9 Travel Life Hacks for Spring Break 2017

Okay so Spring Break is just around the corner, and before you know it it'll be over and you'll say "isn't it February?" but NOPE it's April and you just watched Netflix all week. Here are a couple life hacks for traveling this Spring Break, of which I'll be spending in Costa Rica, and you can keep up with that adventure on my Instagram here.

1. Flying is expensive- so it's good to save as much money as you can. Sunday is the most expensive day to fly, so that saves you quite a bit to start of with, and it's better to book your flights on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, or just sometime in the middle of the week because flights are more expensive if you book them on the weekend because more people are on the computer being random and planning vacations. Also, if you can, remember to book 6-8 weeks in advance- but being spontaneous is ok, too.

2. I've said this once and I'll say it again- download the app for whatever airline(s) you're flying because sometimes you can connect to the planes wifi and watch *free* movies on the plane! This is a big money saver and will fill the empty boring space on your long flights. I know United has an app, and you can also check up on when your flight leaves, what gate it's at, and you can even scan your boarding pass!

3. Hate it when your phone dies on a plane- and there aren't any outlets? Easy. Charge up your computer all the way before you go on the plane and then use that to charge your phone via USB. This is probably one of my favorite life hacks because everyone hates it when your only source of anything and everything just dies.

4. If you're like me and have a super basic black suitcase and looks exactly like everyone else's suitcase, then we're gonna mix up our suitcases, and that's annoying when you just wanna get your luggage from baggage claim and leave. A simple- but somehow unknown- hack for this is to tie a ribbon or cute luggage tag to your bag in order to distinguish it from the others. Mine has a cute little whale luggage tag from the Maui Aquarium, and it helps me see my suitcase when it's in a cluster of them.

5. Pack lightly. If you know you're going someplace where you probably won't be doing any work and won't even have wifi, consider leaving your laptop at home- but this doesn't mean that you shouldn't go prepared. Always bring a raincoat, a pair of tennis shoes and some jeans, no matter how warm it is where you're going!

6. Always (*ALWAYS*) pack your nail polish in a plastic baggie, sealed as tightly as possible, or don't bring it at all. There's no bigger bummer than opening up your suitcase and seeing bright red nail polish all over everything. This is only if you absolutely have to bring it, or just don't bring it at all to avoid disaster.

7. This is relating to the last one, but if you're afraid of your makeup breaking, then just pack a cotton ball or some tissues/toilet paper into your makeup palettes to keep them from breaking and adding another big bummer to your trip (in addition to the nail polish).

8. Keep your nasty shoes (well, assuming you're normal and don't clean your shoes every night with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol) from touching your nice clean clothes by transporting shoes in a plastic bag. This is great on the way back from vacation because I don't know about you, but my vacations include so much dirty, muddy, wet hiking and my shoes are basically destroyed afterwards. Keep your clothes sorta clean by putting those excuses for shoes in a plastic grocery bag!

9. Sometimes, you still have clean clothes at the end of a trip- once in a blue moon, that is- but you end up washing them anyway because your whole suitcase smells like feet and a nasty cargo section of an airplane. And possible nail polish. A simple life hack is to put either tea bags or Unstoppable's In-Wash Scent Boosters into your suitcase, which will absorb the stench and keep everything smelling dandy. Just put the scent boosters into one of those little mesh baggies that earrings come in, and one of those little baggies should be good for the whole bag.

18 Awesome Travel Photo Ideas (because aesthetic)

Spring break is only a few short weeks away- and I'm excited because I'm jetting off to Costa Rica in only 31 days! This is gonna be a really fun trip because Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram are so full of cute travel photos and I wanna recreate some of them so bad- trust me, by the time I get back, my Instagram feed will be lit. Follow me @savannah_katt. 

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Places I Want to Visit Before I Turn 21

As another year comes to a close, I realize that I really haven't traveled much at all in my life. I've been a few places, but for the most part school has held me back so much more than I've noticed in the past, and everyone says that traveling is something you should do when you're young- so consider this a bucket list for travel goals BEFORE I turn 21.

1. New York City, New York

2. Santorini, Greece

3. San Francisco, California

4. Oahu, Hawaii

5. Bora Bora

6. Paris, France

7. London, England, UK

Note that this list is to be continued ;)

xo Savannah

6 Travel Tips to Ensure a Fun Vacation This Summer

Guys, I just got back from Georgia and oh my gosh I have tons of travel pictures to share this week on the blog! If you'd like a sneak peek then you can follow me on Instagram @savannahbby_14 or just wait until later, but following me on Instagram would be awesome... ;) I have bunches of travel tips to share with you in case you'll be traveling before the summer ends (lets face it it's basically over) or when the holiday season comes, which is very soon.

