A week ago, I was drinking prosecco with my husband in Venice with this as a view.
I just had a mediocre cup of coffee in a small Midwestern town.
The prosecco/view combo totally wins.
Summer Travel Beauty
When packing for my honeymoon, I set out to maximize space. I wanted to have what I needed but not be weighed down. Then I went to pack my makeup bag. Weighed Down should actually be what I call it because it’s filled to the brim. Some serious editing needed to happen and after 10 days of vacation with my scaled down bag, I can confidently say the above 13 products are all you need to rock a polished summer look on the go.
Summer Reading
I go through times when I devour a book every few days and times when news websites and social media make up the majority of my reading. I liken it to junk food- I feel better when I am consuming actual literature but sometimes…takeout happens, life happens.
I was hoping that long flights, train rides and leisurely afternoons spent in lounge chairs would mean the reading of books and that it did — I read 3 books in the last 2 weeks. Here’s the roundup:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: This is a young adult novel that just reads like a great novel. Cancer is what crosses the main characters paths but it’s simply the (albeit massive) factor that is shortening their time. Hazel Grace and Augustus navigate first love and last chances with searing wit, realism and the non-cliched attitude that now is all we have and it’s the duty of our humanity to live every last ounce of it. I loved it and the story told by Hazel was so grabbing that it made for a very quick read. The passengers near me on the flight to Italy were also treated to my ugly cry at the end. Good lord.
The Women by TC Boyle: After reading Loving Frank, I am fascinated by the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Women revolves around all of the women in his life- 3 wives and a mistress- as told by one of his protégés. The factual stories around these women and their entanglement with the grandiose and complicated Wright is incredible but what I really loved about the book was the narrative- instead of chronological order, it’s told in themes. Never confusing, i found the writing to be compelling and left me, again, utterly fascinated by this man by whom we know through buildings, not relationships.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: I had heard so much about this book from friends and while it was long, it was very good. I read the 800 pages while on a cross Atlantic flight so the multitude of details flowed together easily and likely eliminated any slowness. 13 year old Theo Decker’s life is turned upside down after a trip to an art museum ends with a bomb and the death of his mother. The events set in motion by this day alter everything, including the famous painting his took in his confusion that horrible day. The topics of art theft and art dealing I find interesting and I felt the theme that while what happens in our childhoods impacts what follows, there is the possibility and, ultimately, the responsibility to make your own way is spot-on. Long but I learned a ton and felt it was worth it.
What are you reading? I would love to hear any recommendations you have!
Happy 4th of July!
I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so his place will be proud of him. Abraham Lincoln
Hoping you all had sparkly days in places you are proud of and are proud of you. Happy Independence Day!
A Roman Sunset Send-Off
Our Italian travels rounded out with one last night in Rome and in addition to the bottle of prosecco and chocolate covered strawberries the hotel sent up to our room, we were treated to this gorgeous sunset over Tiber Island. We were on our way to the Trastevere for dinner at Da Enzo, this whole in the wall trattoria that, word on the street, had the best carbonara in Rome (truth) and were chit chatting away when we crossed the bridge and saw…these colors. It stopped us in our tracks and once we gathered ourselves enough to snap a photo, we noticed everyone near us was in silence too.
Almost every bit of the last 10 days has taken my breath away and I am so grateful for this time for us to be away, with being totally wrapped up in each other and Italy as the only thing on the agenda. The together’ness, the I’ve-got-you factor…I totally get the honeymoon thing now and am so happy to be home, ready for all that’s next while still basking in where we’ve come from.
Da Gelsomina
To get to dinner last night, the restaurant sent a car to pick us up. It felt so fancy but once we were barreling up the mountain on the narrowest of streets, we got it- there is no way we could have gotten there on our own. After not being able to pick our jaws off the floor walking through a vineyard and past a glittering pool, we were shown to our table by a huge open window with the most incredible view of the water and sun that was still high in the sky. “This view…ees okay but the view created by God is just a short walk away. Why don’t you go for a stroll before dinner?” our waiter said as showed us to a stone path with directions to go straight, then left.
