House Update

It's hard to believe that 2010 is almost over, and that we are already approaching the half way point through November. In just 2 short weeks we'll be doing the final walk thru of the house. Rob and I have been busy preparing for (and buying) everything that comes with building a new house...we joke that we might as well just move into Home Depot, because we are always there it seems like. You can probably find us at Home Depot (or Lowes) at least 3-4 times per week. We've made quite a bit of progress on our "to do" list for the house, purchasing our new fridge, garage door opener, blinds, etc... We still have quite a bit more to do, but every week we make progress. 

Below is a photo (taken with my iPhone) of the latest progress...as you can see, we're almost there. This was taken last Thursday, Nov 4th. They were installing our hardwood flooring that day - we got a sneak peek inside and we liked what we saw! Since then they've seeded our lawn (a nice surprise!) and will hopefully finish the porch by the end of this week. 

We're so excited to get inside and call this our home. My Mom will be coming up from NC the afternoon of our final walk thru to help us paint. She'll be staying with us through Thanksgiving to make the most out of her visit. I'm excited to have her here with us since she has a great eye for interior design. Like me, she too is obsessed with HGTV : )

Italy Recap :: Part 3 (Rome)

We've come to the final leg of our Italy recap, but we've saved the best for last...Rome!

Day 8 - Road Trip to Rome 

If you've been reading our Italy recap, I'm sure you aren't surprised to hear that this morning was another early wake up call for us. (I think most days on the trip we woke up before 7am - some days before 6am). We met in the lobby of our hotel in Florence and loaded our 40-person tour group onto the motor coach...today we're headed to Rome! The drive from Florence to Rome is a little over 4 hours; therefore, to ease the drive time we stopped in a little town called Orvieto. Orvieto is a medieval town that actually sits on top of a volcanic mountain. We broke off into smaller groups and explored the city. Rob and I decided to have lunch at a local Italian eatery where our waiter spoke ZERO English! It was actually quite fun to try to communicate with him as we ordered our meals. We ended up fairing pretty well. After lunch and another quick postcard stop (I purchased a postcard in every city we went to), we got back on the bus and made the final drive into Rome. 

We arrived in Rome just before rush hour, checked into our hotel, and then went to dinner. This was no ordinary dinner though. Of course the food was Italian, but our view from our dinner table was extraordinary, spectacular, amazing, and just plain awesome! Can you guess where we dined right across the street from? I'll give you a hint...it's nearly 2000 years old and STILL standing. Yep, that's right...the Colosseum. In the middle of dinner Rob ran across the street to take a few quick photos of this amazing sight while the lighting was still good (photos below). After dinner we didn't have much time to explore the Colosseum since we have a guided tour scheduled tomorrow morning, but we do take a few minutes to marvel at it's beauty. While standing outside the restaurant, we see where the Gladiators used to work out before their battles...I'm in total awe since "Gladiator" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Following dinner, we head back to our hotel on our motor coach. Rome is much too large to explore all on foot, so traveling by bus is pretty much essential when traveling from one side of the city to the other. Upon arrival back at our hotel, we decide that we're not quite tired enough to go to bed, so why not take a walk through the streets at night...when in Rome, right?! So, Rob, Patty (mother-in-law) and I go walking through the streets of Rome. We stumble upon a few statues and monuments (3rd photo below), but then in our quest for something cold to drink, we end up slightly lost (Rob still ensures us that he knows where we are at this point). We end up "off the beaten path" for a few blocks, but then we find a familiar landmark and then realize where we are. I have to admit, I was a little nervous while we were wandering the streets and alley ways, but we made it safely back to our hotel. We're ready for bed now, and excited to tour more of Rome in the morning!

