weekend in San Diego

I'm keeping myself as busy as possible during my weeks of bachelorette-hood. [And trying to keep my whining about missing E to a minimum for your sakes!] This weekend was spent with some wonderful ladies and lots of sun.

The recipe:

canapes, wine, beach, movie, chatting, kayaks, sunburn, and books.

It was a perfect little retreat weekend (...now is it time for you to come home, husband?)

-Dinner at Canapes

-Coffee

-Midnight in Paris

-Moonlight Beach

-Bread & Cie

-Mission Bay

Greetings in Italian

I can hardly believe I'm home. Italy feels like a faraway dream. I'm still thinking through and processing a lot about what I experienced there (and living vicariously through E who is there for another month) so I hope you guys don't mind me sharing some more reflections and thoughts from the trip...this time about Italian greetings and etiquette.

Cheek Kissing

On the plane ride to Italy, E and I flipped through a travel book for some tips on Italian culture before we arrived to prepare for the culture shock. We had been warned by previous visitors that the expectation at church was that we would greet every single person when they arrived, and greet them again/say goodbye after every event.

We knew that it was customary to kiss both cheeks, but were misled about which cheek goes first! We had read it was left cheek, right cheek - which seemed natural to me - but it turns out its the opposite! (only a few awkward near-misses before we figured this one out)

source

E would greet every man with kisses (more like a light cheek touch with a kissing sound), and all the older women and children, but not usually women his own age.

I would greet every women with cheek kisses, all the older men and children. The nonni (grandparents) were usually a little more affectionate with some real kisses on the cheek.

The occasion, and level of emotion seemed to dictate how long you would hold each other, or whether or not the cheeks were actually kissed. :-)

It took me a few weeks to not instinctively put my hand out for handshake prior to the kisses. (This is proper for the first few times you meet someone, then you can stop putting your hand out). Finally after watching the ladies for a little while I began to greet with just a light holding of one shoulder, or just leaning in for the kiss-kiss.

I have to say I fell in LOVE with the cheek-kiss and cannot figure why it isn't customary in the US!

Greetings

We had studied a few words of greeting before we arrived in Italy, but didn't know the rules of when to use them or how. Here are some tips we picked up!

For greeting formally before 2pm, buongiorno = good day

after 2pm, buonasera = good evening

When you are leaving or saying goodbye:

buona giornata = have a good day

buona serata = have a good evening

Ciao = (informal) hello/goodbye

ce vediamo _____ = see you _____

you can say it on its own, or add a dopo (later), a domani (tomorrow), a venerdi (on friday...or fill in any other day of the week)

When eating

For a wine toast, you say "Salute". & don't drink before the toast!

(humorous note, our hosts thought it was so funny that Americans use the same word for toasted bread and a glass clink!)

Everyone repeats "buon appetito" after the host says it, before eating.

I learned that it is impossibly to compliment a meal appropriately, unless you speak Italian.

It's proper to say either buono or buona -- the gender is determined by the gender of the name of the food which you are eating!

Since I never knew this I usually said buona cena = good dinner. (I'm still not sure if this was right or not!)

It was really fun, although awkward at times to learn a lot of the social customs and words, but we were so thankful for our patient hosts!

Shabby Apple Summer Sale

Have you guys heard this news? Shabby Apple's holding a rare summer sale: 20% off your entire order using the code: SUMMER20

This isn't my first time posting about Shabby Apple -- they have some really stylish, colorful, unique dresses, that are also demure. I bought my first dress from Shabby Apple last year (L'Artiste from the Oh La La line) with a Groupon.

and also purchased fun cocktail ring - which i wore for our anniversary photos.

Now that the 30 for 30 is over and my shopping ban is over, I treated myself to a couple new pieces from Shabby Apple.

The Adelaide skirt

Bali Ha'i' dress

I can't wait to see them!

Go forth, and purchase all things Shabby Apple with the code: SUMMER20

ps. disclosure: if you happen to click over to Shabby Apple from this here blog and make a purchase, I will receive a tiny affiliate referral credit.

A Month of Suitcase Living: Milan 30 for 30 recap

My 30 for 30: Milan edition is finally done! Thanks so much for your feedback on my original post & packing. I'm so ready to wash and put away all of those items and get back to the rest of my closet.

see some thoughts below.

I didn't get to take photos everyday, so I recreated a few of the outfits I wore for a cohesive board. Cheating was impossible because I only had what I packed - but I did purchase a pair of sandals that I wore twice.

From my original packing list, I removed 4 items (2 tops, 1 cardigan, 1 pr of shoes). I added a pair of gray leggings and the floral tank. I never wore one skirt (just wasn't a practical an inclusion), so I ended up with 27 items.

Items worn least: olive pencil skirt, teal top, black jeggings

Items worn most: flip flops, brogues, bermuda shorts, boyfriend cardigan.

What I would have changed:

1.

Bringing this adorable coral skirt was a bad idea. It was a little too short for me to wear to church events, and too dressy for our days off of traveling and sight-seeing.

2.

