Kitty Deschanel

With the Taos Summer Wine Festival August 17th-19th and the  Angel Fire Wine and Wagyu Weekend (formerly known as the Angel Fire Food & Wine Roundup) August 24th-26th , this is the perfect time of year to plan a visit to the beautiful New Mexico mountains. You can easily fill a week with fun activities in between each foodie event. Not a bad place to spend a week, eh? And, yes, you should totally try to make it to both. We attended both last year and have been looking forward to both ever since. The Taos Summer Wine Festival and Angel Fire Wine and Wagyu Weekend could not be more different and each is amazing in its own way. I think of the Taos event as being aimed at yogis and hikers, whereas the Angel Fire event is for cowboys and Texans. It's cheese pairings versus barbeque. Hippie music versus country. Chevy Volts versus Dodge Rams - and as an owner of both, I absolutely LOVE both festivals. The Angel Fire Wine and Wagyu Weekend features a VIP food and wi

We are counting down the days until the luxurious 2018 Taos Summer Wine Festival. Less than 3 hours from Albuquerque, it was easily the most fun event SN and I attended in 2017, which included adventures in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Texas, and we've been looking forward to the next one ever since. Heck, I'm already looking forward to Taos Wine, 2019! Plus, we will soon know if they decided to go with my poster submission: Probably, right? The event organizers (shoutout to the amazing Cecilia Cuff) have provided two free Saturday passes for me to give away to a lucky blog reader. Think of it as winning...

SN and I have made a California road trip an annual tradition. Well, maybe not so much a road trip as a business trip . Isn't he sweet to let me tag along? Our journey usually takes us from Buellton, CA to Livermore, CA and back again. Over the years, we've stumbled upon a few can't-miss stops. If you're an animal lover like me, you'll want to be sure to add these to your To Do list for your next California vacation. Even better, each of these ideas is budget-friendly. How budget-friendly? You can enjoy the fun ideas on this list for free . Ah, no wonder visiting California always puts me in a great mood. California Must-See Free Attractions for Animal Lovers CA Road Trip Stop #1: The Beach I know what you're thinking. The beach? You're starting your list with the beach?! How lame. I have to include this though because  prior to last year , I never considered myself a beach person. The miserable heat and itchy sand and crowds, crowds, crowds,

Although it is a favorite of travelers, planning a visit to Europe can be overwhelming. There are simply so many countries in such a relatively small region that it can difficult to prioritize, especially with only a limited number of vacation days available. Throw in the fact that just about every capital and coastline is famous for one reason or another and things get even more difficult. One country that is often overlooked as a first class destination is the Czech Republic – a beautiful Central European nation known for charming towns, medieval castles, and a deep and fascinating history. Here are some of the best things you can do on a trip to the Czech Republic: Tour Cesky Krumlov Castle Ancient castles are among the attractions that make the Czech Republic such an interesting country, and the one in the town of Cesky Krumlov may be the best of the bunch. As a bonus to your castle visit, this entire town is wonderful to explore, full of history and less crowded with touri

What's the best park in London? Of all the parks I visited during our May trip to London (and since I was paying a ridiculous $45 or so per day to travel to and from Reading, you can bet I crammed in as many parks as possible!), my favorite was Golders Hill Park in Hampstead Heath .  For me, it beat my visit to Central Park in New York, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and all of the parks I've been to in Australia, Seychelles, Paris, Canada, and Mexico. Basically, Golders Hill Park is the best park IN THE WORLD! There's a free zoo, homemade ice cream, bridges to run across, a pond where you can feed the ducks, grassy hills, a stumpery (yes, a stumpery!), statues, trails for hiking, deer, and all sorts of other outdoor awesomeness. While I was photographing all the flowers, a little old man came up to me. He seemed very excited and said, in a cute little old man voice, "Isn't nature beautiful? I've got one here in my hand."  Truth be told, I w