Day 9 - Sightseeing in Rome

This morning we took a group tour to the Colosseum. I know I said this yesterday, but it's absolutely amazing to see something 2000 years old that is still standing. Here in the U.S., we think a building is old if it's been standing for 100 years. Over in Italy (or any part of Europe for that matter), "old" takes on a whole new meaning. We get to go inside the Colosseum and learn about the Gladiator battles and what life was like in Rome in 80 AD. We stand where the Emperor once stood, and it's amazing how small the Colosseum seems from his vantage point. I get chills just being inside. This is by far my favorite part of the trip so far! We continue our tour of Ancient Rome and visit the Roman Forum next (3rd photo below). After we learn about the Roman Forum, we branch off into smaller groups and explore Rome on foot. We stop for lunch, and then head to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We took part in the famous ritual of throwing a coin over our shoulders at the Trevi Fountain in hopes we would return to Rome again one day! In keeping with our theme of "popular things to do in Rome", we decided walking up the Spanish Steps (all 138 of them) would only be proper of us. At this point in the day, we're all exhausted and our feet are beginning to hurt (remember what I said about Rome being too big to explore all on foot?! Yeah, we didn't learn that until after our afternoon excursion), so we decide to head back to our hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. On our way back to our hotel we pass by the Capitol Building (4th photo below), make a few quick shopping stops, and I think there may have been a stop for gelato too :) We ate dinner outside at a little Irish pub where we listened to a man play his accordion for us. Quite ironic considering we were eating at an Irish pub (most of us had burgers), drinking wine and listening to Italian music. No one cared though. We're in Rome having the time of our lives!

Day 10 - Exploring the Vatican

We wake up early this morning to prepare ourselves for a long day ahead. This morning we are headed to the Vatican! Naturally, we took our motor coach since the Vatican is outside of Rome. What is so interesting about the Vatican is that it is it's own little city and state completely separate from Rome. Upon arrival we see that the Vatican is surrounded by extremely high walls and lots of security. The line to get inside is extremely long...we are told it can be hours and hours, but luckily we are with a tour group so we skip the lines and head right inside. First stop in the Vatican is the Vatican Museum, followed by the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, no cameras (or talking!) are allowed inside of the Sistine Chapel, but what a sight to see...it was memorizing! You can't help but feel overwhelmed with amazement when inside of such an amazing piece of history. After the Sistine Chapel, we head to St. Peter's Basilica...another amazing site. Being a wedding planner, I can't help but imagine what a wedding would look like inside the Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world holding upwards of 60,000 people! I kept walking around inside the church in pure amazement and awe. I was raised Catholic, so this was a special part of the trip for me. Pictures were hard to come by inside since the lighting was so dim, so we didn't capture much inside other than what we have by memory. Below are a few pictures that Rob took outside of St. Peter's. Following our tour of the Vatican, we stopped inside the official Vatican souvenir shop and picked up a few items for our family back home. I purchased a rosary for my Mom and a cross for my Dad, and then had them blessed by the clergy of St. Peter's. Just before we left the walls of the Vatican, we heard the bells ringing - very cool!!

After some R&R back at our hotel, we were ready to head out for more sightseeing in Rome. Later that evening, we took the Subway to the Trevi Fountain where we had dinner at a local Italian restaurant (4th photo below). Following dinner we stopped at the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps again (completely different atmosphere at night!), hopped back on the Subway and took it across town to the Colosseum. WOW! There really aren't words to describe the Colosseum at night...it's awesome! Chills and goosebumps kind of awesome!! It was a late night walking around Rome, but this time we managed to stay on track and didn't get lost! ;) Another amazing day in Rome!

 Day 11 - Pompeii

Our last full day in Italy. I can't believe our trip is coming to an end, but we have one more journey ahead of us today...Pompeii. We make the 3 hour drive to Pompeii (we pass through Naples) and get to see some of the Italian coastline along the way. I took a course in college all about Pompeii, so I was very excited to see it in person (I'm somewhat of a history buff)! We take a 1 1/2 hour tour of Pompeii learning about life in Pompeii and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried and destroyed the city in 79 AD. Pompeii was very neat to see, but we wish we would have been able to stay longer. After lunch in Naples, we made the drive back to Rome. Once we get back to our hotel in Rome, we take our tour guide up on her restaurant recommendation...Chinese. I was a bit skeptical at first, but so happy we went! The food was delicious!! I'd even venture to say that was my favorite Chinese restaurant I've been to, and of all places it was in Rome! On our way back to our hotel we stop for gelato one last time and say goodbye to Rome. We're sad to be leaving in the morning, but we are leaving with SO many wonderful memories that are going to last us a lifetime! 

Day 12 - Arrivederci Rome!

Early flight this morning...we say goodbye to our fellow travelers and our family and friends and then head to the airport. Luckily our route passed by many of our previously visited tourist attractions, so it was nice to seem them one last time. I remember watching the Colosseum fade into the distance, and at that moment I realized it was truly time to leave. We get to the airport, check our bags and board our 10 hour flight back to the U.S. After a few delays getting off the ground in Rome, we make it to Washington D.C. 10+ hours and a few time zone changes later. Since our flight was delayed out of Rome, Rob and I had to run (more like sprint!) through the D.C. airport to make it to our flight to Pittsburgh. Luckily we made it with just a minute to spare! A quick 45 minute flight later, and we're home in Pittsburgh. Glad to be home safely!

