the post vacation let down

It is a blur. An 11 day blur of driving, plane flights, bus rides, site seeing, eating, sleeping, shopping, touring, more bus rides and then more plane flights. As our bodies have still not yet adjusted to being back on Chicago time, we awoke in the wee hours of the morning. It should make for an interesting afternoon and evening when our eyes start to feel the lag.

As for the pictures (and the videos) that's going to take me a bit to compile and edit them for you. After living there for 4 months I took a total of about 360 pictures, this time in only 9 days I took 1,755. Film vs digital.



The comforts of being home:
1. A scalding hot shower in my own bathroom, with my own fuzzy towels.
2. Putting my kettle on the stove for my usual morning tea.
3. Clean clothes.
4. Our bed, with our pillows.
5. Living out of my dresser instead of a suitcase.
6. Falling asleep on the couch.
7. My wooden floors.
8. Getting back in touch with friends.

The sighs of leaving behind:
1. Cappuccino every morning.
2. Melon wrapped in prosciutto.
3. Church bells to wake me.
4. Cobblestone roads that date back to BC
5. The quiet that comes with not fully understanding the language around you.
6. GELATO. No need to explain.
7. My feet in the Mediterranean while I search for the right pebble to take home.
8. Sharing Italia with my family.

buon viaggio

I am officially in the last throws of "pre vacation" jitters. Our taxi to the airport comes in an hour and a half! (gasp!) It will basically go like this for the next 48 hours: Fly, drive, sleep, drive, fly (and hopefully sleep), wait, fly, drive, THEN destination! Yes, it will be a bit of an epic journey just to get there.

I can't wait to share with you all the stories and pictures that will come out of the next 12 days. Until then... ciao!

countdown : 48 hours to departure

and this is how I feel about it...

in honor of st. patty's day

featuring : Teri Lyn Fisher and others

Somehow I stumbled upon Teri Lyn Fisher last week and wanted to share her great photography with all of you. She also has a great food blog here. It combines great food with awesome photography... warning it may make you hungry. {Picture credit for above goes to her}

Then I wandered onto this little ditty: A girl and her polaroids. Fun stuff there too.

science + design

He knows me so well. This came in an email from him this morning, knowing I'd enjoy typefaces categorized out as if they were elements on a periodic chart. And I do!

Sorry my posts have been a bit infrequent this week. Things are gearing up for Italy and time is running short. I'll try to get a few more in before we leave, but until then, have a great weekend!

diy : bookmarks

An easy Friday afternoon project for you!

All you need to make a nice "corner cover" bookmark is: one paper bag, one pair of scissors and a book! I always liked the Paper Source bags I get with each purchase and this is a great way to enjoy them once I bring them home. Now, just to be fair, I can't take full credit for this idea. I saw it somewhere, but for the life me cannot remember where. I've been doing so much "research" lately in the area of design that it's all starting to blur together. So, if you happen to see it else where, let me know so that I can rightfully credit from where it came.




PS: It needs to be a bag that does not have a bottom. A simple bag with just two sides. Then just cut the corners of the bottom off how ever you'd like and slip your "corner" onto a page!