There’s a new Avon Lady in town!

Yup, my super cute mother-in-law Julie has started offering AVON!
Be sure to visit her personal site where you can browse Avon’s newest beauty products and classic favorites. Julie is a not only an Avon representative, but a HUGE fan of the products. Which is really who you want helping you find the perfect solution to what you’re looking for.
From Julie:

I started using Avon over a year ago when my cousin Brenda sent me an email stating she had just started selling Avon and would …

Did you know that the Los Angeles Times hosts a Travel show every year?
I didn’t …. until this year.
It was incredibly crowded and busy, and full of people trying to sell you things. But SO INTERESTING.
There was snorkeling and lassoing and surf lessons and golfing. There was an old greek man giving away alcohol and a booth where you could have your photo taken in cowboy or indian garb. There was an African musician. There were 2 (2!) booths giving away massages.
And piles and piles of paper with pretty photos, …

We visited our friends in Oakland for a weekend ….. and I couldn’t stop taking pictures of their insanely cute apartment. It makes my heart hurt how much I love their little home ….
Take a look …
(I want a big big resting on the floor mirror like this, please)

And I need a cute little reading corner like this. I love the way the perfectly-placed mirror actually creates more light for this spot. Love!

Also, I love that they only have plain white mugs. Andrew and I love our coffee mugs, so …

Just a quick Saturday note to tell you about our Valentine’s Day last weekend.
Woke up.
Read. Vegged. Intenet/email.
I think we had leftovers for lunch.
BBC Yellowstone Documentary.
more reading.
Trip to Trader Joe’s (decision: Andrew and I should not go grocery shopping together)
When we get home, Andrew puts on “romantic” music ….. or, rather just something I don’t hate.

Then he made us some caprese salad (and added prosciutto).

(um, yea, also, we got cheap cupcakes from Ralph’s because I have been craving butter cream frosting)

yum!
It was so so delicious!
tomato + basil + mozzarella + prosciutto …

As we are finally leaving Florence, it is time for a slightly more intimate look at the bed & breakfast we stayed in for the 3 nights we were there.
I highly (highly) recommend staying at Floralia if you go to Florence. Not only is it extremely reasonably priced for the center of town (~80-90euros/double), but the owners are this super sweet Italian brother and sister team.
Sabino (doesn’t live there but) arrives when he knows guests are checking in or out to give them the tour, the keys, take the money, …

So Thursday morning in Florence, we visited Santa Croce. That gorgeous basilica I’ve blogged about the last couple days. With the memorials and the tombs and the Catholic art and the little nuns. The photos do NOT do this place justice. I just loved the space and the light.
But that wasn’t even all of it. RIGHT next door is a leather school (Miranda visited the leather school when she was in Florence and bought herself a wallet).
It really is right next door …. In the same building complex, sharing a …

Continuing on our Thursday morning, in Florence, at Santa Croce …..
(Every once in awhile I remember to take a self portrait, or Andrew kindly asks if I want him to take a picture of me. ….. proves I was there, right?)
also: I was wearing Andrew’s glasses for a little bit because my eyes aren’t so good at seeing far away. Which is why I’m going to go to the eye doctor sometime this year.

Andrew loved the skulls. Lots of skulls on the grave/tomb markers. Pretty morbid, to us. But I’m …

For those of you just joining us, I have been chronicling Andrew’s and my week in Italy …. Rome, Florence for a wedding, and then Rome again. ….   It was magic.
Our last morning in Florence (Thursday) we made time to visit the Basilica of Santa Croce (note: this is post 1 of 2 about the church).
This church was huge and ornate and so interesting. Granted, there are churches/basilicas EVERYWHERE in Italy. Everywhere. On every corner, in every nook.
But this was one of the bigger ones ….
The front – faces a …

Allegedly – according to Wikipedia – Mentryville, CA was an oil boom town.
I’m not sure I believe it.
Right now it consists of a parking lot ($5 for parking??? give me a break), a house, a boarded up school and a couple barns.
Not too sure where the town would have been …..
For those of you who did NOT grow up in Santa Clarita with all kinds of urban legends about Mentryville and the cults that lived out there ….. Mentryville is basically a state part just on the outskirts of Santa …

Thursday morning – we had about 1/2 day in Florence to do touristy things before catching our train back to Rome.
Leisurely breakfast at the B&B. We *technically* checked out, but were able to keep our bags there AND keep the keys ….. so, yea. They’re pretty lenient on that sort of thing
As we were heading out for the day, the bride and groom had just woken up and were eating, while getting directions to their day excursion.
I found out later they didn’t end up going, but instead …

The morning of the wedding I woke up and before I showered or got ready for the wedding I decided I wanted to climb Giotto’s Tower.  This 270-foot bell tower for Il Duomo has 50 fewer steps than Il Duomo (so that means 413 steps right? I’m too lazy this morning to check my facts) and offers a great veiw of Brunelleschi’s Dome.  It was a beautiful morning to spend some time alone and just try to blend in with the crowd, do some people watching and get some great …

When you’re in Florence, if you can make it happen, try to climb the Duomo tower at sunset.
No question.

Tuesday afternoon, our guides from Accidental Tourist drove us back to the city of Florence from our host’s home in Tuscany after a very filling and delicious lunch.
sidenote: Andrew and I were in Aly’s van with Virginia and Angela’s parents.
The Duomo dominates the skyline of Florence, and the city square where the Duomo is located is one of the primary areas of the city.
*Technically* the word ‘duomo’ is just an Italian word …

The second stop of our Accidental Tourist Tuscany day excursion was to a second property (I believe owned by the same family) where we were treated to olive oil tasting and wine tasting.
{Check out the other stop we had this day here: Villa Gondi, how to make olive oil, how to make wine }
Below pictured La villa della Pievecchia : the website is in Italian, but I seem to remember that this property acted as a lookout against neighboring armies/etc in the centuries before Italy was all one country.

Inside it …

One of Andrew’s co-workers is getting married in Paso Robles this April and I will be the wedding photographer. … Last Saturday they had an appointment at the venue, so Andrew and I drove up for the day (stopping by James Dean’s crash site on the way).
Have you ever been to Paso Robles? It’s wine country. When we turned onto the street where the venue is, it was just fields of grapevines in every direction … can’t wait to see it in April when they’re all green ….
When we arrived …