In general, I brought too many dresses and not enough casual pieces. Would have loved to have a pair of cute yoga pants, and a couple of plain t's.

3.

I brought too many scarves. I managed to wear each of them at least once, but I wish I would have spent more time picking out necklaces and packed them - it was just way to hot for a scarf most days!

Otherwise, I felt really good about what I chose, and how I wore it! And I'm going to spend the next few weeks making the rest of my wardrobe feel less lonely (they missed me, I could tell).

Lake Garda and Sirmione

Two years ago, when we were planning our honeymoon I had on the top of my list to visit the Cinque Terre, five coastal cities on the Italian Riviera, connected by a rocky path with a gorgeous view. (also, Trofie pasta originates from this region, and its pesto is famous.)

When we attempted to spend a day here on our honeymoon, our plan was foiled due to a train derailment and repairs leaving only a couple of hours in Riomaggiore (no time for the hike). I was really disappointed, but E promised to take me back.

So, when we knew we were going to Italy for this summer and would have one day off a week, I told E that was at the top of my priority list. When we arrived and talked to our hosts about wanting to visit, there were other road blocks -- no direct route from Milan would force us to spend more than 1 day gone and over 100 euro just to travel there.

I sadly gave it up, until a neighbor asked if we wanted to spend a day with them so they could practice English, and they would drive wherever we wanted to hike! We immediately suggested the Cinque Terre, and made plans to go in our last week.

Unfortunately the night before we were supposed to leave they phoned us that their teenage daughter was hospitalized with bronchitis and they had to stay home....

Strike two for Cinque Terre.

I was so sad I wanted to cry all night (drama queen alert). We decided to stay home the day we'd planned to go out, and asked for another recommendation of a place to visit on Thursday.

Our hosts suggested Lake Garda, the easternmost of the three large lakes in the Lombardy region north of Milan. Without other options or energy to plan, we booked train tickets and took off the next morning.

photo credit

We took a train to the southern central portion of the lake, Peschiera del Garda.

(there is an old military fortress that might be worth touring here)

monument to fallen soldiers

After wandering around the town and the marina, we decided to rent bikes (bad day to wear a maxi dress!) and ride to Sirmione - a beautiful little town on a peninsula in Lake Garda that we stopped at on our honeymoon, and we could resist visiting again.

I would recommend this bike ride to anyone and everyone. (You can see on the map where Peschiera is and then out to the peninsula of Sirmione.) It's about 7K of biking, and was the most relaxing gorgeous bike ride - on the lake front going through sleepy towns. we loved it.

the views needed no enhancement.

We'd decided at this point in our trip (based on the fact that we were eating so well with the families in Milan), that we weren't going to spend our limited funds going out to eat. So on our bike ride we stopped in a local market and picked up beer, bread, meat, cheese, fruit and chocolate for lunch (spent less than €10!)

dipped our toes in the water and enjoyed this view.

Sirmione is gelato central, with a shop every where you look. We may or may not have had two servings while in Sirmione. :-)

Check out the size and the amount of flavors at this shop!

We decided to make it our life goal to come back and stay in the Palace Hotel Villa Cortine.

We were so glad we came back to visit Sirmione.

Guest Post: Carly's Summer Style

Happy Independence Day! As much as I loved my oversees adventure, it's great to be an American.

Today, I'm welcoming Carly from The Less Than Domestic Goddess as a guest poster! Carly's a blog friend from Weddingbee as we were planning our weddings (3 years ago!) Her blog is fun, refreshingly honest and insightful, and she has fabulous style. So I asked her to share a style board for you guys while I adjust to being back in the US.

Compass Points Shorts Ballet Tank, Anthropologie | Frequent Flitter Sheer Cardi, Ruche | Westwind Drive Felice Satchel via Nordstrom, Kate Spade | Faux-Leather Thong Sandals, Old Navy | Confetti Pendant Necklace, J.Crew

I usually keep my summer style as classic, casual, and carefree as possible. I don't want to deal with a lot of fuss when it's hot outside. To me, it's about tying my hair up, the smell of sunscreen, a great pair of sunglasses, and flip flops!

I pieced together the outfit for this style board using the beautiful sheer cardigan I found on Ruche as my focal point. I was immediately drawn to its bold colors and design. I can definitely see myself wearing something like this. I paired the cardigan with a simple white tank (a staple in my closet) and denim shorts. I have a pair of denim shorts just like the ones above that I've had for years. I bring them out when it gets warm, and they match everything.

I kept it simple with the jewelry and the shoes. I am strictly a flip flops girl in the summer, and I like to stock up on cheap pairs from Old Navy/Gap/Pacific Sunwear, wear them like crazy, and toss them by the end of the season. The Kate Spade purse would definitely be a splurge, but doesn't it just look like something every woman needs for a summer getaway? Putting it on my wish list...

This outfit could work for day or night. For night, I envision replacing the shorts with crisp flared jeans, switching out the flip flops for some wedges, adding gold hoop earrings, and you're ready for a nice dinner out.

How would you describe your summer style? What are some of the staples of your summer wardrobe?