May Goals + April Recap

A few days late, but I’m here with my May goals! May is going to be a crazy month. Grace and I are BOTH traveling a ton for work, separately, so we have a lot to juggle with our house and pets this month. But everything that’s happening is really exciting and we’re so grateful.

Here’s how I did on my April goals:

• Major spring cleaning of our home—some, but unfortunately I wouldn’t say major. But we made a map of our house with highlighted areas where we need to spring-clean, so I’m hoping we’ll continue to make progress.

• Frost a couple of windows (that look out to our neighbor’s house—need a little more privacy in this city living!)—yep!

• Work on our front yard (I’m picturing string lights, filling up our awesome custom planter we got as a wedding gift, and maaaaybe some furniture)—work in progress! But we have an amazing vision for it and I’m really excited.

• Prep for 2 weeks out of town at the end of April/beginning of May—yes! The freezer is stocked with meals for Grace.

• Save [redacted] amount toward our emergency fund—not really! We had a bunch of unexpected veterinary expenses this month. But that’s life with two dogs.

• Hang wedding pictures in our home (I have the pictures in frames—just FINALLY need to hang them!)—yes and they make me so happy :)

• Wake up with my first alarm every day—I’ve gotten in a bad habit of hitting snooze like 5 times—I have mostly stopped setting alarms unless it’s absolutely necessary (as discussed in this post), so not really!

Here is what I’m planning to accomplish in May:

• Celebrate two years of Have Dog, Will Drive! I just paid the domain name renewal so that means I’ve had this little blog for two whole years.

• Research and buy solar string lights

• Make bread from scratch

• Book our anniversary weekend

• Garden with Grace

• Convert my Jetta lease

• Complete a major career milestone that is very cool!! Just not in the habit of sharing work details on this blog, otherwise I’d say more :)

I hope you’re having a wonderful May so far. The pics in this post are of May flowers that are blooming in my neighborhood this month!

Best Podcasts for Road Trips 2019

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote this blog post about my favorite podcasts for road trips. I feel like the podcast universe has exploded even exponentially MORE since then, and there are so many great ones that are either new in 2019 or new to me! So I decided it was high time for an updated list.

I’m not listing these in any particular order, but here are some of my favorites lately! Also, if you haven’t read my original post, be sure to check it out because there are some gems that I don’t repeat here.

And as one caveat, this list is kind of true crime-heavy, but I would say true crime in and of itself is not really my favorite podcast genre. I tend to really enjoy true crime podcasts that explore some interesting aspect of society, science, or new technology in connection with true crime (for example, the Bear Brook podcast I talk about below). I don’t think every single one of these podcasts will interest everyone, but overall these are super bingeable, well-done podcasts that I highly recommend. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the majority of the ones I’ve listened to didn’t make the cut for this list! So you know they’re good :)

Bear Brook - skeletal remains of four people (one woman and three young girls under 10) are found in barrels in Bear Brook state park in New Hampshire.  No one knows who they are and there were never any missing persons reports matching their descriptions.  Using genetic genealogy, researchers who normally help adoptees find their birth parents are able to track down the killer and some information about the victims. In the process they discover a whole web of crimes stretching across the country. This genetic genealogy process is later used to find the Golden State killer. Best for: anyone who loves a good story. The gruesome/spooky factor is actually not as high as it sounds from the description—I listened to this podcast while going on runs by myself and wasn’t freaked out. It’s told by the New Hampshire Public Radio in a very scientific, straightforward storytelling way.

Uncover: Escaping NXIVM - podcast about the cult NXIVM that was recently disbanded (or at least some arrests were made). Lots of people, including semi-famous actresses, got sucked into it and it's fascinating hearing about how that happened.  Best for: anyone with a curiosity about NXIVM. You’ll learn everything you could ever want to know about it and more. Even if you haven’t heard of NXIVM, I think you would find it fascinating. Bonus: Uncover also has two more seasons, about totally different topics. Season 2 is titled Bomb on Board and Season 3 is titled The Village. Both are really good, I think Season 2 is slightly better than 3. But Season 3 is still currently being released as I’m writing this, so I’ll keep an open mind.

Cultivate Your Life - this is probably the most inspiring podcast I have ever listened to. If you’re interested in goal setting and living an intentional life, I could not recommend this podcast more. I look forward to it every week. Best for: it’s definitely geared toward women and anyone interested in a Christian perspective on setting goals.

In the Dark - really good podcast about understanding how wrongful convictions happen (about the death of Jacob Wetterling who was abducted and killed as a kid). Journalistically, I think this is one of the best podcasts out there. That said, the gruesome and scary factor for this one was high for me. It involves a child, and sexual abuse, and is just really disturbing. So please keep that in mind; for some people it might be better for you to not listen to that kind of podcast. Best for: true crime junkies who also love hearing about how the legal system works and factors into cases.

Broken Harts - podcast about a family of 8 (the Harts) that drove over a cliff, killing all of them.  At first believed to be an accident, but now believed to be intentional.  All 6 of the kids were adopted and it explores how a family with documented child abuse was able to adopt so many children, also has themes of understanding interracial adoption. This one was riveting. Best for: anyone with a particular curiosity about this case, or if you just want a very bingeable podcast for a long car ride. I’d never heard of the case before finding the podcast and I could not stop listening to it.

What We Said - this podcast is two best friends talking about anything and everything. I normally don’t love this style of podcast, but this one is just cute, fun, and lighthearted to listen to while driving or cleaning the house. I look forward to this one every Tuesday when it comes out. Best for: women (and girls) ages high school through twenties. Being 27 I feel like I’m almost too old for it, but nonetheless I love the fluff and fun “girl talk” aspect of it. The hosts are around 24 or so.

The Dream - podcast about multilevel marketing (companies like Amway, Mary Kay, etc) and how they are scams and how people fall for it. This might sound less scandalous than some of these other ones, but it is just as riveting if not more. Best for: anyone interested in learning more about a very murky but huge industry.

The Dropout - this podcast is about Elizabeth Holmes and the crazy Theranos scandal. I listened to it before the HBO documentary came out and it made the documentary a lot more interesting, I think. If you are fascinated by this scandal (or even have never heard of it), this podcast is sooo good. Best for: anyone interested in the Theranos scandal, pathological lying, or anyone who wants a bingeable podcast without any gruesome crime details.

Dr. Death - a doctor who got away with using possibly sadistic (or at least grossly incompetent) surgical techniques; the podcast also explores the way the medical profession is set up to allow this kind of thing to continue happening. Best for: anyone interested in the medical profession and medical ethics; probably bad for anyone who has to have surgery anytime soon because it’s SCARY!

Believed - podcast exploring how Larry Nassar (the Olympic coach) got away with his abuse for so long. Hard to listen to but I always wondered how no one stopped him sooner; this explores the psychology behind it and how the universities and Olympic associations failed. Best for: anyone interested in the Larry Nassar case and/or anyone wanting a bingeable podcast that also has some really inspiring and uplifting moments about survivors’ courage. Probably best not to listen if it would be difficult for you to hear some graphic descriptions of abuse.

