WE'RE BACK!

We got back from our two week adventure in the United Kingdom super late on Sunday night. I am still trying to get back into a normal routine (like not eating a proper English Breakfast every day (sigh), getting to bed at a normal time, and actually writing this dang dissertation), but I wanted to check in with you guys and let you know that we had a great time and there will certainly be some photos and recaps of the trip to come. In the meantime, I stumbled across this funny round up of images of majorly overloaded vehicles from all over the world. It reminded me about how, during our trip, we stuffed our miniature-sized Kia full of our overflowing luggage and attempted to navigate the tiny (read: the size of a golf cart path) roads in much of back woods Scotland. We got used to using "laybys" regularly—small pull overs on the side of the road—that laughably looked like rain gutters. Combine that with a ludicrous number of Highland cattle and bleating sheep in the road and many of our drives felt like the last photo—borderline chaos!Hope you had a great holiday weekend. If you are interested, more crazy photos of overloaded vehicles can be found here.
 

SCOTLAND: A LAND OF GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY

I haven't had a chance to process my photos or videos from our trip thus far—hard to believe we are almost halfway done!—but I can say we have some great adventures and, despite some unseasonably cool and cloudy weather, have basked in the great and vast landscape that is Scotland. We spent several days in the Scottish Highlands this week and truly enjoyed its splendor. I think this short film by Josh Brine on Vimeo captures much of the magic here; I hope you like it!

(Thanks to swissmiss for the conveniently timed tip!)

A BONNIE WEE ROMANCE! WE'RE OFF TO SCOTLAND!

Well folks, I am excited to say that today the hubby and I are headed off on a little adventure. We are going to the United Kingdom for two weeks, mainly driving around Scotland, seeing the islands, and then headed down for a couple of days in London and a dear friend's wedding. Though I am sad to report that I will have to squeeze some school work in on the trip, I am head over heels happy about spending some quality time together given our crazy schedules of late. With new jobs for both of us coming up (more on that in the future!), this may be the last overseas adventure we have in a while. So we will make it count!I will do my best to post an update here and there, but you can plan on seeing me for sure after the Fourth of July when we get back. Until then, I hope you are able to enjoy some lovely summer weather!
(All photos snagged from Pinterest and saved on this board here.) 

RANDOM THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, VOLUME TWO

As I near the home stretch with my dissertation, my brain increasingly feels like swiss cheese—completely full of holes. It is perhaps only fitting that I give you another 'Random Things' post, if only to accurately represent my chaotic state of mind. . . 

ONE > How fabulous are these colorful playing cards? Who knew poker could be so pretty . . . 

TWO > I rotate my desktop background regularly and am always looking for new (and free!) patterns to upload. DesignLoveFest's regular column is the best source for these and I totally fell in love with her recent post featuring this palm print by Kate Worsum.

THREE > Candy on a stick? Yes, please!

FOUR > I can't decide if one piece bathing suits are all purposefully designed to be unflattering or if they don't just work on me, but the raving reviews and pretty colors of this JCrew number have me tempted to try again . . . 

FIVE > These brightly colored beauties in Naples have me dreaming of revisiting my trip to Italy and heading down south instead. 

SIX > I collect typewriters. Have I told you that? Well I do. It's a hard hobby to keep up in my cramped NYC apartment, but oh baby this yellow number is calling my name!

I WANT TO GO TO THERE: AIRBNB FLOATING HOUSE IN LONDON

Oh man, oh man. Life is crazy! One of my most loyal readers (hi Mom!) pointed out this weekend that I hadn't posted here in two weeks. Two weeks!, she said. Whoops! Has it really been that long?Turns out madly trying to write your dissertation before the fall graduation deadline, completing a bunch of last minute wedding calligraphy orders, preparing to move, writing conference applications and generally trying to keep your friends and family from forgetting what you look like takes some time! But I plan to keep popping in here as much as possible, don't worry!The photos above are of a cool project I stumbled across recently. AirBnB created an unusual ad campaign to celebrate London's new deregulation of AirBnB's short term apartment rental service —they built a full sized house, complete with two bedrooms and a yard and floated it down the Thames River. Apparently you could even rent a night's stay in the house (at least before it closed on May 22nd). Amazing, right? What a unique way to see the city!Learn more about the tiny floating AirBnB house here.p.s. Reminds me of this cute floating guy!

