Monday Lunch
I honestly don’t put too much thought into my lunches (I just make sure to have some veggies, carbs and protein), and find that I fall into patterns. This is not to say that eating bagelwich after bagelwich is a bad thing, but sometimes a girl needs a little variety in her life!
This afternoon I enjoyed a salad with lots of toppings.
All Topped Off
In the mix:
- Lettuce
- Black beans
- Beets
- Grape tomatoes
- Carrots
- Annie’s Naturals light honey mustard vinaigrette dressing
Served on the side: A pear (for a pear!) and a stick of string cheese.
Pear
I love cramming a ton of veggies into my mid-day meal. It makes me feel like Super(health)woman!
Now for some FUN stuff! 😀
Europe, Here I Come
I have some exciting news…
In exactly one short month, I will be boarding a plane to Europe!
As you may know, my little sister is graduating from college at the end of April. As her graduation present, my parents are taking our family to Europe! We will be visiting Italy (Florence, Lucerne, Rome and Venice), Switzerland (Lugano), France (Paris) and England (London).
PBF Invades Europe!
I have only been to Europe (Paris) once when I was in sixth grade and I don’t really remember much about it. When my family began talking about taking a trip overseas several months ago, I immediately expressed my interest. I wasn’t sure whether or not the trip would actually happen, so when my parents started talking seriously about it last Sunday, I got really, really excited.
Things happened pretty quickly, and before I knew it, last week I got a text message from my mom telling me that everything was all set!
We will be traveling with a tour group which I think will be perfect since it will allow us to see a lot of different sites without feeling overly stressed about organizing transportation, hotel stays and activities.
My family and I will be traveling for 12 days (goodbye to all of my vacation days at work!) and I plan to blog as often as I can without letting it interfere with our travels. I also have some other fun ideas for the blog during this time that I’m excited to share with you guys. 😀
For now, I need some advice!
- We will each be packing only one carry-on for the entire 12-day trip. This means I will be re-wearing practically everything I pack. I seriously have no idea where to begin when it comes to planning for a trip like this, so any advice you may have for packing light for a long trip to Europe would be amazing!
- What foods do I absolutely have to try on my trip? I’m planning on gaining approximately 30 pounds, so nothing is off limits. 😉
P.S. The Fashion page was updated today!
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Here is some advice on traveling light, some of which you probably already know about:
-I’m assuming you can take a purse along with a carry-on bag. Take a big purse and put lots of stuff in it. I often put my bulky toiletries in my purse, and save my carry-on bag space for clothes.
-Roll clothes instead of folding them when you pack them. It takes up much less space in the bag.
-Don’t pack jeans, or if you want jeans, wear them to the airport. They take up too much space when folded in bags. Same with boots or running shoes. Wear them to the airport or don’t bring them at all.
-Wear as much of your outerwear (scarf, jacket, cardigan) as possible on your body when you go to the airport so they don’t take up space in your carry-on. Jackets and the like tend to be bulky.
-Pack non-bulky outfits. Pants and thick tops take up space to pack, so don’t pack too many shirt-pant outfits. Try leggings and tunics instead since they are lightweight. Dresses are great too because they’re a one-item outfit.
-Bring dryer sheets. This is kind of goofy, but I swear it works: rub them on your clothes for a fresh smell when you re-wear them.
-Be creative with accessories. Don’t pack lots of scarves, shoes, hats, etc. Pack little stuff like earrings and necklaces instead. They take up very little space but you can still use them to jazz up and differentiate your outfits.
Omg I’m so excited for you!
Switzerland: you have have HAVE to try spruengli macaroons. They’re like little bites of heaven. I personally prefer them to the French laduree macaroons.
England: fish and chi
England: fish and chips and mushy peas. Shepherd’s pie. A dessert called ‘spotted dick’ (that always made me laugh and yes I’m that immature lol). It’s a toffee bread pudding sort of thing.
There’s this great place in covent garden, London that’s called belgos. They have lots of different flavored beer and the most amazing mussel and frites.
Ah, SO FUN! I went on a 3 week vacation to italy, france, germany and switzerland with a good friend in May 2009. Such amazing memories from it. LOVED Italy. Rome, Florence and the Cinque Terre were my favs.
Hi! I’m so glad you said Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre were your favorites. My husband and I are going there next month. Where did you stay in Cinque Terre? We are looking for a place. Sorry this is like years later-hopefully you will get this!
I wish I could remember! I’ll keep thinking but I don’t recall off the top of my head.
deep fried mars bar in the UK…it is to die for!
Oh MAN…the food..you will go nuts! I’m probably going to be repeating some of what’s been said, but:
*Italy: pancetta or parma ham
*Paris: pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant)
*Italy: fresh pasta! You will never want to eat packaged/hard pasta ever again
*All over: Milka chocolate. I think you can get it in the States, but it’s hard to find. I freaking LOVE this chocolate.
Rome also has some kick ass supermarkets where you can casually just saunter in and grab a little snack pack of prosciutto and mozzarella! OH and Fage yoghurt is really cheap in Italy! (like, really really cheap)
P.S. I’d side step the fish & chips in England (fried to death and frankly revolting, in my opinion – and I’m from the coast of Australia, so I know a thing or two about fish & chips!) Go for Indian instead!
I was last year in Locarno, also part of Ticino -Italian Swiss, it was amazing. Look for Coop store if you need snack or coffee – search for brand Emi in cooldepartment, amazing coffee, try crespelle pancakes..Enjoy Como lake 🙂
Have an awesome awesome time!! When I was in Switzerland (Zurich) I was allll about the dishes that had melted cheese. I don’t know if that’s the case on the western side (closer to France).
In Paris, every meal will come with bread and I went to a restaurant that had fantastic mussels. And apparently couscous is really popular there. Oh, and the crepes. The crepes are amazing. 😛
When you’re in Paris you must try the nutella gelato in montmartre. its.is.to.die. for!!! also, if you’re a bread fan try pain viennois. its sweet and fluffly, i promise it wont let you down!
I can’t wait to hear all about Italy because that’s where my fiance and I are going on our honeymoon at the beginning of Sept! Love it when you great ideas from people who have actually been and can vouch for stuff (FOOD!) rather than guide books!
Have an amazing time with your family? Is Ryan going, too? 🙂
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グッチ自体として各会社として日常的にされているそれらの1つを維持する私たちのほとんどに私たちあなたの足。だけとき我々と思う私たちのほとんどそれらがあると思ったうち、グッチスイッチ何か新しい、または行く戻ってにそれをやって以前します。彼らdon’t例のようなに古いようにつもりだ実際に持っている、スタイルを設定。彼らは常に変更自分のスタイル。グッチもしない付いて何正確に現在の傾向は、少なくともあなたdon’tときそれ発生ハンドバッグ。