Fancy But Frugal

Hey there, it’s been a while since we last spoke. 👋 There was covid, I had a baby, and just general busy-ness as a working mom since then. B ut have no fear! We have kept up our Fancy but Frugal travels - we've explored several new countries since then, and our 3 year old has already been to 6 countries!! 🛪 This time, I thought I’d dust off the old blog and try something new: writing about traveling with a toddler! I was inspired by our last trip when we went to Aruba over Thanksgiving. It was spontaneity at its finest, as we booked 3 days in advance - but it was so affordable and family-friendly that I had to tell you all about it!  It all started when I found cheap ($330!) last minute flights to Aruba on JetBlue ! Things only went up from there, as I stumbled upon the Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort . It is part of the Marriott Bonvoy group and has both a family-friendly side as well as an adults-only side. Unsurprisingly, we stayed at the family side called the Oce...

I have two short and sweet updates for y'all. Read on to see what I was up to for my #monthlydoseof challenges for September and October! September  My monthly challenge for September was to keep a gratitude journal (a #monthlydoseof gratitude). Gratitude is a powerful thing, and with all the negativity and craziness that comes with living in NYC, I (read: we all) could benefit from being more thankful.  This challenge was very simple: once a day I wrote in my journal (aka the Notes app on my iPhone) a few things I felt grateful for. The themes were largely around my husband, safety when traveling 🛪, my cat 😻, my job, and friends.  Things were mostly smooth sailing, except for one weird thing. For one week, from September 17-24, I completely forgot to do my gratitude journal. I don't have a reason or excuse - it's not like I was stressed or traveling or extra busy. I just straight up forgot, which perfectly shows how easy it is to slip into a mindset o...

~ Aloha ~ Most of you know already that Jon and I go on an "annual honeymoon". It’s usual somewhere warm and romantic, and it’s more of a splurge than our normal trips. This year was a tough choice between Portugal and Hawaii, but on a whim, we decided to go to Hawaii – and boy, was it awesome! We’d both been to Hawaii before (him to Oahu and me to Maui), so we picked Maui based on flight prices. We booked the resort through Amex (we have a Platinum card and it has the best benefits – seriously check it out here !) and got a great deal on the Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea resort ( P.S. it's a Hilton partner, so you get all the Hilton Honors perks - aka free upgrade, free breakfast, resort credit, etc. ). I heard that this resort was “ Disney World for Adults ”, and I’d agree. This was the best resort I’ve ever stayed it – and that says a lot!! I could easily go on and on about this vacation, but I’ll spare you and give you the cliff notes version. I’ve put ...

Hola amigos! Here is a quick recap of my #monthlydoseof challenges for   July and   August!   ___________________________________________________ July was a very “adult” challenge month. I’m still trying to pretend like my body is in my 20s... eating and drinking whatever I want, not worrying about wrinkles, and only exercising when I feel like it and not because I need to. Sadly, I'm not in my twenties anymore 😭 and this new decade has hit me like a ton of bricks. In trying to be a real adult, I started thinking about my skin care routine... which is all but non-existent. I wash my face in the shower sometimes, and I rarely take off my makeup before going to bed. (Gross, I know.) I recently saw a friend's face looking bright and fresh and told my husband (who is in the beauty industry): “I want skin like that... I want it to look wet all the time”. My hubs promptly stated that it’s called “dewy”, not wet. 🤣 Well, whatever it’s called, that’s what I wan...

Hi guys! 👋 Long time no talk. I've been off of social media (we'll get to that later), so I wanted to catch you up on what I've been up to the past 2 months for my #monthlydoseof challenges! I'll keep it short and sweet, promise!  MAY My challenge for the month of May was to get a #monthlydoseof meditation . Speaking of meditation, does this conversation sound familiar  to you: Them: "Hey, do you meditate?" You: "Ugh, I've tried, but I'm SOOOO bad at it"  This used to be me to a T. I love the idea of meditating, but I always end up daydreaming, praying, or falling asleep. I knew I wanted to give it a sincere shot this month, so I enlisted a little help with the Oak App (link here ). It has sessions for meditation, breathing, and sleeping, and yo u can personalize the session by choosing which voice is used, the type of background noise and the length of the session.  The app looks like this:  During May, I did 5-minut...

Ciao, bella! Just a quick blog to summarize a cheap, easy, and fun trip Italy! There are a few things you need to get started: quick fingers, $400, and a spontaneous spirit! ✈💼 Where did we go? We visited Milan and Lake Como, Italy over 4 days. How did we get there? Call it luck, website error, or whatever you want. While searching for a Memorial Day trip on a third-party website (initially looking at the Caribbean or Puerto Rico), I stumbled upon a $400 direct, round-trip flight to Milan, Italy with perfect flight times. Pretty sure that it was a mistake, I yell across the room to Jon “I don’t know if this is legit, but let’s try it!”.  Boom . Booked. Fast forward to a couple hours later the airline when the airline tries to cancel our ticket, because it was indeed a mistake. In comes my husband’s charm. “But sir, we received a confirmation and have already booked accommodation, tours, everything. I assume you will be refunding us the full cost of this trip?”...

This month’s challenge was slightly different than the others. Drum roll please…. I had a #monthlydose of No Coffee! I didn't do “no caffeine” - because I'm not a complete psycho. I wanted to specifically cut down on coffee because I feel like it's a mental addiction ( maybe physical too?? ).  Also, since joining the work force, I’ve needed my morning coffee to lure me out of bed. No coffee, no wakey . And there have been times where I've had a 2-3 cups a day to get through busy days. It’s been a crutch I lean on for quick energy, but I know that there are other, healthier ways to get that fix. (Let me know all of your ideas - I’ve heard lemon water!?). 🍋  I also was looking back at college pictures (I didn't drink coffee until after I graduated college), and my teeth were so white . Don't get me wrong, I still brush my teeth the normal amount that you’re supposed to, but it has stained them and messed with my pH level (per my dentist). Further, most...