House on Tufton: December 2016

The S Word

Grandma needed some new pictures on her wall to update since we haven't updated them since last fall. So we bribed the kids with gingerbread houses. All they had to do was put on matching pj's and smile for me :)

Their pj's say "I'll be gnome for the holidays"

With all of her clothing modeling, she strikes a pose every time with no direction :)

We just got tons of snow last weekend and the kids didn't hesitate about going out multiple times a day

The hills on either side of the house are perfect for the kids, not too big, not too small

Even though it's my least favorite season, it makes the kids thrilled for something new to do. I have to admit watching their joy brings me so much joy. They are old enough to go out on their own while mommy shivers inside drinking hot chocolate. But good thing I don't mind getting bundled up with them. I took them to the neighborhood park with a MUCH bigger hill. Both kids flew down the hill and dragged their sleds back up time and time again so I could push them back down. Thankful that if we are gonna have snow, that its enough to have fun with!

Deck update:

I have been horrible at updating the house portion of our blog. I mean if a full time job, a full time photography hobby/career, two little monsters and now a puppy.....?? Who says I am busy?

Building the frame for the fireplace on the deck

But Jason of course is just as busy and has time to create these masterpieces.

The fireplace takes shape

And meanwhile Jason had taken out the window below that now goes into the addition on the other side of the house into what we call the coffee shop.

Took one day to cover in stone

Loved the special stone Jason picked out as a centerpiece stone. he also has a special stone for the fireplace inside and it creates a nice focal spot in the center.

After the fireplace was finished, Jason started on the railing and trim detail

It goes along with the "x" trim detail on the exterior where the addition/coffee shop was added on

Now with snow/winter here, don't know if I can get some good exterior pictures but will try. Just glad I even got these pictures posted. We love the deck. It's not screened in but has had many uses with the fireplace now. Can't wait to see the finished product with furniture etc once Spring rolls back around.

Celebrating 10 years: Sorrento

We left Rome in style. A Mercedes picked us up in front of our hotel for our a 3 hour drive to Sorrento. It was incredibly mountainous scenery and I was in love. It was amazing to see volcanoes along our way as well. Because I do not feel I am 'well-traveled', I am just in awe of God's landscape.

Our hotel located right on the cliff was gorgeous. I don't always care that much about our hotel room to be honest. I care more about the location in order to explore the town more easily. This hotel seemed a little bit more older/vintage in regards to the hotel rooms but the views were just phenomenal. And their breakfasts? the best by far!! a feast on top of a feast on top of a feast.

We walked into town to grab some lunch and of course I grabbed a whole pizza just for myself. I mean, when in Italy right? I ate pizza at every meal, let's be honest. Jason had lasagna with eggs in it. Always finding a way to sneak in some more protein :)

That's our deck down below with the orange umbrellas

We ran into some light rain but ran into the shops to do some light shopping. We went into the grocery store to pick up some wine, candy, and coke light. I wrote that we got lost. Now it's all coming back to me. We took some interesting turns and ended up on a far end of town. I don't think this was necessarily my fault this time, but I would say 90% of the time we got lost, it was totally my fault!

And here is the upper deck

We went back to the hotel to figure out our dinner plans. Since every day it was our mission to eat at the best place in town, which often meant, 'finding the hidden gems'. We went to a mother/son restaurant called Ghibli on the beach. We were right down on the water. It was time for me to get some seafood so I had gnocchi with clams. Which were amazing by the way. Jason got the lamb. We shared some red house wine. I definitely got more of a taste for red wine during this trip.

The morning of our 2nd day in Sorrento, we saw beautiful boats out in the bay.

I immediately ran back into our hotel room to grab my camera.

We got picked up again by another Mercedes private car, but this time driven by a Pitbull look alike. Out first stop was Positano. Along the way, he stopped to make sure we got pictures of the incredible views.

I love this view. It's exactly how I pictured it.

Positano is known for its linens, ceramics, and lemons. it's the place where linens originated.

Here is a huge fishing port

There is a hotel right at the edge of this cliff that is 3,000$ per night. And it can cost up to $1 million dollars a month to vacation there.

Next up is the amafi coast. Known for paper, along with linens, lemon, and leather. This is where Sophia Loren lived.

Lemon everything. There is enough limoncello to drown an army.

Our last stop was Ravello. The city of music. Where many artists and poets settle. This is where the first factory was for limoncello. We arrived and our driver had called ahead to a restaurant where we got a table right at the edge of the cliff. Hard to describe the views. only so many times in this blog post can I use phenomenal, beautiful & amazing.

It was a beautiful way to celebrate our anniversary. This day was the day we got married 10 years prior. It was such a beautiful way to explore the Italian countryside.

We got back to our hotel that night and ate at Villa Rubinacchi in the Garden. We had pizza for an appetizer which led us to ordering so much food since it was our last meal. It was amazing and so inexpensive for how much we ate. Of course I was stuffed beyond belief and had plenty of room for one last cup of gelato.

This was a trip of a lifetime. Although we missed a few key places in Italy, I can see us returning one day to explore more. A beautiful country full of people who are so absolutely pleasant and views that cant be described.

I am so thankful for the time we could spend together, to help remind us why we fell in love in the first place. I'm also reminded to travel and then work some more so you can travel some more.