Weekend: Grand Canyon + Vegas

We went to Vegas and the Grand Canyon this weekend. Talk about packing it in! It was beautiful, and I can't wait to share more pictures. Some of you might not believe me that I'm going to share more pictures since I still haven't shared from last weekend's houseboat, but those are coming tomorrow and these are coming soon. Happy Monday everyone!

A Poetic Lampshade

Sometime last year, I went to a craft night with a janky lampshade and some old books, hoping to figure out something cool to do with it. I ended up modge-podging the full lampshade with Robert Browning poetry, and it now sits beside our bed. All in all, the whole lamp cost a total of $12. You can imagine my surprise, then, when a few months later, Anthropologie popped out with a lamp and lampshade made of dictionary pages for $388. I was just reminded of it because I saw the lamp go on sale for a mere $199.95.

(That's my lamp on the left, and Anthro's lamp on the right!)

Where Children Sleep

A friend sent around this powerful photography project exploring where children sleep around the world. James Mollison's work was featured in the New York Times blog, and I've been fascinated by the glimpse he shows of each one of these kids' lives. I was just talking to a friend the other day about city kids sleeping in closets, and after looking at these pictures, I'm pretty convinced that city closets are luxurious places for kids to sleep.

On a Boat

I haven't posted on the b-l-o-g for over a week, but life has been busy busy. I spent the week limping around and recovering from running a lot of miles with only a little bit of training, hanging out with Jonny's friend who was in town, and then soaking up the sun on a houseboat this weekend. Now, I'm getting back to work and spending the week with Pete and Sarah, who are in town following a world tour they've been taking over the past couple of months. This week will be busy too, and I know I like to promise and not deliver on more pictures a lot, but I hope I can promise you more houseboating pictures in the future. We had a blast.

P.S. You get a prize if you can identify me in this crowd.

Too Sore

We ran 13.1 miles yesterday. 

And we finished.We didn't make any record breaking times, but we felt better and went faster than we thought we would.

We had big ambitions when we registered for the half marathon earlier this year to plan long runs around new brunch spots every weekend, but then the reality of travel and friends in town and other things going on got in the way, and we actually only did two runs together (just a few miles each) before the race. I think the most I had run leading up to race day was 3.5 miles. 

I have more pictures to share from the race, the weekend, and Italy, but right now I'm just trying to hold myself still enough so I don't feel every single muscle in my body aching.

Skipping to Venice

 

I'm counting on getting some of my sister's pictures to share from Florence and Tuscany, so I'm skipping through our trip to Venice. For our last stop on our trip, we stayed at the lovely Gritti Palace Hotel right on the Grand Canal. Like all of the rest of Italy, it was h-o-t, but it was also really beautiful. It seems like most people have a strong opinion about Venice: they either love it or hate it. I'm completely charmed by Venice, and even though I doubt I'd want to spend more than a few days there, we really enjoyed our time.

We spent our first morning at breakfast in San Marco's at Caffe Florian. It was one of those super touristy spots, but it also has history - I may need to do some fact-checking, but I think it's been around for over 100 years! 

Caffe Florian also has a full band playing lively music starting early in the morning and going late into the night. We had a sneaky steep fee added to our bill as a "Music tax," but it was well worth it.

Jonny led us on an all day walking tour of Venice, and I loved it. We had a loose course we were following with a few stops we knew we wanted to make along the way, but it was super relaxed and we ended up stumbling on a lot of cool galleries, shops, and my favorite, gelato places.

We laughed a lot at the gondola riders we saw, because everyone riding gondolas looked bored and miserable. I didn't take a picture of them, but I should have! 

One day for lunch, we shared a seafood platter, and it was all great except for this little guy. Jonny named him Percy the prawn, and he was left behind on the plate after everything else delicious was eaten up.

 We didn't ride a gondola (the miserable people and the 200 euro price tag deterred us!) but we did take a taxi to the airport. It was by far the best ride to the airport I've ever had. 

 And there's our last view of Venice in Jonny's sunglasses. 

My Sisters Have a Blog!

Most of you who know me know Laura Grace, my one and only sister, but she and her best friend Alison (who is also like a sister to me!) have started their own blog. Check out Meet Me at the Stop Sign!

(Here are Alison and Laura Grace at our English wedding. Don't you love all the fascinators?!)