thrifting & antiquing in Tuscany
This was the day I was waiting for…the day of shopping and antiquing in Italy. I found so many fun things last year and enjoyed the day admiring the abundance of European antiques. It was a little slice of heaven…well, except for the heat! It was so hot last year! Thankfully, it was a little […]
cooking with Rita
Well, when we were in Barga this year, we were asked by Dana (our host & guide of The Inspired Tourist) if we’d like to attend a cooking class. Of course, my mom and I signed up for that! When you have a chance to interact with locals through an experience like learning to cook […]
sofas : neutral vs. bold
Happy Monday, everyone! I spent the good part of my weekend resting my arm, hanging out with the family, doing a little bit of cleaning, and looking at some new magazines I picked up at the store. I love decorating, but the last few months have been busy and I haven’t had as much time […]
1961 vs. 2019
A few weeks ago, Jeff asked me a dangerous question. “Would you like to go to Barnes & Noble?” Well, of course, the answer was yes. I am so glad we moved to a city that has a good bookstore. Now, we do have an even larger library, but I must admit that I love […]
a walking tour of Barga
On the afternoon of our first full day in Barga, we had the pleasure of doing a walking tour led by Keane, a man who moved from the UK 30 years ago and has made Barga his home. We didn’t get to do this tour last year, so I was excited to learn more about […]
rest & recovery
Two weeks ago, I had surgery on my right shoulder and bicep. Since then, I’ve spent the better part of my time in a recliner with a twin-sized, 3-inch-thick piece of memory foam on top. Rest isn’t easy for me. I sit in this chair with ice on my shoulder and feel like I can […]
milk paint makeovers in barga
The main reason for my trip to Europe was teaching at a creative retreat in Barga. For one of our creative sessions, we painted an antique chest from the Cordati house where we had our workshop space. We did this last year and it was a ton of fun and a great success. Not everyone […]
pole-pole-tree & dinner with Florentines
None of us were looking forward to an early morning wake-up call to catch our train from Paris to Milan to Florence, but that is what had to be done. Since train travel is less expensive then air travel, my mom and I decided to splurge on business class tickets. Since we were on the […]