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Well Hello
I’m Kate
For more than a decade and a half, I’ve helped people create a life by design through my lifestyle and travel blog.
I’m a mom of 3, a full-time romance author, and I’ve been to more than 40 countries and nearly all the states.
I’m happy you’re here.
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Latest Blog Posts
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The Travel Gear That Frequent Flyers Bought Twice — Because the First Version Broke or Disappointed Them
Every frequent traveler has a mental list: the things they bought cheap, regretted, replaced with something better, and now recommend to everyone. Here’s what actually breaks, what’s worth the upgrade, and the specific items where paying more is objectively the right call.
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Disney Before It Got Expensive — What People Who Grew Up With It Are Actually Mourning
A day at Walt Disney World in 1975 cost $6. Today it starts at $109 and averages over $200 with everything included. The price increase is quantifiable. What’s harder to quantify — but real — is what changed beyond the price. Here’s an honest accounting of what was lost and what was always mythologized.
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How Your Checked Bag Fee Went From $0 to $35 to $75 — and Why It’s Never Going Back to Free
In 2008, American Airlines charged a checked bag fee for the first time in US aviation history. Within 18 months, every major carrier followed. Fifteen years later the fees have tripled, airlines have made billions, and the one credit card trick that actually gets you out of it still works — for now.
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Americans Have Mexico Almost Entirely Wrong — Here’s What People Who’ve Lived There 5+ Years Actually Say
The American mental model of Mexico is a combination of State Department warnings, spring break memories, and resort-town impressions that have almost nothing to do with the country as it actually exists. Here’s the safety picture by specific region, the real cost of living, and what long-term expats say when they’re being honest.
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Every State Has a Jaw-Dropping Natural Wonder That Isn’t in a National Park. Almost Nobody Knows About Them.
National parks get all the attention and most of the crowds. But every state has at least one natural wonder that’s free, uncrowded, and would go viral if anyone with a large following ever posted about it. Here’s a state-by-state guide to the ones worth finding.
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These American Cities Are Being Loved to Death — and the Locals Are Running Out of Places to Go
Some of America’s most photographed cities have been hollowed out by their own popularity. The neighborhoods that made them worth visiting have been converted to short-term rentals and souvenir shops, and the people who built those cultures have been priced out. Here’s what’s left — and what’s quietly next.
