happy thanksgiving! "friendsgiving" and 80s night photos!

Happy Thanksgiving! We celebrated in Florence with a "friendsgiving" last night since we'll all be traveling tonight and going to different places. I'm definitely not blessed with culinary skills (maybe it's just being lazy about cooking, ha) so I helped with groceries...and that's about it. Oh, I helped eat it too. Does that count?

Sam and Mollie made the most delicious turkey:

We also had mashed potatoes (my favorite side dish), carrot souffle, green bean casserole, and apple pie.

There was also a store-bought cake that I jokingly told everyone I made from scratch. One of the guys believed me. The rest knew me too well. ;)

On Tuesday we hosted an 80s Rock party at one of the bars in Florence. It was a lot of fun to dress up and listen to the music.

I straightened Rory's massive curly hair! Cam drew on fake (and pretty funny) tattoos. The boys were wearing crazy printed leggings, a lot of denim, and wigs. So great.

Tonight I'm off to Prague for the weekend. There's been a lot of weekend trips lately. I'm excited because I haven't been to the Czech Republic yet and I've heard Prague is a beautiful city.

Hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends!

xo-ally

photo diary: budapest, vienna, and salzburg [nov. 21-24]

Last weekend I went to Hungary and Austria for work and it was amazing! We went to Budapest, Hungary and Vienna and Salzburg, Austria. I tried goulash for the first time in Budapest and it was amazing. We went to the thermal baths to relax after a long walking tour of the city and then to a ruins bar at night. In Vienna, we did another walking tour of the city and it was so beautiful! The Christmas Market in Vienna was amazing and I picked up a couple Christmas presents for my parents. Stopping at Starbucks was a must in Vienna as well. On Sunday we were in Salzburg for just a few hours and did a Sound of Music tour. The movie was filmed in Salzburg and we got to see the water from the boat scene, the gazebo, and the church! We unfortunately didn't have enough time to see the Mirabell Gardens because of the weather.

(We traded sunglasses)

xo-ally

photo diary: switzerland [nov. 14-17]

Interlaken is a beautiful city. Views of the Swiss Alps were right outside our window and we walked around the city giving a tour of the cute little town. Photos:

xo-ally

friday's fancies - pretty in plaid

This week's Friday's Fancies theme with Long Distance Loving is pretty in plaid. I found this amazing (and inexpensive!) blanket scarf in fall's favorite print. I love how the traditional red color combo and also how the size of the scarf can double as a blanket - when it's not making a statement. ;)

scarf, sweater, skirt, booties, bag

For the rest of the outfit, I chose not-so-simple basics: a neutral-colored sweater with side buttons and elbow patches from J. Crew, a faux leather mini (been seeing these everywhere!), and black ankle booties. The blue snakeskin bag has a fun shape and print to add a little something "extra" to the outfit.

xo-ally

photo diary: istanbul [nov. 7-11]

I'm back from Istanbul! Mollie and I went to the amazing Turkish city for a long weekend to get away from Italy for a few days. While I appreciate being back in Italy for the delicious pasta and my cozy bed, I couldn't have been happier to explore a city that is so different than anywhere I've called home. From exploring the Topkapi Palace to going "mosque hopping" to eating real kebaps, the weekend was well-spent. There is so much more to be done in Istanbul, and I'm hoping I make it back there one day to further see the beauty. Here are some photos:

Thanks for stopping by!

xo-ally