After reading April’s post today, laughing out loud, and commenting about how I love the Harveys, even though I don’t really know them {but I kinda feel like I do} I decided to test Tyler… How would he respond?
Me: I love you like Kate loves William.
Tyler: And I love you like Charles loved Diana.
Fail.
Epic fail.
Before I start this, I have to acknowledge all of the devastation across the South, especially in Tuscaloosa. It’s just unspeakable. My great friend Christie, the one who was just married three weeks ago, was one of those who lost everything in the storm. We’ve only talked through texts, but I know she’s beyond thankful for the safety of herself, her family, and friends. My heart still breaks for such sadness to follow such great joy. We both rejoice in a Mighty God, but please pray for her and those that have lost so much.
Second, after spending way too much time writing this, I realized I have the wrong date for Show Us Your Life Vacations! It’s scheduled for next Friday, but I already have posts planned for next week and that will throw everything off, so I’m bucking the palace system today and posting it early. I’ll post it today and just link up next week!
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I’ve been meaning to do this for the last, oh, eight months or so, so when I saw today’s topic on SUYL, I knew I had to join in. In case you missed it, TGrass and I took a two and a half week trip to Italy last August—the first European trip for both of us. After a brief stay in Paris, we headed to Venice and worked our way south until we made it to the Amalfi Coast. It was an incredible trip and there are few days in our home where it doesn’t come up in some form or fashion…
I wrote lengthy recaps of each city along the way, which are linked in each city title below {they’re also linked on the travel page}. We lived and died by Fromer’s in planning the trip and tried to keep our hotel prices reasonable, so all of our recommendations are smaller hotels, but were clean, in great locations, and usually came with great freebies (free breakfast, wifi, etc…). We travel by Euro Rail from city to city, with the exception of driving from Rome to Sorrento, a fun way to shake up the end of the trip.
Anyway, without further adieu, our recommendations on where to wine, dine, and sleep while you gallivant through Italy…
If you want a great hotel for a good price in a great part of Venice, here it is! The hotel is located right next to the Ponte dell'Accademia {i.e. You don't have to haul your suitcase over a thousand bridges after you get off the water taxi}. We were able to fling open our windows for a great view of the Grand Canal. You aren't going to find any five-star Westins in Venice, but this place wasn't bad. It's older {of course}, a smaller B&B type with high ceilings and antique furniture. It was super clean, they have a fridge stocked with free drinks for you to grab on the way out, and the owners know you by name. Oh, and right outside the door of the hotel is a great pizza place - Accadema Foscarina - located in the shadow of the Accademia Bridge on the canal. I think we paid 100-120 euro per night.
Three Florence restaurant recommendations:
If you ever make it to the Amalfi Coast or Sorrento, you must stay at La Minervetta Maison. There are only 12 rooms, so you will feel like you own the place. The views are amazing and the rooms look like they came straight out of a magazine {And they offer the most amazing breakfast spread each morning…Actually, amazing doesn’t even cover it.} 
This place was pricey, but we wanted to splurge on our last hotel in Italy—totally worth every penny and we were able to make it work since the other hotels weren't as grand.
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And just to show you how much fun we had...-----------------------------------------------------------
And that’s it! Oh, that made me ache for Italy. We watched The Tourist last weekend and it had the same effect… If you’re heading to Italy soon, I’m officially jealous. If you have any questions feel to free to comment or email—I’d love to help!
Thanks for stopping by—Happy Friday Royal Wedding Day!
A few months ago, some good friends of ours offered us some extra tickets to the Kentucky Derby. They weren’t cheap, so we hemmed and hawed and said no and then said yes and then thought about it some more. But it’s the Kentucky Derby. And these seats are insane. So we decided we couldn’t pass up this opportunity. If you’re going to do the Kentucky Derby, you gotta do it right.
This means I went into a tailspin of googling. Hats. Dresses. Typical Derby Day attire. And while I am quite familiar with southern style, I have never in my life rocked a church hat.
But we’ll go there later.
