by Wendy
1) A change of scenery. As much as I love cities, I appreciated being out in the country, surrounded by family, tranquill trees, Kentucky bluegrass and greenish lake, lightening bugs and quiet.
2) Driving a boat for the first time. Feeling the warm sun and breeze cutting through a humid afternoon as you steer through the water. Stopping in the shade for some of us to swim, all of us to relax and talk and laugh. Continue reading
by Sunny
follow me on Twitter @sunnylooksleaps
First things first…no season 7 spoilers ahead 🙂
Maybe you don’t have HBO or enjoy 1,000+ page books and you’ve never heard of/seen Game of Thrones. You’re not sure what the hype is about. All of the Tweets and Instas of Game of Thrones watch parties and countdowns to Season 7 baffle you. Well, whether you’re new to the game or a diehard fan, I have a fun story to share about a Game of Thrones themed dinner Jimmy and I attended the night before the Season 7 premiere.
by Wendy
There are a lot of things I love about New Jersey. Visiting family. Spending a day at the shore. The boardwalk arcades. Seeing landmarks of my husband’s childhood. The accent. I also really love the food in New Jersey.
As Jack will tell you, New Jersey knows Italian food. Even residents without any Italian ancestry have strong opinions on where to get the best cannoli, mozzarella or prosciutto (even if many don’t pronounce the last vowel – it’s “mozzerelle” or “prosciutt”). The New Jersey tomato should have its own blog about how great it is. I might even say New Jersey pizza style is superior to my beloved New York City and Chicago (please, no hate mail). Continue reading
by Wendy
I always look forward to spring break visits from my sister April and nephew J. We love hanging out in our DC neighborhood and taking road trips to nearby cities like NYC. Since they’ve been to Washington many times previously, Jack and I always try to design a varied itinerary.
At the top of the list this year are the recently opened National Museum of African American History and Culture and the temporary Yayoi Kusama “Infinity Mirrors” exhibit at the Hirshhorn. While all Smithsonian museums are busy, these two are generating a lot of buzz. I hadn’t the privilege of seeing either one yet. Both offer free admission, but require timed entry passes due to popularity. The advance online option doesn’t work out, so I must try for same-day timed entry tickets. I’m determined to secure entry to at least one of these coveted attractions, though there’s a good chance this will involve standing in at least one long line. Continue reading
by Wendy
Jack and I have been in town a lot recently. We take advantage of time between trips to enjoy a quiet routine, including delicious home cooked meals that Jack makes and happy hour in our own living room.
Beer and wine are quite portable, easy to pack for a road trip or pop open after returning from a long journey. But you need the right ingredients and a bit more care to mix an excellent drink. So non-travel weekends often include Manhattans, gin cocktails, or my latest favorite, a Bloody Mary. We’ve tried several different recipes, but my go-to is as follows: Continue reading
by Wendy
Jack and I are taking another Spanish class this year. In many ways, we are good students. We arrive on time, we participate, we thank our teacher before leaving. We even brought her a bottle of wine, assuming that she probably needs one after listening to our horrific accent for 3 hours. We can laugh at our mistakes. We have the best of intentions to study in the evenings and on the weekends.
Unfortunately what we refer to as “studying” is a mix of mostly ineffective habits. I told Jack I was working on a post titled, “How Not to Study Spanish.” His response: “Yes, we certainly have that down.” Continue reading
by April, Sunny and Wendy
January marked the second anniversary of the launch of Looks and Leaps! We have a variety of authors writing about a variety of destinations – 2016 included Portland, Philadelphia, Disneyland, Disneyworld, Raleigh, Richmond, New York City, Washington DC, Dewey Beach, Iceland, London, and Dover, England. We love looking through the previous years’ archives, and hope you do too. A big thanks to all readers for stopping by, and anyone who has taken the time to share a (non spam) comment!
While our stories are primarily focused on travel, you’ll also find the occasional style tip, recipe or seasonal post. To celebrate this anniversary, we have a special treat: the Looks and Leaps pets! Interesting articles on travel are one thing, but there’s nothing like cute animal photos, right? We totally get it. Continue reading
by Sunny
follow me on Twitter @Sunnylooksleaps
The old proverb may be, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” but I think it’s time to change it to, “Teach the old dog ALL of the new tricks!” Here are some of the new things that I will be trying for the first time this year!
by Wendy
Will recording personal resolutions on this blog make it more likely that I’ll keep them? Probably not, but here goes. Continue reading
by Wendy
Jack and I love our families and we love to travel, so we’re often on the move during the holidays. Every once in awhile, we swap the driving or flights to celebrate at our house. We always look forward to family traditions, but I’ve learned it’s also important to cultivate a few of our own. Regardless of where we spend the season, the month of December is more fun when we make an effort to be festive.
Since we don’t have kids, and Jack in particular works in an industry that is busy this time of year, I admit that I’ve “phoned it in” in the past. Once we didn’t bother with a Christmas tree and put up hardly any decorations. I can’t remember why exactly, but we missed it so much. Continue reading