Friday Favorites: Must Have Travel Items When Renting a Mountain House

Vacationing in the mountains this year? Check out our list of must have travel items when renting a mountain house or cabin.

We’re getting ready to head out of town with our besties for a long weekend away.

Last week we shared all about this annual trip we do with our friends and told you we were going to Saint Augustine, Florida.

Well, since Hurricane Ian also arrived in Florida this week we decided to just pivot.

Who remembers that Friends episode when they were trying to move a couch into the apartment building and Ross started yelling “pivot”? lol

Ahh… we love that show, don’t you?!

Anyway, we scrambled and our text thread blew up but in a matter of hours, we decided on a new location and booked a beautiful house in the mountains of Tennessee.

We’ll be staying in Sevierville, TN which is near Gatlinburg and none of our group has been there.

We’re excited to get away even if it rains all weekend (which seems to be the case for most areas within driving distance) we’ll have a blast!

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

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6 Chowder Recipes To Try For a Chowder Cook-Off Party

Did you see last week’s monthly dinner party club theme?

We hosted a Chowder Cook Off!

AnnMarie created a fun buffet with everything needed to host, including voting cards.

And Anne whipped up a Healthy Crab & Corn Chowder recipe.

Then on Saturday, we shared all six recipes from our blogging friends.

We thought it was so interesting to see how unique each recipe was, and also the similarities.

If you love great soup and chowder recipes, be sure to get all the recipes to enjoy!

Anne’s Family Room Decorated for Fall with Vintage Finds

We both love decorating with vintage finds and antiques.

When fall rolls around, you can bet we’re pulling out our amber bottles and using them all around our homes!

The warm tones of old wood, amber glass, and antique copper are perfect for creating a cozy and inviting look for autumn.

Anne is showing you around her family room, small foyer, and a peek into her antique china hutch and how she used these warm colors for fall.

AnnMarie’s Budget-Friendly Fall Small Front Porch

If you’ve been around Simply2Moms for a little while then you probably already know we tend to be frugal with our decorating.

Did you see our secret for saving money for outdoor fall decorating?

Well, AnnMarie has some more tips to help you make your porch a show stopper for less this fall!

You’ve got to see all the gorgeous color and how she styled it.

Anne’s been loving the view from her front porch thanks to AnnMarie’s style!

Friday Favorites: Must Have Travel Items When Renting a Mountain House

Since we’re headed to the mountains this weekend we thought it would be fun to share what we love to bring along with us.

We like to rent houses rather than stay in a hotel when traveling with a group.

In a house, we have more space to spread out and also have areas to hang out together.

Of course, we love to explore all a new city has to offer but we also enjoy spending time in the house or cabin rental.

If you’ve stayed in a vacation home before you know they usually come equipped with almost everything you’ll need.

But we always like to bring a few extra things to make our time away super fun!

Check out what we’re bringing with us this weekend to our cabin rental home in the Smokey Mountains!

Fun Board and Card Games

Game night is always fun and especially when vacationing with friends.

We usually do some exploring during the day but in the evenings we like to have a few drinks and play a board or card game.

Some of our favorites are Sequence and Mexican Train Dominos.

We also love classic card games like Phase 10 or Uno.

An awesome newer game that we discovered recently is called Tenzi.

Drop your favorite game in the comments below.

We’re always looking for a new one to play!

Kindle Paperwhite

Vacation is a time to relax and what’s better than reading a great book?

We both like to read on our paperwhite Kindles because they’re so lightweight and we can bring our whole library of books with us wherever we go.

Do you prefer to read on an e-reader or do you like to feel the paper as you turn the next page of your book?

Bluetooth Portable Speaker

When staying in a cabin it’s always nice to have some music when you’re hanging out playing a game or relaxing on a deck admiring the views of the mountains.

We’re taking along this JPL portable speaker this weekend.

It’s waterproof so we can prop it outside near the hot tub without worrying about it getting wet.

And it’s wireless streaming so you can listen anywhere for up to 12 hours of playtime.

Scented Candle and Lighter

Bringing a candle with you when you travel is a great idea to create a cozy vibe wherever you are.

And sometimes places may not smell like home so a scented candle helps bring a nice aroma to your vacation stay.

We love the Threshold candle scents from Target.

Don’t forget the lighter!

This electric rechargeable lighter is perfect for traveling.

Tabletop Firepit

Not every house in the mountains will have an area outside for a firepit so we’re bringing this little tabletop one with us.

Because you’ve gotta have s’mores when you’re in the Smokey Mountains don’t ya think so?!

Plus, if it’s going to rain this firepit can even be used indoors…how cool is that!

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

After s’mores, you can clean up with some Clorox wipes.

We always travel with these so that we can do some quick cleaning if needed after cooking.

And some of us may be germophobes (not mentioning any names…ahem…AnnMarie) and has to wipe out drawers before unpacking clothes into the dresser.

This popup dispenser of Clorox wipes is even easier to throw in your suitcase.

Cocktail Smoker

We’ve recently started liking bourbon.

Whiskey seems to be on trend lately and you know Simply2Moms are super trendy!

Did you try Anne’s bourbon sweet tea cocktail recipe?

It’s so good!

We can’t wait to try out this new cocktail smoker from Uncommon Goods and come up with some new recipes.

We need to create a recipe for the holidays!

Stay tuned!

Insulated Wine Tumbler

A rental home will most certainly have glasses and probably even wine glasses.

But we like to bring an insulated tumbler with us because they’re durable and we don’t have to worry about breaking it if we want to take it outside.

Anne bought this cute rose gold set of four wine tumblers for our trip.

Each one has a different adult-only saying so we’ll be able to tell whose glass is whose throughout the weekend.

Throw Blankets

Toss a cozy throw blanket in your suitcase for your next getaway.

There’s bound to be a time when you want a comfy blanket while on vacation…whether you’re reading a book, watching a movie, sitting outside in the evening, or just need an extra layer at night when you’re sleeping.

This down throw blanket from Eddie Bauer is great for cooler weather.

But it’s really squishable so can be squeezed easily into a bag to bring with you.

For warmer weather, this fleece throw from Lands End is great because it’s pretty small when folded up to take along with you.

Rain Gear

We’re going to be prepared for rainy weather on this trip so Anne packed these cute quilted rain boots.

AnnMarie is taking her rain jacket which is on sale right now so go grab one if you need one too.

And of course, we’ll bring our umbrellas too.

Now, let’s hope our hair doesn’t get too frizzy. lol

What have you been shopping for this week? Have you found anything amazing?

We’d love to hear about it….just leave a comment below!

Click on any image to shop items from this post

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