My favorite part of the entire house was the outdoor space, however, the inside was nothing short of spectacular. The layout was perfect, all open to the kitchen how I like it. They thought of every single detail. The house even had its own space for a gym, something I would totally love in my own house. Maybe one day!

I don’t know what room I could have picked as my favorite. Every room was unique with its own personality. The furnishings were beautiful and lucky for us we can even purchase many of the pieces seen in the house. The designer Brian Patrick Flynn was truly a genius designing this house. I love his style, practically and uniqueness of designing spaces.

There is not much time left to enter for your chance to win the HGTV Dream Home 2017. So make sure you still enter. You never know. You can thank me later if you win! Just saying…

On this post I will concentrate on showing the bedrooms and other spaces I didn’t get to show you on part one but if you like you can take a look at those spaces as well.

This is the designers favorite space. I truly loved the table. The table top was made of concrete. A really sturdy, well made table that I will get soon for my rental property in the mountains. I think this table will last me forever.

By looking straight onto this hallway, first door to the left, you will find the laundry room. After than pretty much it is the Master bedroom quarters. The amount of space devoted to just that area is plain perfect and the fact that is on the other side of the house will give the owners that much desired privacy many of us seek.

This is pretty much the entrance to the master bedroom. All this side of the house is devoted to the master space. Probably this would be my favorite area in the house. So private. beautifully decorated and spacious.

How awesome is this bathroom? The shower was gigantic and the bathtub was dreamy. I could probably spend all day in this room relaxing, reading a book and a glass of wine. Such a nice relaxing space that much of us need.

I think this is my second favorite spot inside the house. I loved the pop of color and the unique furnishing. How awesome is the stack of books? You can actually do this with your own books. You can buy the piece and fill it in with your own reading material. My kids would love this in their rooms. So fun!

I actually loved this piece. I am a sucker for vintage, old, metal looking things so I though this was genius. To bad I can’t add this in my own house. My bathrooms are tiny so this won’t look as good as it looked in here. Maybe one day!

These are two of the other bathrooms in the home. There is a total of 4 bathrooms. You can’t never go wrong with extra bathrooms right?

Well this is it. Again, you have a few more days to enter for your chance to win the HGTV Dream Home 2017. I wish you luck, and if you win, don’t forget to invite me!

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St Simons Island HGTV dream home 2017 trip was simply one of a kind. I didn’t have any expectations but by the time it was all set and done I just couldn’t believe how amazing everything turned out.

First off all, everyone was REALLY nice!! From the HGTV staff, to the bloggers, catering, trolly driver and the list goes on. Even when I came back home I felt like I was still on vacation.

The food was out of control and the hotel where we stayed was plain sensational. I will have a post on the places we visited and some of the things we ate very soon so make sure to stay tuned for that.

Anyways, let me start showing you around the amazing HGTV Dream Home 2017.

This picture depicts the entrance of the home. The minute I entered the home I didn’t know where to turn. It was a designers dream. I strongly believe my second calling, most definitely, is interior design. I love designing any and every space I can get my hands on so when I entered this amazing space my eye immediately caught the art work. I loved every piece through out the entire home. So bold and unique. It was just perfect for this home!

Here you can see the living room, right after the entrance to the home. Do you notice the chandeliers? How amazing do they look? I am telling you, I could have taken every single piece of furniture with me. Brian Patrick Flynn, the designer of the home, did a great job designing every single space. I know his favorite space was the dining room but I actually don’t know which one was mine. It was hard to pick given how unique and awesome every room was.

Here you can see the kitchen. This picture was actually taken by my friend Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer. Isn’t this kitchen amazing? This would most definitely be my dream kitchen. Maybe one day!

I love how the kitchen and living space flowed together especially because they continued with the backyard. The space pretty much tripled in size given the flow. They thought of every single detail and they didn’t miss a thing.

I think if I had to pick an area of the HGTV® Dream Home 2017, because I loved the backyard and view so much I think I would have to pick this space. It was truly an entertainers dream backyard. The views and the set up was out of this world. Outdoor living at is finest. The perfect space to relax, unwind and enjoy!

I think one of my favorite backyard places was the fire pit. How much fun would it be to sit with the family and make S’mores or even have a few cocktails in this spot? Do you also see the dog house on the back? Like I said before, they truly didn’t miss a single detail.

