Why I had surgery and have a cast on my leg…

Why I had ankle surgery and why I’m in a cast and will do it again soon…. I explain my story and the reason behind it

Hi, happy new Year! I celebrated the holidays with a beautiful cast on my left leg and a new Ankle! I’ve literally been asked hundreds of times, “what happened to your leg Andrea” and well it’s simple I was born with no ankle joints.

I have a condition called Tolecoalation Coalition, basically I’m missing my ankle joints and my bones literally squash each other and rub against each other… it’s extremely painful.

How I found out I had this…

I’ve always told people I had weak ankles because I always thought I was just weak as I used to do Judo my whole life and always thought, oh maybe all those years I just tired my ankles out. When I started my first job, at age 16, I started to notice my ankles hurt after work to the point where I couldn’t walk. I would go to the doctor and they told me I had tendinitis and gave me pain medicine. I never took the pain medicine because I hate medicine lol but the pain never went away for years and I would keep going to the same doctors and they would put me in a brace and tell me the same thing. Even though I seemed so happy at Disney when I left the moment I sat down I couldn’t stand up again without literally crying in pain, I would literally fall from how bad my ankles hurt. Ryan, my fiancé has almost taken me to the hospital many times because he thought maybe I broke them from how much I would cry and kinda yell in pain lol I wouldn’t even be able to sleep. So finally I said enough I researched the best doctors and I found one an hour away from my house but I was willing to do anything to help my pain. I go to the first appointment and I went with the mindset of, oh he’s just gonna tell me the same thing the other doctors have told me, physical therapy, a brace and medicine. So come to find out after one X-ray that I have no ankle joints and I have arthritis. I originally went in for pain in my left ankle because I always thought my right ankle hurt because I was putting more weight on it since my left ankle hurt but actually I had no ankle joints in there either haha Which kind of explains why I could never walk or stand and do normal things without crying in pain. I felt like I finally found answers and felt so much comfort with what my doctor was saying. I’m super happy with my choose of researching a doctor and even if I have to travel a little more for treatments and surgery I don’t regret it and love going haha

What did they do in surgery

With the opinion of my doctor, we decided on an ankle fusion. I have a scar on the left side of my ankle and on my heel. He basically took out the part of my bone where my ankle would be and put in a bone growth, mixed with some of my bone marrow he took out of my leg. Then he put two screws through my heel of my foot. Again I’m not a doctor so I’m not sure 100% all the technical terms and stuff haha

So now what?

I was in the white cast for two weeks today and yesterday I got moved into this green cast that I will be in for 4 weeks and a half weeks. The whole recovery process is 3-6 months until I see results. So far I’m excited and ready to improve my overall life and go back to walking around Disney eating all the food and taking photos❤️

So that’s my story of how I was born with no ankle joints and the journey I will be on for a little while❤️

Do not forget to be you and be happy!

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HOW I TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH NO MONEY

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Hey!!!! I know you are reading this because you are thinking “I want to travel but my bank account says stay home.” When ever I see someone after a trip I also get asked “How do you travel so much?” or “omg you must be rich because you travel a lot” or “do you even work?” and the answers are always, “really because I feel like I haven’t seen enough of this beautiful world” and “no I am also a broke college student like you” and “yes Ryan and I work normal jobs like you.”

Honestly HATE when people say “ugh you are so lucky you get to travel” or “I wish I had money to travel like you do.” BUT IN ALL REALITY YOU CAN!!!!

But let’s skip the BS thoughts some people have and get into what I do and my tips and tricks.

 BE FLEXIBLE!!!!!

Now when I say be flexible I mean with your travel dates and travel locations. You may really want to go on a weekend but in reality it may be cheaper to leave on a Wednesday or a week later than when you wanted to travel.

SIGN UP FOR ALL THE AIRLINES MILES PROGRAMS!!!

FIRST OFF WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOT SIGNING UP FOR THESE!!! THEY ARE FREE!!! You get free miles every time you travel with that airline!!! If you travel with that airline often you may be able to get free upgrades, food or even better FREE FLIGHTS!!! I traveled to LA for free because I saved up my miles and got a free round trip ticket!!!! It is so SIMPLE!!!

