

3. schedule at least 3 posts for when I’ll be gone: yes, I'm going on vacation, but I don't want to disappear completely! there are a few things I've been meaning to share that may never be posted if they don't get in before all the travel this year. I have a lot of half-written ideas brewing... I just need to round them out and get them scheduled.

4. remember to take care of myself: the last thing I want to do is be sick for vacation. with everything else going on I want to be sure I'm eating right, getting exercise, and sleeping well. Husband and I have been carrying on the weekend tradition of running the mountain + sushi lunches, and I'm making a date with Jillian Michaels a few times a week.

5. get packed for our trip ahead of time: have we discussed how I'm a terrible packer? I'm hoping to be packed [as much as I can] in advance so that I can relax and actually sleep the night before our flight. I've already started a list, and I'm thinking of throwing together a post because that would mean I have to do it in advance. right?

that's a lot for the next two weeks, but I'm hoping I can stay on track... you all might have to remind me from time to time! what are your goals for this month?

[linking up with Melyssa for weekly wishes]

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Bangkok// The Grand Palace [part 2]

as promised, the rest of my visit to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. [see part 1 here]

let's talk about the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, pictured above. inside there is a Buddha statue carved from a single piece of jade. this statue was housed somewhere in Ayutthaya before the Burmese invasion, and legend says that the monks covered it in plaster to hide its value. the statue was moved, and for years no one realized what was underneath. then one day it was knocked over, cracking the plaster and revealing the Emerald Buddha. now it lives in its own special temple in the Grand Palace, and it known as the most sacred Buddhist site in Thailand.

I don't have a picture of the Emerald Buddha for you. mostly because you are not allowed to take pictures of it, but also because my camera battery died before I made it over to the temple itself. but there was still plenty that made it onto my memory card...

tangent: I had an eye-opening experience the other night. for the first time in my adult life, and certainly for the first time since experiencing southeast Asian culture and visiting Bangkok for the first time... we watched "The King and I." and I was moderately horrified at the misrepresentation of both Thai culture and the practices of Buddhism. so much that I'm struggling to write this post without mentioning it.

but I'm going to try not to preach at you. I'd like to think that my readers are both global citizens and independent thinkers, able to differentiate fiction and stereotypes from reality. and I hope we can agree that - thankfully - globalization has brought us all a better understanding of each other's cultures.

ok, end tangent. back to the pictures.

this golden tiered chedi and its mosaic-covered demon warriors was probably my favorite part of the entire Grand Palace complex. the detail in the armor just blows my mind... all the different colors and patterns. had I not been trying to conserve battery life, I could have snapped pictures of those guys all day.

seriously. this place is amazing. I really don't know what more I can say about it, other than: Thailand is amazing. you should go to Thailand, and you should visit the Grand Palace.

[and you should remember to bring a spare and fully charged camera battery.]

the cup of coffee that fueled the writing of today’s post was sponsored by Hayley. she drinks her tea with 2 scoops of sugar and blogs about life, travel, and adventure over at livin' it up as HayUp.

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my motto for 2014

have you ever picked a word or phrase to help guide you through the year to come? I've set resolutions in the past [and some years I made a resolution not to set resolutions] but the idea of picking a word really appealed to me. some simply choose a word on their own- I was planning to as part of filling out this amazing workbook.

originally I had tossed around the idea of the word hustle. last year I gave myself freedom to explore and grow, but this is my year to get things done. I'm not crazy about the actual word, but the idea of it seemed to fit my plans for the year and what I need to do to accomplish them:

travel to Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, and the United States
hop around the US for a solid month- from all over Michigan to California and Texas
continue to blog our adventures from the road
return to Taiwan for another school year in Hsinchu
play tour guide to potentially 4 different visitors in Taiwan
write a book, and scarier yet, publish it
figure out what and where comes next in our life

[and that's just the stuff we already have settled.]

as I was contemplating all of this and trying to start the workbook, I ran into a bit of trouble. it seems that our printer is missing the cable that allows you to connect to a computer and print. uh, problem. but I was determined to go through the workbook and plan out my 2014. so I found a notebook with some space and decided to write it out by hand.

and in the course of doing so I realized what my motto for 2014 should be: challenge accepted.

I think that a little bit of attitude is exactly what I need for the coming year. it's not just about getting work done. it's about finding a way to make things happen, no mater what life throws at me. because I know already that 2014 will be a challenge... but I also know that I'm ready to face it.