Here is me and the designer, Brian Patrick Flynn, truly a nice person, and super fun. I love his design philosophy and style of design. It was truly and honor to have met him and the crew. There is a lot of people behind this project as you can imagine.

Anyways, in a few days I will show you the remaining rooms of the interior of the house. From the bedrooms, dinning room, bathroom and much more. On the meantime, below are the rules of the giveaway so don’t forget to enter for your chance to win. Good luck!

No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the U.S., age 21 or older. Void where prohibited. Sweepstakes ends at 5 p.m. ET on 2/17/17. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. For full official rules, visit HGTV.comHGTVDreamHome or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: “HGTV Dream Home Giveaway”- RR, P.O. Box 52915, Knoxville, TN 37950. Main Sponsor: Scripps Networks, LLC d/b/a Home and Garden Television.

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One of the things I remembered the most about Thailand were the food markets. Which ever area you may be at, you will find them extremely abundant all over Bangkok and Thailand.

While staying in Bangkok we stayed at Silom City Hotel which was just next to Silom Street market. While we had breakfast included in our hotel stay lunch and dinner was extremely cheap and easy access for us since this market was just about 1 minute walk from the hotel.

From the very early morning until very late at night, usually up until 12am, you will find that street markets are open. If you are on a tight budget, trust me, it will be hard to go over because transportation, food, activities, clothing etc are extremely cheap.

I have never eaten such high quality Thai food in my life but when coming to here. At first you can be skeptical because street vendors are all over the place. Food safety concerns are not an issue because Thai street vendors take their hygiene very serious.

There are certain things I was not willing to try. I am not into meat as well as certain insects or certain types of fish. Something that looks not recognizable to me I have a bit of a hard time trying even though I do venture once in a while.

One of my favorite places I visited while in Bangkok was the Chatuchak weekend market. This market is super huge. When I say huge, I mean huge. You will need a minimum of two days to explore the two different sections. One day to go into the food section and the other one to go into the arts, crafts, and clothing section.

The things that you will find in this food market are mind blowing. If you are into food you are going to love this place. There is a huge food court area in which you will be able to eat whatever it is that you purchase. Eat, relax and take it all in. The smells, tastes and look of food is just exceptional.

I really wasn’t sure what type of fish the picture on the right was but it was one that I kept seeing on street markets. Besides shrimp and calamari I don’t think I tried any other type of fish. Maybe next time since I know I will be going back there in a couple of years.

Literally there are so many dishes to try you are going to be a bit confuse choosing. I wanted to take so much food back with me home and the only thing I was able to safely packed without getting customs to be on my case were spices and curry. Lucky for me!

Believe or not I was able to bring a large wok in my suitcase. I purposely left half of it empty to be able to bring some props for my kitchen. Like I said, this is the other section of the Chatuchack market which you will need an extra day to explore. Braise yourself if you go over the summer! The heat is too much. Before May is your best bet to visit.

This is a woman we meet while there. So sweet. Her food was out of this world and she was just by the entrance of the cooking school we went to in Bangkok.

If you want to learn some authentic Thai recipes I highly suggest coming here, Silom Thai Cooking School. We spent about 1 week learning all of the most popular Thai dishes and we couldn’t have been more happy. Thai food at is finest.

Fish cakes and chicken satay were just out of this world. These were just two of about 25-30 dishes we were able to learn for the week. We did a super intensive course…I don’t think I have eaten so much Thai food in my life!

My partner in crime, which also is starting a food blog, My Global Cuisine, was with me for the entire ride. So fortunate to be able to share my passion for food with someone that feels the same way as me!

The ingredients was one of the best parts about cooking. So fresh, different and exciting to experiment with. Making our own red and green curry was actually one of the best things for me. It tasted so superior than store bought. I wish I could have make gallons of it and take back with me.

Another great part about going to Thai cooking schools was meeting people from all around the world that also shared a passion for cooking. One of the best trips I have ever taken for sure. After all, it all revolved around food!

One last thing, like I fist mentioned in this post, Thailand is extremely cheap. Not only is food and clothing cheap but also transportation. These are the so called tuck tuck so if you are going any place local or around where you are these are great for moving around.