The Habitat - I just recently started this one and have almost listened to 7 episodes in 2 days! This is about a recent experiment where NASA put 6 people in a space-like “habitat” for a whole year, in total isolation. The purpose of the experiment was to see how people would cope, because if there is ever a mission to Mars with humans, they will have to be cooped up together in a habitat on the red planet for at least that long. The participants in the experiment had tape recorders and recorded interviews about their time in the habitat. It’s so interesting! Best for: anyone interested in space exploration (the podcast producers also talk with people who have actually been to space), or anyone who has heard about this experiment and wants to know more. I actually wouldn’t necessarily consider myself in either of those camps, but I still loved it!

Who the Hell is Hamish? - this is another one I just recently listened to. I actually went back to edit this post after I had already drafted it and scheduled it to go up to add this one. I personally am fascinated by white collar crime and how people scheme and get away with so much. This podcast is about a guy named Hamish (yes… that’s his first name haha) and his fraud and crimes. Parts are sad, parts are funny, and it’s so intriguing. I flew through it. Also, if you like the sound of Australian accents, this podcast is full of them because it takes place mostly in AUS and is produced by the newspaper The Australian.

I hope this list is helpful to you—happy listening!

My out-the-window pics at the top and bottom of this post are from our 2017 road trip from California to Alaska.

What are some of your favorite podcasts not included on this list?

Naming the Good Stuff No. 8: Life Lately

Happy Friday! I have missed a couple of Naming the Good Stuff Friday posts, but life has been so good lately! So I wanted to pop in and share a few favorite things.

1. Easter! Easter is one of my favorite holidays, and this year was really special and meaningful to me. Grace and I dyed eggs (which was not necessarily the meaningful part haha . . . but it was fun!) and they turned out cool, I think!

2. I recently got a chance to go to LA’s Eataly for the first time! I have been to the Eataly locations in New York and Chicago, but not the one in LA until a couple weekends ago. Grace and I went and met my friend Sarah, who was hosting a vodka tasting there (she does some PR work for a vodka company). Once she was done doing the demonstration we all got a bunch of Eataly pizza and it was SOOO good!

Cutie Sarah

Cutie pizza

3. With it being Springtime, I’ve been super into tending to my plants and even trying to propagate some of them! I am trying to add to my collection while keeping up Grace’s and my financial goals for this first year of marriage, so I got lucky when I found this baby growing outside (so I plucked it and am seeing how it likes living indoors with me):

And, the other day my office building was giving away plants for free for Earth Day! I snagged this cutie and repotted it in our house later:

4. If you read my recent everything-but-the-kitchen-sink bowls blog post, you know how much I love making a whole meal out of a one-dish “bowl.” Well, even since writing that post earlier this month, I discovered a new type of bowl: cottage cheese bowls. I put about a cup of cottage cheese on the bottom and then top it with chopped tomatoes, sugar snap peas, radishes, hard boiled eggs, avocado, sesame seeds, hot sauce, and salt and pepper. SUCH A GOOD LUNCH! Grace and I have been obsessed.

5. Also on the topic of food we love, I have recently transitioned from eating individually-packaged cups of yogurt in the morning to buying a large container of Greek yogurt and making Greek yogurt bowls. They are so much yummier than just eating yogurt out of a cup AND I feel like I am cutting down on how much plastic I use. Win-win!

I like topping my Greek yogurt with sliced banana and strawberries, granola, dark chocolate chips, chia seeds, and honey. Because I’m adding chocolate and honey to it, I get the totally unsweetened Greek yogurt.

6. Lately our dogs have been so snuggly and they make our evenings so nice at home. I love them so much!

7. Lastly, Grace and I did something recently that we have never done in over 6 years of knowing each other: we baked cookies together! It was the sweetest night. I know it sounds so simple, but it just made me so happy. We made a basic dough and then added our own extra ingredients - I added dark chocolate chips to my half, and Grace added a swirl of peanut butter to hers. They were both so good but Grace’s were honestly the best out of the two! We also froze some of each kind so we can make more whenever!

My Morning Routine

Depending on how closely you follow this blog/my Instagram, you might have noticed that in the past six months I’ve started working primarily from home. I still go into the office once or twice a week, which I appreciate the ability to do, but my job allows me to work remotely and I truly believe ALL aspects of my life are so much better for it. I have been thinking about doing an updated version of my day in the life post from last year to show what an average day is like working from home, but in the meantime, here’s a glimpse of what my morning routine looks like!

Is it just me, or is 2019 the year of really caring about morning/evening routines? I have read a few other blog posts about morning routines and how important it is to have a set rhythm and I find them fascinating.

I have finally gotten into a consistent routine and to a place in my life where I can appreciate taking mornings slowly rather than rushing to get to work. The other day, I decided to boil it down to a science and make a list in my phone of the basic steps:

(WFH stands for work from home, if you were wondering. I have a slightly different routine on days I go into the office).

One of my April goals was to actually wake up with my first alarm instead of hitting snooze a few times. That said, I often don’t set an alarm! I know that might sound totally crazy to people. But I probably only set an alarm 2 or 3 days a week, when I really need to make sure I wake up at a specific time. The reason? The dogs will make sure I’m awake at a certain point anyway :) Between the two of them there is literally no way I will sleep past 7:30 or so. And most days I naturally wake up before that. On the rare occasion I need to wake up at 6am or something, I’ll set an alarm.

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is take care of Bean. Usually Bean and I get up first, and Grace and Willie sleep in a little later. But actually on this particular morning, Grace and Willie wanted to wake up with us so we all went on a walk together.

But first, I put on dog-walking clothes (aka sweats) and mix Bean’s food. Bean’s food is raw dehydrated dog food so I mix it with warm water and let it sit while we’re on our morning walk.

I love how bright it is in the morning at this time of year. It definitely makes our a.m. dog walks nicer!

After our walk (we only do about a 10-15 minute walk in the mornings), I come back in and feed Bean his re-hydrated food. He LOVES it! Willie gets fed too of course, but normally Grace handles that so it’s not really part of “my” morning routine.

Then I go around and turn on everything I need in the mornings. I press start on the coffee maker (I grind the beans and set up the water and everything the night before).

And I also turn on my essential oil diffuser to diffuse for three hours. Lately I have been adding drops of lavender and grapefruit essential oils for the morning, and then sometimes at night I’ll diffuse just lavender.

I also usually start a load of laundry in the morning. Here’ s a little homemaker-y tip for you: do laundry every day or every other day! This has been AMAZING for me once I realized how great it is. We have one of those washing machines that automatically senses how much water to use, so it might not be the most eco-friendly choice if your washer doesn’t do that, but it’s life changing in terms of household management. With two people and two dogs, we definitely have enough laundry every 2 days to do a small load, and it just makes it so I’m never stressed out doing 4 loads of laundry on a Sunday night. I start the laundry machine in the morning, change over to the dryer when I get up to refill my water or get a second cup of coffee, and fold the laundry at lunch. It’s so easy and is the best!!

