The Pros of Vacation Rentals

Right now traveling isn't really that much of thing, because most things aren't open, so this is the time to super relax. Our road trip was a lot of driving around, stopping at viewpoints and parks, then chilling at our rental. If nothing else, this is the time to splurge on some extras. 

Generally, we use out timeshare when we travel, unless there isn't one where we've chosen to go or we take the dog. When this happens, I check out Airbnb {<--use that link for $40 off!}. There's a time and a place to opt for a hotel, but as a budget traveler, being able to save money on food and saving my sanity by not being in everyone's pocket 24/7 is very important. Here are my 6 reasons to choose a vacation rental.

You get a kitchen

This means you can cook your own meals! Now, keep in mind, I don't go on vacation to cook, especially since cool new foods are the best part of traveling to me. I do, however, hate getting up super early, so I tend to load up on breakfast foods. This allows me to spend a little more time in bed, plus I save money on morning dining. We usually spend at least one dinner in, either making something easy or eating leftovers, which we were able to bring back, because we have a fridge and an oven.

In many rentals we've stayed in, they've also included grills, so we could BBQ if we wanted. This is great if you are traveling in the warmer months. If you travel with kids, having a place to prepare and store foods can be imperative for your sanity and saving money.

You (generally) have a separate bedroom

Listen, I don't need to have a different room with a bed, but it's nice. I'll settle for separate, defined spaces, just so I can get away from my travelmate(s) for a minute. I adore my husband, but we don't always want to be in each other's faces. A hotel room normally has a bed and one chair. If you're lucky, you get a tiny table or a desk. Even if you bring back leftovers, you can't really sit anywhere comfortable. If you have to do work or just want to play on your laptop, there's not a good place to do that either. 

I don't always go to bed at the same time as people I travel with. It's nice to have a table where I can type away, a couch to relax on, a bed for sleeping purposes that doesn't also double as a terrible chair, or a room where I can just hang out alone in that isn't the bathroom. 

You can choose your amenities

I have a small list of must-haves when I travel: WiFi, TV, a shower (if I'm traveling to Europe where not all places have one), and laundry facilities. I get these things in a timeshare property, but I can also choose these things specifically when searching for a vacation rental. For example, we're going to Edinburgh and London in the fall and I want to pack light. Because of this, it's especially helpful to have access to a washer and dryer. I've had to go to the laundromat in the past and while it wasn't the most annoying thing, it cost quite a bit in London. 

You can choose your price range

Sure, you can do this with hotels, but for the same price, you can search for a vacation rental that is in a location desirable to you, plus includes all the amenities you hope to get in a place to stay. If you can get all this for the same price or a little more, you're still saving money on baggage fees, food, laundry, and possibly entertainment, because you have room to spread out and play games and/or watch movies.

You can feel at home

This is the number one reason I enjoy a vacation rental over a hotel. Feeling weirdly displaced when you travel is hard. I like to feel like my space is a home. I don't need a maid to come in and clean up after me every day. I want my space to feel cozy and comfy and lived in. I can make a rental feel like my home until I leave. I can spread out my stuff, not worry about anyone coming in to clean (where I have to clear up things before I leave each morning). 

Having what equates to a small home or apartment makes me feel like I'm a traveler instead of a tourist. Like I'm living like a local. Some come with free parking, some are in buildings with extra security, some have pools or gyms. The best part is that if you don't want these things, you rent a different place and don't pay for them, unlike when you stay in a hotel that offers them for everyone.

You have a true local on-call

One thing you usually don't think about is having someone you can contact for an inside look at your destination. Yes, there's the front desk or concierge at a hotel, but when you rent from a local, it's easy to pick their brain to find out where they like to go and what they'd recommend seeing to an out-of-towner. They probably aren't rich and they certainly don't get kick-backs for pointing you in the direction of an activity or restaurant. Some live steps away or welcome calls/texts or leave detailed folders with all the cool stuff for you to peruse. I always get awesome suggestions this way. Our most recent rental had a welcome website that included a whole list of all the restaurants and their hours and websites. 

Vacation rentals are a lot safer than a lot of hotels right now, too, because there aren't dozens of rooms that staff has to clean. There's just one place with several rooms. You're usually asked to do a bit of clean-up before you leave to make this easier. I know that Oregon and Washington has strict Covid rules for vacation rentals, meaning there's plenty of time for owners to get everything cleaned before another renter checks in. 

