Flying American Airlines Business Class | Dallas, TX to London, England

If you ever have the opportunity to fly business class for a long and/or over night flight (especially if someone else is paying for it) DO IT!!! It's so worth it! I may be ruined for all other forms of flight travel. 

Tower of London & Aladdin on the West End | London, England

When L and I visited the Tower of London in July 2014 it was hot, crowded, and had huge lines. I wanted to visit the Tower again and I'm so glad that I did! 

Victoria & Albert Museum Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams Exhibit | London, England

I normally wouldn't create a separate post for one of the many adventures I underwent in a day. However, this exhibition is absolutely worth it. The "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum is incredible! 

London Eats | London, England

London food is always an adventure :)

I took a Van Gogh painting from Oklahoma to London | Norman, OK & London, England

I went to London with an older man. 132 years old to be exact. 

Recently I was the courier who took Vincent van Gogh's painting Portrait of Alexander Reid from Norman, Oklahoma, to London, England, for an exhibition at the Tate Britain. It was awesome!

Condition reporting the painting

Iron Star Urban Bar-B-Q | Oklahoma City, OK

For L's birthday we explored the Paseo Arts Festival and went to Iron Star Urban Bar-B-Q for dinner. I'm not sure why I haven't eaten at Iron Star before, but I will definitely be visiting it again!

Paseo Arts Festival | Oklahoma City, OK

To celebrate L's birthday this year, we explored the 43rd Annual Paseo Arts Festival in the OKC Paseo Arts District and went to Iron Star Urban Bar-B-Q for dinner. 

Picasso Cafe in the Paseo Arts District | Oklahoma City, OK

I've been to the Picasso Cafe several times and the food is fantastic every time. 

El Tapatio (my FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant) | Ardmore, OK

I am extremely picky about Mexican food. Well, mainly the queso, lol. I am absolutely the person that judges a Mexican restaurant by its queso. I am a on team white queso because it's delicious and makes life better :) . El Tapatio in Ardmore, Oklahoma, has the BEST white queso...EVER! 

AMAZING White Queso!!

Cafe 501 @ Classen Curve | Oklahoma City, OK

Café 501 is one of my go to restaurants if I am in North Oklahoma City. It's located in Classen Curve which has a mixture of local shops, upscale chain shops (such as Anthropologie and Kendra Scott), and restaurants. Most of the shops are a little pricey, but the restaurants are affordable and have fantastic food.

Benvenuti's Ristorante | Norman, OK

Since I moved to Norman, I have wanted to try Benvenuti's Ristorante. For my birthday this year, L and I went there for dinner. 

University Club | Norman, OK

The University Club is one of my favorite restaurants in Norman, Oklahoma!

Life changing double stack brownie

New England Road Trip: Days 15-16 Driving from Connecticut to Oklahoma, Breakfast with a Friend, & Hershey World | CT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA, TN, AR, OK

I began my two day journey home by meeting up with a friend for breakfast at The Cure Cafe in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. 

New England Road Trip: Knoxville Lodgings | Knoxville, TN

I stayed at the Quality Inn in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was nicer that I expected. The room was huge, clean, and had a refrigerator with a freezer, microwave, and a super comfy bed (even though I didn't get to sleep in it as long as I would have liked, lol). Breakfast was descent; nothing to brag about but it got the job done.

New England Road Trip: Olde Mystick Village & Mystic Seaport | Mystic, CT

After my late night last night, I started my morning a little later than usual. I began the day by going to B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill for some cider donuts. I arrived around 10:30 am and the Mill was packed! Because it was so busy, it was difficult to find a parking spot. However, the donuts were absolutely worth it and they were as good as I remembered :) 

New England Road Trip: Lockwood Matthews Mansion, Yale University Art Gallery, & Les Miserables at the Shubert Theatre | New Haven, CT

I began the day by driving to Norwalk, Connecticut, and touring the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion Museum. The house is so cool!