Next up: freshening up and getting ready for the day. Here’s a fun fact about me, I only use coconut oil to “wash” my face. In the past six months I’ve only let soap or any kind of face wash touch my face maybe 5-6 times total.

And my skin in sooo happy about it! My skin is far from perfect, but this is an amazing solution for me right now. First I splash my face with warm water. Then I take a wash cloth soaked in hot water, squeeze the water out, and smooth a small amount (maybe 1/2 a tablespoon) of coconut oil all over my face. Then I take the hot washcloth and slightly exfoliate/steam my face with it. I do this at night too, coconut oil is the best makeup remover! Kind of like not setting an alarm, this might seem very crazy to some people. But I love it :)

After my coconut oil routine (and brushing my teeth), I put on makeup. Putting on makeup is one of those things that makes me feel productive and polished even though I’m working from home. On days I skip it, I just don’t feel as fresh. Here’s a pic of me with half my face with makeup (the left half below), and the other half none (the right half below), to give you an idea. It’s pretty basic/simple for days I’m working from home.

Also, how cute is my little necklace? My best friend Tina gave it to me right before my wedding. It has our wedding date in roman numerals, I love it so much.

Another important thing to me when I work from home: I HAVE to put on actual clothes. I still keep it comfy, and way more casual than if I were going into the office, but it cannot be PJs or I’ll feel sluggish all day. On this day, I opted for a soft comfy striped dress with a thin black pullover on top.

After I’m dressed I make some breakfast and drink coffee. A year ago, I would have thought that was so strange-I was not a coffee drinker at all. But it’s such a love language for Grace that I’ve gotten into it. A game changer for me has been putting butter in my coffee. I think I thought the butter coffee trend was just that-a trend-but I tried it and am totally sold. I like the taste and it helps my body process the coffee 100% better. I don’t get jittery. The extra fat is a good thing in the morning! (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, there are a bunch of articles about the benefits of putting butter in coffee, like this one).

I just put a little pat of butter in the bottom of my coffee cup and then pour the hot coffee over it so it melts.

I also usually have some Greek yogurt and toast in the morning.

Sidenote - I’ve always loved the little vintage-y painted fruit tiles in our kitchen and it just really sunk in that some of them are lemons (like in the pic above) which is so perfect for our little house! You can read all about my love for my lemon tree here.

This is the best part of my morning routine-sitting, eating breakfast and drinking butter coffee, and getting kisses from Willie (who really wants a piece of the bread). See the picture at the top of this post, haha.

I also have some quiet time reading and journaling before really starting my day.

At this point I feel ready to take on the day! I head into my little home office where my office dog (Bean) is waiting for me. Grace and I joke that he “clocks in” to work because he’s always waiting for me under my desk and it’s the cutest, most loyal thing. I love little Beanie so much!

Do you have a set morning routine?

My Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Bowls!

If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories from time to time, you have probably seen that I make a LOT of our meals in bowls! I have loved cooking for a long time but being a newlywed has changed up the way I cook and plan meals (we didn’t live together before we got engaged). Grace loves hearty, healthy food. When I lived alone my go-to meals would often be soups, salads, and sometimes casseroles, but since cooking for two I have needed to make meals that are a little heartier. Grace also loves a lot of different textures and flavors together in one meal.

Enter: BOWLS! Let me explain. Probably at least one night a week our dinner is some kind of fill-in-the-blank “bowl.” A few examples are buffalo cauliflower bowls, homemade “poke” bowls (I use cooked tuna), garden veggie bowls, savory oatmeal bowls, and more. Basically, I take a shallow bowl and fill it with some kind of starch or carb, lots of veggies, protein like tuna, nuts, or crumbled feta cheese, and top it off with a homemade sauce or dressing, flaky sea salt, sesame seeds, green onions, or whatever I feel like. These are such easy, comforting, and healthy weeknight meals. They also make good lunches. Sometimes the bowls are planned out with a theme (like the buffalo cauliflower bowls I’ll show below), but more often than not, they’re everything-but-the-kitchen-sink bowls with just whatever we have on hand thrown in! I also love a one-dish meal because of how easy it is to make and clean up. Here are some of my fav bowls I’ve made:

Base: warm sushi rice. Topped with: tuna (from a can. Yep, so easy), Trader Joe’s spiced pecans, thinly sliced radish, avocado, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, green onion, and black and white sesame seeds sprinkled on top. After I took this picture, I added a homemade sauce that was a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and ground ginger.

Base: you can’t really see it in this photo, but the base is oatmeal! Making unsweetened oatmeal and using it as a base for savory foods is sooo good and satisfying. If you’ve never tried savory oats, definitely try it! It’s a super healthy option for the carb portion of your bowl. Topped with: avocado, watermelon radish, plain greek yogurt sprinkled with dried herbs, grape tomatoes, green onion, and dried beet chips. I actually didn’t put a sauce on this one, but I added a generous dash of my favorite flaky sea salt.

This is more of a salad than a “bowl,” but it’s packed with so much good stuff I consider it in the same family. Base: butter lettuce. Topped with: feta cheese, cashews, raw chopped green beans, chopped mini sweet peppers, grape tomatoes, and peeled and chopped Persian cucumber. I dressed it with my go-to homemade dressing: a glug of olive oil, a tablespoon or two of white vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, some salt and pepper, and a big squeeze of lemon juice from our lemon tree (I don’t measure anything out but this is the basic recipe).

This one is super simple and so good. Cooked rotini pasta, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, feta cheese, raw green beans, cucumbers spears, whole endives, my go-to dressing (typed out above), and a lemon wedge from our tree.

This one is a recent favorite in our house. Base: warm rice. Topped with: baked buffalo cauliflower and chickpeas, cucumbers (I’ve also added green beans and grape tomatoes). The sauces are a semi-homemade ranch “drizzle” and buffalo sauce. I say semi-homemade because I use Follow Your Heart brand vegan ranch dressing for the sauce, but I add in some vegan mayo, white vinegar, and a ton of chopped fresh dill to thin it out and make it a little lighter (and tastier, to me). The buffalo cauliflower is made by taking fresh cauliflower florets and breading them in a mixture of almond milk, flour, and buffalo sauce, then coating in panko crumbs. I also add in some chickpeas to the buffalo sauce mix but I don’t coat them in panko. I then bake them for about 20 minutes (turning once). They are the crispiest, tasty little faux-chicken buffalo bites. The consistency is more like popcorn shrimp than chicken. An extra drizzle of buffalo sauce at the end really gives it that flavor. YUM!

This is just a simple protein and veggie bowl, with sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, tuna, butter lettuce, feta cheese, and sliced radish. And some delicious summer peaches on the side :)

As you can see, these bowls can range from more elaborate to super simple. I usually find that no matter what I’m craving, it can be made into a bowl. Recently I have been wanting to try the trend of making eggroll in a bowl but with vegan sausage, so that might be coming soon. The possibilities are endless!

