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Los Angeles

Our main flight to Thailand (16 hours) left out of Los Angeles. Due to it being a ridiculously long flight, we decided to fly to Los Angeles a day early to give ourselves a break in flying. We arrived in LA at 9am, took a taxi to our hotel, checked in, and spent the rest of the day exploring!

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Marina del Ray and had a great experience! I highly recommend this hotel. It is about a 10 minute drive from LAX and it is one of the stops for the hop-on-hop-off bus tour! This made it very convenient for us.

After we got settled in our room, we headed out to catch the bus. We decided to do the bus tour in LA because of traffic and parking. The (Green Line) bus picked us right in front of our hotel. We drove through Venice, Marina del Ray, and Santa Monica.

We had to switch lines (red) which took us to all the attractions we wanted to see:

Beverly Hills

Rodeo Drive

Farmers Market and the Grove

Walk of Fame (specifically the Backstreet Boys Star)

We ate lunch at Pinks Hot Dogs. It was delish!

Chinese Theater. There happened to a premiere the evening we were there so we got to see them setting up!

We got pretty close to the Red Carpet!

Mall at Dolby Theater

Hollywood Sign! Tip- to get good views of this. Go to the third floor of the Mall at Dolby Theater.

We concluded our evening by meeting my husband’s cousin, Rachel in Venice Beach for dinner. After dinner we stopped to get ice cream at Salt and Straw. If you’re ever in LA, I highly recommend Salt and Straw! It was the best ice cream we’ve ever had (and we eat a lot of ice cream)!

We had a great day in Los Angeles which was the beginning of our trip in Thailand and Singapore!

Singapore

Well, I am about 4 months late in posting this but I have a very good reason… Our greatest adventure is about to begin…we are pregnant with twins after years of struggling with infertility! We are absolutely thrilled but I will talk more about that in the future! This post is about the beautiful and unique country of Singapore!

I’m not even sure how to describe Singapore… The newer section reminds me of Dubai with the over the top architecture, how clean it was, and the prices were astronomical. However, when you leave the newer parts of Singapore, it becomes pretty seedy.

Once our plane landed, we went through customs (fastest customs experience ever), and then grabbed a taxi to take us to the Ferris Wheel. I know all the big cities are building these now but I hate it because it’s taking away from the London Eye.

We then headed towards Helix Bridge.

We had fun taking pictures on the bridge. We made some friends from China while taking a picture and they even asked to get a picture taken with us, they kept calling us “honeymooners”.

Our next stop was the Marina Bay Sands or often called the “The Boat Hotel”. Marina Bay Sands contains a hotel, a huge mall, restaurants, and a boardwalk with gorgeous views.

Walking around the mall! We didn’t buy anything because we found out they don’t take Visa and we didn’t bring enough foreign currency. Plus, everything was VERY expensive.

Enjoying the breathtaking views from the boardwalk!

This was one of my favorite meals in Thailand and Singapore. It was just chicken and vegetables with rice but it was delicious!

Our next stop was my favorite in Singapore… Garden by the Bay.

This attraction is 2 huge glass domes filled with plants, waterfalls, and bridges! It is truly breathtaking.

We paid a little extra to go up in the Cloud Forest in the Gardens. This is exactly what it’s called, we felt like we were in clouds in the middle of a forest. It was incredibly beautiful! It just happened to start pouring while we were up there and since the dome is all glass, it got really foggy. It was such a unique experience.

Afterwards, we walked around the outside of the gardens.

We then headed out of the newer part of Singapore and into Chinatown.

Chinatown is exactly what you’d expect it to be… tons of restaurants and shops. It was fun to walk around but I prefer San Francisco and London’s Chinatown the best ! 🙂

Our final stop was the Hindu Temple. It was pouring down rain at this point so we only stopped for a few minutes. It was a very unique building with a lot of color and things to look at.

I realized Judd must not have been in a photogenic mood, he took most of the pictures!!

If you go to Singapore, I don’t think you need to stay more than a day or two! The metro (and city) is very clean and really easy to navigate. If you haven’t been, definitely add this country to your list!

I have two more trips to write about and then my blog might be turning into mostly a mom blog!

