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Friday, November 18, 2011

The Latest from the FlipKey Blog

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST

T-shirts, keychains and shot glasses are easy souvenirs, but they don’t carry a whole lot of significance for the giver or receiver. Besides, what’s the point of buying something made in Thailand when your vacation was actually to Costa Rica?

If you didn’t have time (or funds) to comb through artisan markets and pick out locally made crafts for all of your friends and family during your trip, it’s not too late to turn your travels into meaningful gifts… Roll up your sleeves and start making them yourself.

First, identify what materials you have to work with. Besides the photos you took, did you save any maps, brochures, currency, transit passes, newspapers, magazines, bottles, coasters, shopping bags? (If not, then keep it mind on your next trip!)

The list of objects you can craft from these salvaged bits of your travels is endless. Here are some ideas to get your imagination rolling:

Print your best photos and stick them onto business-card-sized magnets.
Cut maps into squares and make origami ornaments.
Construct a mobile or piece of wall art out of subway passes.
Cover a box with clips from travel brochures and fill it with homemade treats from a recipe you learned on your trip.
Use a page from a foreign-language newspaper or magazine to make a picture frame.
Craft maps into paper flowers and use exotic glass bottles as vases…

What other DIY souvenir ideas do you have? If you’re looking for more inspiration, search on Etsy for “map” or “bottle cap” or whatever you have on hand, and you’re bound to find some interesting inspiration.

To tie it all together, you can use materials saved from your trip for presenting the gifts as well. Use a map or a newspaper as wrapping paper, or turn a coaster into a gift tag. Fashion a foreign-language newspaper into a bow or ribbon, or create a card with photos or remaining scraps from your project.

Joanna Eng is a New York-based writer and editor who covers travel, green living, food, careers, entrepreneurship, and more. Her travel experiences have ranged from hostel hopping in Mexico to staying with distant relatives in China to renting a beach apartment in New Jersey.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Latest from the FlipKey Blog

California Thanksgiving

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the things we value most in life. For my Californian extended family, turkey and football aren't exactly at the top of that list. Instead, we cherish healthy food, good wine, time spent outdoors, and time spent laughing together. Each year we head to my aunt and uncle's beautiful old ranch on the Santa Barbara coast to catch up, cook, eat, and play.

Rule #1 of California Thanksgiving- Eat outside

No matter how cold it is, Thanksgiving dinner is enjoyed outdoors. We pull a bunch of wooden picnic tables together under the Eucalyptus trees and cover them with tablecloths, flowers, dried leaves, and candles. We wrap up in warm jackets and put on our thick socks, and keep a fire going in the fire pit. There's nothing like enjoying the festivities with the sound of the waves crashing in the distance and the breeze rustling the leaves.

Rule #2 of California Thanksgiving- Don't forget about the vegetarians

In our family, there are quite a few vegetarians, so the spread has to include plenty of options for the non meat-eaters. We make tons and tons of food, and sometimes two of the same dish, one with meat and one without. Some of the family favorites are a green bean casserole with water chestnuts and crispy fried onions, and grandma's weird dessert of green jello full of nuts and cottage cheese.

Rule #3 of California Thanksgiving- Keep the wine flowing

Some of the best wine in the world comes from California, so we give thanks for living in such a beautiful climate that produces all kinds of grapes for all the different varietals. Usually earlier on the year, our family goes wine tasting at different vineyards in Napa and Sonoma. We buy all our favorites, and save them to enjoy when we all see each other again in the fall. We appreciate the bottles so much more after waiting to drink them together!

Rule #4 of California Thanksgiving- Walk it off!

Instead of sinking into the couch and turning on a football game, we pile into the back of a big pickup truck and drive down the mountain to the beach for a long walk along the Pacific Ocean. We chase each other with seaweed and try to spot more dolphins than the other cousins. We bring a few surfboards and wetsuits just in case anyone is moved to play in the waves, and we take lots of pictures as the sun goes down and leaves amazing colors in the sky. It's easy to give thanks when we are surrounded by beauty and full of delicious food!

