Positano, Italy

It has been over a year since we returned from Italy and I still haven't finished my recap of the trip, ha! I am only going to do one post on Positano and Rome each because in Positano we didn't do much and we were only in Rome for a short period of time. 

What is there to say about Positano? If you've been you know how magical it is and if you're considering going you're probably imagining how magical it is!

We ate the best seafood I've ever had in my life and laid on the beach. It was perfection. On our 3rd day, we hopped on a boat with a little red sign and headed over to Da Adolfo, which is a little beach (Laurito) and restaurant. The food was so good and the beach even better! We opted to use Fornillo Beach while we were in town versus the larger Marina Grande. The chairs were cheaper and it was less crowded. It is a little more difficult to get to but there happened to be a stairwell right to that beach by our hotel. The beaches in Positano proper are rocky. You can't really get in and wade due to the rocks situation, which I will admit, was a little disappointing. You can absolutely get in the water on Laurito Beach! 

Best Places to Eat:

Le Tre Sorelle: Right on Marina Grande beach so you can look out at the people and the colorful umbrellas. Wonderful first meal in Positano. 

Ristorante Scirocco: High above the coast in Montepertuso with incredible views and service. The owner showed us pictures of his son's wedding that had just taken place. The food was great as well.

Da Adolfo: Little restaurant on Laurito Beach where we had some of the best tuna carpaccio of our lives. The spaghetti and clams were also on point. 

Bruno: Beautiful views of the mountain side and the town. We ate more seafood which was excellent, ha. 

Da Vincenzo: We ventured out too late on our last night to get an outside table but the inside of this restaurant was also nice and the food was again, excellent!

So I really only ate seafood while in Positano but it was all seriously excellent! I had a bad batch of clams in Venice and every single clam I had in Positano was perfectly steamed and so tasty! 

 We stayed at the Positano Art Hotel and it was lovely and very eclectic! As it is with many of the hotels in Positano, it was waaaaay high up and I think we walked up and down 500+ stairs every day to get to the beach and the town. Glenn and I joked that with all the walking we did in Italy we were going to come home skinnier than we left, despite the copious amounts of carbs we consumed!

Positano was so relaxing which was welcome after all the sightseeing we'd done in Venice and Florence. Walking around town was lovely and we really enjoyed laying on the beach. Positano is so beautiful and it was fun to finally see its gorgeousness in person! 

Tuesday Trend: Neutral Walls

We've lived in our current house for three years and with the impending arrival of a tiny human, we've finally gotten our asses in gear to get some big things done around here. I've been doing a lot of little stuff like organizing closets and the basement but our next big project is getting our upstairs hallway painted. It is currently painted a color that can be described as cream with orange undertones (a creamsicle, if you will!). We finished painting the nursery last week and went with Sherwin Williams Icelandic. It is beautiful and I will share photos when the nursery is complete. Our bedroom is painted Benjamin Moore Harbor Gray. Given that these two rooms are on opposite ends of the hallway, I'd like to keep the hallway neutral. Here are some of the colors I've been trending towards:

Sherwin Williams Loggia (on the walls)// VIA 

Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige//VIA 

Sherwin Williams Alpaca/VIA

Benjamin Moore Marilyn's Dress//VIA

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt//VIA

Sherwin Williams Sandbar (this one is the top contender currently)//VIA

I am definitely leaning towards SW's Sandbar, which can be seen in the 2015 Coastal Virginia Magazine Idea House. If you do click on the link, prepare to be green with envy. The house is insanely beautiful and I'd like to move in right away, please! 

Which color is your favorite?

Monday Musings: Wish List

Nike 'Internationalist' Sneaker  // Jena Limelight Booties  // Madewell Chronicle Texture Pullover

Another Monday is here, friends. It is my last week of freedom before school starts. I enjoy starting Monday off with sharing some things that I am loving. I need another pair of  sneakers like I need a hole in the head but these are so cute and would look great with a pair of ankle jeans and the sweater above! I am a casual person by nature and since I'll have a newborn this fall, I am definitely looking for cute outfits that will allow me to be put together and able to bend to the whims of a newborn!

