travel

26 Hours in London “You’ll write about this. I mean, it’s a blog post: ‘Mom guilt and why it’s never ending.’” “No matter what you do…” I said. “No matter what you do,” Jenn said shaking her head while hailing a cab. We had been in London for 26 hours (well, almost 28 if you count the hour and a half it took to get through customs when we landed), when I got the call: “You need to come home.” Everett had been admitted to the hospital for a severe allergic reaction to Penicillin. At least at that point they thoughtthat’s what it was. For the sake of me being a virgo story, let me give ...Read More
Go Forth and Forty I’ve typed and retyped an opening sentence 58 times. I was going to start by saying something simple and straight to the point like: “My 40th birthday is in 10 days” But that is so… it’s just… so… And not what I’m really trying to say. The problem is, I’m not sure what I’m trying to say about my birthday… That I’m sort of freaking out? That I’m sort of thrilled and excited? That I now understand the horror “magic” of my rear view mirror and all that it reveals? A lot of my older girlfriends tell me that 40 is fabulous. That at 40, you are finally confident– you know who you ...Read More
Summer Style & Travel: Mexico Edition It’s hard to believe that two years ago, I was writing a post about what three dresses I planned to wear as I pranced around Italy and Greece on our honeymoon. That was the trip of a lifetime and seems like forever ago… but I guess time certainly has a way of flying when you’re making babies and moving in to a new house. From Oliver’s amazing health, to Jonah finishing 2nd grade with flying colors, and Peter graduation with an MBA from UCLA (and working full time!) we have so much to celebrate and in my opinion, deserve another fabulous vacation! (Cue the St. Regis, Punta ...Read More
JC Penney: #SoWorthIt Mother’s Day Style You know those moments when you put on an outfit and your girlfriends go crazy because they simply cannot believe you spent as little as you did, yet it looks so good? Well, I’m not bragging (okay, I am), but I am kind of having those moments a lot lately… And honestly, it feels fantastic!   Last weekend, I teamed up with JC Penney and Pinterest to bring Pinterest boards to life at the Northridge Fashion Center. It was our mission to make sure that moms never have a #PinterestFail again! For two days, we showcased some fabulous outfits, perfect for Mother’s Day, as well as every day ...Read More
Spring Break: Our Family Vacation at the Westin Maui Last year, on one of our final days in Greece for our amazing honeymoon, Peter made me swear that I understood that not all vacations are created equal. Not entirely willing to except that private boat rides up and down the Amalfi Coast was sort of “out of the ordinary,” I graciously agreed, and nodded, “Of course. I know… This was big.” “Very big,” he said. “Like, no more vacations for —” “Until our one year anniversary,” I said. “We can go somewhere small or local  for our one year anniversary, right?” “Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said, clinking champagne glasses ...Read More
For our final destination on our honeymoon extravaganza, we we headed to beautiful Santorini, Greece where we stayed at the Canaves Oia Hotel. Santorini is located in the southwest of the Cyclades Islands cluster. We flew from Rome to Athens, and Athens to Santorini; the flight was about 45 minutes. There are two towns that people usually stay in on Santorini: Fira or Oia. We opted for Oia for several reasons- but mostly it was because we wanted to end our trip with 4 days of pure NOTHING. This was our chance to relax, soak in the sun, the views, and the wine. And boy, it could not have been better. Day 1 With ...Read More
Love this door in the Jewish Quarter After 4 nights of feeling like royalty, it wasn’t easy to say goodbye to Palazzo Avino. But our last night in Ravello, we met a lovely couple from Dallas who were at the hotel for their 10-year wedding anniversary. They assured us that, we too, would return one day (and stay in a much larger and more expensive room). I agreed… and then asked Peter if he would sign a “honeymoon-nup” agreeing to these terms too. Haven’t  gotten it in writing yet, but I’m fairly certain that after that experience, legal action won’t be necessary… So off to Rome we went… We arranged to have a driver take us ...Read More
When we started thinking about our honeymoon, we turned to Katie of Ever After Honeymoons for some serious guidance. We got married in March but our honeymoon wouldn’t be until mid June. It’s not too often that two adults with full careers, an MBA program (for Peter), and a child are able to take 2 weeks off… from it all! So we felt pretty lucky. Of course, our budget wasn’t unlimited, so we had to do some careful planning. With Katie’s help, we decided we’d go to Italy and Greece and stay in 3 cities. First Stop: Amalfi Coast, Italy With Katie’s guidance, we opted for the stunningly gorgeous Palazzo Avino in Ravello. ...Read More
In exactly one week from today, I will be in a little speed boat traveling along the Amalfi Coast with a stop for seaside lunch at Lo Scoglio and a dip in the Emerald Grotto. I’ve been told that wanting to pry ourselves from our hotel in Ravello, Palazzo Avino, will be nearly impossible… But with only 4 days in this gorgeous region of Italy, I want to try to see as much as possible… and relax as much as possible…. and eat as much as possible… As mentioned in a previous post, to say that I’ve been mildly obsessed with carving out the culinary portion of the trip would be ...Read More