What I Wore: Week of Work Travel

You may have noticed on Instagram that I was traveling recently in Belgium and Germany. Unlike my recent trip to Rome (posts here) I decided to check a bag. And while I'm an expert packer, with fall temps upon us, I just didn't want to wear the same thing the entire trip. So here you go...a week of work what I wore. 

Left: Zara cape (similar), Zara scarf (similar), J. Crew Pixie Pant
Zara suede boots (similar), Black turtleneck sweater
Right: Zara cape, Zara suede boots, J. Crew Pixie Pant,
Uniqlo cashmere crewneck, Brooks Brothers non-iron shirt 

Left: Zara vest, Black turtleneck sweater, Ann Taylor Loft skirt (similar)
Zara suede boots
Right: Banana Republic dress (old), Shoshanna coat (old), Zara scarf, Stuart Weitzman black suede booties (old)

Left: Vince Camuto dress, Spanx tights, Black patent wedges
Right, Trina Turk dress and jacket, Spanx tights, Stuart Weitzman booties

Left: Tahari leather jacket (old from Gilt), J.Crew Pixie Pants,
Brooks Brothers shirt, Uniqlo cashmere crewneck
Right: Brooks Brothers shirt, C. Wonder peplum top (old),
Classiques Entier dress trousers, Cole Haan pumps

C & C on the Move: When in Rome

I'm back on the blog! Thanks for your patience as work and travel have taken over my life. I promised a Rome food recap so here it is! Let's start with the most important thing...gelato. I had it every day I was in Rome and loved both spots - San Crispino and Don Nino.  

I had two incredible meals that are DEFINITELY worth sharing. Let's start with Cul de Sac, located near the Piazza Navona. One of Rome's oldest enoteca's (wine bars) delivers in wine and food! The lasagne was hands down the best I've ever had. And of course I ordered mozzarella and tomato salad. When in Rome, right?!

Rome also delivered the best seafood I have ever tasted - and I'm not really a seafood person. Assunta Madre was off the charts. When you walk in the restaurant you're greeted by an insane assortment of fresh fish caught that day. It's so fresh that whatever isn't eaten that night goes to the fish market for the next morning.  

I was proud of myself for trying some things I wouldn't normally eat. My favorite dish was pasta with shrimps that had just the right amount of spice (not the most daring, but so delicious). 

And, of course, dessert. The presentation was nothing short of awesome. Chestnut and walnut ice cream presented in the actual nut shells. 

If you're headed to Rome, I'd definitely hit up these four spots. I know I'd go back in a heartbeat. 

Roman Treasures

If you follow us on instagram you probably saw I was recently in Italy for a work trip - or my #romanworkaday as I called it.

For the record, work travel looks more glamorous on social media than it is in real life, but I'll take it. I love travel and anything that brings me some place old or new. Fortunately our hotel was at the top of the Spanish Steps right in the center of all of Rome's best shopping. And I had to find time to do my part for the Italian economy. Before I left, I knew the one store I definitely wanted to visit was Mario Luca Giusti.

And as I've shared in previous posts, I inherited my mom's love for dishes, and they do them right. And while you can't tell from their incredibly eye-catching displays, the products are all acrylic. Mom readers, who says you can't have beautiful dishes your kids can use too! 

It was so hard to pick what I wanted because I wanted IT ALL. Fortunately or unfortunately I'd carried on my luggage leaving little room to bring anything home so I had to go with something small and stackable. The "Double Face" glasses are perfect for outdoor or everyday. Note to shoppers, while you can get their products in the U.S. they are much less expensive in Italy. I"ll definitely be adding to my collection next time I head that way. 

Two spots I didn't actually buy anything, but wanted to (thank you carry-on luggage) were Ballerette and Francesco Rogani. 

Ballerette had the most amazing assortment of flats I've ever seen at quite reasonable prices. 

Francesco Rogani was a stop recommended by a trusted, fashionable friend. If you're looking for beautiful Italian leather, they've got some incredible hand bags. And since they are only in Rome, it's highly unlikely anyone else will be carrying it (always a bonus in my book). They too are right near the Spanish Steps. 

Stay tuned for an update on where we ate! Ciao! 

Washington State Wedding Weekend

We're back! Thanks for your understanding while Regan was gallivanting around Europe and I was traveling and crazy with work. If you follow us on instagram you'll see that I'm off again on a business trip to Rome (I know, tough...but someone has to do it). If I get the chance to do something other than work, I'll definitely blog about it. In the meantime, here's a recap of a wedding we attended two weekends ago in Washington State at Alderbrook Resort. Get ready, this is an "On the Move" and "What I Wore" all in ONE! 

One of my best friends got married at this amazing little gem of a spot on the Hood Canal about two hours from Seattle. Despite the rainy weekend (with about 15 minutes of combined sun), we had a wonderful time celebrating the bride and groom and catching up with my best girls and their spouses. 

