Happy Fall Everyone! It’s November and I’m loving everything fall. Pumpkins, all the pretty leaves, baking and even the colder weather. Cold weather gets me in the baking mood and this Rum Cake is seriously one of my favorites. It’s definitely a showstopper! It comes out looking so beautiful it’s perfect for any holiday, special celebration or around here, whenever I am in the mood to bake.
+Batter Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup rum
1/2 cup chopped pecans
+Glaze Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup rum
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour Bundt cake pan. For this type of pan I use the flour spray to make sure I can really coat the pan and the cake comes out easily.
Combine cake mix and pudding mix.
In another bowl beat eggs, water, oil and rum until frothy. Add cake mix/pudding mixture and beat until well mixed. Spread pecans evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan and pour batter over pecans.
Bake cake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the center. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes and remove from pan.
Place in serving dish immediately, right side up. (Pecans should be on the bottom)
+Glaze
During the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking time, water and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil rapidly until it’s very thick and syrupy stirring very frequently. The syrup must be reduced quite a bit and very thick otherwise it will make the cake mushy.
Remove from heat and add rum. While cake is still hot, poke holes all over top of cake with a toothpick and spoon glaze over top of cake.
+Important Tip
This cake tastes best the next day. Allow cake to sit at room temperature for one day then refrigerate. Trust me it will be the most delicious rum cake ever! Remember this recipe when you are planning your holiday desserts this year. It will for sure be a hit!
Happy fall, everyone! My favorite season is underway and I am here to share another adventure from my home state with you all. If you have read any of my past blog posts about New Mexico, you know I love my state and love sharing things for you all to do if you happen to visit. Today, I am sharing an indoor activity surely to be on your list if visiting the Land of Enchantment, Meow Wolf!!
Meow Wolf, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico is a unique, immersive, art attraction unlike any I have ever seen. The House of Eternal Return is based on the premise, something has happened to a family inside a mysterious house and it’s your job to piece together clues to figure out what exactly took place. Visitors are encouraged to venture through the house of the family, and discover secret clues and passageways. There is no one way to explore this art attraction and goers will climb and crawl through many spaces, find hidden rooms and try and make sense of the attraction.
In my opinion, the best way to explore and enjoy Meow Wolf is to get lost, and not spend too much time worrying about clues to find or which way to go. Just take your time to explore every room. Some rooms you will run into more than once, others you will pass a few times before realizing there is some thing new to be seen or crawled through. Every room is different and the unknown really is a great part of enjoying Meow Wolf. Take your time, enjoy each room, sit in your favorite rooms a little longer and just take it all in.
+Getting to Santa Fe– Santa Fe is located 65 miles, about an hour drive, North of Albuquerque. You can easily make the day trip from Albuquerque or Taos or spend the evening in Santa Fe enjoying the city. If you do not have a car on your visit, riding the Rail Runner from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is also an option. Once you arrive at the Santa Fe Plaza (also a must do in Santa Fe) you will have to take a ride share to Meow Wolf, located few miles away.
+Hours of
Operation
Sunday – Thursday 10:00 AM –
8:00 PM
Tuesday – CLOSED
Friday – Saturday 10:00 AM –
10:00 PM
+Ticket Prices
General Admission
Adult $29
Child $21
Senior/Military $25
NM Resident Admission
NM Adult $24
NM Child $17
NM Senior/Military$22
+Things to consider– Meow Wolf in an indoor experience but it is important to keep in mind you will be crawling and climbing through tight spots, wearing appropriate attire will be helpful. There is a snack bar located on the premise serving food and cocktails to enjoy during your visit. There are also several restaurants within walking distance, which offer discounts to patrons of the exhibit for an alternative option. Â Lastly, Meow Wolf also is also known for the amazing concerts and events hosted at the venue throughout the year and worth attending if able during your visit.