I hope this gives you some inspiration for easy meals at home—I’m by no means a master chef but this has been a fun way to feed Grace and myself that we never seem to get sick of!

My Three-Month Spending Challenge

As I shared in my 2019 goals, I decided to start off the year by challenging myself to make ZERO purchases other than food and essentials for three months. I considered essentials to be just replacing everyday items if they ran out. For example, I wasn’t going to stop washing my hair because I ran out of shampoo and was doing a spending challenge. Same with household products. But I wanted to add nothing new to any shopping carts. So even though I usually wear makeup, purchasing new makeup beyond just replacing my staple items if they ran out would be against the rules of the spending challenge. It’s a little bit flexible in terms of the rules and definitions, but it made sense to me.

Let me tell you one thing that surprised me: the three month spending challenge (January 1-March 31) FLEW by! I thought I would be painstakingly counting the days until I could go to the Target home section, but it was such a good discipline for my heart because I realized how much I really didn’t miss buying stuff. That was even true for clothing. I have officially not purchased any clothes since 2018, and I even perused the spring clothing collection at Target with Grace the other day and had very little desire to buy anything.

The other thing that surprised me: how much this spending challenge and consciousness regarding buying things changed my overall financial perspective. These first three months of 2019 have radically changed Grace and me in terms of finances. I will be honest and tell you that we did not keep a budget whatsoever for the first 5 months of marriage. Thankfully it was fine, but as we dream and talk about our lives as a married couple we realized how much we are going to need to intentionally save to be able to do the things we want! There were definitely tears shed in the early discussions about budgeting, and we’ve had to sacrifice and make tough decisions. But we’ve also been able to joyfully say YES to a big trip this summer because we know how we’re going to afford it, and we’re so excited about the dreams we’re building towards by being disciplined in this area.

The spending challenge has helped me turn my perspective around from focusing on the sacrifice of saying “no” to something I want, to focusing on the joy of saying “yes” to things I want WAY more in the big picture.

So it’s now April and my spending challenge is technically done! So far in the first couple weeks, I’ve only bought a new mascara and some small home improvement items for our house. I’m happy to say that doing this challenge has really reduced my desire to online shop or just want a quick fix of retail therapy. I initially thought about what it would look like if I kept the challenge going the whole year, but I think I’m going to ease up for the spring/summer and then maybe end the year with another three months of it.

A couple tips if you are interested in doing this (I highly recommend it)!

• When you get a desire to buy something specific (like “oh I NEED a new houseplant for that windowsill” or whatever), write it in a note on your phone. I kept a note of things I wanted but was saying “no” to for now, so I wouldn’t forget to grab them if I really still wanted them at the end of the challenge. On my note are a grout pen to touch up our grout on the tile floors (exciting stuff huh!), this book so many people have recommended, this beauty product a blogger I like recommended, and these monogrammed PJs. I might pull the trigger on the grout pen because it’s only like $11 but everything else can wait or maybe go on my birthday wish list!

• On that note, I think easing back into buying stuff after your spending challenge is done is really helpful. I personally would feel kind of bummed if I just went out and bought tons of stuff to make up for lost time. So far I’ve just bought things that I know are useful and I’d been consciously waiting to purchase, and I feel good about it!

• But before your spending challenge, I say go all out and have one last spending hurrah if you feel like it. Leading up to the start of my spending challenge was the holiday season followed by our decadent trip to New Orleans, and so by January 1 I actually felt pretty ready to take a breather from buying stuff. I think it helps to know that you can grab that one thing you “need” right before starting the challenge.

If anyone has done a challenge like this or wants to try it, I would love to hear from you and connect!

Naming the Good Stuff No. 7

Happy Friday! Even though I’m not the most consistent with it, I love this little tradition of Naming the Good Stuff on Fridays (you can find all my Naming the Good Stuff posts here). There was so much goodness this week. Here are a few of my favorite things from the last few days!

1. Salt and Straw’s new April flavors. I went with my best friend Sarah on Monday and between the two of us, we tried them all—they’re unreal! She ended up picking the Chocolate Rose Petal (with whipped cream) and I got the Wildflower Honey with Ricotta Walnut Lace Cookies. I know they don’t have Salt and Straw everywhere (I think it’s only on the West Coast), but if you live near one, GO try the April flavors this month!

2. The new season of the OA on Netflix

Grace and I watched the first season back in 2016 and it took them three years to release another season. I’ll be honest, we felt a strange pull to finish the first season but we weren’t blown away. And we really did not love the ending of the first season. But now watching the second season, it’s like all the weirdness from season one was WORTH IT because it’s clear there was a big, complex plan for the storyline all along. We are halfway through the second season and loving it (another show we’re watching like crazy right now—The Act on Hulu. So creepy but so good).

3. This photo of Bean in his natural habitat.

He is the weirdest, but cutest, and he constantly makes me laugh. I love him so much!

4. Our power outage candlelit pizza dinner

Earlier this week, we lost power for a few hours and it was so odd because there was no bad weather or anything like that. It was annoying, but it ended up being really sweet because not being able to use electricity in the kitchen to cook, we ordered pizza and had a romantic candlelit Domino’s dinner. It forced us to be present, not watching TV or on a laptop or anything, and it was super sweet. Of course, the power came back on right after we finished the last bite of pizza, haha! If you’re wondering, my go-to Domino’s pizza order is build your own, thin crust, garlic white sauce for the base, mozzarella cheese, and topped with pineapple, mushrooms, and banana peppers. Try it, it’s SO good!

5. On Tuesday night, I had a girl’s night out with my best friend Caroline and it was so much fun.

As I’m getting older I feel like I really cherish that one-on-one time with friends more so than being in a big group (even though that’s always fun too). So I’m grateful we got to go out and catch up!

6. Blogging more! I have finally made more intentional time for Have Dog, Will Drive, and I’m excited about a few posts scheduled to come out and in the works. On Wednesday, I posted about my Winter Bucket List, and next week you can expect posts about a spending challenge I did from January-March and one of my favorite types of meals to make.

7. On Wednesday I got to meet my new “newphew,” GRIFFEY! One of my best friends Sara (not the Sarah I got ice cream with, haha - so many Sara/hs in my life) got a puppy a couple of weeks ago and although Grace met him earlier, I hadn’t yet. He is a dream come true, just the floppiest, sleepiest, sweetest puppy. I am in love. It’s so fun to see your friends become pet parents (and of course real parents, I just don’t have that many friends who are yet), and Sara is doing so great with Griffey!

This picture is honestly a better representation of how my time with him went:

Can’t wait for him to finish up his puppy shots so he can meet our boys!

That’s all for now, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

My Winter Bucket List

This post might seem seasonally out of place (it’s April! Flowers are blooming!), but here I am with my Winter Bucket List recap. This first year of being married, I started a tradition of seasonal bucket lists, inspired by the blog A Beautiful Mess. Back in November, I shared all of the progress on my Autumn Bucket List, which helped me have my favorite Fall of my whole life! The Winter Bucket List was no different—I am not a winter-loving gal, but the intentional celebration that a bucket list helps with made me savor the season like never before.