IF OVER 18!!! GET A TRAVEL CARD!!!

If you are over the age 18 and is responsible and have cash! Get your self a travel credit card because this way you are able to get more discounts on hotels and flights, along with perks like priority boarding but you get DOUBLE MILES sometimes MORE!!! After you spend $1,000-2000 you get 40,000 miles- 60,000 miles!!!! That is multiple roundtrip flights for free. Again only use if you have cash to pay it off and be responsible!

MAKE TRAVEL TICKET HUNTING A PART TIME HOBBY

A lot of the time I travel is because I just so happened to run into a $50 dollar plane ticket to a place or city I have never traveled to and want to go. I literally make it a hobby to constantly check airplane tickets and studying the best times to travel. I use the skyscanner app to see what airlines travel to what cities and when the best times are to travel to certain areas. This allows me to say okay Delta travels to LAX and then you can go directly to Delta’s website and purchase the ticket from the. This app also this cool feature where you click “EXPLORE” and you put “ANYWHERE” at “ANYTIME” from a specific departing airport and it tells you THE CHEAPEST PLACES TO TRAVEL ANYWHERE WITHIN A 6 MONTH PERIOD. This is how I found my families $230 roundtrip ticket to Iceland and back!!! Just from exploring my options. (ps wish this was sponsored but it’s not I just REALLY LOVE THIS APP)

TIP 3: GO TO THE AIRPORT TO BUY YOUR TICKET!!!!!

When you go directly to the airport you do not have to pay all the crazy service charge fees!!!!! Ryan and I saved $70 for going to the airport to buy our ticket for our latest NYC trip we paid $29 for a one way ticket and $42 dollars back!!! IT IS SO CRAZY BUT IT WORKS!!!!

DO NOT BE SEAT PICKY!!!

If you are traveling alone or with a buddy as long as you booked your tickets at the same time you will be seated next to or very close to that person. I say skip the expensive “seat selection” that for some reason always changes… and get your seat for free!!!!

TRAVEL LIGHT!!!

I KNOW! I KNOW! I can hear you all screaming at me! How can you pack light when you have to take a pic in all 20 outfits sitting in your closet right now!!!  My tip for this is TRY ON ALL THE CLOTHES and make outfits that can be reused in different ways. Sometimes you think an outfit may be cute as well and it might not actually be cute… it happens to me all the time and then you think that could of been space I could of saved. Try to pack as much in a backpack or carry on so you do not have o pay for the luggage space on the airplane.

DO NOT ALWAYS TRAVEL BUT AIRPLANE OR UBER EVERYWHERE!!!

ALWAYS!!! Look for what the city’s or states public transportation options are because you may be able to say HUNDREDS of dollars. For example, Last year Ryan and I flew into San Francisco and we wanted to visit family in Sacramento. An airplane was $211 for a one way ticket for ONE PERSON!!! Instead we found a Gray hound that cost $11!!!! The Greyhound has plugs, wifi, and comfy seats!!! We paid $11 and got more than what most airplanes provide for $100s! Yes Greyhounds may seem scary to some and I would recommend you do your research for certain bus stop areas but I just brought my neck pillow and closed my eyes and feel asleep for 3 hours and we arrived!  Also Trains!!! Trains may cost you $3-10 dollars and can get you anywhere from city to city to state to state!!! Just do your research before you jump into a $50 uber. Who knows you may get lost and find somewhere beautiful!!!!!

DO NOT STAY IN THE BUSY CITIES 

I feel like this is a common tip because it’s like common sense, sometimes looking for a place to stay 5 mins away from the main cities may be more peaceful and a hella lot cheaper!!!

AIRBNB OR STALK BOOKING.COM

So I have not personally been able to use Airbnb because people take too long to respond or cancel… but I hear good things and the prices look cheap! but I use booking.com because you can find apartment and hotels and it tells you straight forward how much it is going to cost for the amount of days you are staying. You also get $20 credit when you refer people!!!

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If you use Hotels.com every 10th stay is free!!!

TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS

Who doesn’t love travel buddies!!!! You get to travel with friends and you can split cost of rooming, transportation and what ever else you do!!!

MEET PEOPLE WHERE YOU ARE TRAVELING

I am saying this for two things… one if you meet someone who knows the area they will tell you all the secrets of what to do or where to go for cheap or just for fun! and TWO so you can stay somewhere for FREEEEEE!!!! I know some people may think it is weird but I promise this may be the best thing you decide to do and may lead to long time friendships! Ryan and I’s friend from High school who we didn’t speak too regularly opened her house to us when we went to Vegas and now we consider them to be one of our best friends and love them so much!!! So do not feel scared to step out of your comfort zone and you may friend a life long friend!!!

USE AAA IF YOU HAVE IT!!!!

IF YOU HAVE AAA YOU SOMETIMES GET CRAZY TRAVEL DEALS THAT ARE AMAZING SO USE IT!!!!!

Also keep the option of Renting a car

This again depends where you are traveling to because if you do not have to pay for parking everywhere and there is not crazy traffic and the rates for renting a car is cheaper for a longer travel period then do it!!! (AAA can be used for this as well!) Also if you are under 25 but older than 21 you can rent a car with AAA or the app called Turo!

SAY NO LESS AND SAY YES MORE!!!

Hope all these tips are useful and help you travel more!!! The key to traveling is in your hands it is up to you to save the few dollars of coffee or video games and travel! There is nothing better  than exploring and seeing the world!

MIAMI Museum of Ice Cream

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January 10th, 2018 My brothers, Ryan and I all traveled to Miami to visit the famous Museum of Ice cream! Okay so let’s first start with what I did not like about this place! We first encountered a rude employee who told us to go walk 4 blocks away to a Starbucks until our time came which was in 30 minutes and she did not even let Ryan use the bathroom even though we had tickets to this event and the bathrooms were right behind her. The lighting sucked in all the rooms. It was not worth the $45 for the experience. DO NOT GET ME WRONG I HAD A BLAST but if I am going to be honest I wiSh there were more rooms, more ice cream and a more upbeat friendly environment throughout the whole museum.

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 In some rooms they served Ice cream!!! WHO DOESN’T LOVE ICE CREAM!!! In this room they had Chocolate ice cream with Pink whip cream and a PINK cherry!!! I kinda question if a pink cherry is good or not for you but YOLO! Deff my favorite Free ice cream in the whole place!

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In another room, they had a room filled with Ice cream windmills! In this room the employee was very entertaining and dancing the “Ice cream” Dance!!!

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We of course had to take a pic on the Banana swing! This room also had a cherry swing which kinda reminded me of Miley Cyrus!

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“I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!!!!”

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In other rooms we got Melted Ice cream which LITERALLY brought back childhood memories of the ice cream machines you would get at like Toys R Us to make at home ice cream! YUM! Frozen Chocolate bananas, and Key Lime Pie ice cream were also served for free!

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We can not forget the famous sprinkle pool! I did not know the city was actually fined for getting the plastic sprinkles into the city water and potentially harming animals until I got home from the event or else I would of not had gone in as the Sprinkles really do follow you home! You get like 3 minutes in the sprinkle pool to take as many photos as you possible can and are timed by an employee who is literally counted out loud and not to mention was sweeping behind the pool too so like you could not get the perfect picture during the anxious count down! Thankfully, I was able to capture this photo as soon as we jumped in!!!

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Over all I am just always happy to spend time with my family!

If you are looking to go to this Museum, I say if you have the money deff go and have fun! However, we were a little disappointed with the cast members, lighting and the limited amount of ice cream for the money we paid!

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MY SEATTLE TRIP

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VIEW FROM THE AIRPLANE!!!

AHHH…. IT FEELS SO GOOD TO FINALLY SAY I WENT TO SEATTLE, WA!!! I say that because this was a surprise christmas present for my boyfriend Ryan! Seattle has been on his bucket list for years and I love traveling and looking for cheap plane tickets and found some and book them without telling him. We went to the airport and I have known about this trip for a month Ryan thought we were going to Colorado only BUT we got to the airport and I printed out a ticket and asked him to read it in which he found out!!!! He cried I cried it was great then began out 8 and a half hour travel day!!! WATCH RYAN’S REACTION HERE ON MY VLOG CHANNEL!!! 

