Here are a few things keeping me sane right now in this heat wave of doom:

My sister came with me to Florida for my work conference and we had a great time together! It was so fun to hang out and order room service and get some pregnancy-friendly virgin drinks by the pool. (And then the conference started…and only she got to lay by the pool! Jealous!)

After a bad dehydration episode in Florida, I was exhausted at the thought of cramming my 6 foot tall, pregnant frame into the tiny slots AirTran has the nerve to call “seats.” I paid about $50 and upgraded my seat to business class and decided that it was worth every single penny as I stretched my legs and was given glass after glass of sparkling water the whole (relatively short) flight.

I bought this bronzer years ago and I’m still using it. I love the light texture, the slight sparkle and the flattering, natural-looking shade.

[Sephora Collection Sun Disk, $22]

I’m late to the game, but I’ve been non-stop reading these books. On the third one now!

[George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones 4-Book Boxed Set, $20]

I’m sick of summer, so I bought some fall shoes that were 50% off. Counting down the days to scarves, blazers, layers, boots and crisp, cool fall air!

[Charlotte Russe Wedge Bootie, $19 (from $40)]

Things that are NOT my favorite: discovering our fridge is broken and that our washing machine broke again! (All this on top of the fact that our A/C is barely keeping up to the heat outside.) Yikes!

What are your favorite things right now?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve just gotten settled on the beach or by a pool and realized I’ve forgotten something important, like my book or my sunscreen or even my sunglasses. Once I’m settled in on my towel or lounge chair, the last thing I want to do is get up and go back to the car or room or wherever to procure that important thing that apparently wasn’t important enough to remember the first time.

It’s not like I just do this at the beach, either. I manage to forget something important any time I’m packing for anything. It drives me crazy. To fix the problem once and for all, I started making “TO PACK” lists in the Notes app on my iPhone to save myself much time and angst. Even the smallest, most obvious things go on these TO PACK lists and I’ve taken to making TO PACK lists even when doing day trips or…beach/pool trips.

Here’s what’s on my TO PACK list for the beach:

1. L.L.Bean Seaside Beach Towel, $29.50 - Love the lobster!
2. TopShop Striped Cover Up, $36 - The best cover ups are ones that can be worn inside a building (for lunch, shopping, whatever) in a pinch.
3. Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm, $7 - Ugh, makeup at the beach! But, if you need a bit of color, this is the way to get it.
4. John Masters Organics Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray With Lavender, $17 - After you’re done swimming, scrunch a bit of this in your damp hair and go.
5. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 45 Aerosol Sunscreen, $10 - Maybe the lightest sunscreen on the market.
6. Nalgene Leakproof Water Bottle, $10 - Don’t get dehydrated!
7. Booth’s Tahitian Monoi Dry Oil, $7 - After you’ve been in the sun, a little dry oil keeps your skin looking glowy.
8. Goody StayPut Elastics, $3.99 - Always carry hair ties. Always.
9. Tilly’s Floppy Hat, $15 - An oversized hat is glamorous and functional. Must have.
10. Forever21 Sunglasses, $5.80 - Love the tortoiseshell print.
11. Kate Spade Kindle Covers, $85 - Keep your Kindle safe in a cute cover.
12. CALYPSO St Barth for Target Straw Bag, $25 - Carry it all in here!

I’ve just begun reading Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw (finally!) and I just finished the chapter in which he describes in lustful detail his love affair with Vietnamese pho. If it was two hours earlier in the evening, I would have run out to my local pho spot (in which all food is cooked by a first-generation Vietnamese woman, with her hilarious son taking orders up front) and I would have bought a large quantity of it because the cravings resulting from his description alone were that intense. Alas, they close at 9.

I digress. I was spurred to write this post based upon his descriptions of street food, something you are only able to get in its purest, most delicious form in a country other than the one I’m currently residing in. Alas, alas.