1. Don't wear tennis shoes on the plane! Don't wear shoes that you have to tie, for that matter. You're going to have to take them off in airport security, and they're very uncomfortable if you're going to be sitting in one spot for a while. Personally, I wear ballet flats because I can walk in them, they're comfortable and they slip off. But as I write this, sitting in a crowded airport, I see almost every person in sneakers...

2. I always roll up my clothes before I pack them because it makes them fit 100 times better, and I'm the type of person that likes to pack as much as possible, no matter how long the trip is. Just fold them over an extra time, and you're all set! My suitcase is incredibly full.

3. Bring a sleep mask. Unless you have a late flight and your plane is completely dark, stray light can make it harder for you to fall asleep, and I LOVE falling asleep on planes. Sleeping 30,000 feet in the air just makes you feel so well rested. Also, it can help you to get into your normal sleeping routine when you're wearing a mask (if you usually wear one when you sleep) which will make you fall asleep easier.

4. If you're flying United, then a huge (money and time saving) tip is to download the free United app. It can notify you of delays, gate changes, and the best part is that if you use the in-flight free wifi, then it offers hundreds of free movies and TV shows to watch during your flight in case you don't want to pay for personal wifi or pay to download your own movies and TV shows. This is a lifesaver if you have a long, boring flight!

5. Don't put too much in your carryon that you're gonna be stuffing under the seat in front of you on the plane, because lets just say I made a mistake of bringing a million books on the plane with me... although it wasn't really a mistake because I read every single one of them. But on the way back, if you're done with any of your books, then stuff a couple in your suitcase and you're good to go.

Funny story, when we got to the Atlanta Airport we were in a hurry to get out of there because of how crowded and huge it can be, so the rest of my family wasn't exactly happy when my huge luggage all got stuck in the revolving door, which stopped the whole thing and wouldn't start again. We had to squeeze through a tiny crack to finally escape... Never again!

xo Savannah

Reverse Bucket List- What I've accomplished So Far

You've heard of the classic bucket list- everything you want to do before you die. So many bloggers have published these before, but the new trend is a reverse bucket list, which is everything they have either crossed off of their bucket list so far, or just done that's amazing but wasn't really even on your bucket list for some reason. I'm excited to share mine, and update it in the near future (hopefully!). Here's everything I've done so far~

-Gone out of the country

-Flew to Mexico & the Bahamas and learned about their cultures


-Been to three of the many Hawaiian islands (more to come?)

-Started & maintained a blog over the course of a couple of years

-Went to the Fare Thee Well Grateful Dead concert in Santa Clara

-Went to the biggest aquarium in the world (Atlanta, GA)

-Snorkeled with the most colorful fish ever, and chased a puffer fish (don't do that)

-Taken road trips to Seattle, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles

-Gone to the Pike Place Market many times in Seattle (probably one of my favorite places in the world)

-Helped someone work out to lose weight, acting as a sort of personal trainer

-Driven up to Tannen Lake, a nearby lake in the mountains- the most beautiful lake I've ever seen. 

-Helped tutor other kids because I'm supposedly smart and nice like that. 

-Went to the Anzo Borrego Desert state park in Southern California, WOW.

That's all for now, but if I remember anything, I'll add it later- can't wait to update this. Fun fact- the first picture of the beach looks exactly like the beach we went to in Kona, HI where you could just walk down the stairs from your hotel and there it was; paradise. 

xo Savannah

7 Places Around the World I Want to Visit

On people's bucket lists, travel is one of the main categories. In fact, I don't think people put anything else on there, besides skydiving and special foods. I've always had a list of fun places I'd like to visit before I die, and just recently (a month ago? Two months? I can't remember) I made a travel board on Pinterest after discovering so many beautiful photos of amazing places around the world. Here are the top 7 places that I thought I'd share so that you can add them to your list, too~

1. Melbourne, Australia

I've been wanting to go to Australia for as long as I can remember, and what better place to go than Melbourne? Obviously I would explore a little bit more, maybe drive around a bit, but mostly I would just rent a house and relax on the beach. I'm not the kind of person that explores every little thing. 

2. Paris, France (as shown in first photo)

This one is a no-brainer, but I'm not visiting it because it's "the most romantic place in the world"- I want to eat the food! But instead of visiting in spring or summer like most people, I'd go in the fall, because there won't be as many tourists and the colors would be just gorgeous.

