AN ITALIAN WEDDING

it was only in september when i was last in cortona visiting hannah and luca for the first time. fast forward 9 months and i’m back in cortona with my brother for their wedding…their WEDDING! this was cody’s first time in cortona (in italy actually) and i couldn’t wait to show him all the things that made me fall in love with this little town. i didn’t need to do much selling, cortona pretty much sells itself. between the wedding, sight seeing and pasta eating, i think he fell hard for it too.

cody and i flew into rome pretty early and couldn’t check in to our hotel until 2pm soooo we freshened up in the lobby bathroom (thank god for l’ocittane’s verbena refreshing towelettes) and began our first day in rome at 7:00 in the morning! (i think this is what they call making lemonade out of life’s lemons). first up? the spanish steps…cody was eager to run to the top and take in the view… i was eager to run from the sun and keep the awkward jumpsuit tan at bay (spoiler alert, i still got an awkward tan).

after a full day in the city, we were ready to check in to our hotel room and get some rest. with a nice shower and a belly full of pasta (i promise to show all the food pictures), it only took me about 3 seconds to fall asleep. i think i might take this secret back with me to the states and use it as my bed time remedy…

one train ride later aannnddd we made it to cortona! we went out to explore the town before dinner and ran into some familiar faces in the piazza; the bridal party, some wedding guests and even the bride and groom! i love small towns.

there was a market in the center of town over the weekend, so we spent our morning browsing all the vendors. with a lot of self convincing (and cody’s reply of “you don’t need that.” to my “but it’s itaaaalian!”) i managed to not buy a thing! it was hard….like really hard. after we walked through the market, we caught the train to florence to check out the uffizi museum and stop for lunch at my favorite sandwich spot. hannah took me to this place last time i visited and i couldn’t wait to take cody. he’s only heard me talk about it every day since we got into italy.

it’s wedding time!!! i’m so happy to have made the journey to witness these two share their love for each other. the ceremony was translated in english and italian and took place overlooking the beautiful province of arezzo. the day couldn’t be any more perfect. salute to the happy couple!

the day after the wedding, we went over to the house where hannah’s family was staying and hung out poolside with the newlyweds. it was the perfect way to spend our last day in cortona.

cody and i left for rome the next morning. this time around, we took a pretty relaxed approach to the city. we spent the time we had left in italy as laid back as we possibly could… wake up. eat pasta. roam the streets (pun intended). eat gelato. roam some more. repeat. we walked through the villa borghese gardens, found a bench and sat there for a couple of hours. there was a light breeze that day, i think i could’ve listened to the trees sway back and forth forever.

 

BABYLONSTOREN, SOUTH AFRICA

babylonstoren seems to be straight out of a movie. where the writer goes to cure their writer’s block, where the busy city girl goes to unplug or where the lost 20 year old goes to find their purpose in life. regardless of what character you are, babylonstoren welcomes you to the country getaway you’ve been looking for. you can see more about the farm and hotel here.

babylonstoren offers one-bedroom suites, one-bedroom cottages and two-bedroom cottages.

guests can enjoy hand-picking their own crops or can dine in the hotel’s restaurant, babel.

 

 

FREUNDE VON FREUNDEN

i could read these interviews all day. freunde von freunden is a great thing for the creative community.

about-“FvF is an independent and international publication documenting inspiring people from diverse creative and cultural backgrounds. Our content aspires to present multifaceted personal perspectives that offer impressions of cities, various artistic industries and international urban living. By introducing real people and stories from around the world with an honest and authentic approach, FvF attracts a global readership and remains borderless.”

SALT & SKY

aerial abstracts from the salt fields of western australia. photographed by brooke holm.

MOUNTAINS

mountain

– noun– a large natural elevation of the earth’s surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level; a large steep hill.

i love what mountains represent; journeys, goals, battles… all of it! it doesn’t matter how small or big your climb is, the view at the top is worth it. photographer nicola odemann has me swooning over her photographs. taking me to far away places and reminding me to keep climbing!

 

THE Blog.

THEblog. a collection of all things that inspire me and what i hope can inspire you. let me break it down for you.

 

THE Home.

home envy at it’s finest. my collection of cool spaces in the home, as well as ideas to create your own cool space.

 

 

THE Music.

updates on what’s new in the music world and what is inspiring me.

 

THE Style.

the wish list that keeps on growing.

 

THE Yummy.

recipes that keep the tummy happy.

 

THE World.

places i’ve seen and places i am going to see.

 

THE Cause.

it’s for a good cause! and that is worth sharing. in this category i’ll be posting about companies and organizations with a great message that must be heard.

 

THE Creative.

YOU CAN DO IT! all the support and inspiration to get yourself going on some cool projects.