What I'm Wearing in Europe

In 2 short days I'll be leaving on a jet plane.

I am getting so excited. You are probably tired of hearing me talk about it, but that is what's going on with me. No food, just travel plans. I haven't even cooked anything in like a week since we are trying to eat up whatever we have in the kitchen in advance of being away for 7 days. Meanwhile, I wanted to share how I'm choosing what to wear on the trip and some other tips for getting ready for travel!

Get your list on. My inner nerd is sooooo happy right now. Not only did I make a full packing list, but I also made a list of what types of clothing I would want/need for each day of the trip. For example, I will be sightseeing everyday but Shaun made some fancy dinner reservations for a few nights. Of course, I will want to change into something a little nicer. This then informed the packing list.

Get shopping. I'm not advocating breaking the bank, but chances are that you might not have exactly what you want, clothing-wise. This is where the packing list comes in. Especially if you are going for a certain 'look' on the trip. My plan was to be comfortable yet fashionable, and definitely able to mix and match my clothing so that I have lots of options on the trip. I went to Nordstrom Rack and made out like a bandit. I combined a few pairs of shorts with 5 or 6 tops. I love to be a minimalist while traveling, while still getting to have options. My motto was comfy yet effortlessly fab.

My mom also picked up a couple of skirts and tops for me at the J. Crew outlet.

I also plan to bring jeans in case it's cooler. As for 'dressy' items, I always go with black. It always looks good, can be layered in different ways and doesn't show too many wrinkles. My favorite item? The romper!

I got a similar-looking (but extremely less expensive) romper at the Rack. I can wear this with my red flats (the only fancy shoes I'm bringing), a cardigan and a pretty necklace and I'm set for a night on the town. I also plan to pick up a black jersey dress that can be worn belted.

Plan your footwear. I'm only bringing 3 pairs of very versatile shoes. For everyday walking and sightseeing, I purchased a brand new pair of TOMS that will go with all of my outfits (actually, I picked these out first, which I highly recommend!) and are super comfortable to boot!

For a fancier shoe, I'm bringing my comfortable red flats. They will pack easily and make all of my black dresses and rompers 'pop' in the evening hours.

Lastly, I am bringing my running shoes since I do still plan to exercise while I'm away! Especially since I'll be on my own for a lot of the trip. I have no excuses :)

Accessorize. I picked up a couple of new necklaces at Forever 21 which can be easily worn with most of my outfits to dress them up a bit. Oh and did I mention that I hardly broke the bank with these purchases?

Layer. The last item for dressing in Europe is to layer! I'm bringing a few cardigans, my circle scarves and perhaps one or two long sleeve shirts that I can wear in a pinch if it's chilly in the evening.

So there you have it. How I'm getting my dress on while I'm traveling. How do you plan your clothing for travel? Are you a minimalist? Or do you like to have options?

How to Create a Gallery Wall

I had been wanting a gallery wall in our apartment since...oh, forever.

When we finally purchased a place of our very own, I realized that this was my chance. I am semi-obsessed with taking photos and I hate that nowadays, most photos don't even get printed, but filed away into virtual folders. I love to see the photos I've taken, whether travel photos, family photos or throwbacks. So a gallery wall was the perfect solution to our {very} empty and unpainted entry way.

I found this process to be daunting at first, and then realized it was very simple and dare I say it, fun. I did the wall in 2 parts since after living with the first half for a few months, I realized that I wanted to extend it even further. I did this in 2 different ways, so you can simply choose whichever one works for you.

First thing's first, map out the space you want to use with painter's tape. I used measuring tape to make it all even.

I then laid out a sheet on the floor, folded to the size of the mapped out framing area.

 

On the sheet, I put together my frame layout. I found this to be the easiest way to move things around until I found the design that felt right (and fit in all of my frames). This also avoided hacking up my wall while moving things around. Then, I snapped a photo of the layout so I could reference it while I was hanging the actual frames. Lastly, I just filled in the wall, hanging one at a time. I used picture hangers which hold way more than enough weight to sustain my meager Ikea frames. My favorite part about this method is that since it's a gallery, nothing needs to be perfect. I did not space anything perfectly, I wanted it rustic!

Once I worked up the strength to finish the wall (months later mind you), I used a slightly different and even less precise approach. I also moved some things around!

To finish the wall, I took stock of my remaining frames and photos. I outlined each one with wrapping paper and hung the wrapping paper with painters tape to show how the frames would look on the wall. Then, I hammered a tiny hole into the center of the painters tape, removed the paper, finished hammering and hung the photos. Easy peasy.

Here are some close ups for your viewing pleasure! Red is kind of a theme in our home right now,

but what I love about the gallery wall is that I can always change out the frames once we paint (to all white, perhaps?) and even the photos as we make more and more memories!

Starting from the bottom left side of the wall, I included a photo of a Divi tree, which was also the favor at our wedding; our wedding program; a photo of my bridesmaids and me at my wedding; Shaun and I in front of the Montana River; my family at our wedding; a throwback photo of my sisters and me.

Next up: A view of the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower; Shaun and I at our Senior Prom; throwback of Shaun and his brother; Shaun and me sipping lattes in Prague; Shaun's fam at our wedding; my parents at our wedding; his parents at our wedding.

Cartoon mouse & cat kissing; sisters & me at Penn State; Shaun & me at Yanks v. Mets game; Eiffel Tower; our dads at our rehearsal dinner; ampersand, painted by yours truly; my family's dog {and my baby} Chloe; Shaun & me in a photo booth, circa 2004; Keep Calm & Read Blogs, designed by yours truly; pencil drawing we purchased in Tallinn, Estonia

Central Park print, gifted to us from my sisters

Our wedding party; heart print I copied and doctored (I plan to buy the original at some point!); A view of the mountains in the Grand Tetons; throwback photo of my dad and me; a bison; Mom and me; Shaun with his mom and brother

So there you have it. Honestly, this was such an easy project and was totally worth the work. I love stopping in to look at it each day as I leave the house and come home. It just makes me happy. And I love that we can change out photos whenever we'd like!

So what do you think? Are you a "photo" person? Do you own any cool prints? I'm always on the hunt for new ones!

Confessions of a Monday

1. Hi, Monday. I'm overfed and underslept. How did you get here so quickly?

2. I had a wonderful day with my mom yesterday.

3. My mom, sisters, cousin, aunt and I had a girls day and all went to go see Something Borrowed. I adored every moment of it. I obsessively read this book on a beach in Miami like 6 years ago. Seeing it on the big screen just made me happy. I don't care what the critics say.

4. Major crush on John Krasinski will now continue commence.

5. I may have eaten a giant slice of Oreo cheesecake at lunch yesterday with the fam. I may have also forgotten to snap a photo for you.

6. Shaun and I went to a wedding on Saturday night. It was so fun and beautiful. All of our oldest friends were there. I may have had 2 bottles of wine. See #1 above. Just sayin'.

7. I made it in my 5" heels! I wore them all night long. I couldn't walk once I took them off, but that's another story. The point is that I did it. And I feel accomplished.

8. I haven't updated the book page in a while. To give you a quick update, I finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (and absolutely loved it) and I also read Bethenny Frankel's A Place of Yes. Though a completely different type of book, I liked.

9. Once again on the hunt for a bunch to download onto the Kindle for our trip to Europe!

10. We are leaving for Spain in 4 days...let's move along week!

What's going on with you on this Monday morning?