Welcome our new writer Dana Bach Johnson.

Wonderlust: The Great Gatsby

We are so excited about the ”The Great Gatsby” movie! This new lavish version by Baz Luhrmann is set to make the Jazz Age sparkle and prove F. Scott Fitzgerald still shines bright. The beloved novel showcases glamorous lifestyles amongst turmoiled relationships. Leonardo DiCaprio is so dapper as Jay Gatsby and the beautiful Carey Mulligan twinkles as Daisy Buchanan. The story is so timeless and the movie promises to be full of great drama, stylish clothes, and amazing parties. Get inspired and go see “The Great Gatsby”! Here are some of my favorites inspired by The Great Gatsby movie, what I really recommend though – read the book as well!

The quote

The style

Are you loving this style as much as we are? Luckily there are now many Great Gatsby and 20s’ inspired collections available and out hot tips to check out now include: Warby Parker’s  1922 limited edition eyewear collection, Modcloth’s 1920s inspired accessories and clothing,  Out of Print’s Great Gatsby Collection and that fabulous mens Great Gatsby Collection by Brooks Brothers. Once you seen the movie and stocked up on your own fabulous 20s ensembles it’s time to throw your own The Great Gatsby garden party!

The movie

Enter the world of glitz and glamour, parties and beautiful houses of The Great Gatsby:

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my first ebook Instagram as your Guide to the World – How, What and Who to Search and Follow on Instagram to Help You Travel the World just published this week and it is now available on Amazon.com for an introductory price of $4.99 for a limited time. You can also sign up for my newsletter and get a shorter version for free later this summer. I will be giving a free short version of the book as a .pdf for my newsletter subscribers for free of charge sometime during summer 2013. You can sign up for my personal weekly email here.

Million Little Travel Guides

I was honored to have the
New York Best Selling Author Chris Brogan to write the foreword for the Instagram as Your Guide to The World-book.

Katja is leading a movement of sorts, one to help others create a million little travel guides. But this isn’t entirely about Katja. She’s just our “point of view character,” as they say in movies. She’s actually here for you. Because when you’re done, you’re a recruit. You’re part of the movement. And you have work to do. The world needs your perspective, your take, and your inevitable greatness. We are, after all, creating a million little travel guides, and your work starts now.

says Chris Brogan about this book.

Chris Brogan is CEO & President of Human Business Works, a media and education company helping equip the Personal Business Revolution. He is the New York Times bestselling author of six books (so far) including The Impact Equation.

YOU become a travel expert

My easy-to-read ebook will help you to learn to use Instagram effectively as a travel guide. I will teach you how, what and who to search and follow on Instagram to make your travel planning a much more pleasant, even fun, experience. You will learn to connect with real travel experts; tourists exactly like you and local people. They can tell you the secrets the tourist guide would never reveal. This book gives you a fresh new way of seeing how, what and where people, like you, travel. It also helps you to find an amazing community of people and see different perspectives of our world.

I will also recommend a few supplementary tools that you can use in addition to Instagram to get the most out of your experience. This book is mainly a technical how-to-book, and you can skim through the topics and the tips pretty quickly if you are a seasoned Instagram user. In addition to the technical tips I have added a few travel photos and short travel stories in this book to highlight what this book really is about: an inspiration for you to discover the world! This book isn’t just about new technology and social media, but about discovery, community, and experiencing the world.

After reading this guide YOU will become an expert in finding exotic places to visit and insider tips on what to do – anywhere in the world. My hope for you is that you will not just find a new way to find photos and travel destinations, but that you are also able to make new friends around the country and around the world. I also hope you will learn more about different cultures and see just how different our beautiful world can be – and also see how similar things can be on the other side of the world.

The best thing about Instagram isn’t the technology. The best thing about Instagram is the people who use it. Take time to connect with the people behind the photos.