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We got to Seattle at 12:00pm Seattle time and as soon as we arrived we rented a car through the app called TURO. We picked up the car and check in our hotel, The Hyatt in Renton next to Lake Washington. By the way the Hotel was BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is a brand new hotel we paid $130 a night and it is near so many food places and things to do, they have a plaza called The landing that has EVERYTHING!!! Not to mention all the hotel employees learned my name and always took the extra mile to make us happy and feeling at home. It was so peaceful and is on Lake Washington. I was in love with this city and would recommend taking a visit!

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However, as soon as we dropped off our bags we headed to Everett, WA which was less than an hour north of Renton. Everett is the home to FUNKO! Funko is the company that creates the collectibles called POP! figures. My boyfriend is a huge fanatic and knows the store managers and people all over the world that also collect. This was the main reason for this surprise trip!!! So we got to the store and Ryan went on a shopping spree!!! BUT then the store Manager gave us a huge behind the scenes tour!!! This office is the most magical fun office ever!!! They have slides to go down every floor, they have a private gym, arcade, and bowling alley!!! Who wouldn’t want to work there!!!

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We bowled and hung out at the Funko store all night!!! Special thanks again to the Funko community for their hospitality!!! After our visit we just went back to the hotel to catch up on sleep and get ready for the next day!

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Our next day was our last full day in Seattle! We first woke up and headed to Pike’s Place! We ate at a restaurant right next to Pike’s Place Fish Co that had the most unbelievable view ever!!!! The food was okay but the view was everything and more!!!

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After, we walked around all 5 floors of the market before heading to the gum wall which is to the left of Pike’s Place when you first enter the Public Market! We added a Polaroid and our gum to the gum wall and took photos like any tourist would haha!

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After our gum experience we walked over to the first EVER Starbucks!!! The store is small and there is supposedly always a line but we got lucky, however, a tip when you go is do not waste time look at the cups and souvenirs because they give you a brand new one at the cashier desk and they have a menu of all the souvenirs that they have in the store so as soon as you get there just get in line!

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We then went to the Space Needle, which is under renovations so it is not a full 360 view but is deff worth the view of the city, mountains and lake!!!

We had so much fun in this city and can not wait to come back to see more!!!

SEE MORE PICTURES HERE AND WATCH MY VLOG HERE AND TRAVEL DIARY HERE

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A WEEKEND IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

HOW TO HAVE THE BEST WEEKEND IN THE CITY GUIDE BY ANDREA

I went to Chicago, Illinois February 3rd, 2017 and immediately fell in LOVE with this beautiful city. Chicago is nothing like South Florida. It was 25 degrees with a -14 wind chill. We could walk the whole city rather than have to drive every where and the city was filled with amazing architecture every where you turned.

My boyfriend (Ryan) and I stayed in the city for 3 days and I would suggest having 3 to four days in the city to really be able to experience and take in the whole city.

We were able to do almost everything possible from eating Deep pan pizza and hot dogs to laying 103 floors above the city in Willis Tower.

Chicago is perfect for anyone that has a stomach for food and love for art.

OUR FIRST DAY:

We arrived to Chicago at 10am Friday morning and took the train from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and took the blue line train to Jackson where we were able to switch to a Red line train to Harrison. The total price for both my boyfriend and I was $10. Once we arrived to Harrison we were able to walk to Michigan Ave. where our hotel was located. We stayed at the Hilton hotel on 720 S Michigan Ave, Chicago IL, 60605 USA.

OUR HOTEL:

The 4-star hotel gave my boyfriend and I the best stay in Chicago. The hotel had restaurants, gift shops, Starbucks, high security and amazing views from all rooms. Someone is always there to open the door and greet you with a Hello. Before anyone can enter the elevator they ask for a key to validate you are a guest at the hotel. The location of the hotel is what my boyfriend and I loved the most. Located on Michigan Ave it is on the same road as all the major parks like Millennium Park, Grant Park, Maggie Daley Park, food places, and shopping centers.

