Which Side is my Gas Tank on? Travel Tip Thursday Answers

This week’s travel tip has to do something that you will often encounter while traveling if you rent a car or borrow a car from a friend. But if you’re blonde like me, this may help you even in your own car at home....

It’s the question you always ask yourself when pull into the gas station. Which side is my gas tank on?

Well this little tip should help you…

I most recent cars there is a little arrow next to the little gas symbol on your dashboard like this:

(I say “most” because not ALL cars have this, but most rental cars I’ve had do, and I’ve had a lot of rental cars)

Here is the trick... when you look at this symbol, if the tip of the arrow is pointing to the left that means that the gas tank is on the left side of the car. If the arrow is pointing to the right, it means that the gas tank is on the right.

Examples:

Thise car’s gas tank is on the left side of the car:

So is this one's:

This car’s gas tank is on the right side of the car.



How cool is that? I didn’t know this trick for years!

Happy driving!

For more fun Travel Tips, click here:

Bad Blogger

Sorry that I've been a really bad blogger lately -- but I've been so stressed out and busy. Between work being really crazy and working on our nightmare taxes, I've had a giant stress headache for days.

I've been trying escape mentally to go to my "happy place"... like Santa Barbara Wine Tasting...



(This is me and my 9 closest friends at my Santa Barbara Bachelorette Party last summer)

Where is your "happy place"?


PS- Last weekend the Mr. and I saw "Watchmen". It was a good movie but sooo dark and kind of disturbing. Did anyone else see it? Did you like it?

I promise to catch up with you all later this week or this weekend!

Happy Daylight Savings and Some Fun Awards!

Happy first day of Daylight Savings! Don't you just love when it gets dark later? It reminds me that summer is just around the corner! Plus, it's so much less depressing to leave work when it's still light outside. The only bad part was having to wake up an hour earlier this morning for Church.

I was super busy last week, so I'm sorry if I was MIA. Thanks for all of your comments about my new blog design and my Trash the Dress inquiry.

Also, some sweet girls gave me some fun awards awards!


Stylish Surburban and Lucky in Love gave me the Kreativ blogger award. Thanks ladies!



Here are the award rules:
List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love!
Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

Here are 7 things that I love...(besides the obvious= husband, family, God, friends, blogging...):

1. A good cup of coffee (morning, noon, or night)
2. Snuggling in bed with lots of covers and pillows
3. A fun dinner on the town
4. Lounging around in the warm summer sun
5. Reading a great book
6. Organizing a room, closet, or drawer (pretty much anything)
7. Sunrise or a sunset over a body of water
   
   

I pass this along to:

1. French Kiss
2. Ruby Red Slippers
3. Chic Runner
4. Downtown Southern
5. Living our Own Fairy Tale
6. Newlywed Stilettos
7. First comes love, then comes marriage

(I tried to pick people who have not gotten this, so sorry if you have and I didn't realize)

Also NYC HIT tagged me with another award:

This one comes with a catch though…I have to write five not so cute things about myself. Let’s see how cute you still find me after reading these:

1. I’m super "Type A"
2. I will hit the snooze bar 2-3 times a morning
3. I correct people when they misuse “good” vs “well”
4. I’m always leaving cabinets and doors open around the house – this drives my husband bonkers
5. I sing in my car a lot, which sometimes other drivers looks at me like I’m crazy
   

Hope you all have a great start to your week!

Travel Tip Thursday: How to Score Free Stuff

Before I start on this post, I wanted to thank beautiful Kelly Hamilton at Hamilton Happenings for this adorable “Travel Tip Thursday” button. I love it!!!

How to Score Free Stuff While Traveling

1. Join a frequent flier program (or two) and every time you fly be sure to provide your Frequent Flier Number. Then fly the same one or two airlines when you fly to build up miles. Ex: I always fly Southwest, United, or Jet Blue because I already have miles on all of those. I’ve earned LOTS of free tickets from these three airlines.

2. Join a Hotel’s Frequent Guest Program. It’s free to become a Hilton Honors Member, Marriott Rewards Member or a Starwood Preferred Guest. Be sure to always provide your number when checking in. You can earn free nights and upgrade pretty quickly. The BEST frequent guest program is Starwood (Sheraton, W, Westin, etc). You earn free nights the fastest with Starwood. However, Hilton has the most locations and cheaper properties (Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, and Hilton all fall under the Hilton brand). As long as you stay one time a year your account stays active and your points don’t expire. Also as frequent guest at a hotel chain you often get free breakfast, free upgrades, free internet, etc.

3. Get a credit card that give you travel rewards. I’ve had a Hilton American Express, a United Airlines Visa, and a Starwood American Express. Using these for your travel expenses will earn you lots of points/miles and many of them give you a free night/ free ticket just for joining. I personally prefer the hotel cards over the airline cards because some airlines have been bit less financially stable in recent years. (Note: Credit cards are great for earning rewards… just remember to be a responsible spender with them!)

4. Ask for upgrades. It never hurts to ask when you check into your hotel if they have any bigger rooms, view rooms, etc. available. Especially if it’s a special occasion and you let the front desk person know that, and they will often upgrade you.

5. At a hotel if something is not to your liking, don’t be afraid to speak up. Hotels are all about Customer Service. The key is voice your complaint and ask them what they can do to compensate you (don't demand a free anything). Some personal examples: I had no hot water in my room once, they gave me a free night. I had a super noisy room and told the front desk, they changed my room and gave me a free breakfast. Just be really polite and don’t be ridiculous and the hotel will usually take care of you.

Does anyone else have any advice for how to earn free stuff traveling? I’m sure there are some other good ideas out there.

Oh Make Me Over!

Check it out! The Newlyweds Next Door got a MAKEOVER! (The Newlyweds Next Door blog, that is)

What do you think of our new look?!

I love it! It's so much more "us" and so beachy!

I had the wonderful Krystyn of Krizzy Designs do the design makeover. She is fantastic!

Trash the Dress Decision

Thanks for all of your comments on "To Trash or Not to Trash" !

So, you're probably wondering... did I decide to trash the dress?

You have to go here to find out!




Also in response to my post, "Halfway to Housewife" posted her Trash the Dress pictures. Amazing! You have to check it out!


PS - Mrs. Mojito is also joining the "She Just Got Married" Crew! So exciting!

To Trash or Not to Trash?

I have a few teeny tiny regrets from our wedding... one of them is that I didn't get enough pictures of me in my wedding dress. In fact, I have almost zero pictures with me showing off my dress.

I know it sounds superficial, but I really wish I had some fun bridal portraits. I emailed my photographer about this a few months ago and she agreed that we didn't get many pictures of me in my dress and offered to do a "Trash the Dress" session for me for free.

So I have to ask, should I do a "Trash the Dress"?

Pros:
- I get some great pictures of me in my dress... really cool, artistic stuff
- It would be really fun to do
- Why not immortalize being young and happy?
- It's free!

Cons:
- I'd have to get my dress re-cleaned (I would only get my dress dirty/wet and not actually destroy it)
- I've been married 6 months, does it seem lame to get back into my wedding dress?
- It's a bit self-indulgent

Here is one of my only pictures of just me showing off my dress (one of the "industrial" shots I did before the wedding):



So be honest with me, should I do a "Trash the Dress" photography session or not?