The "Got to have it" - Gift Guide!

Confession, I absolutely love reading through gift guides. Though by the time I get to the last thing on the page, I realize that I completely scanned through everything and pretty much only thought about what I would really like to buy for myself. Oops.

I've decided to create this list, because I'm a terrible gift giver. Even with all the grand ideas out there and all of the crazy advertising, I'm pretty well known for simply gifting a nice bottle of wine, for all occasions! So read on, be inspired and get your credit card ready people, oh have I got some ideas for you. (Or you can get these things for me- just message me for my address, hah!)

But wait! One more thing before we start, I'd like to say that it is so cliche' to only "give back" during the holiday season. Why not give whenever you can? I'm going to suggest it on here and remind you to either find a charity to donate to or even maybe a place to volunteer. With all of the fires happening in California at the moment and the floods that happened recently in Texas, find someone that is helping these families get back on their feet! Whether it's domestic or somewhere foreign, find where you can be of help and you'll realize that there are all types of ways to give back, all year round! You my dear, can make a difference. 

Even if you start by going through your cabinets, your garage and your closet, finding things that you don't use or haven't even maybe ever used. Don't be shy, us ladies will keep an item of clothing in our closet for years with the tag still on something, until we realize it's just time to let go of it. Find a drop off for the Salvation Army in your town and donate what you already have on hand. 

Speaking of starting local, shopping local is a really nice thing to do as well. Remember that cute boutique shop that you always pass by and never walk into or maybe your friend has started a business and you'd like to help them out- now is the time! 

1. Foraged Home - Created by Tiffany Del Bosco Siladke, also the owner and creator behind Foraged Floral, this gal is obviously a crafty person! When she travels she will bring back goods from markets that she goes to or finds. For example you'll find in her shop some beautiful and unique looking wooden spoons and a round marble slab. These are just a couple of items that she brought back from her recent trip to Japan! I've subscribed to her newsletter and I can't wait to see what else she brings to the table...or the shelves! Get it? 

2. Simple Fish Wines - Gifting wine isn't the easy way out, if it's GOOD wine. So I'm helping you out here. I'm introducing you to Simple Fish Wines, owned and created by Jeff Fisher in Santa Barbara, California. Right now, if you buy 3 bottles (any of his bottles), you can have a free t-shirt, tank top or a hat! Keep the hat for yourself and gift out the 3 bottles? Just an idea! I'm asking Santa for another bottle of the Grenache, because I'm almost out!

3. La Rousse Shoppe - Let's start out by saying these are the cutest things ever, but also so so so timeless! Want to give a gift that someone will really and truly want to show off right after they unwrap it? Well that would be this ladies and gents, a Glass La Rousse Box (you can pick out the color and even add on glass etching!). Go through your your countless photos of you and your best friend and print off a handful of them (which you can print out at Costco for so incredibly cheap and easy these days) and purchase one of these glass boxes! Et voilà, you've not only given a thoughtful gift, but something your friend will hold onto forever. And I just have to say, this is also a fabulous gift to give to your mother- she'll probably cry, which is bonus points!

4. Lakeside Paper Co - For those of us that appreciate art, but can't craft anything with our own hands, we should simply buy art! Or gift yourself something... I'm not here to judge. Emily Maner, is the founder and owner of Lakeside Paper Co. As she says on her Instagram account she is "Inspired by nature and the places we call home". Once you look through her Etsy shop, you'll love how she brings nature to life in her work. Santa should bring me her acorn thank you notecards!

5. C. Leather Goods - Leather purses, belts, wallets, sandals, cute keychains, yes- all leather! Though I'll be asking Santa for the leather necklace, it's adorable and I know it would be so nice to travel with something as light weight and fashionable as this piece. Go take a gander at Clare Hazlett's creations, I'm sure you'll find more than one item that you want to scoop up! C. Leather Goods is based in Bologna, Italy, so you can tell your friends your purse really is from Italy, even if you didn't go there and grab it yourself! 

