travel on points // 2022.

Last year was our first official year of traveling on points, and we saved $3,923.69 on 3 trips. Pretty good, huh! You can see details about where went in 2021 here.

This year, however, was the year we started living our best lives thanks to travel rewards. We more than TRIPLED our savings this year, and our grand total for 2022 is…

$14,972.30

We stayed 34 nights in hotels (25 in Hyatts and 9 in Marriotts) this year to accomplish all of this, and we have some epic stays already planned / booked for 2023. I think it’s safe to say that this hobby and me have become quick besties! Experiences have always been our preference of gifts, especially now that we can do unimaginable things by being financially savvy.

I do want to be honest and say that if it were not for travel rewards, we probably wouldn't have taken any of these trips (at least not the way we did them). We would have done what we have always done: make as many day trips as possible, stay in the cheapest hotels/AirBnBs we could find, and stay less nights in hotels than we did (aka shorten our trips significantly). For us, the world of points and miles is not only about saving us money because honestly, we likely wouldn't spend $15,000 in a single year on travel. Why? Because we can't afford to do that while prioritizing other things (like being able to contribute towards our retirement savings, for example). Travel rewards have empowered us to do unthinkable things that we otherwise could not do. Our trip over Thanksgiving break is the best example of this, because paying $1,000 per night for a hotel and over $200 each morning for room service breakfast are not feasible with our real life numbers. We are getting to take trips that we've dreamed of our whole lives (especially our adult lives) by playing a game and winning at it, and we are very grateful that we feel competent to do so.

Utilizing travel rewards may not always be a way to do "both" (aka save for our future and take luxurious trips in present time), and we're okay with that. I feel thankful to be able to do previously unimaginable things while we can, and we are doing as much as we can with what we have for now.

So, where did points and miles save us money this year?

 Staycations
Washington, DC
Atlanta, GA
Walt Disney World
New York City
Pigeon Forge, TN

Here is a breakdown of how many nights & flights we saved on each of these trip:

Staycations in Downtown Greenville, SC

For fun, as well as, to earn Globalist status with Hyatt!

// 22 nights in hotels // 

Washington, DC // March 2022

An unforgettable trip to our nation's capital during Spring Break!

// 5 nights in a hotel //

Atlanta, GA // July 2022

A Braves game and a trip to the GA Zoo!

// 1 night in a hotel //

Walt Disney World // September 2022

We were gifted this trip as a way to lift our spirits after a really difficult year. It was so generous and thoughtful and, quite honestly, incredible; and we are still so giddy and grateful we got to have this experience. <3 To offset our spending total, we opened a card and applied the points we earned to our statement as a credit. We had an AMAZING week with our best friends!

// $875 in resort credits //

New York City // November 2022

An unforgettable trip to NYC with our kids to experience the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person!

// 4 round trip flights //

// 4 nights in a suite //

// Daily room service breakfast //

Pigeon Forge, TN // December 2022

A day spent in Gatlinburg and another day adventuring through Dollywood!

// 2 nights in a hotel //

That's all for 2022!

An incredible year of travel, and that was only the trips we used points and miles for. We made more memories on the road, as well, which were all blessings.

And this year, we’ve got big plans to chase the ocean and the snow and (hopefully) a few places in between. Here’s to seeing as much of creation as we can while we’re able. Life is short and tomorrow is never promised, we’ve faced that reality head on this year.

So, here’s to living while we’re living.

a memory.

 Last night, I took a long bath with lavender epsom salt. I rarely take baths, and I never buy and use epsom salt for myself. But last week when I was picking up groceries, I walked down that aisle because I thought I might desire a bath soon. Because I knew what day was coming into view. So, I soaked in the tub with my ears under water so all I could hear was my heart beating.

This morning, on the 11th day of January, I got up and sat back down to read. After brushing my hair and teeth a little later, I felt a tug to look up. When I did, I saw the most beautiful sight in the mirror.

It was me.

I felt an intense urge to look away and continue on with what I was doing, but I resisted. I chose to look and behold my face, and it wasn’t long before it was wet with tears.

I looked at my quivering lips.

I looked at the lines around my mouth.

I looked at my glistening eyes.

I looked at my flushed skin.

I looked into the face of a woman who is no longer detached from her pain. Into the eyes of a woman who is no longer living outside of herself by wearing a smile that hides all she bears. Into the soul of a woman who aches more, cries more, shares more than she ever has before.

I looked at myself and felt so grateful to be loved and alive, to finally be understanding what a miracle it really is. I, also, felt so sad that it takes so much pain and suffering to understand how precious life is.

Eight years ago on this day, I was dying on the inside. Literally, dying. I was on the cusp of motherhood, and my will and my body were at odds. My will won out in the end, but I still think about that day often. I have such vivid memories of me in such a worn state from sickness, while declaring over and over again, “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay.” Such vivid memories of me wanting to protect everyone’s emotions from just how bad I really did feel. Such vivid memories of longing for relief, of being so worried that something was badly wrong and willing it to resolve on its own.

It was sobering to hear just a few days later just how serious and life-threatening it was, how “lucky” I was to still be alive, how many mothers have not had the same outcome. That memory still haunts me.

Some people may be tired of hearing about it by now, of how I almost died but didn’t. My story is part of me, though, and I spent too much of my life making light of myself and my circumstances, acting like it’s no big deal; I don’t do that anymore. My story isn’t any less powerful when someone moves quickly past my words or ignores them all together; learning that has been one of the most humbling and empowering lessons of my life.

This day, the 11th of January, will always be a day of full of grief for me, and I’m okay with that. I have accepted it.

Because as a movie once said so beautifully, “Grief is the price you pay for love, and it’s worth it a million times over.”

And though I look back on this day with such sorrow that it was the final full day I was ever pregnant, the final memories I have of my hands on my swollen belly, sorrow isn’t all I feel.

My memory of this day reminds me that it’s okay to feel more than one thing at a time.

That it’s okay to look at yourself in the mirror and be proud of what you see and all you’ve made it through.

And that God is good and can be trusted.

thanksgiving in nyc // day four.

 The one where we were on live tv!

We braved the Today Show this morning in the rain, and it was the perfect way to begin our day.

Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel to defrost and enjoy breakfast before heading back out. The rest of the day looked like:

-a trip to FAO Schwarz because we may never be in NYC for Black Friday again

-lingering in Rockefeller Center for a while

-a trip to Grand Central Station

-a first ride on the subway for our kiddos (which they thought was amazing!!)

-a ride on the Staten Island Ferry to behold the Statue of Liberty

-playing at the coolest park we’ve ever seen in Battery Park City

-passing by the Charging Bull

-another subway ride

-pizza for dinner at Little Italy Pizza

-being in awe at how Christmas arrived literally overnight in the city.

WHAT. A. DAY.

I think every day has felt more magical than the last!

After dinner and quick showers, we watched Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (had to!) while enjoying room service dessert. I surprised the kiddos with their first gift of the season a little early: instead of waiting until December 1st like usual, they got to open their traditional (matching) Christmas jammies tonight. because NYC, that’s why!! Gah, we have lived so big and wild and free this week.

A highlight reel of our day:

At bedtime I joked that we should visit every Christmas season, and TJ said yes immediately…soooo we may have a new family tradition. We shall see. I don't think every Christmas is feasible, but every few years? That would legit be the DREAM.

This was not a Black Friday, it was BRIGHT Friday. Merry & bright & everything right!

See again real soon, NYC. You are every bit as magical as you say you are!