3. Tokyo, Japan (as shown in second photo)

I've always wanted to visit Tokyo- always. I've been watching Miyazaki movies since I was a baby, and in fact just got a bunch of Japanese toys & nik naks for Valentine's Day. This is my dream, and I will make it to Japan if I have to walk there never mind Japan is an island. 

4. London, England

This is my next stop after Paris, and I'll be going to all of these European places with my mum because a. She grew up in England and b. she loves the food there and I can't bring back enough for her to eat. Ah, London- home of Sherlock, my mother's memories, and tea time at four o'clock. 

5. Bora Bora (as shown in third photo)

This one is an underrated place with not as many tourists as Fiji and other tropical places like Hawaii and the Bahamas, but it's, like, ten times as amazing. There is a person that might be reading this right now that really wants to go to Fiji someday (with me probably) and will be screaming their head off that Fiji isn't on this list. Long story short, Bora Bora is tiny- only about a mile wide, and two miles long. 

6. Santorini, Greece

My mother's second favorite place? Greece. She LOVES Greek food. She could live off of it. Greece is so beautiful, with the colors and the streets and the beaches, I could just live there. Honestly, most places in Europe are beautiful.

7. Costa Rica

This has been on my family's vacation list for a while, and for years now my dad has been saying that we would go- but still, we never have. It's a very tropical place, though, with white sandy beaches and clear turquoise water. 

Those are the seven places that are all on my bucket list, and that I wish to visit someday- hopefully with friends.

xo Savannah

9 Places to Visit Before You Die

Travel is an occasional passion of mine. Though I really don't like missing school, it's nice to go to new places, see new people, and add new souvenirs to my collection. My mum is currently in Maui visiting family, and I really wish I'd gone, because they're getting Krispy Kreme without me- but I can't miss the beginning of the school year, so I stayed. But travel is a huge part of a lot of people's bucket lists, including mine, but here are a few places that perhaps are not included in yours. 

1. The Oregon coast redwoods are a surely magical place that you must visit. I've been there countless times, because I live in Oregon and we go to the beach sometimes, and it's so beautiful. It's where they filmed a few scenes out of Star Wars... Isn't that cool, that you'll be exploring the place where they found those furry little munchkins? The trees are ancient giants and I bet I could write about the redwoods until I die. I feel so lucky to live this close to the redwoods... 

2.  The Mendenhall Ice caves of Alaska are some of the most beautiful caves I've ever seen. Though I've visited and seen the Oregon Caves, these are a whole new experience- the whole cave melts as you walk through it! It's like an igloo, all blue inside, and the walls are shaped beautifully- I have officially just added this to my bucket list. 

3. The Sea of Stars on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives is a literal sea of stars (but not real stars). Though it looks like a reflection of the night sky above, the bio luminescence in the water is actually caused by marine microbes called phytoplankton and it sure makes quite a site at night. You can draw shapes and such in the sand using the plankton, and if you walk in the water, they trail in your footsteps, leaving your foot prints glowing in your trail until dawn. It sure is a breathtaking site. 

4. Whitehaven Beach at Whitusnday, Australia is truly the beach of your dreams. The crystal blue waters swirl into a design along with the finest of all sands, leaving a site fit for any vacation, especially mine, since I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Australia. In fact, the sand is so fine, that walking on it feels like magic and it's extremely calming. Can't wait to go!

5. The Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world and the view is certainly one of a kind, and so is the hike. You might think it's a really common vacation and it's too hot and probably super crowded so you might not want to go there, but you're a little wrong there. The grand canyon is like a timeline showing millions of years, and how the water that was once there sculpted and molded the rock like clay over time, leaving this natural wonder that will leave you awestruck. It's 277 miles long and 18 miles wide- that's pretty big, so I doubt it'll be too crowded, but don't count on being the only one there. 

6. Trolltunga in Hordaland, Norway is kind of like the edge of the world. In English it means "Troll's Tongue" and it's a ledge on a cliff about 2000 feet up in the air, overlooking beautiful mountains and icy water- so try not to trip, slip, or fall. It's available to some of you extreme hikers from about mid-June to about mid-September, which is probably about how long it will take you to get all the way up there. It's a truly amazing place to add to your bucket list as soon as possible ;)

7. The swing at the "End of the World" in Banos, Ecuador actually is the end of the world and I would only recommend this place for extreme risk-takers and daredevils. At the edge of Ecuador lies a rickety old tree house overlooking an active volcano, with an attached swing with no harnesses and thus the most unsafe swing in the world, inviting only the bravest to take a seat, swing, and experience one of the most killer-views in all of South America. 