Remember to also share your own photos! I want to see your pictures from your travels, so remember to connect with me on Instagram, my username is Skimbaco. You can also tag your next travel photos with #IGTravelBook to share them with other readers and travel experts mentioned in this book. I would like to invite you to join our community of Skimbacoers, and share the pictures of how you enjoy life with the #skimbaco hashtag.

Join me in living life to the fullest, and sharing our world travels!

Get the Instagram as your Guide to the World-book now and learn more about the Instagram as Your Guide to The World-book here.

Are you ready for Cinco de Mayo?

Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays, probably because I have a soft spot in my heart (er, stomach?) for fresh guacamole and salt-rimmed margaritas. However, it can be hard to dress for this holiday without ending up looking like the flag of Mexico.

For this outfit, I wanted the festive printed top to be the focal point, so I paired it with white jeans and neutral sandals. However, I love the accent details within the outfit, such as the rattan bag and the Aztec-inspired earrings. The only thing that could make this outfit even more fabulous is a margarita in hand!

Get the Look!

One: Electric Kiwi Tank by J.Crew

Two: Delilah Earrings by Kendra Scott

Three: Rattan Tote by Tory Burch

Four: White Cigarette Jeans by Adriano Goldschmied

Five: My favorite margarita!

Six: Lupe Demi Wedge Sandals by Rebecca Minkoff

Cheers to a wonderful Cinco de Mayo!

Gifts that give twice

Mother’s Day this year is on May 12th in many countries, including USA. This year I collected 7 gift caring ideas that give twice. Many of these products support a charity, are made from recycled materials or are made with all natural ingredients. Great gift ideas for granola and fashionista moms alike!

1. Jonathan Adler Retro Floral On The Go Coffee Mug ($14)
The Jonathan Adler porcelain coffee mug with a coordinating silicone sleeve and lid isn’t just any pretty new coffee to-go-mug when you purchase it from Gifts that Give. $2.80 of the price goes to any cause of your choice, easily with a click of a button. Perfect for the soccer mom-on-the-go!

2. Patent Foundation Double Wrap Logo Stud Bracelet by Tory Burch ($95)
Patent Foundation Double Wrap Logo Stud Bracelet by Tory Burch is gorgeous and perfect for the trendy fashionista mom. All profits from the purchase of this item benefit the Tory Burch Foundation, committed to providing economic opportunities to women and their families in the United States

3. Smart Traveler Makeup Bag Set by Cuyana ($85)
Smart Traveler Set by Cuyana comes with two makeup bags, perfectly sized for traveling. The large one for toiletries and the smaller one to fit inside a carry-on or a purse for daily essentials. This set comes in several colors but the trendy emerald green is my favorite. The bags are Handmade in Argentina and Cuyana donates a percentage of profits to charity:water.

4. TOM’S Shoes ($53.95)
The ‘Classic – Circle’ Slip-On by TOMS shoes comes in cute new prints. And like for years now… With every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need.

5. FEED India Bag in Flame Navy ($75)
This colorful block printed FEED India Bag is handmade by artisans working in India. Each FEED India Bag will provide 50 school meals for children in India, and in ADDITION 15.00 goes to any cause of your choice when you purchase it from Gifts that Give. The do-good bag also looks good and it’s perfect summer, for beach days or farmer’s market runs.

6. Mereset scarf from fashionABLE ($36)
The soft 100% cotton Mereset scarf from fashionABLE is handmade in Ethiopia and allows women in Ethiopia to have a way of living. This thin scarf is perfect even for summer.

7. Pure Natural Diva Botanicals Perfume ($100)
Pure Natural Diva Botanicals Perfumes are a perfect a gift for an eco savvy mom. Made with natural ingredients and scent from heaven. May we recommend? Try the Natural from the four different varieties. It is fresh and inviting, with notes including a hint of clary sage, exalting pink grapefruit, Moroccan rose, and soothing ylang ylang. Calming yet luxurious, just what mom wants. 1.69 oz bottle $100.