New England Road Trip: Lighthouse Cruise, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, & Visiting My Old Stomping Grounds | New London, CT

I started the day by having an early lunch at Captain Scott's Lobster Dock (it has one of my top two lobster rolls of the trip!!). After lunch, I went on the Classic Lighthouse Cruise with New London's Cross Sound Ferry. It was so good!!

New London Ledge Lighthouse

New England Road Trip: Mystic Eats | Mystic, CT

Connecticut's food does not disappoint!

Captain Scott's Lobster Dock in New London, CT

New England Road Trip: Mystic Lodgings | Mystic, CT

After I finished shopping in Newport, I had dinner, drove to Mystic (in the dark, through the pouring rain on two lane highway roads), and checked into my hotel. I stayed at the Quality Inn Mystic. 

You never know what you will discover in your hotel parking lot. Historic bell anyone?

New England Road Trip: The Elms, Servant Life Tour at The Elms, & Shopping Downtown and at the Wharfs | Newport, RI

I began the day by going on the "Servant Life Tour" at The Elms. It was amazing!!! If you are at all curious about the people behind-the-scenes who kept the house running (aka the real life Anna and Bates types from Downton Abbey), go on this tour! 

A few of the male servants

New England Road Trip: Newport Historical Society Walking Tour, Chateau-sur-Mer, The Breakers, & Beneath The Breakers Tour | Newport, Rhode Island

I started the day by driving from Melrose, Massachusetts, through the crazy Boston traffic, to Newport, Rhode Island. Tip: the areas around Boston have an insane amount of traffic so make sure you include plenty of time to navigate it. 

New England Road Trip: Newport Eats | Newport, RI

Lobster macaroni and cheese...my new comfort food favorite!

America's oldest tavern. Established in 1673.

New England Road Trip: Newport Lodgings | Newport, RI

While I was exploring Newport, I stayed at the Yankee Peddler Inn. It was so cute!!

Sorry for the night time pic!

New England Road Trip: National Park Service Freedom Trail Tour & the Boston Harbor Cruise | Boston, MA

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market

Because I was out late the night before, I started the day later than usual. I went on the 11 am National Park Service Tours of the Freedom Trail: Meetings, Mobs, & Martyrs. The tours are free but you need a ticket to attend (they don't hand out tickets until 30 minutes before the tour begins). 

New England Road Trip: Beacon Hill PhotoWalks Tour, Boston Public Gardens, Boston Tea Party Museum, Faneuil Hall, & Quincy Market | Boston, MA

I began the day by going on a PhotoWalks tour through Beacon Hill (a historic and super cute neighborhood). The tour group was small and Saba, our tour guide, was nice. She lead us through Beacon Hill and showed us historic and current places of interest in the neighborhood. She also suggested camera angels and shots to consider and helped people choose the correct camera manual setting without being pushy. 

New England Road Trip: Old North Church, Boston Public Library, & the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | Boston, MA

John Singer Sargent, El Jaleo, 1882

I began my day by visiting the Old North Church. I got a later start than anticipated due to parking issues (read my tips here to avoid a similar situation) and the pouring rain. I purchased tickets online to go on the cemetery and the behind the scenes tours of the Old North Church. However, due to the rain, the cemetery tour was canceled. Even though I missed the specified time for the behind the scenes tour, the sweet lady at the ticket office put me on the next tour and refunded my ticket for the cemetery tour. 

New England Road Trip: Boston Eats | Boston, MA

Boston has amazing food!

New England Road Trip: Boston/Melrose Lodgings & Parking | Melrose, MA

While I was visiting Boston, I stayed in a charming Airbnb in Melrose, Massachusetts. The building was a historic home that has been turned into apartments. I stayed in the apartment on the second floor with the turret and leaded glass window. 