I've said this before, but Italy was truly a trip of a lifetime! Thank you to Patty, our wonderful mother/mother-in-law who made this trip possible! We love you, and can't thank you enough for a wonderful experience!!!

One final Italy post will follow later this week with some personal photos and final thoughts on our trip! 

Italy Recap :: Part 2 (Florence/Tuscany)

Next up on our Italy recap...our journey to Florence and the Tuscany region.

Day 5 - Road trip/Sightseeing in Florence 

Early wake up call this morning as our water taxi out of Venice departs just after sunrise. Following our ride out of Venice (on a speed boat!), we jump on our motor coach and head to Florence. Along the way we drive through the Tuscan countryside - incredible scenery! I can't quite remember exactly how the long drive from Venice to Florence was, but I believe it was approximately 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Not bad. We arrive in Florence for lunch - pizza again, and then we visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria aka "el Duomo". "Duomo" means Cathedral Church in Italian. This church is the 3rd longest church in the world and is incredible to see in person. It's located in the middle of downtown Florence, and is so big that you can barely capture all of it in one photo. Following our guided tour of the church, we embark on a walking tour through the streets of Florence. We visited the Basillica of Santa Croce - famous tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo, and then made a quick stop at the Ponte Vecchio bridge (more on the Ponte Vecchio later). As we wind our way through the streets of Florence, we learn that Florence is the home of the Renaissance...lots of historical churches, famous palaces, and incredible artwork. Following our walking tour of downtown Florence, we went to dinner with our entire group tonight (more great pasta!) and then headed to bed pretty early. We're headed to Tuscany tomorrow! 

Day 6 - Journey to Tuscany 

Another early wake up call, but no one is complaining because today we're headed on an optional excursion to Tuscany! We took our motor coach from Florence to a quaint medieval town called Siena (1 1/2 hours outside of Florence). Our first stop in Siena was the St. Catherine of Siena church, where we saw St. Catherine's actual head and one of her fingers on display - she died in the 1300's. I have to admit seeing this was kind of creepy, but also pretty amazing. We then headed into the town square of Siena ("Piazza del Campo" in Italian). Siena is home to a famous semi-annual horse race ("Palio di Siena") that takes place in the middle of the Piazza del Campo. We had just missed the race, as it had taken place just a few days prior to our arrival. (Rob and I both agree that Siena was one of our favorite cities that we visited - it's such a charming medieval town, yet is mixed with both current and modern trends.) After a guided walking tour through Siena, we hopped back on our motor coach and headed to San Gimignano, another small medieval town centered in the middle of Tuscany. While we liked Siena's "feel" better, you can't beat the views of the Italian country side that San Gimignano has to offer - absolutely incredible!! We spent a few hours exploring San Gimignano on our own and then had lunch overlooking the country side. After our free time was up, we took our motor coach to a small home/Italian winery where we attended "Wine Tasting School". We learned the proper way to taste wine from a very charismatic winery owner (he was hilarious and all of the ladies got a kick out of him!). We sampled a variety of white and red wines, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Today was a fun experience that I will hold in my heart for years to come! Later that afternoon, we headed back to our hotel in Florence to rest for the evening - mid trip R&R! 

Day 7 - R&R/Sightseeing in Florence 

We slept in this morning since Rob wasn't feeling well - poor hubby caught a cold in the midst of travel. Later that morning we made ourselves get up (after all, we're in Italy!) and headed to an Italian laundry mat to wash a few outfits for the rest of the trip (cramming 12 days of clothing into one bag is incredibly tough). It was just the two of us for lunch, so we stopped at a local restaurant for more pizza and pasta - this was our favorite meal yet - delicious!! Following lunch we met up with the rest of our group for a visit to Accademia - home of Michelangelo's "David". We then walked over to the Ponte Vecchio where we stopped to take a few photos and did some window shopping. The Ponte Vecchio is a famous medieval bridge that crosses over the Arno River. It was the only bridge in Florence that was not destroyed in WWII. Today, the Ponte Vecchio is home to jewelry stores, homes, and various shops that line the bridge on either side. This is my favorite spot in Florence - beautiful scenery in both directions. After a quick dinner at McDonald's (yes, McDonalds...we were getting a little tired of pizza & pasta), we headed back to our hotel to rest up for our journey to Rome in the morning! 

