how to: pack light for a two week trip

I have been meaning to post this for weeks but I still think it's better late than never. I've gotten several questions asking how I packed for our two week honeymoon to Italy. You all should be so proud of me because I was the lightest packer ever! I packed less than Matthew, which even surprised him! The trick was picking items that I knew would go together in a lot of different ways. You can see that while I packed a couple striped shirts, I didn't chose any patterned bottoms because I wanted to make sure each top would go with each bottom. {I was also motivated to pack light because I was thinking about the clothes and presents I might find in Italy hehe}

shirts {LtoR}: Forever 21, American Apparel, J. Crew, Urban Outfitters
pants: J.Crew black Minnie Pants, Urban Outfitters BDG jeans
shorts: J. Crew
skirt: J.Crew
dress: c/o Ruche
scarf: Tory Burch
jacket: H&M
sweaters: Madewell and J.Crew
swimsuit: Vix Swimwear
sunnies: 80s Purple
shoes: Palladium, Michael Kors, Marshalls

Luckily we were able to wash our clothes once during the trip, while we were in the countryside, so that helped with the underwear situation. I know it's probably gross to think I only had two pairs of shoes to walk around in for two weeks but at least the Palladiums had some good support. I didn't get one blister! 

Do you tend to pack light or heavy on trips? 

I'm luckily getting better with shorter trips by planning my outfits in advance. 

xox

honeymoon adventures in positano

Matthew and I spent the last three days of our honeymoon in Positano, which is right on the Amalfi Coast. It was the perfect end to our trip because we got to relax a little bit and enjoy delicious seafood and the most stunning views. I loved laying out at the hotel's sun deck, which overlooked the water. There was also an infinity pool that looked like it blended right into the Mediterranean. So cool!

have you ever seen a lemon this big?!

fell in love with a pair of very Italian Fendi heels...if only..

Matthew and I were so lucky to go to Italy for our honeymoon. I loved that we got to experience the city, the country and the sea! It's hard to believe that we were there a month ago. It's already feeling so far away and I know Matthew is dying to figure out some way for us to move there permanently. haha we'll see about that! I'll always cherish and remember the time we spent in Italy and hope that one day we can go back and do it all over again! If any of you are considering an Italian honeymoon I'd recommend it 100%! Oh and I'm planning on writing a separate post with information about hotels, restaurants and sights for those of you who've emailed me.

xox

my sunglasses are from 80s Purple. I wore them the whole trip and I loved them!

look book: positano

Matthew and I didn't have much time for outfit photos in Italy, but we did take some our last night in Positano before we went to dinner. Positano, as you will see in tomorrow's final honeymoon post, is absolutely gorgeous! The views of the water are incredible and we were blessed with sunny days and cool evenings. Something funny that will explain the second to last photo: we walked down by the water for these photos and within minutes I was getting attacked by hundreds of gnats. It was absolutely disgusting and I'm blaming the timing and close proximity to the water. It must be an evening thing. We hurried to get some photos in and then left as quickly as possible. Of course I had to take another shower before dinner because they were nesting in my hair. It was so nasty! Hopefully I didn't gross you out too much before lunch! haha

attack of the nasty gnats!

sweater Madewell {worn in last post}, skirt J. Crew {worn way too often}, shoes Michael Kors {my only heels in Italy}, scarf Tory Burch {from one of my bfs Mal}

Matthew left this morning for a work conference in San Francisco and I already miss him! It will be our first couple nights apart since before the wedding. You know what that means.. party! hehe juust kidding. I'll miss him a lot but I'll spend my time catching up on all my girly shows he's refused to watch with me! 

