I was lucky enough to have Tampa be one of the places my dad was stationed and this is where I went to university so it is definitely a sentimental place I always love to visit! How We Got There We flew our typical airline, Southwest Airlines, because as I've mentioned before Bjorn uses this airline for all his business trips (which are often) so we always fly with them stateside for all our travel. We never pay for our tickets! Plus Southwest is super generous with those free drink coupons so if you are looking for an airline to stay loyal to for points, I would definitely recommend Southwest! (And those two free bags y'all) Where We Stayed I'm lucky enough to have family living in Tampa that we stay with when we visit, but the one place I've always wanted to stay at is the Don Cesar in St. Pete, which is a beautiful pink castle on the beach! This hotel dates back a century when it was a hospital during the war but is now an updated, high end hotel with multiple restaurants, shops, and an amazing view of the beach! What We Did - Going out on South Howard This has been something I've loved to do since I lived here! South Howard (SoHo) has amazing restaurants and fun bars and clubs all within a few blocks of downtown Tampa. EVERY time we are back we always hit up Kotos, a Japanese hibachi restaurant and then World of Beer across the street where they keep in stock all the good German stuff. Whatever you like or are into, you can find it on SoHo! - Hockey (and every other sport!) I don't think it is much of a secret that I am a huge hockey fan (go Bolts!) and we were lucky enough to be visiting at the time when the Tampa Bay Lightning were having their first game of the season in Tampa! Hockey is so fast and exciting, but if it isn't for you Tampa also has a football, baseball, and soccer team so there is always someone to cheer for! - Bayshore Blvd Bayshore Blvd is a street/sidewalk that runs along the water and downtown Tampa. I used to live off Bayshore and I always loved walking it during the sunset. You can always find people working out or rollerblading and it is just always super busy. Sometimes you can hear people refer to it as "Babeshore", so it's not bad for people watching either. ;) - Ybor City Ybor City is a part of Tampa known for it's Cuban influence and cigar manufacturing. It's definitely seen a big change even since I moved away, being more "hipster" and having more of a nightlife. We enjoyed walking down the main street and watching people in the windows of cigar shops making cigars right in front of us! Afterwards we stopped for a drink at Bernini! - Top Golf The first and only place where I've tried Top Golf is Tampa! It's a fun thing to do with friends where everyone can just play and have snacks and drinks. I've never played golf before trying this but Top Golf is really just a chill, no pressure thing to do! - Datz Sadly we didn't make it to Datz this trip, but Datz is an AMAZING restaurant in downtown Tampa that is known for curated menus and great craft beers. They also recently opened Datz Dough which is supposed to be a great bakery we will have to try next time! - Beach day at Don Cesar Even though I have never stayed at the Don Cesar overnight, we come here every time to enjoy the beach! We usually stop first the their restaurant/outdoor patio for a drink or two before heading right out the back of the patio onto the beach. They also offer nice lounges and chairs to rent for a more luxurious beach day. - International Plaza This is not just any mall. When I lived in Tampa I was here at least once a week! It's a higher end, luxury mall with pretty much any store you could imagine + a nice outdoor plaza area with a number of restaurants. One of my favorite places in Tampa to spend a couple hours! - Things we didn't have time for but are also a blast: Busch Gardens, Florida Aquarium, Sarasota Ringling Museum, touring University of Tampa (beautiful old university), Gasparilla (famous Mardi Gras-esque parade during February!) The Good - Cheap Gas, housing, food...almost everything is cheaper in Florida! (compared to Cali that is...) - Warm the entire year There is truthfully only a couple of days out of the year that go under 70. - Young city With multiple universities, this a very young city with so much to do (and so many places to party!) - Variety of activities Because Florida is such a popular tourist destination, there is really so much to do for anybody! The Bad - Humidity
In all honesty, Florida is SO much less enjoyable May-August. Go another time when the humidity and heat die down. - Mosquitos Hubby can speak more to this, as he is the human mosquito magnet, but expect to wear bug spray all day e'ry day. - Typical Florida Crazy No hate to Florida, but doesn't it seem like every hard to believe news story comes out Florida? Expect to see some loco.
