When traveling as a non-rev airline employee (non-rev means we fly free...on standby) there are ups and downs....usually with a lot of uncertainty and stress. Thankfully we've been doing this for over 20 years and we've learned to "roll with it" when it comes to our travel days. A typical travel day may look a lot like this.... Constantly checking the flight standby lists the day before and day of and placing bets of which flight looks the best. There are never any guarantees that we’ll get a seat. This makes it interesting to make travel plans and you must always have a backup plan. Rain and ground holds can throw off your whole schedule! Instead of ending up in Buffalo last night, we sat on the tarmac in Tampa for 45 minutes and slept in Detroit...for a whole 5 hours...before starting all over again. Can I just say that Sheraton’s beds were so dreamy!! Larger flights are usually less complicated then smaller regional flights. This mornings adventure ... [ Read More ]
Newly Renovated Tampa Marriott Westshore Tour
We were invited to tour the newly renovated Tampa Marriott Westshore during their Open House last night and were impressed with the updates. During their Open House, we were invited to explore the hotel and all that it has to offer guests. If I were planning a conference, work event or party this would be a location that I would consider in the Tampa Bay area. For wedding receptions, bridal showers, baby showers, or any other type of casual event their pool area is absolutely beautiful. Their pool deck offers an indoor/outdoor seating and swimming area. For those sun worshipers who need their Vitamin D, the outdoor area is beautiful. For those who need a break from the sun or on those hot Tampa summer days, the veranda would be a fun place to relax. The great thing about their pool area is that both the indoor and outdoor areas are connected so your party guests would all be in the same general area. For families on vacation this would be a perfect place to relax with small ... [ Read More ]
Summer Travel Essentials
Sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. It is my favorite times of summer, I finally get to travel myself. The rest of my family have all taken trips this summer and it's finally my turn. We're a bit non-traditional over summer and don't always get to travel as a family. Earlier this summer my husband took our youngest on a special trip to LA. Both of the kids have traveled with my parents in their new RV; and my husband travels all the time for business. Our annual family getaway is coming up in a few more weeks as we head back to the river for some tubing with friends. ...but this is my week! It's a (mostly) pleasure trip with a little bit of work tossed in. Traveling can wear you out and flying can be horrible on your immune system. It's a great time to boost your vitamins and stock up on a few small travel items. I don't usually check bags when I fly, so having smaller travel sized body care items is essential. My friends at Sprouts Farmers Market are having a Vitamin ... [ Read More ]
How to Have Fun at the Florida State Fair
The weather in Tampa this week has been amazing and spring isn't far away! Last weekend was the perfect weekend for our family to check out the Florida State Fair. The fair opened on Feb 9th and runs through Feb 20th with special events every day of the week. There's something about a state fair that brings out your inner youth. Growing up in Georgia the state fair was a pretty big deal. I haven't been to a big fair since before the kids were born and I'm not sure that anything will ever top the size of a fair as a child. Things always seem smaller as an adult, even when they are as big as the Florida State Fair. I lost count of the number of ferris wheels that they had at the fair, I think I saw 4 full size ferris wheels and we ended up on 3 of them! It's a great way to take in the massive size of the fair and help your kids overcome any fear of heights they may have. If you plan on riding rides, be sure to get an all-day armband for unlimited fair rides. It's ... [ Read More ]
Stonyfield Bloggers on the Farm
If you follow me on social media, you may have seen some of my recent pictures from the Stonyfield Farm Tour (#StonyfieldFarmTour) in Vermont last week. The Stonyfield company selected 13 of their blog ambassadors to tour 3 farms in Vermont. This is the second year that they held their Farm Tour and I'm so thankful that they invited me (and paid my expenses....in case you were wondering), this is a trip that I won't soon forget. The Stonyfield blog ambassadors are made up of the Yo-Getters and the Clean Plate Club. Most of the bloggers have never met and live across the US. We all blog about different topics; some of us are lifestyle bloggers, some are food bloggers, some are eco-friendly bloggers, and I'm sure there are a few more niches that we belong to. We all share one thing, we love Stonyfield and their mission to bring healthy and organic food into our homes. This year's Farm Tour bloggers..... Welcome to the 2016 Stonyfield Blogger Farm Tour Team! Follow our ... [ Read More ]
92 Reasons to Smile
