Friday, August 27, 2010

Blogging Break/ Badass Book Giveaway!

(Nothing to do with anything, really--I just love this picture)

As you've probably noticed, I haven't had much time to post recently. I really hate not being able to update regularly because I feel bad leaving my readers hanging and I miss writing and my mom calls me every day and says, "Didn't you used to have a blog or something? Didn't it used to brighten my days? BECAUSE NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR." She's so subtle.

Anyway, I'm currently working on some new projects which are really exciting but also really time-consuming, so for the next few weeks posting will continue to be sporadic. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not dead or trapped under something heavy, and to thank you for your patience!

I'll still be updating my Tumblr with pretty pictures and funny quotes, and my Twitter with blog updates and really important observations so please feel free to follow those, if you'd like.

Now, the good news: To make up for my radio silence, I'm super excited to be giving away a free copy of The Wanderlust Workbook, a life-changing ebook by the amazing Sarah Von Bargen, who is about to embark on an 8-month globe-trotting adventure.

I have a copy of this book, have read it approximately 40 times, and cannot emphasize enough how helpful and inspiring it is in making your travel goals a reality. In fact, I think one of the reasons Sarah decided to write it was because I kept emailing her and saying, "OK, so I want to spend 3 months tending to baby goats on a farm in the south of France. Where do I start?!"

This book answers every question that I ever asked her about trip planning and financing, and many more, things like how to take a leave of absence from your job, how to fund a big trip, how to decide on an itinerary, and how to deal with the smack in the face that is real life upon returning from an epic adventure.

For a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment on this post telling me a little about your dream trip--where would you like to wander and why? I'll choose a winner at random next Friday. Good luck! And check back soon for Daddy Likey updates!

p.s. For the next three days, Sarah is having a sale on The Wanderlust Workbook, knocking the price down to just 9 bucks. That price also includes a one-hour podcast and a step-by-step outline of what you need to do to prepare for a big trip. Snap one up for you or a friend or everyone you know, and thanks so much for supporting badass bloggers like Sarah VB!

90 comments:

Faith said...

My dream trip would involve going somewhere completely unexpected that leaves me feeling complete.

Frances Joy said...

I'd like to wander North Africa. Why? Because it's one of the two continents I have yet to visit and there's something about the desert and the mixing of cultures going on in that area that's just calling my name....

Ashley said...

I would got to Turkey and spend most of my time in a treehouse hotel :)

Flora said...

I would love to go on a cruise to the Caribbean!

Renée T. Habashy said...

Since I've never been outside of the US, there are about a million places I'd like to go! Sounds like this book would be helpful.... :)

Anonymous said...

Gotta say Japan. My brother lives in Japan with his lovely wife, and I get to see him every two years or so, and only then if the tide is right. We've been talking about me visiting for a long time now...what we would do, where we would go, but it seems so unreachable! :(

In any case, hope your projects are turning out!

Raquel said...

My dream trip, you say? I've always been fascinated with Antarctica... have you ever read a biography of Ernest Shackleton? That guy was a fucking Real Man. Anyway. Yeah... Antarctica, possibly via South America (I want to see Tierra Del Fuego!) which seems a stupid way to do it considering I live in New Zealand, but whatevs.

Ming said...

I would love to go to Greece for the amazing food and architecture.

Laura said...

ireland. so bad.

Mcarr31 said...

I'd love to travel to the countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean. I'd love to discover the diversity and cultures that all share this body of water, and yet are just so extremely different. I mean, c'mon...the Galapagos, Aleutian Islands, Japan, NZ, and all those cool little islands in between!

Michelle said...

AMSTERDAM. With my best friend. I just loooove Amsterdam. We're actually planning a trip there summer after senior year.

Katy Mary said...

I'm glad you're alive. I'd like to wander onto a sail boat and sail across the world. Or go anywhere, really.

Michelle said...

I'd like to go on a big romp through Germany and Scandinavia, digging up family roots. We're hoping to actually do this next year & the workbook would be an awesome resource :)

Mindy said...

I would love a leisurely trip through Italy, seeing the beautiful country, eating copious amounts of food and drinking some fabulous wines.

Hannah said...

