ICELAND

So you may have heard that Jake and I are heading to none other than Iceland in early 2014. I have actually been curious about that destination for a long time but usually shy away from colder climates because, let's face it - I am a Hawaii girl at heart. A couple of months ago, I got an email from Travelzoo with an incredible deal that we could just not pass up - literally, a 1/4 of the cost of the Caribbean vacation we were planning for my 30th birthday.  So I thought about it for a couple days and then we booked it! 

Ever since we traveled to Italy in Summer 2012, I have the travel itch. I just want to go out and see the world and these past few months, I/we have traveled more than I ever have in my life. Since we moved to Charlotte in July 2013, I/we have gone on the following trips:

• Chapel Hill, NC
• Washington, DC
• San Francisco, CA
• Greenville, SC
• Topsail Beach, NC
• Asheville, NC (My 29th Birthday Weekend)
• Port Huron and Ann Arbor, MI (Thanksgiving)
• Las Vegas, NV (for work but it still counts)

Back on topic, here are the Iceland details:

• 6 days, 7 nights in Reykjavik, Iceland (CenterHotel Arnahvoll)
• Transportation to/from the hotel and airport (I heard this can be expensive)
• Blue Lagoon entry
• Northern Lights Boat Tour (cue the dramamine)

We are flying out of DC so the only thing we have to arrange is transportation to DC - we're thinking of flying, might be a little easier than the 6 hour drive. And the best part is that two of our friends and making the trip too! They are leaving from the West Coast a day before but we will all be in Iceland virtually the exact same days. How fun, right?!?! We seriously can't wait. I will say that I am lagging in the planning/research department this time partially due to my overkill on the Italy trip - I seriously had all of our days planned out from about 7 am to 6 pm. But it was Italy (!!!) and we had to see everything! I think this trip will be a lot different and more laid back.  I don't have anything booked outside of the activities that came with the package. I have heard about a couple of things we should do. So I think I will start working on that in January 2014.  If anyone has any recomendations, I would love to hear them.

Also, I am posting this from the airplane! Kind of cool, huh?

xoxo, Kim

My Thoughts on Charlotte

I just got back from my trip to Charlotte and it was amazing! I couldn't have picked a better city for us to move to. The city seems to be pretty similar in size to Seattle so it's nice to feel like I'm in a small/big city if that makes sense. If you have been following me on instagram @thevintagemodern, then you will know that I posted a million pictures like a madwoman. Go check out my instagram if you missed those. I feel like I never have any new pictures to blog cause I have instagrammed them all. I will try to get better at that. I promise.  


View of Hyatt House from the pool

  

EpiCenter at night

 As you can imagine preparing for a cross county move has not been easy.  Emotionally or physically. I have done so much research on the topic that I feel like I could write a book about it now. But I digress. These past few weeks have been packed with finishing up projects at work, spending as much time with friends as possible... And yes, of course packing. Although I'm not sure I've actually packed a single thing (thanks hubby). Only recently have I started to feel pangs of sadness. Before this week, I was all go-go-go applying for jobs, looking at apartments online and just trying to prepare in every way I thought possible. It is hard to prepare yourself emotionally for something like this - honestly I think it's the hardest for those you leave behind. It's kind of like when your spouse goes on a trip and you stay home. You are just going through your regular day to day motions while your spouse is somewhere new having adventures without you. But honestly I think it will get easier as time goes on. That had been my experience so far living far away from my immediate family.

 



View from our new apartment balcony

  

From the front entrance

 

Our actual apartment: island in the kitchen, looking out into the living room  



Our actual apartment: Living Room with window and door to balcony

  

The Clubhouse with pool (not pictured)



Another shot of the Clubhouse, I loved the styling and
want to use it for inspiration while decorating our apartment 



 While I was in Charlotte this weekend, I signed a lease on a brand new apartment and got a job! So I am considering this a productive and successful weekend trip. While I'm not crazy about the 5 hour flight to Seattle, it is a necessary evil. Jake and I often get asked the question of when and how often will we visit. The answer is of course, we don't know yet. We have to figure out our savings budget, coordinate vacation time and  figure out how much is a "good deal" for that particular flight. I do have a fare watcher set up so I can monitor the best round trip flight and so far, it's been consistent at $332 for several months now. I am sure the prices will be much higher around the holidays and we will have to be sensitive to that too.

