Back to Reality: Weekend (and Vacation!) Update

Hi friends! How was your weekend? We mostly just padded around the house and relaxed with a few flashes of motivation here and there. My main goals were to finish unpacking and get a potted plant for the front door. Did great on the latter; the former...meh. 

Rolling Greens nursery is our go-to for gorgeous plants. No, they're not the cheapest, but I wanted something really special, which we found (more on that this week!). They always have the most beautiful little arrangements at the register, and I couldn't resist these sweat peas: 

I wish I could explain how amazing they smell; I hogged them for my (messy!) nightstand. 

We also tried a new-to-us restaurant, called Esquela Tacqueria, in our old neighborhood. I would say it's the best Mexican I've had in a long time (and I was just in Mexico!). The place is super cute and I loved the shoe molds hanging from the ceiling.

Of course, P had to try her hand at photography, and I now have about 97 photos like this on my phone:

I haven't had a chance to tell you about our trip. It was kind of amazing, actually. We really didn't think we were cruise people, but we had the best time. It also helped that it was the Top Chef cruise. Not gonna lie--I definitely geeked out a few times, hence these pictures:

Elevator branding!

 I loved going to all the cooking demos and Quickfire challenges, which went on every day:

Tom Coliccio and Gail Simmons cooking demo

 Some of the chefs even shared their hobbies with us. Who knew Tom played guitar and sang?

Even more surprising was esteemed chef Hubert Keller's insane dj skillz!

One of things I loved about the trip was the opportunity to get off the boat and explore new places. 

Key West from our balcony

We docked in Key West and I finally got to visit Ernest Hemingway's home, which I've always wanted to do. 

I was so charmed by it, in particular his writing studio, where just about every novel he's famous for was written. And can we please note how on trend it looks? This could be taken straight out of Lonny, no?

The writing studio

 There were so many eclectic little details, like this Mexican tile his second wife, Pauline, had put in. 

Love the ceiling star detail.

 The pool was especially beautiful, with all of that green overgrowth. 

 And I loved these little elephant stools that lined the pool. It's just so Serena and Lily.

It was such a great trip, but I'm happy to be back in LA, getting the house ready for summer. Thanks for letting me share!