I recently made some custom book ledges for my daughter’s room and both she and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Best of all? They couldn’t have been any easier. Read on to see what a couple of craft boards and some wood glue can get you!
Here is an update on how the nursery came together, with all the linkable sources in one place!
We are into Week 3 of the One Room Challenge where we are turning our guest room into a nursery for our baby girl due in January!
Before we started this Nursery adventure, I had already planned on this week being a bit of an easy one, because we snuck in a little babymoon in Los Angeles! We relaxed, saw some sites, and ate very well! Now, back to the Nursery ORC! Knowing that we were going to be out of town this week, we planned to spend this week placing orders. This way, we could be sure that nothing arrived while we were out of town!
Week 2 of the One Room Challenge is upon us and I’ve been getting. stuff. done. (Or at least as much as my 6-month-pregnant body will allow!
My mind has been on overdrive recently, and as a result, I’ve been revising my original nursery design plan and truly diving into exactly how I envision each piece functioning. First, let’s talk about this pivot in design…
This fall I am transforming one of our guest rooms into a nursery, as Baby Girl is due in January! The overall mood I’m going for in here is elevated neutral with pops of soft color. I’m not looking for an overly baby-themed room…let’s be honest, the baby won’t care what this room looks like! But if I’m going to possibly be spending late nights rocking her to sleep in there, I want it to be pleasing to me and my overall aesthetic! As she gets older and develops her own little personality, I’m sure this room will transform along with her evolving tastes, so I’ll be making design changes with that in mind.
If there’s one question we get a lot, it’s how to shop for leather in Florence. We have been to Florence enough to know that it’s not always easy! Leather shops are a dime a dozen in this town, and if you aren’t careful, you can return home with a piece that will likely fall apart in no time. But good news — we’ve done the research so you don’t have to! We’re going to run through the top tips and tricks we’ve found for purchasing some leather to love while in Florence, Italy!
Word about the best sandwich in all of Florence is out.
I’m writing this while drooling in line with about 518,491,153 of my closest friends (give or take a few million…)
It’s been about 20 minutes. Am I any closer to the door? Questionable. Is it ridiculous that I’m waiting this long for a sandwich at 8pm on a Saturday? Probably.
Is it worth it? Why yes, yes it is.
We set off from our downtown Florence apartment around 9:15 am for a day of wine touring. We crossed the Orno River, got a snap or two of the Ponte Vecchio, and in no time arrived at the Grape Tours storefront. We checked in, grabbed some coffee, and soon met our tour guide, Katherine.
We got in our big white van and headed South, into Tuscany! Our first stop was Corzano e Paterno, a fully-operational farm, that is a 40 minute drive from Florence. They make their own wine, olive oil, and sheep cheese, all of which are exquisite! The farm's name comes from the two surrounding hills — Corzano, where the grapes are grown, and Paterno, where the sheep graze.
Truth be told, we came to La Pizzeria Sud last year the day after some intense (and amazing) Tuscan wine tasting. At that time, we devoured pizza at this restaurant on the second floor of Mercato Centrale, thinking it was the best thing ever.
Upon our return this year, we decided to try it again, wondering if our, ahem, hangovers skewed our view last year.
Well folks, the results are in: this pizza is amazing no matter your previous day's activities!
When we were in Italy we took part in the most fantastic cooking class at a place called Mama in Florence. We made pizza, focaccia, gelato, and oh my goodness, all the delicious things that still make my mouth water! Since we love to cook (and eat), it was an adventure right up our alley.
We cooked in a gorgeous, yet cozy kitchen and our chef and instructor for the day was Michele. He walked us all through the basics of Italian cooking, and helped correct any erroneous assumptions we previously had about Italian food. We snapped a ton of pictures throughout our 4 hour long cooking class, and what lies below are some of the highlights that we learned along the way!
Our trip to Italy was nearly perfect...my one wish? That the weather could have been a tiny bit warmer. Sigh. But that didn't stop us from wandering around and getting our fill of la dolce vita!
I bundled up and put together an outfit of layers that kept me toasty. I felt warm, comfortable, and stylish enough so I don't think I stuck out like a complete American :)
It was our first night in Florence. We were overtired, jetlagged, and arrived six hours later than expected. And did I mention we were famished?
Lucky for us, the coziest restaurant called Ristorante Trattoria Angiolino was a couple doors down from our Airbnb.
We arrived at Angiolino's on the early side, and were seated immediately in a booth near the lively bar, which was a perfect way to people watch, pick up on some Italian, and (let's be honest) stay awake. :)
Our server was a great welcome to Florence -- he was funny, personable, and made our night!
I love reading about Italy, I love reading books set in Italy, I just love Italian culture. But I must say, it's not always easy to find engaging, well-written books that sweep me off my feet in this genre. I've done the legwork for you, and here, I outline the top books I've come to love over the years that have an Italian twist.
You know those books that you don't want to end? This was one of them for me.
This little work of fiction had elements of real life (i.e., Elizabeth Taylor), that mingled with made-up towns near Cinque Terre.
During our last visit to Florence, we went on a wine tour and it was delightful. We departed Florence bright and early from the Oltrarno neighborhood, and under the direction of a supremely overqualified tour guide named Bernardo, we ate and drank to our heart's content, arriving safely back to Florence with new memories and friends. It will be hard to beat. Some highlights from our trip are enclosed...
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