8. Zhangye Danxia is a colorful landform located in Gansu, China and it reminds me of Waimea Canyon in Kauai because of how colorful it is. The swirls of red, yellow, blue, and green will surely take your breath away, and you will want to stand there forever, relishing in the beauty of it all. The rainbow formation is a result of red sandstone and mineral deposits being laid down for 24 million years- which makes it a natural timeline, much like the grand canyon. 

9. And last but not least, the Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine is a popular spot for local lovers. It's definitely a Pinterest favorite! The entire tunnel is covered in green and life, making it a beautiful hot spot for engagement photos and dates, picnics, romantic walks, etc. Though there is an active train that runs 3 times a day to deliver wood to a factory, so beware the train before plan your wedding there! 

I can't wait to write another one of these, it was really fun to talk about bucket list favorites and I really want to go to a couple of these places, like #9 and #2. Thanks for reading!

xx Savannah 

The Midori Travelers Notebook

My internet is superrrr slow right now and that's about the most infuriating and annoying thing ever. That makes me not want to blog, which is pretty sad, because I'm really motivated right now. But I'm gonna pull through and DO THIS THING!

You probably don't know what a Midori Traveler's Notebook is. If you do, awesome. If you don't, even better, because I'm about to tell you. Basically, it's a little rectangle of leather, varying in size, and it contains 3+ pieces of elastic on it- two on the inside, and one to hold it all together. Sounds pretty simple, right? Then, it has inserts. The inserts are these cute little booklets, which you write in. They're all so different- you can get a non-lined one, a lined one, a calendar, a sketchbook one, colored ones, white ones, graphed ones and SO MUCH more. Like, so much it's not even funny. There are also inserts that aren't even paper! You can get a pencil holder, a little ziplock insert, a business card holder, etc. You can also get MOAR rubber bands & elastic!! I'm gonna post a video after this that explains things a bit more in depth (it's not my video, some other awesome person made it). And not even that; the different varieties of the journal have different names, such as Foxydori, Fauxdori, Jennadori, etc. It's called that because they altered the whole system and then named it after themselves. 

I bet you can tell that I'm kind of obsessed with the Midori journals right now.. And I am. But I'm probably not going to order one, because these things range from $60-80, and I'm not going to spend money like that when they're super easy to DIY. Here are a few tutorials if you are looking to make your own:

DIY Midori: Traveler's Notebook Start to Finish

Notebook DIY + Free Printable by Nina Christensen 

How to Make a Traveler's Notebook by Sea Lemon 

DIY Leather Traveler's Notebook Midori Style by Recording Thoughts 

Those are just a few, and trust me, there are dozens more on YouTube- just look ;) Also, I suggest you check out Sea Lemon's channel a bit more in depth, because they make some awesome notebooks and journals and the tutorials are awesome, so pop on over there and check it out. And here are a couple free printable inserts and DIY inserts: 

Regular Midori Inserts Free Printables by My Digital Art Studio 

Make Your Own Pocket Folder by Crazy Little Fish

Top DIY Midori Inserts and Hacks (shown in photo above) by Wendaful

Make Your Own Midori Kraft File (shown in photo) by My Life All In One Place


That's all I have to say about the Midori Traveler's Notebook right now, but I will definitely be posting a video or two later. I hope you consider this beautiful, simply rustic journal system. Thanks for reading!

xx Savannah


 

THE REDWOODS

So we went to the Redwoods yesterday with my aunt Carey; you can see her in one of the first photos bending down to look at something. I feel like the photos didn't capture all of the magic that we really felt while walking around through a forest of all of the tallest trees in the world; I found dozens of small hiding places where trolls might hide, and in one photo, you can see a troll wearing a purple sweatshirt. As you can probably see, some photos are at the beach, where we promptly went afterwards. There's a little bridge crossing a creek, and Lily and I sat on a bench next to a little watering hole. We collected rocks, and some sand in our shoes (I forgot flip flops!), and then we went out to dinner at O'Hollerans. I highly recommend it, it is the best restaurant in all of Brookings and the surrounding area. If you ever do go, get the calamari as an appetizer, and their burgers are to die for. The garden vegetable soup is amazing, and they make their own salad dressing, of which my aunt took home a cup of. If you ever do get the chance, visit the Redwoods, and Brookings, too. Thanks for reading. 

xx Savannah