I'm still grinning from this weekend! A few months ago my mom asked if the kids and I wanted to join her for a trip to Ohio to see my Grandma. As most parents do, I replied with a simple "I'll think about it." It's so hard to plan more than a few weeks in advance with my husband's schedule. If he ever gets a weekend at home we like to spend it together as a family. Fast forward to Friday morning, I knew he was gone for the weekend and we didn't have ANY plans for the kids. No birthday parties, no golf matches, no Girl Scout events, nothing! I asked the kids on the way to school if they wanted to make a trip to Ohio to see their Great Grandma and they were both beyond excited!! It's been about 4 years since we've visited her and well overdue considering she's 92. I made some calls and arranged for a dog sitter, set up a rental car and booked our flights. Since we are an airline family we fly standby and the flights are the "easy" part - as long as seats are available (which isn't ... [ Read More ]
10 Sites to See on Oahu, Hawaii
My husband and I just celebrated our 15 year anniversary with a week away (without kids) on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. We stayed on Waikiki Beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and got to see a lot of the island. If you're planning on visiting Oahu, you'll want to make sure you don't miss these sites. Waikiki Beach is the most populated part of the island and where most tourists stay. The beaches are packed with sunbathers and swimmers from sun up to sun down. Friday nights the Hilton Hawaiian Village puts on a firework display to welcome visitors to the island. Unless you really like the touristy beaches, don't plan on spending all of your time in Waikiki. We spent a few hours on the beach in the mornings before we drove around town. There's a great little yellow shrimp truck that parks at the tip of Waikiki Beach by the public beach that has amazing garlic shrimp and fries. There are some great restaurants in the area, we used Yelp for dining recommendations and found some ... [ Read More ]
Take a Staycation in Downtown Tampa
If you live in the Tampa Bay area, have you ever truly explored the downtown area? We live in Palm Harbor and only come downtown for sporting events and shows. When Embassy Suites Downtown Tampa invited us to spend a few nights with them I was really excited to check out parts of town that we usually just drive past on the way to an event. It was really nice not having to worry about transportation and travel expenses to go on vacastaycation. We spent 3 days and 2 nights downtown and we could have easily spent an entire week to see everything. The Embassy Suites is located adjacent to Amalie Arena and the Tampa Convention Center, overlooking the Bay. It would be a great place to stay the night if you didn't want to drive home after a concert or hockey game. On our first night we were lucky enough to be downtown during the final game of the Stanley Cup Finals and walked across the street to the Bolts watch party inside Amalie Arena. We would never have driven 45 minutes to ... [ Read More ]
Parenting Isn’t Always Easy, Neither is Marriage
Sponsored post. Tonight I'm wiping up the tears and putting on my game face for the next seven weeks. Last week my husband got a job offer that will require him to be out of town for the next seven weeks to train for the new position; leaving me to hold down the fort at home. I'd like to say that I'm excited about this new job, but in reality I'm scared. His new job will require him to travel...a lot! Earlier in our marriage, I was the one who had to travel upwards of 60 days out of the year. I look back at those years and wonder how it was so easy for him. I don't ever remember him complaining that I had to leave, or worrying about getting our toddler off to school AND make it to work on time. He just....managed. Part of me really enjoyed traveling and getting to see new parts of the country; but the reality was I spent most of my time alone in airports and hotels. Right now we share most of the joys of parenting. He's able to help get the kids to and from ... [ Read More ]
Best of 2014 on The Eco Chic
It's hard to believe that another year has almost ended and we're about to welcome 2015 in just a few more days! It's been a great year personally. My blog continues to thrive and has me looking forward to some changes in the coming year. I find myself blogging more and more about life, family, traveling, and hobbies rather than eco-friendly living. I hope you'll stay with me and share our families journey through life and I promise to still bring you some green living related posts. It's interesting to look back at the stats for the blog and see which posts were read most. Many of my older content (from 2010-current) still brings in many of you; but I wanted to share with you my top 10 posts from 2014! I left off the giveaway posts since those aren't really worth re-reading. My top post of 2014 is one I'm quite proud of. As I continue to educate and share tips on cloth diapering (even though we haven't cloth diapered in several years), I felt it was important to share with you ... [ Read More ]
