Bali moon is for couples who dream about a romantic getaway and have always had Bali on the top of their list. I will be honest, Bali was not my favorite island when I traveled through Indonesia – but here at Bali Moon I fell in love.

You avoid the hustle and bustle of the beach in Kuta or the tourist crowds in Sanur. Even in Ubud you are able to hide out in the middle of a rice fields and find peace and quiet while on your honeymoon.  At Bali moon you feel as if you are on an island all by yourself, you have delicious breakfast delivered to your veranda ever morning and your room cleaned daily with fresh flowers decorating the room.

Made, Wayan and family who run the guesthouse, welcome you into their home and show you true Balinese hospitality. Made is a great cook who studied abroad in Austria and you will be able to taste his great recipes every morning for breakfast!

If you have had enough time alone together in the beautiful room, you can get out and enjoy great hiking through Ubud, the Monkey forest or visit Bali Pulina for a coffee tasting. Rent a motorbike and drive up through Mt Batur or go to the beach for the day. Staying in Ubud puts you in the center of Bali, giving you flexibility to take day trips north or to southern Bali.  While we were in Bali we didn’t have time to make it north, where all the locals suggest is the most beautiful!

If you are planning a honeymoon in Bali, I highly suggest Bali Moon. You will find plenty of hotels and resorts in Bali catering to couples, but the kindness you find at this guesthouse is unmatched. You will not be just another room at this guesthouse,  you will be part of their family.  They don’t speak perfect English, but for me the great thing about traveling is you get to adventure outside of your comfort zone, finding new experiences and meeting wonderful people along the way. A smile is the same in every language!

Email Made at:   made_hibiscus@yahoo.com

Bali Moon’s website

Flexibility is a relative term. Everyone has different limitations and abilities, but the key is to learn your own personal ones and work to maintain and improve upon them.

Working out for your wedding will be both tough and rewarding. It will help control your stress levels and change up your routine when the day seems to be filled with wedding to do lists. With all of the exercise you will be doing, taking the time to stretch and improve your flexibility is a must! You are only as strong as you are flexible.

Check out these great morning exercises at FitSugar

What you wear to the gym can greatly affect your workout. You need to be both comfortable and confident in your clothes or you will be too distracted to focus on getting your heart rate up and body moving!

I have had clients who spend their workout looking in the mirror complaining that their shirt doesn’t flatter them – The gym is NOT the place to be worrying about how you look.

Here are a few of my favorite brands/outfits etc!

Pace Setter Skirt – Lululemon

Wunder Under Crops – Lululemon

Power Yoga Tank - Lucy

Stride Jacket – Lululemon

Kokomo Dress – Athleta

I am obviously bias to Lululemon clothes. They are a bit more expensive, but every woman I have known to wear their clothes feels great in them.  Also the way their clothes are designed truly flatters a women’s body, trust me go try on a pair of their pants!

Leave a comment with what your favorite item of clothing to workout in.  Spring and Summer weddings are around the corner – lets get in shape Brides!

While you are planning your 1 – 2 week honeymoon with your new second half, stop for a moment and consider extending it a year. Start dreaming now about leaving your world at home for 1 year and traveling together through the good and the bad, through the sickness and health. Nothing strengthens a bond more than travel. You spend a year planning a wedding, why not take the next year off to travel?

Although this may seem crazy to a lot of you reading this, I can honesty tell you that there are increasingly more couples spending a year traveling together, myself being one of them.

I can hear you now “My wedding is costing me mucho bucks, how am I supposed to afford a year long honeymoon?”

I would suggest two options:

1. Following your wedding, escape somewhere nearby for the weekend. Stay a night or two and celebrate your new marriage and then head home and start saving! Look at your budget together and cut out the Starbucks, expensive rent and eating out nightly. Create an account in your bank and start putting money in on a regular basis.

2. If you must get away for a week+, do your research and stick to a budget. Instead of asking for items on your gift list, have your guests donate money to your honeymoon fund. Trust me the spatula you registered for won’t matter when you are traveling through SE Asia. We actually sold most everything we owned before we left for our trip.

Your year long trip doesn’t have to be the same year as your wedding. Josh and I committed to this trip and have been working hard and ruthlessly saving for 3 years. We quit our jobs 3 months ago and have been exploring SE Asia since (which is why I have yet to post for almost 5 months!).

Travel together NOW!  Before the urge to put a big down payment on a house happens or before the baby bug bites. Spend time getting to know each other and enjoying your marriage before you add in more parts in the puzzle.

Here are a few articles I have written on our travel blog Traveling 9 to 5

Why I retired at age 26

What Pushed us Over the Edge to Travel 

Why you should stop shoulding on yourself 

We are traveling the world because we are rich

How to tell your job you are leaving to travel the world

Our Itinerary

A little about Josh and I

How to plan your own RTW Trip Part 1 & Part 2

Are you convinced yet? Have you reached for your planner and picked a date? Did the possibility of a year of travel excite you? Let me know when you start planning – I have lots of travel tips to share!

Yes I realize I haven’t posted on here since JUNE and it is now SEPTEMBER. I am not proud of this, but I do owe you all an explanation of where I have been

Playing with my new nephew.

Baking Yummy Cookies.

Walking along the lakeside with my wonderful husband.

Going to Cubs Games.

Beaching it.

Hanging with my loving family.

Spreading Hearts.

Making BIG Plans. More to come on this one!

Stick with me as the summer ends and I catch you all up on the trends, tips and details that shouldn’t be missed.

What have you been up to this summer ?!