Rule #5 of California Thanksgiving- Make a weekend out of it

The party isn't over yet. We stay up late around the fire pit telling old family stories and laughing. Eventually everyone will slowly make their way to bed, whether it's a tent set up in the backyard or a parked RV under a tree. Tomorrow we'll wake up and do it all over again, enjoying the leftovers and the company. It's rare to get the whole family in the same place at the same time, and we take advantage of every minute of it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Latest from the FlipKey Blog

Thanksgiving Turkey Tips

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST

In my family, we are always trying to get creative in the kitchen when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. Often we'll incorporate less traditional side-dishes into our meal to keep things interesting, but regardless of the accompaniments, there's always a turkey on the table.

Coincidentally, though we've always cooked a turkey, every year it seems we forget exactly how to best cook a turkey – the tips to keep it moist and juicy, how to prepare it for roasting, how to give it the best flavor, and how long it needs to cook for. There are so many pieces to consider when cooking the perfect turkey, it's almost impossible to remember them all! This year in an attempt to have the best turkey ever, I've compiled a list of essential tips and tricks, plus a few fun ideas for proving your turkey finesse, and wowing the entire family.

Getting Started

Let's start with the basics. Every turkey is different, and every family's tastes differ, so you need to know first how to handle and prepare the turkey that's going to grace your table. If you're using a frozen turkey, be sure to defrost it completely before starting work with it.

To begin, there are a few options. You can brine your turkey ahead of time, helping it to keep its moisture as it cooks – it's a simple trick that makes worlds of difference, but can be time consuming. If you're going to brine, just be sure to plan it out ahead of time – some recipes (like the one above) have you brine overnight!

You can also fill the bird with stuffing, and I usually find that a combination of coarsely chopped veggies (carrots, onions, and celery) works best. You can even tuck chopped fresh herbs and garlic (and maybe a few slabs of butter?!) under the skin of the bird if you're feeling fancy, which lends great flavor with minimal effort. Just keep in mind – your turkey will cook more evenly if it's not too densely stuffed, so if you're stuffing, do so sparingly!

Another fun idea to try when preparing your turkey is to make an edible rack to rest it on. This means you won't have to worry about the hassle of using (and cleaning) a traditional roasting rack, plus your leftover pan drippings will be enhanced with wonderful veggie flavors, and will be the perfect base for homemade gravy! To make an edible rack, simply stack whole carrots and celery stalks crisscrossed on the bottom of a roasting pan, and lay your turkey on top of that.

Cooking Time

So now you've either stuffed your bird, or prepared it for cooking. As a general rule, you should plan on 20 minutes per pound in a 350 degree F oven for a defrosted turkey, and 10 to 15 minutes per pound for a fresh one. Before popping the bird into the oven, coat it with vegetable or olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Then, cover with aluminum foil to prevent too much browning. For even roasting, make sure to truss your turkey too.

For best results, roast your turkey according to the times above, but about 45 minutes before it's finished remove the tinfoil so it can get nice and golden all over. Cook until it reaches 180 degrees F (to get the best temperature reading, insert a thermometer between the leg and the breast). Once it's finished, let it sit and cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. And voila! You have a perfect turkey.

Now that you've got the basics down, and are headed for a really stellar turkey, here are a few more fun tips and tricks to consider.

Brown Beauty

Brush the skin of your turkey with white vermouth about 15 minutes before it's done cooking. The sugar in the wine will brown the outside of your bird beautifully, and make the skin taste divine.

Super Stock

Save the carcass, and make homemade stock! When you've eaten all of the meat, just place the carcass, along with any veggies and herbs you've got laying around, in the bottom of a large pot and fill it with water. Boil away until you've created a flavorful and fragrant stock and then use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Pan Gravy

Don't let those pan drippings go to waste! Collect all of the drippings from the bottom of your pan once the turkey is done cooking, and incorporate them into some fantastic gravy to accompany your turkey and various side dishes.