6. Caudalie Favorite's Set - I may or may not be adding this in, so my boyfriend can get the hint. This is packaged up love! Travel sized things, are the best and you don't have to buy the worst stuff (Target...ya need to up your game) for while you are traveling. So I bring you, the wonderful Caudalie Favorite's Set. For your traveler friend or for you! 

7. Seek Paper Co. - Create a memory, while creating something with a gal pal! Or even better, make this a fun day for you and your mom or sister to enjoy together. Seek Paper Co. is hosting a Beginner Modern Calligraphy workshop in January, which gives you plenty of time to gift this day, plan it and go for it! Hey, you might even see me there, if Santa gets it right this year. 

Have any local crafters, creators or characters that you'd like to share about? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear about more people here in the community. Or just places that you like to support!

Una caminata in Roma

Images and altars to Madonna can be found all over Rome. Romans know the Madonnelle (little Madonnas) and pay respect to them, regardless of whether they're religious or not. Currently, it's possible to count more than 500 of them in Rome! See how many you find during your time in the city. They are usually placed on the corners of buildings, the Madonnelle are made in individual ways, such as mosaic, wood, and marble; some even have vases for flowers and candles placed around them. In the past, the candles provided some protection by keeping the streets safe from the dangers of darkness.

Piazza del Campidoglio, from the founding of Rome until its fall almost one thousand years later, the Capitoline Hill symbolized the epicenter of Rome's might and many of the city's most important buildings stood on this hill. Pope Paul III Farnese asked Michelangelo to design a new square, which was the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square). The project also included a redesign of the existing buildings surrounding the square.

A traveler must visit the worlds smallest country while in Rome- Vatican City of course! It really is the world's smallest country, Vatican City occupies 0.44 sq km (about .2 square miles) and is completely surrounded by the city of Rome. Vatican City serves as the spiritual center for millions of practicing Roman Catholics worldwide. St. Peter's Square is bordered on two sides by semi-circular colonnades which, according to Bernini, symbolize the stretched arms of the church embracing the world. Pretty well thought out, if you ask me! All which in the end was created by Bernini and his students. They depict popes, martyrs, evangelists and other religious figures. One of the most impressive halls within the Vatican is the Hall of Maps, with murals of old maps of the papal lands. This is one of my personal favorites at least, but really there are so many rooms to choose from! St. Peter’s Basilica was built on the site of a church covering Peter's tomb, it's one of the largest churches in the world. Entrance to the church is free but visitors must be properly dressed, with no bare knees or shoulders. Saint Peter's Basilica is open daily, 7AM - 7PM (until 6PM October - March). Masses, in Italian, are held all day on Sundays. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be there while a choir is performing!

The Colosseum is probably the most impressive building of the Roman Empire. Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, it was the largest building of the era. The monumental structure has fallen into ruin, but even today it is an incredible sight. The Colosseum could accommodate some 55,000 spectator- that in itself is impressive! Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games and to gain themselves popularity. For those of you that don’t just want to see this from the outside and really want to set up a great tour- go all the way, splurge a little and do something like this: Skip the Line: Ancient Rome and Colosseum Half-Day Walking Tour Make sure to book any type of tours ahead of time- months or weeks before, so you can be assured that you will have a spot in a tour while you are in the city!

Built more than 1800 years ago (take that in for a second), the magnificent Pantheon still stands as a reminder of the great Roman Empire. The name Pantheon refers to the building's original function as a temple for all the gods.  With its thick brick walls and large marble columns, the Pantheon makes an immediate impression on visitors. But the most remarkable and memorable part of the structure, is the more than forty seven yard high dome. It was the largest dome in the world until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed. This site is free to the public and open from 9:00am to 7:30pm. 

Piazza Navona is a wonderful place to grab a gelato, find a bench or just simply wander the square and people watch. It's big enough to do some laps! The large and lively square features three striking fountains and the baroque church of Sant'Agnese in Agone. The central and largest fountain is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. It was constructed between 1647 and 1651 on request of Pope Innocent X.  The two other fountains around the piazza are the Fontana del Nettuno at the northern end and the Fontana del Moro at the southern end of the square. 

