1 of 3: Vienna

Dear friends,

One city down, two to go!

After a 12+ hour plane ride to Vienna, Kristin and I got to our hotel around 10 and slept until about 5 a.m. We couldn't wait to get our day started.

We got an early start and headed out by 7. The morning light was absolutely gorgeous on all of the buildings.

Walked down Graben Street before all of the tourists took over.

Made friends.

We toured the Schonbrunn Palace.

Saw a LOT of gold.

*There's Kristin listening to the audio tour.

One tradition that I really liked about the royal place settings were the green wine glasses. They stood out against all of the fine china and golden platters.

Part of our tour included the Sisi Museum. Kristin and I agreed that it was pretty creepy. The story goes that Sisi, Empress of Austria, was this depressed little girl who longed for freedom outside of her royal duties. She was a really dark character who wore black all the time and spoke about morbid things.

A little creepy.

Lunch right off of Graben Street. Can you believe we ate Italian food in Austria?! Horrible tourists.

Since we woke up so dang early, we passed out at 3 for a nap. I guess that's what jet lag will do to you!

At night, we got dressed up...

walked around and enjoyed the crowds...

watched the opera outside with the rest of the commoners...

and got some late night ice cream! My ice cream was so delicious- vanilla with nutella mixed in there.

YUM.

This was at breakfast this morning. We got a voucher from the front desk guy to go down the street for our breakfast buffet. My goodness, it was delicious: scrambled eggs, cheeses, meats, fresh fruit, orange juice, croissants with nutella... HEAVENLY.

Next up... Prague!

xoxoxoxo

Reunited

Dear friends,

Kristin arrived!!

In honor of our travels, we painted our nails and watched the premiere of "Pan Am."

It was fantastic and we'll definitely be Hulu-ing the next episode when we get back from traveling!

Painted our nails with some fancy nail polish Page left for us.

We leave tomorrow!!

AH!

xoxo

First stop: SF

My friends,

I arrived in San Francisco for the first leg of my trip to a empty house full of thoughtful notes and surprises!

(Page and Ryan are on honeymoon number two to Maui and were kind enough to let me stay at their home until I fly out with Kristin to Europe.)

As soon as I walked in, there was a nice little welcome sign with a lavender chocolate (delish) and a stack of magazines...

an adorable nail kit that Kristin and I will be using tomorrow night...

and a nice reminder that I can borrow some samples from the birchbox Page received a couple weeks ago.

Best of all, Ryan stocked up on toaster strudel for me! My favorite.

I even had some for dessert tonight.

You guys are the best!!

Looking forward to Kristin coming over tomorrow!

xooxoxxoxoxooxoxoxoxo

Coundown OVER (almost)

My friends!

Tomorrow is the day! I'm finally packing up to go on my long-awaited Europe trip with my dear friend, Kristin.

Though I was against the idea at first, I'm bringing along my computer on the trip. I didn't want to lug the thing around, but Robbie, my dad and Kristin's parents convinced me it would be a handy thing to have while we're over there. I'm guessing that they mostly just wanted us to bring a computer so we could Skype them!

Having my computer, though, means I'll be blogging while I'm there!! Look for photo posts of our adventures. I can't wait to share the bazillion photos I'll be taking while we're there.

Tomorrow, I'm heading up to San Fran to stay at Page and Ryan's place until I fly out with Kristin on Monday.

Which means tonight is PACKING NIGHT!

A couple of things that are going in my bag:

This is one of the two purses I'm bringing. This one's smaller and for going out at night. I love the across-the-body trend that's going on right now with purses, so I'm trying it out.

(Target)

After going out to a birthday dinner for the lovely and talented Carizza and seeing one of her close friends wearing this top, I had to get it. She pulled it off so well! I LOVE all things lace.

(Forever21)

My sister, Page, was TOO thoughtful. She went on an Amazon rampage and bought a ton of things for me to take to Europe (including five converters for my electronics...!). One super cute thing she bought for me was a pair of little ballet flats that fold up and fit in my purse! EXCELLENT for a night out on the town.

(Thanks, Page!!)

Also wanted to give a BIG thank you to Miss Ashley Sacknoff. She lent me the backpack she used when she studied abroad in London last summer.

(Thanks, Ashley!)

Another cool thing Page got for me: travel-sized laundry detergent, body wash and hand soap! I LOVE the idea of being able to wash a shirt I've worn twice in my hotel with this tiny little laundry detergent. I never knew doing laundry could be so cute!

