Lots of people seem to think I'm rich or have indispensable money and I don't. I make choices when budgeting to be able to travel more because it means more to me than the below things. Here's what I've given up in my life to travel more. 

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1. Living Below My Means

2. Not having a car and relying on public transportation 

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3. Living in a small studio apartment  

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4. Limiting how often I eat out and do takeout

5. Limiting beauty treatments 

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6. Choosing to be a freelancer vs. working a full time 9-5. 

7. Random Shopping Sprees and Impulse Buys

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8. Upgrading technology every year

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Versante Hotel is a new, up and coming boutique hotel that's only a few minute drive from Vancouver International airport. It is the only boutique luxury hotel in the area and boasts beautiful natural light, an array of fantastic amenities, vibrant decor and delicious fine dining on site. 

*I received a complimentary stay at Versante Hotel and a complimentary meal at Bruno. All opinions in this review are my own. 

The Lobby

Eye grabbing, colorful designs

The Rooms 

The beautiful view from our room

When browsing their rooms online, the decor really caught my eye and in person, it didn't disappoint! One of the key room features is the big porcelain hot tubs. My other favorite feature was the decor and colors in the room. We ended up in a room with a pink flowered wall mural behind the beds and I know they have rooms with a green color scheme as well. 

Coffee Nook

The Bathrooms

Ready for a relaxing night in

The Food - Bruno Restaurant 

The Amenities 

After two years of no WonderCon due to the pandemic, it's back! I had the opportunity to attend as press again this spring. Here's a fun look at the the exhibit hall for 2022. 

Other booths I love seeing at every southern California convention are Hero Within, Her Universe, Hot Topic. (Her Universe and Hot Topic did not have a booth there this year, but Ashley Eckstein was attending and doing autographs for fans)  Browsing artist alley and discovering new local artists is always a highlight for me too! There were noticeably less vendors this year than I've seen in the past but hopefully this will pick up as more and more conventions come back and people are able to travel more to attend. 

This year the convention center even put a Dole Whip booth on the exhibit floor near the cafeteria which was a fun nod to Disney Parks fans and was a hit at the event. The food options were a bit lackluster this year. The food court is always very overpriced and runs out of everything quick and the food trucks were more limited this year than they had been in the past. I packed a sandwich and protein bars with me this year to cut costs and also came in handy. My friends decided to grab food at the Starbucks in the Hilton lobby across the street from the convention center. Downtown Disney is also close by and always has more food options. 

Overall, the event was a lot of fun and it was great seeing some friends of mine I hadn't seen in a long time. Safety wise - masks and proof of vaccine were required to attend and they did have staff enforcing the masks and people were spread out so it felt very safe. Looking forward to attending again in 2023!

I usually see Ashley a few times a year and hadn't seen her since 2020 so it was nice to run into her again!

More snaps with friends!