Take On the World

Happy Friday everyone! Ever heard of EF Ultimate Break? If you haven’t, it’s a group travel company for young adults aged 18-35. The company offers just over 100 different trips across six continents, so chances are that they have an itinerary fit for you.  This past winter break, I took a leap of faith and traveled solo with EF Ultimate Break across Europe for 17 days. The itinerary included London, Amsterdam, Paris, Lucerne/Swiss Alps, Venice, Florence, and Rome plus lunch stops at Lake Como and Orvieto. I had never traveled internationally prior to this trip and I had also never traveled solo, so this was a big first-time-for-everything-type experience. Click here to view the trip on EF Ultimate Break! If you’re interested in knowing specifically what I did on the trip day-to-day, come back next week for a deep dive into each city I visited. I’ll be sharing what was on the itinerary specific to my trip, my ratings of the accommodations EF arranged, and some extra tips for if you p

If you live by yourself or even just enjoy cooking for only yourself, these meals are super simple to prepare. Shopping for a single meal can be challenging if you aren't the meal prep type. Personally, I don't mind having a meal's worth of leftovers to make the next day a little more efficient. However, it would be completely possible to buy these ingredients in slightly smaller portions if you shop around at your local grocery store. With that in mind, here are two of my favorite meals recently! Pork Chops & Green Beans Cook the pork chops in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Season with your seasoning of choice, mine is Morton's Season-All Salt. Cook each side for about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness (if you get thinly sliced, start at 2 minutes per side). Remove from pan and blot with a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Meanwhile, microwave the green beans according to package instructions. Mine recommended 3-4 minutes, so I started with 3

Looking for something fun to do in the Rio Grande Valley? Look no further! Alpaquita Ranch is the perfect spot for a unique date, family outing, or to take pictures with friends. Located in Raymondville, Alpaquita Ranch provides each visiting group with an alpaca to walk around the ranch with. There are tons of cute photo spots and the alpacas even wear seasonal accessories ! The entire experience lasts an hour and a half , with the first 40 minutes after the introduction being dedicated to spending time with your alpaca. They're super friendly, fluffy, and a little bit stubborn- which makes for some funny memories. After walking your alpaca, you'll get the chance to feed any alpaca(s) of your choice across the property. I've visited twice now with my boyfriend around Valentine's Day, and I'm sure we'll be back next year! The current cost is $50 total for two visitors. All in all, we feel like it's easy to get your money's worth here making fun, specia