Visiting Florence with PhillyBoy was like bringing two loves together.
It was heaven, even with a touch of rain.

PhillyBoy and I ate our weight in gelato in Italy.
My favorite classic cone was from an old love… Festival Il Gelato.
That gelateria and I were good friends in 2004. I visited almost every day, and thanked it for all the fat pants I earned during that time.
I would pay anything for una coppa di nocciola this afternoon.
Signed, Gelato is my middle name.

P.S. Check out my latest Babycenter post: Why am I still sick? Of course I LOVE being pregnant, I just wish I felt as great as everyone said I would by now. Soon, I hope… very soon.

Our trip to Italy….

I don’t even know what to say or where to begin.

You know when a vacation is so important and memorable that you can’t imagine it ending? That was our trip to Italy.

We bonded with our cousins who met us there. We relived old memories of Rome (for him) and Florence (for me). We had some serious adventures, especially in driving. We spent time with our family in Trieste who I hadn’t seen since 2004. We heard some fascinating war stories from Nonna. We (well, ahem, the BOYS) shopped til we/they dropped. We ate deliciously simple foods one can only hope to replicate at home. We filled our hearts with love and memories and I never wanted to come home.

To help you understand how magical our trip was, PB created a video. It can’t be embedded since it is a Google doc, but please click this link to view. Note: it is quite long but worth watching!

Video: Italy 2011

I hope that helps you begin to understand what Italy was like for us, but don’t worry if it doesn’t.. I’ll be providing some explanations soon!

Signed,
In love with my husband, bambino, and Italia…

PS- Check out my latest Babycenter post on why I don’t want a boy. It’s not for any the reasons you might think! It’s actually quite silly.

Hopefully we enjoyed one of these..

or possibly shopping here…

I can’t wait to share our trip with you! Have a great week!

PhillyBoy and I have our bags packed and are ready to go! We leave tonight and won’t be back for almost two weeks.

I can’t wait. It feels like the night before the first day of school when I know I need rest but I’m too excited to relax. By this time tomorrow we will be in Rome, probably fighting over driving directions.

We have everything stacked against us in terms of driving!

1. The car we rented is standard only, which PB hasn’t driven in a few years.

2. He doesn’t speak Italian.

3. I have to be the navigator but I am HORRIBLE at it and have no sense of direction!

We’re already laughing about the fights we know we are going to have. I love married life.

The plan is to spend one night in Rome where PB will be the tour guide. He spent 6 weeks there while in law school and loved it so much. Then one night in Florence where I have already planned out all of our meals and snacks (sorry, PB!). Since we are there for such a short amount of time I have to try hard to hit up all of my old favorite spots. Then we head to Venice where we will meet up with my cousin and his wife (from here) and my cousin and his girlfriend (Italian). We will all be frolicking in Venice before we head to Trieste for the rest of our stay. Of course it is supposed to rain in Venice, but that’s my Venetian luck.

The last time I was in Venice was during Carnevale in 2004. It was a blast, except for the flood, having to carry our bags over at least 10 bridges then up 2 floors to our rooms, having our feet, underthings, hats, etc soaked all the time, and some other things I won’t mention. It was really fun seeing all the masks though I swear! And we had delicious warm wine from the street at night while we partied in the square. Anyway, if it rains again I might just have to cover myself from head to toe in plastic. I’ll be really attractive.

I’ve been looking forward to visiting nonna since the day we booked the flight. I haven’t been to Trieste in 5 years, and while Nonna has been here every year since, it just isn’t the same as visiting her on her territory. Unfortunately, nonna broke her leg last week (povera nonna!) and will be in the hospital, and I haven’t mentioned it yet because my heart hurts just to think about. Luckily, we will be there with her to bring her smiles and good cheer (and croissants and crossword puzzles.. but ssshhh don’t tell the nurses!). I can’t wait to give my nonna a big hug and a kiss and also to sneak her some treats!

I’m also looking forward to:

-cornetti (jam-filled croissants)
-pizzas
-nuts & raisins from our nut guy at Mercato Centrale in Florence
-the Diesel store where I hope to find some funky colored sneaks like the last ones I bought in Italy. (as seen here)
-showing PB where my mom grew up
-shopping (my pockets are groaning already!)
-pasta, gelato, and more cornetti!

P.S. I really think I accidentally tossed my old external hard drive. The one that had all of my photos from 2003 on. The only copy of all those photos, aside from a few I had uploaded to Shutterfly. I am devastated!
P.P.S. Check out my latest Babycenter post!

PhillyBoy leads the best life. He always gets what he wants. He brought his Mac to the Apple store last week because of an issue with the display, and they gave him a brand new MacBook Pro.

I’m bitter about it.

He now has not only all of the newest programs, but his keyboard lights up and he has a brand new power cord to boot.

Why can’t I be that lucky?

While playing around with the new iMovie today he couldn’t help but create a trailer of our Jordan trip from this past summer.

I’ve never missed Jordan more.
I’ve never missed vacations more.
I’ve never laughed harder.
I’ve never loved PB more.

See for yourself…

Spring is in the air.

And blood oranges too.

San Francisco makes me happy.

The end.

I’m in Sannnn Frannnnncisco!

It is still dark out, but I can’t wait for the sun to rise so I can enjoy this beautiful spring weather that appeared. I can’t wait for spring!

I’m here for a Babycenter/Momformation meeting. I’ve only been with the team for a few months but I am thrilled to meet my colleagues in person tonight. Here is my latest post.

