Every time I go to Europe for a week with just one carry on (and a purse as my personal item) I get asked for a detailed rundown of how that's possible. (There have been two times. That made it sound like I go every month.) But I've definitely worked out a packing method that allows me to travel lightly and have lots of outfit options that I love wearing.

Continue reading How I Packed Light For My Trip to Italy at Young House Love.

We'd never really thought of Dallas as a "vacation" destination, but there's so much to do there that we barely scratched the surface on our recent trip! We ate lots of good food, explored fun neighborhoods, and found more kid-friendly activities than we had time for. So here's a quick recap of some of our favorite Dallas destinations. Plus some things we want to come back and see next time!

Continue reading 5 Things We Loved On Our Family Vacation to Dallas, Texas at Young House Love.

Serenbe is a small "New Urban" community about 45 minutes south of Atlanta in a rural town called Chattahoochee Hills. It's sort of a mix of an upscale-feeling suburban development and an eco-conscious resort in the countryside. We recently took a 3-night trip with our kids and had a great time exploring, eating, and spending time in nature!

Continue reading A Weekend In Serenbe, Georgia at Young House Love.

Never heard of Ocean Springs, Mississippi? Neither had we! But it caught our eye on round-ups like Southern Living's 15 Most Adorable Small Towns and USA Today's 10 Best Coastal Small Towns where it ranked #1. So a few months ago our family decided to check it out for ourselves. It did NOT disappoint! We actually considered detouring through Ocean Springs on our weekend trip to New Orleans two years ago. But now we're glad we didn't shortchange it with a quick pitstop and gave it a full trip of its own.

Continue reading A Weekend Getaway To Ocean Springs at Young House Love.

My best friend and I live in different parts of the country (we’ve been best friends for 24 years, and have only spent about 1/3 of them in the same city), so we love taking trips together. Let me tell you, the joy of packing light (only for yourself! not the whole fam!) and having a few nights of sleepovers in a fun new place and exploring so freely (just us eating dessert for breakfast if we want to!)… it’s euphoric.

And our latest trip that we enjoyed was a completely new spot for me! She grew up going to Sedona with her family, but I had never been! She didn’t have to work hard to sell me on it though – the gorgeous views, the warm temperatures, magical mystical vortexes, shops full of crystals, and this pool? Sold!

Where We Stayed In Sedona

We splurged to stay at Enchantment Resort, which is a resort that my best friend has always wanted to experience.

Continue reading A Girls Weekend In Sedona, Arizona at Young House Love.

I’ll be the first to admit that South Dakota wasn’t high on my vacation bucket list. But I ended up there this summer on a dad-and-daughter trip I took with some family members: and WOW, we loved it. It was a surprising and wonderful departure from our usual family trips, so I wanted to share some highlights in case anyone else is interested in breaking out of the more typical beach or theme park vacation routine.

Growing up on the East Coast and now living in Florida, I haven’t spent much time in the upper Midwest. So these sights may be old hat for some of you. But just like our trip to the California desert earlier this year, this was a chance for us to soak up some new-to-us geography.

Why We Vacationed In South Dakota

South Dakota is home to lots of epic vistas, charming towns, and outdoor adventures.

Continue reading A Summer Trip To South Dakota at Young House Love.

Since our travel guides to Charleston with kids and Palm Springs with kids have elicited requests for more travel ideas with kids, we’re back with an overdue recap of our 3-night trip to New Orleans. We’d never been to The Big Easy before and were impressed by how family-friendly the city is. It’s not all booze, beads, and Bourbon Street! So here’s a look at where we stayed, what we did, and what we’re excited to do next time we go back – because we will definitely go back!

The four of us (well, five if you count our chihuahua!) went to NOLA for 3 nights in November of 2022. At the time, our kids were 8 and 12 years old. So unfortunately we can’t vouch for our suggestions being a good fit for toddlers or younger children. Although I’m sure ours would’ve loved the Louisiana Children’s Museum and Storyland playground back in the day!

Continue reading A Weekend In New Orleans With Kids at Young House Love.

Palm Springs, California may not scream “kid-friendly destination” but we recently had THE BEST vacation there with our family (our kids are 9 and 13). So here’s a quick rundown of our favorite must-see attractions in Palm Springs as well as info about where we stayed, what we ate, and what we’re excited to check out next time. Because we definitely will be back!

Did I mention we also brought our nine-pound chihuahua with us? So most of our suggestions are dog-friendly too!

Why Vacation With Kids In Palm Springs?

We chose Palm Springs for a lot of reasons. First, our East Coast-born kids had never been to California! Of course, there are lots of options for California vacations. But we wanted to avoid the hustle of a bigger city like Los Angeles or San Francisco, and we liked the idea of introducing them to the unfamiliar desert geography.

Continue reading A Weekend In Palm Springs With Kids at Young House Love.