With The Spa Theory get your massage on, nails done, hair and makeup did, facial and even Henna from the comfort of your HOME!
I was gifted an experience this weekend and let me tell you, massages hit different when you don’t have to travel!
Our therapist was professional, understanding of our individual needs, wore a mask the entire time and fun to talk to- of course I chatted her ear off the whole time, what is relaxing… (anyone else? I’m such an extravert lol!)
Get 15% off ANY first appointment with code: FLASHY15
While traveling majorly pumped the breaks last year and 2021 is just as difficult there are some ways to STILL get out. Here are some tips and tricks:
Figure out COVID restrictions or guidelines
Before you travel in 2021, figure out if there are any COVID restrictions or guidelines at the location you’re visiting + with the airline you are traveling with. For example, there is a new guideline that says you have to get tested if you are entering back into the USA. Also, places such as Sedona enforce a city-wide mask mandate. Just be aware of any guidelines beforehand, or you can get yourself into a pickle!
Spend less, travel more
When you travel, save money where you can so that you are able to travel more. So, for example, if you have to choose between a $500 hotel and a $350 hotel, choose the less expensive option. Sure – it may not be exactly what you were hoping for or envisioning, but traveling and exploring a new city is indeed traveling, right?
Make extra cash
There are 2 big ways to make extra cash, so that you can travel more.
The first one? Cut back on unnecessary spending so that you’re able to save more. Travel is expensive, so making financial sacrifices is a given. Some people, though, don’t even know where the bulk of their money goes. In a lot of cases, it’s food. Eating out for lunch every day (even the cheapest of takeout options) or grabbing a daily coffee en route to work is likely one of your biggest expenses. Foregoing a $5 latte five times a week can save you $100 per month and that adds up. Every time you go to order a second glass of wine at dinner or have trouble passing up a pair of shoes, remind yourself that travel is the reward.
Your second option? Find ways to make extra cash. Sell things you don’t need, or use your skills to make some extra cash. If you need help finding a place to sell your items, check out Chapes-JPL. They are an Atlanta pawn shop that buys and gives loans on valuables such as watches, handbags, gold, diamonds, etc. They have been the highest-rated pawn shop in Atlanta for over forty years now and have amazing reviews, too! Plus, you do not even have to go in-store to get extra cash in exchange for your valuables because they just released an at-home option. They say: “Chapes-JPL announces our National Mail-In, 100% Insured, Secure Cash for Assets Program. The dirty secret of a typical “pawn shop” is they charge the highest interest rates by law in their local city. With Chapes-JPL National Mail-in Program, you are able to get the lowest interest rates allowed by law, across the entire United States. Best of all, it’s 100% secure, insured, and licensed. Your items are insured by Chapes-JPL and mailed out with the United States Postal Service; backed by Chapes-JPL 5 star reputation since 1980.” Pretty cool, right?
Chapes JPL, Atlanta
Take shorter trips more often
If you have a limited number of vacation days from your job, using them all at once means you’ll spend the rest of the year waiting for new vacation days to kick in. Using a few here and there means you’re traveling more often throughout the year. Plus, if you’re able to drive to your location vs. driving, it will save you quite a bit of money that you can put to your current or a future trip!
Work remotely
You don’t have to turn into a digital nomad in order to work remotely. Find out whether your company would be amenable to the idea and, if they’re open to it, give it a test run or two to prove your efficiency. The ability to work remotely, even occasionally or for part of your trip, can help you stretch out limited vacation days. Yes, you’d be working part of the day, but when you turn off your computer you’re still on vacation. Thankfully, if you are in the corporate world, so many positions have virtual capabilities now due to COVID. Take advantage of that!
Watch airfare sales
If you’re the spontaneous type, take advantage of airline sales by signing up for email notifications (Google flights is a great option), learning the best time to book flights, as well as all the ways you can score cheap flights. Airlines like Southwest often have big sales where they practically give flights away. The sales may be for last-minute flights, but don’t be fooled into thinking that every trip needs to be planned way in advance. If you have a free weekend or some extra vacation days, just throw your stuff in a carry-on and in a few hours, you could be at the beach or on the slopes.
Five years filled with fun times, exploration, kitchen dancing, belly laughs, TLC and my BEAUTIFUL WEDDING RINGS. As it falls on Halloween, we celebrated a day earlier with fancy sushi. As well as at the beginning of the month opening our guestbook box that contained notes from our wedding guests during our last visit to the Daufuskie house, where we got engaged. Super special reading notes from friends and family!
I love love love the story behind my wedding rings! Here goes…
When we first set out on finding a ring we looked at vintage and estate options at AmericasMart. I liked some of the pieces but none made us want to INSTANTLY pull the trigger. Talking about our shopping trips with my mom she said “I have my mothers and you can keep as is or rework!”
DONE.
