Scrappy Girl Around the World

I follow multiple travel blogs each day, and one of the sites I frequent the most is the one that belongs to Nomadic Matt.  I've been following for years, since I first felt the desire to travel, but was unsure where to start or how to research.  I've continued to follow his blog because he writes great articles (as do his guest writers), produces awesome travel guides, and even offers forums for travelers to talk to each other about their experiences and plans. So, today I just read a recent post from Matt.  I'm linking it here because I want anyone to read it who is willing.  It's called The Culture Shock of Coming Home .  It talks about how travelers feel when they have to adjust to not traveling; it sounds simple, but it's actually quite complicated.  I've joked with people I know that I often have "post-trip depression" after I get back, but it isn't a joke; it is real.  It's almost as if I feel uncomfortable because the person who is in...

I've been doing more planning for my big trip this summer.  I land in Munich, and my first stop after that will be Salzburg, Austria.  I've been researching both bus and train routes, pricing, seating options, etc. for a while now.  While I originally had my mind set to take the bus to Salzburg, I've since changed my mind.  On many of the travel blogs that I read and different discussions I frequent, the consensus seems to be that taking the train has a much more scenic route.  So, while the train will be a bit more money, I'm willing to spend it for the views.  Prior to this upcoming trip, I've only used trains in the UK and France, so I'm excited to experience train travel in other countries. Snacks on board a Virgin train in the UK The planning is also different for me this time because I've gotten quite used to traveling solo, but I'll be traveling with a friend (and fellow scrapper) this time.  That means that pretty much every decision mad...

A few posts ago, I wrote about trying to decide on whether or not to go to a conference while on my Europe trip this summer.  After a lot of research and soul-searching, I've decided to skip the conference.  Yes, I will lose the $100 I put down to hold my place as an attendee, but I just don't feel that it is the right time for me to be there.  While I love the idea of being more involved in the travel industry, I also have to be realistic about what my life is right now and what that means.  I have large student debt that I have to pay; I need to focus on that for at least the next year, rather than jumping into a time-intensive (likely) side venture that could also end up costing me additional money to start/maintain. At this point, I intend to just keep doing what I've been doing: posting here about scrapping and travel, as well as putting up videos on my scrappy YouTube channel.  Those things do take some work, but they are free (other than the cost of...

I am still working through all of my many, many photos from my NYC trip in December.  My latest process video features photos from my adventure to the Neue Galerie .  This art gallery/museum is located on the east side of Central Park in NYC, just off the 86th Street Transverse (splitting up part of the park), on 5th Avenue.  If you've been to the Met in NYC, the Neue Galerie is actually just up the street; you can see the Met from the sidewalk outside of the Neue Galerie. This layout is a double-page spread, with the left side being a full 6x8 page/pocket.  I had a photo from the subway station I used at 86th St., and I wanted to make sure that I was able to use it somehow.  The blue in the tile was not an ideal match with the blues on the second page, but I was determined to make it work.  On that left-hand page, I used several phrase labels, a blank label with some stamping, and a stamped image from a set I have from Close To My Heart . ...

I am taking a trip to Central Europe this summer.  I will be traveling through southern Germany (Bavaria), Austria, and part of the Czech Republic.  I'm using the Munich airport, which gives lots of options for our overall itinerary.  Given where I'll be traveling, I already know that I will take tons of photos; my friend traveling with me may have to physically pull me away from taking a million gorgeous shots of architectural features of churches and old buildings. One of my biggest tasks before I do any more serious planning is to find a new camera bag for myself.  The one I've been using for the past several years really isn't conducive to long travel; it only holds my camera (while a lens is on the body), a backup battery, and maybe a few small things like lip balm, keys, and some cash.  The strap is fine in length, but frankly, it is not comfortable at all, especially if I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt when it's hot.  It will definitely be warm when ...

Work has been kind of crazy in the past week or so, so I fell behind on my blogging here.  In that time, I've published several process videos on my YouTube channel, so I figured I'd recap them here.  As I stated in my last post, I finished my Iceland album, woo hoo!  I did two flip-thru videos of it, since I give some travel anecdotes in addition to all of the scrappy-related details.  I've linking Part 2 here, since I posted that on January 6th, right after my last entry here. Once the Iceland photos were done, I moved on to start my NYC album.  This is kind quick for me, as I just took that trip in early December!  I'm excited to be working on it so soon after being there; my enthusiasm at this point is very high.  In this first process video, you'll see that I've used some fun pocket cards, letter stickers, a good plane photo, and a cool NYC-related stamp.

