"The sun, with... planets revolving around it... can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do." - Galileo One of my favorite days on my recent vacation to Spain was when I went on a trip to the country's southern wine country area of Ronda with Tannin Trail. I absolutely love visiting wine country whenever we can, wherever we are, so it was a no-brainer part of our vacation to venture out of the city to Ronda. Tasting different wines, discovering more about the winemaking process, and learning about wines of the world is so much fun, and I've never met a wine region whose beauty I'm not enamored with. On the morning of our wine tour, Tannin Trail's co-owner Kelly picked us up right on time at our hotel. It was convenient to have ... [Read More]
vacation
Adventures in Dublin {Travel Recap}
Hello, hello! Between traveling back from Europe, catching up on work, and battling an energy-sucking cold all week, I just could not get my blogging act together last week. But, I'm back today with a fun travel recap! Prior to last week, when I pictured Ireland, I envisioned lots of pubs, history, greenery and castles. Now having vacationed there, I can say that the country was very much what I was anticipating. My trip to Ireland all started when I found out that my dad, a longtime football coach for a high school in New Jersey, would be traveling there with his team. They were set to play as one of the opener games for the Georgia Tech vs. Boston College game - a way of bringing American football to Europe. When I heard that my mom and sister were joining the team, I ... [Read More]
Life Lately: Food, Fitness & Fun on the East Coast
Hello, hello! My working vacation to my hometown has (not surprisingly) been a busy few weeks - lots of fun happening and catching up with loved ones! Here's what life lately has been for me on the east coast: Food. There's been no shortage of good eats this trip, obviously! Some food highlights have included this healthy blueberry crumble that my mom for me on my birthday morning (oh yea, I turned 29 the day that I arrived in Jersey!)... ...chocolate covered fruit that we made the same day.... ...and lots of veggies as per usual. My grandpa's garden produces some insanely big zucchini! His tomato plants also produce some pretty awesome Jersey tomatoes. Bruschetta and tomato sauce with zoodles have been enjoyed! Naturally, I've done some cooking for my ... [Read More]
Bachelorette Partying in Miami [Travel Recap]
In college, I was never part of a sorority. I always had female roommates, but I don't think I had ever stayed in a place with a double digit number of friends....until my trip to Miami two weekends ago, when I got a mini taste of what it'd be like to live in a sorority house! Eleven other women and myself traveled to Miami to celebrate my best friend Meaghan's upcoming nuptials. She's getting married in August to her college sweetheart, who I got to know well when I lived with Meg my senior year of college. I thought it'd be fun to do a recap of the trip and tell you about the places we spent our time and the bachelorette festivities we partook in... and me being my food loving self, to also share my best eats. Let's get to it! Where We Stayed All of the other girls ... [Read More]
[My Life Lately] Wining & Dining All Over Jersey
Hey there! Happy Hump Day! I've now been in Jersey for 12 days spending time with a lot of loved ones. My weekdays mornings and afternoons have been kind of normal in that I'm working from home, only instead of having my dog Harley by my side and being in my own home, I'm working from my parents' and have this new puppy as my companion: Her name is Jada, and my parents rescued her a couple of weeks ago from what we suspect may have been a dogfighting situation. She's a puppy somewhere around 6 months old, and her and I have become the best of friends. She's a very sweet girl and a big cuddler, and I've been working on helping my parents start to train her. Dog abuse and neglect situations break my heart, and I'm glad that Jada will have a lifetime full of snuggles with loving ... [Read More]
Skiing for the First Time in Lake Tahoe
Hi friends! Recently I recapped both hiking at Emerald Bay State Park and eating & drinking in South Lake Tahoe, and today I have my final trip recap to share with you all: skiing for the first time there! I'm not really a big winter sports person...or winter in general person for that matter. I don't love snow, and while I did go sledding and tubing here and there in the winter growing up in New Jersey, I had never had a big interest in skiing. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn down a chance to try it, but if given the choice between a tropical vacation or a winter wonderland to go skiing, I'd choose the former every time. But last month when I got obsessed with the Olympics as I usually do when they're happening, the idea of being around snow and surprising my hubby with a ... [Read More]