Dr. B and I got a little r & r at the spa with massages, which was so nice. And I must say, the oatmeal at the hotel's restaurant is not to be missed. I got a fresh berry compote with mine and Dr. B had the brown sugar and maple creme fraiche. One of my favorite parts about the weekend was the "reverse wedding" schedule. The actual ceremony and reception were on Friday night and Saturday was left for brunch, a boat ride, and a BBQ. 

You know I love a good Rent the Runway opportunity, and this seemed like the perfect occasion to get the Gables Dress by Opening Ceremony I'd had on my "Hearts" list for a while. Paired with my turquoise tassel earrings I was going to bring some sunshine to the rainy day one way or another. I forgot to get a full outfit picture until the very end of the night in the poor light of our hotel room. Overall impression of the dress - it was good, but not amazing - even though I got plenty of compliments. You have to be tall to wear this dress. There is SO much fabric. I'm not petite, so it worked for me (I wore the size small, which tells you something). The fabric also picked up the outline of my bra (as you can see), which I didn't love. This would be a great maternity dress (although I'm not pregnant). 

We bundled up in wedding weekend attire for night two. Just as planned, I wore the Ann Taylor Loft maxi I bought on super sale earlier this summer and since it was a wedding, I broke out the Lauren Hope bling. 

Time with girl friends is just good for the soul. Nothing beats 17 years of friendship with these lovely ladies. Congrats B & M! We love you! 

Carry-On Like a Boss

If you haven't noticed, I travel a good bit. Both for work and play. I've shared some of my travel must-haves before (here) but recently had a travel emergency! My carry-on suitcase broke. #fail  After perusing the endless replacement options I landed on the Travelpro Crew 10 21" Expandable Spinner in navy (my favorite color). 

I took this baby on its first ride last week to New England. A true test of a good carry-on suitcase is if you can travel out of it for a week. And, I'm happy to report, I did! Here's what I was able to fit inside - 3 pairs of pants, 5 tops, 1 skirt, 1 blazer, 2 dresses, 1 pair of tennis shoes, 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of heals, 1 set of workout clothes, pajamas, toiletries (two separate bags), a jewelry bag, underwear and socks, magazines, my Surface, straightening iron, and a computer charger. And that was all without expanding the bag! I really liked using the detachable garment bag, as it made the suitcase more organized. And since I was in four hotels in five nights, I wasn't up for packing and repacking at each stop. 

It fit perfectly into the overhead of a regional jet and the spinner wheels were awesome. My last suitcase had spinners, but this one rolls with such ease - you have to make sure it doesn't roll away from you! My only complaint is that fully loaded it tipped forward a few times, but that's not a huge deal. Here's a video tour of the suitcase if you're in the market. At $200 it's not inexpensive, but I'm pretty sure I should have this one for a while. I understand why many airline crew members choose this suitcase. 

It's important to have legit luggage so you can travel #likeaboss. This week Seattle, next week Rome. Travel on! 

Travel Tricks of the Trade

If you travel a lot, Global Entry is a must. Not only does it make clearing customs so much less painful and paper free, you also get TSA-pre for domestic travel as part of the deal. I've got a work trip coming up next week to Rome (rough, I know), and a friend recently sent me an article about Mobile Passport App.

This is going to be my Global Entry backup. Here's how it works. Once you land, connect to wireless or wi-fi and submit your data to Customs. Within a few seconds, you will receive a receipt with an encrypted barcode which is valid for 4 hours. Follow the mobile passport control signs and skip the lines! Show your passport to the CBP officer and scan the barcode and you'll be on your way! Right now it's only available in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami but definitely worth a try if you're coming through one of those airports. 

Has anyone used this before? I'd love to hear your feedback! 

C&C on the Move

I was so excited this past weekend to get a four day child free getaway to San Diego for a wedding, the wedding of my friend Meredith who inspired me to start this blog!

First let me tell you about some of the fantastic eating we did. Given that the barre3 Spring Challenge started last Monday, I was on a mission to stick to my eating plan as best as possible. There are plenty of healthy eating options around San Diego. Our first stop upon my arrival on Thursday afternoon was at Lean and Green Cafe in La Jolla. They have an awesome selection of salads, bowls, smoothies and juices. It was healthy and tasty! On Saturday, we enjoyed a fantastic lunch in Solana Beach at Naked Cafe (bottom left). Jimbo's Naturally, Natural Food Store (right photos) has the most delicious "bird feeder" bar that served as a great snack after a hike on Saturday afternoon. I took a picture of the ingredients so that I could try to recreate this tasty treat myself. 

While I did a pretty good job of sticking to my challenge eating plan....a post kayaking stop at In-N-Out left me unable to resist the temptation. As they say, "When in Rome"! 