Hey, everyone! I am back to share a little bit more with you all about my recent adventures. While traveling to Belize a little over a month ago we decided to make the day trip in Guatemala to Tikal National Park. The whole trip was amazing, but visiting Tikal was most certainly the most amazing part of the trip.
Tikal National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located in the northern region of the Guatemalan rain forest. Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites of the Mayan civilization. Having traveled to several ancient Mayan cities, Tikal is by far my favorite. It was amazingly beautiful to see these ancient ruins through the rain forest and my most favorite part, which I still cannot believe they allow, was we were able to climb the ruins! It was amazing and definitely worth the trip.
+Getting to Tikal–
There are several different ways to get to Tikal depending on where you will be
traveling from. Coming from Belize City, we stayed in San Ignacio, Belize for a
few days to be able to explore and travel to Belize. If you have a rental car,
you can drive across the border. However, there are several things you will
have to do first. You will have to apply for a special permit at least a week
in advance and it will have to be signed and approved by a lawyer. You will
also have to buy insurance in order to drive your car across the border. If you
are planning on driving across the border, be sure to book your rental car in
advance and take care of the permit and insurance before, or else you will not
be able to drive across the border.
We opted for a second option and booked a tour guide for the day. For about $80 US dollars our private tour guide picked us up at our Airbnb, drove us to the Belize/Guatemalan border, took care of everything needed, tickets, lunch, and all border crossing details. The trip to Tikal from the Belize border was about 2 hours. It was an amazing drive through the country of Guatemala, beautiful rain forest and several lakes along the way were a great addition to the trip.
+Exploring Tikal National Park– The park itself is massive and you have to walk/hike to each of the temples spread out across the park. Â I highly recommend having a tour guide as they can easily walk you through the park to the temples. A guide can also help you navigate the park through lesser-used trails to skip the crowds and move from site to site easily. You can most certainly find the temples on your own but it was take much longer and you might miss areas along the way. The temples themselves are unbelievable and beyond beautiful.
+What to wear/take with you-Regardless of the season it is best to take water with you when visiting Tikal. The park is large and if you are visiting during the hottest months, you will definitely need water throughout your day. Also, as I mentioned before, you are allowed to climb the temples, which are many, many steps high, so you will be happy you have a little water with you. Normally, there are really two seasons in Guatemala, Summer and Spring, so it will likely be warm or blazing hot. Light attire, you are able to walk and climb in is most appropriate. Also, you might happen to get caught in the rain, which we did, so a rain poncho or umbrella might come in handy.
I hope this travel guide helps you all plan a visit to Tikal National Park. If you love Mayan culture and exploring you will not be disappointed and most certainly will be left in awe, just like I was.
Hi everyone! I hope your summer has been great and you are indulging in the last few weeks of the season. I know I am! My summer has been filled with lots of travel, and I could not think of a better time to share some tips with you all about how I afford to travel throughout the year and you can too!
First and foremost, I think it is important to say, people who travel often, make traveling a priority and are willing to sacrifice in other areas in order to be able to travel and travel often.
+Budgeting-The first thing to think about when wanting to travel is your budget. How much money are you able to set aside each paycheck for travel? This amount will be different for everyone. For me, traveling is important, so I am willing to set a certain amount aside each month and I am willing to add extra funds to the amount, if available, even if it means forgoing purchases throughout the month. I also have the amount automatically transferred to a travel account each paycheck, which leads me tomy next tip!
+Travel Account-Have a separate savings account for your travel funds. It might not seem like it will make a difference, but having a separate account specifically for traveling helps to save up money for traveling. Something not having to transfer the money yourself and automatically see the amount set aside helps me to keep building my travel fund throughout the year. If you do not have a separate account and you are serious about traveling, I highly recommend giving this tip a try to see how it works for you.
+Cut out unnecessary expenses-If you are like me, before I made it a priority to travel, I found it hard to find ways to cut back on expenses so I was able to save more. Once I was serious about traveling and really looked at what expenses I could cut out, I found several ways to create extra travel savings.
