Best Travel Journals

1. $20.00 Lucia Gomez, Etsy

2. $14.00 Seaborn Press, Etsy

3. $12.00 Cheribee, Etsy

4. $16.95 I Was Here Journal, Anthropologie

5. $11.95  Paris Watercolor, Jenni Bick Bookbinding

Wanderlust Wednesday: Kho Phangan, Thailand

Around this time last year we found ourselves in Kho Phangan. After a long bus ride from Bangkok and a ferry, we reached this tropical island located in the Gulf of Thailand. 

Kho Phangan is the infamous host of Thailand's full-moon parties, but if you stay far away  from Haad Rin Beach, then you can avoid thumping techno and really start to relax into the island life.

Our guesthouse was serenely located amidst palm trees and only a little ways up from the beach, and we fully utilized those hammocks!

Our room...

Typical shower in Thailand (energy efficient because that box heats up water as it goes to the faucet)

I've got to be honest...Kho Phangan was not my favorite island, let alone place, in Thailand. The beaches/water just are not as nice as the islands on the Andaman Sea.

 But, if you are dying to see the gulf of Thailand, maybe do a bit of yoga or hiking, then this could be your place. 

We rented a car and drove the island, which was fun and definitely gives you a better sense of what the island has to offer. 

Although beware, because this island is so lush and dense with rainforest, there are a lot of creepy crawly things going on. We saw a cobra (slithering our guesthouse path),  and a cane spider! 

I am deathly afraid of spiders and as we were driving our little vehicle, one of these puppies (seriously it is the size of a small dog) came out of nowhere and started crawling our dash! Here is a photo of one. Not to scare you off or anything...

 

Needless to say, Kho Phangan was an adventure, maybe not the relaxing beach adventure we were looking for, but an adventure nonetheless!

To hear about our first impressions of Kho Phangan and to see a cobra, follow the link! 

We Were Featured!

The beautifully designed blog, Roam & Home, featured our little blog today and we couldn't be happier!

Along with ours, they featured a few of their other favorites, which are great! 

So if you are in need of some serious arm chair travel, check out Roam&Home, and don't miss their favorites!

Travel Tip Tuesday: Plnnr

I keep stumbling upon these great websites that are making pre-trip preparations a whole lot easier!  The latest one I found is Plnnr, which basically customizes itineraries based off of your preferences. 

*the downside: Plnnr is only available in certain cities. 

First, you pick your city:

Second, you pick the number of days you will spend and then the theme of your trip (either with kids, outdoors, the best of, or culture)

You then move onto your trip "intensity." Intense is waking up at dawn and not stopping until you hit you pillow at 3:00am...The next page is selecting the type of hotel you want to stay at (based on stars).

Then...Voila! Plnnr does its magic and gives you an itinerary for each day of your stay! 

I think its quite Brilliant (and if you have an ipad, you can wander the streets with this little puppy pulled up and safely avoid looking like a tourist with a big map)! 

Vapor.Qualquer

I love Etsy and can waste spend hours and hours browsing through all the great items. One of my favorite Etsy shops is Vapor.Qualquer, which features beautiful watercolor prints made by a  Portuguese duo.  

Photo Friday!

Happy Friday! I saw that quirky little sign while in Cozumel a few years back (don't worry, I didn't follow the rules :).  I hope you all stay warm and dry this weekend! Today is a good day for another round of pho, i'm hoping it will shake this chill that I haven't been able to get rid of! 

Link Love:

We've been making these habitually: Winter Spring Rolls

The perfect Spring dress

Great sandals to go with that Spring dress!

Really interesting Venus Project, involving photoshopping the women of famous paintings

Our monkey photos from Angkor Wat

Cavalia (think cirque du soliel on horses) is in Seattle right now and looks wonderful

What to Wear...Winter Vacation

It seems like everyone I know is jetting off to somewhere warm as a reprieve from this winter weather. If I could, I would leave for Mexico and come back around the middle of June! 

So, for those mid-winter vacations, here are a few darling swimsuits that would fit in perfectly from Palm Springs to Playa del Carmen.

Anthropologie Primrose Bikini: $98.00 

Antropologie Bordered Lobelia Bikini: $78.00 

Zimmerman Glasshouse Lace One-Piece: $355.00 (yikes!)

J. Crew Tulle Twist-Front Tank: $150.00

 Vintage photos via the Life photo archive