Lisbon Part One

We had the best time in Lisbon, and I'm really excited to begin sharing photos from each stop of our trip! We headed to Europe this summer to celebrate Dale's graduation from medical school and we have been planning our itinerary and booking our Airbnb's over the past year. Visiting Lisbon was at the top of my list so we decided to make it our first, and longest stop of the trip!

Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One
Letters Are Lovely | Lisbon Part One

After arriving (via Dublin), we took the metro to our Airbnb and got ready to start exploring. To beat the jet lag we decided against a nap and stayed awake. We were also starving so our first stop was putting our name in at Taberna Da Rua Das Flores, a restaurant recommended by our host! He had told us it was a popular spot, and we even had to wait arriving later in the afternoon. During our wait  we did some shopping, one of our favorite spots being A Vida Portugesa, When we finally ate Dale had a duck salad and I tried the swordfish, both were amazing and worth the wait! After lunch we headed to the Carmo Convent β€” we especially enjoyed the museum inside. We were meeting some family friends, Laura and JoΓ£o, for dinner so on our walk back to our Airbnb we stopped by the Santa Justa Lift (the line was too long to go up), and stopped in a few more stores. After meeting our friends we headed to dinner and had a traditional Portuguese meal! I tried the Bacalhau and Dale tried the Secretos de Porco. Laura and JoΓ£o were kind enough to show us around Lisbon after our meal, it was the perfect start to our trip. By this point we were getting tired and headed off to bed! 


NYC Part Two

Our weekend in NYC was mainly spent in Ken Barber's Freehand Lettering Workshop which was held at The Cooper Union. Both days we had lunch close to Cooper, the first day we tried Gemma at The Bowery Hotel and on Sunday we had a quick lunch at Korilla. Saturday evening we decided to explore Central Park and had a dinner reservation at The Loeb Boathouse. We had the best weather and I loved walking around the part and to 30 Rock after dinner. After that we headed back to our Airbnb to rest up for the next day. 

Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC

Sunday evening was our last night in the city and we decided to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge after the second full day of our workshop! It was super crowded but the views of the city were amazing. After our walk we stopped by the 9/11 memorial and then headed to dinner before a show at the Comedy Cellar. I also have to note that we had amazing breakfasts at both Juice Generation and Bluestone Lane Coffee. I'm so grateful that Hallmark sent the three of us to NYC, we learned a ton and made the most of our few days in the city! 

Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC

NYC Part One

Hello, friends! Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few days in New York City and attend a freehand lettering workshop with Ken Barber! I haven't been to NYC since I was in elementary school so I was especially excited to explore the city. Here are a few photos from our first day which was free for shopping, market research, and we really made the most of it!

Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC

Our flight got in late Thursday afternoon and that night I went to Frozen on Broadway with a family friend. Beforehand we had a delicious dinner (pesto pasta!) at Trattoria Dell'Arte and walked through Times Square. Friday Livy, Meredith and I were up early and started our day with breakfast from Eataly, a few photos by the Flatiron Building, and some shopping. Our favorite shops were Fishs Eddy, Flying Tiger, and ABC Carpet & Home. For lunch we ate at ABC Kitchen, which ended up being my favorite meal of the trip! After lunch we headed to the Whitney and then took a walk on the High Line. We had dinner reservations as Blossom, a vegan restaurant. After dinner I was able to catch up with my college friend Katie at her apartment. Later this week I will recap the rest of our time in NYC!

Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
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Dallas Favorites

This past weekend I took a quick trip to Dallas to celebrate my friend Ashley's bachelorette party! This was my first time in Dallas and we had the best time. I loved catching up with my college friends who live out of town, and trying so many wonderful new restaurants and bars! Following bloggers is one of my favorite ways to discover the best places to try in a new city, and the atmosphere and coffee at Magnolias Sous Le Pont (recommended by Amy from Fashion Jackson) did not disappoint. Here are all the places we tried:

Cane Rosso

  • We started our trip with pizza at Cane Rosso Friday night. We ordered a few to share, but my favorite was the Prosciutto e Rucola. I also tried a local beer, the Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower, which I'm hoping I can find at home, too!

Soul Cycle

  • I have been to Soul Cycle once before (during my work trip to Chicago last year), but this time going with a group of friends made it an even better experience! 

Mercat Bistro

  • Mercat Bistro was one of my favorite parts of our trip! We sat in their beautiful metal pavilion and loved every second of our meal. I started with the Ricotta & Honeycomb and had the Egg's Benedict for my meal. Both were amazing, this would be on the top of my list of places to go back to! 

Magnolias Sous Le Pont

  • After brunch we headed to Magnolias to grab coffees and chat. It was a rainy morning so relaxing and drinking our coffee in this beautiful location was the perfect way to pass the time before the KU game!

Katy Trail Ice House

  • Most of the girls on the trip were KU fans so finding a fun place to watch the game was a top priority. We ended up at Katy Trail Ice House and found a table right by the TVs inside. If we hadn't been so intent on watching the game it would have been a great place to sit outside, there were so many people who brought their dogs! And in a little better weather I'm sure this place would have been even more crowded. 

Mesero

  • After KU's win we spend some time relaxing at our Airbnb before dinner at Mesero, an upscale Mexcian restaurant. Most of us got enchiladas and enjoyed guac and queso to start! 

Louie Louie's Dallas

  • Finally, our night ended at Louie Louie's Piano Bar! This was the perfect spot for a bachelorette party, I think there were three other groups there as well. The music was great, and the performers were really entertaining. 

Hopefully these recommendations will be helpful if you find yourself in Dallas, I love being able to look back at all the places I tried on trips and recommend them to friends. Happy travels!


February Around The Web

While this month is not quite over yet, it has been full of exciting and nerve-wracking times/decisions, all building up to BIG things happening next month. I can't wait to go into more details, but let's just say I have packed way too many things into the last few weeks. There were also a lot of happy highlights as well like spending time with our friends in STL, celebrating Galentine's Day with my dear work friends, eating at Lidia's in KC with my family for my birthday, recruiting for Hallmark at KU, having a weekend at home over my actual birthday, and finally I will be heading to Dallas this weekend for a bachelorette party! And between Valentine's Day and Spring on its way the finds around the web did not dissapoint this month:

By Tessa Forrest @subliming.jpg

By Tessa Forrest @subliming.jpg

Ready or not, it's almost March!