Switzerland!

Gosh, this place was beautiful. I can't describe the feeling of seeing mountains this big for the first time. I may have said this a million times on our trip but I cannot believe real people get to live in places like this! I think my face may have been glued to the window the entirety of the drive, and I definitely made Aaron pull off the road for pictures every few miles. Despite the dreary weather, we were able to take a gorgeous gondola ride up Neiderhorn and hike all the way back down one of the days. We also spent some time in Bern, and ate enough Swiss chocolate for a lifetime! All in all it was wonderful, although I'm hoping our next trip back will be a bit sunnier so we can see some more of those gorgeous peaks.

Lake Como, Italy Part II

I finally got around to editing all of our pictures and making an Artifact Uprising book this weekend, and all of this picture viewing has made me re-inspired to post a few pictures here.

On the second day of our trip we tried to see a bit more of Lake Como before heading over the boarder to Switzerland. We spent the morning walking around the beautiful, waterfront grounds of Villa del Balbianello, which was made famous by movies like Star Wars and Casino Royal. Apparently, the villa was built for a Cardinal who wanted a 'retreat for reading'…. must be nice.

Lake Como, Italy

Hello my people! We just got back from an a-m-a-z-i-n-g vacation in Europe, and sometimes that's all you need to get re-inspired in sharing your words + pictures again. Our basic goal for this trip was to see beautiful places, eat amazing food, and relax to our little hearts content. Each of my expectations were far exceeded (other than the weird food in Switzerland...), and I'm excited to share our experience through pictures from my "real" camera.

So! We started our trip by flying to Milan and heading straight to Lake Como. It was a quick 1 hr drive to our AirBnB in the lakeside town of Argegno. Our host was a beautiful Italian woman named Giuseppiana who spoke very little English but was just the sweetest. One of the more comical conversations I tried having with her was when I asked where to buy a hair straightener. I'd like to think I was pretty good at the hand-motion in exchange for words thing, but I'm pretty sure she just thought I was weirdly rubbing my hair. Anyway! We stayed in a separate chalet on her property, and it had the most wonderful view of the lake. The sight of huge mountains and beautiful water is truly one I would never tire of.

Despite a sleepless red-eye flight, we got straight into our day upon arrival with a boat rental on the lake. We were nervous about splurging on an activity like this on the first day, but I'm so glad we did. It was a really great way to see the beautiful towns around the lake, and to enjoy what the area is famous for... THE LAKE.

Later that evening we enjoyed one of the best meals of our trip, and probably of our life. I wish it was possible to fully share the meal experience through pictures (the atmosphere, the food, the service), but of course it wouldn't do it justice. Anyway, on to the pictures!

Beach Weekend + Baby Gazin'

There is certainly plenty to catch up on from the past two months (like becoming an AUNT), but I'd rather just jump right into photos from this weekend. For the second year in a row, we've gathered at my family's beach house in Bethany to celebrate my Dad's birthday. This year we took Friday off of work and had an extra glorious day to soak in family time and beach-gazin'. And when I say beach-gazin' I really mean baby-gazin'. Because let's be honest, that's pretty much what we did all weekend. It was good.

First time her little toes have touched the sand!

(Um how good does my sister look? Here's to hoping I have the same genes post-baby…)

Ps. Today is my Dad's actual birthday. Happy Birthday, Daddio! I love you!