I’m not typically drawn to the masculine color scheme of this room at the Chancellor Hotel in San Francisco, but I rather like it. I’d even consider redecorating my bedroom one day in a similar fashion. The pattern on the valance and the stark white bedding add to the room’s preppy charm.

PS – I heart San Francisco.

(image via Jagger Photography)

Goal: Travel the World

While my sorority sisters were participating in wet t-shirt contests during Spring Break, I was sightseeing in Spain. The previous year I looked around London. Ever since I got my passport during my sophomore year of college (was I late bloomer?), I’ve made international travel a priority. In addition to Madrid, Seville, Granada and London, I’ve been to various cities in Israel, Australia and Italy, as well as our lovely neighbors, Canada and Mexico.

I doubt my thirst for travel will ever be satiated. There’s a time and place for relaxing on a beach, but I’d rather explore  narrow, cobblestone streets in historical cities and towns. I follow Rick Steves on Facebook (his tour guides are my bible), and I’m totally jealous that Anthony Bourdain gets to eat his way around the world on “No Reservations.” My dream job? Theirs!

In an ideal world, J and I would be able to spend a couple of months or a year living abroad (somewhere glamorous, not on a military base). If we had children at the time, even better. They – and I – would be able to learn a foreign language through immersion. (Really, all I’ve ever wanted is to have children who call me “Mum.” British is a foreign language, right?)

On my travel wish list: Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Tokyo and Barcelona. Ireland. India. China. All over South America. Basically, the whole wide world. Who can blame me? There is so much culture to experience out there.

Where would you go, if you could?

(image by me of Florence in 2008, one of my most fav cities)

As I mentioned in a previous post, my thirtieth birthday is growing near. My dream is to usher in the new decade some place cosmopolitan like Paris (the city, not the hotel in Las Vegas–although if Vegas is on the agenda, I won’t complain!). Unfortunately, financial constraints and my husband’s work responsibilities are holding us back from international travel. Perhaps a weekend getaway would be more practical?

I’m not much of a skier — In 8th grade I went skiing once — but I wouldn’t mind being holed up at the Sky Hotel in Aspen for a couple of days. I love the decor. It’s modern yet cozy. Sky Hotel even offers a Winter Alternative Package called “But I Don’t Ski,” although I think I’d go for the spa package.

(images source)

Wouldn’t Treehouse Point be an incredible place to escape the dread of turning 30? (I wish I could feel as invigorated as Mollytics about coming to the end of my twenties.) Sleeping high up in the trees would certainly make me feel younger than my age.

(via A Cup of Jo)

A couple of years ago, while I was the youth group director for a local synagogue, I took a group of middle schoolers to St. Louis for a convention. The trip included an evening at City Museum, where they crawled through tunnels, slid down slides and explored enchanted caves. Though it’s called City Museum, it’s more-or-less just a hands-on children’s museum, and I didn’t think I’d have any reason to return to it until I had kids of my own.

So where did J and I find ourselves this past weekend? You guessed it. One of his high school buddies got married in the museum’s Vault room. Though it wouldn’t have been my choice for a wedding venue, it perfectly suited the bride’s and groom’s personality: a bit goofy and bit random. The non-religious ceremony was brief and held in a small room featuring vintage opera posters. The reception space was vast and sparsely decorated. Instead of traditional floral centerpieces, a big bowl of LEGO pieces sat in the center of the tables surrounded by tiny boxes of Nerds candy. Rather than dance to disco tunes, the majority of guests spent their time building LEGO structures. Lunch was served buffet style by an off-site catering company and was actually quite delicious. Oddly, for a wedding, there was no alcohol served besides one glass per guest for toasts. Perhaps this was because it was an early afternoon affair. Or maybe the bride and groom just aren’t big drinkers. Either way, it wasn’t that big of a deal, and I was happy to drink the strawberry lemonade that was offered.

According to J, City Museum looked like it was designed in the 1970s by somebody with an overactive imagination while getting high, although in reality it wasn’t created until 1997 by some internationally acclaimed artist. As guests of the wedding, we received free admission to the museum. Towards the end of the reception, friends of the bride and groom changed into their “play clothes” to explore the space, although J and I didn’t stay. Call me old or boring or stuffy, but I just wasn’t interested in trying to manuever through passageways created for people who haven’t had their growth spurts yet. Instead we did more “grown-up” things, including shopping at Crate and Barrel, a store we don’t have in Omaha.

But beer and pretzels do!

Sunday in St. Louis J and I toured the Anheuser-Busch brewery–and got caught in an unexpected torrential downpour complete with thunder and lightning as we walked from one building to another with our tour group. We had to wait out the rain in one of the buildings for a good 30 minutes or so.

Before the tour we snacked on a pretzel dog from Gus’ Pretzels even though we had just enjoyed Eggs Benedict for brunch at Benton Park Cafe. I just can’t resist a delicious pretzel dog. What a rare treat!

After the tour we received two complimentary beers to sample. My favorite of the four that J and I shared? Amber Bock, the dark one on the left.

This weekend, J and I traveled to St. Louis for a wedding. The ceremony, which was short and sweet, was held in a chapel on Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. The reception followed aboard the Becky Thatcher Riverboat on the Mississippi River. Sadly, the DJ did not have Lonely Island’s “I’m on a Boat,” the unofficial song of the night, among his collection of music.

Hi, friends! I’m back from an unexplained hiatus. Did you miss me? I was in New York City to attend the National Stationery Show for work. At the show I had the opportunity to meet the designers behind some of my favorite paper lines and some of my Twitter friends in person, including @perideaudesigns, @amiatEAD, @beautifulpaper, @TrishaHay, @cydconverse and @perfect_bound! While in the city I had dinner with old friends from college and high school and spent time with my younger sister, at whose UWS apartment I stayed. All in all, it was an overwhelmingly exhausting experience that I’m truly glad to have been able to have.

(image source)

Of the three cities J and I visited in Italy on our honeymoon — Venice, Florence and Rome — I’d have to say that Florence was our favorite. We loved the old-world feel of the city and how it still managed to balance the modern with the aged.

Because of our love for Florence, I think we’d get a kick out of reading The Doorbells of Florence by Andrew Losowsky. The book features photographs of actual doorbell panels in Florence with imagined stories of the people who live at each address.

(via Poppytalk)

Do you enjoy musicals about puberty, masturbation, sex, abortions, suicide and rebellion? Then get yourself tickets to see “Spring Awakening” on Broadway before it closes on Sunday!

My sister and I saw the show last night from the first row in the mezzanine. While the story was dark, the music was energetic, and the young actors were absolutely brilliant. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like with the original cast, who I heard were a bit older than the current cast and had stronger voices.

As part of the new cast, Hunter Parrish, one of Mary-Louise Parker’s sons on Showtime’s “Weeds,” plays Melchior, one of the leads, and, despite having a hard time with some of the high notes, is wonderfully convincing in the part. Doesn’t hurt that he’s also extremely pleasing on the eyes… (But he’s so young! Stop it!)

And some trivia for you: The actress who plays the lead female’s best friend is originally from Nebraska.