Before we left, we were asked to wash towels, any blankets used for the dog on furniture, and start the dishwasher. We put blankets in the washer before bed on our last night, then I got up, moved them to the dryer, tossed our towels in the wash, then finished loading the dishwasher, started it and turned off all the lights before we checked ourselves out. 

What are your favorite reasons to choose a rental over a hotel?

Packing Light for a Large Wardrobe

I am a believer in packing light. I have packed all sorts of ways and I've decided that packing less leaves me less stressed, I have less to carry and fewer things to deal with. I almost never come home with items that were never worn, because I pack carefully and with intention, so everything goes with everything else and I can mix and match each piece I bring along.

If you are worried that not packing outfits per day and matching shoes for each one is going to be your downfall, think of how much happier you'll be when you aren't lugging that 58 lb bag that you also have to check and waste $25+ each way on. It's actually much easier to practice packing light when you're just doing socially-responsible road trips. I like making my life easier and only having a handful of items in my bag definitely makes it simple to find something to wear each morning and gets me out of the door faster. I make a list before I start packing of what I will need and then choose a few of my favorite pieces and go from there.

We live in Oregon, so we tend to own quite a bit of Columbia clothing. It's long-lasting, feels great and is perfect for packing, because it's lightweight and moisture-wicking. I have several key pieces that work for most climates. 

Columbia can be spendy, but I recommend buying on sale. You may also want to check out REI, Backcountry, ExOfficio, Lucy (for women) or Anatomie (also for women). Items made with soy or bamboo are great for warmer climates, because they are odor resistant. You might also like linen for the breathability. There are lots of great travel brands out there and many don't even look like they are, so you don't stick out as a tourist, but are still comfortable in the heat (or the cold, depending on when you travel).

I also am a layer-er. I always travel with a scarf/wrap a lightweight jacket and a cardigan or two. This way I'm covered if it gets cooler at our destination and for the chills on the plane. It may seem silly, but on the plane I wear a pair of stretchy jeans, comfortable slip-on shoes, a t-shirt, a cardigan and a scarf. If it gets warm, I can shed some layers, but if it's cold, I'm set. I have this awesome HappyLuxe wrap that I can also use as a blanket. In fact, I can wear it as a scarf while also covering my lap if my legs are cold.

Layering also gives you the ability to wear part of your travel outfit at your destination, so I always dress with that in mind. I work with three bottoms and four-five tops total. When they all go together, you have 12-15 different outfits. You can see how I've made different looks with each of these tops and bottom combinations.

I usually toss in an easy dress  that can work for day and night, then go with just two pair of shoes. Both should be great for walking and at least one of them should work for your dress. On our road trip, I packed my pair of Arcopedico booties and wore a pair of sneakers/walking shoes. Both pair went with everything I packed, so I mixed it up each day depending on the weather. 

I try not to pack shoes that might be too constrictive, because then if my feet swell, I'm SOL and uncomfortable. Of course, I bring a pair of compression socks to wear while I'm hanging out in my room, but that doesn't do me any good if it's hot and my shoes don't work with socks.

Throw some accessories in your bag to give you some other options. A sunhat works for when I'm somewhere with a lot of sun and I'd like to keep my face from turning into a lobster (even with sunscreen this can happen pretty easily). A good piece of jewelry can literally turn a day dress into a nighttime one, especially if it's a cute little black dress, which is what I take with me everywhere. It's a wrap dress by Lucy Activewear, so it's breathable and sporty feeling, but can be dressed up a bit for a nice dinner. Easy! 

Now all your clothes fit in a carry-on. You know where all your things are. You don't have to wait at the carousel for your luggage. You don't have to pay baggage fees. You don't have to break your back trying to get your bag up stairs or out of the car or in the overhead (when we get back on planes). Now, you just need to get working on making your toiletries lighter.

What are your biggest issues with packing light?

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Celebrating Mardi Gras at Home

This has been a very weird year. For the first time in I don't know how many years, all the bars in New Orleans are closed and they have asked people not to come to the city at all. For once, we aren't missing anything, and on top of that, we had a giant snow storm with freezing rain, so we were stuck inside our house with no way to go anywhere for 4 days. I had already planned to celebrate Mardi Gras at home, but couldn't order food to pick up, and instead had to cobble together my own foods.

