Here are some images of our apartment, mostly from back in December, before we had any of our belongings. The stuff in the photos is loaner furniture.
The stove has a glass cover, attached to the back edge of the cooktop by hinges. It's a splashguard/cover, though, not a glass cooking surface.
guest bathroom
our bathroom
meal planning, making a shopping list
after a batch of gingerbread went into the oven
(yes, these pictures are old)
My desk, right after I got it all set up the way I wanted it, back in March. Two photos because I love it that much. Tied with the back porch/terrace for my favorite spot in the house. Which is saying something, because I love my kitchen. Sadly, the parsley and basil in these photos are no longer with us, but I do have a new basil plant that is doing well.
I am a huge, huge fan of Gretchen Rubin's blog The Happiness Project. A lot of my friends and family know this, because I am constantly quoting her and referring to her. Her most recent post refers to the maxim of hers that I quote the most, the one that gets me to floss my teeth more than any amount of dental work ever did: "What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while."
I think that her blog is also where I read "How you do anything is how you do everything." This has been distressing me lately. Today is a good example.
I got into gym clothes five hours ago, but have not yet made it to the gym, despite the fact that the gym is a seven minute stroll from my house. I have also opened my work document, done a preliminary work-related search, and have three browser tabs open related to work . . . but have not done any actual work.
I have eaten ham and crackers, cheese and crackers, and consumed 1.5 peach refreshers (fizzy water + peach juice). I also did my nails:
OPI Absolutely Alice (three coats + Seche Vite topcoat)
When I walked into the courtyard/foyer to take the photo of my nail polish in sunlight, I checked to make sure the front door was staying ajar. As I got over to the sliver of sun by the wall, I heard it swing shut, locking me out. Very grateful for the roll-up screens and the fact that I've been leaving the laundry-room window cracked.
I think it's clear why I'm a little depressed about the "anything/everything" maxim, yes?
So, waaaaay back at the beginning of December, my sister-in-law and her family visited us. I was thrilled. They are some of my favorite people, and I loved having visitors so soon after arriving.
While they were here, we went to the ruins at Ercolano (destroyed by the same eruption that buried Pompeii) and climbed Vesuvio.
In the town of Ercolano, we saw some stuffed animals hanging out to dry after having a bath.
Then we were at the ruins.
The mosaics below were my favorite things out of the whole site. They are gorgeous and so inspirational: the colors, delicacy of the work, shells used as borders, scalloping and wings . . . I adore these.
Amazing. Still my favorite art here so far.
After Ercolano, we climbed the volcano. The climb was freezing, but gorgeous.
Steam vents, in case we doubted it is still active.
I was thinking of this post at Oh Bara when I went to Rome at the beginning of March.
I think the colors of Rome are beautiful.
There was this, too.
I went to the Villa Borghese for the first time. It was spring and beautiful. A girl holding a Roma guidebook asked me in Italian for directions to someplace.
