AOK Guide to Palm Springs

Shop this maternity outfit here! Code AMANDASOK25 gives you a discount on the dress.

Suns out bumps out! C and I took a little babymoon getaway to Palm Springs, California, and had the best time! We chose Palm Springs because it had a little bit of everything we were wanting out of a babymoon: relaxation, sunshine, outdoor activities/hiking, good food and shopping. We LOVED it there! Palm Springs used to be a vacation spot for the old Hollywood crowd (think: Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra)... Many stars still have vacation homes there and I can see why! The area is well known for its midcentury modern architecture - some areas really feel like you're stepping back in time, in the best way! 

I'm sharing all the things we did, the places we ate and where we stayed below (plus a few bonus activities that were on our list). I'd definitely recommend Palm Springs for a babymoon, bachelorette party, friend trip or just a low-key long weekend! In my opinion it was similar to Scottsdale, but on a smaller and quieter scale. 

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AOK Guide to Lisbon, Portugal

Have you ever traveled somewhere that completely blew your expectations out of the water? That was Lisbon for me! I was immediately in love with the lively and vibrant atmosphere, the architecture, the colorful and hilly streets, the fresh food and the friendly people of Lisbon. In my opinion, Lisbon is one of the most underrated destinations in Europe - I would go back in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anyone!

We originally planned to only visit Spain but decided to include Portugal, as well, since it was so close. We wanted to get another country added to our travel list and wow am I glad we did! Lisbon was my favorite destination of our three-part Spain & Portugal vacation (see my guide to Seville, Spain here). Believe it or not, we arrived in Lisbon via private car from Seville - it was the cheapest and fastest way to get there! So fancy. We hit the ground running and didn't waist a second. I'm sharing all of my favorite sites, restaurants and more below! 

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AOK Guide to Seville, Spain

Hola, amigos! I finally got to take the most long-awaited vacation of my life....our five year anniversary trip turned six and a half year anniversary trip finally happened a year and a half later than originally planned (thank you, pandemic)! I honestly expected this trip to get postponed again so I didn't do the usual amount of planning and prepping and itinerary making as I normally do before a big European vacation but ya know what? I kinda liked it. I was worried that "winging it" would be stressful, but we were able to take every day as it came and really live in the moment. I waited until the absolute last possible minute to pick out restaurants, buy tickets to attractions and figure out what to do each day (so not like me) so not everything we did was a win, but I wanted to share the things that we loved and would recommend! 

We started our trip flying from OKC > DFW > Madrid and immediately jumped on a train to Seville in Andalusia (Southern Spain) - it was a little under three hour train ride. We stayed in Seville for several days, took a day trip to Cordoba, and then eventually traveled to Lisbon and Madrid (blog posts coming soon). Seville was such a cool place! It was full of history, winding streets, colorful buildings and all the tapas your heart could desire. The ambiance of Seville was unlike any other European city I've been to. There is a lot of Moorish and Islamic influence in Andalusia since it is so close to Africa, so (as I told my mom), it was more of a Princess Jasmine vibe instead of a Cinderella/Aurora/Belle vibe haha. 

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A Staycation at the Omni Oklahoma City

When you can't vacation....staycation! Pre-pandemic, C and I used to travel pretty regularly. It really became a part of our lifestyle, so during the last year it almost felt like something was missing. Without having a getaway to plan or a trip to look forward to, our weekends started to feel a bit monotonous. Sometimes, though, it's not so much the destination of a trip but the act of getting out of your routine and doing something different. Insert: an OKC staycation! 

We had such a great time at the new Omni Oklahoma City a few weekends back and came away feeling refreshed and re-inspired. It is always fun to be a tourist in your own city! I wanted to recap our experience here for locals that may be looking to staycation or for anyone planning a visit to OKC and needing a hotel. OKC is just a quick road trip from Northwest Arkansas, North Texas, Kansas City or pretty much anywhere in Oklahoma, and the Omni makes a fabulous home base. 

