Travelog: Malaysia

I have been pushing this back for so many weeks now that those weeks have accumulated into months. There's only one way to get this ball rolling and that's by jumping right on in. In recent years my family has been doing back-to-back trips. It keeps us on our toes. We only had a day or so after our Norwegian Escape Cruise to touch base with our beloved house before hitting the road again. Our next trip was to Asia -- a week in Malaysia and a week in Vietnam. Grab yourself a light snack and a refreshment because we are about to embark on the first stretch of our trip.

Travelog: Norwegian Escape Cruise

Boy, it has been a minute since summer. This Travelog is more than a little late, I know, but I had a hard time getting all the pictures together and then organizing them. It didn't help that I had two trips right after this one that made this cruise seem like a distant memory. Alas, these are all excuses. What's important is that it is here and ready for you to read now. I now present to you our 2016 cruise on the Norwegian Escape.

Travelog: Cruise Food | Desserts

After this post, we will officially done with all the content from this summer's epic cruise. Don't shed a tear quite yet -- we still have this post to go! And what better way than to go out with two cruises worth of desserts?! This post is also very special because it's dedicated to Amreen, who is sweet as pie. (Unfortunately, there is no pie in this blog post.) Today is her birthday (two whole decades!) so give her some love on Twitter, Tumblr, or in the comments below! Happy birthday, Amreen!

Let's get on to the desserts, shall we?

Travelog: Cruise Food | Entrees

It's time for another Cruise Food post! I had difficulty categorizing this post so I hope you get a chuckle out of the headings. I think you'll have a really good idea about my favorite Western foods by the time you're done. If you're just joining the Cruise Food series, or if you just want to recap, be sure to check out the Starters and be on the lookout for Desserts!

Everything you see on these Cruise Food posts are from my Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Jade. You can read all about that trip in these three posts. (You can also read about my time in Venice but I was off the ship by then.)

Travelog: Cruise Food | Starters

I promised you pictures of various dishes I had on my cruise and I'm here to deliver. I'm going to try to keep the chatter to a minimum in this post so you can be free to take it all in without any pesky distractions. Originally, the plan was to stick all the pictures in one post but an hour and a half into putting the post together, I realized how many dishes I'd photographed. I made an executive decision to split up this post into a three part series, which will be coming to you the second Wednesday of each month through the end of the year. All of these photos come from the dining room because the buffet can be a zoo and, let's be real, your plate never looks appetizing with all those foods mushed together. Some of the photos are a little bit blurry because I was always eager to get to the fun part (read: eating) but I did my best and I hope you aren't reading this on an empty stomach because you're about to be in trouble if you are.

Everything you see on these Cruise Food posts are from my Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Jade. You can read all about that trip in these three posts. (You can also read about my time in Venice but I was off the ship by then.)

Travelog: Venice

Our cruises have come to an end, but as a final hurrah and to drag out our time in Europe (plane tickets are expensive), we tacked a couple days in Venice on to the end of our trip. Traveling on land and on sea are two very different experiences so I'm delighted I had the chance to semi-immerse myself in the Italian culture. We only had three full days in Venice so we had to manage our time wisely. That worked out better on some days than others. Nonetheless, our detour was well worth it if for the food alone. Land travel means local fare so brace yourself for plenty of food photos. I'd click that "read more" if I were you. ;)

(x)

Travelog: Greek Isles Cruise

Now that we've finished one cruise, it's time to usher in the second half of our trip. If the title doesn't tip you off, Greece is the word. This cruise is taking us to the Greek Isles (plus Venice)! These islands have been a dream destination for me and my mom for years. I was overjoyed when I found out we'd have more time to spend in Santorini as well as a chance to explore new destinations in the Mediterranean. It's hard not to love Greece.