My dream trip (and I'm SO making it a reality) is to spend like the whole summer wandering around Europe with all my worldly possessions in my backpack. I'll stay at all the cheapest hostels and if I run out of money I'll get a job washing dishes or something. And then once I've had enough (I'll at least make sure I have going-home money set aside), I'll make my way home - maybe by boat! Wouldn't that be sweet.

flutterby3 - shana said...

I know it sounds cheesy but I want to backpack through Europe with my Husband! I know I want to see Italy, Greece, France, Spain & Amsterdam and want everything in between! We had so much fun together in NYC just hoofing it and staying in a cheap hostel, I think I want to do the same in Europe. I've already done a little research and have some cool hostels already picked out in Italy and Amsterdam.

Tiffany said...

I'd spend a month wandering through London, Paris, and Amsterdam shopping in thrift stores and taking mental notes of streetstyle looks.

Whit said...

Fly into Barcelona, eat my way across Spain. Stand on the Rock of Gibraltar. Try not to get bitten by a Barbary Ape. Take a boat across the Med to Jordan. Visit Petra. Then end the trip at the Star Wars Hotel in Tunisia.

Sarah said...

My husband and I dream of spending months going through Australia, New Zealand, and the other islands nearby: Fiji, Samoa, etc.

Liv said...

I've been lucky enough to wander to some amazing places in my life, but the more I see the more I want to see. I'm torn between experiencing Japan or visiting my ex-roomate, also known as my "wife" in Australia. I need to experience the upside down land.

http://idlefascination.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

dying for a cross-country road trip. which-- let's be honest, here-- is really just an excuse to stop and see the world's largest ball of twine.

Angela said...

Ireland and Italy. I think I will feel at home in one of them.

Valentine said...

I have always wanted to wander through Rome to explore the culture, architecture, and daily life within the city. The culture and sites of Rome in particular have always fascinated me.
bubbles-123@sbcglobal.net

Lovers, Saints & Sailors said...

I really want to go to Mexico for the Day of the Dead Festival. We actually chose October 28 as our wedding date so we could fly to Mexico and see the Festival for our honeymoon. Reality kicked in thanks to the GFC and both of us being jobless for a bit in the lead up to the wedding and we opted for somewhere a little closer to home in Tasmania. It was gorgeous but I've still got that longing for Mexico.

Anonymous said...

I have a new dream trip every month, but I would love to visit Spain and Morocco to see all the Moorish architecture.

Elizabeth said...

Since I was five I've planned on living in an RV and traveling across the US, selling paintings and home made crafts as an income. I would then take my RV on a barge across the Atlantic and drive up and down Europe. From there, who knows? I'd love to visit parts of the Middle East and Africa, but it's just so dangerous.

lauren price said...

I would LOVE this book to help make possible a trip to Europe with my soulmate/boyfriend! He trekked around Europe with a friend a few years ago and had such a jealousy-inducing time. We both want to go together sometime in the near future, so this would be a perfect little surprise gift to help us with our planning!

Ilse B said...

New Zealand. There are more sheeps than people and Lord of the Rings. That's all I need

sophia said...

I just found a napkin from a dinner last summer where my best friend and I promised that in or around July of 2011 we would go on a major vacation out of the country. Right now I'm thinking London? So obviously, this book would come in very handy!

Nelle said...

I always wanted to backpack across Europe... I wanted to go right after I graduated from college, but then the economy crashed and the Euro shot up and it was the worst time to be a college graduate in the history of EVER. Your idea about tending baby goats in the south of France sounds like a dream come true. Goats are the reason I became a vegetarian 10 years ago. True story! I'm thinking now is the right time to imagine traveling again.

Living Cliche

Ranjita said...

My wander wishlist keeps growing and changing all the time. But right now I would love to wander my way through Central America.

Anna said...

I'd like to go to South America (anywhere in South America, really) because I've never been there! But I'd also like to go back to Western Ireland, where my husband and I realized we were in love.

Anonymous said...

Omigosh, this book would be perfect! I want to go EVERYWHERE, but I really need to know how to fast-track my savings for a trip to Japan next year. You can read all about my dreams and desires in more detail here: http://chubbypiggies.blogspot.com/2010/08/goals-japan-pt-1.html

Imogen Katie said...

I would love to go on a trip to Berkeley, near San Francisco. I swear I was born a few years too late, because I would have loved to visit or live there during the 90's, when all the zines that are pretty popular now were being started! Loads of my favourite bands come from there, and it would be so different than what I'm used to. I'd stay in the cheapest hotels, live on ramen noodles and spend all my money on punk concerts at 924 Gilman Street :D oh god, I'd never want to come home...

