I absolutely love to travel, see the world, and explore other cultures. But because of this, most of my vacations aren’t too relaxing, I love to get up early, get out, and explore! I have to admit that it can be pretty exhausting and not the traditional relaxing vacation at the beach. That being said, I’ve recently grown to appreciate the ‘staycation’. There is something to be said about just staying at home, taking a break from work, and getting your life together (adult style). Regardless of if your ideal vacation is laying on the beach or exploring a new city, we can all agree that a vacation means taking a break from everyday life and doing something that benefits you. During the workweek I feel like I’m drowning because I get home and all I want to do is climb into bed but there is so much that still needs to get done. And we can all agree that weekends are never long enough. This is where a staycation comes into play.
One thing that amazes me about Lightroom is that I can have a pictures that I think are beautiful and perfect and then edit them in Lightroom and see how wrong I was. This is what happened with Sedona, I thought I had all these beautiful pictures where the color popped perfectly and everything was in sync, but then when I put the photo into Lightroom and enhance the natural colors, the originals only look subpar at best.
On my Instagram this week, I mentioned that I was finally ready to start booking our Canada trip for this October and it’s probably one of the most expense trips that we’ve gone on so it’s pretty intimidating. That being said, I’m really excited to finally start using all the points I’ve been accumulating over the past year. Now the, hands-down, best way to earn points is from the start up bonuses and most of our points came from the bonuses provided from the Chase INK and Chase Sapphire Preferred. But, I also earned around 50,000 points from everyday purchases this past year. Don’t be fooled, I definitely did NOT spend $50,000 to earn those points. One HUGE plus to utilizing the Chase Ultimate Rewards platform is the ‘Shop Through Chase’ points that are available. At the end of the day, 1 point for everyday purchases and 2 points on travel and dining are only okay options when trying to earn points. But, in my opinion, you’d have to save up for forever in order to earn enough points for a ‘free’ vacation. If you’ve run out of bonus points to earn then utilizing Shop Through Chase is a great alternative.
In 2010, after I graduated High School, my family and I went on a cruise to Alaska. Long story short it was breathtaking and insanely beautiful. I had just gotten my fist DSLR camera and I remember taking pictures of absolutely everything, including a bunch of staged family photos 🙂 They quickly became some of our favorite photos with the beautiful backdrops Alaska provides. At the time, I think Photoshop was the only mainstream photo editing tool available and it was crazy expensive, like over $1,000. So I didn’t do any updates to the photos. But of course when I started playing around in Lightroom, I had to go back and play around with some of the Alaska photos, or at least the ones that I could find.
I truly wish I was one of those people who lived life with no regrets, but truth be told I have a lot. I worry too much and overthink things and always wish I was more spontaneous. Credit cards are no exception, over the last year that I’ve been researching credit cards and earning points, I’ve grown confident in my understanding of credit cards and their various perks, including the annual fees that come along. Most of my regrets come from just dipping my toes in the water instead of diving in full force. I think all the time about how many points I could have had if I had been accumulating points since my first credit card in 2014, or jumping right in and applying for the Chase Sapphire when it was 100,000 bonus points (still kicking myself over that one). In the end, I’m a person who learns from their mistakes. So I needed to go through them in order to learn on my own. But, if you’re one of those people who can learn from other’s mistakes, here is list of credit cards I wish I had gotten sooner and why:
Sadly, we had to return from our all-inclusive Jamaica paradise and come back to reality. Jamaica was such a dream and the only thing missing… was Chloe, although it was nice sleeping in past 7 am in a ginormous king size bed! We were in paradise, this has been one of our favorite places to vacation, so far, and can’t wait to go back. I’d highly recommend everything that we did, it was all a once in a lifetime experience, checkout more details below.
Growing up, all-inclusive hotels got a bad rap, especially in the Caribbean. But I had read a couple reviews that Hyatt was opening one in Jamaica, and as a loyal Hyatt member, it peaked my interest. After visiting the property, my mind has forever been changed on all-inclusive hotels! This one is spectacular, not only the location but the staff and food are amazing!
Out of everything we did in Jamaica, the Martha Brae Bamboo River Rafting was hands down my favorite. It’s so unique to Jamaica and we learned so much about the native fruits and plants that grow there. It was such a peaceful and romantic ride that didn’t take up the entire day to do.
Out of everything we did in Jamaica, we were most excited to ride Jamaican Bobsleds through the rainforest. Mystic Mountain is a major tourist attraction and sees a lot of bodies everyday, so they are pretty well organized and know how to make the lines flow smoothly. But we learned a couple of things that we wish we knew ahead of time to make the trip even better.
After months of planning, we’re finally in Jamaica and we couldn’t be more excited!!!! Our last couple vacations have been filled with hiking, waking up early, and little rest, so we’re taking this opportunity to recharge and relax on the beach with frozen drinks. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to go to Jamaica and, even better, use points to do so. Overall, I only spent $260 (on flight taxes and fees), and saved roughly $5,398 on this vacation! Keep reading below to see how.