Even though I’m a bit late posting my recap, I’m writing this post for myself and posterity if nothing else. Next winter, I absolutely plan on doing another bucket list, and I want to remember some of my favorite seasonal things from this first one!

You can see the items above that were on my list—if it’s highlighted in blue, that means Grace and I crossed it off! There were a few I didn’t get to (honestly there is no excuse for not making crock pot hot chocolate-I just somehow forgot!), and the squiggly lines means I somewhat completed it. Here are some of my favorite memories from the items on the list!

Decorating our house for Christmas for the first time was SO fun. Looking back through photos made me feel sooo nostalgic. Our house has never felt cozier. I posted a Christmas decorations house tour here.

We also mailed out our first ever Christmas cards (a tradition I had always looked forward to for my first married Christmas!). I loved how they turned out and plan on doing something similar in years to come.

Matching PJs (which, as it turns out, Bean loved climbing into like a baby kangaroo) were a highlight of the season too.

Also Christmas-related on the bucket list: attending Christmas Eve service at our church, St. Aidan’s. It was the sweetest night. I’ve never attended a midnight candlelit Christmas Eve service before, and even though I was super sleepy, it was magical to be huddled in the sanctuary at midnight as Christmas Eve turned to Christmas Day.

This picture was actually taken at our church a couple days before Christmas :)

Lots of good food and drinks on the bucket list! We made Christmas cookies using the same recipe my family has used my whole life, baked homemade Chex Mix (anyone else with me that this is totally a Christmas thing?! Grace had never heard of it being specific to Christmas), and made mulled wine. I think I need to work on my mulled wine recipe a bit. But it was good!

Although my list was very Christmas-focused, there were a few post-Christmas things too! Of course, one of the highlights of both 2018 AND 2019 was ringing in New Year’s Eve in New Orleans at the wedding of two of our dear friends. You can read a recap of that trip here.

In January, we drove to find snow in Southern California and ended up having the CUTEST snow day in Wrightwood! We brought Willie and it was his first time seeing snow (that we know of). So special! I wrote a recap of that day here. We’ll definitely be making Wrightwood snow days a tradition in our house.

Last but definitely not least, in February we hosted the First Annual Nicole Kidman Appreciation Film Festival! Yes, you read right. This was Grace’s idea as she is a huge Nicole Kidman fan, and we had SO much fun bringing our friends together for a weekend of Nicole Kidman film screenings at our house. We rented a big projector, fired up the popcorn machine we got as a wedding present, and were just generally very over the top about it.

It was a great Winter! Two things that weren’t on the bucket list, but should have been:

First, I cut off half my hair. It’s funny because even now in April, I’ll see people who are like wait - did you get a haircut? YEP, I chopped my hair length in half in December and it’s been great! I love long hair so I’m growing it out again but cutting off a ton of it just made it feel so healthy.

Second, I made my very first Buche de Noel and I was so proud of how it turned out! I spent almost all day on Christmas Eve making it, and it was so fun. It gave me a lot of confidence to try complicated baking projects in the future.

I loved this wintry trip down memory lane! I made a Spring bucket list last month (and posted it on my Instagram stories—if you look you can find it in my “favorite things” highlight) so we are slowly working through that!

Have you ever made a seasonal bucket list?

April Goals + March Recap

Happy April! With this new month starting on a Monday, it feels like a really fresh new start and a chance to set some good intentions. I remembered to say “rabbit, rabbit” as soon as my alarm went off this morning. Anyone else share that little tradition?

And speaking of sayings, I felt like March was the opposite of “in like a lion, out like a lamb” that it’s supposed to be. That saying obviously refers to weather, but for me personally, the month got CRAZY at the end. Between the dogs acting up and some health issues for Willie, spending not one but THREE days on a jury panel after getting a summons in the mail, and my busiest week yet of work, the end of March really threw me off course.

That said, I pretty much checked off all the big goals from March (file taxes, revamp retirement account, make a spring bucket list, and more), but the little daily ones fell by the wayside.

But that’s okay! It’s a new month, and what better time to make things new than spring and Easter. Here’s what I hope to accomplish in April:

• Major spring cleaning of our home

• Frost a couple of windows (that look out to our neighbor’s house—need a little more privacy in this city living!)

• Work on our front yard (I’m picturing string lights, filling up our awesome custom planter we got as a wedding gift, and maaaaybe some furniture)

• Prep for 2 weeks out of town at the end of April/beginning of May

• Save [redacted] amount toward our emergency fund

• Hang wedding pictures in our home (I have the pictures in frames—just FINALLY need to hang them!)

• Wake up with my first alarm every day—I’ve gotten in a bad habit of hitting snooze like 5 times

This time of year always gives me a burst of energy as I come out of my winter blues, so I’m confident I can make progress on all of these.

Wishing you a happy first full month of Spring!

Road Trip Dreaming: LA to Nashville

I constantly think about our next big road trip. Given the time we just took away from our normal lives to get married and go to Hawaii, as well as job changes and just a lot going on in our lives right now, I really have no idea when our next long road trip will be. But nothing is more “us” than setting out on the road and taking a big adventure, and I spend a lot of time daydreaming about when that will next be.

We plan to repeat our Alaska trip for SURE, but I have also been thinking about other, slightly shorter trips we could do. And lately I have been thinking about how fun it would be to drive from LA to Nashville and back! I’m not sure when we will make this happen, but I wanted to go ahead and plan out the route and do some research on where to stay so that if we suddenly have a couple of weeks free, we can jump on it and go. I decided to share my planning and research legwork here in the hopes that it will be helpful or inspiring to someone looking to drive this route.

I had so much fun planning this all out, so I might continue doing these for different locations! If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

For this road trip, the theme and “vibe” I was going for is kitschy, route 66 Americana. I planned out a different route there and back so we’d see different things the whole way (like how we did on our Alaska trip). Everything is planned around being dog friendly, and you’ll notice I include the name and number of a local 24-hour emergency vet for each stopping point.

With that explanation out of the way, here’s how I would drive from LA to Nashville and back:

Nashville skyline photo via the Nashville Tourism Bureau

Day 1: LA to Bullhead City, Arizona

Distance: ~5.5 hours (note: might lose an hour due to the time change, depending on the time of year—AZ doesn’t practice daylight savings time like CA does)

Route: pretty much taking I-40 the whole way (and will continue that route basically all the way to Nashville!)

Things to do on the way: On this first day, not a whole lot. The first day will be all about putting some miles between us and LA. We might want to grab our last opportunity for In-n-Out in Barstow, California, and there is one cool photo opp once we get into Arizona that goes along with my theme for the whole road trip:

Photo via the Cool Springs Station website

Near Kingman, Arizona, the Cool Springs Station is a preserved (non-functioning) gas station. It’s a relic of the Route 66 era, and there’s even a little museum about the subculture from that time. I think it would be a fun place to stop and stretch our legs. This station was the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the Disney movie Cars.

