It’s a dreary day in Orlando.
The pitter patter of raindrops on our apartment roof had me craving warm comfort food.
When I think of comfort food, I imagine meals that cook all day long and make the whole house smell incredibly delicious.
Unfortunately I wasn’t in a patient mood and wanted some quality nourishment fast!
I did quick scan of goods around my kitchen and figured I had all the ingredients to create beef stew.
After slicing, dicing and simmering veggies and beef for about 30 minutes, I had a bubblin’ pot of hearty beef stew! 
Easy Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 lb. beef, cut into cubes (I used eye round because it’s cheap!)
- 3 large red potatoes, chopped
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 can beef broth
- 13 oz. beef stock
- 1/2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. thyme
Directions
- Sautee onion and carrot in a deep pot coated with cooking spray
- Add potatoes, beef broth and beef stock to the onion and carrot and let simmer for 5 minutes
- Add beef, worcestershire sauce and thyme to the pot and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and beef is cooked through
Note: This recipe serves 2 – 3 people (Ryan and I finished the whole pot between the two of us and both had two bowls)
Who says beef stew has to cook for hours?
Honeymoon Hiccup
It’s official… we are not leaving for St. Lucia on Friday for our honeymoon as planned. The resort where we were planning to stay is not welcoming new guests until late next week, so we’re scrambling to make other arrangements.
We are thinking of postponing our St. Lucia trip, but we’re also considering revamping our plans completely and finding a new destination so we can still leave for our honeymoon on Friday.
If you guys have any last-minute travel advice or know of any resorts or travel websites that offer wonderful deals to guests who book a trip at the last possible second, please share!
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My Aunt is a travel agent up here in NC…I’m going to see what she says! She might know of something…she always does my trips and they’re fantastic!
Just emailed her…I’ll get back to you asap with some HOPEFULLY helpful information 🙂
you are so thoughtful! thank you!
maybe try http://www.cheapcarribbean.com?? Sometimes i see some major last minute deals on that site.
good luck!
Check http://www.funjet.com/ or http://www.skyauction.com/
This looks delish and EASY! THanks for sharing- I’ll try this for sure.
oh no! unfortunately i don’t have much advice since my parents or fiancee have handled most the travel plans on various trips. but i bet you can find some cheaper tickets with it being so close. at this point planes/cruises/etc will want to fill those last few seats rather than them going to waste. i hope it all works out!
checkout jetsetter.com and studentuniverse.com
Mmmm. Beef stew is SUCH a great comfort food! I love when my Mommy makes me stew! 😉
Bummer about the honeymoon. But don’t worry, everything will fall into place.
Oh that sucks girl! But everything will be great, If I were you I would save the honey moon til next week! You’ll figure it out girl! Just don’t stress.
Oh man… what a bummer! I hope you guys can figure something out!
Maybe—completely mix it up and drive north to the carolinas/mountains. Post-pone St. Lucia and do your exact trip later…
I have a FEELING this will end up being the best honey-moon ever. The least planned trips ALWAYS are.
You could always go to SF and stay in Napa! It’s gorgeous, romantic, and the city is very happy right now because the Giants just won the World Series 🙂
oh and that stew looks delicious!
Sorry about your honeymoon, Julie! Would you be willing to stay in the USA? You could drive to New Orleans or Charleston? Or you could even fly to Napa and enjoy wine country. Good luck in your search.
Last minute travel website
http://www.site59.com is great, but they changed their name to:
http://us.lastminute.com/index.html
Good luck! I know you will find something great.
We had our “honeymoon” 10 years later, as we got married or eloped on our vacation…planned and in our wedding atire, but secret!!! It was AMAZING!
So on our 10 year, we paid for it in cash, used trading power with our time share to Cabo San Lucas to La Hacienda resort. It was amazing and so great to come home with no bills or debts from it, with just tan, relaxed and fully enjoyed it.
Check travelzoo.com, they have great deals on everything from flights, hotels and entertainment! good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Julie 🙂
here are my 2 best suggestions:
1)try travelzoo.com for some very good deals
2)try to go to the fearrington hotel in North Carolina. It is the BEST hotel in America, in my opinion, and is a vacation destination unto itself. It is part farm, part resort, part hotel, and VERY romantic! I reviewed it on my blog, if you want to check out the link, or if not, please still consider it-it is a GEM! And mazel tov on the nuptials!
http://fritosandfoiegras.blogspot.com/2010/08/fear-not-at-fearrington.html
oh my gosh – what a gorgeous hotel!
the prices are pretty reasonable too-just trying to think of places that will DEFINITELY not have hurricane issues-whatever choice you make will of course be a fabulous one! You are such a fun girl-wherever you go is bound to be a fun and exciting experience!