Travelog: Mediterranean Cruise Pt. 2

I hope you're ready to read more about my Mediterranean adventures! There isn't going to be a Travelog longer than the first, I think (there being only one at sea day), but this one could probably hold its own. A majority of the port-of-calls in this Travelog are in Italy but we do venture out into France and Malta as well. It seems like just yesterday I was sweltering under the unforgiving blaze of a European summer sun. That thing is relentless. Despite the copious amounts of sweat pouring down my back (that's specific to Cannes) (spoiler alert), I had a blast exploring and learning more about these gorgeous cities. Enough of my yammering. Click that read more to see what's in store but don't forget to check out the first Travelog if you haven't already!

Travelog: Mediterranean Cruise Pt. 1

My original plan was to separate this trip into three posts – Mediterranean cruise, Greek Isles cruise, and Venice – but when our trip got off to a rocky start, there was no way that Mediterranean post would be less than a mile long. I know all our attention spans have been reduced to a mere six seconds, thanks to the instant gratification of the internet, so I’m going to save you the torture of having to sit through a 6,000 word blog post and break this Mediterranean cruise into two parts (not that this one's gonna feel any shorter). These travelogs will be coming at you for the next couple Sundays so keep your eyes peeled to read more about my Mediterranean adventures! 

Welcome to xo, Yvette!

Wait, what? Yvette is blogging?! As you've probably gathered from my "about me" section, my name is Yvette and that's pretty much it. I find it difficult to capture everything I want you to know about me with a character count. My hope is that you'll get to know me as friends get to know each other - by spending time with one another. I'm constantly trying to find a solid way to document my life that I can stick to. So far, nothing has been able to hold me for long. Fingers crossed that this blog is the one! I don't consider myself a writer and I certainly do not have high expectations for this blog so I hope you don't either, but I will give it my best shot. For the time being, I'm not entirely sure what I want to go on my blog. There are a couple things I am interested in posting about but the rest is really up in the air (I'm also trying to work out a posting schedule so be patient with me).

Things to look forward to...

1) #hairoftheweek

To start, one of my main purposes for creating this blog is #hairoftheweek. It's a series I do on Instagram and I'll get into more detail in my first post dedicated to the subject. Here's my most recent post:

1.24.15 rope accent four strand (x)

I intend to show you not only the final product, but also my inspiration for the hairstyle (if I created it myself) or where I learned to recreate it. The latter is much more common. If you're interested in seeing more of my previous #hairoftheweek creations, scroll through my Instagram and see if anything catches your eye.

2) travelogs

Another series, so to speak, is my travelogs. Traveling has been a huge part of my life and its importance to me could be a post in and of itself. That being said, I wish I would remember to write about them as they happen, or at least right after my trips end. I always tell myself I'll do it soon but soon never comes, does it? I'm not sure how I want to format it yet. They could come as day-by-day journal-style posts or it could be a trip wrap up and reflection. I have some thinking to do, but to get started, I thought I'd share a photo from one of my more recent trips.

Reykjavik's winter solstice sunset (against the Harpa concert hall) (x)

 

I spent about a week in Iceland in 2014 and it was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. I couldn't tell you exactly what made me fall so in love with it but the scenery definitely didn't hurt. I was lucky enough to be there during the winter solstice and that 3pm sunset was a sight to behold. My 2014 winter break was really a once in a lifetime experience and the future probably holds a blog post about it. Obviously, travelogs won't be very consistent as I am not traveling 100% of the time but when I am going somewhere, this blog will give me a place to put my thoughts. 

3) miscellaneous 

As I said before, I'm not entirely sure what else I want to put on this blog. Beyond hair and travel, my interests include books, nail polish, and boybands, among other things. I want to try my hand at book talks. You'd think I'd be well versed in the art of book reviews based off the sheer number of books I've read but I definitely do not feel confident enough to venture out that far yet. But I can guarantee you that book talks won't be the only book-related posts. I'll most likely be doing most anticipated new releases, to be read posts, and other posts of the sort. (Check out my Goodreads page!) Movie reviews (I use this term loosely)? Nail polish appreciation? Life things?! The possibilities are endless. Stick around to see what this blog has in store!

 

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette