Meesh En Place | Who. What. Where.

While the domain name was registered in early 2017, this blog feels as though it’s been in the making for even longer. About a decade longer. I first dipped my toes into the proverbial waters with a tiny little Blog Spot site in 2009. Dixie Lust: A Guide to Charming Adventures and Decadent Pastimes, as it was called, sought to chronicle the food and culture of the Gulf Coast. While the consistency was never really there, the passion for blogging was. With it’s storytelling, design, photography, and marketing, blogging has always felt like a creative outlet that just… fit.

Since then, there’s been half a dozen half-finished iterations of that outlet. What I’ve come to realize over the last few years is that we go through seasons of our lives. Seasons where we focus on our families. Seasons where we better ourselves and our health. Seasons where we try to simply keep our shit together. And then, there are seasons like the one I find myself in now. A time where projects seem to fit, where our vision is as clear as the waters of Tahiti, where our mission echoes through so many other aspects of our lives. I guess you could say it’s a season where everything is … en place.

“Cruise Casual” wardrobe mastered early on | The Bahamas 1996

While the domain name was registered in early 2017, this blog feels as though it’s been in the making for even longer. About a decade longer. I first dipped my toes into the proverbial waters with a tiny little Blog Spot site in 2009. Dixie Lust: A Guide to Charming Adventures and Decadent Pastimes, as it was called, sought to chronicle the food and culture of the Gulf Coast. While the consistency was never really there, the passion for blogging was. With it’s storytelling, design, photography, and marketing, blogging has always felt like a creative outlet that just… fit.

Since then, there’s been half a dozen half-finished iterations of that outlet. What I’ve come to realize over the last few years is that we go through seasons of our lives. Seasons where we focus on our families. Seasons where we better ourselves and our health. Seasons where we try to simply keep our shit together. And then, there are seasons like the one I find myself in now. A time where projects seem to fit, where our vision is as clear as the waters of Tahiti, where our mission echoes through so many other aspects of our lives. I guess you could say it’s a season where everything is … en place.

In 2015, I became absolutely determined to begin traveling. Like any good millennial learning to do anything, I took to the internet. The travel blogs I came across focused on getting placement in work-abroad programs, financing Round-The-World plane tickets, and 3 month long itineraries for South America. I scrolled through the color-soaked Instagram feeds of digital nomads – people traveling the world year-round as they made their livings working remotely. I eagerly watched “What’s in My Backpack” reveals from travelers who had been on the road for two years. I followed along as bloggers hopped on planes from Argentina to Antarctica, from India to Australia. While it all sounded so dreamy, it just didn’t fit with where I was in life. I needed the beginners course. What comes before all of that?

With a list of cities and countries hastily scribbled on a post-it note in hand, my mind raced with questions. With only 10 days of paid vacation, do I have time to visit places like Berlin and Marrakech? It’s been years since I traveled through airport security. Isn’t that total a total shit-show these days? How do people afford to casually jet off to Boston for the weekend? Who’s going to come on these trips with me? I cant actually go by myself… can I? Do I have to quit my job and become a digital nomad just do quench my travel desires? I needed someone to take it back to the very basics. I needed someone to assure me that it’s possible to travel while living a pretty conventional life. I needed this blog.

I was absolutely clueless when I started, but I got there through deep dives into Google search results, trial and many many errors, and even booking flights on a whim and making the rest up as I went. The more trips I got under my belt, the more I realized my friends and family had the exact same questions I did in my early days. And with each query, I’ve gotten to play a tiny role in helping them develop their travel foundations.

From picking out carry-on luggage, day bags, and toiletry kits to texting explicit step-by-step instructions for security checkpoints the night before a first flight. Setting up friends  with budgeting software and watching on in total pride as they’ve booked their first trip. And then their second. There’s even been packing suitcases full of things that weren’t mine for trips I’d never take. I’ve done it all. And I’ve reveled in every second of it.

Whether you’re just beginning to entertain the very idea of travel  or if if you’re a few trips in and want to tighten up your packing, I want this blog to serve as training wheels as you build your travel foundation. No question too small, no detail too mundane. Meesh En Place is a judgement-free zone where you can master all those travel ins-and-outs that everyone else already seems to know.

We’ll start with the very basics. First, we’ll define common types of travel and all the lingo you’ll need to know along the way. Then we’ll layer in some prompts to get you thinking about who you want to be as a traveler and what style works for your lifestyle – as it is today! No need to quit your job, sell your house, or abandon your family. Next, we’ll provide the inspiration that will help you plan the ultimate trip. Finally, we’ll give actionable steps that get you on the road – we’re not just dreaming about travel. We’re actually doing it!

If you’re as hyped as I am, I bet you’re wondering whats in store for this space and beyond. Pull up a chair and grab a notebook. It’s time to get our travel education on all across the internet.

The Meesh En Place Facebook page is the go to spot to get inspired. Along with posts from Meesh En Place, I’ll also bring you the best reads from other travel content creators. Think up to the minute travel news, luxe destination guides, and inspiring posts that will yank you straight out of that comfort zone.

And every evening at 6:15 pm CST, whip up a happy hour cocktail, pull up a chair, and break out the notepad because I’ll host a live stream to tackle your travel dilemmas in real time.  Ready to get your passport but don’t know where to begin? Have some serious questions about building a travel budget? Log on and get your questions answered as we talk travel!

If you’re more in to quick, easy to digest content, then the Meesh En Place Instagram is for you. Our Instagram grid will be home to mini product reviews, efficient packing tips, and bursts of travel inspiration. Plus, you’ll get to see trips in real time through the Instagram stories feature alongside some behind the scenes sneak peeks.

And because I’m a perpetual student of YouTube University, Meesh En Place is carving out a space in the world of video. After all, it’s where I originally found the courage and inspiration to begin my travel journey in my 30s.

Check in every Tuesday at 5 pm CST for new videos. I’ll bringing you this, that, and the other.