Here is the link to the Hotel we stayed at:

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 AFTERNOON DAY ONE:

We began walking down Michigan Ave and ate lunch at a sandwich place called Fontano’s Subs.

 The subs were fresh and delicious. They had lots of hot and cold Sandwich and snack options. It came out to $20 for two subs, chips and two drinks which is not bad for a shop in the city.

After we ate our subs, we walked down to Millennium Park and saw the Bean for the first time.

The bean is a beautiful place to take photos and make silly faces in the mirrors. You can walk under the bean and also see hundreds of you as well. We were at the bean around noon and it was not overly crowded and was easy to take any photo I wanted to take with the bean. In the same park you can shop and go ice skating. Right next to the bean you can also take photos with the blue wall located directly in front of the Bean.

The Blue Wall is perfect for modeling photos or Instagrams and is always available for people to take photos in front of it.

 

JAY PRITZKER PAVILION is the park and stage where famous performers have performed and where lollapalooza is hosted every year. This is also located behind the Bean and is Beautiful to take photos. During the summer Chicago also offers a lot of free concerts here to enjoy on a daily.

The BP Bridge is a huge bridge that connects the Millennium Park to Maggie Daley Park.

Maggie Daley Park is the most creative, beautiful, fun park I have ever been to. If you have kids or are playful adults I100% recommend  making a trip to  this park.

 The Park also has a amazing view of the city. We went on a Friday afternoon and only very few people were there. This Park has slides, swings, crazy mirrors, and views of the city. It can make any adult feel like a kid again because that is exactly how my boyfriend and I felt at this place.

OUR FIRST NIGHT:

 

 We started our night and went to Willis Tower Sky deck at 7 pm we had a whole hour with very limited people and no lines to take as many photos as we wanted in the Sky deck. When you enter the building you go through what I would consider a mini museum and then head into an elevator to the 103rd floor where you oversee all the amazing city lights of Chicago.

 

After the Sky Deck we wanted to try Chicago’s Famous Deep Dish Pizza. We went to Lou Malnati’s which was highly recommended to us by friends who lived in Chicago and by uber drivers. You can dine in or call for carry out at any of their locations. Would highly recommend for anyone visiting the city.

 DAY TWO:

We started the morning early and around 9am we walked to a cafe called Wildberry Cafe and was told we had an hour wait for a table. Being the travel prepared person I am I had a backup cafe to go to just in case this situation happened and it worked in our favor as Kanela Cafe was AMAZING!

I  ordered the Crunchy French Toast and loved it so much! It was like a cinnamon Roll in a cake form so good and so recommend.

 Ryan ordered the Nutella S’mores Waffleand had the sweetest Breakfast of his life.

Right by Kanela Cafe is the River walk and Navy Pier. The River walk you get this amazing view, that makes you never walk to leave Chicago.

 

 After our walk with a view and a sweet filling Breakfast we headed to the Wrigley Field where the Chicago Cubs play Baseball. The field is currently under construction but is still a cool experience to walk around and explore the baseball team’s field who won the world series in 2016.

DAY TWO AFTERNOON:

After the baseball field we decided to try out the Shedd Aquarium.

 The line was at least an hour wait to just get to where you buy your ticket to enter the aquarium. Then you had to wait in line inside the building. We did not want to waste that much time just waiting in line in this beautiful city. Instead we enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL city/river side view the Aquarium had.

 

Both of these photos were taking right next to the aquarium and were an unforgettable site. We even witnessed a proposal next to us. Would recommend a picnic or just visit the view it has to offer.

 

 

 

After enjoying the view we wanted to try Chicago’s Famous Hot Dog. We went to Devil’s Dawg which was a cute shop with every hot dog, shake and onion ring you could ever imagine.

DAY TWO NIGHT:

 After we ate hot dogs we headed back to the The Bean to meet some of our friends and viewers. Then right by The Bean is the famous Chicago Theatre.

