Speechless.

I have spoken of my love for Italy before. I don't really know why I have such a strong need to travel there, but it's on my list of things I "Must Do Before I Die." (hopefully sooner)

With that being said, ever since seeing the Passport to Europe episode of "The Amalfi Coast," I have known that I need to go there. Need. Seriously, Need. Glad I've cleared that up.

With great thanks to Natasha, of She Left on a Monday, I came across this tonight and almost died. (sorry... I've been watching a lot of Rachel Zoe lately.) So much beauty, it literally took my breath away. Ugh. So, go watch the video. It's amazingly simple, yet intricate at the same time. I Loves It.

photo from here, since I haven't been to Positano to take my own lovely photos...

Cambridge/Boston by car.

Boston is one of my very favorite places. It's such an interesting city, rich with history, yet relatively current. If you ever visit the city, you will see a mixture of the best and worst people you'll ever meet. I won't go into the number of reasons I love Boston, but I will say that summers in Boston are a horse of a different color. There are always things going on, people to see, things to do, places to go. The hatch shell hosts free concerts next to the Charles River all summer, and there are a myriad of things going on on the Common on any given day. Anyway...

As we were driving into the city Saturday night for dinner, we rolled all the windows down in the car to hear the free concert and take in the sights and sounds of Boston on a Saturday night in June. The Red Sox were out of town, so there was thankfully no traffic, and the air was a little crisp, but absolutely beautiful... just the way I like it.

image from here (i'm not this talented... or tall).

Dinner was good. We went to our favorite restaurant, Rustic Kitchen. I had Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle, and James had a Filet with Parmesan Truffle Fries and sauteed veggies. There were tons of people in the city that weekend, because it was the tail end of Pride Week, and everyone was out and about.

image from here.

On the ride home, I got a bit creative with my camera and took some photos of the Cambridge skyline as we drove home along the Charles:

I especially like the last one... probably because it reminds me of a merry-go-round, or amusement park ride...

I highly recommend Boston as a vacation destination to anyone that has never been. It has a little bit of everything, and is such a beautiful city. I think my favorite thing about it is that each season has its own beauty (and we definitely have four very distinct seasons), and you notice so many different aspects of the city at different times during the year.

Well, that's enough gushing for today...

Skylands: I Want to Go to There.

Martha's house in Maine is named Skylands. When James and I were on our honeymoon in Bar Harbor, we did a lot of exploring. While I would like to say that I didn't stalk Martha, I cannot. We drove around Seal Harbor looking for her house. I'm not sure if we drove by it or not, but there were some absolutely spectacular houses up there that were hidden away on the cliffs in the woods. It was kind of surreal, and I really wish that I had taken some pictures, but we were a little scared of the roads because they were so steep! Anyway, Martha posted some pictures of her redecoration of Skylands, and I can tell you that I will have dreams of receiving a letterpress invitation for a weekend away... Don't tell James, though, because he is not an avid fan, as am I (and this is quite an understatement).

Here are some of my favorite images:

images from here.

I really love the way they redid the kitchen. Just small little elements, like painting various sized bar stools the same color, or setting large glass jars on a window sill really make a difference. Check out the rest of the article... especially the "wall of china."