Sure, a warm drink on a cold day does just the trick, and that freshly fallen white snow is so lovely, but dry irritated skin? No thank you. Winter is not easy on the body. Between the cold dry weather and the heater running 24/7, it can be difficult to keep your skin looking healthy and hydrated. Here are some beauty products I’m using right now to help fight the winter blues.
How are you decorating for the holidays this year? We live in a small apartment so putting up a big tree really isn’t an option for us. I’m loving these simple evergreen accents, and if we had a big home, I love the idea of hanging garland in the doorways! I’m always a fan of clean design and love the Scandinavian palette of black, white, and wood. The pop of green looks lovely in a mostly white interior, wouldn’t you agree?
Our dear friends Adam and Lauren got engaged this October! When they asked if I would shoot some photos of them around the city and in their home, I jumped at the chance. This was my first engagement shoot, and I had a great time hopping around Chicago to celebrate these two!
Our first morning in Paris began with the a visit to the Eiffel Tower. It may be a cliche tourist attraction, but the views from the top are undeniably great. And the selfies are even better (haha).
Your best bet for visiting the Eiffel Tower is to make reservations and purchase tickets ahead of time on the Eiffel Tower website. Once you’ve done this, all you have to do is show up at your scheduled time, saving you a least an hour (and sometimes two) waiting in line. The reserved times go quick so expect to book at least two month in advance. If your desired time is no longer available, keep checking as times slots do open up.
Just South of the Eiffel Tower is the pedestrian only Rue Cler. Filled with bakeries, flower shops, patisseries and cafes, Rue Cler feels a bit like being transported to a small french village. We stopped for delicious lunch at Cafe du Marche before an afternoon of French shopping.
On our fourth day in Italy, we made arrangements to visit the nearby island of Capri. From the Amalfi Coast, Capri is just a 30 or 40 minute boat ride away. In the summer months, hydrofoils operate direct from Positano and Amalfi, but if you are visiting in the winter months, you will need to catch a boat from Sorrento. Public sea connections between the island and the mainland do not run after 8pm, so keep this in mind when planning out your accommodations. If you would like to spend an evening on the island, enjoy dinner and drinks, etc, my recommendation would be to book at least one night on Capri.
Another option is taking a private boat tour around the island. There are several companies who all offer similar tours, but after checking out all our options, we decided on L’uomo e il mare. For only 55 euros each, we took an 8 hour tour complete with towels, drinks, and desserts. The tour began with 4 hours on the boat touring around the island and stopping at several sites along the way, including a stop to swim in the sparkling Mediterranean, sailing under the Faraglioni Rock, as well as a stop at the infamous Blue Grotto and Green Grotto. After the tour around the island, we had 4 hours to explore the mainland on our own. During the ride home, we stopped again for a final swim and toasted to a wonderful day with champagne and cakes. The private boat tour was a perfect way to see Capri and I highly recommend taking this route. Our tour guide and captain were very funny and informative, and spending a day out on a boat with visitors from all over the world was an experience I’ll never forget.
It can be hard to understand the perspective from photos, but the Faraglioni rock is extremely large—our boat drove straight through the center. Crazy! What a beautiful piece of Mother Nature.
Pulling up to Marina Grande, the island was much larger than we were expecting. The beautiful white buildings sparkled against the turquoise waters.
All you need is love, love is all you need.
