Halloween 2012

To take a little break from all these travel posts:

Three blind mice, three blind mice, see how they run, see how they run.....

Our friends had some creative costumes this year!

Happy Halloween from Chicago!

NYC: Shop

Last, but certainly not least, I'll end this NYC installment with a shopping segment. As with anything else in NYC, you could spend days, months and years perusing the streets and you wouldn't hit all the best things to see, shop, do and eat. This time around I enjoyed a little Kelly Wearstler in the attic of Bergdorfs, Uniqlo basics shopping...which is rumored to be coming to Chicago, Brooklyn flea market...where I signed a consent form for a reality tv show on flea markets, while being filmed in one of the booths. Funny thing is that I saw the show on HGTV or Travel Chanel not too long ago and prayed to the heavens that my slightly hung over face would NOT show up. I digress. Fishs and Eddy is one of the stores that I try and visit each time that I'm in NYC. Think of the home section of Anthropologie as one huge store. So obviously the photos of the spoon chandelier below are from my recent trip.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my recent trip to NYC...I'm sure the next is right around the corner!

NYC: Do

A few fun shots from a few fun and random activities in NYC.

Justin Bieber at the Today Show, my favorite store in the world Kate's Paperie, a jazz bar, photo op in Bryant Park,  random things you find in Brooklyn and Belvedere Castle in Central Park

NYC: Eat

I love that you can visit New York City, on any budget, and still eat better than you would in most other cities. Michelin star restaurant or Octopus ball street vendor, I love it all. This last trip, I enjoyed a mish mash of different cuisines, on actually a pretty reasonable budget. Reasonable budget equals, more money for shopping. Win. Win. 

We had....Breakfast salmon bagels at Russ and Daughters, almond pastries in Central Park at Petrossian, Ramen at my favorite Ippudo, which is almost at 4000 yelp reviews! Tako yaki (Japanese Octopus balls), Bento box (Japanese) at the Japanese bookstore by Bryant Park, Kinokuniya, snacks at Dean and Deluca while shopping in Soho, pizza at Eatlaty, a 50,000 sq ft market of Italian goodies and sit-down eateries. 

I can't wait to go back!

 

Autumnal Equinox

I'm not even quite sure where to start with this "here's how my summer vacations were" entry as summer passed by just as quickly as my tan faded and I only had the time and patience to write less than a dozen posts. But considering Autumnal Equinox is right around the corner, it only feels appropriate to try and squeeze in everything about summer before the official date is here. I said it. Autumnal Equinox.

So I guess I will start with a summary, work backwards and post each detailed account because it was definitely a world wind. Literally.

Mid June: NYC
Agenda: Wedding & girls weekend with mom

End of June: Hawaii
Agenda: Wedding & soak up as much Maui Babe as possible

August: Italy-Capri and Rome
Agenda: Wedding 

As you can see-it is obvious what brought me and Sean to all of these wonderful destinations. The W word!

Up next: NYC Agenda

Italy Instagram

Sneak peak/result of post vaca laziness Italy Instagram photos. Had so much fun seeing the sights-the Colosseum, Vatican, Via Condotti...And spending quality time with good people-the wedding in Capri was absolutely the highlight! 

More detailed accounts to come....

Up In the Air

We leave for Italy today and I have been obsessing over planning and packing. Planning came easily, but with packing I had to employ some strategy as I'm only packing a carry on, yes, only a carry on for my 8 day trip. I'll be damned if I give the airlines any more of my money. You're also punishing yourself if you don't pack light because think of all the walking and stair climbing you may have to do from airport to train to hotel etc. For this time around I'm lucky that it's summer though, so nothing extremely bulky, except for a long dress for the wedding, will be packed in my bag.

Some tips-

1. Lay out all of your outfits that you want to bring and then take away 1/4 of the clothes - chances are you won't wear most of them
2. Take a look at your scheduled list of events and the weather to plan each outfit accordingly
3. Roll up as many pieces of clothing - this also helps against wrinkles
4. Wear your heaviest pieces of clothing on the plane - I'll be wearing my converse, which take up the most space
5. Evenly lay out any long pieces of clothing like jeans or maxi dresses on the bottom of your suitcase
6. Stuff any large pieces of jewelery, socks, undergarments in purses or clutches - this will also help retain the shape of the bags
7. Pack each pair of shoes in their own individual plastic bag so that you can stuff them in open crevices in the suitcase

So with this I fit....2 maxis, 3 dresses, 2 skirts, 4 pairs of shorts, 8 shirts, 3 undershirts, dopt kit, 4 pairs of sandals, 1 pair of heeled sandals, all undergarments, bathing suits, straightener, brushes.

I didn't even have to use the extender on my suitcase, which will leave some space for souvenirs. Did I hear someone say Celine luggage tote?

CIAO!