TULUM TRAVEL GUIDE

tulum? WOW. seriously, wow. i have been to mexico quite a few times but this time was really special. a few months ago, 3 friends and I decided to take a girls only trip. we all find so much inspiration from travel, and wanted to just take a few days to recharge and feed off of each other’s creative energy. it was one of those hilarious & memorable short trips that i probably will never forget. here’s what we were able to do in the three days we were there, in case you are planning a trip… (ps, are supposed to be amazing, we just didn’t make it due to time)

LOVE YOU , & !

SEE ALL OF THE TRIP PHOTOS & DETAILS AFTER THE JUMP…

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9 PLACES I’D LIKE TO TRAVEL TO

i swear, once you start traveling more often you can seriously get addicted! it’s a vicious cycle of going somewhere, longing for the comfort of home, and then itching to go somewhere else. (ahem, i JUST got back from thailand!) i haven’t had the strong desire to go back anywhere i’ve gone, besides paris, which never gets old. there’s just SO much to see. so much culture and interesting ways of living. so many colors and foods and hidden gems to find. so much planning to be done (which i love!) it’s friday, i can’t help but dream a little of where i’d like to go next…

i’d like to take a dip in the  in iceland…

have a candlelit dinner with this view in greece…

take a long with flowers in my basket around amsterdam…

lounge by the pool, sipping cocktails in …

check in to a  over this magical water in bora bora…

never gets old. i’d like to sit here, eat chocolate croissants and chat with a friend…

wave hello to someone from my in chile…

take a colorful break in tokyo…

sip baileys & in the middle of nowhere with my guy…

SO! which one pulled on you? where are you dreaming of going?

ps. i searched high and low for the photo credits. i found most of them, but unfortunately i’m missing a few thanks to the black hole of /. let me know if you have the original sources to the two i couldn’t locate. thanks!

ROME TRAVEL GUIDE

we arrived in rome and dragged our bags through the cobblestone alleys to meet our host at the  we rented in via dei banchi nuovi (you can rent it ). it was quite the change of scenery from stockholm, where i had just been! i love how cheap the flights are through europe. just $80 and we were somewhere completely different.

follow the map that and i made for some of our favorite rome activities…

there was a bottle of wine waiting for us there and we just took in the crazy views from our terrace. our host was so nice and wrote out a big list of places to eat and drink and pointed out some of his favorite places to go in the area.  and i arrived first and waited for  before we hit the town. the place was just a short walk away from , which was full of great bars, gelato, restaurants and people watching. such a charming little spot.

a really good meal by our place was . meatballs on mashed potatoes, cheese ravioli, tiramisu. a cozy little spot with friendly waiters, a bunch of locals, and a ridiculous wine selection.

we made a few meals in our apartment. mostly just meals in between larger meals (we ate far too much on this trip!) one of my favorite parts about renting an apartment is going to the grocery store and filling the fridge with snacks and drinks and having the option to cook. after traveling more than a week, sometimes it’s nice to not have to think about what restaurant is next and just stay home.

CLICK THROUGH TO READ THE FULL ROME POST BELOW…

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TRAVEL GIVEAWAY

i am headed to london tonight, so i thought it was great timing to host a travel giveaway! i love this  patterned duffle & clutch for quick weekend getaways. win both of them below!

here’s HOW TO WIN both travel accessories… (CLOSED)

1. go to and decide what your favorite travel product is!

2. then leave a comment below letting me know which one you chose!

one winner will be chosen on wednesday, march 20th at 10am PST. open to us residents only. the retail value is $188.

+ , basik855 is offering DLF readers 20% off through april 15th. enter code DLOVEF20 at checkout.

UPDATE: winner is #163 !

TRAVELING TOGETHER

both and I had never explored london. we had zero idea what the “hip” areas were, and we just wanted it to be perfect. for the start of our london trip, we chose to stay at and it was a legit choice for sure.

i was immediately intrigued by the unique juxtaposition of old and new going on with the design of the hotel. they have all these little surprises spread around the rooms (brass animals hiding places, unexpected furniture…)

we made these memory books to document our travels together. it took me back to my days of working on a journal everyday…cutting out magazines, carrying around double stick tape…then it all switched to a digital diary. i miss the handmade way sometimes, don’t you?…

they had such an impressive pool situation. i am obsessed with those gold stairs! and they had these cute rubber ducks planted all around the hotel.

side story: jen left her phone in a cab on the way to (not the best way to start the trip) and the hotel staff went above and beyond to find it. and they did! that one called for a group hug. we became buddies with the really sweet staff here. awesome service like this is hard to find.

oh! we went to the bar to get rid of traveling/jetlag stress and they had the most unique drinks! we ordered one called “the ” that was served under a silver platter with smoked mahogany and sat on top of a leather bound book (that you got to sign) i mean, how funny is that!? this hotel just gets it.

it was really great working with on this. (when I was little I wanted to be a hotel reviewer ha) they have this cool program called where you accumulate 10 nights and get one free. with all this blogshop travel that adds up pretty quick. our paris hotel was toooootally different than this but equally cool. overall, experience was top notch!

(hotel room sponsored by – photos by )