Yesterday Ben and I went on our three year anniversary date. We were going to eat dinner at the place where we had our first date, but when we first met we lived over an hour from each other and picked a place in the middle. Now that restaurant is over an hour away from us and we didn’t want to deal with rush hour traffic.
But, it was a Mexican restaurant so we kept the theme and went to Miguel’s
I had to capture a pic of the view behind the restaurant. Look at those mountains! Yesterday was gorgeous. 
Chips to start…
and a Skinny Margi to share
I ordered the Baja Burrito – cod, beans, cabbage and sauce in a wet burrito 
Ben ordered the fajitas 
They came with the usual sides and “homemade” flour tortillas. Those tortillas were to die for. Seriously I stole one and we ended up getting a second order to go!
What’s the one perk of being an adult versus a carefree kid?
Eating dessert BEFORE dinner!
Ben came home from work with this chocolate cake. It’s a thing of beauty, but I do have to say I’m more of a cake NOT frosting girl, so I was disappointed with the 50-50 ratio of cake to mousse.
I know, some of you won’t get that and others are totally on my page. I’m the girl who eats the Oreo cookie part and scrapes off the frosting from the inside! What a weirdo.
Don’t worry though – I still ate it. I just paid extra attention to the “cake part”. 
Happy Cake to Meee!
After dinner we went to see What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It’s no secret that Ben is super ready to have a baby and me, not so much. I think he was hoping this would push me over to the “baby time” side. Sneaky.
I did really like the movie, but I’m not on the baby bandwagon just yet. I’m warming up to it more and more though, so there’s that ray of hope for him 
Happy Anniversary!
Ben and I don’t exchange presents. He cheated this year and got me that new suitcase because the 3rd Anniversary gift is supposed to be leather and he said some suitcases are leather so it’s the same idea. Really, I just needed it!
Anyways, we don’t usually exchange gifts. We save our money and go on a vacation instead. First it was our honeymoon to Belize
The next year we went to Curacao
Last year we went to Panama
And this year….
Well, this year we can’t decide! We have spent the entire week talking about different options. It’s weird because we’re completely open to pretty much anywhere and neither of us really really wants to go somewhere specific. So, we’re going to give it a few more days and decide soon so we can plan to go before December.
Here is our travel brainstorming so far:
1. We want to go somewhere outside of the US. As we’ll probably stay in the US for trips once we have babies, at least for a while.
2. We don’t want to go on a cruise. Just not my thing.
3. We would like for it to be active – like hiking or snorkeling. But, walking around a European town would be good too.
4. It has to be a somewhat safe place. I don’t care how beautiful Afghanistan is this time of year…
5. It should be someplace we haven’t been yet. Even though we both would love to go back to Costa Rica…
Question: Are you a cake or frosting person?
Got any good ideas for our trip? (I know I already asked this, but I’m still shopping around for ideas)
Come to London! You can walk all day and still have more to see and do. Get a boat up the Thames, afternoon tea in a posh hotel, lots of beautiful parks and a few hours takes you to great hiking places.
Oh, and you can meet the Queen! 😉
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I thought I was the only one who scrapes off and throws away the oreo cream and only eats the cookie. Nice to know there are other weirdo’s out there who dislike frosting/icing. LOL.
Oreo cookie weirdos unite!
I’m catching up on blog posts (moved into our first home last week!!), but thought I’d let you know that you are more than welcome to send all of your frosting this way! I’d rather toss the cookie/cake part and eat only the frosting!! haha
We’d make a good cookie/cake eating team 🙂
You better believe it!! 🙂
switzerland!! i went last summer to interlaken and it was AMAZING. gorgeous and tons of active things to do. specifically check out “canyoning” (there’s a youtube video). plus, switzerland is really easily accessible to other places if you wanted to go to more of a city for a few days
I’m half Guatemalan & I’ve never been there. Guatemala sounds like it would be a fun place to visit. Plus, its 2012…you can learn about Mayans & the end of the world! Lol. I’m oddly cracking myself up<—self entertained. :p Happy anniversary!
We took a day trip to Tikal when we went to Belize. All that Mayan stuff intrigues (and scares!) me.
Roatan, Honduras is a great option. Delta flies directly to Roatan so you wouldn’t have to fly to the mainland and then tomthe Bay Islands.