Taxi rides are also extremely cheap and if you would like to experience the subway it is also an option. It is super clean and air conditioned.

If you have never visited Thailand I recommend that you do. One of my favorite countries in the entire world.

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I actually visited Thailand about 15 years ago while in college. Thailand was one of the places I always wanted to go back to. It is truly one of my favorite places on the entire planet so soon after I am done with Physician Assistant school I will be visiting Thailand again with the family.

OK, onto the places I visited in case any of you are venturing into that part of the world.

The major reason why I wanted to visit Phuket was to travel around the many islands this part of Thailand has to offer. Because we only spent 4 days in Phuket we didn’t have much time so if you ever come here I suggest you stay for at least one week.

Important pointers when visiting Thailand/Phuket:

• The perfect time to visit Thailand is right before May. This way you will avoid Monsoon weather which is July through October. Humidity will be fairly mild compared to the monsoon months. We visited Thailand in February and that was perfect. I visited Thailand once before around July-August and besides being extremely humid monsoons were a pain in the neck. Torrential rain at is finest!

• If visiting Phuket stay away from Patong. It is a horrific area were everything has been exploited in a bad way. It is dirty with lots of traffic, people and noise. Visiting that area for one evening was enough for me. To be honest, I wish I have never gone. It was a waste of time.
• If you are visiting Phuket and would like a reliable tour boat service in which you will be able to visit many of the islands around use Phuket Tours. I suggest taking the  speedboat options, which save you lots of time when traveling to the islands plus there is only about 20 people on board rather than 120 like on the other boats.  They will also provide lunch, which is really good. Their tours are fairly inexpensive, but then again, there is nothing expensive in Thailand.

• For us, Laguna beach was the best area to stay at. It is a bit more secluded but worth it because Phuket is becoming very populated, especially because of tourists. Their resorts and private accommodations maybe a bit more pricy but worth every penny. The beaches are not crowded at all and the shopping and restaurant area is superb. Transportation to and from the shopping area back to your hotel is free too.  If you can make it to this area of Phuket I highly suggest staying here!

James bond island was one of the places I wanted to visit first. While we weren’t able to stay there for long visiting this island was all that I wanted to do so I was fine with that!

Visiting Hong lagoon offers canoe service, which we did. This is a tour that I highly suggest because you will be able to go through the caves. Again, if you travel to this area of the globe you must do it before July or after October, otherwise you won’t be able to go to many of the islands around monsoon months.

Talu island comes right after Hong Lagoon. I highly recommend visiting this one as well, which is included in the James Bond Island Tour. These are truly breathtaking and unique!

The water is like nothing you have ever seen and going inside the many caves is just spectacular. An awesome experience to say the least!

This is Krabi. The first stop for the James Bond Island Tour. Here you will be able to spend at least an hour relaxing. Because there are many islands to see on each tour this would be the maximum time you will be able to spend on a given island. Worth it though!

This is also Krabi. Just right where the speed boat drops you off and picks you up. An amazing place, however, somewhat crowded.

Phi Phi Island was one of my favorite spots, however, extremely crowded. Here you will be able to also relax for a while. A place I would like to go again, however, this was the farthest island to travel to for us. The boat ride turned out to be 1 hour and 20 minutes and the ride itself was very bumpy!

Phi Phi Island again!

This was monkey beach. Monkeys are not always on site at the beach but to our surprise, when we arrived, monkeys were hanging out like nothing even mattered. Our captain was kind enough to take us at the end of the day, because according to him, during the day is packed with tourists and you have less of a chance to see monkeys.

This is floating island. Here you will be having lunch if you book the James bond Island tour. This village, as the name suggest, are houses above water. People actually live here. Very unique.

This is where you will have lunch if you book the James Bond Island tour. The food was superb and the place was very unique. The views are out of this world and so is the location. I truly loved this place and worth seeing at least once in a lifetime!

This is going towards floating island.

All in all this trip was nothing short of spectacular in many levels. Thailand is so far one of the only places I have been in the world that I have always wanted to go back to. In a couple of years I will be going back with the family, as this time I was able to go with my best friend. A more relaxing and fun experience!

We both had the time of our lives. Thailand is by far one of my favorite spots in the entire world! The food, the topography, the architecture, people, hospitality is nothing short of amazing!

