Planning another year of travel + Christmas Cookies!
Our 2026 travel itinerary, a very Wicked Thanksgiving, fun live streaming holiday classes, and Christmas cookies!
Welcome to Let’s Get Lost! I’m Rebecca, a recipe developer, food photographer, passionate people watcher, and chaser of new experiences. You might know me from my recipe websites, Of Batter and Dough and A Little and A Lot.
My husband and I are nomads without a home base but with many modes of transportation, namely an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat. I write recipes and stories for curious people who believe experiences are more important than things and who want more adventure.
Our 2026 Travel Schedule
The first several months after selling our house and moving into an RV were a scramble. The whole project of deciding where to go, finding a place to stay, making campground reservations, and planning the trip to get there was new to me.
Steve and I had done a lot of road trips, but we weren’t campers. In fact, the first night we’d ever spent in a camper was the night we drove our brand new 5th wheel off the lot, our house already sold.
In the lead up to selling our house and buying an RV, we watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of blog posts about RVing. I followed every full time RVer I could find on Instagram. (Mostly, I held up beautiful photos that some of these people living in an RV posted on instagram and shouted, “They are living our life!”)
We did our best to learn as much as we could in the very short timeline we gave ourselves to become nomads. But, there’s no teacher like experience, and to really learn something you just have to just dive in.
So we dove. Straight into the deep end, baby, because that’s how we do things.
One of the things I learned quickly is that it’s quite difficult to get a reservation in beautiful places for a 43-foot 5th wheel at the last minute. Impossible, actually.
Super surprising. I know.
Also, the task of figuring out where we were going next when we were constantly starting from scratch was turning into a very stressful full time job.
So, at the end of 2020, our first year as nomads, I decided to plan our entire travel schedule for 2021 in one go. It took FOREVER. But, once it was done, it was great.
I created an itinerary from January to January, made all our campground reservations in advance, and mapped out a schedule that included notes about travel logistics and things we needed to be aware of at each new location.
This meant we could just relax and enjoy the year. As long as we stuck to the schedule, all the details were taken care of. We knew where we were going, how we were going to get there, and that there would be a space waiting for us when we arrived.
And also, because the plans had been made so far in advance, we got to live in some really cool spots.
It worked so well that I’ve done the same thing every year, planning our travels about a year in advance. Our schedule has looked different from year to year. One year we stayed in a lot of fancy resort-style parks in touristy areas.
The following year we spent most of our time in State parks and boondocking in remote locations.
The year’s travel plans usually center around a particular place, or a particular goal. And after buying a sailboat last year, our goal for 2026 is easy: We want to spend the summer sailing.
In previous years, planning the months from May until October took a tremendous amount of time. This year, it took about 5 minutes.
April 2026 will mark 6 years on the road and we still can’t imagine living any other way. If you’re curious about all the places we’ve visited in the last 6 years, this is where you’ll find the itineraries for 2021-2025.
And…
Here is where we’ll be in 2026
January: We are in Colorado through the holidays, but come January, we’ll head south to Arizona in search of warmer weather. There’s a lot of dispersed camping options in Arizona and the plan is to find a few remote locations to park ourselves for a few weeks and enjoy the quiet magic of Arizona sunsets.
February, March and half of April: We are spending a lot of time this year in San Diego because, I mean… it’s San Diego. We are also heading to Europe in April, spending time Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
The second half of April is devoted to making the 35 hour drive from San Diego to Michigan. We are still working out the details of this trek, but the drive will likely be divided between two weekends with stops in Santa Fe and St Louis.
May - October: Muskegon, Michigan. As long as we have a boat in Michigan, that’s where we’ll spend our summers. We were fortunate enough to get a space for the entire 5 months at a campground on Lake Muskegon, only about 10 minutes away from the marina where we keep our boat.
October: Bryson City, North Carolina. This will be our third trip to Bryson City, which is right next to Smoky Mountain National Park. It’s one of our favorite places, especially in the fall when the leaves are changing.
Early November: Saint Louis, en route back to Colorado.
Mid November - January: Colorado for the holidays.
Our Thanksgiving was a little bit Wicked
Friends, this is how our Thanksgiving began…
Steve and I, our daughters, and three of our favorite people got all dressed up and went to see Wicked pt 2 before preparing a feast later eaten by candlelight. Yes, that’s me in the blond wig. Yes, I know, I could never pull it off. 😂
My husband. The only man at Thanksgiving, dressed up as Dorothy, clicking his heels while holding a silly little basket with a stuffed toto peeking out the lid. Is there any wonder why I love this man? ❤️
Classes!
Midwestern Roots Meets Italian Traditions
Watch now! In this fun class, the delightful Lolly Martyn showed us how to make coffee mascarpone cream while entertaining us with tales of Italian Christmases. Lolly used her mascarpone cream to create a gorgeous showstopper of a dessert. I used mine to make individual cake and cream parfaits. Watch the replay and get the recipe here!
The Only Holiday Cocktail Party You Can Attend In Your Pajamas
Watch now! I know, it’s very judgmental of me to assume you don’t already attend cocktail parties in your pajamas. But, for this one, your comfiest attire is not only acceptable, it’s encouraged.