It was two rings, soldered together. The main had a tiny diamond that was surrounded by a lot of silver and a few super small diamonds along the band. By this time Dustin knew what I liked so I handed over the rings and said “lets keep the band as is, but I trust you!” When he popped the question and I saw the made over ring I WAS BLOWN AWAY!
He worked some magic and turned her into a work of art.
He upgraded the largest stone to a bigger more clear estate diamond, added two baguette diamonds, kept two small ones from the original and added two sapphire triangles to the underneath/side area for a total of 7 stones which is a lucky number to us. The touch of blue represents Dustin and the triangles were a little something for me <3 We wanted it to remain two-tone, yellow gold and white gold to be able to go with whatever I want to wear with it.
ITS PERFECT.
The accent triangles are usually hidden when wearing but I absolutely adore the detail. Dustin drew it out in a moleskin and took it to the jeweler and viola! Feeling like a lucky lady all over again just typing this out!
Above are two other rings I wear everyday. The dainty sapphire band I got from Shopbop and the croissant ring is from Mejuri. Ring holder by local Atlanta ceramicist, Honeycomb Studio.
Hope you enjoyed reading about something very near and dear to my heart! Happy Anni Dustin <3
Since March we’ve had our gym membership paused, and as of September, we cancelled it all together. So what have we been doing for workouts?
Meet our newest addition:
A Bowflex Velocore Bike
She’s badass! Back before covid I would go to the gym 3, usually 4 times a week but when it was no longer safe I started doing things around the house. For months I did POPSUGAR Fitness videos on YouTube, Ryan Heffington’s SweatFest on IG Live (they are also saved so you can watch reruns), bike rides on a road bike and a lot of dancing around the house and stretching, lots of stretching.
That was fine and pretty fun tbh, the gym can get repetitive, but my main source of cardio, on the bike, was dangerous. The roads around our neighborhood are pretty industrial for one thing but also in terrible conditions with areas of heavy liter (dodged some of the grossest stuff I don’t care to mention!) Really I was hoping covid risks lessoned and we would be able to comfortably go to the gym but when we realized it’d be a long while, I started seriously considering investing in a stationary bike. When you think of at-home stationary bikes your mind probably goes to Peloton, which we really considered but once Dustin did some research, we liked the swaying feature of the Bowflex best. If unlocked you can drift from side to side getting a better core workout, and I can confidently say this because it’s a FACT.
So far I’ve done the assessment ride, a nice cruise through Amsterdam listening to EDM, 2 rides with instructors and a bunch of manual rides. We’re currently using a trial of the classes + apps and when that runs out, we’ll consider subscribing. As of now, I’m loving the coaches because I’ve noticed if I just watch something on Netflix or just listen to music, I don’t ride as hard. But we’ll see if I get tired of them ;)
Curious how you’ve transitioned your workouts around the pandemic?
With everything going on in the world it’s not the time to be complaining about not being able to travel. However, it is ok to be bummed about plans falling through. Recently I was having a moment where I was feeling jealous of those who are still able to explore, like some IGers I follow who live in Europe therefore are able to go to Italy or Greece. Then I stopped myself and thought “bishh you are lucky you’ve been able to see some of the places you’ve been!” and then it sparked an idea.
I ran and grabbed all my favorite souvenirs and trinkets from traveling, a mirror and dried flowers and went outside.
This is what unfolded:
Baby Eiffel Tower from Paris the night we had dinner at 58 Tour Eiffel- a meal for the memory books!
Vintage gold chain belt I nabbed while shopping at Sezane in Paris on our second trip for NYE. I actually ran into one of my favorite Instagrammers, Julia Mateian, who had this belt but decided on another. Snagged it real quick!
Coin purse from a rad second hand shop in Amsterdam called Episode, Euros from all over Europe.
Perfumes from perfumery Coqui Coqui in Mexico. Large is from our honeymoon, my first international trip EVERY and the second from my GFs wedding.
Makeups by Rouje, a Parisian company, but I actually bought these after our NYE trip because the store was closed by the time we got there.
Crystal skull from Paris catacombs gift shop, too fascinating not to leave with memorabilia!
Lastly, bull fighter is from an antique shop in Spain. It’s actually a lapel pin but the back had broken off so I got it for free.
*Wedding rings included since I’ve done all my traveling with my husband <3
I don’t think I’ll post this on my feed but I love how these turned out!
So yea. Not trying to whine over something minor as not being able to travel because I’ve been blessed with lots of travel over the last 5 years. And this Summer we’ve been safely exploring all over the Southeast which has been huge for our mental health!
Here’s where the but comes in…
But, when you make travel your priority as a couple, in leu of having kids, it is worthy of feeling some forms of bummed. Traveling is where we bond and find fulfillment. We don’t spend on certain areas of our lives, like driving a 1999 Jeep, so we can afford to go and explore places. So again, I feel blessed but I wanted to share these thoughts and show you how I turned low feelings into a creative moment with some of my most cherished souvenirs.
