Myanmar | A Few Days’ Break in Inle Lake

Inle Lake is one of the top tourist destinations in Myanmar, but it still feels untouched and village-y, if we decide I can use that word I just made up. Many make their way into Inle Lake by trekking from the town of Kalaw, staying overnight in a local family’s home and waking up to them preparing the food for the day, in the most traditional way. I made my way in a shared eight-hour taxi (think: van) next to a woman who kept leaning her knee on me and leaving voice messages for her friends and then listening to their messages on speakerphone for all to hear. The next time I go to Myanmar, I’ll try to include some hiking in there, and I’d love to stay with a local family.

NYC | A Lobster Tale

New Yorkers spend half their lives waiting for the summer. In the winters, we bundle up so tightly and uncomfortably that only our eyes are showing, just to strip down again on the hot subway, and bundle ourselves back up to complete our commutes, walking against winds that won’t even let us move forward. The heat in the buildings we live in is uncontrollable, loud, and so high we have to sleep with the windows open when it’s snowing. Each time it snows, we are stuck sludging through seven-inch puddles for the next two weeks. Then, when it’s finally nice out, it feels like a second – it flies right on by. Too much on my summer to-do lists goes undone each year. But I’m not letting that happen this time around.

Newport, RI | Blinded by the Lighthouses

Recently, I spent a beautiful weekend in Newport, Rhode Island for one of my dear friend’s bachelorette parties. If you haven’t been or if you wish to revisit, we should go together. It’s an adorable little boating town and I got a good taste of it, but I want more. One of my favorite items on the weekend’s agenda was a Lighthouses and Mimosas Tour with Classic Cruises of Newport.

NYC | A Dreamboat on Pier 25

On Friday, I had drinks on a sailboat with two of my favorite work biddies. One lives in DC and was just in town for the day so we had to pick somewhere special. Luckily, Grand Banks Oyster Bar has been docked on Pier 25 for a few weeks and has been all the rage. Drinking on the water is one of the best things about summering in NYC.

Kauai, HI | A Dolphin-itely Fun Experience

The desire to be “one with the dolphins” runs in my family – my dad races out to the ocean with his kayak whenever we see them from the shore and comes back with stories as if they were best buds. I was super excited that on our morning boat tour in Kauai, Hawaii with Na Pali Experience, it was almost guaranteed that we’d see dolphins.

Thailand | Two Perfect Days in Phuket – Day 2

As incredible as our first tour with Phuket Sail Tours was, I think the next day was even better. This is probably because it involved two of my new favorite things, 1) animal experiences, and 2) doing things I didn’t think I could do.

Thailand | Two Perfect Days in Phuket – Day 1

One of the main reasons to go to Thailand (aside from elephants and temples) is of course the beautiful beaches of the south. Katie and I are total beach babes so we wanted to take time to relax on the beaches of Thailand. We went to Karón in Phuket and spent two days basically just relaxing and reading and enjoying the sunsets. But we decided to be more active (or active in general), the next two days. We took two speedboat tours with Phuket Sails Tours in order to easily tour some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The Netherlands | Amsterdam Adventures

Hi friends! I have returned from my autumn adventure in Europe. I was visiting my friend Davesh who moved to Amsterdam in August (as you may remember). It was such a good trip! The city of Amsterdam is AWESOME. If you can imagine this, I would actually consider living there if NYC ever decided that it was finished with me. And if I lived there, I would absolutely want to live on a houseboat.

NYC | Treat Every Week like it’s Shark Week

I sadly somehow haven’t seen my old roommate Nicole since we moved out of our old place in Hell’s Kitchen. I would have invited her to do her 28 Things suggestion with me, but I knew she wasn’t interested. She is not into having water from the Hudson River hit her in the face, but didn’t seem to mind suggesting it to me.

NYC | Yankee Doodle Dandy

I feel a little badly for Staten Island. It doesn’t exactly have the best reputation, recently perpetuated further by the world of reality television. As someone who grew up in NJ, I understand how annoying it is to have people think that all of NJ is big hair, muscles, and garbage, (although my muscles these days are looking good) and I would like to redeem Staten Island of all of the above a little bit. One of the most fun summer nights I’ve had this year was indeed in this borough off of the island of Manhattan.

NYC | Just around the Riverbend

My parents came to visit this weekend and I was so excited to spend my Saturday with them. I won’t be able to make it home for the rest of the month because of my charity event and two weddings and I was at my college reunion last weekend. It was so nice of them to drive up so that I didn’t have to travel two weekends in a row because I get overwhelmed with things like that easily. I’m working on it. So we celebrated Father’s Day a weekend early and did the item my dad suggested for my 28 Things list yesterday.

NYC | A Bridge Grows in Brooklyn

One of the most essential “to-dos” in NYC is to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Whenever someone asks me what they should do with friends or family from out-of-town, I always suggest this as an activity. One of the first times Aubrey came to visit me (before she was a New Yorker herself), we walked across the bridge on a beautiful day in March.

NYC | Why Winter Needs to End, Pt. 1

Okay, so I gave winter a chance. I even walked outside and took pictures the first time it snowed and I thought it was beautiful. But winter has taken way too much advantage of me lately. It has snowed every week. This is not acceptable and I need March to get here ASAP.

NYC | Comin’ to America

One of the top things on my NYC To-Do list (not to be confused with my Holiday To-Do List in NYC for 2010, my 26 things to do before I turn 26 list, or my rappers I’d like to face in a freestyle battle list) was to do an Ellis Island / Statue of Liberty trip which I finally got to do on this absolutely gorgeous Sunday! I know most people probably did this on school trips when they were in elementary school, but I grew up just two hours too far from the city for that. My sister tells me that I actually have been to Lady Lib but I just don’t believe her as I have no recollection of this NYC trip.

NYC | Saturdays in the Park

Autumn and I usually don’t get along too well. Not because Autumn has ever done anything to me, but simply because Autumn signals the end of Summer. Born & bred on the beach in South Jersey, Summer and I have always gotten along extraordinarily well. Autumn signals less sunlight, my tan going away, and the inability to wear flip flops on the daily.