Try http://www.ratestogo.com for late stuff and good prices with inclusions. And if you aren’t set on the Caribbean (I see why you would be, but with it still being hurricane season…) IF you can afford it…HAWAII. I’ve been going once or twice a year since I was 5.
If not, my parents did their honeymoon in St. John. I went last year- it’s an absolutely perfect mix of luxury convenience, simplicity, and activities- but you can find affordable places too. Check Trip Advisor.
Oh no!! I am so sorry!!
Hey girl,
Sorry to hear about the hiccup!
Check out this site. It specializes in deals for the last minute shopper. I know a bunch of people who have booked cruises through their cruise site, try the resort site!!
http://www.resortvacationstogo.com/
I am so so so going to use that beef stew recipe! 🙂
I am so so so sorry about your vacation!
MAYBE
visit New England…Maine, or Massachusetts I have heard it’s gorgeous in the fall!
Good Luck!
Come to New Orleans! There is so much to do and see. Or what about Napa? And I’m so sorry about St. Lucia… several of my friends have gone there for their honeymoon and loved it, but I’m sure spending time with Ryan will make any destination seem perfect.
oh bummer! i’m sure you’ll have a great trip wherever/whenever you go! we went to southern CA and it was beautiful.
I don’t know if the Dominican Republic was affected but we got a week at Paradisus Palma Real for around $500 by sitting in a time share for an hour. It was a great resort too. We got the deal on Ebay. Good luck with whatever you choose!
I’m so sorry to hear about St. Lucia- what about the Sandals resorts there?? We are going to stay @ the Grande when down there- are they accepting reservations?
I hope it all works out- I know it will- I have a good feeling for the two of you 🙂
Aww! So sad!! I don’t know if you were staying (or supposed to be staying at a Sandals) but if you were, have you considered asking if they would allow you to stay at one of their other resorts on a different island? Bahamas is awesome – we stayed there for our one year honeymoon and loved it (stayed in St. Lucia at the Grande for our honeymoon). Or you could try Jamaica, they have TONS of resorts there from Sandals and I promise, they treat you like royalty!!
Contact Paul: paul@mygetawayguru.com (or send him a note through Facebook): http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=712912690 He deals exclusively with those type of destinations, including last minute stuff. He should be able to help you out. Good luck!
Sorry to hear about your honeymoon!
Not sure if this is too crazy – but – My dad and his girlfriend just got back from an amazing trip to IRELAND – he stayed at some swanky hotels (castles!) and they got the whole package, rental car and flights included for $1200. I’ve been seeing some amazing deals for Ireland online – Google!
🙂
I have used http://www.lastminutecruises.com/ for really cheap last minute cool cruises and http://www.lastminutetravel.com/ for last minute cool trips! There is a ticker and it keeps track of how low the prices are going. I’m sorry about your honeymoon, but on the bright side, at least you were safe here and not stuck on your honeymoon in a hurricane!
And this is another good site: http://www.vacationstogo.com/
Did you have travel insurance? If not, call the airline and find a nice person on the phone and see where you might be able to go for the change fee.
My wedding and honeymoon was in Cabo San Lucas at the Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1298
Beautiful, wonderful and no hurricanes to deal with. Not all inclusive.
Aww Julie I am so sorry 🙁 I do all of my flight booking (and I think they do all accomidations) at cheapair.com, its usually the best deals off any sites. Good luck!
Hey Julie! I’m so sorry to hear about your honeymoon problems. I think that you should wait. You put a lot of thought into your decision and were excited about it. Don’t let this effect your plans too much. You don’t want to end up regretting it. My husband and I got married on may 25th. I am a teacher, so I had to wait until the school year was over to go on our honeymoon since we are from MI but got married on Captiva Island, FL and took off days for that. We didn’t end up going on our honeymoon until June 18th. The wait was hard, but it went by quickly and was well worth the wait. We also had the opportunity to write our thank you notes so when we were on our vacation, we had no worries. Good Luck!
