Feminine Traveling Mom on the Street: Jennifier Balcarek

Feminine Traveling Mom on the Street, Jennifier, brings a love for travel, fashion, and family to everyone around her. She doesn’t let having a baby hold her back from seeing new places with her husband, family, and friends – which she hopes will inspire other parents to travel more and pursue the things they love. Read on to learn more about this feminine, adventurous mom on the street below!

Meet Jennifier

Explorer mom living. Not living vicariously.  I am a teacher who has been working with special needs for a few years. I got married during the pandemic and started my family. Traveling has given me confidence, and I love learning about new cultures.

Feminine Traveling Instagram Blogger

It looks like you have traveled quite a bit. What is your most recent travel?

I do love to travel. It’s something that I was introduced to as a child and something that I want to introduce to my child. My most recent trip was for a girls’ trip to Los Angeles, California. It was so nice to get out and enjoy seeing a whole new place with my closest friends. I also feel like it was a great step to feeling a sense of my old identity again after having my daughter.  

What is your favorite place you have ever traveled to? 

My favourite place that I’ve been to has got to be Morocco. Not even a particular city in Morocco, but just all of Morocco. I did an internship during my undergraduate studies there and was lucky enough to make Casablanca my home for a few months. The food was lovely (I gained tons of weight), the places I saw were so interesting, and the people were so friendly. Absolutely amazing.

What specifically are your favorite destinations and places to shop and play in Canada? 

I am 100% a Homesense addict. When I first had my daughter, I would take my “alone time” breaks at the Homesense in Etobicoke. It was nice to get out and see all the new decorations and products they would put out. I found a Homesense Addicts Facebook group, which fueled my addiction more. I love it, but I wouldn’t say my husband does, haha.

As for play, I am an explorer. I love checking out new spots. Lately, it has been farms, and some of my favourites are: Chudleighs, Spring Ridge, and Andres Scenic Acres.  

What is your favorite part about documenting your travels and life online? 

When I was younger and feeling a lack of motivation in life, I found that seeing travel photos on Instagram was quite inspiring. To be honest, I felt very intimidated to travel alone anywhere as a woman. However, the more I would see other women enjoying their solitude and traveling solo, the more I felt confident to do the same. And it worked; I ended up living in Guatemala and Greece alone. Morocco too.  

This fuels my excitement about documenting my travels and life online – I hope I can motivate another person the way others have inspired me. It has changed my life, really, and I would love to change someone else’s. To give them the confidence to go for it! I also want to show other parents that it is possible to get out, explore, and be fun WITH your child. Just because you have a baby doesn’t mean you can’t get out and see new things. 

What is the easiest and hardest thing about traveling with a baby? 

The easiest thing: learning to go with the flow. I’m a teacher, so I have that need for routine deeply embedded in me. However, with traveling with a baby, you learn to let go of control and accept your day as it comes. This was easy because I was thrown into it. You know you have no choice but to let things happen naturally, so it becomes easy. 

The hardest: 100% carrying all of the baby’s items and having to lug diapers, extra clothes, a sound machine, wipes, etc. This can often deter people from wanting to go places, and I truly can see why. BUT, this one ties in with the easy part – let it go. You need all the stuff, yes, but try to be in the moment and enjoy. They’re only this little once; this is your time to introduce them to the world. Make it enjoyable.  

Do you have any trips planned for you and your family coming up soon? 

We have a trip to Mexico planned for December. We’re finally able to do our wedding ceremony. During COVID, our party got canceled. We still got married legally; however, we never got to really celebrate. We’re very excited to have our mini trip and ceremony for such a special occasion.  

Where can people follow you on social media? 

My Instagram is my only social media account (for now): @lattesandlullabies

Feminine Traveling Style

Which three words best describe your style? 

Feminine, neutral, and reflective (the way I dress typically depends on my mood). 

What are your favorite places to shop?  

I adore Zara – I find random colourful pieces that switch up any wardrobe I wanna wear. Mura Boutique is gorgeous, too – they have such feminine pieces, and I love that they’re not local. I actually found the dress that I wore for my COVID wedding. And Winners, of course.  

Who’s your favorite style icon?

To be honest, there is no particular person that I view as a style icon. I do appreciate looking at random accounts on Instagram, though, such as @explorerssauris_, and seeing what they wear or what they feature on their page.  

What article of clothing/accessory would you not want to live without? 

High-waisted pants!!! I will never get tired of them. I have dressy high-waisted pants and cozy ones. They just always look great! 

