Among My Souvenirs

I can hardly believe it has already been a year and a half since my travel book, World of Wanderlust , hit the shelves. Publishing a book had long been a dream of mine, though if I’m completely honest I never thought that dream would come to life until the moment I received my first copy in the mail. Blogging has truly changed my life inside and out, so I wanted to do a little throwback post to share my story – how I came to blogging, how my blog became my full-time job, how I came to publish a travel book with Penguin Random House and a behind the scenes of what that journey looked like! My Journey: How World of Wanderlust Came to Be I was just thirteen years old when I embarked on my first international adventure. I had been selected to join a group of kids my age to visit Hong Kong, sing at a movie premiere (in a choir – oh the joys!) and experience the city sights for nine days. Prior to this trip, I had absolutely no exposure to cultural experiences. This was...

If you have ever wondered what makeup essentials you need to bring with you on a trip, the best cosmetics for travellers and even how to streamline your life and learn how to thrive with less, you are in the right place!  I have spent the last year designing the ultimate Travel Makeup Guide, to travel light while still having the right stuff with you to get dolled up at a moments notice!  What if someone handed you a small bag and told you “Okay, you need to fit every single thing you use to get ready, all your makeup, all beauty products, everything, into this”.   Did you just freak out a little bit inside? I feel you, because I did at first too. When it comes to beauty products, I guess I am like most North American girls…meaning the drawers in my bathroom were overflowing with tons of cosmetics and creams I was NOT using, but just wanted to keep around ‘in case'. As we tr...

              via Huffington Post by Alyssa Ramos I grew up poor, and by “poor”, I mean I had a single mother who made about $40k a year and had four kids to feed, two of which she adopted before I was born, when my birth-father was still around. I remember being self-conscious about not always having new clothes, using the reduced lunch coupons at school, and having to take the bus to daycare because my mom had to work long hours…Oh, and the tiny fact that I didn’t have a dad, because back then it was “weird” if your parents were divorced. But do you know what else I remember? I was happy. I had a yard to play in, a loving mother who would let me keep any animal I brought home (I had a pet chicken once…), and siblings to…fight with. I wasn’t used to having expensive things or getting to go on awesome vacations, but I learned how to do things with a little bit of money, and got excited ab...