And if you're feeling outrageously crazy… go for a Turducken. I've never tried one of these myself, but I'll be pretty darn impressed if you do!

Taryn Collins is an Owner Services Specialist at FlipKey. She enjoys traveling, being outdoors, being active and trying new things, and she loves baking. When not writing for the FlipKey blog, Taryn spends the majority of her time photographing and writing for own my personal baking blog.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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FlipKey’s Flippin’ Awesome Vacation Giveaway!

Posted: 15 Nov 2011 07:59 AM PST

FlipKey is proud to announce our first ever sweepstakes, the Flippin’ Awesome Vacation Giveaway! From now until January 10, 2012, you can enter to win a seven-night stay in one of three amazing luxury vacation rentals. The grand prize winner will be able to enjoy their selected property with up to 10 guests! Enter now by checking out our Facebook page!

The Grand Prize

One week (7 night) vacation in your choice of one of three luxury vacation rentals
$3000 for airfare and expenses
Invite up to 10 friends to your vacation!

The Homes

Villa Les Rizieres, Bali

Within driving distance of the “Best Golf Course in Asia,” this Balinese villa puts luxury and convenience at your fingertips. The house is surrounded by a tropical walking garden, and the grounds come complete with a tennis court and both indoor and outdoor pools.

Punto de Vista, Costa Rica

Seeing is believing when it comes to the incredible panoramic views at Punto de Vista. This rainforest mansion overlooks a gorgeous golden-sand beach, and the local flora and fauna come right up to your door. Ten bedrooms provide enough space for you and your friends.

Villa Ferraia

This incredible estate in the beautiful Tuscan countryside can accommodate all your guests in comfortable suites that overlook impeccably landscaped grounds. Enjoy a private pool and roman baths, as well as a restaurant-grade kitchen where you can practice your favorite Italian dishes.

Enter Today!

The Sweepstakes is open from now until January 10, 2012. Sign up today for your chance to win.

Invite Your Friends

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NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER
Contest open to U.S. residents only. Read Official Rules.

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Latest from the FlipKey Blog

The Yin and Yang in Wine Country

Posted: 14 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST

by Barrie Cleveland
California Winery Advisor

What a year in the California Vineyards! In 2011 it was a "perfect storm" of strong winds, hail, devastating frosts, thunder-storms, cool summer temperatures, heat spikes and then September rain and then more rain in October!

Gary Gibson, owner of Shadow Canyon Cellars in Paso Robles feels fortunate, "We received less rain than Napa Valley, and so the weather did not have the same impact here as up north. We are just very lucky we are having a warm, rain free period that is going to allow the fruit to ripen."

Not all growers had the same luck.

The Yin – Here are comments culled from a few growers in the state.

This year has been the most challenging year since our beginning back in 1994
It has been alternating dry, cold, rainy, hot and then humid conditions confusing vines and us vintners alike
After the late rains the berries bloated up, cracked and almost exploded in my hand
I think everyone was challenged this year with the early season freeze and cool summer
Mother Nature threw us some curveballs this year

The wine country is, of course, a great place to visit while wineries are busy transforming grapes into wine. During the Fall there are fewer people about and the mood is more relaxed than the Summer months. Tasting rooms and restaurants are less crowded and glad to see you.

What's that in the vineyard? To dry out the grapes this year, vineyard owners went so far as to enlist the aid of helicopters to fly low and blow-dry their crop.

The Yang – Winemakers see bright quality and opportunity.

Due to the weather the 2011 vintage will likely produce wines with lower alcohol and less overreaching fruitiness. As winemakers have said, "Mother Nature has thrown us some curveballs this year, but is providing a last moment reprieve and we are seeing excellent fruit."