[linking up with Nicole for treat yo self Thursday]

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how I was awesome in 2013

I think we all need to remind ourselves of our own greatness sometimes. good things happen to us in life, but we also make these things happen by our actions and the choices that we make. I want to believe that I have a hand in my own destiny. my 2013 was awesome, because I was awesome in 2013.

do I sound a little ridiculous? maybe a little full of myself?

well, at the end of 2012 I was not feeling quite so positive. I had just survived my first months as an expat and was recovering from a scooter crash. and all I could think about was what I hadn't accomplished. over the course of 2013 I have grown - a lot - and become a happier person. so as we end the year I'm choosing to look back and give myself big hi-five. I'm linking up with Melyssa for weekly wishes today to share the things I accomplished and goals I achieved this year, big and small.

here are some of the ways I was awesome in 2013 - in no particular order, and with lots of links for you to investigate if you so choose:

I started keeping a journal
I participated in two month-long blogging challenges
I trained for and ran a ten mile race
I fostered a puppy
I survived the epic mattress/leaky ceiling drama
I started creating and sharing my own fonts

I took risks and faced my fears

I went outside my comfort zone

I traveled to Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong

I figured out how to turn around a bad day

I organized my life a little more

I tutored a few Chinese teachers in English

I attended a photography workshop

I started writing a book

I painted a chevron wall in my office
I completed the Everyday Happy e-course
I began purchasing sponsorships to promote my blog
I watched a sunrise
I used a squat toilet for the first time
I chopped my hair short
I purchased + hung curtains in our apartment
I weathered a typhoon or two

I got outside and adventured more

I created + launched my own sponsorship program

I redesigned my blog four times [at least]

I dated my Husband, on occasion

I worked on scheduling my time to get more done

I ate a lot of bacon while in the US

I embraced the label of "expat"

I set + achieved goals with weekly wishes

I asked for help when I needed it
I learned more about myself and how I operate
I packed for a weekend trip in one small backpack
I completed a 52 weeks project
I filled up that journal I began in January
I shot this ridiculous end-of-year self photoshoot
I found five dollars, literally

phew. of course there were things I didn't do this year and ways I'd like to improve, but today we are celebrating the positives. I wasn't perfect, but I was pretty awesome. hopefully you aren't annoyed or intimidated by this list, but feeling inspired to create your own. [I mean... if squat toilets and bacon count as awesome, then I think it's safe you assume you can dig up some good from your 2013.]

look back through your journal or your blog archives, even your Facebook feed, and I promise you will find things. nothing is too big or small. you watched the entire series of Battlestar Galactica? awesome. you finally cleaned out your closet? awesome. bought a stranger a cup of coffee, read a new book, adopted a kitten? awesome, awesome, awesome. make your list, and then tell me! because I want to know: how were YOU awesome this year?

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12 photos of Christmas

I wanted to open this post with a picture of an almost-but-not-quite holiday sign, like I did last year. that one said "MERRI XMIS" and the one I found this year said "MARRY XAMS." but. it appears the store in which the sign was hanging discovered their mistake and fixed it by the time I went back to snap a photo. so instead, Christmas roses. [the school sells them as a fundraiser, and Husband brought some home for me again this year.]

even though Husband had to work and all our family was far away, we still had a fantastic Christmas. we decided to keep it low-key and stay in this year, and have a couple friends over to join us.

I was skeptical about the pre-cooked turkey dinner we ordered from the import grocery store. the sales person described it to us as "turkey, with vegetable, pizza, and red wine juice sauce." Taiwan's take on American food follows the almost-but-not-quite rule, so just in case it turned out to be inedible, I prepared some appetizers and sides.

[side note: my inner food photographer is cringing at the lighting in these photos. but I can't make the sun shine inside my apartment on a December night, so I'm letting it go.]

we started with Mexican layer dip [beans, salsa, cheese, olives, green onion... no sour cream or guacamole but I'll take it] and this baked spinach artichoke dip. I almost cried this dip was so good. soooo, so good. so good that I just had to get up and have some leftovers because I was thinking about it.

I'll be sharing the recipe with you all soon, because it's too amazing not to share.

the boys brought home the boxed meal [apparently it came from a hotel in Taichung] and we opened it up to investigate. I think the most hilarious part was the shrimp and corn pizzas... which we did not eat. we also skipped on the vegetable. but the gravy, stuffing, and turkey were fair game.

we had ourselves a feast. the turkey was quite tasty, and we have leftovers for making soup. the "red wine juice sauce" that the sales person had described to us... was cranberry sauce. I made green bean casserole from scratch [another recipe I'll have to share,] and we had plenty of wine and whiskey on hand. it was a delicious meal, and I think the start of a new tradition.

our holiday outside of the food was pretty amazing as well. I know presents aren't the point of Christmas, but I'm excited about what I got: Husband ordered me a box of camera gadget goodies from Photojojo, and I got plenty of gluten-free food items, candy, and even some beauty booty!

I hope you all had a great holiday, and I can't wait to see how you celebrated.

[PS: ad spots are still on sale until tomorrow with the code HOLLYJOLLY25!]

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Merry Christmas!

it's already Christmas morning here in Taiwan. we've opened our stockings and unwrapped our presents and devoured a pancake breakfast. we've watched the Christmas classics such as Die Hard and the Nightmare before Christmas. and yes, Husband has to work today. but we are preparing a Christmas feast for this evening.

I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a very merry holiday [whichever ones you may be celebrating] and give you a little present. all ad spaces are 25% off for the next few days when you use the code HOLLYJOLLY25. I'm booked for this month [!!!] but spots are still available for January.

warm wishes + big internet hugs from me to you

xo

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