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Stay Consistent To Earn PointsMy husband travels A LOT for work. It sucks, but the one great thing that comes out of it is that he consistently flies, drives, and stays with the same companies so he racks up tons of points that we can use for our personal travel! For flying he uses Southwest, which I love because they allow 2 free bags and still give snacks (no shame). Last year he even got so many points that I had a companion pass and could fly anywhere with him the whole year for free! We used this a TON. Unfortunately he did not qualify for that again this year, but for our trip to the East Coast coming up in October we got over $1200 worth of plane tickets for free with his points! Utilize Sites That Surprise YouHotwire is the most popular site that offers "hot deals", but I've seen other travel sites start to offer this. Essentially, hotels can predict when their slow times will be and offer through third party travel sites discounts on their hotel but do not disclose what the hotel is until you have paid. This is in case someone wants to book this hotel intentionally and still pays the full rate. The down fall is that the stay in nonrefundable, but if you are certain you will be traveling at this time it is not a big deal! They still give you an idea of where the hotel is and how many stars it is rated, and will even tell you what hotel the last person who booked this deal got. And 100% of the times for me we have gotten that hotel! We got an amazing hotel in South Beach, Miami for half the price with this! Plan Ahead And Use GrouponLooooove me some Groupon. Whether it is for activities, spa services, getaways, or a dinner for two, you can always save some money if you look ahead. 99.9% of Groupons require a reservation and/or certain dates that it can be used, so make sure to read the fine print and look ahead for excursions you want to do. Currently looking up jet ski and boats rentals for our upcoming Florida trip! Overbooked = Your FriendTrue story: A couple of years ago, Bjorn and I were flying back from Europe and had a layover in New Jersey. We were flying United (I know I mentioned earlier we stick to Southwest, but they don't fly to Germany!) and our flight from New Jersey to LA was cancelled. They rebooked us for a flight the next morning, but low and behold the flight was overbooked. We already had to take off an extra day of work because of the initial cancellation, so when the United worker went over the intercom and offered $500 in United credit to take a later flight we decided to go for it. Not only did we get a combined $1000 in United money + food vouchers while we waited, but they also bumped us up to first class for our next flight! It was 4 hours of luxury and I didn't want to get off the plane! Not only was the flight back amazing, but we used our United credit towards another first class flight in the future. If you are not under a time crunch I recommend taking a desperate airline worker up on their offer. Sometimes You Need To Pay UpSometimes when traveling, it pays to cough up more money. Example #1: read the fine print when renting a rental car. Most rental car companies don't allow additional drivers unless you pay for them (Budget does allow married couples though!) so if you are wanting to share the driving duties make sure to pay the extra money. If something happens while the other driver is behind the wheel you will have to pay all the damages! Also when it comes to rental cares, some will charge a "loss of use" if something happens to the car and it needs repairs. I.E. you will be paying the day rate for the car while it is being repaired! The auto insurance we use for our personal cars also covers rental cars, but we recently found out it does not cover "loss of use" so you may want to pay for the additional coverage offered by the rental car company if they charge a "loss of use" fee.
Example #2: if for any reason you think your trip may for the slightest reason not happen, you may want to pay for the travel insurance. Most airline fares, especially international that are not purchased through the airline directly, are nonrefundable or you will not get back a certain percentage. We have paid as little as $20 to refund our $1000+ flight in the case something happens. Hello there! We recently made a trip to the Pacific Northwest and I was totally set for the rainy temps with a few great fancy finds! St. John Long Trench Coat [secondhand, $63] H&M White Blouse [new, $10] Gap Ankle Skinny Pants [new, $20] Hunter Chelsea Quilted Boots [new, $75] Gucci Clubmaster Sunnies [new, $140] Primark Backpack [new, $9] The St. John trench is a piece I found through Poshmark. St. John is a high end brand with outerwear typically running in the $800- $1500 range. See for yourself HERE! This piece is vintage and needed a little cleaning, but was priced at $100. I had this item in my "liked" list and had made a few offers to the seller which had been declined. Over the course of a month the piece was not selling (its out of season) and eventually the seller lowered the price close to where I had been offering and I scooped it up! It is such great quality with a wool lining on the inside, so it super warm. It was longer than I expected but overall this is a great closet staple that really pulls an outfit together! I have been so in love with the Hunter Chelsea quilted boots for a long time. They are classic and easier to wear than the tradition Hunter tall boot. These shoes don't typically go on sale because they are pretty timeless. and are priced at $150 However you can find designers selling unique colors and patterns of their items through eBay, which is exactly how I found these! Hunter was selling this color of the Chelsea directly through eBay, maybe because this color was a seasonal color and was not as popular as anticipated. Either way, I scooped up this pair at half price and with free shipping! The only sad part about this story is that I had actually ordered these for our trip to Europe and they were delivered the day after we left. *tears down cheeks emoji*