Which trend would you want to see make a comeback? 

Overalls. I know they’re not out, but I feel like they’re slowly making an exit, and I’m sad. I love them! 

What should NEVER make a comeback? 

Over-plucked eyebrows and thick, chunky highlights! Been there, done that, and it ain’t cute (on me)! 

What fashion/style did you love at the time but now cringe when you see old photos? 

Ah!!! The eyebrows. They literally looked like an upside-down letter ‘C.’ And for some reason, I felt it was a good idea to dye them red with henna. Why did I do this to myself, hahaha? 

What’s your best style secret?

Sunscreen always. I feel like you can do so much for your skin by wearing it often. Sunglasses to protect your eye area. Rose water before makeup. And also @merakigrowth for awesome hair oil. 

Feminine Traveling Family

What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family? 

My husband works long hours, and it’s really hard to take in family time on weekdays. But we make mornings our way to connect every day. After Arya wakes up, we cuddle in bed for about half an hour. We play, talk, and enjoy our time. It’s been a really, really nice way to start our day – better than coffee, hehe.  

Also, Sundays have been our day to explore. We have been creating a bucket list of places we want to check out. Each Sunday, we pick one spot and go. Last weekend it was Casa Loma in Toronto. The weekend before, it was a cottage in Lake Simcoe.  

What’s been your best family vacation? 

We went to Florida in March, and that was really nice. We went to visit my brother-in-law, @ersintu. He’s so fun, and Arya loves her time with her uncle. Also, it was nice to get a couple of date nights in. This trip offered us everything: exploring, connecting with family, and some one-on-one time. I wish I could relive it.  

Best parenting advice: 

Don’t allow yourself to feel trapped by other people’s opinions of how to parent. I really suffered in my post-partum because I had people constantly telling me how to do things with my daughter. It made me feel critiqued and very alone. Once I started standing up for myself and setting boundaries, I felt much happier and had a sense of myself back. This is my greatest advice – boundaries immediately. You are the parent to your child, and you know what is best.  

Parenting true confession:  

Everyone says to sleep when the baby sleeps. It’s just not practical. That was my time to do what I needed to do to feel like myself. So my confession is…when my daughter is sleeping, I sit my butt down on the couch and eat what I want and watch what I want—no guilt for not getting stuff done. If I want to be a good mom, I need to rest and feel happy.  

What’s your go-to family dinner?

Salmon! I have a really nice recipe that is relatively quick to make and very, very tasty. I’m also obsessed with making veggie soups. Healthy, easy, and yummy! 

What’s your favorite family restaurant? 

We adore going to The Lakehouse near St. Catherines. Great ambiance, wonderful service, and amazing food.

Feminine Traveling Life

What’s your favorite show to binge-watch? 

Ah, the list goes on and on. But: Sex and the City (of course), Stranger Things, Ginnie and Georgia, and Grey’s Anatomy.

If you could pick anyone to star as you in a movie based on your life, who would it be? 

I would pick Cameron Diaz. She’s been my favourite actress since I was a kid. I really feel like she has the same energy and optimism that I do. She can also play dramatic roles, and I love her versatility.  

What’s your favorite beach read?

I wish I could give you one, but in reality, if I’m on a beach, I am not reading. I’m either laying on a floatie or eating something. 

What song would you dance to when nobody’s watching?  

Return of the Mack. Just puts me in a good mood always.  

If you could go shopping with anyone from history, living or deceased, who would it be?

Queen Latifah. I don’t know why but I just sense we would connect so well. She seems so genuine and natural, and I just love all the roles she has played in movies.  

What’s at the top of your travel bucket list? 

My friends who will read this will for sure be laughing because they know how much of a scaredy-cat I am, but I would love to try out Devils Pool in Zambia. It’s a waterfall that you can lay on top of—Seasonal, and yes, very scary but also so interesting and cool. 

I also really want to go to Asia – Vietnam and Cambodia, to be specific. Another bucket list spot for sure.  

What’s your favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day? 

Curled up next to my husband, watching whatever show we are on. We love how quiet the evening is and the fact that we can sit and talk and relax. I also need some tea. This is my thing. Hehe. 

Feminine Traveling New Family

We love how Jennifier embraces new places and phases of her life with grace, strength, and curiosity. She and her husband inspire us with all the places they’ve been and how they prioritize travel, even with a growing family. Be sure to keep up with this feminine traveling mom on Instagram @lattesandlullabies.

And for more exciting and inspiring moms, be sure to check out FamilyApp’s Mom on the Street page!