Thailand

We recently returned home from an AMAZING two weeks in Thailand and Singapore to celebrate our 4^th anniversary. Seriously, this was one of our favorite trips ever! I could write 10 posts just about Thailand but I will instead write one about Thailand and one about Singapore. This long post (sorry) will be about Thailand.

Can you tell that I love Thailand? I love, love, love it! We had the best time.

We first arrived to our hotel in Bangkok, Amari Watergate. I loved this hotel, it’s a 4 star hotel located in the heart of Bangkok. The hotel is very modern and luxurious, the employees are wonderful, AND they have the best breakfast I’ve ever had.

We did all the touristy things in Bangkok….

We visited the Grand Palace; this is the biggest tourist attraction in Bangkok. This was the residence of the Kings of Siam and Thailand. Now, it is being used for official events.

The Grand Palace is beautiful and there is so much to look at, here are a few more pictures:

We then walked a few blocks to see the Reclining Buddha.

How cool is this? It was huge, this is only half of it!

I placed money in 108 bronze bowls which represents the 108 characters of Buddha. This is supposed to bring good luck and the money also helps Thai monks.

The final temple that we visited had the Golden Buddha. I expected this to be bigger because it’s worth $250 million but it was still pretty!

You probably noticed in a few pictures that I had interesting clothes on, if you don’t have long enough clothes to go in the temples then you have to rent clothes. It was 100 degrees there so I did not pack long clothes so we paid to rent clothes.

We then rode in a tuk-tuk!

This was a must- do in Thailand!!

My favorite day in Bangkok was a day tour that we took! Honestly, not only was this one of my favorite days of this trip but this was one of my favorite days ever!

We first went to the Floating Market Dumnoen Saduak!

We hopped into a long-tailed speed boat and off we went to explore the canals.

It was quite amazing, there are hundreds of people selling things from canoes: fruits, clothing, and artifacts.

Once you get to the end of the market, you can get out and do more shopping on foot.

I got to hold the cutest lemur.

How adorable is he?

And Judd held this scary guy!!! Ick!

While we were there it was over 100 degrees!

While shopping, I heard a noise and looked down and saw this dog hanging out in this fridge! He obviously wasn’t a fan of the heat and decided to cool off! It was adorable! I couldn’t blame him, it was HOT!

After the market, we headed to lunch. We ate lunch at a floating restaurant that happened to be right next to the Bridge over River Kwai.

This is the railway that Japan’s POW in WWII built from Thailand to Burma. It is known as the Death Railway because thousands of people died while building this.

Next, was our favorite part of the entire trip! We rode elephants! I did a ton of research before this excursion because I did not want to ride elephants or give money to a place that abused elephants. I learned that it is actually illegal to mistreat elephants in Thailand, they will be thrown in jail if caught. 99% of Thai citizens worship elephants and would never harm them.

When we first arrived to the elephant camp they put on a little show for us.

I got an elephant massage.

We both got kisses <3

Then it was time to ride elephants!

We took turns riding on her back.

It was an exhilarating experience and at times scary!

BEST DAY EVER!

We ended the day and our time in Bangkok by going bamboo rafting down the Kwai River.

It was really fun!

At first I wasn’t going to get in the water because I was worried about how clean it would be. I realized after a couple of minutes that it was clean and since it was 100 degrees I wanted to cool off!

After 5 days in Bangkok, we took a flight to Phuket. Phuket is considered the “pearl of Thailand”. It has the worlds most beautiful beaches!

We stayed at the Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach. This hotel was very modern, the staff was wonderful, and it was right on the beach!

This part of our trip was very relaxing!

We spent most of the week relaxing by the pool and beach! I read a lot of good books , took some long naps, and soaked up some Vitamin D! The sun was very intense but luckily neither of us got sun-burnt!

One day, we took a boat tour to Phi Phi with Phuket Sail Tours. This was an incredible day! The company picked us right up from the hotel and took us to the pier for breakfast. After breakfast, we headed out on the speedboat.

Our first stop was Maya Beach in Phi Phi. How beautiful is this?

This is where they filmed the movie “The Beach”

We then headed to Monkey Beach where we got to feed the monkeys from the boat.

Next, was a snorkeling stop at Phi Phi Le and then Phi Phi Don. I love the water and snorkeling, I was the first one off the boat each time!