STOP EATING OUT!! I honestly, CANNOT stress this enough!! One of the main ways I save money for travel is eating at home. Yes, that means I pack my lunch, make dinner every night, turn down lunches and dinners BUT it saves me so much money each month!
Cancel monthly subscriptions- I am guilty of this myself. I love me a monthly subscription, but I had to take a look how much it was costing me each month and ask myself if I was really using the products I was receiving. I was able to cut back some and add this money to my travel fund.
Cancel cable and unnecessary utilities- It is amazing how much you can save by cutting back on cable, dish or whatever you use. There are so many options for TV these days, you can cut back and still watch many of the shows you love.
+Use Google Travel to research flights- Before any trip, I always start my research by using google travel. I love it because it will bring up the location you are interested in but it will also show the price to fly to any location across the world for the dates you have selected. This will give you an idea of what airline you can book travel at the lowest cost, give you options of different airlines and gives you what you need to book with whatever airline you choose. You can also track flights and google will alert you if the price drops or goes up. It is a great way to keep track of flight trends.
+Book flights on Tuesday and Wednesday-Trust me, after years of traveling and researching, I know from experience flights are cheaper on Tuesday and Wednesday. I search flights nearly every day, especially if I have a destination in mind and booking on these days will save you some money.
+Travel to cheaplocations-I cannot tell you how many times the location I decided to travel to was based on it being the cheapest place to travel for my travel dates. Really! There is not a place in the world I do not want to see, so I am open to looking at my options. Mexico City, Greece, Hawaii were all destinations I traveled to because they were the cheapest for the dates I needed. Saved mesome money and I have not been disappointed by the cheaper destination.
+Sign up for hotel,airlines and credit card points– If you are serious about traveling this is one way to enjoy some of the benefits for the money you spend traveling. If Iam booking a hotel I usually book through a website (hotels.com, Expedia, etc.) This will give me one free night for every 10. Might not sound like much but I’ll take a free night in a hotel anytime. You can save your days and use them consecutively if you like as well. I also try to book hotels where you can earn points through the hotel bonus program such as SPG Rewards. There are certain hotels under SPG and I usually try to stay loyal to the hotels to earn points to use later. I do the same with airlines; I usually try to book withDelta or American. This way, the points I earn for a flight add up over timeand I can use towards an airline ticket in the future. The same goes for mycredit card. I use all my points from purchases throughout the year for travel, be it hotels or flights, but all my points go towards reducing the cost of my travel.
+Save on lodging with Airbnb-I love my a hotel stay but depending how long I will be visiting an area sometimes the cost of a hotel is just not doable. Airbnb is great alternative to be able to stay in the area you would like for a much cheaper cost. While traveling Italy, I could not believe the deals I found, with views of the Colosseum in Rome, across from the Duomo in Milan. It was amazing and more than worth the nightly Airbnb price.
+Visit locations where you have family and friends-Often, throughout the year, I visit places where I have friends and family. I am lucky to have loved ones across the US and it is always a great time to visit their city and explore with them. Often, I get to spend a night or the entire time with them at their home and I do not have to pay for a hotel. This saves a ton of money and helps me travel to several different cities each year.
+Travel during the off season- If you really want to save money on travel,travel during the off-season. Often flights and hotels are much cheaper duringthe off-season. I have done this severaltimes and it saved me so much money. When traveling to Australia, it was summer time in America, but the beginning of winter down under. While I was there the weather was more like fall, perfect to explore and smaller lines and waiting for attractions. It was awesome!
I hope some of these tips help you, like they have helped me to travel the world and you are able to check a place off your bucket list this year.
Hi everyone! It’s been a minute but I’m back with my first blog post of the summer! I know, I know, I had big plans to publish weekly blog post AND I really spent my summer traveling and didn’t do a lot of blog posting. It’s life. Good news is, I have lots of content to share with you guys, and am excited to start with the best vacation of the summer, Belize!