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, so many places I dream of visiting...maybe the old standby of backpacking through Europe, try to hit the places I've still missed, or Northern Africa, or Argentina, or maybe just try to catch some of the states I've not gotten to in the US...so many places to go, sounds like this book would help make at least one a reality!!

Eileen said...

I have never left the U.S. (never been able to afford it), but I want to go to the U.K. so badly and just stay there for a few months, ideally. I was an English major in college so visiting all the places where the major poets and novelists and playwrights lived is what I would spend my time doing.

And not going to lie, I frequently go on Kayak to check what round trip tickets are to London.

Sara said...

Hmmm...some places I've always wanted to visit are Iceland and Greenland. I think the landscape and culture would be breathtaking.

Katie said...

I want to hang out with some awesome Gothic Lolita chicks in Japan!

Emily said...

I have always just wanted to explore Europe but mostly France.

ejlittle@ius.edu

Vinnie said...

Islands. Somewhere, a lot of islands. Probably near New Zealand. I would love to go to the Galapagos. Maybe learn to sail and travel about, but I would need a captain. I think I could skipper.

Erica said...

My dream trip would be to travel around Scotland. My dad was in the Navy, and I was born while he was stationed over there. Being born in Scotland was always my "interesting fact" on the first day of school. :)

However, we moved when I was only 2 - to Florida no less, how about that for a climate change?? Because I was so young, I don't remember it at all. I would love to visit and see the area that I spent my first two years of life.

I did take a jaunt to England and Ireland with a friend and my cousin the summer after my first year of teaching, and I love the UK - it's awesome and beautiful. I'd love to be able to add Scotland to places that I have visited as an adult. :)

Kirsten said...

I'm the sort of person who would travel absolutely anywhere given the opportunity, but I think my ultimate journey would be a road trip from the US/Mexico border all the way to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina/Chile, spending substantial time in each Latin American country. I studied in Buenos Aires for a semester, and absolutely fell in love with the region. I was lucky enough to travel quite a bit while I was there, but I would love the opportunity to see even more of Central and South America.

MJ said...

Greece and Turkey- actually, the whole route of the old Orient Express is mesmerizing. But I'd have to spend significant time in Greece.

butterflyrouge(at)yahoo(dot)com

Popper said...

My dream trip would probably be a world trip to Machu Pichu, India, New Zealand & Iceland! Wouldn't it be just fantastic (and incredibly expensive)?

Laura Dick said...

"Wanderlust" perfectly describes me! My dream trip? Hard to pick, but probably traveling around Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, etc.) and getting to meet people-- staying in small villages and getting a cultural experience as well as seeing some of the most beautiful scenery on earth!

Unknown said...

I want to go to Scotland to try and find the Loch Ness monster myself. The scenery looks amazing.

I also want to go to France and sell homemade t shirts that I've painted the Eiffel Tower on from a card board cart.

I also want to go to Australia and live in wine country and farm kangaroos... I don't know that there are actually kangaroo farms, but, wouldn't that be sweet?

Reasons you should pick me:
1. I have never actually won anything.

2. Books are pretty much my favorite thing.

3. The thought of traveling and finances has always been so overwhelming, I never thought I'd actually be able to do it, but this book sounds great.

girl said...

I've always wanted to go to Spain...and Greenland....and Finland...and Peru!

U said...

I want to go to Florida and drive from Miami to Key West. Hopefully I can do this next year :))

Sarah SolĂ­s said...

I don't know exactly where in the world I would go, but I do know that I wanna go someplace rural and completely free of tourists. Somewhere I can maybe for once learn something about myself and about the world. I guess just to be somewhere where I can just see the beauty God has made and appreciate it for once. Not to sound Eat Pray Love-y.

Christy said...

my list of dream spots keeps getting longer since I teach world history and I've never been anywhere. BOO!! I would actually love to give this book to my friend Lisa who DOES go places.

Emily said...

I would love to go to ITALY.. I need to learn how to do the whole communicating with my hands thing they have going on there. Plus the history, beauty and food is all wonderful. Honestly though, I would also take Ireland, England, France, Greece or Spain. ;)

Fluffy Cow said...

