Shereen Rayle's Blog, page 143

New Year, New Travels

Happy New Year! Can you believe 2013 is behind us already? It seems like the year just flew by and I didn't have nearly enough time to get everything accomplished that I hoped for. That's okay though, because a new year means new chances to achieve goals and make new ones. I had a lot of resolutions last year, so I should be happy with the amount of them that I was able to cross off. The last few months have seen me move to working at home "full-time", which means I'll be writing more. Not so...

How to Fly for Free

It's the holidays and usually that means packed flights and lots of drama from some passengers who think it's all about them. What this means for you is a good chance of getting bumped or the chance to volunteer to get on the next available flight. Why would you do this? To get a free flight, of course. 


Everyone has heard the term “bumped”. If you haven’t – or if you have and are not sure what it means – it is the term given to a person who has the misfortune to get to the airport too...

Happy Holidays 2013

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. I am off enjoying family time today, but I wanted to bring you some photos from around town:

This is the most festive shark I've ever seen  One of the trees at my favorite movie theater
Wine anyone? How many of you buy or make a yule log?
Technically, this is from my Disney trip, but it is around a town :)

Infographic: What Do You Want From Hotels?

I always look at the inclusions when I plan my vacations. If I'm going to stay at an accommodation, it needs to at least have free Wi-Fi, otherwise, I feel like I'm getting a bad deal. I mean, internet is super-easy for hotels to supply to guests, but a lot of them must think that this is a great way to squeeze some more bucks out of us, instead of being a huge insult. It looks like I'm not the only one who has amenity standards for hotels. Hotels.com polled guests to find out what they want...

Super Useful Travel Links

Don't forget to enter our contest for a great pair of work + travel men's pants from Bluff Works.
The holidays are upon us, which means many of you are probably getting ready to travel for Christmas or New Year's. Holidays can bring out the best and worst in people when stressed out, so I've found some fun and helpful links for you this week. Also, if you want to get through airport security a little more quickly and less painfully, check out my last blog post.
Photo creditEveryone likes t...

Winter at the "Beach"

I love the beach. Not so much laying on it, but I like to walk on the beach and enjoy the view while I'm out sightseeing. My husband loves to swim and hang out in the water, which is easy to do when we travel in the warmer months or to tropical destinations, but hard to do pretty much every other time and most of the year in Portland. The truth is, it's hard to get to the beach a lot of the time and it can be expensive. When we feel like a sandy getaway, we have discovered a great alternative...

Review & Giveaway: Bluff Works (New) Travel Pants for Men

As you may remember, my husband reviewed Bluff Works pants in the past and liked them so much that we ordered a second pair and they were two of the three pants he packed to go to Europe for two weeks. He was not disappointed. The pants fit great, were comfortable and could go many wears between washes (though, we did laundry often enough that they only got worn twice before they were clean again). Bluff Works has been working on a new cut to these awesome pants and asked if Eric would review...

Less Stressful Holiday Travel

Make sure to enter to win a Lay-n-Go Lite travel bag. Giveaway ends soon!
It's that time again. The holidays are upon us and many of you will be traveling. Whether you'll be visiting friends and family or getting away from them with a relaxing getaway, the airport over Christmas is crazy, packed and chaotic. After packing, just making your way through security and getting on the plane is a challenge. Here are some ways to make it easier on you and everyone around you.

Keep your ID and boarding...

French Macarons

My birthday was this week and I received some fancy kitchen stuff that I wanted, including a book on how to make macarons. That's not a typo. I'm talking about the French macarons, not America's chewy and coconutty macaroons. If you don't know the difference, here's a chart! 
Photo credit
I tried making these lovely little confections before with sad, sad results, but I'm going to try again. While on vacation, I got my hands on quite a few professionally-made macarons, because knowing how...

5-Star Vacations on a Budget in Puerto Rico

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puerto Rico, The All-Star Island. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a budget traveler, I love to get a fantastic deal, especially on a luxury travel experience. I also love my trip to be stress-free. It's not always easy to get both of those things in on vacation, but you can if you travel to Puerto Rico. You get to visit a foreign country without a passport or exchanging money or learning another language (though if you speak some Spanish or wa...