Check back next week for my recap of Rome!

Until next time...arrivederci!

Italy Recap :: Part 1 (Venice)

Italy was a trip of a lifetime, and an experience I will remember forever. During our 12 day tour of Italy, I kept a journal of our daily activities, and wanted to share those experiences on this blog. I've gotten lots of questions from friends and family that are considering taking a trip to Italy, so I thought this recap would help give some insight to those of you looking for your next travel (or honeymoon) destination. I've included a few photos as well, all of which were taken by Rob (great job, babe!).

Days 1 & 2 – Up, up and away…we’re off to Italy!

Our journey to Italy begins with an overnight flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. We arrive in Dusseldorf bright and early where we have a 3 hour layover. After a bite to eat (nothing like a delicious soft pretzel at 7am!), we board our flight to Venice. At this point, we haven’t slept in 24+ hours, so we dose off for a few. In the middle of our flight the pilot announces that we are flying over the Swiss Alps…boy am I glad I woke up when I heard that! I was lucky enough to have a window seat and it was one of the most amazing views you’ll ever see! Snow covered mountains as the sun is just beginning to rise…absolutely breathtaking!

After a quick 2 hour flight, we land in Venice! We grab our bags and meet up with our family & friends (there are 9 of us traveling together), and the rest of our 40 person tour group. Venice is made up of 100+ small islands all connected by canals and bridges, so naturally there are no cars in Venice…only boats. We are welcomed to Venice with a leisurely water taxi ride to our hotel, on the island of Lido. Our entire group was jetlagged and sleep deprived, but our boat ride into Venice had all of us excited for what was to come! We pull up onto the shore of Lido where we are greeted by our tour director, Monique. She escorts us to our quaint (and absolutely adorable!) hotel right on the water, Hotel Riviera. After a “meet and greet” with our fellow travelers, we headed out on the island of Lido for some gelato and pizza. Lido had the best gelato out of anywhere in Italy, and it was super cheap too…only 1 Euro for a small cup of heaven! ; ) Early night tonight…I think we were all in bed by 8! Excited for our journey ahead…goodnight!

Day 3 – Sightseeing in Venice

Bon journo! Early wake up call this morning to catch a boat across the lagoon to Venice. Upon arrival into Venice, we have a guided tour of Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, and St. Mark’s Square. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore Venice! First stop on our free afternoon is lunch…we were starving! We went to a local Italian sandwich shop where we enjoyed delicious panini’s. Of course we had to save room for dessert too…another stop for a quick gelato! We spent the entire afternoon strolling through the streets of Venice admiring all of the flower window boxes, beautifully decorated gondola’s, and charming architecture. I am instantly in love with Venice and have to keep pinching myself that I’m really in Italy! Towards the end of the day we made our way to the famous Rialto Bridge that overlooks the Grand Canal…one word…Stunning! After a few photos, we headed back to Lido on our water taxi to get cleaned up for dinner. I had been admiring all of the outdoor Italian eateries and was thrilled that we ended up having dinner at an outdoor restaurant that I had my eye on since we first arrived! This dinner was literally the best spaghetti and pizza I’ve EVER had…absolutely delicious! On the way back to our hotel we stopped for yet another gelato (yes, I know this is our 2nd gelato stop of the day, but can you really blame us?!) and watched a street concert with an Italian band playing Michael Jackson songs…quite entertaining considering there was a clear language barrier with the words to the songs. Awesome day today…we’re still a bit jetlagged, but still having the time of our lives!

Day 4 – Sightseeing in Venice

Today we have the entire day to ourselves (i.e. no wakeup call and no guided group tours), so we decide to head back across the lagoon to Venice again. We spent the morning in Venice strolling through the streets picking up a few souvenirs along the way. There is a heat wave in Italy as the hot & humid weather is coming up from Africa. Temperatures reach a boiling 100 degrees today! After a quick bite to eat (pizza again), we took a boat back over to our hotel in Lido for a few hours of R&R. Later that afternoon, we traveled back over to Venice and decided to take a boat ride up the entire Grand Canal (normally we got off near St. Mark’s Square and just made our way to the Grand Canal on foot). So glad we decided to do this…amazing views and some great photo opportunities! After we made our way up the Grand Canal, we attempted to find a restaurant recommendation that we received from one of our Italy guide books, but were unsuccessful. Fortunately though, we found a small little restaurant down an alley way where the owner greeted us with friendly hospitality and lots of wine! After we left dinner we got caught in a sudden rain storm and decided to make our way back to the boat. I’m certainly not complaining though…the rain instantly cooled things off, and running through the streets of Venice was surprisingly lots of fun! Tonight is our last night in Venice, and I am starting to get a bit sad (I wish we had another day to spend in Venice). So far I am extremely impressed with Italy and excited to head to Florence tomorrow morning!

