Everyday Luxe Travel

05/24/2026

About six weeks ago, this young man came to me with a special trip mostly planned, but needing help with some logistics and ideas...so I got to be "in" on the secret plans! 🥰💍🇬🇷 Paros, Greece is quite the place for a proposal!! 😍 BIG congrats to the very happy couple! 🥳

04/27/2026

If your idea of a perfect trip involves being almost completely off the grid in the African bush lands, then Umlani Bush Camp in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve is your place.

We spent three nights there with zero cell service and sketchy wifi that I'm not even really sure how the camp hosts were able to get! We had a couple of cooler and rainy-ish days, which gave us permission to slow all the way down and just be.

Umlani sits deep in the Timbavati, on the western border of Kruger National Park, with no fences separating them, meaning the wildlife moves freely through a vast stretch of wilderness. The camp accommodates a maximum of 16 guests in very rustic accommodations (see my previous video post!) so it never feels crowded or touristy. It feels like you went to Africa.

The staff were friendly and welcoming, and the dinners served family style were delicious. I ate my first Impala! (When in Rome, and all that...) The camp is lit at night by candles and lanterns, and everything about the atmosphere around that table was special.

And then there were the lions: a momma and her cubs out in the wild, and I could've watched them all day.

Umlani is probably not for everyone, but if you want to go to Africa and feel like you went to Africa, we'll put it in your itinerary!

04/24/2026

Update from Timbavati Nature Reserve... Umlani Bush Camp.... where there is zero cellular coverage and spotty occasional internet! We are enjoying day two of three here in the most "rustic" of our camps. This one is pretty much elevated camping IMO. I'm going to try to upload a video of our hut, so you can see what I mean! 👀😅 We are still seeing the animals every day and enjoying it all! Back to more civilization on Sunday when we leave the bush for Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls.

04/22/2026

Day 6 (or 7? I’ve lost count)

Morning game drive at Nkorho Camp started with a plot twist: that leopard who was snoozing in the tree last night apparently had plans. We found her this morning with a fresh impala kill. Busy girl!
Then we came across a coalition of lionesses and their cubs, also post-impala breakfast. It was a great day to be a big cat...less great to be an impala. 😳

After leaving Nkorho, and a 45-minute drive, we arrived at Elephant Plains Camp in another section of Sabi Sands Reserve.

The evening drive delivered what might be my single biggest “holy 💩” moment of the trip so far, when two brother lions walked straight past our vehicle slowly and completely unbothered by our existence. Did I scoot as far over in my seat as I could? Yeppp.

A note on these camps: the rooms, hospitality, and food are fantastic! If I gain weight from all the amazing food I won't be surprised, as they are constantly feeding us. (Or wait...are they fattening us up?! 👀) I’ll do a full accommodations post after I’m home, but 10/10 across the board!

04/20/2026

Days 3 & 4 | Nkorho Lodge, Sabi Sand
Nkorho Lodge is delivering a fantastic bush camp experience! From the moment we arrived, the welcome was warm, the staff greeting us with cold beverages. I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous views from the lodge deck where I could already see zebras, warthogs, and impala. We barely had time to settle in before heading out on our first game drive, and within five minutes we were in the middle of a herd of elephants. Zebras, giraffes, and an owl rounded out the evening, along with a wild dog pack sighting, a rare find on safari. Dinner back at the lodge was delicious (I ate ostrich!!!) and we turned in early.
We woke up in the middle of the night to a full thunderstorm rolling across the Sabi Sand. There is nothing quite like hearing thunder echo across a game reserve in the middle of the night!

We officially got up at 5:30 for the morning drive, and we found elephants first again, but the moment that I loved best was a momma leopard with her two cubs.

We are here for another drive this evening and overnight and then we head to another camp tomorrow. Currently I'm lounging by the pool overlooking the grassland keeping my eye on a water buffalo. Not a bad Monday!!!

04/18/2026

Day 2: Johannesburg to just outside of Kruger National Park.

