Vacation Picturebook: Reno + Las Vegas
R E N O 
We had the best start to our vacation visiting Kyle’s grandparents in Reno! They took us to Virginia City (old western town), we explored downtown Reno, and we had lots of late night wine in grandma’s gorgeous garden.
Then we took an amazing day trip to Lake Tahoe – one of my favorite places of ever!
L A S V E G A S
Night 1: We love the Cosmopolitan + Absinthe!! If you haven’t seen the show, we highly recommend, but warning it is VERY raunchy.
Pool days are the best days!
Night 2: We still love the Cosmopolitan and didn’t leave – found amazing live music + food at Rose. Rabbit.Lie, the coolest speakeasy behind a barbershop + late night milk bar cake (and secret pizza, obviously).
Another pool day and the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had in my life … also won $$ on my first ever sports bet. Yay Toronto!
Aaand then it was time for brother-sister Leo tattoos!
Fun last night at Container Park + Fremont Street
We had the best vacation spending time with family, and can’t wait to go back! ❤
xo xo
Vacation Picturebook: Philadelphia
W E D N E S D A Y 
[loved our hotel: Kimpton Palomar at Rittenhouse Square!]
[late lunch at Parc – the most adorable Parisian cafe on the square]
[walked around Rittenhouse Square on the most adorable little streets, then wound up in this bookstore that printed classic books right in front of us! We picked up Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – such a cool souvenir]
[one of my favorite things about exploring a new city is the food – I read about this Israeli restaurant Zahav in a magazine and immediately called to get a reservation. 2 months out and all I could get was 9:15pm on Wednesday night, so of course I took it. I didn’t get great pictures, but this was a meal and an evening I’ll never forget! we got seated around 9:30 and didn’t leave until almost midnight. we did the tasting menu and it was such an experience and the food was amazing – especially this hummus! HIGHLY recommend this place if you’re in Philly and can get in!]
T H U R S D A Y
[all the historical things! independence hall where the declaration of independence was signed, snuck a peek at the liberty bell through a window, benjamin franklin museum, and my favorite: elfreth’s alley]
[dinner at buddakkan – the edamame dumplings were the best!]
[the reason for the trip – BON IVER!!! I can’t say enough how magical this show was. the venue was stunning, our seats were incredible and I’ve loved Bon Iver for years. this was a bucket list show for me, and it exceeded all my expectations]
F R I D A Y
[recovery after late night show: donuts + coffee, and not just any donuts, some of the BEST donuts I’ve ever had – made fresh right there. my favorite was the strawberry lavender, and we may or may not have gone back saturday morning….]
[did a lotttt of walking down museum row, but totally worth it, especially to end up here…]
[is the music playing in your head right now?! we had to run the rocky steps, obviously.
and the art museum was also legit]
[y’all, the eastern state penitentiary was crazy cool and crazy creepy – totally recommend this tour. it was seriously fascinating (and did I mention creepy??)]
[drinks + apps with a familiar face!! loved spending time with AMR and hearing about Philly from a “local” ❤️]
[after a long day of walking + drinking, we stumbled upon a ben + jerry’s – it was the perfect late night snack by the fire to end our friday]
S A T U R D A Y
[because saturday morning it was rise + grind for a 60 min soul cycle! not quite peloton, but still fun]
[brunch at the cutest place The Dandelion british pub with the cutest husband. also it was 75 degrees (!!!) and we got to sit in the little balcony and people watch]
[ended the trip the best way we know how – found a local brewery, enjoyed the sunshine and talked about our favorite parts of the trip]
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Picturebook: Napa + SF, Picturebook: Girls Weekend in NYC!