My co-host Robin Bergdoll has challenged herself to post a cocktail recipe daily from December 1st to December 21st. You can read about that here, The Power of Words and Other Cocktail Missives, and spoiler alert! The food writer she mentions at the beginning who got scolded for daring to post non-traditional thanksgiving recipes is me! 🥂
In this class, Robin shows us how to make three cocktails that are just as perfect for gatherings as they are for for quiet evenings spent in your pjs.
Jazz and Juniper, Powdered Sugar and Powdered Snow
Join us next week! Join Jenn Sharp and myself on Friday, December 12 for a cozy holiday meal that crosses the map from the jazz soaked warmth of New Orleans to the pine scented air of Colorado.
This class is equal parts cooking, storytelling, and reflection, a reminder that while our traditions may be born of different places, the link between food and memories is universal. Jazz meets juniper. Powdered sugar meets powdered snow. And a reminder that the magic of holiday food is never just about the food.
Bring all your holiday nostalgia and maybe a memory you haven’t visited in a while.
Welcome to cookie season
If November is all about pies, December is all about cookies. Or is that just me? Christmas cookies were a big deal in my family when I was growing up, right up there with presents and Santa. In fact, as a child, our Christmas Eve tradition included leaving a plate of cookies on the fireplace mantle for Santa. In the morning, my brother and I were delighted to find only a few crumbs remaining.
So, I guess I’m making the assumption that Christmas cookies are a thing for everyone, but I honestly have no idea if that’s true.
So, here’s a question for the comments: Are cookies a part of your holiday traditions?
Over the years I’ve published many of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Here are my top 9.
Cranberry pistachio cookies. These rich and tender cookies are baked with a dollop of cranberry orange sauce, then drizzled with vanilla icing, and topped with a crunchy sprinkle of roasted pistachios. They are pretty little jewel-like cookies with all the right flavors and colors for the holiday season.
Chewy brown sugar cookies. These are outrageously soft and chewy with an intense toffee-like flavor that comes from brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, ready to bake any time you wish. And the cookies themselves stay soft and chewy for days. Not that they’re likely to last that long.
Brown butter white chocolate chip cookies. Soft and chewy cookies with a rich toffee flavor that just melts in your mouth. Make the basic recipe or toss in some macadamia nuts or dried cranberries for white chocolate macadamia cookies or white chocolate cranberry cookies.
Frosted brown butter citrus shortbread cookies. These are, without a doubt, the best frosted cookies I’ve ever eaten. Brown butter citrus shortbread is delicious all on its own - buttery, not overly sweet, and laced with the subtle flavors of orange, lemon, and lime. Dark and white chocolate fondants are easy to work with, gorgeously glossy, and taste wonderful with the brown butter citrus flavor of the cookies.
Christmas funfetti cookies. These cookies are super soft and chewy, bursting with the flavors of butter and vanilla, and packed with Christmas funfetti sprinkles. The perfect holiday recipe for those times when you want something uncomplicated, delicious, and fun, fun, fun.
Double chocolate kiss cookies. These delicious little cookies have a surprise chocolate kiss in the center. 😘 These are a really fun treat to bake with young children. The dough is a simple shortbread requiring only a handful of ingredients, and rolling it around a chocolate kiss is a fun and easy task for small hands.
Chocolate fruit and nut shortbread cookies. There are so many good things going on in these cookies. Packed with dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate, each bite delivers some new combination of sweet, salty, fruity, chocolate, and nuttiness.
Peppermint hot fudge thumbprint cookies. If you love chocolate, these are dangerously delicious. The cookie is a rich, buttery chocolate shortbread that practically melts in your mouth. But then, instead of the more traditional fruit filling, these thumbprint cookies are filled with peppermint hot fudge.
The result tastes a bit like a mug of hot chocolate in cookie form.
Mini gingersnaps. These little chewy cookies are all about sugar and spice, and everything nice. They are sweet little two-bite treats, bursting with Christmas spices, and positively addicting.
This newsletter would not exist if not for the members of The Lost Supper Club, who show their support with a paid subscription thus ensuring that the vast majority of readers can keep reading this newsletter for free. As a thank you, I try to provide those paid subscribers with some cool stuff. Find out more about becoming a member of the Lost Supper Club.
Cookie Swap! 4 Delicious Recipes from YOU
A few weeks ago I asked if any of you would be interested in sharing a favorite holiday cookie recipe with me. So far I’ve received 4 recipes and last week I made them all. Every single one was easy to make, absolutely delicious, and perfect for the holiday season. Here's where to get the recipes!
A Few Good Things
This week's recommendations includes a magical book, plus two cocktail recommendations - one zero proof and one fully loaded.
Discount Links and Free Cookbooks for Members of The Lost Supper Club
Let’s Get Lost, Volume 1 and the No Recipe Required cookbook are available now. If you don’t already have them, here’s where to get them.
Coming soon!
The 2025 edition of the Let’s Get Lost Cookbook will be released later this month and available to all Lost Supper Club members to download for free.
Lost Supper club members also have access to the complete recipe index + the downloadable recipe cards, the entire library of classes, and the entire library of past issues.
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I like you in a tiara 😍👸🏻 - I recommend it more often!
This post was so heartfelt and I enjoyed reading it so so much. Your recipes make regular cameos on my dinner table to a resounding delight from my family.
I could go on - can you tell I loved this post, it may be my fav (the sailboat protocol is up here too)!
You are a powerhouse of positivity and I wish you only the best in your adventures and life. Looking forward to reading and eating more from you Rebecca.