JK Place, Florence

I had the opportunity to travel to Italy a few years ago, and am now severely dismayed that while staying there I missed this beautiful hotel. We stayed in a dump while in Florence (as in, they played Akon over the speaker system and something had died in the a/c unit of the room my Mom and I shared). It was sad. And now thanks to Lonny, I find out that I could have been staying here! Sigh... I suppose that means I have to go back. It looks as though JK Place is a treat from the moment you arrive until you step out the door.  Here are some photos to entice you...

One of the several lounges. They don't have a formal restaurant because there are so many wonderful places to eat in Florence.

They encourage guests to eat breakfast and lunch (which are included with every room) in their dining rooms so they can mingle with other guests.

This is the Master Suite, just one of the 20 beautifully decorated bedrooms available.

This bathroom makes up the second floor of the Penthouse. Its large window offers a panoramic view of the Duomo.

I could spend an afternoon on this veranda!

{all images via lonny magazine}

I could go on and on about this hotel! But I'll spare you, and instead direct you to their site, where you must read the descriptions of their room packages (one includes a trip to a local market with a gourmet chef!). Put in a random date and tell it to check accommodations. It will give you a list of rooms and packages. 

Ciao!

Where do I begin?

we have had a busy year.  It all started with Emmaline coming in February, and it seems like we've  been on a crazy high speed roller coaster ride since then! We decided to move home in March, and then started packing in April.  By May the house was completely packed.  We left Moscow on the 22nd and went down to Buhl to visit with some of Bran's relatives for a few days.  It ended up taking us much longer to get there than planned due to an unexpected snowstorm (yes, in May - there are some things I don't miss about Idaho!). We had to stay the night in Boise then made our way to buhl the next morning. Karen, Tyler, Emma and I flew out of Twin Falls on the 24, while Bran and Kelly (a good friend of ours who took a job in Annapolis) started their cross-country road trip.

Emma was quite the awesome travel buddy. She slept most of the ride to Buhl and all but an hour of the flights.  When she was awake she was content which was wonderful.  I owe my baby goodness to my awesome Moby wrap - if it weren't for being able to tuck her in there for the flights I'd have been in trouble!

Bran and Kelly arrived on the 31st, just in time for our second anniversary. We didn't get to move into our rental until June 14, two weeks later than planned. I'll have to tell you more about that later!

In-laws, trips to the coast, and making our own Spring Break

Bran's family gets in today, which means that I don't think I'll have much time to post this next week. They're all on Spring Break, and so Bran and I decided to make our own Spring Break to hang with them. We're taking off work next week to go on a 3 day road trip with Jeff, Ty, and the girls (Karen will be in NC at a basket weaving convention). We're super excited about the trip, which might include staying in Seattle the first night, then driving down to Oregon, and possibly hitting Portland - I'm glad I'm spontaneous and easy going when it comes to travel, or the trip might drive me insane!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Flu season is so upon us....

My delay in posting this week was due to my husband's coming down with the flu, shortly followed by my own struggle against the nasty virus. I thought about just quarantining him and telling him that he was on his own, but being the good wife that I am, I was there for him, and then when I inevitably got it myself, he was there for me :).

Friends of ours (the Andersons - I babysit their daughter everyday) got it before we did and shared it with us, which actually turned out to be a good thing, because Michelle was sick at the same time that I was, meaning that they didn't need me to babysit when I was unable to. We're all feeling much better now.

Bran got it on Wednesday and was wiped until late that night. I got it at 3am on Thursday, and was on the couch unable to move except to puke into the bucket we had next to the couch until about midnight Thursday. It was a long day.

I'm so thankful that we got sick now, and not next week, because I'll be in Seattle! We leave Monday (the 24) morning, and check into our hotel at 4ish. I got us an awesome deal at a Best Western right downtown because of being a Best Western employee. So for $40 a piece we get a 2 night stay (it's $60 a night, and there will be 3 of us - Jen, Rachel, and myself). I'm so excited about the trip, as I have never been to Seattle, and because Domino Magazine just did a spread about some of the best places to shop and eat.

On Monday night, one of Rachel's friends (whom Jen and I don't know) is having a party, and so while Rachel parties it up, we're going to go out on the town for a fancy "just us sisters" dinner at a place called Canlis. It looks like the food will be amazing, and the Restaurant is beautiful. As for the rest of the trip, there will most definitely be lots of shopping and sight-seeing. I'll be sure to post pictures!