Oh no!!! I hope you guys figure out what will work best for you…whether it be going later or finding a new place.
Oh that’s terrible! Yall will be in my thoughts…hope you get something worked out soon!!!
Boulders Resort in Scottsdale (technically Carefree, AZ) is amazing – you get your own little house to stay in and they’re having some great deals right now. They have an amazing spa and GREAT hiking around there. Not to mention amazing shopping in Scottsdale!
As long as you two are together, it will be pure bliss!
I got married three months ago and we booked our honeymoon through http://www.bookit.com. it included flight, hotel, and the excursions were pretty cheap. We went to Dominican Republic, and probably spent $30 over our booking fee. But they work with all kinds of resorts!It was so fun!
Hi! Love your blog and just saw this post- I have used tntvacations.com (the website is a little slow to load) for multiple last minute trips- GREAT package deals- all inclusives- I have used it for trips to both Mexico and Punta Cana.
Good luck!
-Beth
have you tried travelzoo.com? they have a great section on last minute deals…so does pleasantholidays.com and they go to many great places.
Sorry to hear about your honeymoon plans…this might be time to call in a travel agent – they can work miracles – even if you didn’t originally go through one – save yourself some time and stress…and it looks like some of your followers sent you some agent contacts – good luck! Thanks for sharing parts of your wedding! Can’t wait for the full report!
Go to Hawaii! It is magical and soo romantic! The islands are hurting right now with the economy, so hotels are always offering great deals. Airfare may be expensive at the last minute though… But there is so much to do! Perfect weather, lots of activities, and beautiful beaches. Check Travelocity for discounts.
Maybe you can find a good deal with a cruise, or Mexico is nice and inexpensive, I hear. Good luck in whatever you and Ryan decide. Congrats!!
I agree with everyone who recommended lastminute.com. We have booked outstanding deals on the site just a few days in advance. As in, five star hotel for 4 nights plus roundtrip airfair for two in DC for under a thousand total. Killer stuff!
I am SO sorry to hear..
Come visit me in New Zealand. I will give you the best tour of New Zealand (with the adrenalin capital of the world Queenstown, New Zealand) and just a few hours away. The glorious Marlbourough, New Zealand with vineyards galore and the sounds that is is filled with trails, beauty, hikes, kayaking, boating.
It is gorgeous…just not the tropical paradise you planned. However I can promise fantastic new zealand wine, adrenalin sports, wakeboarding, road trips and getting to visit NEW ZEALAND.
originally from LA. moving to NZ was the best thing I have ever done 🙂
Beef stew is complete comfort food to me. My mom always made a huge pot on Halloween–a “stick-to-your-ribs” dinner before trick-or-treating. I think she was trying to fill us up so that we wouldn’t overindulge on candy (never worked! hehe). Yours looks delicious, and I love that it’s so easy!
I’m sorry to hear about the bump in the road in regards to your honeymoon. I guess my advice would be to look into other options, but no so hard that it causes stress. If you find a great deal that feels right, go for it! If not, wait a few more days and stick with your original plan. Wherever you go will be AMAZING!
I would got to the W hotel in Puerto Rico – It’s A-MA- ZING – BRAND NEW and Im sure they can give you a deal youll still get the caribbean sort of feel you were looking for and for a foodie puerto Rico is heaven we have the best food there, thats where Im from 🙂
http://deals.whotels.com/W-Vieques-Resort-3170/so.htm?PS=PS_aa_South_Google_w_hotel_puerto_rico_Exact_103110_NAD_FM
Cheap Flights has come in handy for me planning last minute vacations. If you come to Boston, I’ll give you a tour! It’s cold here though and not really a honeymoon destination. Bermuda might be nice…or Paris!
Keep your head up and squeeze each other tight. I’m glad you’ve remained positive Julie 🙂
Check Club Meds!! They have several Carribbean destinations and they’re all gorgeous. They’re always having deals and specials!
I’m so sorry about the Honeymoon Julie! I hope everything works out with whatever the two of you decide 🙂
Hey! Go to http://www.travelzoo.com/ they always have really good last minute deals.
Sorry to hear about the hiccup. Hope everything works out.
Not sure if this is good for last minute travel, but luxurylink.com has some great deals.