I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[havaneselover]

I'm 15ish miles from dt seattle and would have to drive 30 min to bellevue to go to a whole foods. They aren't all over. More trader joes around here. Though we do also have PCC which is similar but for that I'd have to go into the city. I don't think any of them find those south of seattle would want to shop for healthy expensive food. But like I've said before, we are so grocery store deprived out here it's ridic. One of the things I do miss about NC.

I was sort of joking but we do have plenty of them here. Fresh Market may also do vegan cakes (or dairy free). I just don’t like buying stuff like that from places that don’t specialize in it. Either it will taste gross or I worry about cross contamination.

 

[hsmamato2]

5000 Hyatt points for 50 transactions posted for both accounts!

Thanks for the headsup! Got ours too!

 

[afan]

I was sort of joking but we do have plenty of them here. Fresh Market may also do vegan cakes (or dairy free). I just don’t like buying stuff like that from places that don’t specialize in it. Either it will taste gross or I worry about cross contamination.

Granted I don't order cakes often, but I feel like it's something regular grocery stores would advertise if they did it. Plus a lot of the stores around here don't have the same full service bakery any more as they've centralized it, same with the deli. So a lot of that prepared stuff is done elsewhere and delivered. I think they only do the bread now. They took out the case where you could buy fancy or individual cookie sandwiches. I used to like watching them decorate too. But none of that stuff was gluten free.

I agree that it would be better to ask a neighboorhood group on fb or on nextdoor to find an actual bakery that does it. It seems like there's way more bakery's open than there was a few years ago and I think allergies and diets is part of it. It's easier for a small location to keep stuff separate for allergies than it is for a grocery store that's making multiple cakes out of one batter.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

@RhodyKP @CyndiLouWho @gottalovepluto

Thank you all for the replies and advice! There are a lot of airlines to choose from including SW. I admit I was surprised with all the “no carry-on” and checked bag charges. I did just create SW RR accounts for each of us. Should I be looking to book roundtrip flights or each leg separately? The biggest problem is I am not certain about the exact dates I want (or even the trip itself) but I wanted to first map it out and see approximately how much it would be and what is involved with the booking process. That's when it hit me that I'm in over my head, lol. Sounds like I need to figure it out by March 31. If I remember correctly, last time I booked a flight, I actually called the airline and booked it over the phone. Does that seem crazy or what?

 

[wanderlust7]

@RhodyKP @CyndiLouWho @gottalovepluto

Thank you all for the replies and advice! There are a lot of airlines to choose from including SW. I admit I was surprised with all the “no carry-on” and checked bag charges. I did just create SW RR accounts for each of us. Should I be looking to book roundtrip flights or each leg separately? The biggest problem is I am not certain about the exact dates I want (or even the trip itself) but I wanted to first map it out and see approximately how much it would be and what is involved with the booking process. That's when it hit me that I'm in over my head, lol. Sounds like I need to figure it out by March 31. If I remember correctly, last time I booked a flight, I actually called the airline and booked it over the phone. Does that seem crazy or what?

Do you have UR? You can transfer to Southwest. I think that would have the most flexibility. You would get around 1.5 cent per point. They would be stuck as SW points, but you can book for other people and the points never expire. If you paid cash, the travel credit would be tied to the person and expire in a year.

When booking SW, I do 2 one-ways. There's no price difference and makes it easier to change.

 

[Hoosier John]

Rental Company Car shortage reported on NBC Nightly News, because the rental companies sold off a lot of inventory last year, and there is a computer chip shortage, slowing manufacturing of new cars.

Suggested to book early, and make a back-up booking (just remember to cancel). Things might get better by fall.

 

[Haley R]

I didn't know there were places without Whole Foods!

I highly reommend you find a good local vegan bakery.

There weren’t any Whole Foods when we lived in Iowa either. I’m gonna give Publix a call first to see what they say

ETA: I called both Publix and target and neither can make a dairy free cake. I might make ds’s smash cake on my own since it should be simple enough then order a large cake for everyone else to eat

 

[havaneselover]

There weren’t any Whole Foods when we lived in Iowa either. I’m gonna give Publix a call first to see what they say

ETA: I called both Publix and target and neither can make a dairy free cake. I might make ds’s smash cake on my own since it should be simple enough then order a large cake for everyone else to eat

Yeah, I wouldn't think there are a ton in IA but there are a lot in FL.

I think that's smart. Publix makes a decent cake.

 

[Haley R]

Yeah, I wouldn't think there are a ton in IA but there are a lot in FL.

I think that's smart. Publix makes a decent cake.

I love the Publix bakery. I was planning on his smash cake just being single layer and small anyway so that shouldn’t be too hard. I wasn’t going to go crazy decorating it since he’ll just destroy it lol

 

[havaneselover]

I love the Publix bakery. I was planning on his smash cake just being single layer and small anyway so that shouldn’t be too hard. I wasn’t going to go crazy decorating it since he’ll just destroy it lol

I swear their yellow cake with buttercream frosting tastes like twinkies (that's a good thing to me. Can't believe he's almost a year old. What a year, huh?

 

[Jax1023]

So DH and I are considering a kid free weekend away for our anniversary in mid May.

I have 3 35k bonvoy free night certificates.

We live right outside Philly and would like to keep this to 3ish hours drive.

I know there are some people who like Ocean City, MD- is there anywhere there that would work?

