Shopping While You Travel

Most people consider shopping while they travel to be an inevetiable part of the vacation process, something that they are going to have to do and something that will cost them an awful lot of money. Others however, consider it an intergural part of their vacation. These are the people who know how to find the best deals, not just souviners, but treasures!

I was introduced to this kind of vacation shopping while on my last cruise. While in port, I found that I am suddenly in a forgien country, a country wih different regulations non manufacturing and production, a country with very inespensive treasures. Now I am not talking blood diamonds, I do my research and I am aware of who to bargain with and who to walk away from. But I am talking Tanzanite, one of the worlds most beautiful and rarest gems, designer watches at half the price and purses, jackets, dresses & shoes galore! Not to mention some of the typical authentic country fare that everyone loves when you bring back.

The key it to find high quality at a great price, bring it back and sell it. You can buy cut Tanzanite at a tenth of retail price in some countries and sell it here for a gorgeous profit. The same goes for purses, watches etc. Learn it, know it, pay for your next adventure! :) Happy Travels!

Quick and Easy T-Shirts

My daughter came home from school the other day and needed me to buy her some gym shorts and a gym shirt with her name on the back. Luckily for me, my mother owns a Yudu machine and it whips out screen printed t-shirts like it's nothing! In no time, I had a professional looking t-shirt with her name screen printed on the back. Happy girl... check!

Disney Trip Souvenir Suggestion

 Disney trips can be expensive, at best! And then buying souvenirs can really break the bank. I have come up with a few ideas for my children that have really helped keep things in check. Below you will find the things that we do to keep our souvenir budget under control.

• Postcards: My Favorite! My kids each have a "photo album" with the little sleeves. Every time we go on vacation, they are allowed to get a new photo album. I typically pick them up from the Dollar Store and let them decorate their own. Then as we are traveling, they get to collect postcards from each place we go. They are also encouraged to write about their favorite thing that they saw or did at the location where the postcard was acquired. This has really added a nostalgic touch to their postcard memory albums. 
• Postcards range from $0.25 - $2.00 each. Photo Album $1
• Disney Trading Pins: These are a fun and semi-affordable way to remember your Disney vacation and possibly make a new friend in the process. The way it works is, you buy two pins that you like. You keep one and you trade one with someone else. Disney has special areas and times where everyone gets together to trade their pins.
• Individual Pins range from $10 - $25 and Sets range from $13 - $130
• Pictures: From a Kid's Eye View! I LOVE giving my kids a disposable (now a cheap digital) camera and letting them have at it! They get some of the most interesting pictures. But the best thing about it... the pictures they take are from their vantage point and they remember! They may take a picture of the Moose topiary in front of It's a Small World, something that I would have never photographed. However, that is something they found amazing and wanted to remember. Paired with a few pictures that I take of them, their pictures make the BEST memory books!
• Disposable camera: $9 Developing: $12

These are just a few of my favorite ways to save money when my family travels to Disneyland, but are easily (and often) transferred to other destinations. Happy Travels My Friends!  

Refinishing and Refining

Well, it must be the time of year, the changing of the seasons, that brings out the crazies in me. I have decided to re-do the stairs in my house. I am removing the carpet, refinishing the tops, tiling the faces and hoping not to have to use all of our annuity to do it! It should be gorgeous when it is done and no more of the disgusting carpet, but the work in getting it there, could quite possibly be the death of me!

Pianos in the park...

Pianos in the park, on the sidewalk, beside the fountain.... Wait... what?!? Yep, you heard me right. An article on KSL today said that a British artist has beautifully and eclectically hand-painted pianos and placed them strategically around the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. Now who would want to sit around and listen to a complete stranger play a piano while enjoying their Ben & Jerry's ice cream at the Gateway? Who even cares about music without a Numark mixer to mix it all up, right?!? Well, you would think, right? Well, I guess not. There are still people that appreciate the fine art of piano music and beautiful hand painting, because these pianos are drawing quite a crowd. And anyone can just wander by, take a seat and practice their hand at tickling the ivories. The British chap came up with the idea while sitting at a laundromat. He wondered what people would do if they had a piano, right there while they did their laundry. What an amazing visionary! While I'm doing my laundry, i am wondering what in the world possessed me to come to the Laundromat!