Moving!

We're leaving for Scotland this weekend and we're so excited and ready to go.  I'll be taking the next week off blogging while we explore our new neighborhood and get the lay of the land, and then I'll be back with lots of pictures! In the meantime, here are a few fun articles and blog posts that I've enjoyed recently:

Since we're getting in the Scotland groove, here's a nice article that came out in the Fife newspaper on Ryan's signing back in June.

Our old stomping grounds!

An interesting article on personality changes after moving abroad, written by another hockey wife. 

9 Foreign Words that Should be in Your Vocabulary

We're doing a mother-daughter trip to Paris in October with my cousin and my aunt and we rented this beautiful apartment.

I wrote a guide to our Venice favorites for Taking Route if you're visiting this fall.

The Top 40 Places to See in Italy.....we've been to 14! Guess we'll have to go back...

And I thought this was so hilarious: things that will happen if you don't check your cell phone right now

Have a good weekend - xo.

*Image via

Overnight Plane Essentials

Now that we're a few days away from going to Scotland (!!), we're finally starting to pack. We've had a few packing horror stories in the past: the first year we flew to Italy, Ryan packed all of his clothes in his carry on, which the airline ended up making him check. Of course that was the one bag that got lost during the trip, so for the first four days that we were in Cortina, Ryan had to wear the same clothes every day. Another time, one of my bags got lost and when I got it back, it had the most exotic tags on  it, from places all around the world - one tag was even in Arabic!

But now we've pretty much got the packing thing mastered - we check our larger bags, carry on small roller bags with a few sets of clothing in them in case the checked bags get lost (I just ordered this one and I'm so excited to use it!), and then I always pack a small bag for the plane. After countless overnight flights, here's what I've found I like to have on hand:

1. Face wipes to wash your face with before you fall asleep. As an avid face washer, I find it makes a huge difference to be able to "wash" you face on the plane.

2. Planes are so drying for skin, so I always put lotion on my face a few times during an overnight flight - usually before I fall asleep and then again when we land.

3. Cozy socks! I always take my shoes off on overnight flights, but my feet tend to get really cold on planes so I always bring a big pair of socks.

4. Headphones - for all those movies you'll end up watching.

5. A scarf that can be used as a blanket. I always bring my biggest, comfiest scarf to wrap around me while I sleep...so much better than scratchy airplane blankets. This one looks cozy.

6. An eye mask to block out light for better sleeping.

7. Disposable toothbrushes! We discovered these a few years ago and love them - you can brush your teeth with no water and then throw the brush away when you're done.

8. Hand sanitizer, because obviously....how nice does this one look?!

9. Snacks. I've been digging these Kind bars all summer.

10. A water bottle. It's so important to stay hydrated on long flights, so we always bring water bottles to fill up before we get on the plane. We bought two of these this summer and they've been great.

And, this year I ordered this great bag to put it all in, which I think will also be great for weekend trips once we get there.

Steamboat Spot: Bella Vista Estate

The other night, my friend Danielle and I had a chance to go up to Bella Vista Estate to watch the sunset and take a few pictures.

Bella Vista is a vacation rental, used for fun events like weddings and family reunions and it's so beautiful up there. It's on Rabbit Ears pass and has the best views of Steamboat down below. If you're thinking of doing a big group vacation or family reunion in Steamboat, it would be the perfect spot. The property is surrounded by wildflowers and there are so many neat spots to sit outside with a drink or for dinner - including a hammock overlooking the lake below!

 And how amazing is the pool?! They also have an incredible hot tub and a fire pit where it would be so fun to make S'mores and watch the sun set...

Thanks for having us, Bella Vista! The 3rd and 4th beautiful photos are by Danielle.

PS - What to do in Steamboat in the summer and our favorite Steamboat happy hour.

On Scotland

As I mentioned earlier in the summer, Ryan and I are heading to Scotland for his upcoming season and now that the summer has flown by, we're leaving in about 10 days! In the midst of organizing and packing, I thought I'd share a few of our thoughts and answer the top four questions that we're getting asked every day.

The most popular question that we've gotten is "will you miss Italy?!" And the answer is, OF COURSE! We loved living in Italy, more than we can put into words. And we'll miss so much about it: the friends that we made, the lifestyle, the food, (the wine)...but we're so lucky to be able to have another great adventure and we're really excited to explore a new area (neither of us has been to Scotland before), to make new friends and try new foods.

Which brings us to the next question: "are you going to eat haggis?" There was a time, a few months ago when we first told our family and friends about Scotland, that this was the number one question we got. Yes! We're excited (sort of) to try haggis. We're pretty adventurous eaters in general and we're pretty good about trying everything at least once.

And, usually asked in a panicked voice: "where will you LIVE?!" When we move abroad every August, we're lucky enough that we don't actually have to do too much except for pack. Ryan's team takes care of everything for us, from finding us a place to live to getting us a car. We're spoiled, for sure.

Lastly, "are you ready to go?" YES!!!! We're not packed at all (we love leaving that to the last minute), but we have our Visas and our passports and we're so ready for this next adventure.

And we're spurred on by this article, 21 Reasons You Should Move to Scotland Immediately....I love number 2 and 18.

**Image via

Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are our favorite summer dinner. It used to be, when we lived in Italy, that we couldn't make proper fish tacos there so we'd load up on them every August before we left the US. We're not sure what we'll find in Scotland, but we're still in the habit of eating plenty of fish tacos every August while we prepare to leave for our next adventure.

Here's how we make them...

What's Your Favorite Happy Hour?

When we lived in Italy, we got into the tradition of "aperitivo" which is drinks and snacks in the early evening before dinner, and the American equivalent of that is happy hour. Steamboat, where we live in the summers, is one of the best places for happy hours, so we love to ride our bikes downtown in the late afternoon to check them out. There are so many options: you can sit by the river or in the center of downtown, you can opt for margaritas or beer or wine, you can have a snack before dinner or you can even turn some of them into an early dinner.

A few of our favorites include E3 where you can sit in Adirondack chairs by the river and drink half-priced wine and munch on truffle fries and Sake2U where you can eat sushi rolls for half the price (we usually turn this into an early dinner).

But - our top choice is always Carl's which has great Colorado beer, 50 cent wings and $2 oysters. Oysters and wings sounds like a strange combination, but surprisingly, it works.

What's your favorite happy hour combo? Summer is the perfect time for it!

And PS - our go-to summertime drink....

A Summer Corn Trick

August is corn season in Colorado and the other day our neighbor told us a trick....

...place a piece of bacon around an ear of corn, wrap the corn in tinfoil and grill it on medium heat for about 30 minutes. When it's done, the corn should be slightly charred and the bacon should be nice and crisp. We tried it the other day and the bacon gave the corn a great flavor - you don't need to add any other seasoning! Plus, who doesn't like bacon on everything?!

5 Things to do in Rome

Have you ever been to Rome? We've been a few times now and it's always super busy. There is so much to see and do that it can be hard to figure out what's most important. The last time we went, in April, we tried to slow down and enjoy the city without rushing around from one tourist destination to the next.

Here are five things we like to do in Rome that are a little bit under the radar and can help take the pace down a notch.

2 Years

Today is our two year anniversary! I was looking back at our wedding pictures this morning and thought I'd share a few, if you'd like to see....

What a day! I remember being so antsy and jittery and excited. We got married outside at Cherokee Ranch and Castle in Sedalia, Colorado and it was so beautiful...then, right when we moved into the tent for dinner, it started pouring (which is actually supposed to be lucky, so we weren't too worried).

Ryan, you are absolutely the best.

Photos by Audrey Hannah Photo