Now that my Iceland album (from trip in April of 2017) is completed, I made some flip-thru videos for it.  I decided to break it in half, as otherwise the video would probably run 40 minutes!  The first half of the layouts feature photos from my flight, my airport arrival, shuttle bus, the hotel I stayed in, a typical Icelandic breakfast, Hallgrimskirkja , a map, and some random photos from wandering the streets of Reykjavik.  Travel is my favorite topic to scrap, so I really enjoyed reliving my memories from the trip while putting these pages together.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and I have to say that I'm happy to see 2017 go.  There were some very good things that happened (including a great trip overseas), but there was also a lot of stress surrounding my jobs.  I am hoping that changes in 2018; I know that part of it rests on me in that I have to say "no" more than I have in the past year. Going into 2018, I'm looking forward to another big trip to Europe, which will likely include Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.  I'll be traveling with a friend, and while we may do many activities together, I'm sure there will also be times when I'm on my own, which suits me just fine.  I'm still very much in the process of doing a bunch of research on different airports and locations, but I'm excited to take this next journey. I spent most of my day scrapping today; I spent some great time with a friend who is also a scrapper.  I usually find scrapping with a friend relaxing, so it w...

I finally have a day off today, so I'm using part of it to gather more things (!) for my NYC album.  I found some more digital kits/files that had fun and interesting elements, so I spent a little money to add them to my collection.  I purchased this and this and this (this last one was actually a freebie).  I don't know that I'll end up using them all with my current photos, but I do plan to go back to NYC in early 2019, so I may be able to use them then. Something I've been noticing while searching for items is that it is much harder to find 4x6 cards that I like.  The 3x4 cards are much easier to find and seem far more popular.  I do use a lot of pages in 6x8 size that feature 3x4 pockets, but I also use quite a few that have 4x6 pockets; I'd love to see more modern designs for the larger size.

I've only been back from my trip to New York for a little over two weeks, but I am so inspired by my photos that I wanted to start designing my album.  When it comes to planning out how my album will come together, I tend to be very Type A.  I like knowing that that the pages are going to match up in a way that I'm happy with, and I also like knowing how many page protectors it's going to take to finish the job.  With that in mind, here is how I spent some of my time today. Since I'm doing a 6"x8" pocket page album, I do have to put a lot of thought into what will be on each side of the layout because it has to work for what will be on the other side.  This is often the biggest challenge with using pocket pages.  However, I like the challenge it gives me; I find it a more enjoyable process than just doing a standard 12"x12", at least for right now.  I also find pocket pages to be a much faster way of scrapbooking in general, so it means that...

I've been back from New York for less than 2 weeks, but I'm already dreaming of another getaway.  For those of us with wanderlust, this is just how things are.  Besides being addicted to travel, I also have a passion for art, and the Impressionists specifically.  When I heard a few months ago that a major Degas exhibit was coming to the United States, I was extremely excited!  However, there's only one problem: the exhibit is only coming to Denver.  I knew immediately that I'd regret it if I don't go, so I put it on my watchlist for flights.  It's an advantage for me that I grew up in Colorado, and I go to Denver frequently for both work and to see friends; I know my way around Denver pretty well.  The issues for me with seeing this exhibit were time and money, as there is other travel I want to do in 2018. I set up some alerts, as I always do (I mentioned this in a previous blog post), and waited to see what would come up in the next few weeks ...

I am back from NYC and so inspired to get my photos into an album!  I know I won't be able to get to the actual scrapping for it anytime soon, but that doesn't mean that I didn't do some prep work for it.  One of the things I like to do when I get back from a trip is to pull everything together that I think I will use.  This helps me to keep all of my memorabilia together and organized; when I'm ready to work on those photos, I'll be able to grab everything I need all at once, which is awesome. Here's a video I posted about how I choose my items to match my photos, as well as how I organize my receipts, brochures, and any other random items that I pick up during a trip.  As I work through my actual layouts later, I will take photos and post about my experiences while I was actually in NYC.

Today I posted a process video that highlights more photos from Glasgow.  These particular photos are from St. Enoch Shopping Centre and some miscellaneous things we saw in between stops on the hop-on-hop-off bus.  The day before, we'd had beautiful sunny weather in Edinburgh, but on this day, even though it was 50+, it was cloudy with a breeze.  When the wind wasn't blowing, I was perfectly fine, but if a strong breeze came by, I got a chill right down my neck.  I decided that I should buy a scarf, so we hopped off the bus at St. Enoch's for some quick shopping. I was able to find a scarf that I liked (it turns out its the warmest scarf I've ever owned), and so on we went.  However, before got back on the bus, I had a chance to grab a photo of the outside of the complex.  It has a rather interesting shape, as from the outside, it looks a bit like a pyramid.  I also made sure to put my receipt (and the tag attached to the scarf) in a safe place, as I...

Today I posted a video on my channel that features a pocket page layout.  The photos are from when I took the train between Edinburgh and Glasgow during my trip in April.  We took an early train, but not too early, as neither of us wanted to get up at the crack of dawn.  We did want to be in Glasgow by 10:00 a.m., however, as that was when the hop-on-hop-off bus got started for the day.  We decided to take a train that left just after 9:00 a.m., which had us at the Queen St. station in Glasgow in about 50 minutes.  That was a Monday, and at 9:00, there was plenty of room on the train.  We were on a Scotrail train, which seemed a bit more modern than the Virgin train we took up to Scotland from London. Since there was plenty of available seating, we chose to sit across from each other, with a table between us, next to a window.  We were able to get unobstructed views of the Scottish countryside as we passed by smaller towns on our way.  Spring h...