But, the memory I have of the most delicious street food I have ever encountered took place several years ago when touring with my college concert band to Mexico. We had arrived in Puerto Vallarta for the last few days of our trip, and we could not check into our hotel until the next day, so we stayed with local residents for the night. My good friend N., who played the oboe (pictured above), and I were assigned a young, 20-year-old Mexican woman who lived with her roommate in a second floor apartment that had exactly two rooms: one for the kitchen, one for the bedroom and the bathroom had no door—just a curtain. We arrived, put down our suitcases and she said, “Are you hungry?” Yes, we were hungry! “I know a good place,” she said.

We went on foot, walking for several blocks, talking about boys and about her job and about her roommate and she said, “Do you like Mexican food?” Of course we did. But while the other members of our music group were off getting their kicks at the local Hooters (yes, there is a Hooters there), she took us to a street vendor making potato and cheese empanadas, with families sitting anywhere, everywhere they could, all over the sidewalks, on the stairs, on some chairs, eating, eating, eating. N. and I were a bit nervous at first—is that lettuce we spotted?! But, I didn’t care. It smelled too good. It looked too good. For godssake, there were 30-some people crowding around these 3 people serving empanadas at 11 p.m. on a Friday night. I was going to eat these empanadas, lettuce be damned.

I cannot express to you how perfectly cooked these empanadas were. Hot, sweet, savory, with a homemade salsa to die for. A spoon of sour cream out of a huge vat, some runny guacamole and then—“We have a spicy sauce for on top. Do you like spicy food?” YES. They dropped that on too.

So, N. and I sat there, having a new plate shoved in front of us the second we finished off the last, eating, eating, eating, without a care in the world save for our poor brethren taking in the world-famous chicken wings about a mile north at the local Hooters. There’s more to life than too-short orange shorts, my friend!

It is a testament to how delicious these empanadas were that even the mere writing of this post makes me salivate, nearly makes me cry at the memory and how wonderful it was. I have never experienced such a fun evening, ending with us all piled on top of a bed in a ramshackle apartment discussing boys and boys…and more boys with our host and her roommate in a haphazard Spanglish conversation.

And it didn’t end there. The next morning? Our host made us breakfast.

My only regret from the experience is that I did not get her e-mail address, or even her physical address—no way to contact her but through my memories of her kindness and her hospitality to two college American women she had met a mere 10 minutes before.

I have traveled to Greece, Italy, Great Britain, France, Canada, Hawaii, Russia, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, but the food I will always remember from my travels came from a street vendor in Puerto Vallerta, Mexico.

A million times gracias. 

xo

livehanny asked:

I’m going on a road trip, what would you recommend to wear for driving? I love wearing sweatpants but i want something a bit more casual yet comfy and cute at the same time.

I love sweatpants too, but leggings have a bit more style and all the comfort of your favorite pair of PJ’s!

The trick to traveling in comfort is to remember a few key rules of the road:

• If you are driving, wear flats. Boots are sometimes cumbersome to drive in for long distances and heels are, for obvious reasons, out of the question. (It’s also easy to ruin heels while driving—you may scuff them!)
• Nothing even remotely tight. You may not think those slightly snug jeans are uncomfortable when you put them on in the morning, but two bags of Sour Patch and 500 miles later down the road, you will not be happy!
• Layers! It’s hard to regulate body temperature while traveling (especially flying). Pack a sweater if you get cold and wear a light tee underneath in case you get hot!

If you want to buy the items above, here are the details:

• Arden B Elastic Waist Legging, $40
• Forever 21 Plaid Tunic, $20
• Forever 21 Military Cardigan, $20
• American Eagle Suede Moc, $25
• Halsea Crescent Bay Seahorse Luggage (out of stock, call for more info)

I could go back to the huge Athens food market where they had all the cheese, olives and fruit I could ever want or need. I loved the little old men who let me sample any olive I wanted and the friendly, bustling shoppers who were kind to me despite my complete lack of knowledge of their language or customs.

Eating fresh olives and a huge chunk of cheese on a sidewalk corner was one of my life’s most pleasurable food experiences.