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AOK Guide to Yellowstone

The earth is really neat, you guys. I recently visited Yellowstone National Park for the first time and was completely awestruck at its insane geological features and topographical beauty! After traveling internationally the last couple of years and being forced to stay in the US in 2020 due to covid, I was really pleased to find such unique and inspiring sights in my own country. Yellowstone is mostly located in the northwest corner of Wyoming and was established as the first ever national park in 1872. It is filled with hydrothermal features, geologic wonders and a ton of wildlife in their natural habitat. 

I have really struggled with the best way to put this guide together! I was so overwhelmed while planning this trip.... Yellowstone is HUGE and there is beauty around every corner, how could we see it all?! When I was planning, I had a hard timing knowing how long each sight would take, the best order to see things in and the drive time between sights. I decided to break this Guide to Yellowstone down into 1) what sights to see in the park and 2) further breaking down those sights into a two-three day itinerary. I hope it makes sense and gives you some good insight! 

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AOK Guide to Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Howdy, friends! I just got back from my first real vacation in a year and ya'll, my cup is FULL! 2020 has been such a strange season of life...it's hard to make it as a travel and lifestyle blogger when you can't really travel! I obviously knew I missed traveling but being able to go somewhere made me realize just how vital travel is to my overall happiness and preferred lifestyle. It was SO needed and I enjoyed every single second to the fullest. Traveling allows me to appreciate earth and life in such a special way!

Traveling internationally wasn't an option this year and due to covid, C and I wanted to travel somewhere new that offered social distancing and outdoorsy activities so we could feel a bit better about taking a vacation. Wyoming and its wide open spaces seemed like the perfect option! We spent a week visiting both Jackson Hole, Wyoming (along with the Grand Teton National Park) and Yellowstone (I'll be doing a Yellowstone National Park post next so stay tuned for that). Jackson has been on my bucket list ever since I was a teenager! I met a guy at summer camp from Jackson and it was love at first sight (LOL)....he told me he was an Abercrombie model and I believed him. From that point on, I would search Zillow for ranch homes and log cabins mansions in Wyoming and dream about riding horses across the open fields with mountain view in the distance. It was everything I dreamed of and more! 

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AOK Guide to Bentonville, Arkansas

Hello from Bentonville, Arkansas! This post has been on my to-do list for entirely too long. My parents moved to Northwest Arkansas about four years ago....and it is total a hidden gem. I love to visit and explore the area. It is jam packed with good food, shopping and outdoor activities. Bentonville is known as the birthplace and headquarters of Walmart but the city is so much more than that. It boasts a unique aesthetic that I can only describe as historical southern charm mixed with eclectic hipster vibes. 

Arkansas is the "Natural State" and Bentonville is located in the Northwest corner of the state on the edge of the Ozark Mountains. It is absolutely beautiful (especially in the fall) with tons of trees, hills, lakes, rivers, trails and curvy roads. It is an easy drive from Oklahoma, North Texas, Missouri, Kansas or even western Tennessee. There are also lots of other small towns surrounding it including Rogers, Bella Vista, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville and Springdale, all which are charming in their own ways! 

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A Beginner's Guide to Renting a Camper

This is a post I never thought I'd be writing....2020 really changes a person! A year or two back, a company reached out to me and asked me to do a sponsored post about renting an RV. I politely declined and said I wasn't interested and that it didn't really fit my personal style of travel.....then COVID happened. Insert face palm emoji. I haven't left the state of Oklahoma since early February and I'm going stir crazy! When you can't travel anywhere exciting on an airplane and you live in the middle of the country in a landlocked state with no fun cities, beaches or mountain ranges within a reasonable driving distance, what are you supposed to do?! Rent a RV/camper/travel trailer and head to the lake, that's what! These days, the smallest change of scenery can do wonders for your mental state.

A group of my friends planned a socially distanced weekend trip to Lake Tenkiller in Eastern Oklahoma. The other families going had RVs, so C and I decided to rent one and join them! We used Outdoorsy.com to find a travel trailer that was small enough to pull behind my 4-Runner. I hadn't been camping in YEARS; I honestly wasn't sure how I would feel about it. Luckily having the camper made it super comfortable and enjoyable despite the summer heat and I never once felt like we were "roughing it." I can totally see the appeal of having a camper and I would absolutely rent one again! 