I am getting excited for my NYC trip next month.  Granted, it will be quick (not like the leisurely 5 day trip I did last time); I will basically only have 48 hours in the city.  However, since I don't have super-long list of must-do/must-see items, I think it is totally doable.  The main reason for going, similarly to last time, is to see a show.  Well, last time I saw 2 shows, but the point is, theater was the motivation for getting on the plane.  This time, I'm seeing the off-Broadway show " PUFFS: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic ".  A bonus for me on this trip is that I now know someone who lives relatively close to the city.  I met this person through an online group that is scrapbooking-related; it happens that we share a love for Harry Potter and Harry Potter-related things.  So, she is going to come into the city to share the PUFFS experience with me.  Score!  She's also an art pe...

NYC is a go!  I've been watching flight prices, as I normally do when I want to go somewhere.  Let's be clear: I am a budget traveler.  I don't make the kind of money where I can say, "Oh, that flight is $600, plus a fee for a bag, plus food on the flight?  Sure, that's fine."  Nope, that's not me.  I'm always hunting for the lowest prices on the routes I want and ways to avoid any extra fees.  I scored my flight to JFK for just under $200; with my back issues being worse lately, I did decide to pay the $2 for an aisle seat assignment so that I have more room to stretch a bit.  I know that the bag I'm bringing is small enough that it qualifies as a carry-on with this airline, so there's no extra fee there.  Woo hoo! View from Top of the Rock (from my trip in April, 2015) So, when I knew I could work this around my jobs in December, I went for it.  That's a great price for flying from MSP to JFK, and the timing worked well for me....

I admit it: I'm still depressed over not being able to take my trip to Amsterdam and Ireland.  I know it was the right decision, as I'm still dealing my a flare of my AS, though I think I'm getting closer to the end of it (until the next one).  While I was able to get my money back for nearly everything, it doesn't really make it better, as I have such wanderlust in my soul.  I was saying to someone the other day that I don't know how others stick so close to home all the time; for me, it drives me crazy that there's a whole big world out there that I'm not seeing.  I mean, I've traveled a fair bit, but it's only a drop in the bucket compared to how many countries are on the face of this planet.  I can't stand the fact that all of that culture and experience is out there, but I'm sitting here. In any case, I know that a long-haul flight is not in the cards for me right now.  However, I made it through a shorter flight recently when I had to...

Well, I'm not exactly happy to be writing this post, but this is real life, so here it goes.  I have blogged previously about the prep work I've done for a big trip to Amsterdam and Ireland that I was going to take in just a few weeks.  It turns out that I will not be able to take that trip (at least not when it was scheduled) after all.  I have a disease/condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis , which basically means that my back is slowly fusing.  There is no cure (yet), and it's genetic, so there are others in my family who have it, too.  It is all about management, and even with doing the best at management as possible, most people with AS will have flares.  Sadly, I'm dealing with a flare right now.  What does that mean?  It means lots of pain with standing or sitting for longer than 20 minutes or so, it means having to use a brace, it means having burning sensations that go up my spine and all around my lumbar area. As you can probably ...

Today I'm going to talk about some research and planning that I've been doing.  My next European trip happens in October; I am visiting Amsterdam and then it's on to Ireland.  While most of the bigger things have been set for a while (plane tickets, hotels, current passport, etc.), the smaller bits and pieces are slowly getting done.  Here is an example of things that I recently researched for my time in Amsterdam. Centraal Station How long does it take to get from the airport to Centraal Station ?  I chose a long layover (about 10 hours, which means only 7-8 hours of free time) in Amsterdam so that I'd have some time to explore the city before I head over to Ireland.  With only that time to work with, I wanted to be sure that I went about my sight-seeing in an efficient manner.  I can't really afford to get lost, but I still want to get a good taste of the city's architecture, culture, and overall vibe.  I usually use whatever tools are easily ...

One of the biggest issues related to taking a trip is how to pack appropriately.  Over the years, I've really pared down what I bring, and I want to share some tricks and ideas with you.  Packing for a weekend trip is much different than needing to bring enough for 6, 7, + days, so be sure you're smart about what you choose. 1.  Use space saver bags!  These are very easy to find.  I bought my first set from the  Container Store , but similar styles can also be found at  Walmart .  I will say that the ones I purchased from the Constainer Store have held up better, but they have all served their purpose well.  If you end up buying the ones from Walmart, be sure not to overfill the bag or they will rip, which then makes them useless.  I love these space saver bags because you don't need to vacuum out the air; the bags work via compression.  You fill the bags to the line indicated and then seal it, then roll and press down on the ...