For two years I have been planning on throwing an epic “Decades Party” because so many loved ones in my family were born ten years apart. This was the year to celebrate all my family members born in 1949, 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009! What a great opportunity to get everyone together to celebrate life and love.
A Picture With The Whole FamilyCelebrating 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70!
Since time truly is the greatest gift, there was no better way for us to spend time together than on the Odyssey! No stress, no planning, no cleanup- it was a dream!
A very special thank you to the Odyssey staff for making this special occasion so memorable. We will be back!
Thanks for checking out this post!
Your Chick,
Rina
Take a peek at our video from the lunch cruise last year.
Ahhh, Amazon. When you used to think about the word “Amazon” you probably thought about the rain forest. Now when you say the word you’ll likely think about the online shopping site. I have been a prime member since it’s inception. I can’t even tell you how much I love Amazon and their 2 day prime shipping! Hallelujah.
As a mom, I frequently put my family first. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that Amazon had an Amazon Fashion Store. As an avid Nordstrom shopper, I was leery about purchasing anything on Amazon. I started my first purchase with an off the shoulder white dress for a boat party that I was hosting. I spent $30 on this beauty and it did not disappoint! Thank goodness my first purchase was good, it set me on 2 day prime shopping journey that has taught me so many things about how to navigate Amazon fashion that I want to share with you today!
#1. Check if it is a prime item. For a nominal annual fee ($99) you can become a prime member and it will give you free shipping on anything that comes from Amazon. It saves time and $ depending on how often you plan to use the site for shopping.
#2. Make sure you look at reviews. Chicksandsalsa is in the top 1% of reviewers on TripAdvisor, so you know we love our reviews! Shoppers (and ChicksAndSalsa) will help you determine quality, sizing and durability
#3. Know where the items are coming from. Often times I have ordered in haste and not paid attention…items that ship from international locations take much longer than something that is shipping domestic.
#4. In complete honesty, only about 4 of 12 items will be keepers. I have not had full success in my shopping with Amazon. However, with free shipping back, I’m always willing to take a risk in the comfort of my own home to try clothes on and send them back as needed.
The Finds
Here are a few of my favorite Amazon Fashion purchases.
We named our first furry baby, Peanut. To be honest, before he arrived I had put him on a one week trial….if it didn’t work out, we were going to send him back. Peanut was born in Texas and arrived via American Airlines where we met for the first time. He was 8 weeks old. Tiny, like a Peanut, with white curly hair. He was terrified. When I reached for him I immediately panicked because I didn’t know what to do next. Once I got hold of him from the back of his crate, he curled into the palm of my hand and calmed the nerves we both had and we both immediately felt a sense of relief. It was clear, I was consumed with so much love for this little animal. It hit me in that moment that we had just become family. It didn’t take more than 5 minutes for me to make my decision that he was staying with us forever!
Most valuable lesson as a dog owner:
Unconditional love. Peanut gave me the gift of friendship with no strings attached. He grew to love me and my husband as his furry parents and we loved him as our furry baby. He journeyed with us through two pregnancies and babies and accepted and protected our kids with every bone in his body. We tragically lost Peanut to a coyote attack shortly after his 7th birthday and it felt just as tragic as the loss of any family member. There were days Peanut and I were besties and days we were frenemies, but we were family. In his absence I learned that he taught me to be more kind, more compassionate and more forgiving.
Today we have Coco another adorable maltipoo. He is everything Peanut was and continues to be for us. While having a dog can sometimes feel like work, there isn’t a moment that goes by that I’m not reminded of Peanut and how his legacy serves as a reminder to not take the human and dog relationship for granted. I can definitely say I am a better person because of my furry babies and will be forever indebted to my dogs for the lessons they teach me everyday!
