honeymoon part 1 - Positano

i've been trying to get together a post with some photos from our honeymoon for some time, but with 800+ photos it has been a little hard to get a handle on it all! so i'm going to break it into a few posts and try not to be super overwhelming.

we were lucky enough to spend almost two weeks in Italy for our honeymoon and we stayed in Positano on the Amalfi Coast for the first week. we rented an apartment which was pretty amazing (once we were able to find it of course). Positano was a wonderful town to be based in and allowed for day trips to other sights in the area. the weather was great and i think i carb loaded like never before (wine, pasta, and bread oh my!).

our cute little apartment with the most wonderful balcony & view

photo taken from the main Spaggia beach

ate lots of fresh buffalo mozzarella which is made exclusively in the region and always washed it down with locally made limoncello (love the shot of the new wedding ring ;)

We really loved the small town and i can even forgive the hundreds of steps i had to climb every day to get around it. Since we visited at the end of the season it was quiet and easy to explore without crowds being a problem. On the second day in Positano we went on a walking tour led by an Australian ex-pat who has found herself living in the town after marrying a local (the very handsome Vincenzo). She had a great love of the town and its people and it was a really fun way to experience the town, especially when we got to sample lots of local food and drink.

we took a scenic boat trip out to the Emerald Grotto near Amalfi. honestly one of the most hilarious "tour guides" i've ever encountered is the guide that steers the row boat inside the grotto.

Pompeii was amazing and a true nerd's paradise. we had no idea how gigantic the site was and how much had been excavated! we spent over 5 hours here and no doubt didn't see it all. It was easily reached by bus and train even if the schedules didn't match up at all.

I'll be back soon with parts 2 and 3 ;)

for the love of beer

so i'm a beer drinking girl. yes, i love a nice glass of wine and i'm partial to a gin cocktail, but if forced to choose, i'll pretty much always opt for a cold glass of good beer.

back in June, bryan and i took a little road trip and got to stop at a number of wineries and breweries. most excitingly was the stop we made at the Ommegang brewery in Cooperstown, NY (i.e. the middle of nowhere farmland where even google maps gets confused). Ommegang makes some of the tastiest Belgian beer this side of the Atlantic and i'm not sure much compares to their Three Philosophers quadrupel brew (read - high alcohol content) that is made with cherry lambic (pair with chocolate for happiest results). so if you ever find yourself driving through New York state or deciding from a beer menu that contains an Ommegang brew, by all means treat yourself.

have a fantastic weekend!

how awesome is this tree house hotel in Costa Rica? pretty much need to stay at a hotel this cool sometime. i'm still a little amazed and mystified about the whole toilet in the tree trunk though...

clearly i'll be daydreaming of far off travel this weekend as i get some major work done all on fronts (i'll be in lab today, have much wedding stuff to do tomorrow, and have been crocheting most spare minutes to try and stock up my store for a hopeful holiday rush ;)

i hope you have wonderful plans!

our summer getaway

(source, source)

so as of THIS SUNDAY, Bryan is finally done with his intern year! (this is the first and hardest year of medical residency where bryan worked all of the time and i rarely saw him awake :( so to celebrate and enjoy his whole ten days off, we've planned a nice little road trip for us to getaway.

we're going to first go to the Finger Lakes region in New York state to tour some wineries and hang out with my awesome cousin and her fiance. then were spending some time in Cooperstown, NY to see the baseball hall of fame and also visit Ommemgang brewery (yummmmm). after that we're crossing the border into Canada to visit Niagara Falls (bryan's never been and i'm seriously sad i don't have the family photos of my awkward preteen self in front of the falls ;) we'll then end our trip with two nights in Toronto, a city neither of us have been too.

so if you have any recommends (or general road trip tips or advice) please send them our way! we've been collecting some Toronto must sees from our Canadian friends and i can't wait ;)

and are you planning any summer getaways? where are you headed?

planning a summer road trip

summer road trip by ohjustjess featuring a fedora hat

so in a couple of weeks bryan and i are packing our bags and headed north for a short summer road trip to get away from it all and celebrate the end of his very long intern year (1st year of medical residency). we're going to visit some friends and family and even go see Niagara Falls! i also recently discovered the ease of using Polyvore so i thought i would share with you some items i've spotted for an ideal travel outfit during hot summer days. nothing beats a cute straw fedora, breathable cotton, comfortable sandals, and a bright floral weekend bag ;)

i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend too! we're headed up to Connecticut for a wedding today in the most stressful fashion - cut to us driving through NYC during rush hour on a friday. time for me to pack and head off to work! what are your weekend plans?

sometimes...

Inishowen, Ireland via National Geographic

even though i absolutely love the city (and i'm kind of allergic to the suburbs) sometimes i don't think it would be all that bad to live in some quaint little cottage in the country and lead a simplified life.

sighhh... just look at those beautiful serene rolling hills....