GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // AUGUST 23, 2016

Gratitudes

I’m home and almost settled after flying back home on Friday. I had a little laundry to-do and a few errands to run. My mailbox was overflowing, I had to get some groceries and needed visit family! It still doesn’t feel like I was aboard for a month. I’ve always dreamed of a long term travel but I have to tell you I didn’t feel long. Maybe next time I’ll have to go for 6 weeks!

I have a big gratitude for my boyfriend this week, he offered to scoop me up from Dulles on Friday. What he didn’t offer was to sit in the cell phone waiting lot for 2.5 hours while I cleared customs, got my checked bag that United forgot to unload and then through another customs check. I was so happy to see him when he pulled up surprising me with my dog Ava! You see Ava had a long vacation too (at my parents house), where she was spoiled like all of the “grand-dogs.” He organized a pick up with my sister Kellyn and I saw little Ava in the front seat looking for me. She was so excited her tail nub wagging back and forth with fury. It was a great homecoming.

On Saturday morning I woke up and headed to my parents house to have a sisters day by the pool. Kensey (the youngest of the Norman 4) got engaged to her boyfriend Jason while I was gone. So I wanted to make sure she got the attention and celebration she deserved. Together we brought over the dogs, laid by the pool with a chilled bottle of rosé , snacks and planned to grill out. Growing up the four of us were always together and now that we are older it’s harder for us to get together with our work and travel schedules. Being able to sit poolside and enjoy their company was a huge gratitude for this week.

I skipped a nail polish announcement last week because I was just wearing a basecoat. I ended up giving my nails a rest for the plane ride and this week got back to color. I’ll be leaving for Maine on Wednesday for a wedding, and I’ll finally get to enjoy it as a guest. I decided go to with Mimosas for Mr. & Mrs. It’s an adorable nude that is super thin, so I needed to layer over a few days to build up some of that beautiful creamy faint pinky-peach. I don’t tend to wear nudes because I like that bold pop of color, but when I do, I love the natural simplicity. It’s clean and sexy.

Breakthroughs

Minimalist packing. Yes, packing is my breakthrough. To head to Italy for the month I packed my large Travelpro Walkabout 3 25 inch suitcase, my smaller Travelpro Walkabout 3 21 inch carry-on and a backpack. I had everything I needed for a month. While I was there we were taking these smaller side trips and originally I had planned on using that smaller carry-on to bring with me. What I found was that if I planned correctly I could carry my backpack and a smaller side-body duffle bag. The first trip I took to Ponza, I brought one bathing suit bottom, two bathing suit tops, three dresses (two casual + one more dressy), a romper for the beach, fedora, pjs, one pair of sandals, and one pair of flip flops. I also had toiletries and make-up that I paired down. We stayed for 5 days and I felt like I had just enough to wear. Ayla and I continued this minimalist packing thing as we traveled and it almost became game. How few things could we bring with us to make sure we felt comfortable. The second trip with took out to Polignano I brought a backpack and a leather bag I bought in Florence. It was so freeing to be able to carry all of the stuff I needed on my body versus dragging around a rolling suitcase. I’m hoping that this will continue as I pack for Maine this week. If you haven’t tried it you should really give it a go!

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.