Once we get to Bullhead City, I think the best option for the night would be to stay in a dog-friendly Airbnb on the Colorado River. Here are some links and photos of a couple of cool ones that I found in the area. Both are dog friendly.

One-bedroom riverfront apartment

Farmhouse style riverfront apartment

I just chose photos of the outside because the location seems so pretty, but the inside of both is really cute too!

24-hour vet in the area: North Valley Pet Hospital, 928-768-8387

Day 2: Bullhead City to Holbrook, Arizona

Distance: ~4.5 hours

Route: I-40 the whole way

Things to do along the way: From Bullhead City, we’d pass through Flagstaff on the way to Holbrook, which is a larger (and apparently awesome!) town. We would probably stock up on needed groceries and camping supplies for the night there. Some fun things to do might be to park and walk around the historic railroad district with the dogs, eat (or get takeout) from the Whistle Stop Cafe, in honor of one of our favorite movies (Fried Green Tomatoes—this isn’t the cafe from the book/movie, it just has the same name. Still cute). The New York Times recommends going to Macy’s European Coffee House and Bakery. Having grown up in Europe, I think Grace would love that.

One place along I-40 that looks cool, but unfortunately is not dog friendly, is Meteor Crater. It’s apparently the world’s largest meteor impact site. So if you’re doing this drive and don’t have dogs, I would totally stop and see this!

Sleep: To help even out the overall budget for the trip, and take advantage of the beautiful wide-open skies in the southwest, I would rent a campsite for Holbrook. I found a REALLY cool looking one on Airbnb—it has amazing reviews and apparently some of the best views around of the night sky. And it’s only $15 a night! Here’s a pretty, though blurry, photo from Airbnb:

This site is dry camping, meaning you bring in your own water and the bathroom is open-air, so to speak. We love dry camping and I wrote a whole post about it here.

One word of caution with dogs: Holbrook is remote, and the closest emergency vet I could find is almost 100 miles away back in Flagstaff, Arizona. It’s Kaibab Veterinary Clinic, 928-380-1622.

Day 3: Holbrook to Albuquerque, New Mexico (with a pit stop at the Petrified Forest!)

Distance: ~ 3.5 hours without stops (will lose an hour due to the time change)

Route: I-40 the whole way—the National Park is right off the highway

Part of the appeal of camping in Holbrook is its proximity to the Petrified Forest National Park. The Petrified Forest is filled with colorful petrified wood, petroglyphs, paleontology exhibits, and just lots of beautiful, otherworldly landscapes. And, it is apparently a *truly* pet friendly national park! Those of us who have brought our pets to national parks know that they usually have lots of restrictions. The Petrified Forest welcomes dogs and seems like the perfect stop early in the day on the way to Albuquerque.

Photo of dogs in the Petrified Forest via gopetfriendly.com

Also, for those who like visiting National Parks but don’t love hiking (ahem, Grace), the Petrified Forest seems perfect because it has a lot of very short walks (some less than half a mile).

From there, we would pretty much drive on straight to Albuquerque. The ‘bu (as I have read that locals call it . . . don’t worry I wouldn’t be cool enough to call it that myself in real life) is supposed to be such an awesome city!

I would love to stay in one of these two dog-friendly Bed & Breakfasts in Albuquerque:

Cinnamon Morning

Photo via the Inn’s website

Cinnamon Morning looks SO cute and welcoming. It has amazing reviews, their breakfast looks like perfection, and the pet policy is awesome. The grounds of the whole B&B are gated for dogs to run around!

Mauger Estate B&B

Photo via the Inn’s website

The Mauger Estate is a restored 1800s Queen Anne’s-style residence that has been converted to a B&B. It also looks super dog friendly, and one of the rooms even comes with a dog door, fenced side yard, dog beds, bowls, and treats. The Inn is also walking distance to many dog friendly restaurants.

Both places look amazing, and I think we would have a hard time choosing! It would probably come down to wherever had availability, especially if we were planning the trip on short notice.

Things to do in Albuquerque: I am so excited to visit this city! Here are a few of the cool, dog-friendly things I discovered in my research:

• TONS of dog-friendly breweries: Bosque Brewing, Boxing Bear Brewing, Canteen Brewhouse, Marble Brewery, and Nexus Brewery (there are probably more than this, even)

• An area called Tingley Beach where dogs are allowed on-leash (for us, sometimes it’s nice to have a pretty place outdoors to bring our dogs but is on leash—it’s a little more relaxing then having to watch them constantly, as much as we love dog parks for other times)

• An adorable-looking restaurant called El Pinto, which serves New Mexican cuisine and has a dog friendly patio AND even dog beer!

• In general, walking around Old Town Albuquerque looks really fun

• The Flying Star Cafe, within walking distance to the Mauger Estate B&B, looks really cute

Tingley Beach photo via the City of Albuquerque’s website

Photos of Old Town via the City of Albuquerque’s website

Also, if you’re a Breaking Bad fan, I think there are some themed tours you can do since the show was based and filmed in Albuquerque.

If possible, I would try to spend a couple of days in Albuquerque on this trip. But just to keep things simple for the itinerary, I’ll plan it as though we’re only spending one night.

Lastly, here’s a 24-hour vet I found online in case of emergency in Albuquerque: Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Centers, 505-884-3433

Day 4: Albuquerque to Oklahoma City

Distance: a bit longer than some of the others, ~7.75 hours, and will lose an hour due to the time change

Route: I-40 the whole way

Things to do along the way: Because this would be one of our longest drives, we’d want to get an early jump on the day and not stop too many places. But here are a few fun things:

Photo via the Santa Rosa Blue Hole’s website

Almost 2 hours into the drive, we’d pass by the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. The Blue Hole is a rock quarry filled with water that is supposed to be very pretty and swimable. Dogs are allowed (just not in the water), so this could be a cute place to take a bathroom break with them.

Amarillo, Texas, will be the halfway point of this drive, and if nearly 8 hours is too far for your trip, you could also split it up and stop here for the night. One cool-looking place to camp near Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Image via the Palo Duro Canyon State Park’s website

If we were making good time on our drive, I would love to stop and see Palo Duro as well as Cadillac Ranch, where a row of Cadillacs are stuck in the mud and visitors can sign them.

Image via the Cadillac Ranch wikipedia page

I think it would be so fun to sign our names, similar to how we left our mark in the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake on our Alaska trip. I love the idea of making a tradition of leaving some sign of having “been there” at some point on every big road trip we take.

While we are in Amarillo, I also want to try to find a Donut Stop! We love donuts and we love trying different areas’ favorite donut places (like Tim Horton’s in Canada).

After Amarillo, there are a bunch of cute looking towns that seem like good places to stop if we need a meal or gas in our car:

• Tuccumcari (would love to see the Tee Pee Curios shop, full of Southwestern charm and American Indian-made gifts). This would fit right in with my Route 66, Roadside America theme for this trip.

