I'm Loving...

Crazy cool street style from around the world. These ladies are just oozing a fabulousness that I cannot take my eyes off of. 

lucy laucht

hanneli

helena

karla

I don't know how those fashion girls pull off some of their amazing looks, but it always seems to work. I just appreciate the inspiration to be a bit more daring in my own day-to-day wear!

Wedding Wednesday {I Still Do!}

I'm so excited to be back at Wedding Wednesdays - with my archives of wedding inspiration files and my love for wedding design details I just couldn't walk away from it all.

And I had a post all queued up to relaunch Wedding Wednesdays today - until I spotted the Vera Wang Spring/Summer 2011 collection. After that, I couldn't think of anything but tulle, layers, draping and that dusty amethyst!

images via vogue australia spotted on simply seductive

But I figure there's no better way to kick start planning for your I-do's (real or imagined!) than with classic bridal couture. Can you renew your vows after only 2 months - and get away with wearing Vera?!

Tasty Tuesday {Dining}

For me, where you eat is just as important as what you eat. We've (attempted!) to ban couch eating at our house. And now that it's summer I'd love to have every single meal al fresco if I could. 

I'd be just as happy with a light and airy sunroom. A fun and funky dining space would also do just fine.  

images via automatism, moodboard, dress design decor, & rebecca june

I would just like to put as much thought into where I sit to dine as to what's on my plate! 

Tasty Tuesdays {Because You Are What You Eat!}

I talk about a lot of different things I love here - fashion, style, design, decor, travel...but one passion I've yet to delve into is...food! I am an out and proud foodie and take this love very very seriously. 

It's gotten to the point where I just had to share some of my favorite eats with you. So I give you a new Apartment 34 feature ~ Tasty Tuesdays! Since talking about food could easily overtake everything here, I knew I had to limit it to just one day a week (at least to start!). 

To kick it all off, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite honeymoon meals.

I judge most things by the number of good meals I had, so I made a point to make sure we ate very well throughout our honeymoon travels. Whether it was old Amsterdam cheese, apfelkuchen and beers by the city's canals, or lovely lunches of polenta with squid ink sauce paired with an excellent Valpolicella in Venice we made sure to savor each and every morsel.

1) tortellini in Borghetto 2) traditional Dutch seafood in a modern way at Spelt 3) Venetian cicheri 4) beet risotto at Spelt 5) polenta with black ink sauce 6) Dutch breakfast  at Gartine 7) dessert on the Amsterdam canal 8) black ink spaghetti 9) pumpkin tortellini with amaretti

We tried to sample the local speciality of each city we visited. It ranged from fantastic handmade tortellini outside of Verona, to a beautiful beet risotto (in Amsterdam no less and it was divine!). Feel lucky I didn't take pictures of every gelateria we sampled because those posts would dominate Tasty Tuesdays for weeks.

Now back at home, I'm still hankering for those amazing dinners. I highly recommend my italian speaking readers check out La Cucina, a stunning italian cooking magazine. Every recipe makes me drool all over my keyboard.

Sunday-Supers, the Brooklyn-based cooking school on which I have the biggest foodie crush, also recently held an all italian dinner with delicious recipes. You can check it out here.

Bon appetito luvies!

*Mrs. E 

And the Winner Is...

My dears, apologies for the day getting away from me! I've left you hanging about our giveaway - terribly sorry for the delay. 

Without further ado, the lucky winner is....

chewing the cud towel photo by elizabeth messina via kiss the groom

(by random.org selection) Stephanie! Congratulations! Stephanie, email apt34 {at} gmail {dot} com to claim your prize! 

Thanks again to Apartment 34 sponsor Wendy Mink Jewelry for the generous giveaway. 

Gettin' Gussied Up

Well my dears, I hinted at a big announcement for Apartment #34 last week. A lot has been happening in my world of late, but little of it has been in blog world. The big announcement is....that is all about to change!

After more than 2 years and nearly 900 posts, I think it's high time I pretty this place up a bit!

image by anna aden via flickr

In the coming days and weeks you're going to see changes in a variety of things here including a subtle facelift for Apartment #34, long overdue updates to links, new weekly features (Tasty Tuesdays anyone?!) and new sponsors. 

My most exciting endeavor is a little something I'm calling Apartment#34creative. While planning my wedding and reception, I caught the creative services bug something fierce and so now I'm hoping to take all I learned and help others create the special occasion of their dreams! 

