Tag: travel blogger

How To Celebrate Mardi Gras At Home

Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) is an amazing celebration especially popular in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before Lent. I’ve spent some time there over the years and it is such a fun celebration you want to be a part of. If you’re lucky enough to be there during the parade it is a trip you won’t forget but you can also celebrate at home. With a little preparation, and a great list of items you can get yourself it can be a fun family tradition and way to celebrate NOLA traditions! Most of the things you can get on this list through Amazon. All of the food I’ve mentioned on the list are from Louisiana and very traditional.

You need to make a King Cake (also known as three kings cake or epiphany cake) of course. A great brand I’ve found to make yourself is Mam Papauls. It is not hard (My daughter and I made last year’s together) and includes the filling and baby. Next make some traditional beignets from the masters at Café Du Monde (established in 1862!) and their famous chicory coffee. It is a personal favorite as you can see below. Just remember to not wear black with your beignets (powdered sugar is a MESS!)!

Dinner is next with some wonderful Jambalaya Girl (also from New Orleans, very involved in Mardi Gras & a long line family in the NOLA food business) traditional Gumbo & Jambalaya for dinner. Simple and easy for anyone to do (you can add your own meat or seafood) with an amazing taste of New Orleans.

On the Amazon list I’ve put some masks (no not the kind we’ve all been used to lately!), doubloons (or coins) and beads (what they call Throws). You also need some table decorations which are also there.

Music can be found on a great Spotify playlist with some fantastic New Orleans Street Jazz. You also need some movies and tv shows about New Orleans, Mardi Gras and its history. My favorite for the whole family is Disney’s The Princess and The Frog. Tiana is a chef who makes all the above mentioned food and it takes place in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. These next movies and tv are more for the adults (rated PG-13 and above). Interview With The Vampire is a great film (and book!) that features late 1700’s New Orleans. The book was written by the great New Orleans author Anne Rice who passed away last year. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button takes place in New Orleans and features many time periods of the cities history. The tv show Treme is about the city after Hurricane Katrina and is a fantastic show (with 4 Seasons!) about this amazing city and its culture and strength.

If you can’t tell, I love New Orleans and all of their vibrant culture and art the city has. Mardi Gras is a wonderful time in the community but there are so many parts of it you can take around the world to celebrate on your own and have a little piece of NOLA with you.

xoxo

Jaimarie

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Travel Under 2

When I was pregnant with my daughter a good friend told me to try to travel as much as we could when she was still a young baby. At the time of midnight feedings and a new baby we were just learning about, this sounded so overwhelming and staying at home seemed like the much easier option. Her reasoning for this was not only for the baby to become comfortable traveling while still young enough to adapt to it, but also because children under age two can fly on your lap (not as safe as purchasing their own seat with a car seat) for free. Once turning two they need their own purchased seat and are no longer a “lap riding infant”.

Since she was a newborn our family has been many amazing places and travel has become a very normal part of our lives with her.  She is now approaching two and we just bought her first airline ticket with her own seat. It’s more expensive now and she will still probably prefer to lay on us but the extra room for snacks and in flight entertainment will be a nice change.

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Avocado or Pear

In the Bahamas I have had some of the most amazing local food I could imagine.  The freshness and quality of the seafood is unmatched as well as much of the local produce.  Since it is a group of islands, things take time to get here (produce and meat not grown locally), but you can find some wonderful food right on the islands!

Having Endometriosis and a special diet because of it, I try to eat organic, hormone/pesticide free fresh food as much as I can.  I also try to feed my daughter and family this way. I am in luck because there is a great deal available.  One major difference here from the USA is my favorite (and my daughters’s) – avocados 🥑.  They are incredibly good for you (rich in nutrients, and are known to be a superfood) and quite popular, especially lately.  Locally in the Bahamas, they can be known as “Pears” instead.

Being from California, I was confused at first, but when I was told by friends what they were, I was excited to try them.  The local “pears” are roughly three times the size of American or Mexican Hass avocados naturally (much easier to make guacamole with! 😜). They are beautiful and smooth with a buttery creamy texture inside.  The flavor is a little more mild than Hass or Bacon but they can be used the same way (guacamole, on toast, with salad dressing, eaten alone, made into ice-cream or milkshakes, etc).

Buttery inside

It is a good lesson for us all to give something new a chance (what I try to teach my daughter) – even with a different name – because you never know just how good different things can be, especially while somewhere new!

❤️

Jaimarie

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Don’t forget to pack these!

I’ve traveled quite a bit over the years to many different places. Different weather, different culture, different customs. These are some of the things they have proved useful no matter where I have gone. They can all be found on Amazon and I made a Travel List that has all of these and more. There is something for everyone no matter where you’re going or who you’re traveling with.

Bon Voyage!

xoxo

Jaimarie

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Tru Tru Bahamian Festival

Since moving to the Bahamas we have been trying to see more than the normal tourist things you might see on a day in Nassau from a cruise stop. It has been really fun because it’s forced me to think outside of what Trip Advisor (although great) offers and find other events and places you may only hear about from locals.

