Boo!

Happy Halloween everyone! I got a little creative last night and decided to give myself a Halloween inspired manicure. The ring finger is actually a Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail strip but I thought the black and white flowers could almost pass as spiderwebs.

And in case you couldn't guess, that's snow in the background of my photo. Snow?! It snowed on my birthday which meant we were trapped inside all weekend. The up side to that is my home no longer looks like this.

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And the Vacation Rolled On - To Capri & Sicily

Half of our trip was spent sailing the Tyrrhenian, Ionian, and Adriatic Seas. We only had one day at each of the destinations we sailed to so that meant we packed a lot of activities into each afternoon. Our first stop was Capri and we did what any good tourist would do - we paid for a group to the Blue Grotto. It was very pretty and very blue but also a circus. It's one of those things that I guess you should do once but now that I've seen it I'm sure I'll never return.

My favorite part of the day spent in Capri was taking the cable cars from Anacapri to one of the highest points on the island. The trip takes about 15 minutes so you get to relax and enjoy the view. And what a gorgeous view it is.

I wasn't joking, this is the view you are greeted with hop of the cable cars at the top of island. Breathtaking.

This guy is up there too. Quick glance - he totally looks like he's flipping us the bird, right?

From Capri we sailed to Taormina, Sicily which looks like the set from Audrey Hepburn movie.

We had a pretty leisurely afternoon in Taormina wandering back alleys and discovering buildings covered in gorgeous green vines. Sicily is a place I would definitely like to revisit, we saw only a small slice of the island and I know it has much more to offer.

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I'm Back! (I know, my timing is off)

I realized this morning that I slowly came back to blogging with out the proper "Hey, I'm back from vacation. How've you been?" blog post. I have a ton of pictures to share, it was really a whirlwind trip. We visited a lot of places in two weeks, perhaps too many. This was our itinerary: Rome - Capri - Sicily - Kotor, Montenegro - Dubrovnik, Croatia - Havar, Croatia - Venice - and back to Rome. Walking seemed the best way to experience each city, I wish I was wearing a pedometer because I would love to know how many miles we traversed. I'll try to just pick out a few highlights from each stop so I don't overwhelm you with a million vacation photos. No matter how pretty the destinations are I know looking at a million photos of someone else's vacation can get old fast.

Travel tip - Don't schedule your visit to the Coliseum the day you arrive in Rome after 15 hours of travelling. When you're that tired your interest in such an impressive structure diminished quickly.

My expectations for lunch near the Coliseum were pretty low because it is such a touristy part of Rome but I had the best carbonara ever at this little cafe just one block from the historic site. Curiously the menu had a big picture of Albert Einstein on the cover. The nerd in me was pleased.

Fountains, fountains everywhere. Once those crazy Romans discovered they could extract water from the ground they went a little nuts constructing fountains. I'm only partially serious, some of them are pretty impressive.

We spent a lot of time exploring this Basilica di Santa Maria (the name is actually much longer than that). The brass meridian on the church floor which maps the location of the Sun and some stars in the sky at different times of the year was fascinating. This Basilica was actually dedicated to Galileo, really interesting considering his relationship with the Catholic church.

This is a funny shot of the Spanish Steps. It's not often that you can be the only two people sitting on them. There are usually hoards of tourists hanging out here. Window shopping in the neighborhood below the steps is outrageously good but I could hardly afford to step foot in any of the shops.

Next stop - Capri, where I did not buy leather sandals and did not drink limoncello.

Edit: I almost forgot - How've you been?

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I Love DIYing

Or at least that is what I tell myself when my bed is in the living room...

...And my office is piled high with furniture.

I just have to keep reminding myself that it's all worth it.

I think it might be time for a vodka break.

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Houzz Guest Picks: Modern Home Office

Hi, I'm alive! And while I was away I created on a Guest Picks Ideabook for Houzz. Check it out here to see all twenty of my picks for an eclectic and modern home office.


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