In the middle of the pandemic, when travel restrictions were fairly light, my parents took an international trip to the Caribbean. During a post-trip debrief over pizza, we collectively wondered aloud “what if we took a family trip over the Christmas holiday?” Mind you, this was mid-November. So, that didn’t leave us much time to…
England | 2022
After an excellent holiday abroad in Paris the previous year, my family booked a trip to England & Ireland at the end of 2022. By then, international travel had largely opened up and we all felt comfortable taking the trip during the school break (3/4 of us are in education of some sort). The year…
Book Review: Bite by Bite
I was enamored with Aimee Nezhukumatathil ‘s book of essays World of Wonders a few years ago when I was gifted a copy, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants style. I was encouraged to read the book, then write a little note in the front cover and pass it on to someone who I thought would…
Book Review: The Art Thief
My primary career goal lately has been to maintain my status as a non-starving artist. I keep telling people (why does everyone keep asking what I’m “up to” lately??) that I am a full-time creative with multiple part-time gigs. This is basically what my entire post-graduation career has looked like, I just now know how…
Asheville, North Carolina | 2023
In July 2023, very shortly after traveling for 8 weeks on the International Business Institute, I took my first-ever girls group vacation to Asheville, North Carolina. Why Asheville? None of the six of us had ever been there, it was within a one-day driving distance, and seemed to offer quite a bit of variety in…
Expanded List: Kitchen Equipment
Inarguably, humans must eat to survive. That is a fact. But to eat, you don’t necessarily ever have to cook. Sadly, the avoidance of the kitchen and its equipment is to miss some great opportunities of adventure and discovery. As I previously wrote in Essential Equipment, there are some things that I believe are non-negotiables…
Spaghetti on Fire
The world doesn’t need more cookbooks, although that’s a moot point because every chef has their own style and methods for creating delicious things to eat and drink. There are endless recipes that can (and should!) be written down. Perhaps a more accurate blanket statement is that the world does need more home chefs who…
Rotterdam & Amsterdam, The Netherlands | 2023
Paris will always be a very tough act to follow—but I think my perfect days in my favorite city put me in a state of bliss. I probably couldn’t have cared less where our final stop was or if it was a terrible experience. Fortunately, The Netherlands proved to be a great final destination for…
L.M.Beatty 