+Getting to Belize- The easiest way to get to Belize, is to book your plane ticket and enjoy the ride. The most popular airport, Belize International Airport is located in Belize City. Our connecting flight from Dallas was about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Getting to the beach once in Belize City- You will have two options to get to the beach, known as the Caye’s (say it like Keys) in Belize. Once you arrive in Belize City, there are several flight companies who offer flights, almost hourly to the Caye’s (Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker.) The flights to the caye’s cost about $80 US dollars and it takes you a short 15 minutes to arrive in the Caye’s and are tons of fun and well worth the experience. You a can also take a ferry to the Caye’s cost about $15 US dollar for a ticket each way. A ferry ride will take 2-3 hours to arrive to the Caye’s.
+Renting a car in Belize– Belize International Airport has many car rental offices just outside of the airport. You can make reservations online ahead of time or book at the airport as long as they have cars available.
+Things to consider when renting a car in Belize– If you plan to take your car across the boarder to Guatemala, you will need to purchase insurance and a permit. You also need to have a letter signed by a lawyer and that can only be done during the week and ahead of time. The Belizian people will help you to complete this task if needed but it definitely need to be done ahead of time. Secondly, they will ask you if you are planning to go off roading and if you need four wheel drive, and you are going to say no, and then you will end up on unpaved, rocky road while driving around the country!! Promise. There are so many unpaved roads, even getting resorts, and rain and you will need some kind of SUV.
+What to do in Belize– There are many things to do in Belize, on the beach and inland. Most people visit Belize for some beach life and a peek at that aqua blue water. When traveling to the Caye’s you have a few options such as Caye Caulker, the Amberguis Caye’s and a few others. There is no shortage of beach activities such as snorkeling, fishing, visiting the town when you arrive to you beach destination, it will all depend on how you plan on spending time on the beach.
Driving inland you can also drive to different beaches across the island coast such as Hopkins. The drive is beautiful along the Humming Bird Highway!! You will also find smaller, less visited cities, such as the city of San Ignacio. This is a great option of a city to stay in if you are planning on traveling to Tikal (stay tuned for my Tikal Travel Guide) or visiting the ATM Cave. I was able to do both on my trip and they were both amazing. ATM Cave is like nothing I have ever experienced, as you explore a cave discovered by the Mayans and is believed to be part of the Mayan Underworld. It was unreal!! And they don’t allow cameras so I’ll only be able to tell you about it. If you are up for an adventure this is for you. You will walk across rivers, swim to the entrance of the cave, and climb through water and boulders to The Cathedral and The Crystal Maiden and a peek at Mayan artifacts and rituals. It’s so scary and so amazing at the same time. Definitely, an experience I’ll never forget.
+Where to stay in Belize-Since we were driving around the country while, across the border into Guatemala, back to the coast and then to Belize City and lastly, to San Pedro, we stayed at three different locations. Some Airbnb’s and some hotels/resort. I highly recommend all of them, ending the day at these great places really added to our stay.
San Ignacio-Suzy’s Villa (Airbnb)
Hopkins- Jaguar Reef Resort
Ambergues Caye- Matachica Resort
+ What to eat in Belize– As long as you like seafood or chicken you’ll find plenty to eat in Belize. I honestly ate lobster every day!! Market price was about $15 US dollars so how could I not! Anything seafood you can think of, you can find, shrimp curry(you’ll be surprised), crab claws, shrimp tacos, calamari, anything. They also eat a lot of chicken in Belize so many places have delicious chicken dishes. Don’t be afraid to try the street food. We ate lots of street food, mostly tacos. They were delicious and perfect when we were tired from a day of adventuring and on our way back to the Airbnb.
Over all I loved my time in Belize. If I were to do it over again, I would do it the exact same way, with some inland adventure and a little beach time. The people from Belize were so kind and helpful and helped us with any little hick up during our stay, and helped everything along the way.