Our family recently went to the Tru Tru Bahamian Festival at the John Watlings Distillery  in Nassau.  It is an annual event put on by the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association in Partnership with the Ministry of Tourism.

Tru Tru
Tru Tru Bahamian Festival – Nassau Bahamas

It was a great event with something for the whole family! Food, music, crafts, games for kids, information about local events and museums and even a “History of the Bahamas Runway Show” featuring some of the local pirates who once lived here. We purchased both conch and cod fritters, local Bahamian Limeade and candied nuts from The Nutty Bavarian (they were really wonderful!).

It is an annual event so if you are lucky enough to be visiting Nassau when it is going on make sure to check it out and learn about real Bahamian culture and local fun!

xoxo

Jaimarie

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Adventures With Bob

One thing that has been a constant since my daughter was born was her BOB Stroller.  We have actually had a couple because of moves and have traveled with them to multiple countries.  They hold everything and are perfect for all kinds of weather.  They were originally a jogging stroller, but trust me, nothing is better for a long day at Disney or walking on cobblestone road.  You feel secure that your child is safe.  They are very stable.  The tires are like bicycles and the amount of storage and accessories leaves your child riding in style and comfortable through kind of weather.  The Revolution single jogging stroller has been our choice but there are duallie strollers (for two children) as well. Our favorite accessories have been the travel bag (especially if you intend to fly with it), handlebar console, and rain cover.  

Here she is on one of our adventures. She chose her own outfit for our walk. 💕  
Do your kids have any items they have to take with them when you travel or go out for the day? Let us know their favorites in the comments!

xoxo

Jaimarie

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Have you tried Amazon Explore?

This last Summer when Delta had taken over and traveling internationally just wasn’t possible for us, my family decided do take a few trips right from our computer. I was offered a special deal to try out Amazon Explore and take my daughter on trips around the world daily – from home. We did this as sort of our Summer School. We would plan for what trip we were taking and what we were seeing there, then making dinners from that country and sometimes a fun craft as well. This has been happening for about 6 Months with Amazon and many of the sample trips we did in the beginning are no longer there and have been replaced with different ones.

It is a wonderful experience and almost all of the tour guides we had were amazing. We traveled to Paris, Japan, Barcelona, Madrid, Costa Rica, New Orleans, and so many more. Each tour was completely different depending on where it was, who was leading it and what you asked them to show you. You see and hear them and the area around them (most are walking tours) but they can only hear you (which must be very weird for them!). You can take photos as well which you can download and save of your trip. I have heard they are now doing group tours as well to cut costs but we didn’t experience any of those. There are many more we can’t wait to take. If you’re looking for a fun, cultural, educational experience for the whole family to make the world around them see a little more available right now, check out Amazon Explore.

xoxo

Jaimarie

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A Model Baby

When my daughter was just over one year old she shot her first product packaging and print job as a model for the company Lulyboo. She had a great time doing it and enjoyed her first day in front of the camera at a professional photo studio.

Waiting for her next shot
Getting to know the Lulyboo products

I have worked as a model since I was a teenager and it was amazing to see her so comfortable on her first photo shoot (I know I wasn’t!). The whole team was so wonderful and knew just how to work with a baby and make her feel at ease. We shot at a studio in San Diego, California and she had a great day.

During the shoot with Lulyboo
Gianna on set with the wonderful women behind Lulyboo

Here is her ad for their Shopping Cart & Highchair cover. It is perfect for travel, has a zippered pocket and even has a place for a tablet or phone to keep kids busy while you shop or dine if you choose to. You can purchase it on the Lulyboo website, at Amazon, ToysRus, Target, Walmart, BuyBuyBaby, Bed Bath and Beyond and many more retailers.

The advertisement for Lulyboo’s Shopping Cart & Highchair Cover from their website
The advertisement for Lulyboo’s Shopping Cart & Highchair Cover from their website

(Photos from Lulyboo’s website)

 Since then she has done more shoots and enjoys playing to the cameras (and all of the attention) but this was her first professional modeling job and we will never forget it and the wonderful crew she worked with at Lulyboo.

❤️

Jaimarie

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Ethel M – Travel Spotlight

One of my favorite places this time of year is a 40 year old chocolate factory in Las Vegas, NV (actually about 15 min away in Henderson) called Ethel M Chocolates. While you can have their sweets delivered (see their website) but the best part about them in my opinion is that you are allowed (for free!) to tour their factory in a self guided tour. You can see them actually making the chocolates by hand and at the end of a tour recieve a free sample. They have a cafe for lunch but they also have the largest Cactus Garden in the Southwest United States (over 3 acres!).

The company was started by the son of Ethel Mars (yes, of Mars and M&M candy) who moved to Las Vegas and opened his own company. During the holidays, they light up the Cactus Garden and have a walking tour throughout with music, hot cocoa and even Santa Claus (please check their website/social media as things are constantly changing due to the pandemic). Their chocolates make a wonderful Vegas souvenir for yourself or others and I find it to be one of Las Vegas’ hidden gems.

It is a must see on any trip!

xoxo

Jaimarie

Ethel M
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