We made our way from Johannesburg toward Rissington Inn, our base just outside Kruger National Park, but the route through Mpumalanga turned the drive into the whole point of the day.

First stop: Blyde River Canyon. One of the largest green canyons in the world! We saw the famous horseshoe bend where the Blyde River curves back on itself, and the Three Rondavels — those massive dome-shaped mountains that look like they were placed there on purpose. (They weren’t. Nature just shows off sometimes.)

Next was God’s Window, an overlook on the Drakensberg Escarpment that earns its dramatic name. On a clear day you can see all the way to Mozambique. We got a fairly clear day, but I have no idea if I saw Mozambique!

We ended the scenic stretch at Graskop Gorge, which is a steep, forested gorge with lush green flora and fauna and some funky mushrooms.

By the time we reached Rissington Inn, the sun was low and we were full of that specific kind of tired that only comes from a day that gave you tons of travel joy to process.

Tomorrow we head to Sabi Sands and will have our first safari drive in the evening! Can't wait!

04/17/2026

First day in South Africa, after an evening arrival and a good night's sleep, we headed just outside of Johannesburg to visit the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary. This was a great way to ease into our trip, sort of a "recovery" easy day and see some beautiful animals. They’re there because they can’t safely return to the wild, often due to human interference, captivity, or injury. This sanctuary gives them a protected, dignified life while helping educate people on why conservation and responsible wildlife practices matter.

04/12/2026

This photo makes me soooo happy!

This sweet couple is standing in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the finish line of a section hike of the Camino, and I could not be happier for them! They spent a week walking the famous pilgrimage that’s actually on my own list for my big milestone birthday in a few years.

But there’s more to this story than the finish line of this multi-day trek.

A couple of years ago, as I was just starting this business, this sweet lady and her husband headed to Italy for a multi-week trip. I knew her as a participant in the strength training class I taught at our gym, and when she mentioned her upcoming trip, I told her about my new business and handed her my card, encouraging her to reach out if she needed anything while they were traveling. I was imagining a missed connection or a hotel issue, something I could sort out with a few calls.

What I woke up to at 5:30 one morning was a fairly frantic message from her: her husband had slipped and fallen off the side of a cliff while they were hiking, had been helicopter rescued, and was taken to a small hospital in Italy (Padua, I think it was.) There was a major language barrier, she wasn’t sure he was getting the care he needed, and she didn’t know what to do next.

I wasn't sure how to help, so I messaged my travel advisor community and a friend who lives in Rome, and after a lot of phone calling and messaging, was able to get them connected to an international hospital in Rome. He was transferred, received excellent care, and about a week later than planned was cleared to fly home, though with a long recovery ahead due to his head injuries.

Two years later, they are back at it, standing at the end of the Camino. That’s why this photo is so extra special! Now they're off to Amsterdam, then back to Italy again to really enjoy Florence and Rome!! 🥰✈️🇮🇹❤️🙏🏻

04/10/2026

Time for a little guessing game...and if you ALREADY KNOW the answer, you DON'T get to play! 😂 (Don't ruin it for the others!!)

The game: Guess where I will be traveling from April 15 - 29?? I'll be posting photos and updates as often as I can, but there may not be a lot of reliable internet here.

The prize: I'll send you a little souvenir of some kind from my travels if you are the first to correctly guess...and you're not someone I've already told / talked about this with!! .system.in.effect 🤠

04/04/2026

You can read the article, but the item that gets stolen most often now apparently is a phone. I find that interesting, because I always felt like my phone wouldn't be pickpocketed since basically everyone in the world has one now. It never occurred to me that they were being stolen for access to apps with financial information. Just another reason to be cautious! 👀

Trust Rick Steves' advice. Learn more at the link in the comments ⬇️

02/20/2026

The absolute BEST news to wake up to!!! Congrats to Kevin and Rebecca! You will never, ever forget this life-changing accomplishment! ❤️🥾🏔️🙏🏻