(Thanks, Page!!)

A must-have for any trip I go on: travel journal. I got this at Borders a while ago. Aren't the little buildings adorable?

My kindle!!! My dad bought this for me as a graduation gift and it's been a beautiful gift thus far. I have a LOT of travel time on this trip, so I'm happy to have access to millions upon millions of books.

(Thanks, Dad!)

Travel documents... itinerary, flight schedules, hotel reservations, maps, passport, etc. Marilyn, Robbie's mom, always makes Robbie a folder with his travel info in it. I got the idea from her!

(Thanks, Marilyn!)

Also got this lovely Izod pouch from Marilyn! On my visit with the Moens a few weeks ago, she gave me this little guy to take to Europe with me! I'm using it to store all of my electronic stuff and as a passport holder during the day.

(Thanks, Marilyn!)

THANK YOU to everyone who has made this trip extremely easy to look forward to. I even got an email from an Electrical Engineering student, Allan, from Cal Poly giving me all sorts of travel advice! So thoughtful!

Look for more posts this week of travel bliss.

xoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxox

Come back, Roberto

Friends,

This last week I was feeling especially sorry for myself that Robbie is more than a thousand miles away, so instead of continuing my pity party, I headed to San Diego to visit his parents, Marilyn and Tim.

I'm so glad I did.

Marilyn and Tim are the kind of people that make you feel like you've known them your entire life. They have the greatest stories and they're so welcoming. It was great hanging out with them for the afternoon in beautiful San Diego. The three of us had lunch and spent the afternoon on the back patio. Marilyn and I did what we always do- sipped on almond champagne and white wine.

I got my little dose of the Moen family this weekend, which will keep me going for a little while longer.

Missing this boy.

Starting the four month count down until we're in the same place at the same time...

xoxo

The ya-ya sisterhood

My lovelies,

I have two wonderful sisters. One knits, the other blogs. Today, I'm going to tell you all about the blogger. Another time, I'll share with you the knitter.

(left to right: Lauren, Page, Nikol. Photo courtesy of the talented Anne McCarthy)

Page, aka The Mrs. (she was married a year ago to the wonderful RC), is wonderfully creative. She has an eye for design and has always had a knack for fashion. The reason I love, love, love her blog is because it keeps me up-to-date on what's "in" AND it features her amazing crafting ability. This girl can craft like none other. Everything she makes looks like it either came out of Pottery Barn or a Martha Stewart magazine.

What also is awesome about her blog is that it features some really cool, unique spots in San Francisco. Since she's a newbie in the city, she's exploring the nooks and crannies of everything San Francisco has to offer.

Basically, her blog is a fashionable, crafty must-see list of SF. Or something like that. Definitely check her out before August 20th and leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for a FREE birchbox.

Some fun facts about my sister:

- I used to call her ya-ya because I couldn't say Page.

- She is fantastic at poetry. Her rhyming ability is amazing- I swear she could be the next Eminem.

- She's the greatest at giving gifts because she is so thoughtful.

- The girl can't sing, but she sure has rhythm and sweet dance moves.

I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful and talented sister. Thank you, Page, for all that you do for me.

xoxo

Next up: Miss Lauren Mae and her knitting skills!

The East Side

Friends,

It's about a month away. Just a few months ago, my wonderful friend Kristin and I decided we were going to Europe. Just like that. We thought, why not? We could scrounge up the money and wouldn't that be a nice reward to ourselves for finishing four years of college?

And here we are. Five weeks away from hopping on the plane to visit Eastern Europe.

Sometimes I can't believe how incredibly blessed I am to have the life that I have.

Lots of people have asked, why Berlin, Prague and Vienna?

Answer: I've been to France and Switzerland. Kristin's been to Italy. Neither of us wanted to go to Spain or Great Britain at this point in our lives, so we figured Eastern Europe was the way to go.

During these last couple of days, I've been gearing up for my trip:

Thanks, Borders, for the lovely maps. While I'm sad you're going out of business, I'm happy for all the deals.

*p.s. Has anyone noticed how much they've jacked up the prices of their books and then put them on "sale?" Psh. Rip off.

And thank you, public library, for the wonderful travel guides. Check out my travel survival book- if I get stuck in the jungle, desert or sea, I'll know just how to get by, thank you very much.

If you have any travel tips or books I should read, please tell! Kristin and I need as many recommendations as I can get before we can hit the road!

Next up: the long awaited and promised feature on my sister Page.

xoxoooxoxoxoxoo