Sogni D’oro

Ciao tutti! Our trip to Italia seems like ages ago, so much has happened since then. As you may or may not know, Timmy and I had a month-long excursion through Italy right before we moved back to California, and it now seems like a fleeting dream when I look back on the photos. We took a plane from New York to Milan, took the train from Venice to Rome stopping in incredible cities in between, then we rented a car and drove back up through Tuscany, visiting the hill towns and sampling the wine, gorging on gelato and becoming olive oil snobs. I’d like to share some photos of my favorite memories as well as some excerpts from our travel journal.

“A train from Ozzanno to Bologna, a train from Bologna to Firenze Rifredi, and finally a train from Firenze Rifredi to Santa Maria Novella stazione in Firenze proper. I had been dreaming about this, being back in this beautiful Italian city…but this time with mio amore.”

“Past the girls’ house (Ciao belle!) onto Via dello Sprone, where the green shutters at #13 were flung wide open.”

“For a 10 euro lunch special we got two courses, our first taste of Chianti, and a confession of love for Julia Roberts.”

“From atop the hill at the Santa Margherita church in Cortona, the clouds were splayed below us like a giant blanket over the valley.”

“We spent the day hiking up and down the hilly cobblestone streets, moseying down a wide path along the edge of town, and trying to ignore our hunger since the shops were closed for la pausa.”

“We walked from the train station to the hotel, going up and over bridges, meandering through narrow cobblestone streets, pausing every so often to take a picture of a sight that took our breath away.”

“In preparation for the long lines we were expecting at the Vatican, we packed the croissants left over from our breakfast at the B&B and bought a full bottle of water. When we arrived at the Vatican museums we walked RIGHT IN. Ten minutes later we were in the Sistine Chapel.”

“We have been so lucky with the weather so far, but it has been the nicest here in Roma. The sun has been warm, the skies have been clear, and we couldn’t be happier.”

“The tour groups were out in full force today but we weren’t worried. Mario had an exclusive connection to the Accademia who let us skip the line and get in for free! She led us in through the exit and opened the doors straight to Michaelangelo’s Davide.”

“Breakfast was brought to us in our room at 9 am…coffee, tea, yogurt, croissants, rolls, butter, jam, honey, soft cheeses, and orange juice. Facing the Galleria Dell’Accademia, our room looks out at the Ponte Dell’Accademia stretching out over the grand canal.”

“My new favorite color is the soft silvery green of the olive tree leaves, my new favorite food is bread with olive oil and salt, and my new favorite beverage is sweet red wine.”

“We wandered the Dorsoduro neighborhood and picked up Murano glass souveniers, then got our luggage and took a vaporetto to the train station. Ciao Venezia.”

“When we got to Montepulciano it was cold, foggy and rainy, so we ducked in Trattoria Di Cagnano for a hearty lunch. My ribollita was so incredibly good, thick and oily and flavored with rosemary. We must make ribollita whenever it’s cold…always with lots of rosemary.”

“Along a road lined with oak trees and littered with fallen leaves, we felt like we had stumbled upon a secret town. Besides the man in the field of bell peppers and a sweet nonna sweeping her porch, we were the only two people in this paradise.”

“I love everything about Lucca. The vibe here is so calm and relaxing, people are out on their bikes, there are dogs everywhere. Let’s stay.”

“We headed over to the Mercato Centrale to admire the fresh produce and local vendors selling their meats and cheeses, pasta and olive oil, dried fruit and nuts.”

“We went the back way through a narrow dirt pathway and along olive groves wehre the pickers were too busy raking the fruit off the branches and onto the nets to notice us.”

“At 5:00 the bells started going off at all of the churches, echoing up to us in a symphony of chimes.”

“Our favorite was called Luenzo, a mix of 80% San Giovese grapes and 20% Merlot. Their Vernaccia white wine (found only in San Gimignano) was also really delicious. I also liked a sweet cherry-tasting red called Serise, but Tim wasn’t such a fan.”

“We got in our trusty little car and drove the windy roads up to the beautiful hill town of San Gimignano. It was the first day that it really felt cold, but being chased by the wind through the streets with the towers looming over us just added to the ambience of this seemingly-forgotten medieval town.”

“I love love love Roma! I don’t know what’s so different this time…the lack of crowds? The company? The wine? It’s very much like New York in so many ways that I can’t help but feel at home.”

