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Packed for Life | Family Travel & Easy Recipes

Donna Garrison

An ever curious traveler and foodie with a passion for making memories with my family. I love helping families confidently explore our beautiful world at home & abroad through food and travel. No matter your budget. Join me if you'd like to make more memories with your kids, without straining your finances, going into debt, or feeling like you'd have to sell off a kidney to fund your next vacation or enjoy healthy delicious food.

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An overhead view of rotini pasta salad with mozzarella balls, salami cubes, black olives, and cherry tomtoes, with a sprig of parsley on top.
Featured Post

🍝 I might eat this pasta salad all week

Foodie Fridays What's cookin' this week Happy Friday! I hope you're week has been going better than mine... 3 ER visits, and two doctor visits later for my elderly mom, and I am ready to skip seeing the inside of medical facilities for quite awhile hopefully. She ended up having pneumonia, but after some antibiotics is on the mend and feeling wayyyyy better. If there’s one thing I always keep in my back pocket for busy weeks, it’s a really good pasta salad. They’re quick.They work for dinner,...

4 days ago • 2 min read
View of a marina with sailboats framed by evergreen tree branches.

Hey Reader, Happy Tuesday! I'm curently sitting in the Marina Dockside Eatery in Victoria, BC, Canada watching two local seals swim around the boats. They are such curious creatures. This cafĂŠ has some pretty epic west coast views of the marina and ocean. It's a great spot to grab a coffee, especially in the summer when you can sit out on the patio and then take a stroll along the waterfront. Moments like this remind me how easy it is to overlook the places right in front of us. I can...

7 days ago • 2 min read
Hands holding a clear jar with money inside, and travel related icons at the bottom.

Hey Reader, Happy Wednesday! This newsletter is coming out a little late this week... well because life. And wow, is there a lot going on in the world right now. Between shelter-in-place orders in Puerto Vallarta and everything happening in Iran, plus the closed airspace in that region, travel safety and planning for the unexpected has definitely been on my mind. Because if there’s one thing travel teaches you quickly, it’s this. Even the best-planned trips can go sideways. Most of the time...

13 days ago • 2 min read
Close up of muffins with a glaze and walnuts on top

Foodie Fridays What's cookin' this week Hey Reader, Happy Friday! How are things going this week? So far so good in our household. It’s my daughter’s 13th birthday next week, so we are about to have a whole bunch of tween girls storm our house for pizza and a movie on Saturday. I’m psyching myself up for the noise and chaos, which I love… in small doses. Wish me luck. But onwards to our Foodie Friday thoughts. Let’s talk about muffins. Specifically, the kind you can make once and rely on all...

18 days ago • 2 min read
People ice skating in front of a golden statue.

Hello Reader, I didn’t expect to cry watching figure skating. I don’t usually follow the Olympics or figure skating that closely, but when I saw Alysa Liu skate her free program, I couldn’t look away. She wasn’t just performing, she was embodying joy and she looked so frickin' free. Big smile, striped hair, and a whole lotta sass. She was skating like she was genuinely having fun, AND became the first American in 24 years to win Olympic gold in women’s singles. But what struck me wasn’t the...

21 days ago • 3 min read
A close up of sheet pan with baked chicken and peppers

Foodie Fridays What's cookin' this week Hey Reader, Happy Friday! Weekends are meal prep times for me and my partner Derek. As we are temporarily living with my MIL and his sister, that's 4 adults and one almost teenager to feed. Every single night. Which is why we like having a few quick one pan meals in our back pockets. So this week we are focusing on easy sheet pan recipes. One pan, simple ingredients and dinners that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. These make me (and my...

25 days ago • 1 min read
A young girl smiling and giving the peace sign in front of a display of lit up lanterns at night, with the words Hoi An on them

Hey Reader, Happy Tuesday and Happy Lunar New Years! Last year we were celebrating Tet in Hoi An, Vietnam and it was so fun. This year we've been doing some Chinese New Year celebrations with my partner Derek's family. A lot of it revolves around family and activities to promote prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year. Such as holding big family dinners, giving money in red envelopes (lai see in Cantonese) to the children in our lives, cleaning the house, watching Lion and Dragon...

28 days ago • 3 min read
Five M&M Valentine's Day cookies on a plate with Happy Valentine's Day graphic in the right corner

Foodie Fridays What's cookin' this week Hey Reader, Valentine's Day is around the corner.... I mean tomorrow! How did that happen? If you are a last minute baker / maker and looking for some cute ideas, this email is for you. We have some fun and easy V-day recipe ideas you can whip up in no time. These are our top last minute Valentine's Day recipe ideas: Valentine's cookies Valentine's Treats of all sorts Cute Valentine's Day breakfast ideas I'm partial to whipping up a batch of heart...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

Hey Reader, Hello from rainy Victoria, BC. Spring is in the air here, and I am starting to see the first tree buds of the season starting to bloom. This is one of my favorite times of year here as everything starts to bloom. As I was sitting down to write about the situation in Cuba for travellers, I noticed this headline "Canada's major airlines wind down flights to Cuba as Havana airport warns it will run out of jet fuel. " Cuba is a popular winter destination especially for Canadians. Some...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Graphic with felt hearts hanging on strings with icons of Valentine's cookies and a cupcake with cherry on top beside it.

Foodie Fridays What's cookin' this week Hey Reader, Welcome to the inaugural Foodie Fridays newsletter. As we move towards sharing more easy family recipes in addition to travel at packedforlife.com, I wanted to create a space for our new and upcoming foodie favorites of the week. This week we are focusing on cute Valentine's Day Treats. While I'm not a huge fan of "hallmark" holidays, I do love a good excuse to make fun treats and share them with my kids, family and friends. These are all...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read