May-cember Is Real
It is a Tuesday night in early May and I am standing in my daughter's school auditorium, phone in one hand, program in the other, Resy notifications going off in my pocket while I try to be fully present for the last performance of the year. May-cember is real. Here is how I move through it.
How I Use the NYT 100 Best Restaurants List to Plan a Summer in New York
Every May, without looking for it, the NYT 100 Best Restaurants list finds me. And the thrill lasts about thirty seconds. Then I get to work. Here is the exact system I use to turn a great list into a living tool, and how you can do the same for any city you are planning to spend real time in this summer.
Summer Travel Planning: One City, One Beat (And How I Actually Plan It)
After years of overstacking our summers, too many cities, too much driving, arriving back on Maui hollowed out instead of restored, I stopped building itineraries and started building beats. One city. One purpose. One note in a greater song. Here's how I actually do it, and the simple tools that make it work.
Summer Travel Planning: Why I Book My Return Flight First (And How I Actually Do It) — A Real-Life Strategy from a Maui-Based, World-Traveling Mom
I start every summer trip the same way. With the last flight. The return home. Once that's locked in, dates, destinations, decisions are easier to define. It might sound counterintuitive, but booking the end first is the most practical move I know. Here's why it works, and the tools I'm using to do it smarter than ever.