Decking the Halls

I’m a big fan of elaborate holiday lights displays. Though some friends and I drove through Jolly Holiday Lights a few weeks ago, now that I’m home for the holidays I thought it might be fun to find something festive a little closer to suburban Chicago. Thankfully over the weekend a friend asked if I’d like to tag along with her and her family to the Larsen Christmas Lights Show in Elburn, IL…

Earlier this year, we took a long weekend trip to Orlando, Florida. While we were there, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to explore Christmas, Florida. I’m a sucker for quirky small towns, and Christmas,…

I’ve found that most people fall into one of two holiday gift-giving camps—either you’ve had the perfect gifts for everyone on your list since mid-October or it’s a week before Christmas and you’re still scrambling to find that special something. While the latter occasionally applies to me, I hate feeling like I’m rushing to get my holiday shopping done…

For your flannel-wearing, road trip-loving boyfriend who is always up for a spontaneous adventure and knows exactly which gas station stocks the good kind of gummy bears…

I’ve been dying to try these peppermint marshmallows forever. Since I got a candy thermometer for Christmas (dream big, you guys), I decided our recent polar vortex was the perfect time to do a little marshmallow making…

This year more than ever I’ve realized how quickly the holiday season can slip away—case in point, it’s already December 3rd. So in an effort to take a deep breath every once in awhile and remember to enjoy this time of year, I’ve compiled a holiday to do list, complete with some of my favorite winter activities…

Before you ever leave the house, creating a road trip playlist is an essential part of your adventure. For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite parts of hitting the road was creating the…

Next up on our holiday gift guide is the “armchair” traveler in your family. While this person may not actually take a lot of trips themselves, they love learning about new places and exploring the world while staying a little bit closer to home…

Growing up one of my favorite holiday traditions was piling in the back of my mom’s station wagon to drive around snowy neighborhoods and admire the Christmas light displays. Every year my brother and I would get into our pajamas and pile into the backseat with blankets, armed with thermoses of hot chocolate and freshly popped popcorn, and ready to spend a good hour admiring the holiday lights…

One of the best parts of exploring the Amana Colonies during the holiday season was our visit to the Tannenbaum Forest. Located inside the Festhalle Barn across from the Amana Visitors’ Bureau, it’s pretty hard not to feel jolly when you step inside the forest lit with hundreds of warmly growing Christmas lights…

With snowy weather and cold turkey sandwiches leftover from Thanksgiving comes one of my favorite holiday traditions—the gift guide. Whether the items are realistic gift ideas or simply extravagantly curated lists, I can’t help how much I love browsing guides from all corners of the Internet…

Over the next week, I’ll be sharing selections of gifts for every type of traveler (or wanderlust-stricken friend) in your life, at price points that also will make your wallet jolly…

For the next few days I plan on unplugging, wearing only pajama pants and spending some much deserved time lounging around with my family. Oh, and eating half my weight in holiday treats and sweets—self control can wait until the new year…

For your nerdy, board game obsessed boyfriend who offers to watch movies with you over the phone, and will pull off the road at a moment’s notice if it’ll help you snap the perfect photo…