On Friday, June 14, we took a train from Paris to Amsterdam, arriving to chillier temperatures and drizzly rain. We first sat down for lunch at the train station’s PANCAKES Amsterdam to try classic Dutch pancakes (a gluten-free one for me), and we found them delicious. Then we took the tram to our charming hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. As with the tube in London, to take the tram, all you have to do is swipe a credit card when getting on and off. Our room was ready when we arrived, so we dropped our bags inside; it was beautiful, spacious, and quiet – my favorite hotel room we stayed ..read more

On Sunday, June 9, we made our way from the Champagne region to Paris in the late afternoon. We got settled at our hotel – the Hilton Paris Opera, located in the 8th arrondissement – where we had an attractive, updated room with lovely amenities; it was tiny but cozy feeling and very quiet. This was overall perhaps my favorite hotel where we stayed on the trip, with gorgeous architecture, proximity to attractions and a convenient metro station, and an easy buffet breakfast each morning. After doing some laundry in the sink, we ventured out to the nearby Galeries Lafayette department store wh ..read more

After our first day in London, we took the Eurostar train to Paris and rented a car. We drove straight to the French Open at Roland Garros (parking on a nearby street). We were allowed to take food in, so we stopped at a grocery store on the way for dinner, and then entered the tournament. There was so much to explore, from merchandise to Parisian fare to different tennis courts. The main event of the evening was seeing Alcarez win the quarter-final game against Tsitsipas. It was just so fun. After, we drove to our hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Versailles. While the rooms felt a little outdate ..read more

My husband Harrison and I just returned from a wonderful and activity-filled three week trip in Europe. We stayed in London, Versailles, the Champagne region, Paris, and Amsterdam; I’ll recap each in a separate blog post. We both started and ended our trip in London, a beautiful city that I just loved and absolutely want to return to one day and explore further, as I know there’s so much to see and gems to be discovered. As my first trip to London, we had to visit some of the main sights. The very first thing we did when we arrived on June 3 was head to Westminster Abbey which was truly some ..read more

Happy Memorial Day weekend! School is out, and summer has arrived – one of my favorite times of year. I love the long, dreamy, carefree days so much, and always look forward to our annual Rhode Island vacation. This year, too, I’m excited for a June trip to Europe with H. Here are some things I’ve been up to lately. Making Iced Tea & Cookies Once the weather really warms up, I crave all things refreshing and enjoy making fresh iced tea. For the first batch of the season, I used Blueberry Lavender and Whistledown Punch tea bags along with a Trader Joe’s Stevia sweetener packet and some fr ..read more

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey This was a lovely, sweet and moving winter read. Seventy-nine-year-old Missy Carmichael lives alone and feels consumed by loneliness as well as her past haunting her, until she meets two women in a park and a dog, who all introduce her to a new kind of life and show her that it’s never too late to make friends or start fresh. Slowly, Missy begins to find herself again. This book had me feeling all the feels; it’s emotional and deals with some tough life occurrences, but is also so uplifting. It sends a reminder that in the end, we need other pe ..read more

A few weeks ago, I discovered the salad recipe that Jennifer Aniston described as her “perfect salad.” After making it and eating it two weeks in a row, it’s become my perfect salad as well. It’s both fresh and refreshing, stores very well in the fridge for up to five days, and is an easy and delicious grab-and-go lunch for work days, picnics, or any day, really. I adjusted the recipe slightly to my tastes; here is how I made it. Ingredients 1 cup blend of organic white & red quinoa, millet, & buckwheat (Super Grains from Whole Foods) 1 cup cucumber, chopped 1/2 cup mint 1/2 cup roas ..read more

The last time I was planning and packing for Europe was the spring of 2018 when I traveled through the south of France and Spain. At that time, I was 27 and had recently started dating my now-husband Harrison. This time, we are flying over together for several weeks spent in London, Versailles, Paris, the Champagne region, and Amsterdam. We have been working on our itinerary and are so excited for this new adventure! I have some new packing preferences for this trip to share. I had been using the same AWAY suitcase for every trip since Europe in 2018 and was happy with it – until I discovere ..read more

Our living room this spring is so bright and sunny, a happy space to be and relax. I placed the lighter weight blankets on the couch again as well as our spring/summer pillows from Rifle Paper Co. They are just beautiful and bring me joy. We are still loving lounging on the gorgeous and comfy couch we bought for our new home. The sun seeping in through the windows is so lovely every weekend morning when I can sip my tea leisurely and enjoy it. The scallop rattan tray is one of my favorite details on our coffee table. One of the greatest joys this spring has been the view of our white dogwo ..read more

Over Easter weekend, H and I began planting in our garden beds. Then last weekend, I planted flowers in our front porch pots, and yesterday, I did the back patio pots. Planting flowers and tending to gardens is one of my favorite things about spring; I loved doing so on a smaller scale in our townhouse, and now that we have a house and yard, having the opportunity to do more feels wonderful. It will be a learning experience as this is our first time with our own yard, but that makes it more exciting. Front Porch Pots We have a locally grown farm stand near our house, which is just a dream, s ..read more