• Shamrock

• Elk City

Once we made it to Oklahoma City, I think we would aim for either a dog-friendly hotel or an Airbnb. Here are some good options I’ve found:

Skirvin Hilton Oklahoma City (Dog Friendly)

Image via the Skirvin Hilton’s website

Image via the Skirvin Hilton’s website

Cute Dog-Friendly Airbnb in the Paseo Arts District

Image via Airbnb’s website

Image via Airbnb’s website

Beautiful Dog-Friendly Airbnb in Plaza District

Having the little patio in this last option would be especially nice with dogs.

24-hour emergency vet in Oklahoma City: Blue Pearl Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital, 405-749-6989

Day 5: Oklahoma City to Little Rock, Arkansas

Distance: Just under 5 hours

Route: I-40 the whole way

Things to do along the way: I have ALWAYS wanted to see Arkansas. I’ve heard it’s so beautiful and fresh and outdoorsy! So I think I would focus on getting to AR and then see the beautiful great outdoors once we arrive.

One pretty stop might be Pinnacle Mountain State Park. It’s dog friendly, and the trail at the arboretum is short and supposed to be good for dogs.

Photo via the Pinnacle Mountain State Park website

Along the way, Fort Smith might be a good town to stop for lunch in. I did some research, and AJ’s Oyster House looks awesome (we LOVE oysters), and they have a dog friendly patio.

Once we get to Little Rock, there are SO many awesome-looking dog-friendly things to do. This is another city where I can totally see us staying 2 nights if we had time. I would love to stay at the Rosemont Guest Cottages. It looks gorgeous, and its website even advertises ground-level rooms for older dogs who can’t do stairs! Thankfully, we aren’t there yet with our boys, but I love when places are so thoughtful for their four-legged guests. I think the St. Clair Treetop Cottage would be my pick, with a fireplace, Jacuzzi, and private outdoor dog area. It even comes with a Belgian waffle breakfast, which would be perfect for my Belgian-raised spouse.

Photo via the Inn’s website

Photo via the Inn’s website

While we’re in Little Rock, I would love to go to:

• Bark Bar - this place looks SO FUN! It’s like a dog cafe with an indoor-outdoor play area for dogs. A day pass for your dog to play is $5, and you can order coffee or cocktails and sit and hang out. I noticed that you have to upload shot records online first, which I really appreciate.

• Crush Wine Bar - looks like a nice place to start an evening out, and it has a dog-friendly patio.

• I would love to walk around River Market. Dogs are allowed on leash (and the downtown dog park is nearby). River Market has a Farmer’s Market every Saturday there, and the website says dogs are allowed.

24-hour emergency vet in Little Rock: Arkansas Veterinary Emergency & Specialists, 501-224-3784

Day 6: Little Rock to NASHVILLE, Tennessee!

Distance: ~ 5 hrs 15 minutes

Route: I-40 basically the whole way

Things to do along the way: the halfway point on this day is Memphis, Tennessee. It might be a nice stop to tire the dogs out at the City of Memphis dog park or the Overton Bark dog park (both have separate areas for large and small dogs). While we’re there, we could get lunch somewhere with a dog-friendly patio. Aldo’s (pizza), Cheffie’s Cafe (salades + sammies), and Lunchbox Eats (their daily lemonades are supposed to be amazing) all look great. I’d also love to check out Muddy’s Bakeshop, which apparently has great coffee (a must for Grace) and baked treats for dogs!

It could also be fun to hit up the Crosstown Concourse, a pet-friendly building with several stores, coffee, etc.

Then once we get to Nashville, I think I’d want to stay at an Airbnb to get more of a local feel and settle in for a few days of exploring. I’ll add links below to some cute options I found.

Cute Dog-Friendly “Magnolia-Inspired” Farmhouse Space

Images via Airbnb’s website

Images via Airbnb’s website

Super Cute Dog-Friendly “Tennessee Townhouse”

Image via Airbnb’s website

Image via Airbnb’s website

Outdoorsy Dog-Friendly Nashville Retreat

Image via Airbnb’s website

Image via Airbnb’s website

I would hope to spend at least a few days in Nashville, because there is SO MUCH to do and I’ve wanted to visit for a long time! In researching for this guide, here is a list of places I would love to check out in Nashville:

Crema, a coffee place that I know Grace would love (anytime I’m building a trip for us, good coffee is an important part of it so I can make sure Grace is happy :) ). Crema looks adorable and is supposed to have great avocado toast and a dog friendly patio too!

Avo, a vegan restaurant with a dog-friendly patio that has an unbelievable menu. Dying to try this one!

Image of Avo via nashvilleguru.com

I have read that Burger Up has amazing fried pickles, which are one of my favorite foods, and it looks from their website like they have a dog-friendly patio too.

Five Points Pizza is supposed to be great, and that could a good takeout option one night.

Bartaco also sounds sooo yummy, and it’s in a cute area I’d love to check out (12 South), AND it has a dog-friendly patio!

Image via Bartaco

Trying out Jeni’s Ice Cream and Five Daughters Bakery would be musts too.

The Urban Cowboy Public House looks adorable and has a dog friendly patio. If we were visiting in chilly weather, this seems like the ideal place to get a drink and cozy up by the fire.

Image of Urban Cowboy via nashvilleguru.com

A few more Nashville things (my list is a mile long, but I’ll try to keep it reasonable for the sake of this post): Hewitt Garden and Design Center looks SO dreamy. I’m not sure if it’s dog friendly-if we were actually doing this trip now, I would probably just call to find out. White’s Mercantile looks like such a good general-store type place too, and apparently they welcome dogs! For dog-specific places, I would want to check out Winston Dog (an adorable dog supply store) and Warner, Shelby, and Centennial dog parks.

Lastly, here’s a contact for a 24-hour emergency vet in Nashville: Nashville Veterinary Specialists & Animal Emergency, 615-386-0107.

I’m not sure how long we’d stay in Nashville (I would hope at least a few days), but to avoid confusion, I’m going to start over with Day 1 for the trip back.

The Return Trip

Day 1: Nashville to Paducah, KY

Distance: 2.5 hrs

Route: I-24 West

Why Paducah, you ask? Grace’s parents live there. We couldn’t make a trip to this part of the country without a visit to see them, too. I’ve actually never been to Kentucky so I would love to make this part of the trip.

It’s a short trip so we’d probably just head straight to Paducah without stopping so we could maximize time with Grace’s parents.

24 hour emergency vet in Paducah: West Kentucky Emergency Veterinary Services, 270-554-3111

Day 2: Paducah, KY, to camp near Kansas City, MO

Distance: 5 hrs

Route: I-55 North and I-70 West

Things to do along the way: we’d drive right through St. Louis on the way, so I’d love to check it out. And speaking of I-70, this article has some awesome ideas for things to do all along that highway. I’ve never been to St. Louis, but what I know of it is that it is beloved for its beer, BBQ, and Midwestern friendliness. It would be fun to get a glimpse of the gateway arch, take a walk through Forest Park, and stop for an al fresco lunch at Billy G’s in Kirkwood (it’s dog friendly).