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A Girls Weekend in Frisco, Texas

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Howdy, ya'll! You may or may not know this, but I grew up in Texas and didn't move to Oklahoma until college. Oklahoma is where my heart is but Texas will forever feel like home. I consider Argyle/Denton to be my hometown since it is where I grew up and went to high school but I lived in Frisco when I was a little girl and it holds some pretty awesome memories, as well. So, that being said, when Visit Frisco reached out to me and offered to host me for a weekend trip, I knew I had to jump at the chance to go "home."

Since I was heading back to my roots, I asked my mom to go with me! Girl's weekend getaways are always good for the soul and Frisco was the perfect destination as it was only a few hours drive away from both Oklahoma and Arkansas (where my parents live now). Frisco has changed a LOT since we lived there in the 90's....I remember when Preston Road was two lanes and had cow fields on either side! Now-a-days, Frisco is a lively, bustling little city filled with upscale shopping, restaurants, the Dallas Cowboys practice facility and so much more. I'm including all the places we visited below.

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AOK Guide to Sedona, Arizona

Hey, what's up, hello! Long time no blog post, eh? I have taken a little step back from blogging (and social media in general) in 2020 and it has been so refreshing. It has allowed me to focus on figuring out my new job, nurturing my marriage and learning to love life and myself again. All good things! I have very much enjoyed my two month blogging break.... it reminded me that it's OK to spend little less of my time with my face in my phone/computer. That being said, I still value this little corner of the internet and love getting to share my life and travels with you all....whether that be in my own backyard, around Oklahoma, around the country or around the world! I kind of want to shift my blog to me more travel focused moving forward as that is where I find the most inspiration and feel the most passion!

For my 30th birthday C and I spent a long weekend in Sedona, Arizona and absolutely fell in love. It was one of those places that truly took our breath away. It was not only beautiful, but peaceful, relaxing, active, delicious.....all the things. I can say without a doubt that Sedona is one of the most beautiful places I've seen in the United States (and I've seen a lot of places). I can't recommend it enough!

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A Weekend in Manchester, England

Hi, hello! I recently visited the UK on a ten day road trip....though the majority of the trip was spent in Scotland (see posts here, here and here), I flew in and out of Manchester, England and spent a whole weekend there exploring the surprisingly fun little city. My great grandmother was actually born and raised in Manchester, so it held a special place in my heart!

Manchester is a very industrial city filled with thick accents, history and its fair share of old British pubs. Mostly known for its soccer (I mean football) team, Manchester United, the city has so much more to it than just sports! It is definitely considered by many to be "up and coming," but boy is it coming! The restaurants, bars, pubs and shops are filled with trendy foods and hip, young people. If I lived in England, Manchester is a city I could see myself hanging out in for weekend trips with friends...bar hopping and just enjoying life. That being said, I don't think Manchester itself is worth an international trip alone.....but it is definitely worth a stop if you're traveling around England / Great Britain.

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Road Tripping in Scotland

Hi friends! I'm wrapping up my Scotland post series today with some road trip destinations! I shared tips on what to pack in this post and did a full guide to Edinburgh here. I'm certainly no expert on the best places in Scotland to road trip to as our ten day vacation was entirely too short to experience all that Scotland has to offer....BUT, the places we made it to were pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit. Most of them were within easy driving distance to either Glasgow or Edinburgh and could easily be fit into a day trip from either city.

Scotland in and of itself was amazing. Everywhere we went was fantastic, but our favorite and most memorable experiences came from our days spent in the car road tripping around the beautiful countryside! We called it "car hiking" - lol - as we spent a lot of time purposefully getting lost on tiny, hilly backroads. We only barely dipped our toes in the water that is "adventuring in Scotland"....there is SO MUCH we didn't have time for like the Isle of Skye (and the other isles), Loch Ness (and the other lochs), the northern Highlands, Culloden, Inverness, Glen Coe, etc. but I'm sharing what we DID do below.

