7 days!

My two month journey begins in less than a week! I leave next Wednesday to fly in to meet Jess and her adorable family. Things are beginning to fall into place but I still have lots to prepare for. So I thought I'd start a list of things I have learned about travel and Europe since I started.

1. No Hassle credit cards are a myth. They really don't exist.
2. You don't need a signed prescription in Europe unless you're trying to buy Narcotics.
3. Pickpockets will do anything, include give you their baby while they take your purse. Whose going to drop a baby?
4. Sleeping bags are thing of the past. Sleeping bag liners are the new thing.
5. Hostels aren't ridden with bed bugs anymore.
   
6. You have to claim any electronics with Customs & Border Patrol before you leave the U.S. if they are newer than 6 months old. Otherwise you get charged a duty price upon return.
7. Going to Europe when the Euro is strong and the dollar is cheap makes it WAY more expensive.
8. The movie Sex in the City will be playing on my flight to Germany!
   
9. Europe is the size of the U.S. and its really easy to travel around with the Eurail system.
   
10. I'm going to make a ton of friends and have the time of my life traveling on my own. I can take photos for as long as I want without having to worry about holding up a tour.
    

And now, lots of random things to post about... We got the cutest gnome in at the store and I just had to share since they are so popular. Its designed by Jim Shore.
I had fun playing with the dozen's kit and making Chez this cute birthday card. I've been meaning to post it for a while now. Inspired by Michelle Clement. Heather is having a great sale over at Everything Scrappn. She also just got in some lovelies from Pink Paislee which I had to have!And the matching stickers/rub ons:I bought a new camera strap and sadly its not one of Emily Falconbridge's beautiful straps. But I know it will do an excellent job! Normally I swear by the Domke Gripper for comfort. I purchased a Pacsafe 100, which has stainless steel cables running through and an extra fool proof locking system (that I have yet to figure out). Dan helped me with it. I think this is a great investment so I wont have to worry about some person trying to slash my beautiful camera off of me.

This week's mosaic is on Italy. I could have spent weeks just looking at photos from Italy so I had to focus on some of the places I hope to visit. Jenna & I plan to go during her fall break toward the end of October. Hoping for about 10 days there! So here are my faves from Flickr!1. St Peter - Vatican, 2. Fontana di Trevi at night, 3. Roma. Foro Piscario, 4. Venezia, 5. Burano, 6. sleeping in venice, 7. Santa Maria del Fiore, Firenze, 8. Uffizi, 9. Florence. Ponte Vecchio., 10. Bellagio on Lake Como, Italy, 11. Villa Balbianello, Lake Como.jpg, 12. The Cathedral, Milan, Italy, 13. Milan_045, 14. Milan Train Station at Midnight, 15. Naples, 16. Colours of Naples, 17. The Amalfi Coast at Night, 18. capri pathway, 19. Capri, 20. Capri Blue, 21. hotel promenade - sorento, Italy, 22. Colours in Positano, 23. View of Positano, Italy, 24. Positano, 25. Positano

I was given this fabulous award by the lovely Holly Hanks. Thanks a bunch!
Here are the rules:
(1) The winner can put the logo on their blog.
(2) Link the person you received your award from.
(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
(4) Put links of those on yours.
(5) Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

I love reading everyone's blogs and I hate picking just a few. But in the name of fun, here goes:

1. Michelle Clement: I adore her style and feel connected to her simply because we are so much alike that it scares us. I wish we lived closer. I bet we would have been #1 buddies if we went to the same animation school.
2. Dani Johnston: I've been impressed with this amazing girl since the moment I was introduced by Rachel from the RVA swap. Not only does she rock any paper you throw at her, she puts herself out there and blogs during the times most would just curl up in a ball and say "forget it."
   
3. Mrs. Chez: Cracks me up. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard, especially with someone that I just met. She's always got something interesting to say and has such a fun style.
4. Jess Summers: So I know she already got nominated, but I love her blog! I love that she mixes it up with crafty stuff, family photos, and amazing journey's through Germany. I get so excited when she posts.
   
5. Fauve Vanmaanen: One of the sweetest girls on the face of this earth. Her comments always make me so happy and I think she takes some of the coolest photos. Love that graffiti!
   
6. Vee Jennings: So talented I love to just stare at her stuff for hours. Love her photography and how well she incorporates it into all her projects. Incredibly generous too!
   
7. Holly McCaig: she blogs all the time, has incredible photos and designs such adorable stuff. What's not to love?