Botanical Perfumes for Eco Chic Women

I am so excited about a new perfume launch by my friend Tania Reuben. Tania’s Pure Natural Diva website has taught eco chic women for years how to be eco savvy without trading in Manolos for Birkenstocks, and now Tania launched Pure Natural Diva Botanicals, right on time for the Mother’s Day. The Pure Natural Diva Botanical Perfumes are crafted with 100% natural ingredients. That’s right – no synthetics ingredients and no phthalates, great even for those who suffer from allergies and typically can’t even use perfumes!

Years ago when I stopped buying conventional perfumes, I looked for natural alternatives. What I found was either brown bottle roll-ons that didn’t make me feel at all special, and they were often filled with the same synthetics I was trying to avoid. Or super luxe botanicals that were hundreds of dollars a bottle.

Tania Reuben says about her research for finding botanical perfumes from the market, and why she was determined to get an affordable luxury botanical perfume for the market.

The Pure Natural Diva Botanical Perfumes come in four different varieties: Pure, Natural, Diva and Elixir and all available at the Pure Natural Diva Botanicals website. If purchasing perfumes online worries you – why not take an advantage of getting the sample sets and testing all of the perfumes before ordering a full bottle? I love the mini testers also for traveling.

Pure Natural Diva Botanical Perfumes

Pure is sensually uplifting, like sunny day in a mixed field of lemongrass and Lavender. The notes in the Pure include uplifting cassie, lavender, soothing chamomile, lemon, lime and an Egyptian neroli.

Natural is fresh and inviting, imagine a picnic in a rose bordered citrus grove. Notes in the Natural botanical perfume include a hint of clary sage, exalting pink grapefruit, Moroccan rose, and soothing ylang ylang.

Diva is full of soul, sultry and mysterious. Notes include natural musk derived from Ambrette, a sinfully smooth New Caledonian Sandalwood, blended together in a lusciously robust Vanilla. These three perfumes are $100/bottle and the Elixir is a premium perfume with more exclusive ingredients costing $150/bottle.

Elixir is sensually uplifting as delicious as a lingering morning with an ocean view. Notes include aphrodisiacal vanilla, a hint of oakmoss, exquisite osmanthus, married with rejuvenating pink grapefruit and red mandarin.

You can also sign up to be a VIP Diva and you can sign up for exclusive VIP only offerings, preview beta products, and get free VIP shipping on all purchases over $50 (basically it means free shipping for all perfumes you order).

Tania Reuben – the mastermind behind the Pure Natural Diva

A few years ago I interviewed Tania, make sure to read the interview with Tania and get inspired to live eco chic lifestyle.

Every June, my family loads up our SUV with suitcases, sand chairs and fishing poles and makes the four hour drive to the North Carolina coast. It’s my favorite week of the whole summer. I love feeling surrounded by family in our little beach cottage, but nothing compares to the magic I feel walking along the beach, picking up seashells and listening to the waves crash along the shore.

And almost as wonderful as our actual beach trip is the preparation for it. My gym membership card is swiped more than usual in hopes of achieving the elusive “beach body,” and I spend at least two weeks packing beforehand, making sure I have every outfit planned down to my shoes and earrings. A new bikini and a new beach bag are two purchases that must be made in advance.

This summer, Target has all you need for a stylish vacation at the beach. You can’t go wrong with any of the towels from their new beach collection, but I’m simply in love with these fabulous ikat beach towels!

Ikat Lux beach towel in green

Ikat Lux beach towel in whipped papaya

Xhilaration Lavada Slide Sandal

No beach trip is complete without a sand chair, floppy straw hat and a great pair of sunnies. Yes, looking amazing on the beach is a priority, but so is our health! Sun protection is a must, so don’t forget to lather up with a sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher. I personally love Neutrogena’s ultra-sheer sunscreen, which won’t irritate your skin.

