Trials and tribulations of traveling during pregnancy TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

Pregnancy can seem like a constant waiting game.

It’s not a rush for the baby to arrive so much as it is passing certain milestones safely — the anxious first three months, the five-month exam, the long final stretch that hopefully leads to a healthy, full-term baby. (more…)

I am here, my brain is not — either it stayed in Cuba or ‘baby brain’ has arrived TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

Realizing we just recently returned from Cuba, I understand the absurdity of declaring how very much I could use a vacation.

See, the thing is, I’ve lost my mind. OK, not in the asylum sense, but most definitely in a temporary way. (more…)

Stacked deli sandwiches, the Chelsea Hotel and cool vintage shoes in NYC TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

There sit the turtle shoes, perched on a small bench in my kitchen. They are a reminder of New York … New York! They are well traveled and at least two sizes too small.

Each time I move to a new house, the turtle shoes wait, alongside mountains of boxes and random packing materials, for their fate to be determined.

Each time I move to a new house, the question always is this: Will they join me in my new abode? (more…)

Pick a road, any road TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

I believe travel can take you anywhere.

If you can imagine it, are able to weave together even the smallest fragments of visuals to create a whole picture of your ideal place, space and way of life, you have a shot at finding it. Sitting idle, as we know, creates no momentum. It offers nothing to stir the big old pot of life with. (more…)

Feeling the winter pinch — and no travel plans in sight TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

Already the winter blues are nagging away at my sunny-day spirit.

The chill is in the bones, it’s sapping my once bronzed skin of its happy, sun-kissed glow, and it’s in the faces of passersby — the sad look of winter weariness taking over. (more…)

Tracing my roots back to the Swedish Laplands TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

It began with a book-sized stack of papers outlining my family’s genealogy. The trouble is, the information — obviously quite thorough and incredibly well researched judging from the copies of immigration forms, government-issued documents and church records — is all written in Swedish.

The information came from my dad’s first cousin in Sweden, eventually sparking a need for me to go there and see some of the roots of my family tree in person.  (more…)

Growing, growing gone — the banana pepper vs. the pesky squirrel TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

When I moved into my new home this past winter just shy of a certain holiday, which shall go unnamed in this splendid Toronto heat wave (hint: it’s known for a big-bellied dude in a fuzzy red ensemble), I imagined the arrival of summer and the rather magical arrival of the green thumb that would come with it.

While part of the drawback of home ownership is the responsibility of it, there are plenty of joys as well. (more…)

Memories of a trip I’ve never done — surfing in Costa Rica TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

Timing may not be everything, though it certainly accounts for countless life decisions we make, directions we take and road maps we follow.

It doesn’t always work in our favour, this thing called timing. It can end relationships, friendships and, most definitely, travel plans. (more…)

Flying across the globe with my super magical Quidditch stick TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

There I am wild-haired and free. My tresses are more than just casually windswept. They are more mixed up than a tossed salad, and I am wearing a ridiculously big, happy grin, stretching from ear to ear. This is how I remember it, anyway.

Sometimes a dream comes into such clear focus at dawn, it takes a moment or two to shake off the sleepy-eyed cobwebs and realize that no, this creative force of subconscious wonderment didn’t actually happen. Well, not in real, conscious time, anyway. (more…)

Traveling my way to finding an inner foodie and the best recipe for great living TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

These three words hit my ears like daggers. Dull daggers, but daggers nonetheless: “I would but …”

It’s the lazy man’s — or woman’s — exit. The stuck-in-a-rut, three-word recipe for inaction. An excuse, an escape plan, evidence of a massive reluctancy to change.

It’s strange because as much as we might pride ourselves on being creatures of habit, change really is the pulse of living. It keeps our brains sharp and going strong on the development track, wiring us up with new, funky neuron pathways to explore. (more…)

Chic Savvy Travels gets a hilarious shot of testosterone TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

After returning from a trip to New Zealand, I was in a fair bit of pain.

Surprisingly my aches weren’t caused by being dangled off the Skytower in Auckland or being whipped around on some weird adventure concept in Rotorua called a Shweeb (which is kind of like bungee-ing toward the ground in a giant sleeping bag stuffed with three people). (more…)

Chic Savvy Travels speaks to J-school students TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

It’s been just over three months since Chic Savvy Travels launched and we’ve been busy up to our eyeballs with to-do lists.

Running a website can be extremely rewarding — you run the show, don’t have to deal with horrifyingly bad bosses and you get to choose who you collaborate with. Of course, we’re graced with a pool of smart, adventurous and talented writers that amaze and inspire us. (more…)

Meet the great disconnect TANYA ENBERG, Chic Savvy Travels

Oh, South Africa. I’ve fallen hard for this place where the landscape changes quickly, as though I am traveling through entirely new countries along every stretch of road. Coastal life turns into small arid villages just a short drive away, and bustling buzzing city life makes way for hushed and super chilled rural finds. (more…)