I do have to warn you that we ended up with a brand new 1 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment, so if you want to come visit, you will have to either sleep on our (1) couch or (2) blow up mattress. We decided that we would rather get a smaller, nicer place that we would use everyday rather than a bigger place that would only benefit us when guests were in town. Not to discourage guests, we want you to come visit us! Maybe wait a few months so we can figure the city out, but after that, we're game!



View from my hotel room on the 13th floor

   

View to the other side



The Chiquita Banana HQ! Who knew?!!

There are a lot of unknowns for us right now but I can honestly say that I am super excited to start this new chapter in my our lives and can't wait to see what it brings. It will be a nice transition to have a couple weeks off and be a tourist in our own city. So far we were thinking about doing the following: underground tour, ride the ducks, check out some happy hours around the city, have a jcrew shopping spree (just kidding - I was checking to see if you were paying attention), take a trip down to Portland to see friends and family, have dinner at Canlis (our first time!!), and spend our last night in the marqueen hotel in Queen Anne.

Sometimes I feel like blogging is so one sided and I just talk about myself so much. Do you feel like that sometimes too???

A Mid-Summer Night's Dream

HAWAII TRIP 2013 | 4.29-5.13.13

Here I am, sitting in 70+ degree weather in ..of all places... Seattle and I feel like it's too hot. It's been 3 weeks since I got back from my Hawaii trip and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I cannot believe it's June already. I am going to try and savor each and every day since we are moving in a little over a month!  Everyone has been asking me how Hawaii was and the simple answer is that it was great. So good to see family, friends, puppy dogs and guinea pigs.  Shoutout to Aaron and Lydia for letting me crash at their pad for 2 weeks. If it's photos that you are looking for, check my instagram @thevintagemodern where I documented my entire trip. This is how instagram is supposed to work {hence the "insta"} and I loved every minute of it! I think this was the first real trip I've taken since I got my iPhone {and instagram} last October.  Below are some photos that I did and didn't instagram {I'm lazy tonight so no captions}.

Things just move at a different pace there. I was able to spend time with the people I love most, eat delicious Hawaiian food {will there be any local Hawaiian food in Charlotte?!?!}, and just take some time off. If you know me IRL {in real life} you will know that I actually have a hard time relaxing. I am always on the go, I always have to be planning something and it's extremely hard for me to clear my mind or meditate.  I actually recently decided to plan a Europe trip for my 30th birthday {which is freakishly next year}. Dang... how fast did that creep up on me?!?!? Anyway...I digress... Hawaii was awesome and I hope I am able to go back once a year to visit family once we relocate to the East Coast. 

Cheers!
Kim

I survived.

Well folks, I survived another tax season, my 5th to be exact. I don't know why I am surprised because I always do. The whole 2.5 month ordeal actually flies by so fast and before I know it, it's spring. I am headed on a much needed vacation next Monday to Hawaii to visit my parents, brother, his girlfriend and some high school friends. I couldn't be more excited. I haven't been to Hawaii since October 2010. I usually go at least once a year to visit family, but my family came to Seattle in 2011 for my August wedding and we went on our European Adventure to Italy in 2012. 

So, finally I get to go to the beach, eat my favorite foods and spend quality time with the fam for 2 weeks! I am also headed to Oahu to visit friends from high school for a weekend. I'm sharing some of my favorite Hawaii photos from years past.

No filter, baby!

Yes, that is a Tide swimsuit.

Kauai Trip with Jake, 2009

Kauai Trip with Mom, 2006

Waipio, Hawaii

Rusty, everyone's favorite puppy! Can't wait to see him again.

Running Waters Beach, Kauai

Kauai, The College Years

Umm.... no comment.

The fam!

Coconut Island, Hilo, Hawaii

Kauai with Jake, 2009

I am loading up my kindle with library books to read. Let me know if you have any suggestions for summer beach reads!

ITALY Venice | Day 13

Ciao, Italy!

