winter beach outfit in viareggio, italy

Nordstrom t-shirt (similar) | Longchamp bag | Hudson jeans | Diva Shoes Florence boots (similar) | Chanel sunglasses | Michael Kors watch | Stella & Dot bracelet | Seattle boutique bracelets | similar jacket

This is my last outfit post of 2013! Last week I went to Viareggio, a small beach town on the Italian coast. It is only about an hour and a half train ride away. (Yup, those are my pink ear buds you can see peeking out of my Longchamp...didn't realize they were showing until after the photos were taken...haha). Even though it was winter, it was only a little chilly because of the sun. It was so refreshing to be on a beach and by the water and to get away from Florence for a day.

xo-ally

photo diary: the french riviera [sep. 17-20]

Last weekend was spent in the beautiful French Riviera. We stayed in Nice and went to Monaco, Cannes, and Eze throughout the days to hang out at the beach and the Monte Carlo Casino. At night, we threw champagne parties and had a lot of fun. Everywhere you looked was absolutely gorgeous. My favorite beach was in Cannes - it was sandy and not rocky at all. The best beach! I had eggs for breakfast (you rarely see eggs at Italian restaurants) and macaroons. It was the perfect weekend.

I didn't want to leave.

xo-ally

photo diary: amalfi coast [sep. 5-8]

My first weekend guiding a trip was to the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. Amalfi is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been and I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Italy!

xo-ally

take me to the beach

[photo]

All I want to do right now is be at the beach, toes in the sand, the warm sun on my face. But alas, I am nowhere near a beach, it is almost midnight, and I have a lot of homework to do.

However, the weather forecast says it should get up to 70 this weekend for Easter :) YEAH! That will feel like a heatwave compared to the chilly winter. Even though there won't be a beach nearby, you know I will trade in boots and flats in favor of sandals! (Which reminds me, I should probably get a pedicure....)

Happy Wednesday!

xo-ally

Love these easy-to-do Photoshop actions

Earlier this year I downloaded the Pioneer Woman's actions sets for Photoshop Elements to try something new with my photo editing. I loved the effects they put on the photos, and sat for at least an hour and a half trying out the different actions on my photos - so fun!

Here's an example of an original and edited photo.
Original:

Edited with the "Sunshine" action:

Here are some more edited photos from my trips to Colorado and California:

Once the actions are downloaded, all you need to do is open the photo in Photoshop, decide which action to use, and with a click of a button your photo is changed! It is so simple. Thanks, PW! :)

Download the actions from the website here.

xo

Adventures In...Italy: Part 4 - Amalfi Coast

I think the Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Last weekend I went to Sorrento, Positano, Capri Island, and Pompei. It was a six hour bus ride from Florence to Sorrento, but definitely worth the wait. Driving along the tall and windy cliffs was gorgeous (even though buses often got stuck on the tiny roads and had to do this awkward back-up and re-try thing). The buildings are so pretty with their pastel colors against the bright blue Mediterannean water. There were purple flowers (my favorite!) everywhere. Since they have so many lemons in this part of Italy, and this is where Limoncello is made, there were so many lemon things everywhere. Lemon dish towels, lemon-shaped soap, etc. A lot of the gelato was also homemade.

We stayed at Seven Hostel in Sorrento. It is such a nice hostel. Definitely the best one I've stayed in. Other than not having shampoo and towels provided, it was basically a hotel. I shared my room with four other girls where we had this little private room overlooking the balcony, conveniently located right next to the rooftop bar. :)

The beach was definitely one of my favorite parts of being in Positano. I loved my weekends in Ireland and London, but I was ready to be somewhere tropical and warm and be on the beach. It was so nice to go swimming and get a little tan. Yep, the water was actually this blue:

Speaking of swimming, I also got to go swimming in the Blue Grotto. It was AMAZING. Such a cool thing. Apparently it's one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. I loved it, and swimming in it made it even better.

And again, the water inside the cave was actually this gorgeous color blue! No editing whatsoever. Amazing.

We also did this chair lift ride that gave a really pretty view of the island in Capri. It went so high up, that we were in the clouds.

Our last morning was spent in Pompei, and we got to see the ruins. Back in ancient times, there was a huge volcanic eruption that killed many people and covered the city in ash. But when the city was uncovered much later, they found that the ash actually preserved the area pretty well. It was crazy to see mummified people with the bones sticking out and the emotion on their faces when they died in the eruption.

Ah, I love Italy. I don't want to leave. Unfortunately, I'm leaving tomorrow :(

This has been a great experience, I don't want it to end just yet!

xo