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I love the Publix bakery. I was planning on his smash cake just being single layer and small anyway so that shouldn’t be too hard. I wasn’t going to go crazy decorating it since he’ll just destroy it lol

You might be surprised to see that he won't even touch it lol. When my LO had his 1st birthday back in November, he did not want any part of the cake and cried when we all sang haha. Some of my coworkers said their kids did the same thing too. We got his smash cake from BJs Wholesale Club and it was a mini 5" double layer cake for like $6. Bargain! Good luck on making/finding the perfect cake for your baby.

 

[chattadisser]

I love the Publix bakery. I was planning on his smash cake just being single layer and small anyway so that shouldn’t be too hard. I wasn’t going to go crazy decorating it since he’ll just destroy it lol

Love their bakery! I prefer their cakes over any others. As an FYI for future cakes...don't feel limited by the cakes they have in their book, they will decorate almost anything on a cake. Oldest DD had a Candyland themed party one year and they did an awesome job decorating it. Of course, that may be dependent on the cake decorators at each store. And birthday cakes will earn bonus points for the grocery category - just to keep it on topic!

 

[Judique]

So DH and I are considering a kid free weekend away for our anniversary in mid May.

I have 3 35k bonvoy free night certificates.

We live right outside Philly and would like to keep this to 3ish hours drive.

I know there are some people who like Ocean City, MD- is there anywhere there that would work?

Used to be but as of this spring they've upped the Courtyard, Aloft, Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn to Cat 7 and 6 respectively. It's very disappointing to say the least.

They've even messed up the cat 6 for summer making them 60K.

The Residence Inn was quite nice with a zero entry outdoor pool, although May is too cool still.

Rehoboth Beach has a 35K Fairfield Inn but it's on the highway - super busy route 1 area. I shop the outlets but haven't stayed there.

Chincoteague Island - another hour south of OC has a nice Fairfield Inn that I have stayed at that is 35K. But you have to drive to the water, and pay to enter the park and it's not beach weather. The town has little to offer in May until it gets warmer.

It's sad for 35K's. DD and I are using ours at TownePlace Suites on the Outer Banks this summer in July.

 

[havaneselover]

This was my little guy’s smash cake from Publix. He thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[Jax1023]

Used to be but as of this spring they've upped the Courtyard, Aloft, Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn to Cat 7 and 6 respectively. It's very disappointing to say the least.

They've even messed up the cat 6 for summer making them 60K.

The Residence Inn was quite nice with a zero entry outdoor pool, although May is too cool still.

Rehoboth Beach has a 35K Fairfield Inn but it's on the highway - super busy route 1 area. I shop the outlets but haven't stayed there.

Chincoteague Island - another hour south of OC has a nice Fairfield Inn that I have stayed at that is 35K.

It's sad for 35K's. DD and I are using ours at TownePlace Suites on the Outer Banks this summer in July.

Weve previously used ours at homecoming at our college in central NY- the Fairfield in a cat 4 so even with peak pricing it’s only 30k vs $400 cash.

But it was cancelled last year and we have a conflict this year.

One of us has been with the kids 24/7 for a year now. We basically work opposite shifts.

So even if I go to Philly and just sleep past 6:30 it’ll be a plus lol

 

[Alexle2007]

Weve previously used ours at homecoming at our college in central NY- the Fairfield in a cat 4 so even with peak pricing it’s only 30k vs $400 cash.

But it was cancelled last year and we have a conflict this year.

One of us has been with the kids 24/7 for a year now. We basically work opposite shifts.

So even if I go to Philly and just sleep past 6:30 it’ll be a plus lol

What about Lancaster? There are several Cat 4s there.

 

[Jax1023]

What about Lancaster? There are several Cat 4s there.

That’s a possibility- but I think I’d rather go into Philly. At least there are better restaurants! If I was taking my kids, lancaster is fun for Dutch wonderland and mini golf and such. But I can also drive to lancaster in 50 minutes.

Looks like the Marriott in old city would be 35k.

 

[hsmamato2]

I may be in the minority here- I understand that. But I get why the covid talk was all moved off this thread a while back. I haven’t gotten the vaccine and don’t plan to at least for now. I’m not looking to discuss it but it’s getting to be a lot of reading through more posts about that than anything else. I say this respectfully and I appreciate the help I’ve gotten through here and I’ve learned so much but when you’re busy as a lot of us are I just don’t have the time to keep reading about the vaccine, schools, etc. Is there still a covid discussion thread on DISchurners?

ETA: I know people like to have a place to discuss it so maybe I’ll just start checking over on the news thread on Reddit.

IDK..... There are a LOT of posts here that I have no interest in.....I just skim the ones that don't interest me or my situation. I strongly think that as long as we're all here sharing info about cc's,travel,pets,kids,and life in general (even football games! ) I don't have a problem with discussion,in fact I think this thread is one of the nicest bunch around,partly b/c there's so many different types here,and discussion isn't just cc's, but life also.

 

[MKTokyo]

IDK..... There are a LOT of posts here that I have no interest in.....I just skim the ones that don't interest me or my situation. I strongly think that as long as we're all here sharing info about cc's,travel,pets,kids,and life in general (even football games! ) I don't have a problem with discussion,in fact I think this thread is one of the nicest bunch around,partly b/c there's so many different types here,and discussion isn't just cc's, but life also.

You're never going to convince me that Pop Tarts are real food items... but my scrollbar is fully functional...