The post Thailand adventure part II : Phuket appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

To tell you this trip was nothing but amazing was an understatement. The only negative part about it is that I only got to go for 12 days. You already waste at least 2 days traveling back and forth from the U.S since Asia is quite far from N.J. but at least I got to go right?

The trip was amazing in many regards:

• First of, the food. Thai food has always been one of my favorite cuisines so pretty much I was in heaven while there.
• Second, the culture, people and topography. Breathtaking to say the least and the people are most hospitable.
• Third, the places we got to stayed at, especially while in Phuket. It was luxury at is best! Staying at Banyan Tree Phuket is going to be hard to beat. The staff, the grounds, the location, the food was nothing short of espectacular!

First, I will talk about where we stayed at in South Thailand, Phuket, as well as the food we experienced while staying at the resort. Then, in another post, which I will complete next week, I will move onto the islands we visited, which is something you must do while in the area. We only stayed in Phuket for 4 days so we were a bit short for time. We tried to squeeze everything we could so all in all it was an intense experience but nevertheless, amazing!!

I found that after arriving in Phuket, Laguna area was one of the best places to stay. It was clean, pretty and shops and restaurants were just a few minutes away by taking the local trolly. This trolly is free of charge and complementary with your hotel.  If you stay in any of the Laguna area resorts this trolly will be at your service until 11 pm at night. Banyan Tree Phuket was just about 5-10 minute ride to the restaurants and shops. If you need public transportation after 11pm they have plenty of taxis to go around as well as Tuck Tucks at very affordable prices. About 200-300 Thai Bahts which is about $6 US dollars.

One of the places I would truly suggest for you to stay away from is the Patong Beach area. It is extremely exploited, full of people, noise, and traffic. Spending one evening in Patong was enough for us to experience the craziness of that area. We actually met people that booked their stay in one of Patong’s area hotels and hated it. They got stuck for their entire length of stay in a place they really didn’t like. Very unfortunate for them to say the least. I highly suggest staying away from that area. Very few people actually like it there!

The minute we arrived to Banyan Tree Phuket resort our jaws dropped….literally!! A beautiful open lobby with an spectacular view short of amazing. I knew we were in for a treat but I didn’t expected it to be so grand and fantastic.

We got escorted to our own pool villa. There are a total of 173 villas in the resort, however, you will find different types. They have:

• Banyan Lagoon Pool Villa
• Signature Pool Villa
• Grand Lagoon Pool Villa
• Signature Two Bedroom Pool Villa
• Grand Two Bedroom Pool Villa

You can choose whichever villa fits you best. All of them are just plain spectacular so I am sure you will be happy with whichever you choose.

The picture above corresponds to the Spa Sanctuary Villa which is actually one of the new concepts they want to introduce all throughout Banyan Tree Resorts worldwide. Some of its unique features is that it is designed to immerse guests on a wellbeing experience with unlimited treatments and thoughtfully-executed rituals to delight guests throughout their stay. These are exclusively designed for guests to enjoy unlimited spa treatments within the privacy of their own villa. Who wouldn’t want that?

Upon arrival, guests meet with the Sanctuary Hosts, alongside professional spa therapists, to create a bespoke itinerary to suit their preferences and goals for the visit, whether to relax and recharge as a couple or create a health and fitness getaway complemented by sporting activities.

Then, you can also stay at this Grand one bedroom villa with a infinity pool. This is just plain royalty status, which in our book was just perfect. I wish we could have just moved in here forever. What four days we had at Banyan Tree Phuket.

Then, there was breakfast. Holy smokes. I have never seen anything like it. They cater to anyone and everyone. Talk about having selections. I was so excited when eating time came around…I think for me this was the best part. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the villa was to die for but the food, well see for yourself!

All the pictures above were part of breakfast. They even had a sushi station, but my most favorite part was the natural juice section. I think I had one single bottle each time breakfast rolled around. Such exquisite combinations and refreshing healthy combos…

For dinner, which they actually have several restaurants on location, however, when we arrived it was grill theme night so to tell you we were excited it was just an understatement. In case you didn’t want to have grill food, which included different types of meat, chicken, fish and seafood there was plenty to choose from inside. You had access to it all so no one would ever go hungry or be bored with eating the same stuff!