Beach Chair in Red

Merona Floppy Hat

Merona Rubberized Sunglasses in Tortoise

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock

Pack a good novel or a fun magazine, and you’re all set for a day at the beach. And if you’re on vacation, you might as well add a cold drink. (I recommend a piña colada, but really any icy beverage will do!)

It’s time for springtime – how are you getting ready for spring and summer?

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Target via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Target.

Thank goodness spring break is around the corner. My family is going to take a few days to explore the mountains of North Carolina. We’ll be stopping in Asheville for one night, then spending a few days in the mountain town of Highlands, where waterfalls are as abundant as the curvy roads. In addition to my children’s luvies, snacks, and spring coats for that cool mountain air, I’ll be taking our new Intel tablet on this trip. We didn’t have a tablet before owning the Lenovo ThinkPad 2, and after taking some time to get used to the new Windows 8 operating system, I cannot imagine not taking it on our spring break excursion.

7 Reasons Why I’m Traveling with My Intel Tablet

1. Travel Planning

I’ve done a lot of trip planning while watching TV on my tablet. I’ve mapped out the best routes. I’ve bookmarked things to see on my travels, too. I want to continue my research while on location. The tablet makes it easy for me to do so. I love my smartphone, but the larger size of the tablet makes it a lot easier to reserach destinations on the go or in the comfort of the couch.

2. Entertaining the Kids in our Room

My kids have basically taken the tablet away from me. They love it. With the built-in inking feature, the kids have so much fun drawing with the tablet. They write notes. They draw glasses on their dad. It’s provided hours of entertainment. We love the app Skitch. My daughter has also found some great preschool games, too. I firmly believe in seeing things when traveling, and I don’t allow electronics during our dinners, but the tablet will be great for some downtime in the hotel room.

3. Watching Movies or TV Programs

The picture on the Intel tablet is crisp. It’s been great for watching TV and Netflix. With free Wi-Fi, I don’t have to be limited to what is on cable while in a hotel room or rental house. My son has earphones, so if he doesn’t want to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse then he can watch something else while we get ready for our day’s adventure.

4. Easy Access to Email and Social Media

With the tablet, and the touch of the Windows email app, I have all my accounts right there at the touch of the screen. It truly makes it easier to stay in touch and on top of my email when traveling. My mobile phone is just too small for me to type well. Under the People app, I can view my social media updates and notifications. I can take a photo of us in our room at Old Edwards Inn and Spa with the tablet and share it with my friends immediately.

5. Easy Access to Restaurant Reviews while On-Location

The one thing that the Intel tablet truly masters is speed and easy transition from one thing to another. It’s so easy to go from one app to another, watch a movie, or surf the net. It’s going to be great to have while traveling to seek out restaurant reviews, search for things to do in a new area, or even to see what’s playing at the movies while I’m in town. If I feel like having a burger for dinner, I can find the best burger in town within seconds.

6. Recording Special Travel Moments

I truly need to do a better job of catching special moments on our travels. The built-in camera allows you to transition from video photography to still photography with ease. The camera quality is good. The dual-camera feature enables you to get the videographer in the shoot, too.

7. Catching Up with my Favorite Reads

The tablet is great for reading. I’ve not downloaded a book yet, but I love reading my favorite blogs on it. I despise reading blogs on my phone. In fact, I don’t do it. Now when I travel, I can keep up with what Katja is posting on Skimbaco while I’m away.

I’m looking forward to taking the Intel tablet on this trip. I’m sure I’ll discover even more great uses while on the go.

Be sure to follow @SkimbacoTravel, @SkimbacoFood, and @Hinessightblog on Instagram so that you can keep up with me on my travels. I will be staying at the beautiful Old Edwards Inn and Spa while in Highlands. This European boutique property recently received the honor of being one of TripAdvisor’s Top 25 hotels in the U.S.

Disclosure: We don’t do product reviews on Skimbaco, but I was given an Intel tablet to use on my travels. Opinions about the tablet are my own.

