I recently read an article about the 15 Best All-Inclusive Resorts. Of course, they all look wonderful with their beautiful pools, beautiful beaches, and comfortable lounge chairs with umbrellas. Other articles I’ve read mention the advantage of all-inclusive vacations is that you don’t have to worry about paying for each meal or tipping service staff. The disadvantage is that you pay a high per-day rate whether you use the available amenities or not. What if instead, you

Did you know that Jaws 2 was filmed on Navarre Beach in 1977? According to Google and Facebook (what better reference source than those for accuracy😊), the reason was “the warm weather and the water’s depth being appropriate for the shark platform.” There is a new documentary coming out about the filming of the movie titled Back In The Water. The following is a link to an article in the Pensacola News Journal about the documentary: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/nav

In a previous blog article, Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping a Simplified Solution, I mention that groceries are the 3rd largest expenditure for a family and quoted the USDA food plans and monthly costs for a family of 4. According to RamseySolutions.com—the average monthly spend for groceries currently is 1 person: $167-$385 2 people: $382-800 Family of 4: $588-1344 Unlike housing and transportation costs (first and second highest expenditures), you can control your sp

Does anyone else remember the TV show on the Food Network called “Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee”? The premise was that by using some prepared items you can save time and still be creative. You can enjoy good food but cut out some of the prep time and a lot of the cleanup time (we love that both on vacation and at home). An interesting fact is that while on vacation we are more likely to try new things! And often vacation will spark a new creative flow within us! Think a

Looking for a great place to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas this year? Come on down to the beautiful Emerald Coast of Northwest Florida (specifically Navarre Beach or Pensacola Beach). Trade in the white snow and gray skies for white sand, and aquamarine waters! Even if you don’t go swimming in the Gulf during your visit you can walk on the beach and search for shells. Bring blankets and some hot coffee down to the beach and watch as God paints the skies (the picture ab

For many people, grocery shopping is Decision Overload. Here are just a few of the decisions: Where to Shop? Online? Store? Which Brand—National Chains (Walmart, Target), Local Chains (Kroger, Publix, Trader Joes) or Discount Chain (Aldi’s, Win-Co)? How frequent? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? As Needed? Fresh or Frozen? Organic? Non-GMO? Brown or White Eggs? Fat-Free or Whole Milk? Low Carb? High Protein? Processed? Whole Grain? Kosher? And the average grocery store has ov

Updates to articles written during 2021. In previous posts, I shared ideas for Road Tripping to Navarre and steps you can take to protect your family during Covid. But I have never before investigated the process with small children (under the age of 5). To help prepare this article, I enlisted the help of a young family from Arkansas. They are both working parents with a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. The 3 yr old’s first trip to Navarre Beach was pre-pandemic when she was

One of my first blog articles (November 2018) was titled Holiday Planning: Menus, Rooms, and Entertainment Ideas. It came from a week of Facebook posts in 2017 where I broke down each area and provided tips for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. Another post was about Social Gatherings in a Physically Distant World (2020). This article is a merging of ideas from both of those articles. I’ve written several blog articles about event planning, holiday planning, meal pl