With the extended growing season the fruit stays on the vine longer. Extended "hang time" adds greater complexity to the grapes and can result in some remarkable wines. This is an opportunity for winemakers to create elegant restrained wines with a balance of flavor, fruit, acid, alcohol, oak and varietal nuance.

Growers are glad their year is over, winemakers are busy and hopeful for some great wines and us consumers are eager to taste the results! It is a balance of nature after all.

*The ancient Chinese subscribe to a concept called Yin Yang which is a belief that there exist two complementary forces in the universe. One is Yang which represents everything positive or masculine and the other is Yin which is characterized as negative or feminine. One is not better than the other. Instead they are both necessary and a balance of both is highly desirable.

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Latest from the FlipKey Blog

6 Safety Tips for Traveling Abroad with Kids

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST

by Jason Brick

Travel to foreign countries is always an adventure, travelling there with children doubly so. It creates a situation where a parent has to balance a fun and enriching experience against the risk of a child becoming hurt or lost in a place where you don't know the language, layout or laws. Although every country presents its own unique challenges, a few safety rules apply wherever you choose to take you little travelers.

Families that travel together...

1. Be Realistic

Don't plan on a 10-mile hike along the Great Wall if you have two toddlers. Don't go to Mexico City with your teenage daughter. Your trip will be better if you plan it with the abilities of your kids in mind. The U.S. State Department keeps updated files on how safe other countries are – and can help you plan the right trip for your family.

2. Have and Practice a Plan

Create an emergency plan for the most common family travel troubles: a lost family member, getting separated and an injured child. Give each person a specific job – even toddlers can learn to grab onto mommy or look for somebody official. Practice each scenario at home until everybody knows their part.

3. Keep a Photo Handy

Imagine for a moment describing what your child looks like, while panicked, using a foreign language. If you have an image on-hand you can bypass that problem with a solution worth 1,000 words. Better yet, snap a photo with your cell phone every morning as the family leaves for the day's adventure. That picture will include your child's current hairstyle and the day's outfit.

4. Use the Security Blanket

The security blanket assigns parents two roles. One parent is "security" – responsible for all tasks outside of the family. Security buys tickets, talks with tour guides and keeps an eye out for hazards. The other parent is the "blanket" and responsible for everything involving the family. Blanket tracks the location of all the kids, watches for heat stroke and upset stomachs and mediates disputes and disagreements. This means somebody's always watching the children even when things get complicated. Single parents traveling with kids can assign the oldest child to cover many of the responsibilities of the blanket's role.

5. Use a "Hands-On" Approach

Preschoolers and kinders are too heavy to carry everywhere, but prone to wandering off. You can solve this by setting the rule that young children must have one hand on a parent at all times, unless they get special permission. This is especially important in crowds, or while boarding public transportation that could separate the family. As situations become more crowded or risky, you can up the age for this requirement – right up to even the parents holding each other so the family moves as a group. Each person should have a specific parent to touch – otherwise, mom and dad might each assume the other has contact.

6. Assign a Meeting Place

Whenever you arrive at a new location, set a group meeting place to go to if somebody gets lost or separated. That place should be easily visible even to the shortest members of your family, and accessible without having to pay admissions or wait in long lines. For the youngest children, draw a map – or use a guide map available for the location – and mark your meeting point. This will help adults steer your child there even if she's too young to navigate on her own.

Jason’s martial arts habit has led him to teach safety and self-defense on three continents. When not travelling with his family, he lives in Oregon. You can read more at www.brickcommajason.com.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Latest from the FlipKey Blog

Link to The FlipKey Blog - Vacation Rental Market News, Travel Tips, and Big Ideas

Why We Travel

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 06:05 AM PST

Today we’re featuring a post from another inspiring traveling Family. Jenn Miller and her family have been on the road, living it up and keeping us up to date at the Edventure Project.

by Jenn Miller

Our mornings are all very different, and yet, delightfully the same, no matter the continent or country. Children wander from tents or hammocks, beds or boat bunks. Tea is brewed. The day's adventure begins. Every morning I remember; this is why we live this life: Because it's about the people, memories & moments, not things. Our life is lived without a clock, without cubicles or classrooms and on our own terms.