2017: my year in pictures
J A N U A R Y
birthday celebrations in Vegas
F E B R U A R Y
the best tour guides + the best pizza in Chicago
M A R C H
feeling fancy at NWA fashion week + the first of many trips to minneapolis
A P R I L
the month of amazing concerts – radiohead + blink 182
M A Y
always one of my favorite months of the year – mother’s day + weddings + anniversaries + beer festivals
J U N E
BEST VACATION EVER #HotarmansItalianCahoots, Part 1 + Part 2
J U L Y
someone turned 30 (not me) + fun family reunion in portland
A U G U S T
a mother-daughter trip to pioneer woman’s ranch + my favorite puppy turned 5
S E P T E M B E R
labor day weekend NYC fun + polo in the ozarks
O C T O B E R
a work trip to virginia with some pretty sweet views + won halloween (again)
N O V E M B E R
the best girls weekend in LA
D E C E M B E R
celebrating the season’s best with my favorite people
xo xo
[a catalog – my year in pictures] 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
Aldermans Go Global: Italy, Part 2 (Cinque Terre + Venice)
C I N Q U E T E R R E
[First night on the water – delicious dinner of fresh pasta with prawns + refreshing wine]
[Two amazing, relaxing days on the beach – exactly what we needed at this point in the trip!]
[Monterosso – adorable winding streets with beautiful street art]
[The pictures that follow are from our favorite night of the trip, on Angelo’s Sunset Boat Tour. Boat + guide Sammy pictured above. Seriously, if you are ever here, this is absolutely worth every penny!]
[Boat views of the towns = all the praise hands] 
[Stopped for tapas in Vernazza – these mussels + anchovies were TDF … and I don’t eat mussels or anchovies!]
[And this is right before we saw the dolphins and I cried. But for real, this night was so surreal and felt like a dream.]
[Final night in Cinque Terre – Vernazza Wine Experience with sweeping views that I failed to capture, except for the views of the wine + food]
CINQUE TERRE: We love love loved these adorable coastal towns. This was a very close second behind Siena for our favorite place. We actually stayed in a little town called Levanto (not one of the main touristy towns) and it was wonderful. Less touristy, yet still beachy and charming. We also had some super fun, not pictured, patio nights with Limoncello, Despacito + strange Asian men.
V E N I C E 
[Our cute Hotel Flora that took us forever to find, until we finally found it hidden on one of the streets behind Burberry, Ferragamo, Gucci …. ]
[Piazza at night + another delicious dinner – look at those shrimp!!]
[Peggy Guggenheim Museum was phenomenal. We were so excited to see some Modern art at this point after all the Renaissance art. Love this picture of Husband taking a picture of the water with a Jackson Pollock right behind him!]
[SO much fun on our Venetian Pub Tour – we drank so much wine, went to hole-in-the-wall pubs and learned a lot (that we didn’t totally agree with) from our tour guide]
[Day trip to the islands of Burano and Murano were totally worth it. Look how beautiful these colored buildings are! I took the second for my Mom – because I know if she were there, she’d totally be taking an art class like this!]
[Accidentally found this amazing, highly-rated B&B in Murano. My swordfish + tiramisu coffee ice cream were outstanding. I would totally come back and stay here!]
[Perfect final night in Venice with these beautiful people, and very fitting my last meal would be with more TRUFFLE!]
[We loved the bar across from our hotel! We made it a habit to end there every night. They played American Pop hits and served the “best” pina coladas + the best prosecco.]
VENICE: I had a love/hate relationship with Venice. I’m so glad we went, because it is so unique and incredible that there are no cars and the only transportation is by water taxi. (We even got to the airport by water taxi – how cool is that!) However, I’m not sure I’d go back – it was expensive, pigeons were everywhere, and I got eaten alive by mosquitos.
Hope you enjoyed re-living our trip through photos! I certainly did! Now, who’s ready to go back!?
Alderman’s Go Global: Italy, Part 1 (Rome + Tuscany)
xo xo
10 Things I Learned in Italy
- Never, ever, ever, hold a wine glass by the top, only by the stem. Or get seriously called out by a sommelier.
- Italians only drink with food. They don’t go out for a drink at happy hour without something to snack on, and they certainly don’t just sit on their couch binge-watching tv shows with wine. Hmm…..
- Ciao is hello, not goodbye. Americans incorrectly turned it into goodbye. (According to our very opinionated bar tour host)
- Under no circumstances should you get off of a train, unless you want to stay off of that train. Not to smoke a cigarette, and certainly not to get a taxi.
- I CAN get sick of pasta + pizza. (Actually surprising) But I can NOT get sick of good wine. (Not really that surprising.)