For our sleeping spot for the night, we’d drive to a camping spot in Missouri. I found three awesome-looking ones between St. Louis and Kansas City:

Oak Treehouse Camping

Image via Hipcamp

Image via Hipcamp

Echo Lake Bison Ranch Camping

Image via Hipcamp

Lakeside Country Camping

Image via Hipcamp

Image via Hipcamp

On a long trip like this, I love mixing up camping with staying in Airbnbs and hotels, and the huge variety of gorgeous campsites in this area makes it the perfect place for one of our camping nights! The next day, we’d wake up and drive to Colby, Kansas.

Lastly, here’s the contact for an emergency vet in the area (about 20 miles away): University of Missouri Veterinary-Med Teaching Hospital, 573-882-7821

Day 3: Wooldridge/Booneville, MO, to Colby, KS

Distance: 6 hrs 45 mins

Route: I-70 West

Things to do along the way: there is SO much to do in this stretch! Lonely Planet has a whole page about great things to do along I-70 in Kansas. There’s also just something so romantic and Americana to me about driving the long, flat stretches of road in Kansas with your best travel companion and doggos :) I would love to stop for lunch at Toto’s Tacoz in Wamego, KS, named after the four-legged star of the Wizard of Oz. How cute is that?!

In Colby, the best dog-friendly option I found was the Holiday Inn Express in Colby, KS.

The Colby Animal Clinic has after-hours/emergency services, 785-460-8621.

Day 4: Colby, KS to Breckenridge, CO

Distance: 4 hrs 45 mins

Route: 1-70 West

Things to Do Along the Way: It doesn’t seem like there’s a ton between Colby and Denver (and that’s only about a 3.5 hr drive), so I’d probably just push through those flat stretches and only stop to let the dogs go to the bathroom. But once in Denver, I’d love to stop for lunch at the Watering Bowl! It’s a dog friendly cafe with an outdoor patio and private dog park.

Image of the Watering Bowl via Yelp

We also have a few friends in Denver so it would be great if we could stop by and see them.

From Denver, it would only be just over another hour to Breckenridge! It looks like such a cute ski/chalet town, even in summer, and I’d love to stay a couple of days and rent one of these Airbnbs (all dog friendly):

Cozy A-Frame Cabin

Image via Airbnb

Image via Airbnb

Chalet Near Lake

Image via Airbnb

Image via Airbnb

Gorgeous Yurt in Serene Valley

Image via Airbnb

Image via Airbnb

Image via Airbnb

So many good options in this area! And the Breckenridge Animal Clinic has emergency and 24 hour services - the emergency line is 970-453-0821.

Day 5: Breckenridge, CO, to Moab, UT

Distance: 4 hrs 45 mins

Route: 1-70 West most of the way, with a slight southern route on the 191 at the end

Things to Do Along the Way: Soon into this day’s drive, we’ll pass by Vail, which I’ve always heard about and would love to stop by to see. A little more off the beaten path, I also think it would be beautiful to make a very slight detour to see Minturn, a tiny town on Highway 24 South (a designated scenic byway). Mango’s Mountain Grill, right nearby in Red Cliff, CO, is supposed to be amazing and has a cute rooftop patio where we could bring the dogs.

Another town that looks cute along the way is Glenwood Springs, CO. Glenwood Canyon looks gorgeous, and all the trails there are dog friendly except for Hanging Lake Trail.

Image via vacationidea.com

After that, we’ll pass by the Colorado National Monument, which looks stunning. Dogs aren’t allowed on the trails, but there’s a Rim Rock drive that looks well worth the detour.

Image via mycoloradoparks.com

From there we would arrive at our destination for the night: Moab, UT! I’ve been wanting to go to Moab for a while. I’ve been to Utah a few times, including once with Grace (on the way to Alaska), and it’s such a breathtaking state.

There are a bunch of seriously tempting options of where to stay in Moab with a dog—I think we would have a hard time choosing! Here are two of my favorites: one, a more traditional hotel, and the other, a glamping situation.

Red Cliffs Lodge

This hotel looks so charming and Western—and the perfect jumping off point to explore Moab. Five of the rooms on the property are pet friendly.

Image via Red Cliffs Lodge

Image via Red Cliffs Lodge

Under Canvas Moab

A very cool alternative to staying in a hotel would be Under Canvas Moab, which offers beautiful safari tents and allows pups of all sizes for only $25 a night.

Image via Under Canvas Moab

Image via Under Canvas Moab

Moab is probably most famous for being situated right beside Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. However, neither of those parks are very pet friendly. But there is beautiful scenery in the area that you can bring your dog to—I found this awesome blog post highlighting the option of hiking to Corona Arch instead of Arches! Looking at photos, it seems well worth a visit and for someone like me who hasn’t been to Arches, I probably wouldn’t know what I was missing. Plus, Corona Arch has the benefit of being apparently a lot less crowded than the national parks.

Image via Utah.com

Image via Utah.com

In Moab, Mill Creek Animal Hospital offers 24-hour emergency veterinary care: 435-260-9989.

Day 6: Moab, UT, to St. George, UT

Distance: ~ 5.5 hrs

Route: I-70 West and I-15 South

Things to Do Along the Way: Today will be all about snaking through the wide state of Utah. Our last stop before home, St. George, is somewhere we’ve stayed before! We camped there for the very first night of our road trip to Alaska in 2017. So, it seems very fitting for it to be the last night of our (hypothetical, for now) LA to Nashville trip.

One awesome-looking place between Moab and St. George is Mystic Hot Springs. It’s a cute little hippie town (the town is called Monroe, UT), and it has these amazing hot spring soaking tubs. Dogs are allowed, just not in the tubs.

Image via mystichotsprings.com

Image via mystichotsprings.com

Other than the hot springs, I think we would just try to get to our destination as early as possible. Because last time we stayed in St. George, we didn’t get to explore beautiful Snow Canyon State Park as much as I would have liked, I think I would just want to spend some time seeing the red rock formations. Here are some pictures I took the last time we stayed at Snow Canyon:

Southwest Animal Emergency Hospital is a 24-hour vet in St. George: 435-673-3191.

Day 7: St. George HOME to LA!

Distance: about 6 hours

Route: I-15 the whole way

Things to do along the way: I covered this stretch of travel in my Los Angeles to Montana blog post when we were doing the Alaska trip! Some of the highlights are that you go through Las Vegas and pass the Seven Magic Mountains outdoor art installation. I think at this point, we’d be ready to power through to home. But it’s a nice drive.

Pic from our 2017 trip.

After what is likely my longest blog post ever - this is the END! I spent many, many hours researching for this post and I hope it’s helpful to someone. Travel research is a hobby of mine, and I also love that if and when Grace and I decide we have time to jump in the car and drive to Nashville, I’ve already done a lot of the legwork.

I hope to do more of these types of posts in the future, both to serve as inspiration for others and to feed my own road trip dreams.