 

Ryan and I then went to PORTILLOS WHICH YOU MUST GO TO! We had the Chocolate Cake Shake and Fluffy was right it is the best thing ever. Inside is a two story restaurant, and has five different ordering stations as if you were in a baseball stadium ordering food, it was the coolest place ever.

DAY THREE:

Day three was our chill day as we went to my brothers’ performance for the majority of the day. We began the day with a quick Starbucks run and may I say the double chocolate pound cake is THE BEST. We then wanted to visit the United Center where Dwanye Wade our ex local Miami Heat player now plays with the Chicago Bulls.

 

At this Arena they used to have a huge Michael Jordan statue where people would come from around the country to take a photo with just like us. As we were there and we were with other tourists looking we were informed that when the Blackhawks, a hockey team who also plays at this Arena, won they replaced MJ with a BlackHawks statue.

 

After the Arena Ryan and I went to watch my brothers perform in Lincoln Hall. My brothers are part of a tour called Part of my Story Convention. My brothers are also Youtubers, Younowers and inspiring DJs. They are well known as 99goonsquad. After, the performance we hoped back on the road to the O’Hare airport to come back to sunny south Florida.

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND CHICAGO IF YOU ARE A CITY LOVER, EVEN IF YOU ARE UNDER 21 THERE IS A LOT OF FREE STUFF AND ADVENTURES YOU CAN TAKE.

Thank you for taking your time to read and hope you enjoy and take a trip to Chicago

HOW TO HAVE FUN IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

I went on a last minute 2 and a half week trip to Houston, Texas and here is everything I did and suggest you to do as well!

WHAT TO DO AND EAT IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

   

We flew to Houston, using the airline Southwest and arrive to the city early morning. We booked an AirBNB to stay in for the first 2 nights of our 2 week stay. We stayed by Rice University and after the two days we moved to the Galleria area and stayed at the Derek Hotel for the rest of our stay. While we were in Houston we were able to attend a family friend’s Dulce and Wedding. Houston is the perfect place who can literally shop till they drop as there is lots of shops to go to.

WHERE TO EAT:

SWEET PARIS WAS HONESTLY THE BEST CAFE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO IN MY LIFE. It was so good we made sure to go twice before we left to come back to Florida. They had the BEST Nutella Hot Chocolate!  I also ordered The Waffle with Nutella, Chocolate and Strawberries.  Ryan ordered the Crepe with Nutella, Strawberry and Bananas. I would suggest going to Sweet Paris on a week day or early morning as there is limited seating and long lines. When you walk into the Cafe you can grab a menu and choose from any of their crepes and waffles or make your own. You will not regret going to this sweet place!

Le Peep was walking distance from the hotel Derek and it is a cute little mom and pop looking brunch place.  We ordered the LumberJack Breakfast and it came with 2 eggs, 2 sausages or bacon, LOTS of potatoes, and 2 pancakes. We got 2 blueberry pancakes for a few cents more. My boyfriend and I spilt the meal and it filled us up! We loved this place, it really makes you feel like you are at home away from home. We also had the nicest and quickest waiter as well! I almost forgot to mention our bill only came out to $14.75!!! IT IS SO CHEAP AND DELICIOUS!

SPRINKLES CUPCAKE sprinkles offers an indoor shop with a selection of cupcakes, cakes and other desserts. However, the COOLEST part about Sprinkles Cupcakes is the outside vending machine on the back side of the store. You can order up to 4 cupcakes and it comes out with each cupcake individually packages and ready to go! It is so convenient for the on the go Houston, travelers who just need some sugar.

 My mom and I also stopped into a nice Italian restaurant that was literally in front of our Hotel. Grotto Ristorante was a super romantic date night restaurant. My mom and I sat night to an open fire and a lit Christmas Tree. We ordered the Raviolis and a Triple chocolate for dessert!

Other food suggestions:

EMPIRE CAFE- Cafe of Drinks, Sandwiches and Desserts

PF CHANGS- Chinese Food

SMASH BURGER- Burgers and Fries.

FIT FUEL – Energy Food, Smoothie Bowls and Protein meals.