Guatemala! Guatemala!
It is amazing. It has everything you want in a place: lakes, mountains, volcanoes, caves, colonial cities, rich culture. AND it won’t take a million hours and cost you an arm and a leg to travel there.
You can have this perfect mix of going out to adorable restaurants one night…and then taking a little boat across a lake to hike up a volcano the next. And the people there are amazing – so warm, so friendly. And it’s easy and cheap to get around using buses and shared taxis.
I could go on and on about Guatemala…seriously, buy your ticket there, and go. Right now. Do it! 🙂
I do tend to favor Spanish speaking places… I gotta put this on the list!
You should def check out Bermuda!! The husband and i went there this year via cruise (yes i know you said you don’t like cruises!) but there are a couple resorts there as well. There are a ton of old forts, all the boating stuff you could ask for, shopping, food, swimming and the caves! We had a blast, we weren’t there long enough to see everything though. Good luck trying to figure out where to go!
Italy is pretty awesome! There is a lot of hiking, biking, walking and wine tasting! The food is also AWESOME. Like a lot of others have commented, Cinque Terre is beautiful and you can be really active around there. It’s also super romantic if you stay in the right town! You could hop around and do the coast, inland cities and the northern mountainous area if you have time! All pretty easy train trips.
1. Icing!!
2. Cinque Terre, Italy. Google it….
My husband loves New Zealand for biking, hiking, and kayaking but I’ve never been. 🙁
We both love Europe. We eat a ton of delicious food but end up losing weight because we do so much walking. We’ve been to Zakopane (Poland), Salzburg, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Dijon, Interlaken, and Lausanne. We’ve done it cheaply with backpacks and hostels and slightly more upscale with decent hotels and real suitcases.
Congratulations and have fun with whatever vacation you plan!
Well,I’m biased,since I live here,but South Africa is a wonderful destination for all types of adventures.I live near Cape Town,and you can get all of the following within about 2hrs (and less) drive of the city:
– lots and lots and lots of hiking trails
– even more wine estates with award winning wines to taste
– shark cage diving (for the brave)
– horse riding
– quad biking,which is very popular in the more rural areas
– also, you can visit excellent beaches and places like the Castle of Good Hope (if you’re into history),and of course,Table Mountain,which you can also hike up and down,and is well worth it.
New zealand! It’s absolutely beautiful! They have a hike that takes a week that would take you across the south island? I think…anyways, you can’t argue with something that’s as beautiful as Lord of the Rings haha. The weather should be nice during december as well.
Happy Anniversary! Head on to Europe!
I’m going to Torino, Italy to study abroad. You should go there! 🙂
So for vacations I always just try to look at where I can get cheap airfare and that determines my destination.
This year, in November, the BF and I are going to China, because $694 RT LAX to Shanghai… Can you really say no?
Check out travel zoo. A few weeks ago I found a deal for $234 RT LAX to Lima! I was kicking myself for already having tickets to China. Such is life!
Thanks for the tip!
Cake all the way!
One of the best active vacations I have ever gone on was trekking in Peru and seeing Machu Picchu. It was amazing!
i love that you forego the gift-giving and take trips instead..wayy worth it 🙂 as for my travel suggestion: BOLIVIA! such a great, unique country.. you could bike the worlds most dangerous road.. really great experience!
I do the same thing with my oreos! Wish they made the cookies without the middles.
Hawaii would be awesome but not part of the US so not sure if it fits the criteria. Machu Picchu in Peru would be fun too–I have never done it but I know a few people who really loved it. I definitely want to hike the Incan trail in the future…
Chocolate mousse frosting?! Oh…my….gawd… I would be all over that. And then those chocolate shavings next. Happy 3 year Anniversary! Your trips sound like fun! I’d love for my hubby and I to get out of the country for our ONE YEAR, but we will prob just come to your side of the world. He is all about some Cali, and I have yet to experience it.
I am a frosting person! I always fight for a corner piece. They are the best, most frosted per cake ratio!
Sorry, I can’t help you on trip ideas. I’ve never been out of the US. Someday!
