There's No Place Like Oz

Although I had my modeling debut in Australia, I’m no fashionista in everyday life. BUT, I’ve loved watching Project Runway, especially when the designers show their collections at New York Fashion Week. Maybe one day when Gav and I visit our family and friends in London, we’ll go during London Fashion Week! Today’s guest post […]

Beautiful Bali with its colourful culture and rich history is a delight for all of the senses. Alive with food, arts, spirituality, and a mixture of Islamic, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist religions, it’s a wonderful place to explore and experience an entirely unique culture. And, luckily enough for Kiwis, it basically sits on New Zealand’s […]

While Gav and I were planning our Hawaiian honeymoon, we knew snorkeling was a must-do activity. And I did go snorkeling! Gav’s a natural in the water but hadn’t been snorkeling in years. I’m not the strongest swimmer, but I loved my first (and at the time only) snorkeling experience at the Great Barrier Reef […]

When I was in kindergarten, my favorite color was orange. Don’t ask me why, but when I surveyed any available box of crayons, the orange one always seemed to call my name. While others picked blue or red as their favorite, I was the one kid who claimed orange. I don’t remember how long the […]

Cities are known for their excitement, the hustle and bustle — their “buzz.” The noise and crowds that characterize cities is natural — cities are where we congregate, after all. Urban areas have entertainment, diversity and unique architectural beauty. However, despite these amenities, cities can be exhausting as well. Navigating traffic, streets and crowds can […]

I’ve lived in Charlottesville, Virginia since 1996, with the exception of the two years I was in graduate school and the one year I spent in Australia. I love Charlottesville. The city has been consistently recognized as a delicious, smart, beautiful, and all-around great place to live. Charlottesville is also home to the University of […]

We owe Star Wars a big thank you for helping us meet. Years before Gav and I ever met, I met his best friend Kev online because we both had an interest in Star Wars. While I still enjoy Star Wars, I REALLY loved Star Wars at the time. I’d seen the movies, read many […]

A trend in European travel this year is an increase in the number of hotels classified as “smart luxury.” These nicknames indicate the hotels likely cost less than high-end designer hotels which were more popular in past decades. The last ten years have seen a surge in smart luxury hotels throughout Europe — hotels designed […]

Before we started planning our Hawaiian honeymoon, I already knew the #1 thing I wanted to experience — a helicopter tour over the Big Island. When I was five, my parents went to Hawaii on a company trip, and they returned raving about their helicopter flight over Kilauea. The volcano has been continuously erupting since […]

I wanted an underwater adventure during our 2-week Hawaiian honeymoon. We looked into snorkeling with dolphins or manta rays, scuba diving, and submarine tours, and understandably, we wanted to do it all! Since I had suggested so many of our activities for Maui, I asked Gav to select the water excursion we would enjoy on […]