Your chick,
Sonia
Chick Picks:
There are so many versions of this sweatshirt! The one I am wearing is linked here | A slightly higher end version of it is linked here | Revolve has a distressed version here | Jeans are linked here | Booties are sold out, but I have linked something similar here |Check out the necklace that we all have here see it on me here
Ah Alaska, the last frontier as they say and our nation’s largest state (almost three times bigger than Texas)! At some point or another curiosity to travel to this truly unique state occurs to almost everyone. Maybe it’s the diversity in terrain, the majestic mountains, the glaciers, or the unique wildlife that draws people in. Similarly for my family in June of 2008 we visited Alaska by road and drove through the state covering nearly 4000 miles in ten days. The experience was incredible, walking through Denali National Park and catching up on cultural sites along the way was truly a once in a lifetime experience.
So, this year when Sonia offered for me to join her and a few friends on an Alaska cruise, I wanted to share the sights and sounds of Alaska with my husband and kids and quickly signed up to join them. We boarded the Disney Wonder and left from Vancouver last month on a mission to see whales, eagles, glaciers, and mountains. Alaska is so big, and after looking at several cruise routes, it is NOT uncommon for cruise liners to not wander too far north due to weather and other considerations. Nonetheless, I was optimistic about what we would experience.
Our View Everyday
The Sun, The Ocean, The Magical Mountains
Our Cruise Crew
Alaska By Sea
The cruise line route, shown below, just barely touches Alaska – somehow I felt as though I had short changed the largest state of our union by touring its Southern most islands. The passages were beautiful and we did see a few orcas along the oceans surface along with a glacier. We went into Edicott Arm (which was not our intended stop which was Tracy Arm) but the hours of passage between the majestic mountains really made this cruise the experience what it was. Unlike Caribbean cruises, there is so much to take in and see in Alaska on the days at sea.
Alaska By Sea
Alaska By Road
Below is the route we drove starting in Edmonton, Canada and making our way all the way to Anchorage (see our stops on the map below indicated in yellow). The sights and sounds along the way were incredible. Caribou and black bears roamed the streets freely along the Alaskan Highway. We even stopped at Liard Hot Springs and took a dip in the natural hot spring! We then spent an entire day roaming through Denali National Park, which is home to Mt. Mickley – North Americas highest peak at 20,320 feet (15th highest in the world).
Alaska By Road- Edmonton to Anchorage
Images from our road trip in 2008:
Denali National Park 2008
Road Side Adventures
Climbing a Glacier
Getting Onto The Alaskan Highway
There was so much to be seen and experienced by land that after that trip I truly felt as though I had experience Alaska for what it was: the final frontier.
The Takeaway
That being said the convenience of being on a cruise liner and of course having all the amenities of a Disney cruise at our finger tips did not hurt. However, I did feel as though the cruise route somehow did not do Alaska justice. On our five day cruise we had only one port stop in Ketchikan which is a quaint Alaskan town built entirely around cruise tourism. It was nice to get off the boat and we were fortunate to have participated in an awesome port excursion that shared native culture with us. The tour guide was an incredible spirit who was able to spot bald eagles from miles away; we saw several up-close too which was really cool!
Check out our Alaska Recap Video Here:
Also our Bald Eagle Encounter Was Incredible too!
Depending on what you are looking for and who you are travelling with, Alaska by water and Alaska by land offer two very different types of vacations. On one hand you have the convenience of prepared meals, an entertainment itinerary and let’s face it an on board “Kids Club.” By car you have the spontaneity of adventure on every turn without the guarantee of a three to five start hotel at each stop. As my kids get older, I crave a more ‘boots on the ground’ type of experience but with friends, there is nothing quite like the relaxing experience of a cruise.
Tip #1: Having gone to Alaska in both June AND July before, I can confidently say that the weather is amazing during this time of the year. On both trips I had packed winter coats and on both I did not need them. Just plan on layering up and you will be just fine! Here are our favorite pieces to layer up with:
Tip #2: For traveling with fragile items and/or medical supplies (my daughter has Type 1 Diabetes) we count on our Andiamo Luggage to get everything there safely, check them out here.
I hope you found this helpful, thanks for checking out my post.
