Kevin and I spent a week in Norway this year. It was spring, the cusp of April and May, and temperatures ranged from high 40s to mid 70s F. Now this is no problem for Kevin, the man who wears the exact same wardrobe all year round in Wisconsin. His staples consist of thin-material shorts…
Our Wedding in Valletta, Malta
Kevin and I went a little outside the box when we got married in 2013, and decided to wrap up our wedding and honeymoon into one event. We took a 12-day cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette in the Mediterranean and got married on the third day in Valletta, Malta. We hired a local wedding planner,…
Before and After Photo Editing | 2
I have another before and after for you today. As in my first post, I used Lightroom to edit. This photo was taken in Oslo, Norway, in the Vulkan area. My before shot had more contrast than I wanted; It was taken in bright sunlight, and I wasn’t cool with the loss of saturation in…
London: A One-Week Itinerary
This itinerary is designed for lovers of history, popular English fiction, architecture, and scones. It includes a lot of walking and using public transit, but is lighter on food recommendations (but that is easy to customize). Some of the attractions may have different opening hours depending on the day of the week; please double check…
My 5 Biggest Travel Mistakes: Part 1
It’s always fun to read about people’s travel mistakes. Today I’m giving you the gift of schadenfreude and detailing a few of my own. I labeled this as Part 1, since I’m guessing I’ll be able to do a Part 2 or more after the next several trips I hope to eventually take. Something always…
A Vegetarian Week in Norway
Before we traveled to Norway this spring, I did some searching for authentic Norwegian foods we might want to try. While the world is generally getting better at increasing its vegetarian options, Norway is one of those countries heavily founded on meat and seafood. So overall, I didn’t find too much in advance that I…
Before and After Photo Editing
I’ve been using some form of photo editing software since I started photography as a hobby in my teens. My parents got me Adobe Photoshop for Christmas that year, and I never looked back. These days I have the Adobe monthly subscription for Photoshop and Lightroom, and I use Lightroom way more often. Lightroom is…
8 Ways I’m a Proud Tourist
Have you ever read a blog post that touted getting “off the beaten path” as a more authentic way to travel? Or one that made “tourist” seem like a dirty word you should be trying to separate your travel identity from? I have, and at first it made me feel bad about how I travel,…
My Travel Camera Gear: An Evolution
*NOTE: This post was updated two years later with new experience and insight. When I first started traveling, I did it infrequently enough that I had a different camera gear setup for almost each trip. I began traveling when I was in college, which is right around the same time I was getting used to…
The Most Difficult Trip to Plan
I’ve been planning our trip itineraries for 5 years now. I developed a process of using Google Drive, which has worked quite well and ensured that our trips were packed full of great sites and activities. Sometimes we followed our plan closely, but usually we would modify it; either way, it was always a great starting…
Sightseeker 