Maven District Salt Lake City

Maven District Salt Lake City

One of the best experiences I had in Salt Lake City was exploring the Maven District and meeting some of the fabulous strong women who own businesses there. The Maven District Salt lake City is made up of about 100 small businesses and 75-80% are women owned. It felt natural to gather like-minded women together and that is where this amazing concept was born.

They believe in collaboration over comparison. They support diversity, they support women, they support local.

I love that they attract empowered women. As they say, “Our Maven community is made up of doers, thinkers, risk takers, rule breakers, question askers, boundary pushers, explorers and bold humans who aren’t here to settle…”

We left as a group of women that were proud of ourselves as well as each other. Thank you for making such an impact on us. I can’t wait to return with my 2 teenage daughters. Let me show you around and introduce you to some of the business owners we met.

Let’s make some rings with

Erica @thelandofsalt

We broke up into small groups and I was in the group that got to spend a few hours with Erica, from The Land of Salt, creating our own custom stacking rings. We had a blast! Erica taught us how to measure, cut our material, and bend it.

Creating stackable rings at The Land of Salt

Then came the fun part…soldering it! She gave us such confidence that we could do it and with her encouragement we all soldered our own rings.

Soldering a ring in Salt Lake City

She gave them a good cleaning and we were done.

(more…)

10 Things Kids Gain from Sleepaway Camp


10 Things Kids Gain from Sleepaway Camp

A few years ago, my friend Julie and I were miserable because our girls went to sleepaway camp for two weeks.  We were missing our kiddos, obsessing about whether they were OK, and we started asking ourselves why we even send them.  Is it really worth being away from them for such a long time? After feeling sorry for myself (and making a really big mojito) things started to come into perspective.  The girls LOVE camp and they are lucky to be able to have this experience.  So Julie, as we head into another summer of our girls being gone, let’s think about all the things they gain from sleepaway camp.

INDEPENDENCE

I can be a bit controlling at times (OK…my girls sometimes call me their ‘smother’) so camp gives them a chance to make some decisions on their own.  They get to choose what activities they do during free time, when to write home (only once last year for my youngest…big sigh), and when to brush their teeth (I’m embarrassed to tell you how many times that actually happened!). Camp gives them the chance to make unexpected choices like when my older daughter chose to go on a long bike ride with a group of girls she didn’t know and ended up having a great time.   

 SOCIAL SKILLS

When you are placed in a cabin with 11 other girls, it is a crash course in social skills.  You learn to be cooperative, respectful, and empathetic.  This is a great chance to learn problem solving since there are bound to be disagreements. 

(more…)

15 Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep in a Hotel

15 Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep in a Hotel

You spend so much time planning the perfect getaway, but it’s not so perfect when you’re wide awake at 3 am.  Talk about frustrating! Those nights can be endless and makes me want to throw something. So, what can you do to ensure you get a good night’s sleep in a hotel? Here are 15 tips:

Before you get to the hotel:

CHOOSE YOUR ROOM WISELY

Not all rooms are created equally so don’t be afraid to make some requests.  You may want to avoid rooms that are on the first floor, or near elevators, ice machines, or housekeeping closets.

PACK A PILLOW

If you know me you know I’ve been on the search for the perfect pillow for year.  (Still haven’t found it…. gggrrrrrr) If you’re picky about your pillow choice, you may want to bring your own.  Thick, hard pillows or thin deflated ones may be your neck’s worse nightmare. 

GET SHADY

Nothing is worse than planning on sleeping in, when suddenly a ray of sunshine pierces your eyes at 6 am! Most rooms have light block shades, but an eye mask takes up almost no room in your bag, so you may want to bring on.  It is better to be safe than sorry.

(more…)

Tips for Nervous Flyers

Confession…I’m a travel blogger that doesn’t love flying.  I can’t sleep on a plane, am never fully relaxed, and squeeze the heck out of the hand of the person next to me during takeoff.  Kids learn from your behavior and I want mine to love flying so I’ve learned to keep it together during flights.  I’ve developed some coping strategies that really help me while flying.  Here are my top tips for nervous flyers:

GET DISTRACTED

Some of my tips for nervous flyers happen before they even get on a plane. Make sure you have plenty of things to do that will keep your mind off your worries.  I love to get lost in a good movie, so I always download some onto my electronics. Don’t count on the plane to provide good movies; it’s always better to bring your own and not use them.  I also load new music onto my phone.   

PLAN ON NO ELECTRONICS

 Ironically, takeoff and landing are the times when I’m most nervous and that’s when you can’t use electronics! I always plan things to do like a new book, a magazine, or a crossword puzzle. Here are some great books. 