PER YOUR SUGGESTION: SEW WANDERLUST

Talk about dedication! Designer Teresa Lim decided some time ago that she found taking snapshots too fleeting and superficial a way to experience the places she traveled to. Instead she began embroidering her favorite settings in situ on her travels. Lim says that by taking the time to make a small sewn piece in each place she goes she becomes endowed with an intimate knowledge of that place, and walks away with more than a facile photographic souvenir.I love the idea behind Lim's project, called Sew Wanderlust, so much! But am certain I wouldn't have the patience to do this any my own trips. Too many things to do, too many sweets to eat! Still,  we can all enjoy the fruits of her labor, right?See more of Lim's embroidered travel works here.
(Thanks to my dear friend Susie for the tip; originally posted on Bored Panda)

PER YOUR SUGGESTION: NEW NORWEGIAN PASSPORTS

Hold the phone, guys. My dear friend Susie just sent me a link to an article about the coolest design project: Norway's new passports! Apparently in February the Norwegian National Police issued a call for submissions to redesign the country's identification cards and passports. This week they announced the winning proposal was submitted by Neue, a design studio based in Oslo. Their design plan is pretty ingenious (reminds me of these, actually), featuring a spot on color palette (that blue and red, yum!) and beautifully simple renderings of fjords and mountains that, wait for it, light up to reveal the Northern Lights when placed under a UV lamp. Security meets design. Brilliant. Now, where do I sign up for Norwegian citizenship? :)

Learn more about the project here and, if you speak Norwegian, the Neue design group here.

VIVA ITALIA! THE ITALIAN GRAND TOUR, PART ONE

As you know, the hubby and I just got back from a glorious two week vacation in Northern Italy. It was the hubby's first time there so, of course, I had to give him the grand tour. We stopped in seven different places in 14 days; it was awesome!Since I took so many lovely photos and had such a good time, I thought I might share a bit of our itinerary with you in an ongoing series here on the blog. Hope you like it! We flew into Milan and hopped in a rental car headed straight for Lake Como. We stayed in the adorable town of Varenna, right in the middle of the lake surrounded by mountains and within spitting distance of Bellagio and Menaggio across the water. Basically, this place is paradise! 

We stayed in this incredible hotel built into the side of the mountain that was only accessible by—wait for it—funicular! 

The views, not surprisingly, were out of this world! The video above was shot from the balcony of our hotel room . . . so yeah . . . we lucked out. :)

We spent a lot of time checking out the other towns on the lake, zooming around in an awesome rental boat. There were so many gorgeous mansions, brightly colored harbors and jagged green mountains to see and bobbing by them on the water felt like a particularly special viewpoint.

The combination of sun, billowy clouds, sparkling water and silhouetted mountains made for a potent photographic cocktail and I couldn't stop snapping pictures of it all (I mean, could you resist this view?).

There was, most certainly, lots of lots of tasty meals (it is Italy!). Most were spent in lakeside cafes, sipping mineral water and lounging under sun-dappled umbrellas. See what I mean about paradise? 

I have to say that Varenna was the perfect kick off to our Italian grand tour. Only the first adventure of many, though, and I can't wait to share all the rest with you in the coming weeks. Stayed tuned!

I'M BACK! AND I HAVE MISSED SO MUCH!

Well, hello there! Remember when I said I would try to post while I was traveling in Italy? Ha! The moment I stepped off the plane I fell head over hells into the glory that is gelato every day, pasta at every dinner, warm sunshiney days, and long evening walks through historic town centers and, well—surprise!—I completely forgot about blogging. Isn't that a sign of a good vacation though?

Finally returning to the real world today, I am frantically trying to catch up on all the media I missed. I found all kinds of delightful things I clearly would have shared with you if I had not been in a gelato-induced haze, so here's a quick round up for your perusal. Because you weren't really planning to get any work done today, were you?


Apple debuted new iPhones (I am due for an upgrade!) and, in a development surprising to no one, an Apple Watch. But I was most impressed with the hilarious Ikea catalogue parody of an Apple announcement above.

This crazy cliff-clinging house looks like a superhero secret lair, no?