Palazzo Massimo alle Terme - a museum without the crowds! Located near Termini Station, the museum features impressive frescos and bronze statues, like 1st-century BC Boxer and Prince, as well as mosaics, jewelry, coins, and marble statues of gods and emperors. Admission to the museum also includes entrance to three other excellent museums—Palazzo Altemps, Crypta Balbi, and Baths of Diocletian—which are all close by.

The Trevi Fountain is situated at the end of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC by Agrippa, the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus. The aqueduct brings water all the way from the Salone Springs (approx. 21km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water. The central figure of the fountain, standing in a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He rides a shell-shaped chariot that is pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea. The statues were sculpted by Pietro Bracci.

Kelsey VS Spelunking

I'm definitely not the outdoorsy type. I'm more of a "I like to drink on patio's, with optional shade" type. Come on, we all have a friend like that. But activities like spelunking, are totally MY type of thing, or at least they are now. I've waited to go canyoning for years, so I figured this will just be the dryer, more underground type. Aka not canyoning at all, but adventurous! I'd been to Budapest before, but with only 5 nights there, my friend and I stuck to the main sights and scenes. This time around, I wanted to repeat a couple of things (like visiting the castle!), but I knew I needed to incorporate something completely new!

My travel friend Jeska and I were chatting up the receptionist at our hotel and she put a few brochures in front of us to consider. I really enjoy researching places before I go, but I was surprised that I had never read about this or even heard about spelunking in Budapest from another traveler! Therefore this makes it one of the best kept secrets of Budapest, in my opinion!

Let's do a run down of what spelunking is, then if you're curious enough you can hear the summarized version of how my experience went, you can read on. I guess people aren't calling it spelunking as much anymore and they just call it caving, which yes, is the same thing, but really- which one is more fun to say? Please note: For those of you that are afraid of caves, get claustrophobic or have seen the move "The Decent" this may not be for you. Moving on... spelunking, is the exploration of caves. You've got a helmet with a headlamp on your head (or at least you should), proper clothing, prepare to get covered in dirt, and have comfortable shoes to move in. Jeska and I weren't exactly prepared for this day, so we both wore our hunter boots and jeans, but we were better off than the girl in ballet flats with socks.

Pro tip: the morning of the tour, I recommend cutting back on the coffee and water. You'll be underground for a couple of hours, aka without restrooms. Early in the morning we made our way to the metro stop, where we were to meet the guide and the rest of the people on the tour. Then we hopped on a bus to the main office, that is about 20 minutes outside of the center. After a quick introduction from our guide, whose name in Hungarian meant "Solid" in English, we called ourselves Team Solid! He gave us a little overview of how the tour will go and then provided us with the gear. Which included our zip up jumpsuits (see the photos) a helmet with a light and they even had a few pairs of boots on hand, but not enough for the whole group. 

Once everyone was all suited up, we headed toward the mountains and then we stopped in front of a cave. Almost immediately after entering into the cave, you will go down a long, very long, metal ladder, down into the dark, down into the unknown! I'd never done anything like this, so I must say, I was quite excited and my hands were a bit balmy on the ladder. I tried to stay toward the front or the middle, I had no intention of being the last person...you know why. 

I had no idea how strenuous this day would be, it was a good work out in the end. We thought we were just going to walk around, see some stalagmites and maybe a few stalactites. Ummm no. We were literally arming crawling through some of the holes. At point, you literally have to be small enough (skinny enough), to get through some of the passages. Or else you're left there to turn around alone! Kidding. There were other ways to walk around the small parts, but that was up to you to decide. Go through the itty bitty space... where literally just your hips pass through and everyone is waiting for you to get through. Or hop around the other side. Some people didn't have an option, there were some bigger guys in the group, rugby player types and they couldn't fit through even if they wanted to! Solid, our Hungarian guide, was such a hoot. He talked us through everything, told us stories and he pulled a solid good joke on me at one point. He had been hiding around the corner of a boulder and I thought he was up ahead. Boy oh boy did he get me, by grabbing me from the side as I passed him unknowingly. Minor heart attack, no big deal.

We all had a blast. This is something that I've wanted to find and do in other countries now and honestly if I'm ever back in Budapest, which I sure plan to be, I will make time to do this again!