Santorini: Part One

July 7, 2015

After our time in Athens Dale and I flew to Santorini! I have been dreaming of visiting the island for a long time, and it definitely lived up to expectations. Our first night we stayed at the beautiful Amber Light Villas. We spent the day relaxing at the pool and enjoying the delicious food at the hotel. It was the perfect relaxing start to our time on the island.

The next morning we rented an ATV and headed to Fira. We spent the day exploring the capital before heading to our next hotel, the San Antonio Imerovigli, to check in. The caldera view was truly spectacular. We then headed to Oia to eat dinner and watch the sunset. I loved seeing the crowds gather and line every wall with a good view. After the sunset headed back to our hotel, and woke up early the next morning for one last ride on our ATV. We went back to Oia to take some more pictures and enjoy the town in the early morning. It was nice to explore without so many tourists. Here are my favorite pictures from exploring Fira and Oia:

Honeymoon Part One: Athens

July 3, 2015

I have finally sorted through all of our honeymoon photos and I'm excited to share my favorites from Athens! Dale and I spent the first two days of our trip exploring the city, and I loved the contrast between the history and modern life. After getting off the plane we first checked in at the Royal Olympic Athens. Our room had a beautiful view of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the Plaka. I loved how the Greek evil eye even appeared in the graffiti.

We woke up early on day two and made it up to the Acropolis by 8 A.M. The view from the top was hard to capture in pictures, it was amazing to see the light reflect off of the buildings. You could also tell just how huge the city is. Seeing the Parthenon in person was incredible, and I definetley recommend The Acropolis Museum. That afternoon we also saw the the Theater of Dionysus, The Ancient Agora, and visited the National Archeological Museum. Spending two days in Athens was the perfect start to our trip. I will share pictures from Santorini soon!

Sisters In STL

April 25, 2015

I spent last Saturday exploring Cherokee Street in STL with my two future sister-in-laws! With the wedding quickly approaching it was nice to spend a relaxing weekend shopping, eating, and enjoying the nice weather. Saturday night we ate at Charlie Gitto's, one of my favorite Italian restaurants on The Hill. It really is hard to beat homemade noodles.

Sunday we ate breakfast at the Soulard Coffee Garden. This was followed by a trip to get gelato at the Gelateria del Leone. After trying way too many samples we each finally decided on our order. Next up was a quick stop at 4 Hands Brewing Co. to get some beer for the boys back home. Our last adventure was a visit to see the Jewel Box in Forest Park. I was excited to finally take a peek inside this mysterious greenhouse, and it is definitely worth a visit! Thanks for visiting Dianne and Heidi!

A Weekend in Hermann, Missouri

March 28, 2015

Last weekend Dale and I took a weekend trip to Hermann, Missouri! We were lucky to have great weather while we were exploring. We ate lots of bratwurst and found some great treasures at some of the many antique stores. One of my favorite stops was Typestyles, a place to get inspired by vintage packaging and rummage through drawers of letters. And of course it wouldn't be a trip to Hermann without a wine tasting and a beer flight. I couldn't have asked for a better or more relaxing weekend get-away!

Burano, Italy

March 5, 2015

"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be,
see them as they are."

–Samuel Johnson

I took this photo when I studied abroad just after my sophomore year of college. I fell in love with Italy that summer (especially the food), but more than that I learned to appreciate time spent traveling. This quote by Samuel Johnson is a thought-provoking way to think about this appreciation, and makes me even more excited for the travels I have ahead of me this year!

Family Photos

January 26, 2015

A few days ago my mom showed me some recently-discovered photos of my great-grandparents and grandfather. My great-grandparents, Lillie and Lue, were part of an amateur movie-making club which traveled all over the world taking pictures and making films. My mom grew up seeing pictures from these trips, but she mostly remember pictures of the places. These often didn't include her grandparents, making these images all the more special. This is just a small glimpse into their life, and the many photos we will now be able to treasure!