Happy Sunday!
It’s been a while, huh?
If you read my latest newsletter, you know why things in my personal life, have been, well – a little all over the place (which would probably be a good alternate title for this blog). It’s a bit frustrating to me that it spills over into this space sometimes, but I think that’s pretty normal.
This weekend was/is a busy one for us; we’ve been finalizing things for our trip to Europe next week (and oh my gosh, it’s finally sinking in that we leave in a week), washing clothes to start packing (which I like to do well in advance so things have time to dry, and so I can set clothes aside that I know not to wear in the week ahead), and we also spent time with my family yesterday at the Gator game. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit and focus on something else!
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Our lives will be changing drastically in the coming months, but for now, I’m choosing to focus on getting through the next week and enjoying our trip. So in order to get back to packing and planning, I’ll leave you with this week’s links:
Travel
Oof, I definitely feel this. While we make every reasonable effort to be sustainable at home and when we travel, there’s no getting around just how harmful air and car travel is to the environment. Carbon offsets are not a perfect answer, but they’re what we’ve got for now.
Okay – this Madewell puffer is genius. Instead of folding down into a pouch – it folds up into a neck pillow! Why didn’t I think of that? So much more functional than my old inflatable neck pillow.
Oh man, I almost pulled the trigger on one of these Away totes, but I stopped myself because of the lack of a zipper. So close!
What a rollercoaster of an article.
Downton Abbey fans can book a night at Highclere Castle (but just one night!) on Airbnb [no longer available].
Would you swap houses with someone? Andrea gives HomeExchange a try.
Previously… Two years ago I shared my ten favorite foreign words, and I wrote about our visit to the (then-new) home of the Atlanta Braves. I also published a post about my favorite travel purses at the time and tips for saving money in a notoriously expensive country: Norway. Last year around this time we visited Mexico City and I couldn’t resist dedicating a post to Lucha Libre! I also shared my packing list for that trip and my fall-style wish list.
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Food
Absolutely drooling over David Lebovitz’s post on French butter and cheese.
We just made these pancakes, and unlike most pancake recipes, this was almost the perfect amount for two people (we just had two small ones left over!).
I recently tried this non-dairy ice cream from Coolhaus and while I usually prefer regular ice cream (or especially, homemade ice cream), it’s not a bad substitute.
Definitely consulting these guides (but not following them blindly!) for our upcoming trip.
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Life & Home
A really sweet, well-planned Fall Bucket List [site closed].
What you see on Instagram is a lie.
Bookmarking this. I tend to over-water my plants (and frankly, they tend to thrive when we’re traveling!).
Luxe dives into the confusing – and sometimes frustrating – world of credit scores.
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Style
Digging the new Stutterheim collab.
How cute is this international food-themed tee?
Renee shares a sentiment I feel on occasion as well – since we rarely go out when we’re not traveling, I tend to not stay “dressed” most days. Every once in a while it’s nice to go out and have free rein of my closet when we do.
Things I bought this week
|| Top Row || Tank Bodysuit, Madewell | Merino Wool Quarter Socks, Bombas | Wrap Bodysuit, Madewell || Bottom Row || Cushioned No-Show Socks, Bombas | Adjustable Strap, Cuyana | Low-Cut No-Show Socks, Bombas ||
Last month I excitedly ordered a slash-proof strap and disappointedly sent it back after it left black marks all over my white tee. This time I ordered this adjustable purse strap from Cuyana, and though not technically designed specifically for travel, it feels pretty sturdy.
I ordered three pairs of socks from the super hyped-up brand Bombas: one pair of low-cut no-shows for flats, one pair of Merino quarter socks for ankle boots, and two pairs of cushioned no-show socks for sneakers. I’d love to have a drawer full of matching socks to make laundry folding easier, so I thought I’d try out a few pairs to determine if I want to purchase more in a multi-pack later. I’ve only worn the cushioned no-show socks once and thought they were… just okay. With free returns, I plan to give them all a fair shot and send them back if I don’t love them.
As for things I returned this week, I sent back both this tank bodysuit and wrap bodysuit to Madewell. I really, really wanted to like them, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the ribbed texture, and they turned out to be quite sheer.
When was the last time you attended a sporting event?
What do a lot of people hope will happen but is just not going to happen?