gifts from abroad

Nepal (those are large singing bowls at the bottom)

loving all the vibrant necklaces and that tiny little stool

Husband bought a Sherpa hat from this guy

Hyderabad, India -  the market close to Zach's office building

elephants and bangles

Florentine street markets

a tie booth

 
Husband did a surprising amount of shopping while he was away. Let it be known that he is decidedly not a shopper, however something about spending rupees was the easiest thing in the world...  On the other hand, I did not really shop at all and am totally regretting it now.  Thankfully, I love what he ended up finding - and wore most of my gifts on our Europe trip.

We decided to snap a few pictures before we gave everything to our family and friends so we could remember it.  Although most of this is from India and Nepal, it has trekked through Italy and France with a pit stop in Dubai.  I also included some of the shopping pictures above, so you can get an idea of where they were purchased -- it was killing me not to be in some of these shops stuffed with handcrafted items.

all the elephants lined up - trunk up is a sign of good luck

hand-painted paper ornaments from Nepal

beautiful scarves and cricket balls

hand-painted boxes and a set of coasters

some special items from Nepal - a metal yak, singing bowl (which Zach can play) and his Sherpa hat

ties picked from the markets in Florence

cars, trains, buses, & planes



on our trip - finally back together again!



Using almost all modes of transportation, my husband and I are both finally home and together.  For those of you who have put up with my little hints, I can now fully explain the last 2 months....


Starting on the last day of February, husband left on a seven week trip to India to work in his firm's Hyderabad office.  Luckily his college roommate went at the same time and they had some crazy adventures there - including celebrating Holi and seeing Mt. Everest. 

At the same time, I stayed home (alone) for seven weeks and was lovingly cared for by our community of friends and family.  It was rough and good and challenging in ways I am still processing.  Hopefully this also explains why I couldn't give too much detail on the old blog (hello, possible internet stalkers).  I might write a post about life when your spouse is away, because it was really life-changing and priority-shifting for me.  And - I am SO glad he is home.

Following the seven week absence, we had planned a two week trip to Europe with our dear friends and just returned over this past weekend.  I flew to meet him in Rome, then we visited Florence, Cinque Terre, and ended in Paris.  It was incredible, like a second honeymoon - and coming home together was just as sweet (for those of you counting - husband was gone for nine weeks!).  I am still adjusting to having to share my husband with other people after having two full weeks together. 


p.s. it really did take all of the above methods to finally get home - and 20 some odd hours of travelling!

my travelling closet

Zach and I have big plans for a trip to France and Italy this spring, and I'm already getting a bit intimidated by the daunting task of packing well.  Chances are the pictures we capture here will be looked at for years to come.

I don't really mind looking like a tourist in some ways - I'm pretty sure we'll stick out as soon as we open our mouths anyways.  Trying to dress French or Italian seems like too much pressure - I'd rather feel comfortable in my own skin and still come off as effortlessly dressed. 

At the same time I am hoping to avoid the white sneakers, fanny pack, and khaki cargo pants (and haggard tourist expression) worn all too often.  :)

Here are my goals:

• pack lightly...
• leaving room for a few souvenirs
• pick classic essentials over quantity
• use what I have
• accessories - big impact for little space!

Some inspiration tourist outfits (just picture this in front of the Coliseum or Eiffel Tower):
   

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p.s.  this shy little girl's style is perfection....love it.

scenes from chicago

 

Chicago has been one of our favorite weekend spots throughout our relationship.  It's close, fun, and inspiring.  Even more so since three of Zach's college roommates live there, and we can hang out with them at their favorite local spots.

As a couple, we've evolved to a place where we would rather experience local spots than touristy spots, although sometimes it's still hit and miss.  Case in point - my urge to go to Giordano's the first night we got into town.  We waited over an hour and a half, and the pizza wasn't really that good.  The next day we tried the locals' favorite, Lou Malnati's - and it was amazing!  The sauce, the crust......so. good.  (We're even shipping their pizzas to my parents to eat together over Thanksgiving break)

Instead of spending our Saturday shopping (we did pop in a couple stores), we checked out some side streets filled with old brownstones and walked down to see Navy Pier for the first time.  The hustle of the pier wasn't really our style, but sitting by Lake Michigan on a crisp, sunny fall day was surprisingly peaceful.

Another new stop on our list was the Lincoln Park Zoo with some friends.  Love that this is an amazing free zoo, although I think zoos are making me more sad the older I get. 

We rounded out the weekend with a sushi dinner with friends, a dart-throwing competition, watching the Bears game while cooking lunch in one of our favorite couple friends' condo (and meeting their sweet, new little girl), and a stop at Portillo's on the way home.


My favorite part was snuggling with Zach all weekend long.

By far.

17 years and counting

When I was eight, my mom and her two sisters started a tradition of vacationing on the Outer Banks in large houses that are rented out weekly.  There were 17 of us the first year, and the three couples split the task of cooking for the rest. Of course this was back when we all lived on the same road, because each sister was given a plot of farmland from my grandfather to build a house .  We were close, because we had grown up together.

Fast forward to this year and we are all still vacationing together, although now there are 36 of us staying in one big house with 10 bedrooms.  The kids can get more than a little noisy, and it is quite a feat to pull off a meal for that many hungry people.  We don't all live on the same road anymore, so this is our chance to catch up with each other.  It may sound crazy to some of you, but vacationing with my closest relatives for a week is one of my favorite things to look forward to. 

Want to see some of the craziness?

{can you believe we all stayed in one house for a week?}

{my family - the only one without loads of kids}

{Zach playing with one of the little ones}

{world cup sand city}

{long jump competition}

{oceanside relay races}

This was Zach's first year on the big family vacation, and he is the sweetest for going with my whole extended family.  Lucky for me, he is the most even, calm person I know, and he handled everything so well.  It helps that he is a total outdoorsy-guy, and the relay races, body-surfing, long jump competitions, and wiffle ballgames played to his strong suits.  Our thoughts on kids are a bit like a roller coaster - one minute they are the cutest and cuddliest - the next they can be defiant and irrational.  Still working through that one :)

escape

{school's out - see you in a week!}

solitude

Our big Christmas present this year was a trip to Salt Lake City to ski at Solitude.  This is the second time we've skiied there, but this time we stayed in a condo in the village.  It was so fun!  Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

hoosier mania

This weekend Zach and I drove down to Bloomington to meet my parents and little brother for the Ohio State and IU football game.  It was the perfect fall weather - brisk, cloudy, and a little windy.  We spent the day checking out some of Zach's favorite spots around the campus:

mother bear's pizza

walking around campus

the library

game time!