Indy weekend

This weekend my honey whisked me away for a birthday (and anniversary) weekend in Indianapolis. We stayed at a charming little B&B (recommended by some friends) in the Mass Ave. arts district just north of downtown. We ate, we drank, we walked and shopped and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Check out the fun weekend we had...

St. Simon's Island

 

 Over the Memorial Day weekend holiday Bob and I traveled to St. Simon's Island, GA, for a family vacation. We had an amazing time. We rented a condo and basically ate, drank, swam and relaxed the entire time. It was the perfect retreat. There's something so refreshing about gathering with your family and just having really great quality time. No schedules. No appointments. Just fun. I really love my family down south and wish we got to see them more often. 

See a little photo recap of our trip after the jump.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In celebration of this fine holiday, Bob and I will be drinking Guinness and finding adventure on the streets of Dublin, Ireland. 

I'll share photos of our entire trip when we return!  

Happy weekend

Last weekend Bob, Winston and I went hiking at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.  We had a fabulous time romping through the woods, seeing the beautiful trees change color, climbing rocks and eating our picnic lunch. 
This weekend we'll be working away on our new house, getting closer and closer to actually moving in (I can't wait!).  Bob will be doing the dirty work of wiring the house and I will be planning out my decor for each room.  My goal is to celebrate the age of the house with pieces that compliment its older features.  I recently found an awesome antique "something" that I will show you soon...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Ireland Booked

Yesterday, Husband and I booked our tickets to Ireland for a knock-your-socks-off springtime trip.  We've been planning it for awhile now and yesterday (undoubtedly with a little luck o' the Irish) I spotted a super deal on airfare and pulled the trigger.  Now, we get to plan and anticipate for the next several months and figure out all of the fun things we'll see, do, smell, taste and feel.  I can't wait!!

p.s. I'll happily accept any tips on "don't miss" things in Ireland. :)

Move, Eat, Learn

How incredibly creative, beautiful, inspiring and amazing this video is.  Wanderlust-ers beware - it is guaranteed to be travelbug inducing.  Also, Eat (love!) and Learn.

by Rick Mereki via Black*Eiffel

1st Anniversary

This past weekend husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  It's hard to believe that it's already been a year, but it's been one of the greatest years!
We spent the weekend in Chicago where we took an awesome kayak architecture river tour, stayed at a chichi downtown hotel, enjoyed a delicious meal in Lincoln Park and went to a Cubbies game.  It was a great weekend with my sweets.

We even ate a bite of our wedding cake.  It was better a year ago.

Memory #11: Summer in NYC

The summer of 2002 I decided to get out of town for a bit.  I signed up for a two week long class at NYU that got me housing for the summer (an amazing apartment overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge) which led to me to meeting one of my dear friends, Heather.  I remember crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on my way into Manhattan feeling like the whole world was my oyster and I was embarking on a life changing experience. Turns out it was.  Heather and I became dear friends who romped around the city daily (and nightly), I scored a nanny job with a very well to do couple on the Upper West Side, I met people who would eventually lead to me to interview with some amazing fashion magazines and I simply had an amazing time.  The feelings of freedom, possibility and friendship were overwhelming.  A lot of which would lead me back to NYC the following year.  It was a fabulous time.

Memory #14: It's a Small World

Another memory related to my solo backpacking trip happened in Cologne, Germany.  I decided to alter my route a bit and instead of heading for Berlin, I hopped on a train to Cologne.  Not having researched the place prior to getting there I was at the mercy of my guide book to find a place to stay.  I decided on a hostel that was nearby the train station and seemed like a clean place.  To my surprise, when I walked in to the hostel I ran into Samantha and Nisha, two girls that I had gone to high school with and hadn't seen in years.  It was unbelievable!  They had met for the weekend in Cologne and were on there way out as I was walking in.  We couldn't let the fortunate circumstance pass by without reveling in our amazement over a traditional German beer. :)  It was one of those moments where you couldn't help but realize what a truly small world it is.

 photo

Memory #16: Switzerland & Italy

The Colosseum

After high school graduation I was lucky enough to take a trip to Switzerland and Italy with some of my best girlfriends.  I even got to spend my 18^th birthday in Lucerne, Switzerland.  We got to see Zurich, Rome, Pisa, Verona, Venice and several other cities.  It was an unforgettable trip!

The girls

The Grand Canal, Venice

Sarah, me & Sara

 The girls

Lucerne

The Spanish Steps

Vatican City

Pisa

Memory #17: My Lost Backpack

Going along with my backpacking trip to Europe... Another favorite memory is when the airline I was traveling with lost my backpack.  Sounds funny, right?  I was en route to Athens from Milan and had been in southern Germany where the temperature was a little chilly.  I was dressed in pants, a sweatshirt and sneakers and I had only my camera, passport and money with me.  I confidently boarded the plane dreaming of hot weather and a summer dress.  When I arrived in Athens and learned that my backpack had not made the trip with me I was beside myself.  I didn't speak a lick of the language, nor did I have my hostel reservation or any maps with me.  I was terrified.  To make the long story shorter, after hours of roaming through the city dripping with sweat, I ended up stumbling on my hostel after a few hours.  And, I made some new friends who helped me out with soap, contact solution and a towel.
The next day I went out in search of cooler clothing (it was scorching hot!) and found a small shop where the store owner was heaven sent.  Little did he know that polite conversation would lead into my travel nightmare.  He immediately called the airline and gave them a piece of his mind (and translated their response for me).  He promised I'd get my backpack back within the week.  I decided to purchase a dress there and then, god bless his heart, the man gave me some underclothes (yep, didn't have those either), a small knapsack to carry my things in, a pair of sandals and a beautiful blue scarf.  He was so kind and compassionate that I left the store with renewed faith in the universe.  I went on my way to explore the Greek islands.  And wouldn't you know it - a few days later I got a call (on the island pay phone) that my backpack would be arriving via ferry at 3am the next morning.  I went out to the dock to meet the boat and while I couldn't have been more happy to see my belongings, I was dreading the heavy load.  I definitely learned the value of traveling lightly those few days.  And, the sense of accomplishment, empowerment and perseverance in a bad situation did wonders for my outlook.  It was a really tremendous experience.

I saw this photo outside a cafe on the first island I went to after my backpack was lost. 

Memory #20: My Solo Backpacking Trip

Dublin

One of my favorite memories is when I went backpacking solo through Europe for 5 1/2 weeks.  I took a leave of absence from my job, borrowed a backpack from a friend and bought the first ticket I found.  It was truly one of the most thrilling, empowering and exciting adventures I've ever taken.  I started in Dublin and made my was south through Brussels, Amsterdam, Germany, Italy and down to the Greek Islands.  I ventured back north through France and back to Dublin.  It was incredible.

Dublin friends

Brussels

Amsterdam market

Me in Amsterdam 

Cologne cathedral

Cologne chocolate factory - yumm-o!

Munich Englischer Garden

Rhine River cruise

Athens - Acropolis

Athens bar

Amorgos (heaven on earth)

Amorgos

Santorini

Santorini (me hiking a volcano)

Nice

Nice

Antibes

Provence by train

Aix-en-Provence (fresh lavendar in a market)

Aix-en-Provence (Mt. Saint Victoire)

Versailles

Paris (from the ferris wheel)

Paris - Le Pont des Arts

Just the highlights from over 3,000 photos!