Huge cliffs, straight edges down to the bluest blue water…yes, sir- thank you for suggesting this walk.
There was also little ceramic tiles of quotes along the path.
Our bottle of wine was open and ready for us when we returned to the table and the sun set shortly after. From bright, bright light to simmering orb of orange, it was unbelievable. As in, I literally could not believe I was having dinner in a vineyard on top of Anacapri, drinking wine, holding my husband’s hand and watching light sink below the Mediterranean Sea like that.
Honeymoons rock.
Heaven and Pizza
If I get to heaven and it’s not a margherita pizza on a terrace in Positano, Italy, I am going to be shocked.
After one of the most insane (hair pin turns! Mount Vesuvius! The teeniest road ever carved directly into the side of a mountain! A fence as tall as my shin keeping us from the drop off! Italian drivers who aren’t going to let a little thing like oncoming traffic/that whole mountain thing keep them from passing! Sorrento!) drives in the world, we arrived in Positano and I am simply overwhelmed. I have never seen beauty like this. I have never seen lemons this big. I have never seen water this blue. It’s like glass married the sky and it’s baby is the sea.
I burst into tears when the woman showing us to our room opened the door to this terrace. A terrace for two to enjoy on our honeymoon, she explained.
Like I said- it is overwhelming, this little town on the side of a mountain.
Ryan laid down for a nap, the doors wide open, blowing in a breeze from the sea, so I walked up the diminutive, winding street until I found a ristorante with a wood fired oven and a family that invited me to sit with them for a glass of wine while my pizza cooked. Walking back to the hotel, I dodged Vespas and back on my terrace for two, sat down with my pizza for one.
Absolute heaven.
Love and Cake
I received an email yesterday morning from a friend titled “Love and Cake” and I can’t think of better words to describe our wedding day. Sunshine and warmth for the wedding, an awesome storm that made for the coziest cocktail hour, things clearing up so we could see the fireworks at Navy Pier, all while loving up our best friends and family, dancing our faces off and, of course, eating glorious, glorious cake.
I love love. I loved yesterday.
I love the man I married.
It was all I could have hoped for in a wedding weekend and my heart is so wildly full.
Wedding Week
An “enjoy your wedding week” bouquet from A New Leaf c/o my boss was the loveliest surprise to come home to yesterday. I am pretty sure they are the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. Hydrangeas and peonies and roses and calla lilies, oh my!
I have been overwhelmed this week by the kindness of others. Every card and call and text…it’s kept me so grounded in what this week is and it’s not to-do lists. It’s celebration and people and love.
And now, flowers.
Growth, Maps & San Eustacio
One of the most important things I have done in my life was spend 6 months in Italy. I studied abroad in college and to say it was a gamechanger would be a gross understatement- I truly credit that time, those experiences, that independence with shaping who I am more than any other singular time in my life. There’s something about getting lost and then found again, all by your own doing, both literally and metaphorically, that grows a person. My time in Italy grew me.
And next week…next week I get to go back to the Motherland. With Ryan. Who will be my husband. And he will get to see firsthand this place that is as much home to me as Chicago.
I had already planned on finding this cafe when we were in Rome and an email from one of my roommates in Italy confirmed its spot on our agenda. This map was drawn by the Italian cousin of our professor who had us over for dinner and then gave us a tour of Rome at night in his Fiat (seriously). It’s tucked behind the Pantheon and was the first place I 1) saw foam art and 2) where I carried on my first entire conversation in Italian. I went back repeatedly because it felt lucky, this cafe. And for the il gran cappuccino. And the barista who would come from behind the counter to kiss me on both cheeks. It’s basically perfection within four walls.
And with this sweet little hand drawn map, we will be sure to find it. Lost and found again, in all of its meanings.