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Touring Tulips: Holland Michigan Festival
My Bestie Krystle always finds the best new places to check out. She put me on to this Festival in Holland, Michigan which was no exception. It was about a three hour drive from Chicagoland area but it was worth it and we put in an excellent stop off to break it up as well. This small Michigan town hosts the festival every year to celebrate their history of Dutch heritage towards the beginning of May. They plant rows and rows of Tulips which make up the crowning glory of the festival and we were excited to check them out and hopefully take some beautiful photographs. read more
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Michigan’s Upper Peninsula RV Trip
For my wonderful friend Krystle’s 30th Birthday (and surprise proposal!) we planned an epic springtime road trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We found sitters for the pups and rented an RV and a trailer to pull their Jeep for the Memorial Day long weekend. The natural beauty was beyond what we even imagined and our first RV trip was both a fun adventure and definite success. We made the seven hour trip up from Chicago with an epic road trip playlist and stayed our first night pulled over at a surprisingly beautiful truck stop. The next morning we made our way to Jack Pine Lodge and Campground and set up…
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Top Five Travel Craft Projects
Travel and crafting are my two favorite hobbies. Whenever I can find ways to combine these two loves together, I jump at the chance. Plus, creating beautiful projects are a great way to commemorate and reminisce on great memories for years to come. To this end, I have compiled my top five travel craft projects because you too can create beautiful and fun projects from your travels. Travel Map This project is pretty inexpensive, and evolves throughout the years as you travel. All you need is to purchase a U.S. or world map such as this one that has both and then you can start printing our your photos. For…
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Visiting Liverpool’s Peaky Blinders Bar
If you are not already Peaky Blinders obsessed like we are I highly recommend you get on Netflix now to check it out , then pop back and read this post and you will be just as pumped as we were for a Peaky Blinders experience. The bar is located in the former buildings of the Cain’s Brewery, a revamped section of Liverpool now called Brewery Village. The area is thoroughly British and given that much of the series is filmed in Liverpool, the Peaky Blinders Bar seems right at home there. We had known about this place since the planning of it and had it penciled in for a…
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Top Chicago Attractions: Worth it or Not?
There are a lot of Chicago attractions but they are not all created equal. Some of them are worth the hype and some truly are not. We have drafted our list of the top Chicago attractions and whether they’re worth a visit or whether they’re not. And when they are not, we have suggested a great Chicago alternative that is more worth your time and money. Chicago has so much to offer you may never experience it all; better to spend your time visiting only the best of it. Willis Tower: Not Worth It We often joke with family that we are willing to drop them off at the Willis…
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Recreating British Meals in America
Being a British expat in America, so far from home, can be difficult sometimes. I try my best to honor the sacrifices Ryan has made moving here and maintain connections to his homeland as best we can. One of the best ways we do this is through food. And as they say, a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This post is not recipe listings per say but I have linked to a few favorites we follow from others. I am by no means a chef , so I generally don’t presume to tell other people how to cook although I do tend to pull out some…
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Luxury Portuguese Countryside Villa Resort
We visited Sao Lourenco do Barrocal as guests of a wedding for one of Ryan’s childhood best friends. They had visited there previously and loved it so much that they selected it for their big event. These friends are known for their love of the luxurious things in life so for them to have selected Sao Lourenco as their wedding location we knew then that the place must be pretty special. This stunning location in the countryside of Portugal is three hours from Lisbon and was the perfect setting for their nuptuals and for all the guests to enjoy. read more
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Chicago Prop House Tour
Have you ever wondered about how movies get the props they need for their films? Those items that make a room look authentic, that actors interact with and bring action scenes to life are all generally provided by companies like Zap’s Props. Their website says they’re the Midwest’s largest, renting out items for film, television, stage productions, commercials, photography, events, and more. I discovered them through Atlas Obscura’s Chicago Facebook group. They are a great resource for all kinds of history, events, tours and lesser known Chicago sites and attractions. The tour of Zap’s Prop house is offered exclusively through them and I don’t think I would have found it…
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Being an Everton Fan in America
There are a lot of things I miss about being home, but as the old saying goes ‘you can take the lad out of Liverpool, but you can never take Liverpool out the lad’. My home city is with me every day and every where I go, it is a place that I am proud to have grown up in and wouldn’t have had it any other way. Walking towards ole’ Goodison Park with my brother are times that will live forever in my heart and memories. When I moved to America in 2012 I knew I was leaving behind them Saturday afternoons, so I had to find ways to…
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Kids Day Out in Rockford
Over the Holiday Break my family and I were able to all get together, which is always an impressive feat given that there are six siblings total in addition to partners , kids and my parents. It can be a lot to coordinate. I am so grateful we continue to find ways to make it happen so we can spend quality time together. During the break, my parents planned a day out for the kids in nearby Rockford, IL which was the perfect outing for the group. We visited both the Burpee Museum of Natural History and right next door, the Discovery Center Museum with a break for lunch in…