Each month that I visit New York, I research all highly recommended spots to eat so that I can try out local and tourist favorites. This post includes all of my recommended spots to try food within New York. Don't just get pizza and wings...experience the NY life and try different authentic dishes! Top Spot for Korean-Style Fried Chicken: Turntable Chicken Jazz I have never been inside of a more unique restaurant than Turntable. With records, books, and antiques lining the walls, you won't run out of items to observe. I have always wanted to try Korean-style fried chicken, and this place definitely exceeded my expectations. Try a pitcher of their lit-up, frosty beer for a fun experience! Located in Korea Town Top Spot for Ramen: Ippudo This was my first time EVER eating authentic Ramen and I crave it allllll the time now! I sat at the bar and enjoyed the open-table feel. There are a few locations to try Ippudo: Hell's Kitchen, Midtown Manhattan, or East Village Top Spot for Pasta: Da Gennaro Restaurant This intimate spot sits right on the corner with a spacious, open vibe! The patio is a perfect spot for a date on a beautiful night to enjoy pasta by a lit candle and fresh flowers. Located in Little Italy Top Spot for Milkshakes: Buns Bar This milkshake was unbelievably delicious. Believe it or not - trying to eat a milkshake this big was on my NYC bucket list. Hang out at their bar and get a shot added to your piled-high milkshake! Located in Chelsea Top Spot for Unique Ice Cream: Taiyaki This sweet stop is known as one of the top Instagrammed and well-known spots to grab delicious desserts! Taiyaki has received so much social media attention, that they have articles posted on their walls. This Japanese ice cream shop has a variety of fun and decorated options with fish shaped ice cream cones, which represents happiness and prosperity! Not only do they serve ice cream, but they also serve the popular and one of a kind fluffiest pancakes in all of NYC. (Learn from my mistake: I went to Taiyaki to try to the fluffy Japanese pancakes but they ONLY serve them on Friday to Sunday from 11AM-2PM....be ready to wait in line!!! Don't get me wrong...I was upset about not getting to try the pancakes...but the Taiyaki ice cream was definitely worth the trip!) Located in Chinatown Sweet Moments NYC When you think of ice cream, would you think of shaved ice?? I didn't think so either! Sweet Moment NYC features BINGSOO, which is shaved ice that is creamy and delicious. My favorite part about this ice cream spot is that you don't leave feeling super weighed down. Each of their desserts features unique looks, whether you buy a large or small size. Pictured is the small size in a cup pilled high with goodies. Visiting New York should be your time to try new food and recipes...check out Sweet Moment NYC for a twist on delicious desserts! Located in Little Italy (right next to China Town) Top Spot for Coffee Grace Street Cafe Grace Street Cafe is full is yummy surprises. From coffee, milk tea's, churro waffles, beignets, and so much more! Grace Street Cafe is a great place to enjoy some Rose Petal Milk Tea and get some work done on your laptop or to enjoy a dessert with your BFF! This was my first time ever trying Rose Petal Milk Tea and it was phenomenal! Located in Koreatown I will continue to update this page with more places to visit each time I go to NYC!

April showers brought beautiful May flowers for the town of Pella, Iowa. This quaint Dutch town is filled with patches of tulips, large windmills, streets loaded with food stands and vendors in the Dutch Market area, themed parades and fun shows, large playgrounds for kids, and so much more for their Tulip Time Festival! My dad and I have always talked about visiting the tulip fields you see on TV or social media. Although there aren't massive fields of Tulips in Pella like there are in Holland, there are tulip gardens everywhere you look! You would never have thought of visiting Iowa for Tulips, but definitely glad that my best friend and I visited Pella for this exciting festival. Who would've thought that one of the "Fly-Over States" would have an option for you to visit for tulips rather than traveling far and wide to see the flowers?? This event is extremely family-friendly. There is a massive wooden playground available for the kids to play. Take a tour of the Windmill Museum to learn about jobs back in the old days and then climb to the op of the Windmill for a view of the whole city. For the beer-lover, the Peanut Pub is a great place to stop if you are craving a foamy, cold beer after a long day out in the sun. With over 90 local beer options to choose from, you're guaranteed to find a beer that you will want to enjoy on their outside patio. For some picture fun, snap a picture wearing wooden shoes, pose over the pristine waters for a big-city feel glamour shot, or pick out your favorite color of tulips to stand in front of! If you are wanting to eat something fun and unique, try some Pella Bologna or delicious Poffertjes. Take a nice stroll through the Tulip garden in Pella next year for the Tulip Time festival!