Mostly, things just went sideways in a lot of ways for this celebration. My backdrops didn't come in time, so I had order back-ups that were too small and cheesy. I worked with what I had in my freezer and pantry, and made a king cake from a mix that I was unsure if it would even come out. It did, but they should call it king bread, because it's not soft on the outside at all and has the consistency of French bread. But, c'est la vie! Laissez le bon temps rouler! (let the good times roll!)

Luckily, Mardi Gras was virtual this year, and you can watch their 3-night celebration on YouTube: Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3. We enjoyed the hours we watched and even learned more about the celebration and the krewes than we already knew from visiting Mardi Gras World. 

That was our entertainment, along with talking about things from our previous trip, so let's talk about food and decor: 

Beads, beads, beads!

You can't have a Mardi Gras celebration without beads. It's just not possible. I got this adorable miniature street lamp (truthfully, I ordered one and ended up with two) that looks a lot like the gas lamps in The French Quarter and covered it with beads. Even outside of Mardi Gras, you'll find beads strewn in trees, on lamp posts, on fences, on signs. You name it. While there is a volunteer group that goes through and picks up and recycles beads that litter the city after the week is over, some are left because they can't be gotten or because it adds to the atmosphere. 

Drinks!

I mean, have you ever seen a photo of people in Nola without a drink - or five - in their hand? There are some. I didn't drink much while I was there, but I had a few. Eric and I had the same drink here - rhubarb shrub, carbonated water, frozen blackberries, and a sprig of rosemary. I added whiskey to mine. No crazy drink bill, I don't have to drink it out of a plastic cup, and I'm not surrounded by thousands of drunk people. I feel like this was a win all the way around.

Food!

What's a celebration without food? I mean, that's not a celebration I want to be part of. Since I had to rely on what I had on hand, I couldn't have jambalaya, po'boys, or etouffe. I don't love two of those three things anyway. I would have loved to have some fried catfish though. The closest I could have done to that was cod. 

Instead of those things, I went with standards that I've had and made before: red beans and rice - with cajun-seasoned chicken and sausage - and shrimp and grits. Both are really easy to make, can be seasoned to taste and changed up to suit what you like. I added cheese to my grits and used coconut cream instead of milk (because I didn't have any) and simmered it with some fresh sage and rosemary to give it depth. I used little smokies for sausage, as that was what was in my freezer. It was all very delicious and filling. Here are some easy recipes you can try if you want to make your own creole feast. 

King Cake!

I was going to make cheater beignets out of Pillsbury biscuit dough, but then I got lazy, because I already made cake and thinking about mountains of powdered sugar hurt my teeth. You can have Mardi Gras without beignets though, so we only had King Cake. I bought a mix some weeks ago, because it had everything I needed in the box. Because it's technically a yeast bread, you have to let it rise twice and then let it cool before you ice and sugar it. Contrary to popular belief, the baby isn't actually baked inside, it's just set under the cake normally. Well, mine was very crusty and that wasn't going to work, so short of shoving it into it, it wasn't going to be hidden. I just set it on top and now he looks like he's on a slide. LOL!

Hot Sauce!

There are literal stores that only sell hot sauce in Lousiana. They call them hot sauce bars, because you can buy from hundreds of different kinds, but you can also sample them beforehand. We bought a ton to ship home as gifts. We also visited the Tabasco factory on our trip. While I'm a green Tabasco fan, Eric likes anything that's super vinegar-y. For a gift, they had a fancy, limited-edition, anniversary blend that I purchased. This bottle - the 150th Anniversary Diamond Reserve Red Sauce - cost $45 after shipping, but it will never be made again, and also why we still have it to use for things like this. A few drops is all you need. It's very spicy and also has some really bright flavor. Yes, it's meant to look like a champagne bottle, but also the dark glass keeps UV light out that can damage the blend and change the taste of the sauce.

And that's a look at our laid back, snowed-in, DIY Mardi Gras celebration. Because most of this was stuff I had at home, it cost us less than $60 to put this on. Since I'm still waiting on my good backdrops, you can rest assured that there will be a follow-up Nola staycation post, where I can actually get food someone else made, including beignets. Until then Sante! (Cheers!)

If you're hoping to get to New Orleans when we can get back to traveling and they've started welcoming tourists again, here's a great post I did on spending 48 hours there. 

Have you ever been to Mardi Gras? Or even celebrated at home/in your city?