I'm back with 6 tips for an awesome staycation

hey, hey!

I'm back from my blogging break and feeling so great you'd think I was away on vacation. This year, my sister and brother came to town with their families so I opted for a staycation. How could I leave town with all these lovelies coming to visit, I ask you?

I had no idea a staycation could be so enjoyable and so refreshing. (In case you're wondering, a staycation is when you stay at home and pretend you're a tourist.) So, I thought I'd share a few of things we did that made our staycation so fabulous.

1. Get in the vacation mindset and stay there. You know how you never worry about dusting, chores or your "to do" list when you're away on vacation? Well, that's the key to a good staycation. Just forget about all the things you "should be doing" and remember that you're on vacation.
2. Routine, schmoutine. Ever heard that "a change is as good as a rest"? Well, it's true.  We still had our 3 meals a day and Ben had his nap (well, most days) but that was it. I did laundry when I had to and bedtime was super duper flexible.  I found that if you're relaxed with your routine you'll feel relaxed and that makes it easier to enjoy yourself.
3. Take your camera everywhere. I'm a scrapper so I've usually got one of my cameras with me but for this staycation I made sure my camera was charged and on hand.  Staycations are full of memorable moments you'll want to capture.  Trust me. For most day trips, especially those to the beach, I left my SLR at home and relied on my Fuji point and shoot and my iPhone.
4. Ask friends and family about their favorite local places. There are lots of online resources but nothing beats a friend telling you about a great place that's just an hour away. We had so many great ideas suggested to us that even though our staycation is over we still have things to do and places to go on the next nice weekend.
5. Eat out. I love eating out. Having some one else prepare and serve a meal and then clean up after, whether a restaurant or someone's home, is my idea of heaven. Taking a break from your usual chores is what stay-cations are all about, right? 
6. Organize and edit photos as you go. A high speed internet connection is one of the perks of my staycation.  This tip is totally optional but organizing and editing photos while on stay-cation means you won't be overwhelmed by hundreds of digital images. In fact, my pictures are all printed and I was able to give some to sister before she went back.  Bonus!

Of course, now it's back to reality and chores and "to do" lists but it's all good because I've got a huge stack of photos and a million stories to scrap until the next one.  Like this one...



and this one...



and this one...



...definitely.

Thanks for stopping by.

zove

Cathie