One of my greatest passions in life is traveling, and I’ve visited lots of different places… off the top of my head I’ve been to Jordan, most major cities in Italy, Sardinia, Paris, London, Budapest, Prague, Viena, Jerusalem, Jamaica, Argentina, Ecuador, Tahiti, Croatia, Greece… the list goes on. In my years of adventures I have learned how to pack well and still have space for a few fun items. Let me teach you what I’ve learned!

Outfits:

It might seem crazy, but I actually plan what I will wear each day and evening on a trip. I might not follow my plan exactly, but I will know that I have enough options with me. No matter the length of a trip, I always repeat a few key items and possibly even outfits. I use accessories wisely since they don’t take a lot of room, and I minimize the number of shoes I need to bring.

Example:

For this trip to San Francisco, here is what I planned:

Tues day: Leggings/short sleeve shirt/striped boyfriend sweater/scarf
Tues night: Black pants/purple shirt/black sweater/flower earrings
Wed day: Leggings/purple sweaterdress pearl necklace & earrings
Wed night: black pants/grey tank/black sweater/nice necklace
Thurs day: leggings/black short sleeve/striped boyfriend sweater/funky necklace
Thursday same outfit as travel there: yoga pants, boots, etc
biancheria, pjs, socks, jewelry, toiletries, makeup, hair straightener, hair clip

I only brought two pairs of pants and only two sweaters, which will get mixed and matched. I also brought a pair of black heels and wore my boots underneath my yoga pants. My travel outfit wasn’t fabulous, but I saved a lot of room by wearing the boots.

My hair dryer didn’t come with me and usually doesn’t. I don’t straighten my hair at home typically, but when I travel I bring my straightener since it is smaller. I use the hair dryer offered at the hotel and follow it up with my straightener.

Electronics/Entertainment:

I am bad at this part! Aside from my carry on roll bag I bring another bag big enough to hold my electronics and snacks. On this trip I brought my cell phone, iPod, laptop, big camera, and my Kindle. That is a lot of electronics! I use twisty ties to tie together the cords, but aside from that I have no room saving tips.

Since this bag is usually a bit bigger than a normal handbag, I pack a handbag for my destination.

Snacks:

I pack a lot of snacks. My worst nightmare is getting stuck at the airport for hours with access to only airport food. I still remember clearly the one time I went to the airport in the summer without a sweater or a snack. I figured I’d be fine because I was going to Philly for 24 hours, and the flight is only 45 minutes. Well, the flight ended up being delayed for several hours and finally canceled, but that taught me a lesson. Never leave home without your snacks and sweater!

Example:

For this trip, a 6 hour flight, I brought the following:

• salad with grilled chicken from rybread
• a peeled orange
• a few kettle chips
• 2 Snackwell’s cookies (random childhood craving!)

From the airport I bought 2 huge bottles of water, one for the plane ride and one for my hotel room the first night.

Extras:

I need to feel comfortable when I am traveling and away from home, and a few special extras make that easier. I usually bring my TempurPedic all purpose pillow with me as it is perfect for the plane ride, and I always bring these big fluffly socks to use as slippers in the room. I also pack hand lotion no matter what season it is, and it is a nice indulgence to have with me.

I hope you enjoyed my lesson on packing, and it helps you the next time you travel!

Are you a good traveler? Where have you been in the world?

How often is it that you actually feel refreshed after a weekend of traveling?

It rarely happens, but when it does happen… it is gooooood.

PhillyBoy and I headed to the mountains in PA for New Year’s Eve weekend with some friends. The plan was to just chill out- unplugged- for a few days and enjoy our company, the fresh air, and relax. And that we did.

I needed a moment to reflect on the past year, recharge, and start fresh.

The weekend was exactly what we needed.

The girls cooked an insane New Year’s Eve meal for the guys…

The guys cooked for the girls…

We had a fire every night…

A serious game of charades (which the girls won- of course)…

Lots of Bananagrams…

And tons of laughter.

Oh, and copious amounts of sweets (it was worth it).

It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed that hard and also just let loose in every way. I was not restricted by any schedules or daily stresses, and I can’t believe the tremendous effect 3 days had on me.

I feel like a new person ready to tackle 2011.

Get ready for some serious cooking….

I’m not dainty. Or girly. Or super feminine.

I wish I was, but I’m not! I like to think I’m sophisticated and cool in my all black clothes and lack of frills, but… I’m probably not even that.

Alice’s Tea Cup is a cafe made for the quintessential dainty, girly, feminine woman. Fairy wings line the wall and real, mismatched china make the table settings. Children who go there are given the fairy wings to wear, and kids and adults alike are transformed to different place and a different time.

Can you remember the last time you drank out of a real tea cup? I can! It was Harrod’s in London 6 years ago when my aunt took me to have a traditional tea. With Alice’s Tea Cup there is no reason to travel all the way to England; they serve traditional afternoon tea!

Highlights, for me, include the incredible berry scones (served on the top tier) and the egg salad sandwiches (served on the middle tier). The scones had not just bits of berries, but whole berries dotted throughout. They were warm and just a bit crumbly but also soft. I wanted to take one home for PB, but thought it might be strange to order a scone to go. As I left I learned that in fact many people do that.

The service is warm and friendly and the experience is fun and nostalgic.

Now I just have to figure out how to get PB to take me there……

Have you been to Alice’s Tea Cup?

Alice’s Tea Cup
3 locations
http://alicesteacup.com/