My weekend flew by in a whirlwind. I can’t believe it’s Monday already. How did that happen?
I worked.
And I tackled household cleaning projects, did lots of laundry, ran some errands, went grocery shopping, did blog and computer work, cooked, did my fair share of dishes, and other similarly thrilling domestic chores.
I also bought our airfare to Aruba
We’re leaving in early December with open-ended return tickets.
Who knows if or when we’ll return to California.
(gotcha for a second)
We do have return tickets.
But the thought has crossed both Scott’s mind and my mind to just not return and live in our house there
And let the hustle and bustle of life here in California go on without us.
And drink mango watermelon juice from the Green Hut.
With this view, it’s tempting. Trust me.
But life, work, and duty calls back in San Diego.
And I do love San Diego and where I live, and honestly think I’d go a little batty and stir-crazy after a few months on the island
Or at the very least would miss Trader Joe’s terribly
I was able to get two of our tickets using frequent flyer miles accrued through my credit card miles and one ticket we paid for.
Airfare now through the holidays will just keep going up and up, and frequent flyer dates will get blacked out, so I’m glad I handled it now.
Because come December, we’ll be ready to be here
Handling travel plans
And noshing on Caramel Apple Bars were a few highlights of my weekend
Another highlight was they were ‘Gawked and ‘Tasted
And finally, the winner of the Case of Odwalla Bars Giveaway is:
“omg! This is Josh’s favorite flavor! He’d go nuts if we won! Pick us! 
I like mojo bars and homemade bars as well (I just typed bras haha). Hope you have a fantastic weekend”
Congrats, Erica (and Josh)!
Questions:
1. Best thing you ate or did over the weekend? Any special highlights?
2. How far in advance do you purchase airfare or book your travel?
We used to do spontaneous trips when it was just Scott and I. We’d go to Napa for the weekend, or Tahoe, or Vegas, or even farther away destinations, but we were flexible and able to travel very last-minute and take advantage of the internet travel deal sites and specials.
Sometimes leaving last minute works in your favor on price.
Sometimes, like with holiday-season travel, leaving last minute almost ensures that you will overpay.
Or that tickets on your preferred travel dates will be sold out. There are only so many seats and flights on those coveted flights a few days before and a few days after Christmas and the airlines know this and price things accordingly. Sigh. Or everyone else buys the tickets you want.
So with holiday travel, I book a 2-3 months out.
Going anywhere for the holidays this year that you know of already? For either Thanksgiving or Christmas?
If you’re just catching up on posts from the weekend, here were mine since Friday:
Have a great week!
I have never traveled out of town for the holidays before, so I have never actually thought about things like buying plane tickets in advance. Pretty much my whole life my entire family has lived without about an hour of each other, on both sides. It’s only recently that I had a couple of relatives move out of state. So they fly in to see the rest of us. Holiday travel in general feels different to me because it just doesn’t cross my mind.
But from all of your amazing Aruba pictures, I might have to travel sometime other than the busiest time of year just to soak up some sunshine!
Aruba? I’m SO JEALOUS. You’re going to have an awesome time!!
Usually, I like to book my airfare tickets four to six months in advance. I know that sounds a tad far out, but usually I can get the best deals then and let’s be honest, the anticipation before a trip is the best part!!! :)
We wanna get somewhere hot for Christmas, but I think we’d better get serious about where and book it soon. I certainly don’t want to overpay!
Congrats–it’s so smart to get flights booked early and with airmiles or sim.
Good self-knowledge that you think you probably wouldn’t want to stay there forever.
I just blogged about ‘knowing your audience’ and ‘marketing’ and talked about you and your post on that quite a lot — https://ulteriorharmony.blogspot.com/2011/09/here-comes-trouble-knowing-your.html –thanks for the inspiration!
i need to plan a winter vacay, need to get tickets now so i can get them cheap!! im actually about to go to CALI in two weeks :) jealous that you LIVE there. i would like to go aruba someday, or any tropical island really. i want to get to see that blue/clear ass water some day.
Best thing I ate this weekend were these little japanese pancake desserts called Imagawayaki filled with adzuki (red bean paste) in Little Tokyo in DTLA =)
My husband and I usually plan a year or 2 in advance for our big trips and I booked our airfare for December of this year at the end of January! Sounds crazy but since we were using airline miles for RT tickets, I knew I had to grab them the minute they were available! We are looking forward to visiting the Christmas markets in Vienna and Prague in December =)
So awesome about Aruba, I’d be tempted to stay too! Especially after the busy months I’ve had!
1. Spent time with my sisters eating out and shopping. And having a great dinner out with hubby.
2. Totally depends, typically a few months. But sometimes last minute trips happen.
I was just having this “when-should-you-book-the-tickets?” conversation with my boyfriend re: December travel. What a PIA that time of year can be for traveling, especially because even if your travel has nothing to do with the actual holidays, you get lumped in to contend with that group because it’s still your school/work break and hence your only time off. I think now would be a good time to get all that done. Kudos to you for crossing it off the list!
I need a house in Aruba.
Wow that is beautiful!! I have to admit, I am super jealous! ;D
I’d take southern Cali in a heartbeat though!!
Wait…can we trade lives? You know you want to come live in a small condo in the suburbs of Philly ;-) I will flip between San Diego and Aruba. Ugh…those views! I would be tempted too!
Can you maybe do a post in the future as to HOW you do it ALL??!! Work, do the harder job of being a mom, homemaker, blogger, etc, etc, etc. I have never seen a more amazing example of someone that gets SO much done successfully! I am lucky if I get one load of laundry in a day….and make dinner more than 2x a week for the family. Well, that’s because my husbands impossible and I make my quick meals for myself most of the time.
Booking in advance…we usually do it as soon as we can. This way we get in on a good rate!
Well, in between jet-setting, the humdrum of real life exists! I always wonder if I paint the wrong picture with posts like this b/c yes, as you said, I work 7 days a week as a mom, my hubs is gone/traveling much of the time, plus my own job, blog, etc…
How do I do it all? Be really organized. Prioritize. And sleep 4 hours a night :)
Oh man, I’m seriously jealous you have that trip on your horizon. After the holiday buzz is over I start to get seriously depressed with the winter crap weather in NY. Thankfully, we always have my MIL to visit in FL but that barely feels like vacation. at least it’s sunny though. Right now we have no future trips planned and it’s killing me. I need something to look forward too :)
I love having exciting things to look forward to! You all must be stoked, too. And look at you go with those frequent flyer miles. That is awesome! And those pictures…my, I wouldn’t mind sitting there for a bit…
My weekend? I went to visit a friend in upstate NY – so all of it was a blast :] It was a good “detox” from the usual routine, and I can’t wait to go back soon…
JEALOUS! Both of your vacation plans and where you call home…
I need to move!
Brooke
http://www.TheAnnessaFamily.blogspot.com
I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS POST!! i didn’t want to bug ya, but i kept thinking, “she’s gotta get her aruba tix soon!?!?”
i agree – aruba is AMAZING…but i don’t think i could live there. the longest we ever stayed was four weeks, and to be honest, i was ready for home (and dare i say even a bit less sun and heat) by then.
glad you had a great weekend!
maybe spontaneous trips will come back once skylar is older!
Aruba looks so beautiful. . . (& you totally got me with the not returning to California :/ in my defense, i was still slightly groggy from my nap :D)