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AOK Guide to Edinburgh

Hi there, friends! I recently got back from a ten day roadtrip around the UK. Though we started in Manchester, England, my husband and I spent the majority of the trip in Scotland. We ended our trip with three and a half days in Edinburgh and the capital city completely stole my heart. I've never been so sad to leave a place! I've always been a victim of the post vacation blues but this time it was different.....I wasn't just sad that vacation was over, I was and still am sad that I'm no longer in Scotland itself.

Edinburgh is one of the most unique cities I've ever visited - and one of the most haunted city in the world. It has the charm of London, the history of Rome, the wind of Oklahoma (and then some), the rain of Seattle and the hills of San Francisco. I was shocked at just how medieval and historical the city was; if you took the cars and modern day signs/electricity away, I would believe I had stepped back in to the 1800s. All of the buildings are made of stone and look like they came straight out of a storybook. There was overwhelming beauty and history around every corner! I could have wandered for hours and never gotten tired of the cute storefront shops covered in flowers, greenery and ivy, the views of the castle towering over the city, the historical monuments and the genuine niceness of the locals. Though it was a bustling city, it was never overwhelming or dirty like New York or other large European cities can be (unless you were walking by a bus stop, that is). It was very compact but still quiet and peaceful; it made me feel instantly at home.

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What to Pack for a Trip to Europe

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Hi, hello! I'm home from Scotland and I have a terrible case of the post vacation blues. It was seriously the BEST trip I've ever taken; I don't know if I've ever been so sad to leave a country before. It is always sad for vacation to end, yes, but Scotland itself truly stole my heart and I feel like I left a part of me behind. I would go back tomorrow if money and work didn't hold me back. Work, save, travel, repeat....ya feel me?

I'm working on a Guide to Edinburgh blog post as well as a post about roadtripping around Scotland seeing castles, ruins, going on hikes, etc. Stay tuned! In the mean time, I wanted to share a quick recap of what I wore as well as tips on what to pack for a trip to Europe. I received a lot of questions over Instagram DMs about European approved hair tools, power converters, etc. and thought I'd share my tips. But first....an IG outfit roundup! 

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How to Survive a Long Flight

Hola! Bonjour! 'Ello! I'm jetting off on an exciting international trip across the pond today! C and I are going somewhere we've never been before and I.AM.PUMPED. Any guesses where?! Stay tuned to my Instagram stories to find out! I'm so excited to share our destination with you (or actually two destinations) but until then I thought I would share some tips on how to survive a long flight. They can be really stressful....flying in general can be stressful....but luckily with the right tips, tricks and accessories, the phrase "sit back, relax and enjoy the flight" can be a reality!

This will be my third trip to Europe. The first time, I was so anxious about the long flight. I didn't know how I would survive! We ended up doing a 24 hour layover in NYC to break up the flying time.....turns out, though, the long flight wasn't that bad! The second time I flew to Europe, it was a nine hour overnight flight (my first overnight flight) straight from Dallas. Again, I was so anxious.....I usually can't sleep on planes and I was so worried it would be awake the entire time and it would cause me to start the trip off feeling exhausted. It was much better than I anticipated, though! On both of those trips I actually enjoyed the flights and looked forward to the flights home!

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Most Instagrammable Spots in NYC

There is nothing quite like the hustle, bustle and magic of New York City! I've visited the big apple six times now - at least once a year for the last five years and twice in 2018! I like to think I know my way around by now, but New York is a whole 'nother world and it never ceases to amaze me how difficult it can be to get across Manhattan whether by car, foot, or subway.

Between all of my trips, though, I've been able to visit almost all of the most instagrammable spots in NYC. It seems like every time I visit, a new Instagrammable cafe has popped up....there is always something new to see! If you're heading to Manhattan soon, here are some of my favorite photo spots that you won't want to miss...although I will say, just a random street pic in New York often turns out better than a photo almost anywhere else!