The dress was first. I figured it’s much easier to find a hat to match the dress {But what do I know?}
So this was the first dress. Meet “Jillian.” I fell in love with her while innocently cutting through a department store when we were looking for a tie for TGrass for TOTS. I wasn’t even looking for a dress and there she was. Like it was fate. It was Kate Spade and it was beautiful.
Then I looked at the price tag.
There was no way T was going to go for it and I’m not sure I could even justify it. Plus, I think these stripes next to Tyler’s seersucker would be a bit much, no?
So I filed it in the “If I can’t find anything else…” folder and kept looking. No store was too great or too small. Bloomingdale’s. Marshalls. Saks. TJ Maxx. Nordstrom. Nordstrom Rack. I looked everywhere and was starting to see a pattern in what I wanted… Sleeveless, not strapless. Pink or coral. Solids, not florals.
{This Lilly dress broke all of the rules but I love the print. Didn’t fit great though.}
Just when I was losing hope, I saw dress in Marshalls. It was pink. Sleeveless. Linen. Ruffles. Giant flower on the hem. $50.
I took it. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a great back up plan.
It’s not nearly as dowdy on as it looks in the picture, but it doesn’t hug my waist at all, so it doesn’t do much to flatter my figure. I love the bubblegum pink though and I think it looks pretty good with my skin tone.
Keep looking though.
Saw this at Nordstrom. LOVE. {I could wear coral seven days a week.} But no local store has a dress in my size range in stock. Debating ordering a 4 and 6 online and returning one {or both, if I opt out.}. Your thoughts? Is it even Derby appropriate? It is a little brunch-y.
THEN tonight I stopped at the mall before a work dinner/party and saw this little gem. Except it’s in coral! I was in a hurry, the six was too big in the chest {story of my life}, they didn’t have a four, so I grabbed the two and ran out the door. 
{I know this sounds like a gamble but I’ve tried on a gazillion dresses of this brand lately and they all run big. And everything’s returnable, right? Right.}
{It’s far less orange in person, I swear.}
And since it’s a 2, the waistband sits a lot higher on me than on the model which really accentuates my waist, and it fits so well in the chest and arms, I don’t think I’d even need a bra. The hem hits just at my knee, there are no straps to tug at, and it has pockets.
Plus, it’s a size 2. That really strokes my ego, but in a really false way because homegirl is not a size 2. Just what I need, something to keep me in denial about my recently expanding waistline…
Anyway. We have a real contender ladies and gentlemen ladies.
I am my mother’s daughter, so I’ll keep looking, buy 18 dresses and return 17. Any thoughts on the current options? Anything out there you’ve seen that I’m missing?
And then… The hat hunt.
While initially frustrating, I quickly became acclimated to hat terminology via google: wide brims vs. fascinators, brim sizes, down brims, panamas, sheers, etc… But have you seen what these hats costs? There is no way I was spending $350 on a hat I will wear for one day of my life. So off I went on a hunt. I had no idea where to start but it turns out, a lot more stores sell hats than you think when you’re really looking.
While many are paying top dollar for these toppers, my DIY self will not let money stop me from having a phenomenal hat. Seeing that I haven’t actually decided on a dress {deadline is Friday}, I figured the best route is buy “blank” and decorate it myself.
So here’s my canvas…
This thing is easily wider than my shoulders aaaaand I love it. The brim is wired so you can shape it however you want, and it cost a whopping $22 at Macys. And while I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do with it, I just can’t stop looking at these giant bows…
So, while I feel like I’ve made a lot of headway in the last three days, I still need a lot of input. Dress: pink? coral? Is linen too wrinkly? Is jacquard too heavy? If I wear coral, what colors do I put on my hat? Bows? Feathers?
????????
Help! Spill it girls!
I have no pictures to share from our day, no Easter baskets or egg hunts, but I love looking at all of your pictures on your blogs and Facebook! All of those pastel dresses and the bright green grass. I love Easter pictures.
We enjoyed Easter services this morning at NCC with our friends Adrienne and Brad. We’ve known them forever and they’ve been to church with us several times, but not since we started attending NCC. So this morning was their first time there and there’s always a little bit of anxiety taking people to your church for the first time, right??
“Please don’t let it be Money Sunday.”