I'm not sure where I want to go... somewhere that I can type on a blog post without kids or husband pestering me. Or somewhere that people don't make assumptions and talk about other people behind their backs.

Perhaps just the holiday inn down the street?

Lanika said...

My dream trip would be a volunteer trip, starting in New Orleans, leading me to India, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Haiti and Kenya. For now I'm just going to have to pick one.

lanika.vivian@hotmail.com

Your Unintended said...

I lust after Europe, Italy in particular. Beautiful language, beautiful country.

Annushka said...

I've lived abroad ever since I turned 18, and so has my family- except, we live in different countries. Nearly all of my grandparents have passed away, and my parents aren't great at remembering details about our ancestor.

My dream trip, honestly, would be to fly to Florida to interview my grandmother and then go backwards in my family's footsteps- so I'd hit Wales, England, Greece, and Egypt. I'd meet up with far-flung family and get their stories, and with all the info, I'd compile it so that future family members can have their questions about origin answered in a way I never could.

Then (being the palaeoanthropologist grad student that I am) I'd go to South Africa and really delve into my family's earliest discernible history: that is to say, radiation out of Africa!

And finally, I'd wind up the trip in Taipei 'cause Taiwanese boys are hot. Can't be all wistful, all the time.

Lindsay Mueller said...

Although I've never left the U.S. (need to work on that) I'd really love to go somewhere out-of-this-world different from New York. I hear great things about Greece (read: white sand, turquoise water.) I want to see it with my own eyes :)

Linda J. said...

My dream trip involves moving somewhere in Europe (France anyone?!) and living/working there for a few years. I'm going to make it there one day!

Jennifer said...

I would like to go to Germany. Why? Because it's right in the middle of Europe! Where is a better place to see all of Europe than to start in the middle and move outwards?

rhymeswithcori said...

I would LOVE to go to Ireland for the Bloomsday celebrations. Every year on June 16th people get together and celebrate James Joyce's novel Ulysses. They walk where the Lead Character went, ate what he ate, read from the novel and reenact scenes. A LitNerds fantasy!

Sarah said...

I would love to go back to France and take a side trip through Scotland, just for fun.

Midnight Cowgirl said...

I would love to wander through the British Isles...

storiteller said...

I have a very particular trip that I keep daydreaming about. My husband is a professional cook (not chef...yet), and he has the opportunity to go work for a rather prestigious restaurant in Spain. I have always wanted to write a personal-essay style book, but have been for lack of subject. I would also love to participate in Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. I realized that if we lived in Spain for three months, he could work in his restaurant, I could work on a nearby farm, and then I could write a book about it. So that's my trip!

nonailstoday said...

I would love to be able to live in Italy for a year or two with my boyfriend. We both speak Italian and as for the living part, to me you miss so much on vacation. Living somewhere else allows you to discover all the nuances that make (Italian) life so wonderful.

chelseans said...

Being from Australia I am so far away from everything, but I'd like to go to Russia! The history of the place is amazing.

Talia said...

I have a wanderlust for a fantastic week long backpacking in Peru, up Machu Picchu. Traveling by way of Costa Rica, around and through the gorgeous mountains and greens. This is a trip that needs to be more than just a dream.

I have to much time dreaming about traveling that it is high time I get off my ass and do something about it!

PinkPrincessAli said...

My dream trip is to Japan. My husband is OBSESSED with Japanese Culture and it would be an absolute dream come true for him which would make me super happy. I just want to have tea and sit in pretty gardens filled with cherry blossoms.

Anonymous said...

I'm currently dreaming of Iceland!

Unknown said...

I just discovered the yesandyes blog just a couple of weeks ago! I saw her book and I've been debating buying it. My bf and I were planning a backpacking trip through Mexico this year that totally fell through because of bullshit with our jobs. We were going to start in Mexico City and make our way out to the Yucatan (isla mujer), stopping at ruins along the way.

Angela said...

I'd wear a woolly sweater to Ireland so I could lug my guitar through a pasture of sheep and mist toward a cup of tea in a warm home. Stereotypical, I suppose, but nice just the same...

Julia said...

I think I'd love to visit Iceland! The idea of ice with volcanoes intriques me.

fawn said...

omg, I *need* this book. I sit at a computer all day instead of pursuing my dreams and don't know where to begin hatching an escape.

There are so many places I'd like to see, but I'm currently obsessed with visiting Machu Picchu. I would love secretly save for two tickets there as a surprise for my husband!