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NYFW Outfits + How My Feet Survived

Band Tee | Leather Skirt | Leopard Golden Goose Dupes | Studded Strappy Heels

"Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world." - Marilyn Monroe

I couldn't agree more; I felt like I was on top of the world while at New York Fashion Week with my best babes last week! It was my second trip to Fashion Week and my sixth trip to NYC overall. I never tire of visiting the city that never sleeps, it is just as magical every time I go! I have visited Manhattan enough that I know my way around the city and to really perfect the art of "touristing" in NYC. In my opinion, one of the most important things to do in New York, whether visiting during Fashion Week or just for fun, is to take care of your feet! You will do a LOT of walking and your feet will take a beating! Even the comfiest of tennies can rub a blister if you aren't careful.... Add fashionable heels or booties into the mix and your toes and arches will be screaming and that can ruin a day of sight seeing real quick! With the right pair of shoes, though (and a little help from Foot Petals), anyone can conquer New York City.....or the world!

I'm rounding up all of my NYFW outfits below (even the ones that haven't made it to Instagram, yet) and sharing my secret to making any pair of shoes more comfortable to walk in.

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Roomkey Took Us Out to the Ballgame

Tube Top, similar here | Similar Shorts | Sandals | Rangers Hat

This post is sponsored by Roomkey. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Raise your hand if you're guilty of booking a trip and completely neglecting to find a place to stay until the last minute. 🙋🏼‍♀️ I am a huge type-A planner and love a good hotel stay but the process of finding the right one for the right price can be so tedious, stressful and frustrating! It has to be aesthetically pleasing but affordable, conveniently located, and a part of the right loyalty program. Bonus points if there is a yummy breakfast included!

Insert: Roomkey. They make the hotel search quick and easy. When C and I snagged four amazing tickets to a Texas Rangers game and asked our friends to tag along for a double date, we knew we had to find two affordable hotel rooms close to the ballpark....and equally as close to some of our favorite DFW restaurants (i.e. La Madeleine and Twisted Root, YUM)! Roomkey came to the rescue and helped us score two gigantic king rooms at the Hilton Arlington. From our 14th floor room window, you could see Six Flags, Globe Life Park, and Dallas Cowboy Stadium!

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A Weekend in Chickasaw Country

Hi, hello! I'm going back to my blogging roots today and talking about my home-sweet-homa. It's easy to get caught up in how many likes or comments I get on Instagram or to choose sponsored posts over personal ones but I think it's important to stay true to myself and the topics that made me want to start a blog in the first place.....and that's exploring Oklahoma! If you didn't know or haven't put two and two together, the "OK" in my blog name Amanda's OK stands for Oklahoma! So many people think of it as a fly over state but it is so much more than that to me.....it's home!

Last weekend Cole and I had the opportunity to explore Chickasaw Country (i.e. South Central Oklahoma) and it was such a wonderful experience! It's only an hour and a half drive from Oklahoma City - more or less half way between OKC and Dallas. The Chickasaw Nation encompasses 13 counties and over 7,600 square miles filled with rolling landscapes, delicious BBQ, the cutest boutiques and some amazing places to stay and play.

Scroll on down to see my Chickasaw Country weekend itinerary and a snippet from each stop along the way - trust me when I say the weekend was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure!

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Paris & London Travel Diaries

Bonjour! Hello! I'm currently suffering from a terrible case of the post vacation blues and really need to have my sweet tooth pulled. After spending 10 days eating my heart out in Paris and London with my mom, it was nice to come home and get back into a healthy routine......but it has been a week and I'm tired of said routine and ready to travel again! Ha! #HaveCameraWillTravel. Seriously, though......how does one get an HGTV show?

I wanted to share our trip with you but since this was my second time visiting both Paris and London, I've already published my usual "AOK Guide to...." posts for both cities. You can find my Paris Guide here and my London Guide here. So, that being said, today's post is more of a travel diary....things we did, things we ate, and experiences we had. You can read about where we stayed for the first half of our time in Paris here - shoutout to Hotel Chavanel, they get all the stars! I shared all of my outfits and tips on what to pack in this post!

Now, let's dig in, shall we?

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