“Dessert was, of course, gelato. Maybe one day we’ll have tiramisu.”

“We spent our 11 year anniversary driving through the Tuscan countryside. The grape vines that had been yellow just last week are now turning into luscious oranges and deep reds, creating beautiful ombre palettes on the surrounding hills. Snacking on bread and pecorino seemed perfectly fitting for our Italian road trip as we rolled by herds of sheep grazing on the farms.”

“Perfect weather…perfect time of year…perfect travel companion.”

Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place!

Oh my gosh ya’ll, I’m still alive! I know my lack of posts in concurrence with this hurricane had you all scared that I was a gonner, but lo and behold HERE I AM! Wow. First of all, to go back to our mother nature and her sidekick Irene, luckily here in New York City we just had some whistling winds blow down a few branches. I know that other cities were hit pretty hard so I feel super lucky that we were left unscathed. The crazy hype sure made it interesting though…I have never seen New York so deserted and quiet! I was tricked by the thought of post-hurricane weather and decided to wear skinny jeans today, only to get out of the subway and immediately regret my decision. Why couldn’t I have just worn a dress like a normal New Yorker!? It really made me feel a little sad because it felt like summer was coming to a close, then here we are two days later and I’m back to my glistening sweaty self. Thank god! Don’t leave me, summer! I love youuuuuuuuu.

I guess I haven’t really divulged what I’ve been doing all summer, and I’d really love to let you guys know finally! You know that bridal shop Lovely that Tim and I always talk about/photograph/hang out at? Well a few months back the darling owner mentioned that she was thinking about opening a location in Los Angeles, and since the husby and I are moving back in November (oh, did I tell you that yet!?!? yaaaay!!!) then I would be in Los Angeles too! I asked her if there was any way that I could be involved, to which she replied “Do you want to be the manager?”…uhhhhh whaaaat? Moi? My resume includes parade performer, dance teacher, party starter (you know those dancers that come with DJs to Bar Mitzvahs in the glittery vests? ya, me)…but never ever retail. Oh wait, unless you count working at Forever 21 for like, a week, but I surely don’t. So naturally I took on the challenge and for the past 4 months I’ve been working at Lovely here in New York preparing for my future job as the manager of Lovely LA!  The plan, as of now, is to move home in November and get a space and hire my peeps and then launch by February. So hey all you future brides out there…not only do you have access to an amazing husband and wife photography team, but that very same wife will also be running a bridal shop selling the most wonderful gowns! You can kill two birds with one stone!

Needless to say this job has really affected my fashion choices since I’ve been forced  to dress up every day for my super fancy shmancy new position. I’m posting a few of my favorite outfits so you guys can see how professional I am (woop woop!) Also my dearies, notice the new hair? Ohhhhh yeaaaaaaaaaaaah. I dig. I dig very much.

mama’s got some brand new shoes…and needs to get her hurr did

I got some brand new lovely shoes that have me giddy giddy gumdrops! They’re sweet, and blue, and comfortable, and I’m in love. Muy precioso! (from asos) <3

Today someone told me that due to my overgrown roots I look like a skunk. And with that, my determination to create the ombre look naturally has been defeated. I am now scheduling a hair appointment.

bienvenido a miami!

Last week Tim and I traveled down to Miami Beach to celebrate our two year wedding anniversary, South Beach style! We spent our days floating in that clear turquoise water, drinking delicious frozen beverages, and soaking up that glorious sun. We stayed in the Art Deco neighborhood where the incredible architecture of the old hotels really showcased the glamour of the 1920s. We stayed in a really cool hotel called The Catalina where they had a rooftop pool, a psychedelic lobby, and a sent-from-heaven tempurpedic mattress.

One of my favorite things about this city was that EVERYBODY from Miami speaks Spanish! It was like music to my ears! It gave me a really great opportunity to practice…especially when I was really feeling those frozen concoctions. I took five years of that beautiful language in high school and I don’t use it very much, but for some reason when I have a couple drinks (honestly it just takes one), then the Spanish comes flowing out of me as if I was a Puerto Rican goddess. I was chatting up our waitress at dinner and our chef at lunch…I even started to dream in spanish! Que romantico!

