MY TRIP TO TULUM, MEXICO: THE BEACHES + A FEW TIPS...

Those people who know me well know that I am my absolute happiest when I am on the beach - a good crisp, clear blue water, white sand kind of beach. Well know that I was my absolute happiest on the beach in Tulum. It's definitely one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. The sand is white and fine, the water is really soft, warm, and blue, and the vibe on the beach is really relaxed and laid back. Gosh - just writing that makes me want to book a trip back there!

Anyway, here are a few scenes from the beach - which is pretty much where we were most of the trip. I've also sprinkled a few tips and comments in between - just in case you or someone you know may want to visit this amazing place one day...

Tip #1: No need to bring your own beach chairs and umbrella to the beach if you aren't staying on the beach. The hotels along the beach have their own "beach beds" that you can use- even if you aren't a guest at the hotel. All you have to do is order a few drinks and/or appetizers and you're set. At least that is what worked for us. We settled each day at a boutique hotel called Le Zebra, which was recommended to us by a local. The beach beds were so beautiful and comfortable (see the next photo)! They came with Wi-fi and even included plugs for phones! The food was delicious, too, which I will show and tell you about in the next blog post. 

Tip #2: Speaking of the locals, we didn't meet one single person that wasn't friendly! Everyone there was really nice and helpful. So don't hesitate to ask for tips or advice on anything. They'll give it to you. 

Tip #3: Wear LOTS AND LOTS of sunscreen! I don't care if you are white, black, brown, blue, or yellow - or if the sun is shining or not. Wear the sunscreen - especially if you have sensitive skin like I do! I wore this sunscreen on my body and it worked beautifully. But I didn't wear it on my face thinking that my moisturizer with SPF 15 and a hat would be enough. It wasn't. My face got scorched and it is honestly just now getting back to normal. The sun - even when it's not out - is really strong there, so a good quality sunscreen is crucial.

Tip #4: Wear mosquito repellant. Mosquitos are vicious there around this time of the year. I personally don't like chemical-laden repellent, so we wore these mosquito bracelets instead (I'm wearing a blue one in the photo above). They worked like a CHARM! I never got bit, but a friend of mine did at a time when they weren't wearing the bracelet, so I know they work!

Oh I'm wearing this bikini (top HERE, bottoms HERE) which is currently on sale!

Tip #5: Probably the #1 touristy thing to do in Tulum is to visit the Mayan Ruins. We went on the last day of our trip around noon. Big mistake. It was SO HOT! If you are in Tulum around this time of year, go early in the morning when it is cooler. Even during the cooler months, I would still get there early because it can be quite crowded. 

The photo above and the last few photos are from the ruins. That big blue beautiful ocean was at the edge of the ruins and was such a welcome site to see! I kinda enjoyed that more than the ruins... :)

Tip #6: This maybe should have been my #1 tip, but here goes. Bring plenty of cash- in pesos. And bring more than you think you will need. They do take credit cards and dollars, but it's more expensive to use those forms of money. There are ATMs, but the fees can be high and the exchange rates aren't the fairest. The restaurants seemed to prefer pesos. Also, cabs are the easiest way to get around town and paying in pesos is the easiest thing for the drivers. 

Don't you just wanna go there!! Wait until you see the FOOD! That's coming up next!

MY TRIP TO TULUM, MEXICO: OUR HOME...

So back in March, a friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to go on a trip to Tulum, Mexico. I immediately said yes - without even thinking twice about it- which is so not my personality. I'm the type of person that weights the pros and cons over and over in my head before making that type of decision. But I hadn't been out of the country in a really long time- plus a beautiful vacation was something I really needed after everything I had been through the last few years. So we went last month and it was honestly one of the best vacations I've ever had. 

Naturally I took tons of photos, so I'm going to share them here with you over three different blog posts that will detail where we stayed, what we did, and OF COURSE what we ate! 

In case you haven't heard of Tulum, here's some quick info... It's a small beautiful little beach town that is about an hour and 45 minutes south of Cancun. It is known for its beautiful beaches, AMAZING food, and its focus on health and wellness. Lots of people often go there for yoga and wellness retreats. Anyway, we flew into Cancun and hired a driver (as opposed to a taxi) to get us to Tulum from the airport - which is something I highly recommend one do when traveling to Tulum. Our driver dropped us off and this house and it's what I want to share with you first... 

Instead of staying right on the beach, we stayed in an Airbnb called Villa Vidrio in a residential area right in the heart of Tulum. To say that this house was beautiful is an understatement! We weren't on the beach, and the neighborhood wasn't the prettiest, but our house made up for all of that!! It was a little big modern oasis that came fully stocked with the essentials - filtered water (because you NEVER drink the local water in Mexico), fresh towels, really comfortable beds, Wi-fi, a pool, rooftop sitting areas, and even Netflix! Netflix is an essential right?? We took taxis pretty much everywhere, but the house came with a cute set of bikes that we did use a few times to explore the neighborhood. The architectural details of the house were also insanely gorgeous... It was just perfect - and here are a few photos that prove it!

