This Battered Suitcase
  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Around the Web
    • Contact
  • Start Here
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Zambia
    • Asia
      • Bhutan
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Israel
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Macau
      • Malaysia
      • Mongolia
      • Myanmar
      • Nepal
      • The Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • South Korea
      • Thailand
      • UAE
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Bulgaria
      • Croatia
      • Cyprus
      • Czechia
      • Denmark
      • England
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Latvia
      • Liechtenstein
      • Lithuania
      • Luxembourg
      • Malta
      • Monaco
      • Netherlands
      • Northern Ireland
      • Norway
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • San Marino
      • Scotland
      • Slovakia
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
      • Vatican City
      • Wales
    • North America
      • Antigua and Barbuda
      • Barbados
      • Belize
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Dominican Republic
      • Grenada
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Jamaica
      • Nicaragua
      • Mexico
      • Panama
      • St. Kitt’s and Nevis
      • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
      • USA
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
  • Topics
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Lifestyle
    • Opinions
    • Romance
    • Stories
    • Travel
    • Writing and Blogging
  • Work With Me
Category:

Lifestyle

    HighlightLifestyleStories

    My Birth Story, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Epidural

    by Brenna Holeman February 5, 2025
    written by Brenna Holeman
    February 5, 2025
    28 comments
    4 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • HighlightHome Sweet HomeLifestyle

    A Review of 2024: The Year It Started to Make Sense

    by Brenna Holeman January 2, 2025
    by Brenna Holeman January 2, 2025

    In other years, I’ve written reviews like 2021: The Worst… I Mean, the Best Year of My Life (a general summary) or ones featuring certain words that meant a lot to me that year or, way back in the day, month by month. For this one, I thought I’d divide it into certain topics, those pillars of my life that make me me: motherhood, writing/work, lifestyle, travel, dating, and mental health. Let’s just say some topics will be juicier than others, hah.

    So, without further ado, here is my review of 2024.

    5 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • HighlightLifestyleWriting and Blogging

    Have I Completely and Utterly F#&ked Up?

    by Brenna Holeman November 23, 2024
    by Brenna Holeman November 23, 2024

    Have I completely and utterly fucked up? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked myself this question. It’s usually late at night, the witching hour, as I lie in bed staring at shadows on my ceiling.

    I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I don’t know why – I traditionally think of myself as a pretty good sleeper – but now that I think of it, maybe I haven’t slept well in years. Maybe part of this is being a single parent to a newborn/baby/toddler, the only one to get up every night when needed (which, until he was about one, was every hour on the hour). Maybe part of this might be perimenopause, something I’ve been researching a bit more as I turned 40 (oh right. I turned 40. I’m sure I’ll write about that one day).

    But a big part? A really, really big part of the reason I can’t sleep? It’s because I feel like I’ve thrown all of this away. I feel like I’ve fucked up one of the things I’ve loved the most in my life, one of the only constants in my life over the past two decades.

    Yep, I’m talking about this blog.

    21 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Lifestyle

    2022: Oh Right, I Had a Baby

    by Brenna Holeman June 18, 2023
    written by Brenna Holeman
    June 18, 2023
    56 comments
    17 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Lifestyle

    2021: The Worst… I Mean, the Best Year of My Life

    by Brenna Holeman March 31, 2022
    by Brenna Holeman March 31, 2022

    I’ve been meaning to write this year in review for three months now. And as the calendar is just about to flip over to April, I figured I should actually sit down to write it. And it’s quite fitting that I am writing this on my baby’s due date; I’m in bed, Dottie curled up beside me, as my nerves and excitement aren’t allowing me to sleep.

    18 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Lifestyle

    The Biggest Solo Adventure I’ve Ever Been On: I’m Having a Baby

    by Brenna Holeman December 21, 2021
    by Brenna Holeman December 21, 2021

    I suppose the title gives it all away, and, I suppose, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll have known the news for months. But yes… I am pregnant. In just a couple of months, I will be a mom. And I’m going to be a single mom.