When I was a Freshman in college, I saw a lot of advertisements lining the school walls about studying abroad. The sign that stuck out to me the most said: Traveling is an investment, not an expense. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to pay for the trip upfront. I knew I would have to take out a loan. The last thing that I did not want to do was not go on an experience of a life time because I couldn’t pay for it all in one payment. That’s when I decided to go straight to the Study Abroad Office to fill out an application…and that was the best decision of.my.life. Studying abroad opened so many doors for me. Not only professionally, but the personal growth that takes place during and after studying abroad has a huge impact on your outlook on life, culture, and your comfort-ability. Your views on the world or your political beliefs can be swayed when experiencing an environment outside of your hometown and normal settings. In the professional world, studying abroad is a tremendous aspect of your resume, as it shows you did something different, explored outside of your home country, met people of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, made connections within your respective school, and engulfed yourself in a different nation’s history and business ethics. I was told when you study abroad, you become addicted to traveling…and that is NO lie! I had studied abroad in the mesmerizing city of Prague, Czech Republic. During my time abroad, I also visited Budapest, Amsterdam, and Rome. We took a business trip each week and viewed how certain companies abroad operate their day to day business. We also visited unique and historic landmarks all around Prague! Studying abroad allows you to mix fun, exploration, and learning all in one setting. Since studying abroad, I have visited many states and countries. Every trip I go on I can feel myself lingering to want to learn more about our world’s history at museums and landmarks, hike and camp at parks to take in the beauty that surrounds us, and make new friends and connections around the globe. If I had to go back in time and choose to study abroad again, I would! I made mistakes while I was there too, but I learned from them tremendously. I was terrified of the language barriers and culture shock that sometimes accompanies studying abroad, but that was one of my favorite parts! I figured out who I was after returning and promised to myself that I would push myself to be a better version of myself every day. Studying abroad launched my passion. It opened doors in my professional world. It created friendships across the globe. It made me learn. I experienced my first legal drink. I missed my flight back and had to buy a brand-new ticket. I tried new food. It was my first time leaving the country. It made my college experience. I would recommend studying abroad it anyone. Don’t let finances hold you back…because traveling is an investment, not an expense. Thank you for reading! As always, feel free to reach out with any questions 😊

Job searching? For most, it’s like a visit to the dentist for a cavity...slightly painful and time consuming. It can also be terrifying! What if you move and hate it? What if you love the job but then, don’t? There are the normal, but important considerations: What city do I want to work in? What company do I want to work for? What do I even want to do? I had these exact questions constantly running through my head while job searching. Coming from a small town, I knew that I didn’t want to move far away quite yet. I knew that I wanted to stay somewhat close to my roots and family, but I wanted to explore. I wanted to visit big cities but not necessarily live in them. I wanted a high travel job but sometimes that can be hard to find. Most jobs will offer 10-20% travel right out of college. I searched high and low for the job that would be fit not only my skills and education, but my passion as well. That’s when I started looking into consulting. I landed an 80-100% travel consulting job in a big city only a few hours away from my hometown! ~Perfect~ Consulting is the ideal job for someone who wants to make good money while traveling at the same time. My favorite part of consulting is the points earned through travelling for work. I am able to use my points earned on flights, hotels, and car rentals for my own personal usage! I have been able to visit a couple of states almost for free because of my points! There are highs and lows to consulting. Sometimes you get clients in amazing places like New York, Alaska, Hawaii, other countries, and so much more. Sometimes you get sent to smaller states or even smaller cities. The thing about travelling is it’s not particularly where you go, it's what you make of where you are. My first client was in Indiana. I was a little upset about this at first…but, I didn’t know enough about the state. It’s been a great experience! I’ve been able to visit historic covered bridges, beautiful state parks, play in the Indiana Sand Dunes, spend full days exploring Indianapolis and so much more! Without this blessing in disguise, I would have missed out on this state! I’m glad that I didn’t miss out. You also have the ability to fly in to a close airport of your choosing, so if you want to fly into different airports to check out the cities, do it! Consulting allows the travel hunger to be feed by exploring your nation or even the world while also making an income! Worried about getting an 8-5 office job with limited vacation days? Then consulting is the perfect job for you! Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to reach out! 😊

