Vacation Diary Part 3 \ Ravello & Rome, Italy

There is just something about little European villages.  The charming cobblestone streets leading up to the bustling center square, surrounded by coffee shops and tiny family run restaurants.  The colors, the smells, the food, the people, the architecture of these tiny, picturesque villages are exactly what inspires me to travel.  

Ravello is what you'd expect when you envision one of these small villages.  Where as Positano & Capri are on the water, Ravello sits perched atop a mountain and gazes down on the small villages below it with the Bay of Salerno in the distance.  Ravello is achingly beautiful, and some say it is one of Italy's most breathtaking small towns.  Surrounded by lemon groves & vineyards, this lovely little town was the perfect ending for our journey on the Amalfi Coast. 

I love the characteristic features found on old doors.

I saw more lemon trees {with HUGE lemons} in this region of Italy than I've ever seen in my life! 

The charming town of Amalfi, as seen from above on our drive up to Ravello.

I can literally see my face getting rounder and rounder in the last few days we were in Italy....

.....Probably because we ate like this every day lol!

 We visited the stunning Greek ruins of Pasteum {600 BC}.  Highly, highly suggest this site as most tourists don't stop here and we had this spot mainly to ourselves.

 Pasteum contains some of the most well-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world.

 We visited a buffalo mozzarella farm and learned the process on how the cheese is made.

And did some sampling of all the amazing cheeses fresh from the farm with a carafe of white wine on the side ;)

Seriously lemons everywhere!  This guy uses lemon trees as his car port.

My daily gelato.

The area surrounding Ravello is breathtaking.

Our guide brought us to this little hole in the wall trattoria; we probably would have never tried it otherwise.  The food was so delicious we ended up eating here twice.  They serve their own homemade wine in a big pitcher....totally my style :)

The view from our hotel in Ravello.

 While in Ravello, we took a cooking class w/ Mama Agata.  She doesn't speak a word of English but cooks the most delicious food {never once using a recipe}.  

 We made eggplant parmesan, amongst other things.

Wearing my favorite Velvet by Lily Aldridge jacket {here}

We celebrated our actual anniversary while in Ravello and I surprised Adam by having our baker {who created our wedding cake in Tuscany} re-create an exact mini version and ship it to us in Ravello.  Thanks Melanie!

 Heading to Rome wearing: Velvet by Lily Aldridge jacket {linked above} / Soft Joie sweater {here} / Citizen of Humanity jeans {here}

  I just love Rome.  Even though we've been here many times, I always feel like I'm viewing it with fresh eyes.

 View of the Spanish Steps from our hotel.

No trip to Rome is complete without a visit {and a wish!} to the Trevi Fountain.  Legend has it that if you make a wish + throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome.

Where we stayed:

Ravello - Palazzo Avino

Rome - Portrait Suites Roma {We've stayed here many times, expensive but highly recommend}

I truly did not want to leave!  I was begging {pathetically pleading, actually} Adam to extend our trip but, alas, it was back to the states & reality for us.  Until next time, Italy ♡

Frank Coffee Scrub Giveaway!

Got cellulite? Yeah, me too {insert crying emoji here}.  Adam always looks at me like I'm a crazy woman when I point it out to him and claims that he doesn't see it......isn't that what husbands are supposed to say?!  I see it though, and I know it's there.  Luckily with a good diet + exercise mine is pretty minimal.  I'm always on the lookout for new products that aid in bump reduction and after seeing Frank Coffee Scrub blowing up everywhere on Instagram, I decided to do a bit of investigating.

First off, I absolutely LOVE the marketing behind Frank.  The first thing you see when visiting the Frank website is, "Hey babe, I'm Frank coffee scrub."  I also love the Frank slogan: 'get naked. get dirty. get rough. get clean.' {I'm such a sucker for clever wording!}  

Frank promises that:
 "i’ll target cellulite, stretch marks, psoriasis, varicose veins, eczema and acne with roasted and ground arabica coffee beans.
then i’ll moisturise and tone your skin with grapeseed oil, and use coconut oil to hydrate your skin and tend to any imperfections. i’ll take coconut flakes, brown sugar, jojoba beads & sea salt and gently smooth your lumps and bumps, and use vitamins & minerals to work wonders from the outside in."

Given that I like anything all natural, and since I love body scrubs + use them weekly {always before I apply self tanner}, I decided to give Frank a whirl.  I purchased both the original scrub {coffee w/ sweet almond oil}, and the coconut / grapeseed coffee scrub as well.  

