Suitcase Divas: Travel Agent Tips, Tricks & Travel Tales

Gratitude On The Go

• Suitcase Divas • Season 3

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The holidays have a way of speeding up the calendar and slowing down the heart. We leaned into that pause to take stock of what truly mattered this year: a community that keeps showing up, trips that became milestones, and tiny travel comforts that somehow mean the most. From crossing a decade-long Napa and Sonoma dream off the list to recovering health just in time to fly, we trace how gratitude can turn ordinary moments into markers you carry forward.

We dig into why travel amplifies thankfulness. New places wake up your senses—sunsets feel brighter, street food tells a story, and hotel coffee tastes better when you didn’t have to brew it. Even a simple staycation can reset your pace and remind you to be present. We talk about “double gratitude,” the way you feel thankful during a trip and then again when the memory lands, and how that echo can power real planning for what’s next. Experiences over things is more than a trend; it’s a shift that makes budgets, priorities, and calendars line up with values.

That lens inspired our new Gratitude Journal—simple prompts, open space, and intentional questions that help you reflect, dream, and plan your next adventure with clarity. We share practical ways to use it without pressure and explain why the words you choose and the people you surround yourself with can change your trajectory. Clear intentions follow: a full week somewhere warm, a first solo escape, and the courage to put yourself on your own itinerary. Gratitude isn’t just looking back; it’s a compass for where to go next.

If this conversation sparks something, grab the journal in the show notes, take five minutes to write, and map a trip future you will thank you for. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help more travelers find us. Where will your gratitude take you next?

Get your copy of our Gratitude Journal here:

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey guys, so welcome back to Suitcase Diva's podcast where we talk travel, life, and all the beautiful little moments in between. And today, you guys, we are doing something a little bit different, a little reflective, peaceful. So we're coming into Thanksgiving. And we wanted to do a Thanksgiving episode.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. So, and this is our Thanksgiving gratitude episode. Okay. And we're very excited to share this space with you. You know, in this time of year, I think it's always good just to kind of slow us down, give us a chance to kind of notice all the good things that have happened this year and that are in our life. So the people, the moments, the memories from the year, and you know, in our world, all the travel experiences that have shaped who we are.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Awesome. Well, let's start what we're grateful for this year, Jackie. Let's start with gratitude for the present for this year. We're so incredibly thankful for you guys, the listeners, our supporters, all our guests. We've had amazing novelists on. We've had women-owned, we've had air balloon operators. I mean, we've had so much within the last year or two that we're just so grateful for anybody that wants to be part of our little show. And it continues to grow. I'm so happy that our numbers are going up and up. And this year we have something a little bit extra special for you guys. We're putting together a travel gratitude journal. And that's going to help you reflect, dream, and plan for your next adventure with intention, because that's what it comes down to. So it'll be linked in the notes below. We'll have that up, we'll have that available to you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I'm very excited about that. I think it's going to be a great opportunity for us to look back and remember the stories that we've had, we've shared, the destinations we've explored, conversations we've had this year that have changed your lives or opened our hearts. Absolutely. The different types of connections that we've made, and especially with us through the podcast, you know, the people that we've met and everything. But every download, every message, and every, you know, like, hey, I listened, or thank you for that episode. It means so much to us, guys. So thank you. Thank you so very much. We are very grateful. So I did want to mention something that I am personally grateful for this year, talking about present time. I'm definitely grateful for all the personal growth I've had. I've spent a lot of time, just me, myself, and I, kind of getting to know me. And through that, I was able to join an amazing podcast. Don't know if you guys have heard of it. And I've just been super grateful for all the opportunities I've had, even in my business and my wedding show and getting that to grow. So, yes, I have quite a bit to be grateful for this year.