We then ate a delicious lunch on Pi Phi Don Island and then went swimming and relaxed on Bamboo Island. I was very impressed with this company, they went out of their way to make sure the guests were having fun! They had tons of food and drinks and even had extra things to make our trip enjoyable, such as mats to lay on at the beach. I highly recommend Phuket Sail Tours!

What a fun day with my favorite person!

On one of our last days of vacation we went to Tiger Kingdom in Phuket.

I got to play with two tiger cubs!

They were so cute!

Judd and I then took a few pictures with 4 big tigers. This was really fun and scary!

Cheers to an AMAZING time in Thailand!

Also, during this trip we went to Singapore. I will write about Singapore in my next entry! I hope you enjoyed reading about our Thailand adventure! It is an adventure that we will never forget! 🙂

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Just a warning this recipe is very filling!!! It could easily feed a family of 6+!

Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 block Velveeta cheese (1lb)
2 chicken breasts diced
1 lb box spaghetti noodles
Cheddar cheese (grated) to cover the top of the pan

Instructions

Cook chicken and dice into bite sized pieces
Cook noodles and drain
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low/medium heat
Pour ingredients into a 9×13 pan
Top with cheese
Bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts (around 20-30 minutes)

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

I’ve been searching for a tasty and easy way to cook wild caught, pink salmon for months. After a lot of trial and error, I’m happy to share a DELICIOUS salmon recipe! The best part (besides it being delicious) is it only took me 30 minutes to prepare and cook!

Ingredients

1 lb. of salmon fillets
2 tablespoons butter
¾ cup Italian breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper on both sides
Place the salmon skin side down on a lined rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (makes for an easy cleanup)
Brush the tops with half the melted butter
Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and remaining butter in a mixing bowl
Press the crumb mixture evenly onto the tops of the salmon
Bake at 400 degrees for around 15 minutes (depends on the thickness of the fillets)
Enjoy!!!

Costa Rica

We just recently got back from an incredible week in the gorgeous Costa Rica! We travel frequently but this is the first truly relaxing trip we’ve had since our honeymoon, our trips are usually nonstop adventures.

We flew into Liberia and spent half the week in the rain forest in Bagaces and the other half at the beach in Tamarindo.

We drove all around Costa Rica, it was safe and fairly easy to navigate! First up, the rain forest in Bagaces!

If you want an experience like no other, I highly recommend staying at Rio Perdido. This resort is in the middle of the rain forest and guests stay in luxurious tree bungalows. The staff goes over and beyond to ensure you have a great vacation!

There are only 20 bungalows so it’s very private and quiet!

Here are a couple of pictures of the inside of the bungalows.

The pictures don’t portray how nice the bungalows really are! The linens, toiletries, and amenities are pure luxury! We even liked their toiletries so much that I ordered some to be sent home!

Here are a few pictures of the beautiful resort:

This is where we ate all of our meals and the food is all organic and delicious!

There are tons of activities to do here: white water tubing, hiking, zip lining, relaxing in hot thermal springs, relaxing at the spa, biking, and swimming in one of three pools.

We were really tired our first day so we relaxed in our bungalow, watched the monkeys from our porch, ate an early dinner, and slept for 12 hours!

If you look closely at the three pictures above you can see the monkey’s hanging out in the trees!

The next day we felt completely refreshed so we decided we should do something adventurous! We went white water tubing and it was an absolute blast!!! We actually considered doing this twice! Here are a few pictures:

Later that day, we took a short hike to the hot thermal springs/mud bath. This was very fun and peaceful!

DCIM100GOPRO — Not the best picture of us! The water was really hot!

The next morning we went on a hike. The landscape was beautiful but but we ended the hike early because it was 100 degrees!

We saw an anteater!

We spent the rest of the day hanging out by the pool.

My redheaded husband hiding from the intense sun!

Half way through the week, it was time to check out of Rio Perdido. 🙁 We headed towards Tamarindo Beach. On the way we stopped at the Llano de Cortes Waterfall!

This is a must see if you’re ever in Costa Rica! It took my breath away.

We spent the afternoon at the falls: swimming, relaxing, and climbing behind the falls.

We then headed towards Tamarindo Beach. Tamarindo did not disappoint, it’s one of the nicest (if not the nicest) beach towns I’ve ever been too. It’s an upscale surf town completely filled with Americans.