Big Island of Hawaii – has it all. Beaches, rain forests, volcanoes, lava, all kinds of hikes through all sorts of terrain, coffee & macadamia nut plantations, great food, same currency … so much to do & see, and it’s not as long of a flight for you as Europe would be.
In Europe, Switzerland or Italy are probably the best, but among the most crowded in parts. I know a few people mentioned Iceland – it is an awesome place and the people are so friendly. Much less crowded than Italy, and cheaper than Switzerland (although food Iceland can be $$$).
I’d say Brazil! Either Rio de Janeiro or Bahia. You can really save up with a few tips and enjoy our summer and our beautiful sights and beaches!
New Zealand! it’s beautiful! If hubs and I could go we would. But we had a baby right after getting married and he’s still attached to the boob(my toddler not my husband :P) so I won’t be going anywhere soon.
I would like to recommend Iceland. I know its a little out there, but the flights aren’t too terrible and in August and September, its the nicest weather (65+ degrees). They have a TON of outdoor hiking, glacier walking, biking, etc to do there. I last went there several years ago, and loved it! My husband and I are planning to go back this August. Those are my 2 cents!
You should come down to New Zealand! It’s gorgeous, the ideal place for people who love hiking and, if you wait til the weather gets a bit crappier there, it’ll be super nice down here! Plus, it’s super safe! 🙂
Stay strong!!!!
I’m much like you and don’t like frosting, it’s usually way too sweet! Hence why I prefer muffins and un-frosted brownies 😛
Spain or Brazil! I can give you a ton of tips on Spain travel.
Anywhere is Europe is gorgeous, I’m from Germany and I love it there, always amazes me everytime I go back just how different life over there is.
We went to Tahiti on our honeymoon and it was amazing. I also love Mexico – go check out Todos Santos, great town on Baja. You should also hop over to my friend Liz’s blog. She’s an ex-pat currently living in Amsterdam and the vacations she and her husband take around Europe are amazing looking. They’re in greece right now which is definitely on my bucket list: http://www.exploredreamdiscoverblog.com/
Give me the frosting. Unless it’s really super awesome moist cake, I’ll usually chuck that part. 🙂
We really enjoyed Roatan, Honduras and Belize on the last cruise (but we were only there for an afternoon). We went to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and enjoyed that too – but it was a very UNACTIVE vacation staying in an all-inclusive, we pretty much vegged on the beach reading and swimming and relaxing, so I’m not sure how good or safe it would be to be out and around too much? I want to go to Costa Rica soon too, I’ve heard great things!
Australia, Italy, France, and Greece are big on my bucket list.
Happy Anniversary!!!!
I am so a cake person scape the frosting off and give me CAKE!!! Chocolate cake is my favorite.
As for trips, how about Ireland, or Japan?
Greek islands!
i agree – i am DEFINITELY more of a cake girl than a frosting girl!
i’m dying to visit argentina or chile! i studied abroad in rome and would highly recommend going anywhere in italy. it’s a carb lovers dream, haha 😉
I don’t love a ton of frosting, but mousse is another story!
As for the travel, i say look for airfare deals and base your decision on that.
venice in italy?
Gorgeous!
I highly recommend Switzerland! My father-in-law and his wife live there and it is beautiful. Last year, besides staying at their house in the Swiss Alps, we went to Zermatt and Lauterbrunnen. The views and hiking are incredible! Not to mention their chocolate 🙂
Paris is the first European city I visited and it will always be my first love, I love Paris. Prague and Vienna are also beautiful European cities!
We are headed to Croatia on July 3rd. I’ll let you know how it is when we get back! It should be the perfect mix of old europe, relaxing on a sailboat and some adventure.
Exciting! Have fun!!
I’ve heard great things about Antigua and Bora Bora! I’m looking into them for my honeymoon!
I highly recommend Iceland! It is a beautiful place with TONS of activities!!
Happy anniversary! Ireland is a great place to visit and lots of opps for hiking, walking, running. Also great walking around towns: Rome! Athens! Rome was our fav walking city. So many places so little time!!!!
I don’t exchange gifts for anniversaries either. We always go on a trip. I would suggest St. Lucia as a possible trip idea – zip lining, snorkeling, kayaking, etc. Lots of things to do & beautiful as well.
I agree – St Lucia was fun, running was tough (where we were) as streets are narrow (with no sidewalks) but there was great hiking (Pitons!)