xox

honeymoon adventures in florence and siena

Matthew and I went to Florence for a day and a half. We took the train from the countryside and it was an easy 35 minute ride. We got off at the Santa Maria Nigella station and went in search of our hotel. I didn't realize that you can walk the span of the city in about a half hour, so we covered a lot of ground just getting there. I was also surprised to find that Florence was full of so a lot of tourists, many from the United States. Florence is a main study abroad location so there were tons of American college students roaming the streets. Florence seemed so far removed from the other Italian cities we had visited so far. Even Rome, a very international city, had that Italian character. Matthew joked that Florence was really "Little America." People in Florence immediately started speaking to you in English and we found many of the restaurant recommendations disappointing. We didn't want to have that touristy experience so we referenced emails from friends and also asked the locals. I had both the worst pizza and worst gnocchi in all of Italy in Florence-what you would expect of airplane food, but airplane food is better. I know I was only there for a short time so perhaps on a longer visit I could have found some better places. Matthew and I still had a lot of fun roaming the streets, looking at the San Lorenzo leather market, and crossing the Ponte Vecchio. Oh, and he's reminding me that we also had some really good tiramisu right before we got on the train to leave!

Siena, on the other hand, was a little more to our liking. We parked outside the city and walked in because no cars are allowed within the city center. We walked around, saw the famous Piazza del Campo {Twilight fans, New Moon was filmed here!}, ordered some paninis from a local deli and ate them on a little street bench. It was a very warm afternoon but by the time we were leaving it was starting to drizzle! That didn't stop us, though, from getting some hazelnut and dark chocolate gelato from Grom. So yummy! We ran back to the car and by then it was pouring. So fun!

 

I have a list of restaurant and shopping recommendations from the trip that I'm planning on adding to the bottom of these posts, so if you're interested, look back for that! One more honeymoon post to go and it's on Positano, the most beautiful city of the sea! 

Have a lovely weekend everyone! And Happy Fathers Day to the men in your lives!

xox

honeymoon adventures in the countryside

Matthew and I were sad to leave Assisi but we were excited to go to our new villa. It looked gorgeous in the pictures and when we got there it blew those expectations out of the water. It was in a small town nestled underneath Lucignano, a slightly bigger yet still small town. There were herb gardens and lemon trees on the property, as well as tons of beautiful flowers growing everywhere. The above photo was taken in the backyard.

This was the only map Matthew and I used the whole trip and surprisingly we only got turned around twice. I told Matthew I was a good navigator! He, in turn, was a good stick shift driver. I tried to learn but it was a little too scary!

homemade pici pasta in Lucignano

While we were in the countryside Matthew and I explored many of the hill towns, including Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino. We found life to be very laid-back and the people we met were kind, friendly and very helpful. In the restaurants we found a lot of appreciation for fine foods made from fresh, local produce. We discovered that every little town has something they're "famous" for. Matthew and I even made a few dinners for ourselves during the week we were there. It was fun to shop in the local grocery stores and pretend to be locals. When we went on day trips to Florence and Siena we were so looking forward to coming back "home." For anyone going to Italy, I would recommend spending as much time as you can in the countryside. It was definitely my favorite part of the whole trip!

xox

Oh, also, I've gotten some questions about wedding photos 

and yes I definitely will be posting them! 

The photographer said they should be back in 4-6 weeks 

so I'll post them as soon as a I can!

honeymoon adventures in assisi

After three busy days in Rome Matthew and I were really looking forward to the countryside. We had rented a villa right near Assisi and it sounded perfect..until we got there. It was definitely not how it was  described online; the towels were hard and stiff, the bedding felt damp, there were hardly any lights, the stove didn't turn on, the refrigerator didn't work, the shower was kind of gross- I could go on and on. Not to mention, the guy who owned it seemed like a complete weirdo! We got out of there as fast as possible and went into Assisi to look for wireless in the hopes of contacting the villa rental company. We met the nicest people in Assisi, from the lady who walked us over to a tourist office, to the man who found us a great deal on an apartment for the night. Matthew and I ended up falling in love with Assisi and we were so glad everything worked out as it did because we were able to live in this beautiful hill town for a couple days and just explore.

 I didn't even think to pack socks and it got so cold one day that I had to wear Matthew's blue ones!

I still want to share some photos from the countryside, Florence and the Amalfi Coast, so I'm going to work those in over the next week or so. Since I can't post wedding photos just yet, it's the next best thing, right?  :) 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! It was very June Gloomy in LA, and still is today. We should be finding out about that apartment this afternoon and I'm crossing my fingers and toes. I'll let you all know what happens!