WHAT TO DO IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

 

Visit the WaterWall by the Galleria Mall! This wall is perfect if you want to take a cute Instagram picture, pop a question or want to see something new. I will say it is a little cold being by the water but is totally worth a visit.

 

Visit Discovery Green Park, this park is FILLED with Instagram background walls, Ice Skating Rink and a foot court.

VISIT SKY HIGH SPORTS this trampoline park will make anyone a tired happy person. It has a foam pit, dodge ball court and trampoline walls.

 If you will be in Houston during the winter season, I would highly suggest going to theHouston Zoo to see their christmas lights. It takes about an hour to 2 hours to walk around the whole zoo and walk and see all the Christmas lights and decorations. No animals are outside besides Giraffes, sadly, but the lights make up for it! I would also suggest purchasing your ticket online as the wait in line was about an hour wait. Also, on the first Tuesday afternoon of every month the zoo admission is FREE.

 VISIT THE HOUSTON DOWNTOWN AQUARIUM,  the aquarium also has rides, tigers and stingray feeding and petting  station. It is perfect for a cute date downtown or fun for the family.

 Visit the 3 story Galleria Mall, you may need a few hours and get a little lost but this mall is perfect for the person who loves to shop.

ABOUT OUR HOTEL:

We stayed in the hotel called Hotel DerekThis hotel is super close to restaurants, Galleria mall, Target and a little shopping center that has an IPIC, HORSE CARRIAGE RIDES THAT ARE FREE, AND GELATO! The hotel also has elevators that require a key to enter all floors for safety. They have a super cute outdoor pool and bar. A fully equipped gym with color water bottles. Starbucks and a restaurant downstairs and friendly customer service. The room were also a good size for a family of 4-5 as next to all windows is a twin size couch. The hotel will be linked and can be food by clicking the bold Hotel Derek above.

Photo courtesy of Hipmunk.

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps you with your trip to Houston, Texas.

I FACED MY FEAR AND WENT SKYDIVING

I faced my fears to inspire others! Read my blog to find out how my experience with SKYDIVING went!!!!

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DANGER!!!

If you asked me a year ago if I would go skydiving I probably would’ve said Heck no! But Let’s go back in time. When I was around 14 years old, my Dad brought up the idea of going skydiving for my 16th birthday and his 40th birthday. At the time I was like YES, YOLO! LET’S GO! Then I thought to myself “shit, what if I die?” Then I began to think stuff like “What if the plane falls from the sky, what if I die from natural causes on a plane, what if the plane crashes”, and way more other stuff. I then took a flight to NYC and that flight was my first time EVER! Having an anxiety attack on an airplane… it was so weird… Like I knew it was anxiety because I have had attacks before, but I lost feeling in my body, I could not breath, I went numb in my lips and hands/feet and I could not concentrate or think. I was panicking. I thought I was going to DIE!!! I remember my dad telling me to breath in a bag. After that flight I told myself I WOULD NEVER EVER EVER GET ON ANOTHER AIRPLANE EVER AGAIN!!! My parents knew this was serious that I became fearful of something I used to do.. Like this was not my first flight why did I panic??? So I went to a therapist! In Therapy, I learned how to stay calm, control my breathing and to distract myself. My lady would put calming music on and read out step by step the experience of getting on an airplane and being on airplane… for example, “You are entering the airplane, the door has closed, seatbelt sign on, takeoff.” This helped me a lot to realize that the only way to really get over my “fear” is to do it. So June 2016, I took my first flight in years… Ryan and I went to Maine with his family!!! I did it!!! After that I went to California, then Europe and so many other places!!! LIKE WHAT HOW! Anyways back to skydiving… the day that we finally decided to go skydiving was September 12th, 2017.

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FAMILY PHOTO BEFORE THE JUMP!

 I was scared but SUPER EXCITED! Super excited because I knew how far I have come and no matter what I will always know that I did it! So the day of, we drove about 2 hours to Clewiston, Florida. It was my brothers, dad and I who were jumping. We arrived to Spaceland Skydive and I was like crap but at the same time I feel like I was completely numb from feeling any type of emotion. So when we got there, we had to sign contracts stating you would not sue for the 100 reasons they listed for you to sign off. You then had to watch a video that said something could go wrong and they were not liable. You then went outside and met the person who will be attached to you and will be jumping out of the plane with you.