The weekend had plenty of scheduled activities, but we also had plenty of time to relax and recharge. I spent some time by the pool at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, taught a barre3 class for the bride and some of her friends before the wedding, went hiking at Torrey Pines and sat by the fire enjoying a non-alcoholic beverage.

Saturday's wedding was gorgeous! Here are a few photos the the details.

And some photos of all the fun! Isn't the bride stunning?

Congratulations to my friends Scott and Meredith! Thank you for giving us such a great reason to getaway for some R&R. We loved celebrating with you and wish you a lifetime of love, adventure and happiness.

28 to Great Update- Finding Balance

Twenty eight days have come and gone, and the barre3 challenge is officially over. It's a good thing because I leave for Europe on Friday, and I am pretty sure they live off bread, wine, cheese and pasta in Italy. God Bless the Italians! I am coming for you and all of your delicious gluten, dairy and alcohol products! As they say, "when in Rome"! (side note, I am not going to Rome)

As you know from last week's post, I spent the week in Sun Valley. Going into the final week of the challenge, my goal was to do the best I could to stick the "rules", but I knew it would be difficult. I mean, who could resist a Bowl of Soul and raspberry muffin from Java? Not this girl!

This final week for me was a test of the "28 to Great" principles in the real world! And here is what I concluded, and what I really already knew, life is all about BALANCE (it's no coincidence that balance is a key principle of the barre3 practice), and overall I am doing pretty well!

Each day you are faced with a variety of choices; choices about what you eat, how much you exercise, how much you sleep, how much you work, etc. If 80% of the time you make healthy, balanced choices and 20% you eat chocolate, drink wine, sit on the couch and watch a movie, then I believe you have achieved a healthy balance in your life. Some days call for tea and some days call for coffee. Sometimes a salad satisfies your hunger and sometimes it takes a cheeseburger. One day you might exercise for 2 hours and the next day not at all. Everything in moderation.

As I talked about last Tuesday, the constant quest for perfection can be exhausting. While the premise of the challenge was not "28 to perfect", it is easy to convince yourself that if you don't follow the "rules" you are a failure. It is extremely common for women to obsess over being the perfect healthy eating, lean and mean exercising machine (Gwyneth Paltrow's blog GOOP could make us all feel lazy and unhealthy).  But I say, if you even signed up for this challenge and made small efforts to better yourself and improve your health, then you've done well.

I will honestly say that participating in the challenge was a lot of work. I spent time getting in more workouts, hunting down obscure cooking items, prepping and cooking food and planning out how I would execute the challenge principles in my daily life. There were aspects of it that I found well worth the extra efforts, but others were not, i.e when my husband leaves town for 2 days I will drink wine! There is no substitute!

Life is all about balance, and in my final week I achieved just that. I did a few barre3 online workouts, I went alpine and XC skiing nearly every day and I worked out with my mom at the gym. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I drank hot chocolate with whipped cream, I ate pancakes, cookies and pizza and drank wine...even at lunch (GASP)!

On Friday I will be getting on a plane bound for Austria and Italy and again will do my best to balance healthy choices with indulgence! I will definitely be using barre3 online to get in some workouts while I am away. I promise to post updates from across the pond when I have a chance!

In the mean time, don't forget you can use the code "15barre3CC" to get a 15 free trial of barre3 online (expires February 8th).

If the Shoe Fits

Earlier this week I popped into Seams to Fit on my way to teach at Barre3. I wanted to see if any of my items had sold, and do a little browsing...as the saying goes, "when in Rome"! Anyway, I have a habit of spending whatever credit I have, and then some.... but, for the first time I managed to leave the store both in the positive and with something fabulous in my shopping bag!

Behold these amazing NY&CO colorblock wedges. Ivory, grey and black...with a pop of orange under the foot. The will go with everything! I'm in shoe love!

And, I'm digging them with my neon pink toes! 

Moschino Mondays

Over 9 years ago, yes you read that right, on a trip to Europe, my mom, Regan, and I were in Rome and we came across this amazing suit by Moschino. And while I can't remember exactly how much it was, it was cheap (relatively speaking)! And despite their tag line "Cheap and Chic," chic it is, cheap it is not. Being twins, you might imagine the tete a tete that ensued in the store and thereafter as to who would go home with the designer Italian find. At the time it fit Regan better. She won. Over time, it got too big for her (we all felt so sad for her-not so much) and it now belongs to me (score!) This suit proves that well made designer pieces stand the test of time. I still get compliments on it and people are shocked at how old it is. So don't be too quick to send your quality pieces to Good Will.  

Here are a few favorites from Moschino's Resort 2012 line. Maybe a trip to Italy is in order to find some new sale finds. Seems totally rational to me. Which look is your favorite?

Images via Style.Com

Don't forget to enter our Missoni for Target giveaway (ends Wednesday at midnight!)