(more…)

Wolfe Neck Center (Fall Visit)

Wolfe Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment

Wolfe Neck is a nonprofit farm with 626 oceanfront acres and 4 miles of Casco Bay shoreline that is open to the public every day. A few years back I was given a tour of the farm.  Take a peek at my post about it.

This fall, I decided to bring my bike to the farm and spend a relaxing morning riding along its gorgeous views of the coast, visiting the animals, and breathing in that coastal air!

(more…)

20 Tips for Hiking with Kids During COVID-19

 

20 Tips for Hiking with Kids mytravelingkids.com

It has been a long, exhausting few months all across the country and many of us are struggling with how to adapt to this “new normal.”  There are many activities that are off the list for now, but there are still plenty of activities to do as a family.  Here is an article I wrote last summer… but have added some tips that are appropriate for COVID-19 times.  So grab your hiking boots and head out for a hike! 

Spring is in the air and it’s the perfect time to go on a hike.  To avoid a hike filled with whining, it helps to plan a bit. Check out these 20 Tips for Hiking with Kids:

(more…)

Make Your Hotel Stay into a Wellness Retreat

Some vacations entail running from attraction to attraction, which result in coming home exhausted, sleep deprived, and regretful of all the junk I ate.  However, some vacations are meant for relaxation,  taking the time to recharge, and an indulgence in self-care.  Sure, it would be great to fly to Arizona to spend the night at a wellness resort, but that may not be realistic. With some creativity, you can turn any hotel stay into a wellness retreat.

Here are 10 Ways to Turn Your Hotel Stay into a Wellness Retreat:

USE THE SPA

Nothing relaxes me more than some pampering, so I try to find a hotel that has its own spa.  I like spas that offers unique treatments I haven’t tried before.  I love when they use local ingredients like blueberry massage oil when staying in Maine and salt scrubs when staying near the ocean. Book yourself a soothing treatment or two.

VISIT THE POOL

(more…)

Tips for Relieving Jet Lag

Jet lag can make or break your vacation because it is this foggy cloud that settles over you.  My husband travels to California for work and I have no clue how his body acclimates to the time difference so well.  I started to do some research and realized there are things you could do to adjust your body to jet lag, so I thought I’d share some of the tips I’ve found:

SO, WHAT THE HECK IS JET LAG?

The medical term for jet lag is desynchronosis.  It is a physiological condition that is caused when the body’s circadian rhythms (internal time clock) is warped due to rapid long-distance (east–west or west–east) travel.

WHAT SYMPTOMS CAN JET LAG CAUSE?

Everyone can experience different symptoms of jet lag.  Personally, I feel like I have a cloud of smog surrounding my head.  People complain of having memory problems, a hard time concentrating, irritation, difficulty making decisions, loss of appetite, tired muscles, and bathroom issues. 

So, what can you do to prevent some of these symptoms?

(more…)

10 Things to do when You’re Sick While Traveling

10 Things to do when You’re Sick While Traveling

Life doesn’t always happen the way you want it to and sometimes even when you’re in paradise, you can get sick.  I wish you could just snap your fingers and feel better, but it’s not that easy.  However, there are some things you can do to help your recovery or at least make yourself more comfortable.  Here are 10 things you can do when you’re sick while traveling:

REST:  I know you’ve spent a long time planning this trip and have lots of adventures you want to do, but if you don’t want to be sick for your entire trip, you need to get some rest.  Grab some pillows and blankets and camp out on the couch in your hotel room.  Tell your family to have a fun day without you and spend your day recovering. 

SLEEP:  I’m sure you’re dying to get out and explore the town, but you need to get plenty of sleep. Go to bed early and sleep late.  Lack of sleep will weaken your immune system so this is the perfect time to take naps.  I always pack Nyquil in my suitcase. 

HOT SHOWERS:  A stuffy head, aching sinuses, and a nagging cough may have you feeling miserable, but a hot steamy shower will loosen the congestion and make you breathe a little easier.  You could also run hot water in the bathroom sink, hold your head over it and drape a towel over yourself to get some reliefs.  Be careful not to burn yourself.   

(more…)

Natura Cave Spa, Bermuda

 

Warning…after having a spa treatment at Natura Cave Spa, it will ruin all future spa treatments as this may be the most memorable spa experience you’ll ever have!  Located at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort in Bermuda, the spa takes advantage of the famous caves of Bermuda and allows you to enjoy them as your sanctuary throughout your treatment.  It is like being in heaven!  Let me walk you through my morning!

We saw the entrance of the spa and it immediately peaked our interest. It is an inconspicuous locked door that is accessible from the outside of the resort. Beside the door, in beautifully manicured gardens, is a bench where you wait until your appointment time.

You can’t help but wonder what will be behind that door. You would figure it would be a series of dry walled rooms with typical massage tables and facilities, but you will NEVER imagine what is waiting for you behind that door!

(more…)