New England Road Trip: Beauport-The Sleeper-McCann House & 7 Seas Whale Watching | Gloucester, MA

Today I left Portland, Maine, and drove to Gloucester, Massachusetts. I started my day by touring the Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House. It is really cool! 

New England Road Trip: Gloucester Eats | Gloucester, MA

Day 6:
Dinner - Latitude 43
The restaurant had a cool vibe, plenty of parking, and very friendly waitstaff. I had the blackened chicken cobb salad. It was tasty and huge! 

New England Road Trip: Gloucester/Rockport Lodgings | Rockport, MA

I stayed in a cute Airbnb in Rockport, the town next to Gloucester. It was slightly in the country and the back yard and surrounding forest were so pretty!

View of the backyard

New England Road Trip: Victoria Mansion, Olson House, & the Farnsworth Museum | Portland & Rockland, ME

I began the day by visiting the Victoria Mansion in Portland. It was amazing!! The first floor has been restored, but the second floor is in need of some love. There isn't a guided tour of the house, but there are guides stationed in various rooms whom you can ask questions. 

New England Road Trip: Portland Discovery Land and Sea Tours & Portland Museum of Art | Portland, ME

I started off the day by going on the Harbor Lights & Sights Cruise and the Peek at Portland tour with Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours. Both tours were excellent! The first tour was a cruise through the Portland harbor and surrounding islands. It took about 90 minutes and our tour guide was informative and funny. 

New England Road Trip: Downtown Portland, Maine Historical Society Tour, Shopping, & Old Port | Portland, ME

I arrived in Portland, Maine, late Sunday night. I settled into my Airbnb and crashed. I slept in Monday morning and then headed to downtown Portland. 

New England Road Trip: Portland Eats | Portland, ME

Portland is a foodie haven! There are so many good places to eat!! 

New England Road Trip: Portland Lodging & Parking | Portland, ME

Throughout my road trip I stayed in a variety of hotels and Airbnbs. While I was in Portland, I stayed at an Airbnb in a cute historic neighborhood.

New England Road Trip: Days 1-2 Driving from Oklahoma to Maine & Road Trip Tips | OK, MO, IL, IN, OH, PA, NY, MA, NH, & ME

I wanted to go on a road trip down the coast of New England for a while. God put it on my heart to go during 2018 so that's what I did. Typically when I go on vacation, I either travel with a friend or family member or I'm going to a destination where a friend or family member lives. However, most of my friends either a. couldn't take off work for two weeks, b. have small children, c. just bought a house, or d. moved away from the area I wanted to visit (priorities people...just kidding!). But I didn't let that deter me. So this trip became my first solo vacation. 

New England Road Trip: Solo Vacation Tips & Itinerary

While it would have been fun, and at times less stressful, to have someone to travel with, I wanted to go on this trip no matter what and I am so glad that I did! I would absolutely go on another solo trip!! I could do the things I wanted, when I wanted, at the pace I wanted, how I wanted, and change my mind if I wanted. It was great :)

Pops 66 Soda Ranch on Route 66 | Arcadia, OK

Something I have always wanted to do is visit Pops 66 Soda Ranch in Arcadia, Oklahoma. L indulged me and one night we visited it!

Neighborhood Jam | Norman, OK

Neighborhood Jam is a new brunch restaurant that opened in Norman, Oklahoma. It is super cute and the food is AMAZING!! 

Second Etsy Shop: RoseMary Adventures Travel Photography

After years of travel and several months of prep work, I am excited to announce that I opened a second Etsy shop! It’s called “RoseMary Adventures” and you can visit it at www.etsy.com/shop/RoseMaryAdventures .

Kimbell Art Musem (Balenciaga and Goya) & Velvet Taco | Fort Worth, TX

Over the Christmas break I visited the "Balenciaga in Black" exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The exhibition was amazing!!! Because 95% of the pieces were completely black (there were a few that had small pops of color) everything looked timeless and classy. The majority of the pieces were on loan from the Balenciaga Archives in Paris.