Isn't the home so GOOD!! What's also good is that it rents anywhere from $180 - $360 per night, depending on the time of the year- which is super cheap for a house like this I think. Busy season there runs from the end of November through May or so - when it's a little cooler. It's more pricey then obviously. It's about a 15 minute taxi ride to the beach, which we went to daily, but staying in the home was a lot cheaper than staying on the beach. So worth it! 

You can see the full home tour HERE!!

Images 2, 5, 13, 15 via Airbnb, all other images by me

THAT TIME I WENT TO L.A. FOR THE ELLEN SHOW...

{The view from our hotel room. It had a new Hollywood look on the inside and an old Hollywood look on the outside. Loved it... }

Hi there!! Sorry for the silence over the last few weeks. There are reasons - the most exciting of which is that I was in Los Angeles! I love people who make me laugh and Ellen Degeneres has always been one of those people. I have been requesting tickets through her website for years and I FINALLY got them! So my mom and brother flew with me to L.A. to see a taping of the show and we had so much fun! In a nutshell, what I saw at the show is exactly what you see on TV. The taping is an hour (it goes by so fast!), and not much is edited out. The show actually aired on TV the day after it taped! The only thing you don't see on TV is the audience dancing before the show and during the commercial breaks. We got quite a good workout! My mom even got to do a little solo dance with tWitch! I was lucky enough to get a coveted aisle seat, so Ellen danced right next to me at the beginning of the show. Surreal... Ryan Reynolds was the guest - such a cutie. Note that if you are even in L.A. during a time where she is taping and want to see a show, stop by the studio and stand in the standby line! I'm pretty sure everyone I saw in the standby line actually got in the show!

I didn't bring my big camera with me, so here are a few fun moments via my iPhone. So fun to check things off of my bucket list!

{My first trip to In-N-Out Burger! My quick review: The burger was really good and fresh! The fries - not so much. They lacked a little flavor... But I'd go back in a heartbeat... :) }

{Me and my brother... He doesn't watch Ellen like Mom and I do, but you couldn't tell from his amazing attitude. He was just excited to be along with us for the ride. I just love him... }

{Sunny L.A... The weather alone made me consider moving there. But then there's the traffic. My goodness!! God bless the Uber drivers - who were amazing to us by the way... } 

{ We ate at a cute little healthy lunch spot called Grilliant in Burbank before the show. I would have packed the whole restaurant up in my suitcase if it would have fit. The freshness of the food was on a totally different level. So good... }

{So here was my "ticket" to the show along with a little questionnaire we had to fill out before we went in. They didn't tell us who was going to be on the show until right before we lined up to go to the studio, so of course I was thinking we were going to see Adele!!! But Ryan sufficed... :) }

{The Ellen gift shop - aka the Riff Raff room - where I fell right into the trap of buying everything from an Ellen hoodie to a water bottle. Anything to remember such a fun time! }

THAT TIME I MET HODA KOTB IN NEW YORK CITY....

The sites and the food in NYC were really great, but let me tell you about the most surprising part of the trip. A little background first... So my favorite type of person is someone who is genuine and keeps it real - no matter what. I don't have to guess how they feel or what they are thinking all of the time. They just say it like it is and I can therefore be myself around them, too. I don't know Hoda Kotb personally, but gosh I know that if I did, we would be best friends forever. Hoda has been on TV for years, but I started I listening to her show on SiriusXM consistently about six months ago and that's when I really got to know her and love her. She's always happy and she's always open about those little personal things that you might think of or ask yourself in the back of your head, but never say out loud. Her happiness always seems to rub off on me and she just keeps it real... And that's my favorite type of person to be around - or listen to in her case. 

So my dad and I were hanging out outside Rockefeller Center one day last week when we decided to duck in an NBC gift shop to warm up. It was totally empty in there! An employee came up to us and told us that it was empty because everyone was in another gift shop in the building meeting Hoda. I screamed, "Hoda Kotb????!!!" My dad said, "Who is Hoda Kotb??" Ha... We jetted down to the gift shop and there she was. She was having a book signing for her new book, "Where We Belong: Journeys That Show Us The Way." I snatched a book (more on the book below), stood in the modestly long line, and the next thing I know she was giving me a big hug. We chatted about how much I loved her show and she signed my book... 

Just in case you can't tell how excited I was... :)

Her book "Where We Belong: Journeys That Show Us The Way" is a collection of inspiring stories about how people weaved their way through unexpected experiences only to arrive at their sole purpose in life. These people followed their gut, their heart, and path of most resistance in pursuit of the one thing or things that made them truly happy. Some of the stories are those of celebrities (Laila Ali, Mark Burnett & Roma Downey, Margaret Cho). If you still have no clue why in the world God placed you here (as I often feel sometimes myself) then this is one of those books that might shed a little light on your situation and give you hope. Super good...