I’m back, everyone! It’s been a minute. Life has been happening and most everything has not been going as planned! But I’ve been embracing the change and trying to enjoy whatever comes, just like this little getaway to Mexico City! You guys, I fell in love with Mexico City!! I wasn’t something I was expecting. I honestly have not loved a city this much since Barcelona!! Mexico City is beautiful, full of history and culture, has an amazing food scene, and no shortage of things to do.
+Getting to Mexico City- I don’t know if any of you have checked out flights to Mexico City lately, but it is a very reasonable place to travel. Most any day of the week you can find a round trip flight for under $300! In the travel world that’s a crazy good deal. Once you arrive in CDMX it is very easy and affordable, and by affordable, I mean super cheap, to use Uber for all of your travels. A ride from the airport to our Airbnb in Roma Norte was under $10, which is just crazy based on the distance and time in the car. However, it makes it very easy to get around and see everything you’ve been wanting to check out. We also, took a our chances on the metro to get from Roma Norte to Zocalo. I have never in my life seen a metro station so clean! Seriously, it’s obviously very busy, frequently used, but well kept, clean, just unreal. The metro was relatively easy to navigate, but be prepared for packed cars all throughout the day. It was easy enough and definitely and option for anyone traveling the city.
+Where to stay– Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world and there are no shortage of hotels all throughout the different areas of the city for you to book for your stay in the city. We opted for an Airbnb in the area of Roma Norte and it was one of the best decisions we made for the trip. This area is not located close to many popular attractions, but as I said it is very easy to navigate the city on the metro or by Uber. So we preferred to stay in an area we preferred and travel during the day to the busier areas and attractions. I truly believe when visiting Mexico City, much of what you experience and enjoy about your trip will be based on the area of town you are staying in. The coffee shops you find around the corner, the parks and restaurants you stumble across while exploring the city really make the trip for you and make you fall in love with the city. There are so many amazing areas and the prices are amazing for the amazing, modern, accommodations you can find. With a little searching you’ll find an amazing place for a great price.
+ Area to consider staying while in Mexico City:
Roma Norte
Condesa
Polanco
Coyoacan
+Things to do- As I mentioned before, Mexico City has no shortage of things to do. I’m sure, if you have been considering traveling to CDMX, you have your own list of attractions to visit. Depending on the length of time you will be in the city, you should have time to visit most everything within a few days. We didn’t get to do everything we wanted to but we we more than content with everything we got to see and what better excuse to visit the city again.
CDMX Areas & Attractions:
Plaza Nacional
Angel de La Indepencia
Museo de Bellas Artes
Zocalo
Tempo Mayor
Coyoacan
Frida Kahlo Museum
Museo Soumaya
Museo Nacional de Antroplogia
Xocomilco
Frida Kahlo museum is in the area of Coyoacan, which is a great area to explore. This attraction is very popular. I recommend buying tickets online, before hand to minimize your wait. Even with tickets you will wait in a shorter line, without a ticket and purchasing at the location you will wait in line for at over an hour. It’s worth the online purchase.
+Areas To Explore-
Roma Norte
Condesa
Zocalo
Polanco
Coyoacan
El Centro
Templo Mayor
+What and Where To Eat- Another thing you may not have heard about Mexico City is about it’s amazing food scene! The amazing food we ate was one of the most amazing things about our trip. And let me tell you about the price! Incredibly reasonable!! We could believe our bill each will after the amazing food we enjoyed. We ordered everything family style, which helped us try many more items on the menu than ordering on our own.
You will run into amazing restaurants while exploring the city. If you pass by something you like, I’d stop and see if they take reservations. Most restaurants do and it is the best way to make sure you get to enjoy the food you are looking forward to trying. Most of the popular restaurants named below will be booked a few weeks in advance and will require a reservation.
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