This is all in the beginning stages, but I was just too excited to wait to tell you. Things are going to take awhile to set, so keep checking back and let me know if you enjoy what you see or have ideas or suggestions. 

And if you have a party you need help to plan it's not too early! Feel free to email me now apt34 {at} gmail {dot} com. I aim to make Apartment #34 your go-to destination for all things style. I hope you'll like it!

Cheers, 

Mrs. E

PS. The winner of the Wendy Mink giveaway will be announced at 4:00 pm this afternoon - so enter now!

Happy {It's Finally Summer} Weekend!

I am so ready for slow lazy days, reading loads of girlie novels, long dinners on the back deck, and Sunday afternoons lounging in the park. 

Although the sun only teased the Pacific Northwest this week so I may have to cover up a bit when I hit the farmers market on Saturday, but I'm determined to get outside!

images via 1 simply seductive, 2, 3, 4 dress design decor,  5, haute design

I hope you get to enjoy some fun in the summer sun this weekend luvies. Before you run off, don't forget to enter the Wendy Mink giveaway! A winner will be announced on Monday - along with some fun exciting news for Apartment #34!

Cheers my dears,

*Mrs. E

Grazie Tutti! {A Giveaway}

My dears, the amount of fun I have with this blog and how much the kind words and support from my readers means to me is really indescribable. Today marks exactly two months of my new life as a wife and I've so enjoyed sharing the journey with you. 

As a thank you for indulging me in all this wedding craziness, I'm offering one lucky reader a token of my appreciation courtesy of Apartment 34 sponsor Wendy Mink Jewelry. 

In addition to this stunning necklace, Wendy Mink Jewelry is also generously offering Apartment 34 readers exclusive entry into their members only room. The member's room includes exclusive current styles, vintage and occasional sales.  

To enter to win, visit Wendy Mink Jewelry and sign up for their member club by entering login: wendyminkexclusive, password: minkmember, then leave a comment on this post!

The winner will be chosen at random on Monday, June 28! Good luck luvies.

*Mrs. E

I've Got a Crush

On fabulous italian women,

On draw-dropping spaces,

on rings with flair,

on popin' prints,

 and on delightful {wit + delight}

Oh and on you dear readers, on you! Thanks for all the sweet comments this week. Check back in a bit for a little thank you gift!

*Mrs. E

Euro Utility

With the thoughts of Italian hillsides still dancing in my head, when I stumbled across these Tamara Fogle bags, made of antique textiles like flour sacks, military tents and french linens, I was immediately smitten.

images via tamara fogle and pilgrim's way

They just pair so nicely with the rolling Italian hills, trips to the local farm stand or grabbing a few bottles of lovely wine as you stroll home for an afternoon on the veranda of your villa!

Honeymoonin' Heaven {Italy}

Following our amazing week in Amsterdam, the husband and I flew to Italy, spending nearly a week out wine tasting in small towns throughout the Veneto region and enjoying a glorious stay on Lake Como.

The sights of Italy were truly breathtaking. We visited small medieval walled cities like Bergamo and Borghetto. They're equal parts awe-inspiring history and complete present day charm.

Lake Como certainly didn't disappoint. We spent an incredibly relaxing two days taking ferry rides across the water, breakfasts in the garden and wine lakeside every evening.

In each town we visited we'd pause to take a quick snapshot with our thank you sign - they'll all be compiled into thank you cards for our wedding guests. The cards will make lugging that chalkboard around worth it!

We certainly couldn't visit Italy and skip the most romantic city in the world - so we ended the trip in Venice. And I must say, it exceeded expectations. When you got beyond the sea of tourists and discovered the the twists and turns of the real city, the calls of the merchants in the fish markets, the clinks of glasses as people would toast next to the grand canal...

I spent the entire time trying to soak in each and every sight, sound and sensation. 

all photos by me!

There really is no place like it. We literally wandered this maze of a city for hours on end, until our feet just simply wouldn't hold us up anymore. 

Each evening we'd plop ourselves down, exhausted but thrilled, at one fabulous dinner table after another. Multiple courses of pasta, seafood, dolce, grappa, coffee and gelato later (more on the food experiences to come soon!), we'd collapse into our bed.

Ahhhh, la vita bella, ti amo.