I'm just still so excited that I met her! :)

NEW YORK CITY: THE FOOD WE ATE

{ Best Bagel & Coffee }

So since I had been to NYC a few times before this trip, I was most excited about the food as opposed to the sites. I started researching restaurants before anything else, so you know I was excited! It seems like there are MILLIONS of restaurants in NYC, so the three ways I was able to find some really good eats were:

1. My friends

2. Yelp and Open Table

3. The size of the crowds or length of lines inside of the restaurants...

Obviously it was easy to ask my friends who lived there or who travel there often about their opinion on the best places to eat - and they had some great recommendations. But I have to say that I found some really great places by relying on Yelp and Open Table. I simply filtered my searches by popularity and location and found some good eats that way. The other way a good restaurant was obvious was by the size of the crowds and the lines inside or around the restaurant. If I saw a place with a huge crowd and a long line, I would make a note of it and research the details and reviews on Yelp and Open Table. 

I honestly didn't take many photos of the food we ate. It was either too dark inside or I was too impatient to take a photo! But below I've listed out each place we ate along with my review in case you are interested! 

{ ABC Kitchen }

{ Balthazar }

{ Don Antonio by Starita }

1. Best Bagel & Coffee: If I had to rank my most favorite meal while I was there, the bagel from this place would almost be 1st... SO GOOD! I found this tiny little place by searching breakfast spots on Yelp that were near our hotel. When we got there, the line was out the door, so I knew we hit a goldmine. The bagels and cream cheese are made fresh in-house daily and they had so many different varieties of each. We each opted and egg, cheese, spinach and avocado bagel and a cinnamon raisin bagel to snack on during sight-seeing. They were so fresh and good! I'm still thinking about that dang egg & spinach bagel! The place is super tiny with very limited seating, so getting food to go is best. They have the ordering process down, so the line moves pretty quickly!

2. Tony's Di Napoli: My dad loves Italian food and requested we eat that before going to our play on Broadway. This restaurant was located in the Theater District - and it was packed! All of the dishes were served family style (although smaller portions are available upon request), so we ordered the Caesar salad, which was made table-side, and the seafood pasta. It was really fresh and delicious. But my favorite part of the meal was dessert. We had a classic NY cheesecake and it was quite divine. It was really light and fluffy - yet very rich! I would definitely eat here again. Reservations can be made using Open Table and I suggest you make them ahead of time to avoid the massive line that I saw on our way out!

3. ABC Kitchen: This was my second time going to ABC Kitchen and I already know I will go again the next time I'm in NYC. It was probably my most favorite meal that I had during this trip. The only food they serve is GMO-free seasonal food that is cultivated properly, and free of pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, and hormones. That may sound boring to some, but let me tell you - it's the BEST. I don't eat beef often, but when I do, it has to have those characteristics. We were there for lunch and I had the Akaushi burger (i.e. Kobe beef) with fresh hot fries and I about died. I ate every last crumb of it! My dad had the Kasha Bowtie Pasta and he loved it as well. Oh and we shared and scarfed down a bowl of the best Brussels sprouts I've ever had at a restaurant. The restaurant is right next to ABC Carpet & Home, which if you love interior design, then you'll pretty much be in heaven. Note that this place is always packed, so making reservations via Open Table is highly recommended.

4. Balthazar: Two of my friend recommended this wonderful little French bristro, so I knew I had to try it. And I'm so glad that I did! I think I may have had the best brunch of my life there... My dad and I both ordered the apple cinnamon pancakes and we shared a side of eggs and breakfast potatoes. It was HEAVEN ON A PLATE! It is pricey (the eggs and potatoes were $21!!), but I promise you it is well worth it! I made reservations via Open Table (highly recommended on weekends) for Sunday at 9AM to avoid the regular brunch crowd. And I'd go again in a heartbeat. So good...

5. Don Antonio by Starita: If you love pizza, then you can't be in NYC without eating a slice of NY style pizza! This place kept popping up on my Yelp searches, so we tried it out. Again - another winner of a restaurant. The pizza - specifically the ingredients on the pizza were super fresh. We kept it simple and ordered a margarita pizza with prosciutto & mushrooms and a white pizza with burrata, cherry tomatoes, and basil. The dough was thin and crispy - as a good NY style pizza should be. But I just remember thinking about how fresh and authentic everything tasted. Super good...

6. Buddakan: My dad had a taste for Asian food one night, so at a friend's recommendation we tried Buddakan. Wow is this place is fancy - but really fun!! The atmosphere and chic decor inside blew me away. The food was super tasty, too. They offer so many different types of dishes, but we kept it simple by sharing the General Tso dumplings, lobster fried rice, and vegetable fried rice. All of that came out to the table pretty quickly and it was really good!! Just a side note - this was the restaurant that Big and Carrie had their engagement party at in Sex & The City the movie.

7. Pret A Manger: Dad and I mostly had only one big fancy meal each day (with the exception of maybe one day), so this was a place that I retreated to a few times to get something quick, light, and healthy that would tide me over to our big meal of the day. Pret A Manger is just about on every other block in Manhattan and it is really good. I noticed my first day there that all of them always seemed packed. So one day I ducked in there to see what was going on. Their food is made fresh daily and is all-natural if not organic. And gosh it was delish!! I stocked up on a few fresh green juices and had a small lentil soup for a quick lunch one day. That was honestly one of the best lentil soups I'd ever had. It was hot, fresh, and not too salty (like most take-out lentil soups are).

What are your favorite NYC restaurants?? I'm already taking notes for my next visit! :)