“Please don’t let them serve vampire communion.” {Which they DID last week. I spoke too soon, I guess.}
“Are they clapping? Do they like the music? Do they look bored? They look bored. They hate it.”
All was well until Pastor Mark brought up Bono during the sermon. Adrienne works for the ONE Campaign—Bono’s non-profit—and my heart rate elevated slightly…
“Please, God, don’t let him say anything bad about Bono…”
Turns out, he praised Bono for an interview he did claiming the divinity of Christ.
Whew. Bonus points.
In the end, they loved it! We didn’t have to explain any weird communion practices and they didn’t think it was nuts that we go to church in a movie theater. Score.
In all seriousness, it was a great service. Mark preached on the story of Lazarus, which I thought was an interesting approach to the resurrection story on Easter Sunday.
We followed up church with lunch on the rooftop of a new place in Clarendon—Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill. It was breezy and sunny and perfect. We shared the fried green tomatoes, sipped on Sweet Peaches, and three of the four of us ordered the lobster roll. It was soo good—the perfect amount of mayo, huge chunks of cold lobster, yellow peppers, and arugula… I should have taken a picture, but I didn’t.
I know, I thought I was a blogger too.
It was downright hot by the end of lunch and homegirl has some funky tan lines to show of it. Not only was today Easter, it was the inaugural exposure of my post-winter skin to sunlight. What can I say, I’m a multi-tasker.
After church we headed home and did some work on the flower beds in the courtyard. For dinner, Tyler grilled some corn and chicken breasts, and a can of baked beans…literally a can sitting on the grill because we’re fancy like that…while I sat outside with him and read a book.
{I’m currently working my way through Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. The book is huge and I squeeze in reading it when I can but the progress is slow. If you know the general story of his life, though, you know it’s fascinating enough to keep you going…}
About an hour after coming inside and finishing dinner, a holy hail storm—the most bizarre form of precipitation—came out of nowhere and it has been storming like crazy ever since. But it’s cool because the power is back on and we’re falling asleep with the windows open, listening to the rain and thunder.
We missed our families today, but appreciated a quiet, relaxing day with our friends and reveled in the joy of a risen Savior.
“He is not here; He is risen, just as he said he would.”
Matthew 28:6
Amen and amen. Hope you guys all had a wonderful day.
Having visitors last week finally got me to finish up my spring decorating and a few other projects. It kinda looks like the Easter Bunny threw up in here…
But I kinda love it…
Well, after my exciting day at the salon on Saturday, I attempted to revamp my self esteem by getting all gussied up to hit up Taste of the South—a gala hosted by the all of the southern state societies here in DC. Each state brings in food famous to their state… Thus the “taste” part.
Tuxedos, fried food, and an open bar? Yes please.
This year’s festivities sort of snuck up on me {last year it was in June}, so I just wore the same dress I wore last year. I love it and it’s universally flattering, so that was A-OK with me. Tyler on the other hand did buy his first pastel cummerbund set—he looked pretty great.
His bow tie print… Gotta love southern fashions! My Nebraska boy has come a long way. 
Tyler getting the thing tied might be deserve it’s own blog post…
We actually took more than 2 pictures this year, so I thought I’d share… {And per my usual, I yoinked a bunch offline too… They were way better than my little point & shoot ones.}
This year’s festivities were at Constitution Hall downtown. It was a much better choice than the Armory, where it’s been for the last several years. The Armory is in the ghetto and has no air conditioning, which wouldn’t have been a problem on this cool April night, but it was huge problem last summer.
Once we got there, we climbed the stairs feeling quite debonair. We walked in the doors, handed over our tickets and spent 30 solid minutes standing in line waiting to get in. Until we realized it was the coat check line. Just when you start to think you’re cool…
Constitution Hall is smaller than the Armory so it was packed but I’ll take packed over a thousand degrees any day…
The place was filled to the nines with the latest dresses, Vineyard Vines bowties, and… Ben Stein? I have no idea why he was there, but we saw him several times. He was just walking around, chatting, getting his picture taken…
We headed straight for Georgia’s booth, but the food wasn’t all that exciting. Louisiana and North Carolina had the best—Louisiana with jambalaya, North Carolina with lots of great cheese. Almost every state had pulled pork sandwiches, Florida served Key Lime Pie, and the drink of choice typically included bourbon. I. was. stuffed.
