Royal Caribbean 7 Day Cruise: Nassau, Bahamas

I just got back from a 7 day Royal Caribbean cruise, my chickadees! I planned on taking pictures of my outfits and my on board activities, but a. it was SO hot that I gave up on building cute outfits and b. I ended up not carrying a purse at all on board, so no camera. But I DID have an awesome time and I'm going to post a three day recap, with one port of call each day. First up: Nassau, Bahamas!

I didn't have an excursion in Nassau, so I just wandered, shopped, and tried to get the feel of this tiny island. We docked at about 7 am and I was on island by 8. But it was 88º by 10 am, with what felt like 300% humidity, so I got back on the boat and headed to the pool. These are my favorite shots of my morning meanderings. 

{All the islands in the Bahamas - that misty effect is actually my lens all fogged up from the humidity!}

{The Christ Church Cathedral, built in 1670.}

{Piracy played a big part in the history of the islands.}

{Palms}

{It was pre 10 am and the plazas were deserted.}

{I almost bought this.}

And here are some shots of the ship, Allure Of The Seas, which just happens to be a spectacular place to spend a week. 

{Allure of the Seas has "neighborhoods" and these beauties can be found in Central Park.}

{Our spacious room with an interior balcony (shown below).}

{Overlooking the Boardwalk neighborhood looking towards the aft side of the ship. Those interior balconies are what we had.}

{This is one (of the many) pools - this is the sports pool, where there was always a volleyball game to be found.}

Later this week, I'll post the next port of call - St. Thomas, USVI!

Sneak Peek: La Bella Italia!

As I mentioned here, I went to Italy in May. I've been working on a recap post (probably split into a few parts), but here is a sneak peek!

The rest is coming soon!! :)

Ciao Bella!

Guess what?

I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Wanna know why?

Because I am going...

to Italy!!

{Florence, Italy via}

My tickets are booked, my guidebook is highlighted, and my bags are packed!

Well, no, that last part isn't true. But I AM constantly making lists of things I want to pack.

Come May 8th, I'll be on my way to Italia along with my good friend, Lindsay! We have two weeks to explore Venice, Florence, and Rome and their surrounding areas.

{Dusk, Piazza Navona, Rome Italy via}

I can't even imagine the photos, the food, the souvenirs, and experiences we will come back with. It will surely be a life-changing trip and I can't wait!

{Lucca, Tuscany, Italy via}

To get ready for this journey, I (of course) turned to blogland and found some fun, funny, awesome blogs written by Americans who now live in Italy. These ladies have been so helpful: with restaurant recommendations (mmm...gelato), beautiful photo spots, even quiet places in their cities that really make you feel like you're in another time.

Here are a few of my faves:

Ciao, Christy!

Burnt By The Tuscan Sun

Mozzarella Mamma

Rubber Slippers In Italy

Do you know of any good travel blogs?

Even better, let me know if you have any fun Italy travel tips to share with me!

Road Trip Teaser

Whew! Back from the road trip - where there was no reliable internet, so sorry! Later, I will post a recap of all that we saw and did, but for now, here's one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

{this is Katie, Jen, Dawn, Myself, Carol, Amy, Lindsay and Kristine.

Carol was the docent who told us all about the elephant seals when we stopped in Piedras Blancas.}

More later!

On The Road Again

Today, my lovely girls and I are heading out. This morning, we are headed 400 miles due north to San Francisco! I hope to update with pictures and recaps along the way, but I guarantee nothing because I hope my days are packed with wine, cheese, Jacuzzis, adventures and laughter! 

{via}

Enjoy your holiday weekends, my lovelies and don't forget to enter the Orange Willow giveaway!

Pictures From Orlando!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my Orlando trip - if you haven't been, you should go! To see more, click the link at the end of the post!

{the clan on our first day, just prior to heading out to the parks - on 4 hours of sleep

amy, my sister larissa, mom, kristine, and me!}

{on a dino at Disney's Animal Kingdom

me, amy, larissa, and kristine}

{larissa, kristine and mom in canada a la EPCOT}

{they called this "potato salad" - it was potatoes...on...salad...}

{amy, me, kristine, and larissa in front of walt and cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom}

{the giant golf ball at epcot in detail}

{hogsmeade at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!}

{hogwarts!!}

{best friends! amy and katie on the last day}

To see more pictures, go here!

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!

{via}

That's right, my blog friends... 

I'm off to...

Disney World!

I will be back in the blogosphere early next week.

I hope you all have fabulous weekends and

don't forget to enter the giveaway from Sarah B. Flanagan!

Greece Love

No one ever creates anything great without a dash of madness. - Aristotle

{okay, i don't know where this is, but i want to go there.

it makes me think of that part of the sisterhood of the traveling pants where alexis bledel goes to greece to visit her family. this is what my movie-idea of greece looks like. please someone tell me this is what it actually looks like and i'm booking a trip.}

One Ticket To Rio De Janeiro, Please.

{i've got the travel bug again... 

apparently this is in brazil.

wanna go?}

Breakfast At The Wynn Buffet

{the atrium at the buffet}

{mint chocolate mousse}

{they had candied apples!!!}

{the architectural detailing is amazing}

{duh}

Breakfast At The Terrace Pointe Cafe

{larissa and i at breakfast this morning}

Hello From Sunny Las Vegas, Nevada!

My mom, sister and I are on a girls' trip to Vegas this week - 4 nights, 5 days of the two people who drive me the craziest, but who I also have the most fun with. I'll be posting some pics over the coming days.

{larissa and i on the way to dinner}

Today on the agenda, we have the gym, spa treatments, and lounging by the pool. Sounds fabulous, right?

Santa Barbara Meanderings

Last Sunday, Adam and I drove up to Santa Barbara for the day. Along the way we stopped by a truck along the side of the road and bought freshly-picked strawberries. They were the most perfect strawberries I've ever eaten.

It was a gorgeous day for a coastal drive.

And the hills were alive with wildflowers.

We stopped at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club - a client of Adam's.

We saw the horsies.

And more flowers.

I fell in love with the varied architecture in Santa Barbara.

We breakfasted at Pacific Crepes.

{photo by Amanda S.}

We stopped at the park across the street from Mission Santa Barbara, aptly named Mission Park.

We then walked over to the Mission, which has a lovely fountain out front, complete with lilypads.

The Mission had beautiful wrought iron and wooden window details.

The central courtyards, or quadrangles as the guidebook called them, are beautiful and serene.

The pathways held hidden beauty all along the way.

The cemetery was a peaceful place sheltered by an ancient, massive Australian Bay Fig.

Did you read Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell in 4th grade? Most of us in California did. That was actually based on a true story and the woman (named Karana in the book) left on San Nicolas Island for 18 years is buried in the cemtery at the Santa Barbara Mission.

Adam decided to become a friar.

Then, we took a scenic drive through the hills of Santa Barbara.

We almost went to the Botanical Gardens but instead, Adam took me to Alice Keck Memorial Gardens, a gorgeous oasis in the middle of the city.

There was a pond in the center, complete with turtles, koi and ducks.

I played with my macro settings.

The colors were amazing.

We commemorated our park visit with a picture.

After the park, we lunched at Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch.

{photo by Dale K.}

We left then to beat the traffic home, but I might have suggested a shortcut that ended up being a longcut and our trip might have taken a  t i n y  bit longer. We entertained ourselves by exasperating the people behind us who were very unhappy whenever we didn't pull the entire two feet forward as traffic inched along.

It was a lovely day. :)