Dreams, Booked. This is really happening

Man, oh man. The time is finally here, and it’s so exciting. We’re officially putting ink to the calendar: trips mapped, dates set, flights and hotels booked. East Coast to West Coast, then across the Atlantic to London and Paris, followed by Spain, Morocco, and Portugal… all between now and May.

With those locked in, we’re already turning our attention to summer. The plan? A road trip starting mid-June at Bonnaroo in Tennessee, heading west to explore incredible cities and national parks, iconic music venues and concerts, then cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway before cutting back across the top of the country, just in time for football season.

As you can see, Lottie Dottie was really excited when we told her about the summer trip

The very best part (beyond seeing so much of the U.S.) is that Lottie gets to come along. Leaving her behind is always the hardest part of travel, so being able to bring her with us made this trip a must.

But back to the immediate future. In less than a month, we kick things off in New York City for Fashion Week. On February 12th, we’ll be attending Christian Siriano’s show, something we’ve dreamed about since first watching him on Project Runway. It feels surreal. Big city, big show, and the perfect excuse to get fully dressed up and enjoy an unforgettable night out.

Best Dim Sum in L.A.? Where??

Just two weeks later, we’re off to Los Angeles for a long weekend of shopping, sightseeing, catching up with friends, and eating our way through the city, especially Koreatown and Chinatown and on to Dim Sum (recommendations welcome!).

All the bon chon, please.

About a month after L.A., we’ll head to London, the starting point of our Paris trip. Since we’re already crossing the pond, we’re adding a couple of days to visit friends and spend more time getting to know the city before heading over the Channel to Paris. And yes, shopping is very much part of the plan, we have $25,000 from the game to spend there, and Joey has already scoped out some incredible shops, particularly vintage stores. Vintage shopping is the best way to make a “shopping spree” go even further, so those are big on our list.

Three weeks after returning home, we’re off again, this time to Barcelona, where we’ll board the Scenic Eclipse for an 11-day journey through the western Mediterranean. Mallorca, Ibiza, Cartagena, Málaga, Puerto Banús, Tangier, Seville, Portimão, and finally Lisbon, where we’ll fly home. As someone who has always loved history, traveling through these places feels like a lifelong dream come true.

Many of the boxes in the game were built around “dream prizes” that the teams shared with the producers, deeply personal hopes and bucket-list experiences. This was ours. Spain, Africa, Portugal, and sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar. And now, here it is, and we happened to win it!

It’s going to be a very busy few months, especially since we’re also renovating a home in between all this travel. But the truth is, we love being busy. We love projects. We love doing the things that light us up, and somehow those very things keep finding their way to us.

We’ll wrap up this incredible year with the summer road trip, a full season of Panthers tickets, a beautifully decorated home for Christmas, and then a trip to Santa Land in the Arctic Circle of Finland.

Manifesting the dream vehicle for our summer trip ;)

How did all of this even happen? I love reliving every step that brought us here, and I’m endlessly grateful, for the thrill of the game, for the journey, and for the chance to look ahead at what’s coming. Someday, I’ll write a companion piece about where we’ve been, what we discovered, and all the moments in between. We know how lucky we are.

And if you played any part in getting us here: thank you. Truly. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We couldn’t be more appreciative, and we promise to make the most of every moment. Pinky swear. 💗

That moment when a lifetime of dreams come true