    So… whew. Where to begin?!

    21 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • LifestyleWriting and Blogging

    Is It Time to Quit? 11 Years of This Battered Suitcase

    by Brenna Holeman April 12, 2021
    written by Brenna Holeman
    April 12, 2021
    54 comments
    4 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • AdviceLifestyle

    The Best Audiobooks on Spotify

    by Brenna Holeman April 6, 2021
    by Brenna Holeman April 6, 2021

    I’ve been a huge fan of Spotify for around five years now. In the last year alone, I listened to nearly 50,000 minutes of music (that’s the equivalent of about 35 days of nonstop music). I like to think I know Spotify well; I look forward to my Discover Weekly every Monday, I’m always checking our their suggestions, and I make many playlists. But somehow I have remained in the dark about audiobooks on Spotify, as I only recently discovered just how many books you can listen to with a Spotify account!

    7 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • AdviceLifestyle

    How to Read More Books

    by Brenna Holeman March 31, 2021
    by Brenna Holeman March 31, 2021

    For a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I barely read any books in 2020. I would get excited about books I purchased, start them, and then stop reading after only one chapter. My mind just wasn’t in right place to read more (or do much of anything, if I’m honest).

    Here’s how I managed to fall in love with reading again, and how to read more books.

    5 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Lifestyle

    2020: A Year in Review

    by Brenna Holeman January 20, 2021
    written by Brenna Holeman
    January 20, 2021
    43 comments
    5 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 10

About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Brenna

After travelling to more than 100 countries over the past 19 years, many of them solo, I write about travel a lot but I write about other things, too: break ups, buying way too much jewellery, and whisky, for example (none of those things are related, I swear). You’ll find a mix of advice, opinion pieces, and stories on this blog, but either way, I hope to make you want to read more. And up next? I'm now a single mom to a beautiful little boy, the biggest solo adventure I've ever been on. For more about me and what you'll find on This Battered Suitcase, click here.

Keep in touch

facebook
instagram
twitter
pinterest
youtube

Newsletter

Subscribe to get the latest updates from This Battered Suitcase!

Archives

INSPIRATION

Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac

Want local knowledge about Manitoba?

AFFILIATE POLICY

Please note that some links on This Battered Suitcase are affiliates (at no extra cost to you); I only recommend products I use and love. This Battered Suitcase is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Currently in

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA

Last Stops: Phoenix, AZ & Vancouver, BC

Up Next:  Curacao

 

Disclosures

This Battered Suitcase is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. For the full disclosure/privacy policy, please click here.

Popular Posts

  • 1

    On Ghosting (and what to do if it happens to you)

    August 8, 2016
  • 2

    What to Wear in India

    December 15, 2014
  • 3

    What to Wear in Canada in Winter

    February 28, 2018
  • 4

    Giraffe Manor: Is It Worth The Cost?

    November 22, 2017
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

@2018 - All Rights Reserved


Back To Top
This Battered Suitcase
  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Around the Web
    • Contact
  • Start Here
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Zambia
    • Asia
      • Bhutan
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Israel
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Macau
      • Malaysia
      • Mongolia
      • Myanmar
      • Nepal
      • The Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • South Korea
      • Thailand
      • UAE
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Bulgaria
      • Croatia
      • Cyprus
      • Czechia
      • Denmark
      • England
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Latvia
      • Liechtenstein
      • Lithuania
      • Luxembourg
      • Malta
      • Monaco
      • Netherlands
      • Northern Ireland
      • Norway
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • San Marino
      • Scotland
      • Slovakia
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
      • Vatican City
      • Wales
    • North America
      • Antigua and Barbuda
      • Barbados
      • Belize
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Dominican Republic
      • Grenada
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Jamaica
      • Nicaragua
      • Mexico
      • Panama
      • St. Kitt’s and Nevis
      • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
      • USA
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
  • Topics
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Lifestyle
    • Opinions
    • Romance
    • Stories
    • Travel
    • Writing and Blogging
  • Work With Me