My family has a house in Croatia that we’ve been to for the past two summers and it’s AMAZING. Croatia is a hidden secret! Its gorgeous along the Dalmatian seacoast and it’s a hidden gem that isn’t too touristy. We have a house in Split but I know the Dubrovnik is a must-see there (it’s the capitol and it’s more of a city).
I’m a total cake person! Usually I scrape off about half the icing.
As far as vacation, I went to Barclona, Spain a few years ago and it was pretty amazing. And the place I’ve always wanted to go to in Europe is Greece.
A frosting overdose as a kid (seriously I lost friends over it – I stole the frosting off of everyone’s cupcakes at pre-school) has had me turned off to it for the most part.
But I’m also not so much into cake – so I make up my own answer and say I am a pie person.
As the girl that has only been out of the country once for like 60 hours for a weekend trip just south of the border, I do not have any ideas for international travel for ya.
Thought that was a giant cake, until you held it easily in your tiny hands. I can’t have too much frosting with the cake or I gag. But that’s only if it’s crappy frosting. Good frosting, I can eat without the cake.
I need that cake. The gooey stuff is the best. All of it. My birthday is next week.
P.S. M&B …. go (run!) to …. I-t-a-l-y. The best place ever. You will never regret or forget it. Especially wonderful before those babies!
I agree with Italy!!! I’m there right now studying abroad for the summer and everywhere is BEAUTIFUL! Highly recommend the Almafi Coast (Positano, Sorrento, etc.) near Naples if you want amazing beaches–there are enough stairs going down to the beaches to get an awesome workout in! And then of course Venice if seeing a bigger city is more your thing; you’d have to get up really early to get a run in before it gets too busy, but so worth it! Where ever ya’ll decide I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time though:) Happy anniversary!
Two words: Incan Trail.
(I didn’t read the other comments, so if it’s there I enthusiastically second it).
Come to Scotland! The weather isn’t great but there’s loads of outdoor activities to do and beautiful scenery!
Cake girl here too 🙂 The Greek island Corfu is one of my favourite holiday places, it is small so you can see everything in a week or two and it is so beautiful!!
Bora Bora in a hut above the water like Tamara and Eddie.
I think I might have to boycott your blog due to your lack of love for frosting, so weird. Just not normal.
How much time do you have? New Zealand is a great, super beautiful outdoorsy/active place to visit, but because of flight prices, it’s probably not worth it to go unless you have 2 weeks!
We have our first anniversary coming up, but are just planning a cheap long-weekend trip…probably a cabin and hiking in the mountains.
I vote either Vietnam where you can bike down the Ho Chi Mihn trail then take the train back up and stop at all the beach. Or Ecuador! Galapagos, Andes, Amazon and amazing beaches!
I’m a cake and frosting person as long as it’s good stuff. Grocery store birthday cake tastes like cardboard covered in crisco to me.
I would totally recommend going to the Dominican Republic. My husband and I went two years ago and we cannot wait to go back! We went to an all inclusive resort in Punta Cana and it was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and there was plenty to do. It was amazing!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I second Rio. They have beautiful beaches, you can see the Christo statue, and we went to a soccer game (I’m not sure when soccer season is though). Everyone there speaks English which helps, and they are probably cleaning it up a lot to prepare for the World Cup.
I think I am one of the lucky few, well some will say not so lucky. I do not like typical cake and definitely no frosting. I also do not like any chocolate at all. Yes, I said that. No chocolate. I love angel food cake and muffins. that’s it for sweet. Do they even frost angel food cake? I think not.
total frosting girl. there seems to be more cake people than frosting people though, which usually works out well for me! (“oh sure, i’ll eat that extra frosting”). i also vote you go to hawaii (even though its not out of the U.S.). i cant help it, its just so nice there!!
Mediterranean coast? Or Barcelona – one of my fav european cities!
Cake person for sure! And I vote for Greece – haven’t been there but I would if I could!
