As is clearly no secret by now, I absolutely love to travel. ♡

I love the fun and adventure and magic of it all. I love how it gets me out of comfort zones I didn’t even know I had. I love getting to meet new people from new places, and learning about how they see the world. I love squeezing my way through bustling markets and lingering around café tables, getting to know the nuances of new cultures through their food. I love navigating bike rentals and squeezing onto chicken-filled busses and sitting atop ferry decks and logging tens of thousands of steps a day to reach new destinations.

But more than anything, I just love travel because I’m convinced that it’s one of life’s greatest teachers.

This planet we get to live on is simply — as we say in Spanish — una maravilla.  And while I’m naturally a total hygge-loving homebody who really (really) loves cozying up and staying put, I have to say that I have never once regretted investing the time and money and energy to travel someplace new. This beautiful world of ours just has too many good places to explore, and more, too many beautiful people in it with good things to teach us. So whenever I have the chance to travel, I try to take it!

Which is why you may have noticed that we’ve been traveling more than ever lately. ♡  Both Barclay and I are keenly aware that this particular season of life that we’re in (good health, sans kids, living abroad, with flexible work hours, outrageously cheap airline tickets at our fingertips, and endless bucket list destinations just a short flight away) is probably the most flexible window of time that we will ever have in our lives to travel…ha, probably times ten. So for however long this season lasts, we’re committed to making the most of it, with crazy-deep gratitude all along the way. So far, it’s been a blast.

That said, we’ve definitely learned a lot these past few years especially about how to budget for, book, plan, document and navigate our way around our adventures. We’ve also learned a lot about our own unique travel vibe as a couple, and what feels good and meaningful and fun specifically to the two of us. (And by contrast, what traveling “shoulds” we want to kick to the curb!)

So today, I’m really excited to share a bit more about how we do travel! You guys sent in a record number of questions for this month’s “Ask Ali”, so I’ve done my best to answer as many as I could below and will also tune in to Instagram stories this weekend to answer some more. As always, feel free to just take in whatever rings helpful and true to you, and disregard anything that’s not your style. Because when it comes to travel, what’s most important is that you do you. And of course, if you have any great tips or recommendations or suggestions to the questions below, please chime in with a comment below because I want to know what you know too. Always so much to learn when it comes to travel.

Alright, without further ado, here’s this month’s Q&A!
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Hey guys! I’m back with this month’s Q&A, and I’ve totally been looking forward to it because today we are chatting about one of my favorite things on earth…

…entertaining. ♡

Now of course, I am by noooo means any kind of entertaining expert. Martha Stewart would most certainly flip if she saw our pile of wrinkly cloth napkins all shoved in a drawer, or learned of our deep affection for stackable wine glasses, or discovered just how often we serve people what’s essentially grown-up mac and cheese. But that’s just the thing — I think that Barclay and I have come to love entertaining so much because it’s never been about perfectionism or performance or people-pleasing for us. We love entertaining because we get to do it our way.

I actually started this blog because I’m such a deep believer in the magic that takes place when people gather together around a table to share a meal. And as the host, I think there’s also something profound about having the opportunity to quite literally feed those you love. But while I can happily nerd out all day about how to fill a table with everything from cheeseboards to chips and salsa, sizzling stir-frys to creamy linguines, fancy-pants filets to gussied-up frozen pizzas, ice-cold bottles of beer to craft cocktails — in the end, the food is always secondary.

Entertaining is all about people.

It’s all about you — being fully yourself in your own home, creating an experience that feels natural and authentic to you. It’s all about your guests — giving them a chance to hit the “pause” button on their busy schedules and just rest and enjoy being hosted for awhile. And more than anything, it’s simply about togetherness — being as fully present as possible with one another, and enjoying time together face to face. Those moments spent lingering around a table together feel so sacred nowadays, especially amidst the swirl of our busy lives. And when you get to be the one hosting them in your very own home, I’m convinced it’s one of the most special things in the world.

That said, though, I also know that entertaining can also feel like the most intimidating and stressful things in the world, especially up against the pressures of our Pinterest-perfect screens. So today, let’s talk all about it! You all sent in hundreds of great questions. And I have done my best to answer as many as I can here below, plus I will also pop over to answer a few more live on Instagram stories this afternoon. Hopefully there’s a nugget here that will be helpful for you. But as always, if you have more ideas or suggestions or questions to add, please chime in the comments below.

Alright, let’s do some Q&A!

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New series alert!

When I asked in our reader survey last month what you would like to see on the blog in 2019, there was one request that you all kept writing in — more behind-the-scenes stuff.  Also more quick/easy/healthy dinner recipes, but hey, those were already on the agenda! ♡

So today, I’m kicking off a new lil’ series that I thought we could try out for the year called “Ask Ali.” Each month, I’ll throw out a topic, and you call can throw back whatever questions are on your mind, and I’ll do my best to answer them — some here on the blog, and some over on Instagram stories. We can chat about whatever topics you’d like — cooking, entertaining, travel, blogging, marriage, expat stuff, life with the two snuggliest dogs on earth — you name it, I’m up for it! Granted, by noooo means do I claim to be an expert on any of these topics. But I’m a pretty open book and am always happy to share what I’ve learned.

So this month, I thought we could start with a general topic — “life behind the scenes.” I asked for your questions yesterday on Instagram stories and received loads more than I was expecting, so I will pop back in there today to try and answer more of them on video. But here on the blog today, I’ve tried to distill things down to some of the most-asked questions. If I missed yours, my apologies — hopefully next month!

Speaking of, I vote in advance that next month’s topic be entertaining. So if you have any questions about having people over in your home, leave them in the comment section below or shoot me an email and I’ll respond in February!

Alright, onto your questions!

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