Michigan holds so many memories for me. My mom grew up there and both my grandparents still live there, so we’ve made countless trips up there over the years; and I’ve loved every single one of them.

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have grown up in view of the strong, faithful, and lasting marriages of my parents and grandparents. Throughout my life I’ve observed their marriages stand fast through the trials and triumphs of life.

It was probably about 9 years ago that I found and read my first blog. It was A Beautiful Mess, one that I still read to this day. Since then I’ve sort of grown a love for following blogs; especially lifestyle and travel blogs. I love following the bloggers’ adventures; rejoicing with them in their successes, and grieving with them in their sorrows. It’s a community, and I love being a part of that!

Growing up with moms who loved gardening, my friend Carrie and I were destined to become plant ladies; and plant ladies we’ve become! I mean, we fangirl over plants. So we certainly saw taking a trip out to Florida Cactus as a worthy cause to brave the heat and (worse yet) humidity of summer.

One of the reasons I started this blog was so I could share what costs are actually involved with travel. Over the years I’ve followed many blogs, some being travel blogs. I have always loved reading their amazing posts about adventurous and breathtaking trips. However, its kind of rare to find a post that actually outlines how much the trip cost, which usually lead me to believe I would never be able to afford it.