 Applying Frank is pretty easy.  You get wet in the shower, apply a large handful of Frank all over your bod concentrating on problem areas, let it dry for 5-10 minutes {I multitasked & applied a hair mask at the same time}, then rinse off.  Waiting for it to dry was a little weird, I just stood awkwardly in my shower the whole time.  I will say that Frank is super, super messy.  All I could think of while I was applying it was how much of a bitch this was going to be to completely clean up.  Also, if you're not a big fan of the coffee smell, this may not be for you as my bathroom smelt like a coffeehouse for a good full day.

As for the results, that remains to be seen.  The instructions on Frank instruct to use the scrub 1-2 times per week, and since I've only used him once, it's too early to tell.  I will say, however, that my skin was the softest I've ever felt it after using one time.  :)

 Coconut & Grapeseed

 Original

To read more info on Frank, check out their website by clicking here.

Now, onto that giveaway!  I purchased a couple extra packages of Frank when I placed my own order, and I'll be gifting both the original & coconut scrub to one lucky reader!  All you have to do is leave your name + email address in the comment section of this post and you'll be automatically entered into the drawing.  This giveaway will run until noon on Sunday, May 11th.  The winner will be chosen at random, and announced on Monday morning.

Good luck, ladies!! Thanks so so much for reading my blog! xx


** Giveaway is closed **

Vacation Diary Part 2 \ Capri & Positano, Italy

Ciao bellas!  I hope you're all having a great week so far!  Can you believe today is the first day of May?  Summer is soooooo soon! :)

Today I wanted to share more of my vacation pictures.  Initially I thought that I'd share all of my pictures from Italy in one post, but after going through all of my photos I think that it's best to split them up rather than bombard you with literally hundreds of pics!  Seriously, everything in Italy makes for a good photo!

After Israel, Adam & I flew directly from Tel Aviv to Rome, which was only a 3 hour flight.  I was beyond excited to be back in Italy; I just feel like Adam & I have so much history in Italy since he proposed to me there in 2012, and last year we were married in Tuscany.  So for that reason, Italy will always be so special to me. 

Our first stop on our 10 day tour of the Amalfi Coast was Capri.  Capri was absolutely magical!  We spent 3 nights staying at Hotel La Minerva, which was the most adorable boutique style hotel located in a quiet section of Capri that is very close to the high end shops {perfect for me!}.  I would highly, highly suggest staying here if you are considering a trip to Capri.  The attention to detail that they pay to each guest is second to none. 

During our stay in Capri, we did quite a bit of reading on our balcony {I read Gone Girl in 2 days!}, toured around the island + visited Ana Capri, went on a hike, got custom sandals made {a real tradition in Capri}, shopped, ate amaaaaazing food {EATaly as my friend Irina calls it} and drank entirely too much wine.  This basically set the tone for the rest of our trip on the Amalfi Coast; drink vino, eat pizza with a side of pasta, and daily gelato.....Bliss!

After Capri, we took a quick 30 minute ferry to Positano.  I was thrilled to visit Positano because it has been a bucketlist destination of mine for years!  Positano was breathtakingly beautiful, but by comparison, it didn't come close to measuring up to Capri.  I wish that we would have just extended our time in Capri and only taken a day trip to Positano.

There was one great aspect of Positano however.  I had a little surprise up my sleeve!  One of my favorite photographers that Adam & I both follow on instagram, KT Merry, was scheduled to be in the area hosting a photography workshop.  When I found this out, I immediately reached out to her about doing a surprise 1 year anniversary photo session with Adam.  The timing was absolutely perfect because she was free during the 2 days we were in Positano, and she was completely on board with the surprise!

The session was so much fun; we took pictures all around the town of Positano with the sherbert colored houses built into the side of the mountain as the beautiful background.  I can not wait to see the photos!

Here's a selection of photos from our time in Capri, and Positano.

This was such a beautiful time of year to visit - wisteria was in full bloom all around the Amalfi Coast!

I'm pretty sure this is what Heaven looks like!

The cutest little flower shop.

Wearing: the most comfortable jumpsuit from Splendid {here} //  my favorite Dolce Vita sandals {here}

We did a whole lot of this - wine + relaxation.

Picture perfect.

Wearing: Vince knit {no longer available} // Citizen of Humanity cropped skinnies {here} // Joie slip on sneakers {here}

I loved the simple but chic decor of our hotel {think gorgous blue & white tiles everywhere, and linen everything!}

Beautiful Positano.

I love this picture so, so much!  Framer for sure :)

Where We Stayed:

Capri - Hotel La Minerva 

Positano - Hotel Buca di Bacco 

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read!  xx