Looking for a place to visit during the holidays? Consider beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado! You might be thinking I’m crazy....vacation = beach! But it's Christmas! The mountains of Colorado could NOT be more beautiful lit up with festive lights, lots of action, craft beers, local distilleries, and crazy fun shopping. Breck knows how to make an already hip town extra cozy during the holidays. It is amazing to watch the snow shimmer in those twinkling lights! My family and I spent our Christmas break out in Breckenridge and I would recommend the trip to Colorado to anyone. Here are some reasons why: Go Skiing! If you have been skiing before, then you would absolutely love to spend your holiday break in Colorado. If you have never skied before, then definitely give it a try! I am so glad that I did a day of skiing and by the end of the day, I was wishing I had bought more than one day. I even had family members take a ski class to learn how to ski and they all had a blast (for my readers who have never skied)! Keep in mind, skiing is not a cheap sport. If skiing is not in the budget, that is fine! You can still enjoy Breckenridge without this adventurous sport. I had purchased my lift tickets for a little over $150. I rented my gear from Ridden for around $50. I had only purchased the Ski Gear package which included the poles, boots, and skis. If you don't have any snow gear, you can also rent out other items that you might need: helmet, winter coat, winter pants, goggles, etc. (https://riddengear.com/) Give it a shot! You might end up loving it! Snow Tubing I have been snow tubing a couple of times, but nothing compares to snow tubing in Colorado. The snow-covered mountains loom in the distance which makes the experience so mesmerizing. We purchased 2 hours’ worth, but I recommend only one hour, as snow tubing can be quite tiring. Sitting on a beach sounds relaxing, but doesn’t sliding down a big hill with tightly packed snow that makes you shoot down to the bottom sound like so much more fun?? Same! We “snow-tubed” at Frisco Adventure Park (a short drive from Breckenridge). Cross Country Skiing Want to ski but without going down the mountain? Try out Cross Country skiing! You could spend a large portion of the day skiing on one of the many beautiful trails in Breckenridge. Free Sledding If you end up going to Frisco Adventure Park to snow tube, be sure to go sledding down the free sledding hill! We had a blast sledding down this hill…but be careful! The hill is basically a sheet of ice. Sleigh Ride through the Snowy Mountains We booked our exciting ride through Two Below Sleigh Rides (located at the same location as Frisco Adventure Park). The tickets for adults are $60 but totally worth it! This one-hour scenic sleigh rides takes you on beautiful, chill ride through the snow. You will make a stop at a quaint cabin in which you can drink hot cocoa (my drink had some Peppermint Schnapps in it), eat warm chocolate chip cookies, and watch unforgettable live music. Make sure to book your Hot Cocoa Sleigh Ride when planning your Breckenridge trip! (http://dinnersleighrides.com/) Ice Fishing and Skating Ice fishing is another activity you could look into in the Breckenridge area. We did not have the time to try ice fishing, but it was neat to drive by various lakes and see people ice fishing. Ice skating is an absolute blast! Thankfully, there are various spots for this fun activity. Gondola Ride The gondola ride in Breckenridge is FREE and 2 hour parking is only $12 or 15 minute parking is free. This tourist attraction is great for the family members of all ages. You can ride it to the top however many times you want. On the ride, you will see skiers on the slopes and on the cross country routes, many “kodak” moments, and you might even see some wildlife to include MOOSE! Oxygen Bar Feeling side effects of the increased elevation? Stop by the oxygen bar downtown and indulge on a 15, 30, or 45 minute oxygen dose. My mom and dad stopped in for a 15 minute spot. They had some aromatherapy added to their oxygen. Dad really said it made a difference in being able to enjoy the rest of his stay. Or you can buy individual canisters sold at Wal-Mart or any ski resort to give you that extra breath of “fresh air” on the go. Other Breck Fun: There are plenty of activities to fill up your holiday Breckenridge vacation. Go dog sledding, watch live music, eat at Eric’s Down Under and the Crepe Cart, spend a whole day walking in the downtown area, rent a snowmobile, go shopping, drink an Irish Coffee at Ten Mile Station on top of a mountain and so much more! As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions! 😊 Read other Colorado related posts - Experience the Royal Gorge - Train Style Shredding Sand at the Great Sand Dunes National Park Have Aliens Landed in Colorado??? Out of This World: Painted Mines Interpretive Park Wedding in Westcliffe, CO