Check back soon for my recap of Florence!

Until next time...ciao!

Our Soon To Be New Home...

In just 6 short weeks this will be our new home. It's still a bit surreal, as it seems like just yesterday we were meeting with Realtors to put our townhouse on the market. I still remember the day we decided to put our townhouse on the market... I spent an entire week cleaning the baseboards with a Q-tip, purging closets, and became far too obsessed with reading articles like "How to Prepare Your Home for Sale" (yes, I am a bit of a perfectionist).

After reading that last paragraph you would think that we listed our townhouse ages ago, but in reality it was only April of this year. Not that long ago when I stop and think about it. Maybe it seems like ages ago because we packed SO much into this summer...countless viewing appointments, a half dozen weddings, Rob traveling around the world to India and back (2x!), and let's not forget our 12 day trip to Italy! We went under agreement in just over 60 days, and after A LOT of back and forth negotiations, we closed exactly 4 months after we put our townhouse on the market. Huge relief given the still somewhat shaky state of the real estate market!

Now that the sale of our townhouse is behind us, we are excited for the next phase of our lives. We spent quite a bit of time looking around for the "perfect" house, but in the end, decided that building new was the right thing for us. We aren't very handy people, and we knew that we didn't want to take on many remodeling projects, so it just made sense for us to build the house we wanted according to our personal style and taste. Luckily Rob and I have very similar decorating tastes, and agreed on most (if not all) selections we made for our new home. I'm still a tiny bit nervous to see our selections come to life, but I have confidence that everything will turn out looking great! It's hard to pick out colors for your home when you can only see sample sizes of everything - it's a whole different ball game when you see things in real life. So far we love the brick color we selected, and are excited to see the siding/shutter/porch color combination come to life in the next few weeks!

More updates on the house will follow as we head into our last few weeks of construction.

Meet Teddy!

Meet Teddy! Teddy is our 3.5 lb Yorkie/Maltese mix. He's 3 1/2 years old, and is 3.5 lbs full grown (ok I lied, occasionally he tops out at 3.8 lbs after a good meal). You may notice at the top of this blog I list myself as a "puppy mommy"...yes, you read correctly...a puppy MOMMY. While we don't have children just yet, I do consider myself to be a Mom in some regards. If you've ever owned a dog (or any pet for that matter), you know it's a BIG responsibility and a lot like having a child.

Dogs are the best companions. My husband travels a lot for work (sometimes 1-2 weeks at a time), and I have to admit, without Teddy things would be A LOT more difficult for me during these times. He's my little buddy, and someone I spend a great deal of time with. I work from home, and with Teddy being as small as he is, he is the definition of a "lap dog". He sticks right by my side no matter what kind of a work day I've had.

I am guilty of spoiling him rotten (so is my husband!), but we wouldn't have it any other way. We consider him to be apart of our family. He spends his evenings on the couch watching TV with us and sleeps at the foot of our bed (I'm not one for banning dogs from the furniture - especially little 3.5 lb shed-less dogs). Just look at that face...can you really blame us?!

Intro

Last week I was reading through my old Facebook posts and status updates, and it got me thinking… I love reliving old memories - memories from college/life in NC, memories of starting a business, memories from our wedding, and memories from our new life together here in PA. It’s kind of surreal when I go back and read through old Facebook posts…those posts bring back a lot of great feelings, and when I think about how my life has evolved over the last few years, it warms my heart :)

I’ve been thinking about starting a personal blog for awhile now, but with 2010 being our busiest wedding season to date, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I try to keep up with my business blog as much as possible - posting a few times a week, although lately it seems like only a few times a month - but regardless, my business blog has brought me a lot of joy, so I thought why not have a personal blog as well?

This will be our place to document our life’s journey. I will mostly be the one posting, but you never know...Rob may make an appearance or two every now and then. I won’t be posting every day, but will do my best to post as much as I can. Years from now, I hope to be able to look back on this blog and relive all of the soon-to-come memories. What can I say? I’m a sap…

Happy blogging! :)