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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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Every State Has a Weekend City That Keeps Surprising People. Here Are the Ones Nobody Is Talking About.
Fifty states, fifty cities that keep showing up on ‘I can’t believe more people don’t know about this’ lists. Not the places travel media already saturated. The ones that genuinely deliver and somehow stay under the radar.
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What Airline Status Actually Gets You That Coach Passengers Never See — and Whether It’s Still Worth Chasing
Airline status has a public face — upgrades, priority boarding — and a much more valuable private one. The benefits that matter are the ones gate agents apply silently, the ones that never appear on a comparison chart, and the ones that make flying almost unrecognizable from the economy experience.
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What a Week in Thailand Actually Costs an American in 2026 — Full Line-Item Breakdown by Budget Tier
Thailand’s reputation as a cheap destination is real but requires updating. The $20-a-day backpacker math still works in the right conditions — but the mid-range traveler’s experience has changed significantly, and some of what used to be ‘free’ now comes with a fee.
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Why Americans Have Such Bad Reputations Abroad — The Specific Behaviors That Have Gotten Noticeably Worse
The ‘ugly American’ is a cliché old enough to be tired — but foreign tourism workers, hospitality staff, and locals will tell you the behavior that earns that reputation is specific, consistent, and in some destinations has gotten measurably worse in the post-COVID travel surge.
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He Opened 11 Credit Cards to Chase Travel Points. Here’s What Happened to His Credit Score.
He opened 11 credit cards in 14 months chasing airline miles and hotel points. Then three banks closed his accounts the same week, his credit score dropped 140 points, and the points he’d collected mostly evaporated. Here’s exactly what happened — and the version of the strategy that doesn’t blow up.
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What Cruise Ship Workers Actually Make — The Salary Breakdown, the Tipping Math, and What They Think of You
The people serving your drinks and cleaning your cabin every day are working under contract terms most American labor laws wouldn’t allow. Here’s the full financial picture — who earns what, how tips actually flow, and what crew members say about passengers when nobody’s listening.
