January is when we start to plan summer travel. It’s cold in the northeast and so a little dreaming and planning of going to faraway places is the perfect escape. Since travel is still unknown, we still want to dream. I can’t imagine a life without a little dreaming, right? So my five favorites post with Cindy & Mary Ann this week is all about my favorite things relating to a little destination travel dreaming.
Paris is always a good idea . . .
For the last several years, we have as a family of four traveled to Tuscany and or Biarritz each summer. We return to the same resorts in each place. Borgo Scopeto Relais in Tuscany and La Rēserve Saint Jean De Luz near Biarritz, France. There’s plenty of new places to explore in these regions, but the actual resorts are familiar and we have so many beautiful memories, that we keep going back and are never disappointed.
Borgo Scopeto Relais
La Rēserve Saint Jean de Luz
1. Lizzy Love Art
One of our most treasured vacations was a trip to Tuscany after watching the movie Letters to Juliet. I did a little research and discovered that the place they stayed just outside Siena was in fact a resort in the hills of Tuscany. I booked two weeks for our family and we loved it so much that returned the next two summers. One of my favorite things was to chase the sunset. One evening we had spent a little too much time lounging at the pool and so the late afternoon sun was quickly setting. Instead of getting in the car in search of the best spot, we walked up the hill to the vineyards and it was magical. The light in Tuscany is just as beautiful as it is in your most wild imagination. I sent the photo (below) to Lizzy Love and she did a beautiful painting for us. It is one of my most treasured possessions. I highly recommend contacting Lizzy to commission a painting of a place you love. Hang it where you’ll see it often and it will bring you so much happiness every time you see it!
Lizzy Love in our New Canaan Kitchen…
…and in our current dining room
One of the photos I sent Lizzy of the hills and vineyards above Borgo Scopeto Relais
2. Travel Coffee
Try coffee from around the world. It arrives in a beautifully designed bag with a postcard and information about the coffee. Having coffee in cafes and hotels around the world is one of our favorite thing to do! So while we dream about travel, we are drinking coffee from Atlas Coffee Club.
3. A meal inspired by your travels
One of our favorite things to do is pick up a “feast” which is basically just a picnic from an outdoor market. When we dream of having picnics, we will pick up provisions at a gourmet market like Eataly and then take it home and set it up like you would a picnic while traveling. We will have meats, cheeses, cornichons, olives, and other treats from the region that has inspired this picnic, and then we will watch one of our favorite movies that we’ve watched too many times. Something like A Good Year, Under the Tuscan Sun, or Letters to Juliet. Over the holidays Madeline told us about the movie Before Sunrise. So charming!
4. Books that Inspire us to Travel
There are so many books based on places I’ve visited or would like to visit. Here’s a list of a few favorites. Please tell me yours in the comments and I will add them to the list.
Love with a Chance of Drowning
While doing some research for travel-inspired books, I came across this article and realized it was by Madeline! That was a fun surprise!
5. A diffuser blend – Amelia Island
5 drops Eucalyptus
5 drops Peppermint
5 drops Lemon
5 drops Rosemary
Amelia Island, Florida
Another place that we visit often as a family is Amelia Island, Florida. It’s one of our favorite places to escape any time of year. It’s not as warm as we would like it to be in mid-winter, but it’s far warmer than Connecticut and New York. One of the things that instantly reminds us of being in Amelia Island is the scent as you walk through the resort on the way to the pool. It’s close to the spa and the aroma that embraces you as you walk out to the pool and beach gives you that feeling of calm like no other scent that I can think of that I associate with a place. I asked my husband to help me recreate it to use as a diffuser blend. We “worked” on it for several days, diffusing it in our home offices and after several attempts, I think we found it! We have been diffusing it in all of our diffusers throughout the house and now when I walk through the door after a brisk walk outdoors, I’m instantly transported to Amelia Island. It may last only a moment, but it makes me happy! What’s making you happy these days? Stay safe and keep dreaming!
Make sure to check out this week’s favorites from Classic Casual Home and Cindy Hattersley! See you on Thursday when we are talking about trends that are here to stay!
Amelia is wonderful,also Cumberland Island which is also close.Also try Amelia Toffee! On line to order! LIving in Jacksonville, sometimes we forget to smell the roses or magnolias in our case. LIke your recipe for the diffuser blend. Keep posting. Always enjoy what you write.
Susan, I have never been to Cumberland Island. Amelia Toffee…say no more! How wonderful to live where it’s warm! Jacksonville is one of the first places we will go when we can travel again! The roses, the magnolias….ahhhh…so lucky! Enjoy!! xx
Amazing places! This post makes me want to travel! Love your dining space and Lizzy’s art!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Your paintings are lovely … daily reminders of beautiful memories. Italy, oh Italy … I can’t wait to return. Letters of Juliet is a favorite movie. I was excited when you tracked down the resort. It’s on my list of future travel adventures. Hopefully we’ll be free to move about the world sooner rather than later. xo
Juliet, I too hope we are bacl to traveling again sooner thatn later. If that’s the case, then everything will be on the mend. If you do go to Tuscany, I highly recommend Borgo Scopeto Relais where the movie was filmed. It’s wonderful!
I LOVED THAT MOVIE TOO ABOUT JULIET!
I think it was filmed between FIRENZE SUD and SIENNA?
WHAT A HOOT to find an article that your daughter wrote!!!
DID you get to PIENZA?
THATS A MUST on your next trip to TOSCANA!
I don’t think we will be traveling this YEAR!BUT NEVER TO EARLY TO PLAN………..which reminds me SICILY is on my bucket list and I should GO MAP THAT OUT!!!
BE WELL………XXX
Elizabeth! Yes, it’s such a charming movie. And so many of the scenes from the movie we were able to find. The cemetary,the resort,and of course the square in Siena. I still love to watch that movie for the music and the scenery. I don’t think we went to Pienza? What is there? maybe we did? I looked it up and it is known fior its sheeps milk cheese.
OHHHHH I LOVED THIS POST. CANNOT WAIT TO TRAVEL, HOPEFULLY FRANCE NEXT YEAR. I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO AMELIA ISLAND. I WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT IT. THAT DIFFUSING BLEND SOUNDS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. ORDERED A LITTLE STAND FOR THE DIFFUSER AND HAVE MY VINTAGE BOTTLE. CAN’T WAIT FOR MY LOOT TO ARRIVE!
Oh Cindy! I hope we are all traveling again next year….France, California…that’s where I want to go!
Thank you for the Amelia Island Diffuser Blend -it’s wonderful! I have been using one of the blends you suggested some time ago ( Cedar, Sweet Orange, Rosemary) on repeat for months now and absolutely love it. I really appreciate all of your essential oil posts. They’ve inspired me so much that I’ve largely moved away from burning scented candles and now use essential oils in my diffuser almost exclusively. Thank you again for the lovely blends and inspiration!
HI Caroline! I love that orange, rosemary blend too…always! Earthy and fresh! I can’t believe how many candles I used to burn…and how over powering they were and I thought it was fine!! Now we know! Thank you for reading and taking time to comment!!
Annie,
This post makes me want to plan a trip. I’ve never been to Italy but the movie Enchanted April (a favorite movie) makes me want to visit.
xo,
Karen