The band was awesome! Thinking we were done for the night, we headed to the dance floor to say goodbye to some friends, but got sucked in to dancing all night and didn’t get home until well after midnight. I had no regrets about this as we fist pumped to “Don’t Stop Believing” with 2,000 of our closest friends.
Church came early the next morning, but we were so glad we got a night out on the town. Taste of the South is such a fun event, they raised $200,000 for charity, and we ran into a zillion people we knew even though we started the night out it solo. {I even ran into a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in YEARS, who lives in DC and I didn’t even know it!}
Hope you guys had a great weekend and survived the storms on Saturday!
It happened today.
Yes, I waited entirely too long to go in for my highlights.
Yes, I have a funky bald spot in there because I BURNED off a chunk of hair last month.
{A story I spared you, but it involved a metal roundbrush, a hair dryer with the concentrator on, and a girl not paying it attention. It went something like this…
Tyler: “Do you smell something burning?”
Me: “No, I don’t smell anything…”
Cut to me at a dinner party an hour later, quickly yanking away long hairs stuck in my necklace before anyone notices… Three weeks later, I found “the spot.”}
Yes, my hair just seemed insanely fried, despite no real change in my regimen {beyond the dry-your-hair-until-it-becomes-so-overheated-that-it-physically-detaches-itself-from-your-head routine…}.
I wasn’t intentionally avoiding the salon, I just haven’t had time to go and my roots just snuck up on me in very real, very dark way.
I knew it was coming…
“How long has it been since you’ve been here? We’ve missed you!!” {Lie.}
“Soooo, what shampoo are you using?” {Make sure your voice goes up at the end when you read it.}
“How often are you flat ironing?”
“Do you blow dry everyday?”
They try to say it casually.
They try to sneak it into the conversation {while their eyes bulge as they finger through my scalp}.
They try to hide their disgust.
But what they’re really saying is, “What the hell did you do to your hair??”
Salon judgment.
Then they start in on the special treatments…
“You know, we’ve got this great keratin treatment…”
“You should really check out the products we have up front…”
It’s like ordering food off of a menu without prices. You know it’s going to cost you…
AND I’m uncomfortable the whole time because we’re both trying to be nice, but I feel like I need to defend myself and say, “No, I did not soak my hair in a vat of chemicals last night and then dry it in a tanning bed.” And I know the train wreck that is my hair needs it, but I still feel like Uncle Frank from Home Alone asking how much it costs…
Salon judgment.
Of all of the physical traits I inherited from my dad, my hair is my favorite {I’m starting to re-think that because I never had braces thanks to him, but a big butt and “athletic” legs aren’t hard to beat…}. It’s thick, it’s wavy, and it holds curl like a champ. I don’t always love it, but I think have pretty great hair.
So in the end, I do what I have to save it. I buy the shampoo. I take the treatment. I walk out feeling half-way rejuvenated, and the other half…judged.
Salon judged.
So, I made these little tags last week that might be my fastest, easiest, and simplest craft yet… Here’s how it all it went down…
I kept seeing chalkboard tags like these in Pottery Barn…
“I like those—I could probably make them…”
So I went to the craft store and in the unfinished wood section, along with the little painted wooden cutouts (like frogs and flowers and rainbows…), they had blank wooden squares that cost a whopping .29 each.
So I picked up five.
Along with a can of chalkboard spray paint.
{It was $6 versus the $15 can…}
And I think you can figure out the rest…
I spray painted each side… Drilled a hole in the corner… Threaded a piece of twine through it… And grabbed a piece of chalk.
I really didn’t have a place to hang them and don’t have any wine parties planned {but it should be on my To Do list, right?}, so I just started randomly hanging them around the house.
The wine cabinet…
The TV armoire…
The empty pasta jar…
We had company over on Sunday. No one said anything, but they probably think I’m weird…
Oh well—can’t wait to wrap those suckers around a pinot!
HAPPY FRIDAY!
