This summer, I spent several months in the Czech Republic. The intention was to spend some time in a different culture and travel from time to time in a new part of Europe. Several times throughout my two months in the country, I found myself exploring Czech Paradise. I always had my camera and phone ready. So I thought I would share a little bit about that part of the Czech Republic.
The beaches of Almeria
Last weekend, I spent a day exploring the beaches of Almeria here in the Andalucia region of Spain. My English teaching program is an adventure sometimes. Last year was the first year both myself and Amy taught English in Spain. We both got placed in tiny pubelos. However I got lucky as two teachers from my school commuted from Granada and they gave me the option to live in Granada. I of course took it and had a fabulous year living in Granada. Like what? I got to live in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. It was like a dream all year last year.
Amy, however, got placed to work in a pueblo of Almeria called Albox. She did not have the option to commute from a larger city like I did, so she lived in the town. However from all her stories, it sounded like she had a good year. The teachers from her school were always going out and getting together, so she made some good Spanish friends that way. And when you’re in a pueblo, you’re really forced to speak Spanish as less people speak English.
Women around the world: Andrea the digital nomad
The thing I love about Andrea is how honest she is. All her photos tell a real story and many are not perfect (since no one is perfect). I’ve definitely learned a lot from following her and watching her stories. And she has influenced me to try to be more “real” when I post to Instagram. So thank you for that Andrea! Hence I figured she would be a very interesting woman to add to this little Wednesday series! Enjoy!
Women around the World: Danielle from Atlanta
This week, we are featuring Danielle from Sparkling Southerner. She is a fashion blogger living in Atlanta. She is someone who I have been following on Instagram for a few years now, so naturally I reached out to her for this Q&A series. She always seems to find the most colorful walls to take photos in front of. In fact when I think of her blog, I think of lots of colors.
Her style is southern with a twist. Enjoy the Q&A!
Fall in Granada
Every single year, the coming of fall has signified a change. As a child, it meant that I was one grade older. New classmates, a new teacher, new school supplies and new clothing. In university, it meant the same thing in addition to a new place to live. Perhaps new roommates and a new class schedule. Getting settled into my dorm or apartment was always an exciting process.
For many of us, these changes stopped when we entered the working world. After all, most careers do not necessarily follow this same schedule of a renewed fall. I imagine that for most, the fall just feels the same. You might notice the leaves falling and the fact that Starbucks now serves a Pumpkin Spice latte. However my life from age 22-30 has looked a tad different than someone who perhaps found a 9-5 job and worked it for the next 5-10 years. It has always seemed that the fall continues to mean change. It was during August/September that I had to return home from Nicaragua to be with my mother in the hospital (you can read that post here). It was also around this time last year that I moved from the United States to Spain.
5 perfect fall dresses
Fall is just around the corner and I cannot wait. I love when the weather gets a tad more chilly and I can begin to bust out some warmer clothing. As someone who wears dresses all year round, I love fall dresses. Gamiss, an international online retailer I just discovered, has lots of perfect fall dresses. These are the dresses that are on my wish list for the fall.
1. The plaid dress
According to Elle.com, plaid is super in this year. However it’s not the grungy plaid that we typically think of. Instead this is the bright plaid that has been inspired by the 1970’s. Here are just a few plaid dresses that I love.
Women around the World: Lindsey in Argentina
Welcome to another Women around the World Wednesday. This week, we feature another lady living the expat life. I suppose since I myself am an expat, I find the stories of other expats to be very interesting. Not everyone just decides to move to a different country for a period of time. So I’m always fascinated to find others who have done similar things to me.
Lindsey is the blogger behind Have Clothes Will Travel. She’s an American who lives in Rosario, Argentina. While I have never been to Argentina, I have always been fascinated with the culture. I’m not going to lie … the thought of looking into English teaching jobs down there at some point has crossed my mind. After all, I already speak fluent Spanish having lived in Spain and worked a bilingual job in the US. So I was curious as to what the expat live down there is like.
3 Bohemian Czech towns in two days
There are so many great Czech Bohemian towns to explore. There is way more to see in the Czech Republic than Prague. It can be hard to just pick a few. A little over a month ago, I spent some time exploring Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov and Hluboká.
This particular trip was awesome because I met up blogger friend Kristin from Countdown to Friday. I feel like within this blogging world, we meet a lot of cool people via the Internet. There’s this culture of supporting one another. I absolutely love it! I had met Kristin from the fashion blogger community maybe about six months ago. We both collaborated with blogger Ada from Elegance and Mommyhood on a Winter Wedding collaboration last January. So I met Kristin this way and from time to time, we chat about blog stuff. I also featured her twice: once in my expat series and once on Women around the World.
Women around the World: Annika in Toronto
Welcome again to our weekly series Women around the World. This is the second Canadian lady we are featuring in the series (the first being Maria from Short Girl Long Jacket). This time, however, we are on the opposite side of Canada. We are over on the Eastern side in the bustling city of Toronto.
Everyone, meet Annika. I got connected with Annika through a friend of mine who also lives in Toronto. She knew that we were both bloggers and figured that we should know each other. So via the internet, we were introduced. I absolutely loved her style and her Instagram feed in general, so I figured she would be perfect for this series.
Why I wanted to start a travel blog
As we settle into the middle of September, I find myself reflecting on where I was two years ago at this time. September has always been a season of change for me. However the changes that that particular summer had brought were vastly different than anything I had experienced before. My mother had suffered a brain aneurysm at the beginning of August and was in the hospital. I had flown home from Nicaragua, where I was supposed to be living for that next year, to be with her. My days were spent visiting her and processing what was going on.
I needed something in this time in my life. I needed something to focus my energies. I have always found a lot of healing in creative endeavors, so I decided to start a travel blog. Except life in that moment did not really allow for travel, so I decided to start my blog with a bit of a different focus.