Last year at this time, I was planning a trip to London. COVID rumors were just starting to trickle out, but we were able to sneak our trip in under the wire, just before the whole world turned upside-down. We barely made it back to the USA before the borders closed. No one could have known what we were in for during 2020, but it certainly wasn’t what ended up happening, that’s for sure! All our travel plans were cancelled over and over, let alone regular day to day activities.

Some people would say 2020 was the worst year ever, but I would disagree. It was a very eventful, hard, and crazy year, but fortunately, I grew a lot from everything we as a family experienced. But, that’s not to say I am not extremely fatigued by everything. I’ve turned off the news and the noise from the outside world and decided to focus on the peace I can feel within my own walls and trying to put out positive rather than contributing to the negative.

And…I’m dreaming a bit, too. Maybe a lot. I miss normalcy and the freedom to travel and explore the world I so enjoy. I’ve been thinking a lot about all the great memories and experiences we have had individually and as a family as we have embarked on our various travels. There are a ton of great memories there! I’m not so much a collector of things, but of experiences. If given the opportunity to receive a tangible object or go experience something, I’ll always choose the latter. So, in a way, travel has given me a treasure trove of experiences. I’m super grateful for them all.

I recently found the greatest shop on Etsy, MassiveWanderlust, that sells the coolest products. I am so excited to share this shop with you because it is actually amazing! The first thing that jumped out at me was this large scratch off map.

I love the idea of this world map, available in gold or silver, that you can scratch off specific destinations you have been. Even as specific as individual states. Once you scratch off the places you have been, you are left with vibrant colors and a clean picture of the destination. These maps are completely customizable, you can personalize to whatever specifications you desire. The quality of the products are superb! Shop owner Olivier was so incredible to work with, accommodating special requests and so helpful in the process of ordering. I highly recommend working with him! He can create custom orders, as well!

I love being able to have this map in a prominent space in my home, reminding me of all of our adventures together. It puts a big smile on my face. It’s always great to have a reason to smile, right? It also gives me ideas of destinations to learn and dream about and perhaps plan for one day when the world resumes again. It’s a really cool piece that displays the memories and experiences I’ve collected over time and I think that is a wonderful thing!

I really can’t rave about my experience with MassiveWanderlust enough. I know where I will be creating some custom gifts in the future! While I love the idea of traveling the world, you can get so many different items in his shop. Scratch off posters of National Parks, the United States, maps of the night sky, the list goes on and on! So, stop what you are doing and go explore his shop and daydream yourself. Pick a piece or two that will remind you of great places you’ve gotten to visit or where you hope to go someday.