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BEFORE WE GOT ON THE AIRPLANE!!!

My guy was super cool and nice, which gave me a sign of relief because I was super scared I would get a cocky jerk who would spark my anxiety. So i’m putting on my suit and I am thinking shit am I really doing this? And I was also thinking, WOW I look good in this suit, WE LOOKED LIKE POWER RANGERS!!!

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MY BEFORE I JUMP PHOTO!

I was the green ranger, Jovani was the red ranger and Julian was black!!! Haha I am a dork… I know. Anyways, so the Jumpers also have cameras that video taped us the whole time and so they were getting our reactions for before we got on the airplane and at the time, like I said, I WAS SO EXCITED!!! I was all like yayaya let’s go!!!! YOLO!!! Then the plane got here…

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GETTING ON THE AIRPLANE!!!

you can hear the propellers running super LOUD! It’s like errrrrrrrrrrr….. And you hear the Jumpers yell,  ALRIGHT READY LET’S GO!!! So they also said because Julian paid to have a camera person jump he had to jump first, which I was like man I wanted to be first because It was less time for me to get nervous lol Instead I went second. So we loaded up the plane…

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I AM NOT CRYING FACE!

I remember getting in, the Jumper strap us up in the plane and clips you to the plane because they fly with the door open. Everyone including myself is wearing an altitude watch which measures how high you are in the sky, we were jumping 14,000 feet so the watch had to go around 2 times. So we are on this plane and it starts to FREAKING MOVE… of course I am like yayayayay and I am laughing and having fun.

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SCARED BUT EXCITED FACE

The plane even had a “No farting sign” lol Then I look over and see Julian, he looked like he was going to poop his pants. He did not want to go first. At this time, The plane keep getting higher and higher and at one point, one of the jumpers opened the door that we jump out of and scared the hell out of Julian and I!!! Julian even grabbed the wall with fear, but we still had like 5,000 more feet to go… this is when I realize “OMG I AM JUMPING OUT OF THIS PLANE” I stopped breathing for a second caught my breath and showed no fear because it can kiss my ass.

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I AM READY!

Then it was time, Julian jumped first… it looked like a cartoon, you jump and become a little ant in the sky. After Julian, was me… My jumper picked me up, walked me to the door and IT WAS MY TIME TO SHINE. We stood sideways and we shook our hips side to side and said 1, 2… JUMP…!!! And I WAS IN THE SKY!!! I COULD HEAR MY DAD AND JOVANI SCREAMING… I WAS FLYING…

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WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD

It felt so cold and it literally felt like you were floating… I was so like omg I can not stop smiling, but how do I breath with all this air blowing in my face.

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I AM FREEEEEEEE, FREE FALLING….. YAY

I WAS SO OVER THE MOON HAPPY THOUGH, LIKE, I FLIPPING DID IT, I WAS SKYDIVING!!! I then felt so sick to my stomach, we pulled the parachute to open and we floated our way down… the world NEVER LOOKED MORE BEAUTIFUL!!!BEB9B977-3392-449A-B171-8E71D4E0197B 2.JPG I still felt super sick and thought I was going to puke mid air, which is normal because of adrenaline… so my jumper took it smooth and we did some spins in the air and we were on the ground in minutes. I landed 3rd out of the 4 of us because I was so light haha but we landed and

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WHEN I FINALLY LANDED!!!

I WAS NEVER MORE HAPPY!!! LIKE I WENT FROM BEING SCARED OF FLYING TO FLYING IN A SMALL AIRPLANE AND JUST JUMPING!!! OUT. OF. IT!!! LIKE WHAT??? I reunited with my family and could just hear Ryan and my mom screaming of joy that we made it and how proud they were. Like I was never more proud of myself… ever. You can LITERALLY DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TOO!!!! When I realized that I started living… so live your life and do new things! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

TO WATCH MY VLOG OF THIS DAY CLICK THE LINK-  ANDREA M JARA SKYDIVE VLOG

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