I loved the tropical, retro vibe of the town and I wish we could have stayed just a bit longer. It was such a great escape from the city and it really made me homesick for california! That adventure will come soon enough :) For now we will keep exploring this east coast of ours until October and then end this New York chapter with a bang.  Stay tuned for more updates and fun photos <3

is it gonna be a daisy or a rose?

Hello darlings. These past few weeks have been craaazaaay (what’s new, right?) and I thought I’d just share with you a few things that have been going on. First of all, the adventure that had brought us to New York in the first place is now over…Tim is now a Master of Fine Arts! After two years going through the grueling process of a graduate program, on thursday my honey walked across the stage and accepted his diploma. As you may guess, that also means that our time in New York is now coming to a close. We’ll be moving back to the west coast either in August or October, depending on a few opportunities that may come our way, but new wonderful adventures are awaiting us back in Los Angeles and we can’t wait to get them started! I hear you guys have been enjoying 90* weather (jerks)…while over here we’re still NOT enjoying 60* weather. I mean, HONESTLY when are things going to heat up for good!? I know I always complain about the weather, but I am promising you that once it is hot I will never say a negative thing about it!!! I pinky promise! Although I maaaaay complain about the effects of the humidity, mainly my frizzalicious mane, but the sun on my face will never have me utter one mean word! But until then, damn will I be glad to get back to the steadiness of LA weather. And by steadiness of course I mean the fact that although one day it will be hot and sunny and the next cold and rainy, it will never ever give me five months of straight bone chill. And I love it for that.

Anywhooooo, my mind wanders. Let me share with you a few things I’ve been wearing the past few days to kickstart my spring fever. Bright stripes, turquoise, lacy shoes, oh my!

Mexicana Mama

About a month ago my family celebrated my mamasita’s birthday fiesta in Mexico! Despite the chilly overcast weather, we spent five wonderful days enjoying each other and all the splendors that Ensenada has to offer. We collected buckets of sand dollars on the beach, ate fresh tacos at our favorite stand, and drank enough cerveza to sink a ship. We took a few trips into town to do some shopping at a great local art shop where we found an abundance of talavera plates, tin crosses, and dia de los muertos shrines. We drove to La Bufadora to get the best churros in the world, and  of course to see the blow hole.  It was an amazing vacation filled with love and tequila and plenty of legal fireworks! <3

the drifter and the gyspy

In a fort under the stars played a lone ukulele.

dress: h&m…hat: urbs…boots: f21

back in the city

Hello, darlings!  I’m back from my wonderful two week vacation in sunny rainy california, and it certainly was quite unexpected.  From an emergency visit to the hospital (don’t worry, just a really bad heartburn attack), to a few more unexpected hospital visits (to make sure it actually was, just in fact, heartburn), and a slight flood rushing through the house (thankfully just the carpet and furniture were damaged), I really didn’t have the relaxing trip that I planned.  But it was also full of family fun and wonderful reunions with a few friends that really warmed my heart when the sun wasn’t able to.

But now I’m back in the city and while it’s much colder than LA was, the sun is shining and I’m back with my husby so I couldn’t be happier!  I also have a new outlook on life and with that I’m determined to have a new outlook on fashion.   I’m taking more risks and having more fun and dressing the way I want to.  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, especially in the winter (it’s not spring until jackets are unnecessary!!), so yesterday I put on a fun printed skirt and my new boots from the sweetest boy in the entire universe and strutted my stuff through SoHo.  Boom baby!

skirt: casual closet (thrifted by mamasita)…top: akualani…tights: buffalo exchange…bra: forever 21…belt: flea market…necklace: forever 21…boots: urban outfitters (gifted by the husby) <3

(close enough :P )

free as a bird migrating south for the winter

Today has been my second day of freedom…my second day of glancing at the clock around two and panicking because I haven’t been getting ready for work, only to joyfully realize that I don’t have to go anywhere!  So wonderful!  I have spent these past two days with my dearest darling, shopping, watching romantic movies, and packing.  Tomorrow I leave for home in California, followed by a five day vacation with my family in Mexico!  Ole!  Then I’m staying in LA for another week to make sure I get to see as many friends as possible.  I am so excited for this trip, my family has been going to the same wonderful place in Mexico since before the dawn of time, and growing up in California I have such an affinity for Mexican culture…and by culture I mean food.  And I can’t wait to do some shopping and bring home some turquoise jewels!  I know I promised that I would be more diligent with my blogging once my nanny job ended, but I hope you will allow me this two week break to really unwind and collect my thoughts so that I’m fresh and ready to take over the blogosphere :)  Thanks for all of your support love bugs!