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Shop with Sweet Relish

Today I would like to encourage you to take a coffee break and shop with Sweet Relish. Sweet Relish is a new social shopping site where you can create lists of things you would like or what you recommend for others. And before you say you use Pinterest for that – have you ever found great products on Pinterest and wanting to buy them immediately only to find out that the link isn’t working, or there is no link where to purchase the product and you are end up wanting to buy something, but can’t find where to buy it? Yeah, me too. That’s why Sweet Relish is awesome, every single product can be bought and you can create lists with products from virtually any online store.

Sweet Relish is brilliant for making gift lists (think birthdays, weddings and the Holidays for example), and I immediately thought it would be great to use it for home decorating projects. You could easily pick furniture and other home products from different stores for your room, create a Sweet Relish list of all of the different options. It would be very easy to see them all at one glance and compare them all, including their prices and then make purchases easily when ready. Since it’s a social shopping site, you can also find products from your friends lists, or send your list to your friends to look at (“hey babe, this is what I’d fancy for my birthday”).

I created a few lists and tested how Sweet Relish works. You can find my lists and you can also find the products pictured above in my coffee break list.

Using Sweet Relish is simple. You join in and you can get the Relish browser button and every time you find a product you want to add to your list, you just click the button and add it to the list you want, or you can create a new list. So get a cup of coffee and take a coffee break from your day and check out Sweet Relish and start your own shopping wish list!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored but all of my opinions and the product picks in the lists are mine.

Last minute Valentine’s Day Gift Tips

This Valentine’s Day give gifts that you and your loved one can share and enjoy together. Valentine’s Day is, after all, about celebrating and enjoying the love and connection you share with another. I have put together a list of gifts that can turn the ordinary breakfast in bed to something special and make that next trip even more exciting.

Nespresso Latissima+

Who says a man can’t enjoy breakfast in bed every now and then. Give the gift of Nespresso this Valentine’s Day and enjoy a lovely addition to breakfast with your loved one. The Latissima+ is perfect for coffee lovers as it brings the exceptional quality of the signature Nespresso beverages into the home. I am a coffee lover and have personally tried the Latissima+ myself thanks to our friends at Nespresso. It creates everything from traditional espressos to Americanos and Lattes with the included milk frother. It truly brings the European coffee experience home. Check out Nespresso’s Ultimate Coffee Creations  for new ways to enjoy Nespresso. Available at Nesresso Boutiques and Nespresso.com ($399)

Luxe City Guide

Here at Skimbaco we love to travel, and traveling to a new destination is always exciting, especially when you know the best places to dine, shop, and visit. The Luxe City Guide is the perfect way to prepare for an upcoming trip with your loved one. The Bespoke Box set allows you to hand select 5 city guides which is perfect for 2013 travel plans that have been made. Get to know your destination cities with your loved one inside and out with the Luxe City guides which are curated from recommendations of locals and refined by a resident editor. Available at Luxe City Guides. Bespoke City Guide Bookset ($55).

Cooking Lesson at the International Culinary Center

Spend some quality time with your significant other while picking up a new skill at the same time. Learn to make authentic Italian pastas and sauces by hand in the 4 hour “Homemade Pasta” class. If you find yourself to be a natural, transfer your skills from classroom to kitchen that evening and enjoy a wonderful homemade dinner. Available at the International Culinary Institute, New York. ($195).

Moët & Chandon Valentine’s Day Gift Bag

Nothing says “I love you” quite like a wonderful bottle of rosé. This year, Moët & Chandon, one of my personal favorites, is offering special Valentine’s Day bottle which invites you to customize the bottle via an array of stickers to decorate the bottle with your own message.

Moët & Chandon is a favorite of Hollywood A-list couples such as John Hamm & Jen Westfeldt and George Clooney & Stacy Kiebler. The Rosé Impérial distinguished by its bright fruitiness and elegant maturity. Notes of intensity include strawberry, raspberry, and redcurrant. You and your loved one can enjoy this bottle paired with dishes such as beef carpaccio, ratatouille, and fruit salad of berries. Available at Sherry-Lehman  ($52.99)

Disclosure: I received a Nespresso coffee maker to review, but all of my opinions are my own.