SPEAKER_00:

Indeed. Indeed. And I know a lot of people are grateful through their travels and any little experience or trips they took. How no matter how big or small, I personally am grateful to be able to cross off my amazing 10 plus year bucket list trip to Napa and Sonoma with my best friends from college. That was that was a trip I will never ever forget. So many amazing memories made. And I'm also thankful to my doctors for getting me the surgery, my gallbladder surgery, gallbladder removal research surgery, resurgery. It's just a surgery. Dear Lord, do not let there be a resurgery. It's already gone. It's not there anymore. No, we're not doing it again. No, but it made me so sick. And you remember that time where like I couldn't, I couldn't do the podcast adequately. I couldn't even eat. I couldn't drink water. Like, so for them to get on it and be like, we can get this out. And I only had a few weeks of recovery before I went on that trip. So I am just so I'm so so grateful beyond there's many things I'm grateful for, but that was a trip that I've been planning for over a decade. And I'm very grateful that to be healthy enough and have the ability to go on that trip.

SPEAKER_01:

So yes, yeah, and that's just such an amazing thing. And you know, travel is it just kind of invites gratitude, right? In the sunsets we look for, and the meals that we're planning for, you know, all those special foodie tours we might do, the different cultures we see, and even the people you travel with. That's definitely a big part of it, you know, shaping those memories and having those experiences. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, definitely have to be grateful for that. So, again, in the perspective of travel, because you know, we are travel agents, so this is what we love to talk about. But it definitely gives you a time just to be able to even just step away. So, I mean, I know for me, staycations have been a new and big thing for me, just even just taking a night or two away, just being very grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that, and just taking time to notice life and be able to pay attention to the small things.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, awesome. And so, yeah, and travel, I will say travel forces us to be present. You can't help but be aware you're in a new place, new taste, the culture, the people. It's like gratitude wakes you up for the moment. That that you get on that plane and you are headed to your destination. I'm telling you what, I have major gratitude at that point because who doesn't love to be embarking on a brand new cruise, vacation, where even road trip? You're just so it's good to be grateful for these opportunities, even no matter how big or small. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yep, no, absolutely. So, as a question to our listeners, just curious, guys, to take a moment and ask yourself what trip or moment or experience this year are you thankful for? Did you get to go on your bucket list vacation? Did you get to do a mini staycation or a road trip or maybe take a day or two at your favorite amusement park? Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, a Disney Queen, Disney Queen.

SPEAKER_01:

I was about to say, you know, sometimes a little day trip is just the right therapy that's needed. I'm very grateful for that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And the thing about travel is it makes you grateful twice, right? Because you're grateful for when you take the actual trip, but then you're also grateful to have the memories that you made on that trip. And that's why travel is should always be a part of your life. It should always be. And and it and I love that you get to have the gratitude twice when you're there and then when you reflect on being there and all the adventures you had along the way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. And it's even going back to just taking time to notice and think about the small things. You know, I know when I'm on vacation, you know, maybe at home, I might not always consistently make my coffee every morning or might forget to, you know, go to the grocery store. But the the hotel is always going to have a wonderful cup of coffee for me. And I'm very, very grateful for that every morning that I can have coffee that I didn't have to make, and that's just there for me, you know. So there anything you don't have to make yourself makes it a little tastier and a little sweeter. I swear it does. It tastes so much better. Hotel beds just feel better, the showers are different. Like it's just all the little things all put together.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I remember my mom used to make coffee for us when we would come home from high school. And there's something about the coffee that she made that you can't really replicate replicate that. You know what I mean? Is it and I mean maybe it's just because it was my mom's, but it, you know, it maybe her secret ingredient was love.

SPEAKER_01:

That's what I always say. It's a real ingredient, it does make things taste different. I agree.

SPEAKER_00:

It sure does. And travel reminds us that gratitude isn't just about the past or being grateful isn't just about the past, it's a compass to go into the future and remind us what we want to be grateful for next year. So let's make that our next segment. What do we want to be grateful for next year?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I love that. So, you know, in thinking about this, 2026 seems a little daunting. I can't believe we're already at the end of 2025. Oh my gosh, like I'm pretty sure it's actually January, like the first week of January, and just no one told us. But I know for next year, especially with travel, I do have one big goal. I personally want to take a full week of vacation, full seven days. Nice. Just me. And it's we're gonna go somewhere tropical and warm. So either I will be at a resort for a week or I will be on a beautiful cruise for a week. So stay tuned to see where I'll be going. Okay. But for you, you know, maybe you're going on your honeymoon next year, or maybe your bucket list trip is gonna be checked off next year, or that family vacation you guys have been planning forever is actually taking place and happening. So, you know, next year is a brand new opportunity for all of those fun travel experiences.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and what I will say is I just recently saw a poll that is saying when people are talking about what they want for the hot what they want for Christmas or what they would love to have, it's really on the top of the list is travel in personal experiences. And that doesn't mean it has to be an all-inclusive for a week or a cruise or whatever. It could be a weekend in Vegas, it could be like a camping trip out in, you know, at a campground. Just those per people are saying, I would rather have even an upgrade to a first-class airline ticket than like a new luxury purse or handbag or something like that. People are wanting to travel and they want the experiences and the the personal touch versus a material thing. And I love that. Well, we both love that, especially as travel agents. So that's a good, that's a damn good sign.

SPEAKER_01:

That absolutely is, and I totally agree with that. And that's something that I kind of grew up with. My family was definitely big on experiences over gifts, so you know, we got stuff, but for birthdays and Christmas, yeah, it was more we're gonna take you someplace or take you to something that you would enjoy or go see this and create that experience. So I absolutely love that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and maybe the other thing you could be grateful for, I know a lot of people don't focus on themselves as much. Usually it's about giving, especially as moms, and and I'm I'm not meaning that to be cliche, but I do think typically most moms put everybody else before themselves, but it's okay to do something for you, and I would encourage all of you to put that into your 2026 intentions to do something for you. For me, going into 2026, I would like to do some kind of solo trip like you. I I it would be outside of my wheelhouse and it would be a challenge to me outside of my comfort zone because I like to be the passenger princess. But I bought this Go Wild Pass, and so I really want to get on a plane by myself and go somewhere and do something by myself, and so that is gonna be one of my intentions of 2026 is to no matter where I go or how big or small the trip, I'm gonna be out there navigating on my own out in the real world.

SPEAKER_01:

I love that, and I can promise you with that, Pat, you'll be very grateful for the pricing. So we'll just throw that in there.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, awesome, awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so and you know, guys, gratitude grows when intention grows, okay? Yeah, intention can begin with the imagination of what you want your future self to thank you for, right? What do you want in a year to be able to say, wow, I'm so proud of myself for, or I want to thank myself for taking the time to, you know, what do we want to be able to say to ourselves? And that's kind of where it begins.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and that is absolutely why Jackie and I came up with this travel gratitude journal, because I think that is gonna help you all decide like, what am I grateful for today? But yet bringing us into 2026, what do I want to be grateful? Because I will tell you, I, you know, having gratitude in your life and part of the journal is you know, the three things per day or whatever. It doesn't have to be every day, but what are the three things you hear? All the self, you know, coaches out there being like, gratitude is everything. Like a list, three things you're gonna you're grateful for in the morning, three things you're grateful for at night. If you can't make that list every day, I know it's busy, the days all running together, and but just putting gratitude in your life and intentionally putting gratitude in your life will change your life. Because if you surround yourself with people that are negative, that do not have gratitude, then I will tell you, I've been around that situation and it's miserable. If you include gratitude in your life, positive things are gonna start happening. If you surround yourself with like-minded people that have gratitude in your life, things are going to shift and you will have positive things happen. You will have a kind of self-esteem and happiness that you're like, where did this come from? How am I feeling this? Um, so I would have to say intentional gratitude in your life will change your life. And surrounding yourself with people that also share that same concept of intentional gratitude daily is going to make a positive impact in your life. So think about who you're surrounding yourself with now. Just as just take a practice a pause and just think who am I surrounding myself with every day? Are these people positive? Are they lifting me up and congratulating me or giving me or you know, give put filling my cup? Or are these people making digs or not noticing your accomplishments or trying to overshadow what you've done for yourself for growth? That's what you need to do. Just take a moment and think if these if this is the type of people I'm hanging around, maybe I need to let some of them go. Maybe I need to focus my attention and my energy into leaning into more positive people and more grateful people that show gratitude because that will absolutely I am a proven fact of if you surround yourself with positivity and grateful people, it will improve your life significantly. Don't you think that can absolutely ring true?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, no, I absolutely agree. And you know, I always heard the phrase, you know, you are who you hang around or you are who you associate with. So, you know, just always be cautious of that. And it's so true what you're talking about, even just positive words. Positive, I know everyone's like, oh, we do affirmations and everything, but writing down and being intentional about what you are thankful for, what you're grateful for in your life, and putting that positivity in there does make a huge difference. And it's funny, it made me um think of this one study I saw, and actually, I believe it was actually at the travel convention last year, where they talked about how you know positivity really does affect us. And it's a study where they talk to rice every day. They take a cup of rice and they take one cup and they say all these negative things to it, and then they take another cup and say all these positive things to it. And the negative rice within like a week or so just starts growing mold for no other reason than you are saying negative things, putting that negativity out there does affect you. So imagine what it does to us as people in our minds. So keeping that positivity, keeping that gratitude is definitely going to be life-changing, as Denise said. And with that, again, talking about the suitcase Divas travel gratitude journal. Yeah, as she said, it's gonna be just a simple way for you guys to be able to reflect, you know, daily when you have a quick minute. Yeah. Again, we totally understand everyone has busy lives, so we tried to keep it super simple, no hard questions, I promise. Okay, but just somewhere for you guys to be able to have a space just to take that time and bring that positivity into your life.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I agree. So, so we will be giving you the gratitude journal. There's definitely we have specific prompts in there for you, but there's also space in the back of the journal where you can write your own prompts or you can just reflect on what you're going through. But just an example of some of the prompts are like what travel experience this year changed me, and even what small way, what fear do I want to leave behind before my next adventure? Because we've all been traveling and come realize something like, oh, I didn't know that was a hang up, or I didn't know that this was a thing for me. So, or like, what do I want future me to thank present me for? I I look back, I look forward to going to 2026 and looking back and being like, thank you for setting these intentions, and and I've achieved this. So all of these things are just we we're putting this journal out because we both have realized that having a journal, writing stuff down, being intentional, having gratitude has made a world of difference for us this year. It really has changed our lives, and we would love to change your lives too by having you experience that same type of positive effect. So that's why we are putting this journal out for you guys this year.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, and I love that. And I know this was kind of mentioned before, but you know, we want you guys to think of it as kind of like a compass. You know, we love to talk travel, but guiding you to the experiences that are going to bring you joy and connection and adventure and maybe even peace and relaxation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. So as we head into this Thanksgiving holiday, we hope you do take a moment to breathe. Maybe practice the pause. I don't know how many of you are spending time with family. You might you might need to just take a pause and then just be present in the moment that you're in. I mean, maybe you're traveling somewhere that there's snow and you don't get to see snow. Just be grateful that you got that experience. I hope you get out on Sunday if you need to get out on Sunday. Yes. But that could be an experience in the airport too. Maybe you meet your new best friend there. You just always have to be looking for the good because you guys, there is good everywhere if you're looking for it. I mean, yeah, you can find good and positivity anyway. You just gotta kind of find that silver lining and and kind of spin it the right way. Because what good is it to be a Grinch? Nothing good is gonna come out of that. You just gotta you gotta keep the positivity flowing.

SPEAKER_01:

I agree, right? You gotta keep it up, you gotta keep dreaming, keep planning, keep pushing for it, and most importantly, give yourself permission. Okay, I know Denise mentioned, you know, there are probably some moms listening to this and just busy entrepreneurs or busy people, and sometimes we get caught up in that. But don't forget that you can allow yourself to take that moment, take that weekend, take that week, and to do something for you and to you know fulfill your dreams.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. So, from our suitcase family, diva's family to yours, we just want you to be, we're just thankful for you. We're thankful for all you guys. We hope that you have a lovely holiday and that the gratitude journal. I hope you guys all find it. I hope you print it out, and I hope you use it because it will change your life for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely, yes. We are very grateful for you guys, not just this month or tomorrow, but every month. Okay, so happy Thanksgiving, divas. I hope you guys all have a wonderful, wonderful holiday.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, and thank you for being part of our journey. Have a great holiday, guys. Bye, guys.

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Cheryl

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Denise

Host

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