find your passion

Don’t you think it’s strange that when you graduate high school you’re supposed to know what you want to do with your life?  Here you are, at 17 or 18 years old, leaving home for the first time, out of your comfort zone, and you have to pick a major that will determine your career path.  And then you’re expected to finish college in 4 years and launch yourself off onto that chosen path.  I started college at 17 with a major in Journalism.  By the middle sophomore year I realized that I didn’t want to do that at all and instead chose Liberal Studies to become an elementary school teacher.  Then by the beginning of my senior year, I realized that I didn’t really want to do that either, but I had put four years into college and I couldn’t switch majors now and ruin my four year plan just to take more classes and not graduate on time!!!  Man did I have my priorities all mixed up!  Looking back, I really wish that I had changed majors.  I would have loved to take more classes and actually explore areas that interested me to see if anything really grabbed a hold of my heart.  Instead I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in something that made me say, “well maybe one day I can fall back on that and become a teacher…if nothing else happens first”.  So that’s why I went to college for four years?  To have something to fall back on?  What did I plan to do in the mean time?

Throughout my life, I’ve always been somewhat of an entrepreneur.  It started way back at my first lemonade stand at the beach, selling lemony sweetness for 10 cents a pop.  But it got more serious in high school when I would sell jewelry that my mom and I made to the girls in my class.  In college I started my own jewelry business and sold a good amount of baubles online.  Then my love for vintage clothing became trendy and I was able to set up an online shop to share the wealth of my own closet.  This resulted in Sugar Darling Vintage.  Add to that my incessant need to stitch and craft, and you have my etsy shop.  I guess what I’ve realized about myself is that no matter what I wanted to do, I would find a way to start it up and make it work….even if it was just for a little while.  Some ventures have succeeded, while some have faded away, but I’ve always initiated and executed my ideas until I’ve realized whether they make me happy or not!

My true passion was realized almost two years ago, when Tim and I met with our photographers for the wedding.  We left that meeting and looked at each other and said “why aren’t we doing this!?”.  Tim has had a similar journey trying to find his passion, but he figured his out long before I found mine!  He was lucky enough to graduate with his Bachelor’s degree in photography and continue on to get his Master’s in the same subject.  He knew he wanted a career in taking pictures, but he wasn’t sure what exactly his path would be.  So then we got married and moved to New York with big dreams, but we still had this little bud of an idea that had been planted in our minds about becoming wedding photographers.  We decided to dive into it head first, so we created Sweet Little Photographs and set up our website.  We had very little to start with, but we soon created amazing contacts and began booking jobs.  When we got home from shooting our very first wedding, I was so overwhelmed with this feeling of fulfillment.  I realized that we were doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing, and it felt so ridiculously good!  Never in my life had I ever felt so sure of something, and so extremely passionate about continuing with it.  For me, the number one fan of romance and love, this job is so intensely gratifying on every level.  I get to witness a celebration of love between two people and capture the sweet and intimate moments on the happiest day of their lives, and I get to do it side by side with the love of my life.

Between Sweet Little Photographs and Sugar Darling Vintage, I feel very fortunate to be living my life in way that makes me happy.  Starting in March, I’ll be leaving my nanny job and I’ll finally be able to devote all of my time and energy into making these two business ventures extremely successful.  The foundations have been laid, now I just need to put myself out there and network and build relationships with other people in the industry.  In regards to SDV, I fully intend to blog more (the infrequency of posts makes me so darn mad at myself!), stitch more, put more inventory up in the shop, take more pictures, put together really amazing outfits to share, and show tons of great inspiration from other bloggers!  I’d love some feedback on what you’d like to see as well!  This blog would be pointless without all of you amazing darlings reading my ramblings…so I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

And if anyone out there is feeling like you don’t know what on earth you are supposed to be doing right now, do EVERYTHING!  Take as many chances and risks and just find something that absolutely blows your mind.  I know it seems scary sometimes, but you never know what could happen if you don’t try!  All my love <3