I had to include these booties that I spotted at Rack Room Shoes this past week! I've wanted a pair of booties for a few years but haven't wanted to spend a ton of money on something I will only wear occasionally. However, in my search for a cute but affordable pair, I found that most of the cheaper options look well, cheap. These are $64 and look like a pair you could pick up at Nordstrom for a much higher price, Plus, they are super comfortable. I am already thinking of all the ways I can wear them this fall!

Happy Monday, friends! Tell me what you are loving today!

Florence, Italy {3}

Our third and final day in Florence was spent -- you guessed it -- sightseeing! We wanted to take full advantage of the Firenze Card so we hit some lesser known spots: Museum of Precious Stones and Palazzo Medici Ricardi. We also climbed the tower of Palazzo Vecchio, which I had no idea you could do! The views were pretty spectacular but I had had enough of the really tall stuff so I didn't accompany G all the way to the top but he said the views were even better at the very top. 

Our next stop was Santa Croce (seen in the 2nd picture) which is the burial place for some pretty famous Italians -hence why it is also know as the Temple of Italian Glories- Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Galileo are all buried here. There was apparently some kind of event happening in front of Santa Croce at the time as there were chairs and tents so this was the best picture I could get of the structure. It was stunning, as most structures in Florence are! 

At this point we were pretty sight-seed out and I had figured we would be, so I set us up with a wine tasting class at the Tuscan Wine School just across the Ponte Vecchio. We took the 2 hour class called Tuscan Classics and it was SO much fun! If you are planning a trip to Florence, I would highly recommend taking a class at the Tuscan Wine School. Our instructor, Sofia, was so knowledgeable and really made the class interesting.

To end our time in Florence, we bought some wine at the Tuscan Wine School and headed up to the Piazza Michelangelo. It was breathtaking and one of the highlights of our trip. It was so, so beautiful and when I look at the pictures, they seem like paintings! Our favorite bartender, Simone, suggested we hit up Piazza Michelangelo just as the sun was setting and he was spot on with his recommendation, as you can tell from the pictures below it was truly gorgeous.

The wine drinking didn't stop there as we headed to bid farewell to Simone, at Golden View!

Next stop: Positano!

Tuesday Trend: Obsessing over Green

I have a dresser in the baby's room that I plan to re-do and am thinking that a rich green color will be perfect to complement the light blue walls. The nursery doesn't really have a theme per se, I'm just kind of going with colors and pieces I think work well together and want it to be a combination of soothing and fun. That being said, I am obsessing over adding green in where I can. Take a look at some of the beautiful green inspiration out there on the interwebz: 

Ah. Love this color (Behr Pine Grove) and this dresser redo by Camilla at Something is Done is stunning and currently my first choice for the dresser paint color. 

I love the richness of this color (Sherwin Williams Evergreens). I feel like it is a great blend of army green and emerald green. It is currently my 2nd choice for the dresser but is moving its way into first. I love the way the green door looks with the white house//photo from Lee at Lee's Hideaway. 

I'm definitely going to be adding a throw pillow to the glider and this one would help to tie in the green dresser with the rest of the room//pillow is by Emerey on Etsy. 

Obviously, something like this has no place in my nursery or even my current house but how gorgeous is this armchair? I die//Velvet Lyre Chesterfield Armchair 

Not house related but damn, is this not the most splendid dress? This shade of green is simply stunning. I wish I was bold enough to wear something like this on my wedding day!//I Love Wednesdays Photography // Polka Dot Bride

Ahhh! I just cannot get enough of this color! What color are you loving lately?

Monday Musings: Wish List

Wayf Roll Sleeve Tee//Sweatshirt Tunic Dress//Cuyana Classic Leather Zipper Tote 

Hello and happy Monday! G and I just returned from a week long jaunt to San Juan, Puerto Rico and as usual, I am struggling to get back into my day to day! Although it was sunny and beautiful in PR and is sunny and beautiful here, I can't stay away from my most favorite color or all time: gray! I really need to be looking for a dress for my upcoming baby shower and two weddings I have coming up but I saw these non-maternity items over the weekend and had to share. The bag has been on my wish list forever and while I am also in the market for a fun, stylish diaper bag I know myself well enough to know I will want a separate purse as well. 

There are just two weeks left until the new school year starts! Honestly, where does summer go? I try to be optimistic but August, to me, feels like a month of Sundays with the start of school looming just around the corner.