Jay and I spent our honeymoon in St. Lucia and we both absolutely LOVED it! They have plenty of activities to do around the island too. We snorkeled, walked through a volcano, and visited a hot mineral springs waterfall, but I know there’s also hiking, zip lining, and other fun stuff around too. Feel free to ask any questions if you have ’em! 🙂
Some of my favorite vacation cities are London, but not this summer, it will be too busy, Barcelona, so beautiful, Salzburg and the Sound of Music Tour cheesy but fun. Playa del Camen in Mexico is beautiful, we swam with turtles in the ocean for free, not at an Ecopark for $100. Good Luck making a choice.
Go to Hong Kong!! You can find reasonable flights from LAX. There are so many outdoor things to do and it is amaaazing. I used to live there but have not been back in a few years. GO and I will live vicariously through you!
Or hop on the boat with SR and take a trip around the Alaskan seas… that doesn’t count as a cruise, does it?
Gotta put in my two cents…Roatan, Honduras…specifically, CoCoView Resort for scuba divers. It’s insanely gorgeous diving, lazy hammocks, cheap beer and great weather.
I’m scared of SCUBA, could I snorkel and still get a good experience?
I’m totally a frosting person – although I couldn’t eat it by itself. I need cake too. So I’m an equal opportunity sweet eater 😉
I have no tips on your trip, but hopefully you can figure out something amazing!
Congrats on your 3rd anniversary. You guys should check out Playa del Carmen and the surrounding areas. They have lots of active activities including climbing/hiking mayan ruins and diving into cenotes for beautiful swimming.
Our 4th anniversary was Tues ;0)
How about Cinque de Terra in Italy. It’s five small towns in the Italian Riviera that are connected by hikes.
Happy Anniversary!
I recommend Puerto Vallarta – 100x over! Aaron and I have been there twice, and hope to eventually move there (or somewhere just like it, still undecided. He wants Belize). We stayed at Dreams, but the new Secrets resort looks amazing too!
Ben is more than welcome to spend the day with my 2 1/2 yr old and 10 mo old. Afterwards, he’ll want to wait a little longer to have kids too.
Frosting!
We celebrated my birthday with a trip to France last year and as I’m now expecting we also wanted to go somewhere that we probably wouldn’t be making the trip to for awhile after baby. It was amazing. Paris, Burgundy, Provence the South of France and Monaco. I cannot express how much we loved it and what a great mix of experiences we were able to enjoy!!
Brazil! I loved Rio–hiking, paragliding with the beach right there (duh!). Plus the food is ah-mazing! Make sure Ben is comfortable wearing a Speedo because a lot of guys seemed to do that around town.
He keeps throwing out Rio, but I wasn’t sure what there is to do there. I’ll tell him about the Speedos 🙂
I have to say i”m probably more of a cake girl, especially if the frosting is super sugary. Or Bright blue. Nothing makes me want to eat frosting less than the tought of having neon blue teeth for the rest of the day.
I would vote Iceland! We just got back from our vacation there, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Plus, it’s affordable, very safe, fun, and we didn’t even have to exchange currency, as they accept majors cc.
Plus, if you go during spring and summer, it’s always bright out 🙂
Ugh, I hate when there’s a big blob of frosting on cakes or cupcakes.
I don’t think there could ever be too much cake in my life though… no, definitely not.
Send Ben to Florida (his family’s here, right?) to be my manny. You can come too, of course, and we’ll take advantage of his domesticity and go have margis on the beach while he raises my child.
Come to Madrid!
Since you are a Real housewives addict like me, I am surprised you aren’t thinking of Bora Bora, since that is where Tamra and Eddie went. I am curious how much a vaca costs there? It.looks.awesome. Just like that cake and mexican food. Yum!!
And I am a frosting person but love to eat both 🙂
I MIGHT have checked into those huts over the water….1600/night. Woof
I hear Columbia, MD is great this time of the year! We even have a Wegmans!
Ha! Noted 😉 Maybe I’ll visit in Sept for Fitbloggin…
Peru or Bolivia!
THAILAND!!!!!!!!!
most expensive part of the trip are your flights. so worth it
Highly recommend Prague. Prague is relatively inexpensive, extremely walkable and very romantic. I got engaged there last summer!
I’m a frosting girl all the way. I used to eat the glaze off doughnuts and leave the guts for my dad. You and I could be great cake-sharing friends.
Happy anniversary btw! Love the wedding photos. Oh, and Puerto Rico is an amaaaazing place to visit.