Let travels inspire you

One of the best things about the travels really is what we can bring home. And by this I don’t just mean souvenirs we buy, but how travels really effect and change us and how we arrive back home somehow changed. I think that’s what traveling is really about. Traveling is about inspiration, and absorbing something new. Sometimes it just means learning something new about yourself, sometimes it’s also a new skill, like how Satu learned to make pasta in Italy.

On our last trip to Italy we spent some time in Tuscany, in Lucca, and we got quite obsessed not just by the local pasta dishes but by olives, handmade soaps and other local products.

One of the best things during of our visit in Tuscany was the days when we just got to our rental car and started driving in the mountain area North of Lucca to see what we could find. One day we saw a sign for Valdottavo Olive Festival that by luck was happening that same day. Valdottavo is a small village about ten miles / 15 km North-West of Lucca and it’s surrounded by olive groves. The Valdottavo Olive Festival takes place every March, celebrating the new harvest of olives and olive oil with music and food, in true Tuscan fashion, and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time, and I took it as a sign from the olive gods.

Now when we shop for olive oil back home in our local grocery store, we try to look that we only buy olive oil made in Lucca, remembering our trip to Italy and in a small way showing our respect for the region by supporting them even when we are back home. It has become somewhat a tradition, my husband reading the label, me looking at him and waiting for the verdict, and then the smile “yes, it’s from Lucca” and we feel like we have a secret right there in the middle of the food market as we both go back to our memories of our trip to Tuscany. It’s not really just about olive oil. It’s about remembering the time we felt carefree and somewhat adventurous and just wanted to take our family for an adventure in Tuscany.

Craft market in Lucca, Italy

One day in Lucca, we found the perfect craft market. Local artisans were selling paintings, pottery and ceramics, handmade soaps, silver jewelry and much more. I wanted to bring Tuscany home and fill our suitcases with pottery and especially with the gorgeous cutting boards made out of the olive wood. I bought a small creamer and a sugar bowl and two cutting/serving boards and I love them on my kitchen counter now and they are daily reminders of our trip.

It may sound silly, but souvenirs do play an important role. Sometimes we go on these “once-in-a-lifetime” trips, and come back home and almost feel like nothing has changed, did I even go, was it just a dream… Do you know what I mean? Or is it just me who looks back in my life and am in amazement, wow, did that really happen to me? But when I see the things I brought home for my everyday use, I do often smile and remember fondly the places I have visited, and it does make my everyday life somewhat better, and it also gives me willpower to make other “dreams” come true too. If I was able to make that amazing trip to Tuscany happen, I can make this and that happen too.

We have talked a lot about different kind of adventures and being adventurous here at Skimbaco Lifestyle, and while I know – craft shopping in Tuscany is not really your most adventurous thing to do, yet somehow that trip was very empowering for us as a family. Remember that it is all about defining what adventurous means to you!

One of the things we also loved shopping in Lucca was all of the handmade soaps. We carried home pounds of handmade soaps made of olive oil and fresh Tuscan herbs! I mean – how could we not bring that goodness home? We have been savoring these soaps and now almost 11 months later our soaps are almost gone. Adrienne goes to Paris to shop for her mustard, and I long for Tuscany to buy more soap.

My husband’s solution was easy… he did book us a new trip to Italy, and I couldn’t be more excited about it (come to Rome with me and Instagram travel with me), we are leaving in less than two weeks. However, like I said, there is something about traveling that empowers you, and my 11-year-old daughter and I had a different solution to the missing handmade soaps: we wanted to try making our own soaps! Stay tuned for my upcoming post about our adventures in soap making and also a cocktail recipe I created inspired our trip to Italy.