Let's Catch Up!

I know it's been a couple of weeks since the last Monday Moodboard, but that just means I have SO much to share with you. So let's buckle up and dive right in.

The last two Mondays I was very happily traveling Europe with Jeremy. I can't believe it's been four years since I've been back across the pond! For those of you who don't know, I grew up going to Austria every year from the time I was five months old to visit Oma and Opa, so an international flight to Europe is nothing new to me.

But holy cow, have things changed since I was last there in 2021.

This trip was also different because it was 100% VACATION. I think the last time I went to Europe and actually traveled without making it a family trip was when I studied abroad in 2012. If you're catching my drift, our family trips involved a little less wanderlust and a lot more working, visiting long-lost cousins and spending time in one place. 😂

This time we got to explore Slovenia, Croatia and a little piece of Italy—and I came home with SO much to share. I'll be diving deeper into the hotels, outfits, restaurants and everything I learned along the way, but for now, here's a little recap to get your travel bug going.

Where I've Been

• Ljubljana, Slovenia: The capital of Slovenia and where we started the trip.
• Lake Bled, Slovenia: The turquoise alpine lake famous for its island church—and the 99 steps leading up to it.
• Motovun, Croatia: A hilltop town in Istria surrounded by one of Croatia's best-known truffle regions.
• Rovinj, Croatia: A colorful coastal town along the Adriatic and easily one of my favorite stops of the trip.
• Hum, Croatia: Known as one of the smallest towns in the world. Tiny is an understatement!
• Portopiccolo + Trieste, Italy: We ended the trip along the Adriatic at Portopiccolo before spending our final day exploring nearby Trieste. We visited during the off-season, but I would LOVE to see this place during full beach-club season.
  

Eating + Drinking

Wine at every meal? Yes. Fresh, simple, whole-food meals? Also yes.

Our hotels had some incredible breakfast spreads, but lunch and dinner were where the food really shined. We ate everything from some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life to fresh fish, truffle pasta and more pasta than I care to count.

And of course, there was plenty of wine. One of my favorite stops was finally getting to visit Edi Simčič, a Slovenian winery whose wines we actually imported at Grazing Haus years ago. Talk about a full-circle moment!

I have WAY too many food photos to squeeze in here, so more on where we ate is coming.

What I Wore

Your girl is officially in over-packer recovery, and I'm happy to report that progress is being made!

Packing lighter also meant I had enough room to bring home three bottles of wine and a bottle of olive oil—priorities. And yes, the Wine Angel Sleeves came with me for safe transportation. 😂

I did a mini shopping haul before the trip, and almost every piece earned its place. Keeping the color palette neutral made it really easy to swap outfits around when the weather changed.

My top three winners:

• J.Crew Ankle Slim Denim Pants — wore them FOUR times.
• Flat shoes — white sneakers, one ballet flat and one pair of slip-on sandals were all I needed.
• J.Crew Cashmere Wrap — MVP of the travel days.

I'll share the full outfit breakdown separately because I definitely learned a few things about what I did—and absolutely did not—need to pack.

Back at the Haus

We landed Thursday at 6 PM, and by 8 AM Friday I was back at work. Talk about hitting the ground running.

I knew October was going to be busy before we left, and I'm so grateful for everything happening at Grazing Haus this month. After a little hiatus, my event-install mojo is BACK, kicking things off over the weekend with custom cups for the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Estero Bay.

I have quite a few more setups coming this month, so stay tuned. And if you're planning an event and looking for a custom charcuterie setup—I'm your girl.

Back Home

It's been a little chaotic since we got home, but one of the BEST decisions we made for this trip was having Kona and Tortuga stay home with our new in-home dog sitter, Liz. She was amazing—and somehow our house was cleaner when we got home than when we left. 😂

In other very glamorous news: is anyone else dealing with this boil-water notice?! We've been under one since Saturday morning and I feel like I'm living through half a hurricane over here using gallons of bottled water for everything.

So that's life lately: still riding the European high while jumping straight back into a very full October of Grazing Haus, home and friends.

Until next week! 🤍