If you're only going to Wisconsin to visit the Dells, then you will miss out on some unique experiences! Yes, the Wisconsin Dells is filled with amazing places to eat, tons of roller coasters, water parks, and tours to Ride the Ducks. Instead of focusing on the Dells, I have listed 4 activities that you MUST do on a 3-4 day trip to Wisconsin in October. 1. Cranberry Boggin' Want to throw cranberries in the air like you're shooting an ad for Ocean Spray? @oceansprayinc You know you do! It's the best $10 you'll spend for a selfie. You can visit a cranberry bog early September-October. But at Warrens, Wisconsin's Wetherby Cranberry Co., you need to visit the first weekend in October in order to don those thigh-high boots and wade in the bog. You'll get the photo op of the season (https://freshcranberries.com/). The cranberry harvest season is a memorable moment for family vacations, a solo-trip, or a father-daughter weekend get-away. Every tour will be different than the next farm, but I genuinely recommend making a trip to Wetherby. When we first got to the farm, there were kids serving warm cranberry cider for $2 a glass. Can you say yum? After buying cider, we hopped on the big yellow bus with a group of other anxious tourists. While on the bus, the tour guide (a member of the family owned farm) told us all a story about how the farm first became an idea. We also learned how cranberries were harvested: the fields are flooded with water to raise all of the cranberries off the the vines. 2. Salmon Fishing I know what you might be thinking: oh, it's just fishing. Sounds easy and fun, right? Never in my life did I sweat so much due to trying to reel in a smelly fish! I was told by my fishing instructors from a local and tourist favorite, Jack's Charting Service, that the average weight of live salmon is around 15-19 pounds. That sounds pretty light weight until you are trying to reel in a very angry, feisty fish with a tiny string and bendy rod! We met captain Jack and his first mate Joe at 4:30AM to get the boat ready. We stayed on the boat in the bay of Lake Michigan. Jack's Charting Service had a fish locator, depth meter, homemade bait, tons of fishing reels and other automated devices. The "secret bait" that the charting service uses is cell membranes and eggs from the female salmon. The secret bait attracts so many fish that the locals were wanting to buy some off of our charting guides! By the end of the day, we had caught over 10 salmon! We were told by Jack and Joe that females taste better, so we only kept the girls. They even helped to filet the salmon once we were done! We ended up taking home 7 salmon worth of filets (and we are still eating them). Surprisingly, the road trip home only slightly smelled like fish. 3. House on the Rock I have seen a lot of crazy weird sights in my life...until I visited the House on the Rock located an hour away from the Wisconsin Dells. Hundreds of chandeliers on a merry-go-round, numerous animal statues, antique dolls, large cannons, automated machines, a massive room stuffed with elegant and detailed dollhouses, and a room full of organs. No picture online does justice for how astonishing this site is. At first, this attraction started off as an ordinary house owned by a man named Alex Jordan Jr. During his lifetime, he collected many antiques and circus themed pieces from locations around the world. He arranged all of this findings on his land and eventually started to invite people to view his collection. Now, people all around the country and world come to take in this mesmerizing tourist attraction. If you plan a trip during the cranberry harvest season, you should definitely make a trip to the "House on the Rocks". Around that time of year, the attraction will only be open 8 nights out of the month of October. Since Halloween is right around the corner, the attraction sets up the site for the Halloween season by opening as the "Dark Side". Employees and volunteers dress up to scare you throughout the attraction! (Website for House on the Rocks). 4. CHEESE Wisconsin: The Dairy Capital. Everybody knows Wisconsin is famous for the country's most delicious cheese. But have you ever had cheese in Wisconsin? The drive or flight to Wisconsin might be completely fulfilled by stopping at one of the numerous cheese shops along the highways and in local towns. Cheese curds, cheese spreads, fried cheese, aged cheese, shredded cheese, cheese shaves, cheese with beef sticks, chunks of multi-colored cheese, different cheese flavors, etc, etc, etc. Do I sound like the Bumba Gump of cheese? I think I have made my point! Go cut some cheese in Wisconsin....without anyone judging you for it! Thank you for being awesome,