TheSundayBest said...

My dream trip is to go back to Japan and open a bakery. I guess that's less a trip and more AN IMPOSSIBLE LIFE DREAM.

Unknown said...

Not necessarily my ultimate dream vacation, but my "dream-vacation-right-now" is a month long trip around Ireland, Scotland and England. I'm trying to save up enough money to do maybe 2.5 weeks in May, but we shall see. But I'm still dreaming big :)

Unknown said...

I've always wanted to go to Antartica. There's a boat that leaves from Chile, so I would fly to Chile, explore for about a week, then get on the boat and sail to Antartica. The particular boat that I want to take has room for 8 people i think, plus the crew. Along the way you get to see penguins and baby seals. I think the experience would be amazing!

Angie of MI said...

My fiance is from Australia so it is a dream of mine to go to Australia and see where he is from. I would love to venture to Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef!

Cassandra said...

My dream trip (right now) would be to visit Santorini, Greece. A generic picture from there has been my computer background for over a year and I would like replace it with a picture that I took myself.

Cassandra
crazypainter3@comcast.net

Shayna said...

I love to travel! So many places to go... I think I'd love to go somewhere in South America. See Machu Pichu and the other beautiful things around it. Adventure is everything!

Emma said...

I am living in the Czech Republic right now as a year of foreign exchange with Rotary and I wanted to say "Don't be afraid to do it!" because travel is the best thing that can happen to you!!!

Laura said...

I would love to wander about Japan....there is just something so serene and appealing about the culture there, and it's a perfect mix of big cities and wild countryside all within a reasonably small area. My favourite book is Memoirs of a Geisha...a definite must read ladies!

Would LOVE this book!!xxx

SMiles said...

Pretty much anywhere in Europe, but I'd really like to go to Isle of Sark and see the gorgeous flowers and sheep racing. :)

Margee said...

I would want to go to somewhere I can immerse myself, full body, into the rapid currents of culture. I crave something different, something delicious, something absolutely delightful. Maybe Italy or Argentina or India. Sadly, all the places I really want to go, I can't be openly in love with my beautiful girlfriend, because lesbianism is so gay, I hear....

Amanda M. said...

JAPAN. As my boyfriend would put it, I "can, should must and will blow up the moon - I MEAN go on a vacation to Japan."

Anyway, it's all about the cuisine, not to mention the fashion. Oh my GOD. But Japan is a very expensive vacation, so I'm not entirely sure I'll ever be able to afford it. We shall see...

Jill W said...

It's on a bit of a smaller scale than some of these other ideas, but my two best friends and I have been yearning to road trip around the western US, stop at some little diners, and just see the sights of small town America. We've been working our butts off to fund it, but it's a long shot on whether or not we'd even be allowed to go. Hopefully though, we'll be on the road seeing old friends and hitting up every theme park we come across by summer 2012.

Morgan said...

My dream trip would involve eating amazing things. And swimming with dolphins. Possibly also Disneyland, where I would be named queen of the pirates and put in charge of making sure that the Pirates of the Caribbean animatronics are toeing the line.

Georgie said...

I'd love to do the Trans Siberian railway, or trek to Everest Base Camp, or swim with sharks in South Africa, or learn to surf in Hawaii...there's so much cool stuff to do!

Cera said...

My dream trip would actually be to go to Alaska again with my fiance and spend time together in a secluded cabin away from everything, but with catered meals every night and at least a couple trips out to fish for halibut and salmon and just in general relax and have fun in a place we both love.

Unknown said...

My dream trip would be spending four days in Hawaii with my husband. This trip is actually a relaity for me. We leave Sunday :)

Nina B. said...

I've always wanted to go to Morocco with enough money for furniture, decor, and shipping so that I can furnish and decorate my WHOLE HOUSE...that I don't yet own.

Unknown said...

This is the book I've been waiting for! My dream trip would probably take a couple of years to complete: a walking trip in the steps of my favorite travel writers: Patrick Leigh Fermor (A Time of Gifts/Between Woods and Water); Agatha Christie (Come, Tell Me How You Live), HV Morton, Bettina Selby, Jan Morris (whom I'd like to meet and live next door to in Wales).

style eyewear said...

This post inspiring me to go on a cruise. Well I really like this picture, it is so cute.

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