1. Moisturizing Hand Cream L'Occitane, $12 We all know that traveling by plane is bad on our skin, but after a 10+ hour flight with zero moisture and whatever they pump through the air vents (ew) my skin always looked aged and dry. L'Occitane is my all time favorite hand cream because it is French (ooh la la) but goes on super light and oil-less but keeps your hands super moisturized for hours. 2. Tinted Chapstick Chapstick Total Hydration + Tint, $4 As previously mentioned, flying is just totally draining your skin and body. You don't only want to think about your skin but also your lips. I have been using this tinted chapstick for a while now because I love how easy it is to add a little bit of color. This will be very important once you wake up in your final destination after having your face smushed up on the window all flight. 3. Migrasoothe Migrasoothe, $10 As someone who suffers from headaches often and pretty much from anything (too much sleep, too little sleep, too much sugar, too little sugar...) I REALLY can not say how much this stuff means to me. It is essentially a rollerball of essential oils that smells amazing PLUS when you roll it on your temples and behind your neck once you first start feeling a hint of a headache, poof you feel better almost instantly! I bring it everywhere I go. 4. Hand Sanitizer Purell, $.99 This one really does not need too much explaining. People are gross. Planes rarely get cleaned. You will be eating. End of story. 5. Hair Clip Goodys, $5 I don't know about you other ladies, but I really can't stand the way it feels when my hair touches my neck. I get on through the day just fine, but as soon as I'm uncomfortable on a plane I just can not stop thinking about it. I always blow out my hair before a long flight and then clip it up once onboard because it holds the blow out well for when you arrive, but even a little black hair tie will work. 6. Cozy Socks Target, $1 Flying internationally in coach is unfortunate, but the only option for most people. You are going to want to make the most of all your space. I usually end up taking off my shoes, putting on some cozy socks, and curling up next to hubby. They are comfortable yes, but I also don't want to be one of those gross people that gets shamed for having their feet out on a plane. Don't be that guy. 7. Travel Contact Case Amazon, $10 This is for my fellow contact wearers. From when you leave your house to when you arrive to your destination, more than a whole day could have passed. That makes for some crunchy contacts. This case has a small amount of solution and a case enclosed in a small pouch. So before you snooze you can pop out your contacts and have fresh eyes once you arrive! 8. Liquid Highlighter Elf, $4 When I board a long flight, I usually keep the makeup to a minimum because who knows what type of uncomfortable torture I am about to withstand while trying to keep my sanity. Elf cosmetics has really been a hit or miss for me, but I do really like this highlighter because it adds a pretty gold shimmer that is easy to add with your fingertips. Your face will look more dewy and less dried out from the long haul. 9. Powder Foundation Compact Covergirl, $12
As previously mentioned, who knows what your mug is going to look like after trying to find sleep in every position imaginable. You definitely want a compact to check on those weird sleeps lines, and attempt to cover them up as much as possible. With powder, highlighter, and a tinted lip balm you are sure to arrive in your destination as pretty and freshfaced as possible. The ultimate 1st world dilemma: trying to fit one month of outfits for a fabulous European adventure within the one free checked bag the airline gives you. The second bag goes from 0 to 100 real quick (literally, it was $100 for a second bag!) so you want to utilize all the resources you have to make sure you can bring every item you need (and want) without breaking the bank. It's All About the Roll It's hard to imagine that the way you put your clothes in your suitcase can really make a difference. It's the same amount of clothes! But it was really amazing how many more items I could fit into my suitcase from traditionally folding my items to rolling them up like a burrito. It made such a big difference! Plus my clothes were less wrinkly when I arrived. Win! Utilize Your Carry on With all airlines I have flown, you are allowed one carry on item along with one personal item (purse, laptop bag, etc). To allow for more space in my suitcase, I packed my Hunter rain boots and all my coats in my carry on. For my personal item I utilized a big laptop bag to hold all my electronics and camera. I also stored a small cross body purse with all my carry on essentials in this laptop bag as well so everything is easy to access and to maintain compliance with the airline rules. Stick With Classics While it would be great to bring along our entire wardrobes (you never know what you will be in the mood to wear!) it is just not feasible with one suitcase. I always try to stick with neutral, non-trendy items because they are easier to mix and match. You will get a lot more out of your suitcase if items can be worn across different outfits. Trendy pieces are fun but only taking up scarce space if you can only where this item for one event. Similarly, stick to your basic black, nude, and white underthings. Not quite as fun, but easier to coordinate and less space is taken. Skip The Toiletries It can be difficult when you have a set beauty routine, or products you can't live without, but I try to only pack for trips items that are either very expensive or will not be available in my destination (which is rare). These items can add a LOT of weight, so bring only the minimum and plan to buy shampoo, lotion, contact solution, etc., once you've arrived. Weigh Before You Go No one wants to be the sad soul at the airport with their suitcase open and clothing exposed, trying to play the rearranging game to avoid additional fees for an overweight suitcase. My husband got a free suitcase scale from his work as a promotional item (strange) but we have used it so much! Here is one from Amazon for under $10. For our latest trip it took some creativity and rearranging to meet the weight requirements, but I was glad to play this game at home and not in front of strangers at the airport.
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