I would suggest Cinque Terre – it’s off the coast if Italy and is made up of five fishing villages. It’s absolutely beautiful! Small, quaint, amazing food, friendly people, lots of hiking, and romantic! Either that, or Santorini, Greece. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been! I went with friends, but going with a significant other would be really awesome!
Happy Anniversary, again! 🙂
I’m definitely a cake girl. I normally scrape off as much of the frosting as I can..unless it’s a Sprinkles cupcake! Yum!
Monica– go to PERU! It is relatively inexpensive to travel once you’re there and you can find pretty inexpensive flights. Fly into Lima, and then to Cusco, spend some time there and from there go to Machu Picchu. Depending on how long you’re going for, I also recommended going to Lake Titicaca! I’ve heard Arequipa and the north coast is nice too, but I haven’t been there myself. (If you’d like some recommendations of hostels and travel tips let me know!)
I would go hiking… or walking…. PEru?
I’m totally a cake person. And, I do the same thing with Oreos. I like the cookie part better.
As for travel suggestions, I can only tell you one of the places I hope to go someday — Brazil. My best friend was born there and lived there until she was in her early teens. She lives in the U.S. now, but her parents live in Brazil. I would love to visit while they’re there … I have three years until my friend starts having babies (thus, the parents will move to the States). I guess I better get on that, huh?
Ireland is awesome – especially in the Fall. I went for the second time last year in October for the Dublin marathon and had a wonderful time. The weather was great at that time of year too!
The Cook Islands! It is like going to Bora Bora or Tahiti but for 1/4 the cost and 1000x more relaxed (aka not hoity-toity). It isn’t overrun with people, there are no chain restaurants, you can get a hut on the beach for around $300 a night, or the one behind that for even less. There is snorkeling, hiking, biking, sea kayaking, canoeing, etc. It’s a New Zealand territory or something so English is the main language, the exchange rate is in our favor, there’s a direct flight from LAX, Costco sells great packages… I could go on and on. It really is a hidden gem, email me if you want. I won’t write an essay here and fill up your comments 🙂
I’m totally more of a cake than frosting person too. When I make cupcakes, I leave some without frosting for me… and the part of the cake you have to cut off to make it level? that’s so my treat!
Looks like you guys have stayed on this side of the world, why not try a European location? I’m going to Paris in two months, and I’m so excited!
Happy 3 years! I’ll be celebrating 3 in the end of August. My husband and I just got back from Aruba, it was our second time there. If you like Curacao I think you would really like Aruba. It’s a beautiful, small country with lots to see and do. It’s also very safe!
Looks like a nice anniversary!
I am shocked you’re not an icing girl. I’m the one who eats the frosting from an Oreo and leaves the cookie part in the box!
THAILAND, THAILAND, THAILAND. Very active, outside the US, and safe. The Thai culture is so peaceful! And, although it may be expensive to get to, it is so cheap once you’re there.
I’ll tell anyone who will listen to go to Berlin. What time of year are you planning to go? So far all of the European cities I’ve hit have been not only walking friendly, but super biking friendly and generally offer tours. I did my first one 2 years ago in Berlin and have since done bike tours in 4 more cities and I think it’s really the best way to see all of the sites without having to spend your entire day getting to and from.
The Italian/French Riviera. Lots of small towns. Everything is walking distance. Very romantic. Plus there are mountains to hike along with caves. The beaches are gorgeous. And a there are many other cool places within driving distance, or a train trip away. Stay away from London this summer because of the Olympics. 🙂 Good luck choosing.
Sounds like a great anniversary! I can’t say enough great things about Argentina. Safe, beautiful and such a variety of things to do…definitely recommend getting out of Buenos Aires and exploring other regions of the country. Plus the people were incredible and the food and wine were great (can’t ask for much more than that!)
I’m seconding Argentina – visit BA for a few days, go south to Bariloche, or west to Mendoza area, or north to Salta for mountains and Iguazu for waterfalls. It’s amazing!
Hey Monica! Happy belated anniversary! What about Turks or Caicos (or is it Turks and Caicos? Not sure there…)
Hey Monica, first time reader here commenting! Hmm, what about Australia?
Ben would LOVE to go to Australia. The flight is killer expensive, but it’s on the short list 🙂