Almost four years ago we sold our house and our stuff, quit a six figure job, packed up our four children and hit the road. The idea was to take a year "off" and bicycle from London, England to Tunisia and back. Somewhere in there, our gap year became our life and the Edventure Project was born.

"Why would someone do that? Especially with kids?!"

There are lots of families that do, and I can't speak for all of them, but for us, these five reasons just about sum it up:

1. Love People, Not Things

This is a mantra we repeat often to our toddlers and try to live out as a family. It guides so many of the choices we make, including the choice to travel as a way of life. We've intentionally chosen to spend our lives building relationships with each other and with our children, full time, instead of investing the time in jobs, projects or pursuits that would send us chasing other directions after other things.

2. Because We Can

With the explosion of the Internet came the ability to work from home, or somewhere else. Perhaps the biggest key to our freedom (and yours) is the conversion of careers from those that require a cubicle and your physical body to show up, to jobs that allow you to live and work anywhere. The new term for this kind of professional is "location independent." It doesn't mean you HAVE to travel, but that's one application of your new-found freedom!

When we discovered that fully furnished homes could be rented anywhere we want to visit, a whole world of possibilities opened up. We've rented "holiday homes" in many countries, on three continents, sometimes with gardens and household staff rolled into the price.

3. The World is a GREAT Classroom

We have four kids. Getting them properly educated is no small task. What we've discovered is that the world is a great classroom. Sure, we carry math books and teach physics and biology like everyone else, but our kids have taken music lessons from Blues greats in Guatemala, Spanish classes with backpackers twice their ages, were SCUBA certified in Belize, passed sailing courses in Canada and climbed every significant pyramid in Central America instead of reading about them in a history book. They've learned respect, tolerance and appreciation for people of different colors, genders, and creeds by living in abroad in a way that no "multi-cultural education" program could hope to compete with. There are lots of ways to educate your kids, out there in the "real world" is one way, and it's a good way.

4. Live Life On OUR terms

To be blunt, we didn't want to spend the best twenty years of our lives working for stuff, working for someone else's ultimate gain, working to keep up with someone else's standard, running in different directions from each other and our kids. We wanted to live together, to raise our kids together, to explore and adventure and do the things we are passionate about.

Time is the only commodity any one possesses and to waste this one breath we have in hope of something more or better "later" is the height of folly. We're never promised later. Our kids will grow up and leave. Our health will wither and our vigor fades. We get just one spin around the sun and then pass away like leaves. Why would we spend this time on anything less than our passions?

5. What Kind of Octogenarian Do You Want To Be?

Older people are the best. They've lived a long time; they know a lot of stuff. If you ask them, they'll tell you. ASK THEM. Which great grandfather do you know who says, "Gee I wish I'd spent more time at the office and less time playing on the floor with my kids?"

I reverence the people who've come before. The parents who've worked so hard to provide shelter, food and comforts for their kids. The single moms and dads who have sacrificed everything THEY wanted to give the good gift of a happy childhood to their kids. It's a worthy use of life. Not everyone has the same choices, I know. But the travesty is that so many of us DO have the choices and we waste life anyway. I know quite a few single parents who are full time travelers.

Standing over my grandmother's casket there were a few inescapable truths: She wasn't there. Her stuff wasn't there. Her titles weren't there. None of it fits in the box. When we die, no one knows for sure what we take with us, but at BEST, it's our memories and our relationships. We choose to invest in those things.

That's why we travel.

Jennifer Miller is married to her Knight in shining armor and mother to four wild adventurer children who travel the world in search of a living education. She's equally likely to be baking bread, knitting socks, writing or swing dancing beneath the stars, regardless of the continent. Check out what the Millers are up to at www.edventureproject.com and keep up with Jenn at @edventuremama!