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.”
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
let’s go together
I just wanted to wish you all a very sweet Valentine’s Day weekend! I know the holiday isn’t until Monday, but I have a feeling that most people will be partying it up this weekend…just an excuse to celebrate for two extra days ;) And for all you single ladies out there…grab your girls and let them know how much you love them! This is a celebration of love, after all <3
Timmy and I are heading to Montauk for a romantic winter getaway (yaaaaaay roadtrip)!!! We hope you all have a great weekend filled with love and (hershey’s) kisses!
xoxo
birthday girl
Whenever people ask me how old I am, I have to take a moment to think about the correct answer. I usually end up saying “twentyyyyy………..(long pause) three? four?” On Sunday I turned 25 and I think that will be easier to remember since everyone keeps reminding me that now I’m a quarter of a century old. In fact I got enough quarters to do a load of laundry. Ohhhh thank you friends! A week before my birthday my mom sent me a beautiful package filled with amazing jewelry, big cozy sweaters, and my favorite childhood book “Bridge to Terabithia”. It’s all worn and loved and it even had my name written in it from when I was in grade school. What a nostalgic kick!
On Sunday Tim took me out to brunch with our friend Sasha, her birthday was a week before mine so we had some celebrating to do! We tried this really cute Brazilian/Pan Latin fusion restaurant called Esperanto that was so funky and cute, and we had guava mimosas which were so sparkly and yummy! Perfect morning fare. Then we took advantage of the warm, sunny 40* day and walked around the city, hitting up a pastry shop in Chelsea for some macarons (YUM!), shopping at Buffalo Exchange, trying to shop a 60% off sale at LF Stores (with no success), best cappuccino ever at Stumptown at the Ace Hotel, dinner at Luzzo’s for a delicious wood-stove cooked pizza, cupcakes at Butter Lane for dessert, then a trip to the Russian Baths for a late night steam! WOW! We were busy :) There’s so much pressure to have a “great day” on your birthday, and just to let all you well-wishers out there know…I really truly did!
Christmas time is here!
We’ve hung the stockings, decorated the (miniature, NY appropriate) trees, and started listening to the holiday songs…now all that’s left to do is fill this apartment with smells of Christmas goodies baking in the oven!
Today we spent the day attempting to see Black Swan at a crowded theater, refunding our tickets and deciding on another day, eating delicious almond-crusted french toast at MUD, thrifting some really cool books to add to our (and by “our” I mean “my”) library, and trying to get my etsy shop up and running! I have a few really great things to sell for the holidays and I hope you find them sweet enough to purchase ;) Here is a sneak peak of the projects I’ve been working on, and hopefully the shop will be up by tonight so that you can grab your faves before they’re gone!
Here’s what I wore today…I’m loving my new knit beanie from urbs and stiletto booties from wet seal!!!
and the sweetest picture ever of my honey pie!
<3
Over ten years has gone by…and you’re still mine.
Tim and I have been married for a little over a year, but we have actually been together for much, much longer than that. On November 3rd, we celebrated our ten year anniversary! Ten years ago Tim was in a band called T.H.O. and they were playing a show at The Legion Hall. My girlfriends were there standing next to me as we were watching the boy I had a crush on play guitar and sing backups. Then Tim came to the front of the stage, took off his sweatshirt, and on his shirt were the words “Mer, will you go out with me?” then sang a song that he had written for me…and we’ve been together ever since.
Gift giving over these past ten years has gone from extravagant scavenger hunts with little gifts at each stop to staying home and making pasta, which is absolutely lovely. I remember in the first few years thinking, how the hell am I going to outdo what I did last year?! Now it’s more meaningful as we sit together on the couch eating cinnamon rolls from a pillsbury can reminiscing about that night ten years ago, and all of the wonderful memories in between. I’ve never been the type of girl to demand an expensive dinner, or a piece of jewelry…but every so often Tim sees something that he knows I will love and he’ll surprise me with it for our anniversary. This year he gave me a GORGEOUS turquoise ring made by MidwestAlchemy on etsy, and it is just absolutely perfect! It’s so earthy and chunky and unique, exactly the piece of jewelry that needs to be in my collection. He knows me so well :)
I am honestly the luckiest girl in the world, and at times when I feel like life is getting me down I just remember that I have a husband who loves me, who has stuck by me through the good times and the worst times over the past ten years, and I know that we will have a lifetime of amazing adventures ahead of us. I love you Timothy, thank you for everything. You are my world <3