Here I got to meet the executive chef Alfonso. He happened to be from Madrid, just like me, so to tell you that we connected instantly was not surprising at all. It was like we knew each other already. He was kind enough to let me tour all the kitchens at the resort, which they had a few, and learned how everything came to be. A lot of work I must say. After all, for this resort Alfonso had 120 people working under him to make sure that the food was nothing but top notch, which quite frankly, it was!

If you are in for cooking and trying authentic Thai food this is a recipe I learned from the Sous chef while staying at the resort. It is Thai chicken curry. It requires two steps that you must not skip to get the authentic concentrated flavor. A recipe that takes only 15 minutes to make that can also be made with fish or just veggies. Just click the link above for the full recipe!

Anyways, I think this was plenty for you to see thus far. Next week I will concentrate on showing you all the amazing islands we got to visit while in Phuket and then I will move onto Bangkok. Until next week,

Enjoy!!

The post Thailand adventure part I : Phuket appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Most of you know that I am actually from Spain. This past summer I was lucky enough to be able to spend 2 months traveling all around Spain visit friends and family and getting to know many of the parts I never visited while living there when I grew up.

Cantabria is where my mom moved after I left Spain and even in such a small state there is much to see. Culture, architecture, gastronomy and topography are all so differently all over Spain. There is always something totally unique to see no matter where you are in the country!

These pictures are actually from a little town called Santillana del Mar. It is one of the most visited towns in Cantabria for its uniqueness and quaint little shops. Sobaos is a dessert that is very typical of this region. It is like a baked buttery cake that is nothing but delicious. A must try if you are in the area!

This picture I took a few years back. I just wanted you to be able to see the main square in Santillana del Mar in its full glory. The perfect place to visit if you are up North Spain.

You can see the little shops in one of the main streets. Here to the left is my favorite bakery. If you like palmiers this is the place to buy a couple. So yummy and of course homemade!

You can find street musicians all over town in the summer months. There are plenty of tourists and a lot of artists displaying their talent!

These shoes were painted by hand by a local artist. The detail was unbelievable and the shoes were just so unique and fun. Of course I bought a pair for my daughter and when we came back to the U.S. everyone kept asking where I found them. So super cute!

In Santader, which is the capital of Cantabria, you can visit one of the major “Mercados” , a food market where you will find all sorts of fresh fish, fruits, veggies as well as meat, cheese and local food vendors.

If you are in the area, you won’t be able to miss this food market which sits in the very center of Santander. You see “Conejo” here? “Rabbit” that is, not my thing!

My mom resides in a part of Cantabria, where lucky for us, when we arrived in June the year festival was taking place. I can’t tell you enough how happy I was. Have you had churros or porras before? This is also a very traditional food here in Spain, ” Chocolate con churros”. If you are lucky enough to be able to go to a Spanish festival you will sure be able to find a vendor selling these!

There were actually more than one “Churreria” vendor in Saron’s festival so no matter what festival you go to in Spain there will always be at least one to get your churros from.

Some of the “Porras” are even filled with some sort of cream. I have never had one of the filled ones but the basic churros for me are best. In Saron there is also a weekly food market, Tuesdays is my favorite day of the week while staying there. My mom only lives about 3 miles away from it so needles to say I make it every single Tuesday!

I was able to buy two containers of local honey and when traveling to South Spain they opened which meant I couldn’t transport them back to the U.S. I was so sad because this honey was like no other.

I wish I could take all of these dried legumes with me. I wasn’t prepared this time around since I didn’t take an extra empty luggage piece with me to be able to stock up on all the local ingredients. Big mistake…next time I know what to do!

Fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes…you name it. Such a beautiful display of local grown foods. Just one of my favorite things to do when I travel. Visiting places where I can find all sorts of local treasures!

Another beautiful thing about this part of Spain is that most people grow their own veggies. I can’t tell you enough how much I would love to be able to do something like this. Maybe in the future!

Cantabria is a part of Spain that sits at the very north of the country. It is surrounded by amazing mountains and beaches. The climate is milder than the rest of Spain making summers much more manageable and the winters not so cold.

If you are in the area make sure you get to visit some of these places, Santillana del Mar is a must and while there make sure you make time to visit any of the weekly food markets.

Until my next travel post.

Enjoy!

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