I haven't spent a weekend in NYC since April (yes, April!), so I am excited to use this cool site to explore my home city.

Love. Animated.

A very important campaign: yes means yes.

I struggle with this all the time. Great tips for saying no  . . . now I just need another version for social occasions. Because, let's face it, mostly I want to stay home in my pjs with a pint of ice cream and my Netflix queue.

I just got back from vacation but I want to pack my bags and head to this cerulean paradise immediately.

Dominatrix in a NYTimes crossword? Sacrebleu!

If only I had had this handy tool on my trip, I would have been instragraming up a storm!

Tried and tested in Italy, new favorite gelato flavor is definitely coconut. This is the best brand buyable stateside.

Cell phones have ruined our sense of social responsibility.

I want to hang this on my wall.

Lately I have gotten back into yoga and I am really reaping the benefits. These poses would be a great addition to my practice, if only to offset the hours I spend everyday trolling the internet for blogger inspiration.

Obviously in Italy, I saw Vespas everywhere. I have new respect for them (though they are still terrifying, buzzing in and out of traffic, even when their drivers are in three piece suits!) knowing their cool history.

A fascinating design dilemma—how to show people texting on tv and in movies without pulling focus from the face.

Color coded photos, appealing to my chromatic compulsions in all the best ways.


I have so many fun things to share in the next couple weeks, including photo essays from my travels and recaps from the fabulous 60th birthday fête we threw for my Mom this weekend. Lots of stuff to look forward to, I can't wait! Clearly, I missed you guys. :)

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

I am frantically packing for my trip to Italy tomorrow (!) but thought I would take a minute to share some of the key items on my perfect packing list. As a frequent traveler, I can attest that having certain high-quality, multi-tasking items can make any plane, car, hotel, etc. into a cozy home away from home. Without further ado . . . 

An iPad mini, because I like to have reading options from newspapers to novels, at my fingertips, $399 

A pretty passport cover to keep your precious ID safe, $78

A simple, patterned scarf to wear around your neck, shoulders, or as an ersatz blanket on the plane, (bonus: it goes with everything!),  $59.50

See-through packing cubes to keep all your stuff sorted (and compressed!) for easy suitcase stuffing, $38

Of course, a stylish and sturdy suitcase to pack it all,  $285

A fun sleeping mask to grab some precious shut eye on the plane, $12

And, last but not least, a comfy pair of pants for long car rides, lounging in your hotel room or just plain strutting your stuff, $79

Anything I missed? I would love to hear your must-haves in the comments! As I have mentioned before, I will be in Italy for two weeks (through mid-September) and will do my best to post an occasional update here and there. But don't be mad if I get caught up in gelato and cobblestoned streets and Renaissance paintings and forget to come back and say hi . . . For now, I will simply say: arrivederci!

TIME FLIES!

Guys, where has this week gone? Matter of fact, where has this summer gone?!! I can't believe we leave for Italy next week! And two days after we get back, in mid-September, is my Mom's 60th travel-themed birthday party. So much fun to be had, so little time!

To get ready for all the fun times ahead I have been working my crafty magic behind the scenes (in between bouts of mad dissertation work. I hope to be able to share more details and instructions for these projects after the party, but until then here are some fun sneak peaks.

above | I painted these tiny wooden airplanes pretty colors to decorate the birthday cake. I am planning devil's food chocolate with white buttercream frosting; these planes will be attached to wires and inserted into the cake to look like they are buzzing around it. Cool, right? planes bought here

above | I had these vintage-style postcards made up with a custom cancelation stamp on the back. I hope to have guests write notes on the back and then, after the party, bind them into a keepsake guest book. postcards bought here

above | Using my favorite yellow crepe paper rolls, I made these cute sunshiney garlands to hang as a backdrop for the food table. Love them! crepe paper from here

above | Last, but not least, I have spent the better part of this week putting together these favors—pocket-sized Moleskine notebooks stamped to look like passports. I can't wait to show you the step by step of these puppies; there are lots of fun details customized for the party, including the little security stickers on the back. What do you think? I hope the guests like them!Anything I am missing? If you have more clever travel-themed ideas for the party, lay them on me in the comments. Thanks! And happy weekend!
p.s. I posted all of these photos to my Instagram account this morning. If you like what you see, head on over here and follow me!