Venice, Italy

DAY 13: If you've been following my previous posts, then you will know that today is the last daily recap on Italy. I can't believe the trip is over. I feel like doing these posts has really helped me to re-live it! Now, what will I do? How can I go back to blogging about my boring old life? *Sigh*

We woke up {in Venice!} and started our day with and I quote "American buffet breakfast" at our hotel. Why the hotel would think I want an American buffet breakfast while I am in Italy is anyone's guess.  Ironically, it was really the smallest breakfast out of all our hotels. But, I loaded up my plate with pastries {if you know me, you know I love sweets} and some meats and cheese.  I don't really know why they called it an American breakfast because it was Italian food.... Anyway....  

We took the Vapretto to the Frari church, our first stop as recommended by Rick Steve's.   The amazing thing about the Frari church is the art! Technically, we weren't supposed to take pictures, but we did snap a few.

Frari Church

Inside the church (see the choir loft seats built in?)

Tombs

Not sure what this is.. but I liked it.

Altar

Courtyard - so eerie and abandoned

In one of the altars

Canova's actual heart is in there. His body is buried somewhere else.

We listened to the Rick Steve's audioguide about the Frari Church and it was very interesting and informative. Again, I highly recommend! After our tour concluded, we hopped on another Vapretto to the Accademia.  I wasn't that impressed with the museum - and it was undergoing a lot of construction, plus there was no pictures allowed. 

at the Accademia

We walked to a restaurant and had some small appetizers {no pictures, I guess we were too hungry}...meanwhile Jake accidentally ordered a sandwich with just cheese. It was probably the cutest thing ever. But, he didn't realize he did it.  He ordered a sandwich with "formaggio". I was like, you know that is a type of cheese right? He's like yeah, but I thought it came with other stuff. Nope. Just cheese. Cheese sandwich. Too funny!

Bright yellow! Can I please paint my future house this color?

I was loving this red/pink color too!

Next, we walked to San Marco square to check it out and then went back to the hotel to rest and relax before our 3:30 reservation to get inside St Mark's basilica. 

Jake, St Mark's Square

Me, St Mark's Square

Making a reservation for St Mark's square was probably the best thing I ever did. I had no idea the line would be so long and its actually free to get in - but it was probably the longest line we saw in all of our travels. I think I paid 3 euros for the reservation and we got to skip the line and go in the side door! It was pretty amazing and that is when I felt most proud of my planning. 

St Mark's Basilica

The Altar

Golden ceiling

Next, we headed to Doge's Palace which is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and it's one of the main landmarks in Venice. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice {the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice} opening as a museum in 1923.

On our way to Doge's Palace

The back exit of the Doge's Palace

Inside the Doge's Palace

Grand Exterior Staircase

Courtyard

Paradise, by Tintoretto -- it's the biggest oil painting in the world

View from Doge's Palace

Water view from the bridge

You may have heard of the Bridge of Sighs.   The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells.

Convict's last view

Prison cells

I loved this sculpture for some reason.

Jake's co-workers told us about this little speakeasy place called Harry's Bar, where the Bellini was invented! So, we stopped by and tried one. Seriously, best Bellini of my life!

Harry's Bar!

Cheers to Bellini's!

It was so hard to get a pic of us in front of that door!

After our Bellini's, we headed back to our room to rest {and check our bank account! Ha!}, then we met up with our good friend's parents for a big group dinner.  They also happened to be in Venice at the same time as us so we planned to have dinner together.  We just had the best time!  It was fun to be with a big group after spending so much time alone {with just the two of us}. I don't have any group photos, buy I'm trying to get some. Will update this post when I get  few.

My pesto pasta

Jake's ravioli

 They ordered us a "fertility dessert" --

One of my favorite pictures of us! With our fertility dessert

Good bye, Venice!

Our flight was scheduled to leave Venice at 7 am the next morning. So, we woke up at 3:30 am and took a 4:30 private water taxi to the Venice Marco Polo airport. Overall, we had an amazing time and I was so sad to leave Italy. I know in my heart that we will make it back there someday.

View from the airport dock

Ciao, Italy! I will miss you. Until next time.