- And I DO like seafood when it’s extra fresh – like mussels and scampi and anchovies and scallops and swordfish
- Spontaneous tears of joy are a real thing.
- A meal or even just a cappuccino is not something to be rushed through or as “take-away”, but to be enjoyed leisurely. The 3-hour dinner was a common and wonderful occurrence.
- Air conditioning is non-negotiable. Especially when you’re walking 10 miles/day in 90+ degree humid heat.
- Travel can make or break a friendship. Luckily, ours was the former and only made us even closer.
Picturebook posts of our amazing Italian vacation to come soon!
xo xo
Beach or Bust
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmer of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means waste of time.”
I haven’t been to the beach since our honeymoon. In 3 years. That’s practically blasphemous, y’all. The beach is my safe haven. I can never get enough of the sweet, salty air, sand between my toes and sultry sun beating on my sweat-stained skin. Give me a book and am margarita and I could sit outside all day. And that I will, starting Monday.
We leave tomorrow for the 12-hour drive to Gulf Shores, AL (my home state!). The purpose of the trip is ultimately for a best friend’s beach wedding, but we decided to turn it into a week-long vacation with a cozy condo overlooking the gulf.
Usually I plan every second of our trip from the restaurants we eat at to the activities we have to pack in, but this trip I have nothing – I repeat, NOTHING – planned. Except of course sleeping in and laying on the beach. It makes me a little anxious, but I’m also so excited to just relax and be spontaneous with our week. Who knows where it will take us?!
Follow our travels on Instagram @milledavis and through our hashtag #AldermansInAlabama.
I hope you have a good week. See you when we get back (very tan and very relaxed).
xo xo
{Alderman Music Tour} Part 1: Denver
We’re officially home sweet home from our #AldermanMusicTour. We had a wonderful, relaxing vacation. Today I’ll share some photos from Part 1: Denver and tomorrow will be Part 2: Nashville.
Hope you all had a wonderful week! xo
{beautiful walks in the morning to get coffee + enjoy the gorgeous, old homes}
{new favorite beer – Breckenridge Agave Wheat, and the fries were pretty good too}
{one of our three wonderful hosts – cousin + husband not pictured}
{brunch! bottomless mimosas + chicken and waffles is always a good thing}
{“Come quickly. I’m drinking the stars!” – Dom Perignon)
{day trip to Colorado Springs – Garden of the Gods was amazing}
{stunning Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel}
{the BEST tacos I’ve ever eaten in my life and the best churros – ate them too quickly to get a picture!}
{first leg of the Alderman Music Tour – The National at Red Rocks Amphitheater!}
life lately + blogging hiatus
Life lately has been busy, busy, busy. Along with moving and getting settled in I’ve had some big projects going on at work that have been taking up a lot of time (hint, hint: follow @Walmart on Instagram). I’ve had hardly any time to blog and when I have had the time, spending more time on a computer did not sound appealing.
Other than moving and working, see a few life lately highlights below.
{Jersey Boys at the WAC}
{Sidecars at Club Frisco}
{several evenings in downtown Bentonville, pictured – Tusk & Trotter}
{Calling the Hogs with these fun guys}
Saturday we head off on our next adventure to Denver and Nashville. One day while drinking mimosas on a patio, husband and I dreamed a dream that we could see his favorite band (The National) in concert and mine (Taylor Swift) in the same week, despite the shows being across country. That dream has officially turned into reality.
We will see The National at the breathtaking Red Rocks Amphitheater outside of Denver and spend a few days in the city with my cousin and her husband. We then head to Nashville where we will meet up with my parents, and Mom and I will see T. Swift (for the second time because she’s amaaaaaazing). I am BEYOND excited and so ready for a week-long vacation.
21st birthday trip – Taylor Swift in LA!
See you in a few weeks! xo
Weekend Picturebook: Las Vegas
FRIDAY
{view from balcony, The Cosmopolitan}
{drinks at The Chandelier, The Cosmopolitan}
* * *
BIRTHDAY, BIRTHDAY!
{morning view + coffee}
{while husband lazes}
{ lunch: arugula + parmigiano reggiano salad, sausage + peppers pizza, Otto Enoteco – Mario Batali}
{won my first $100}
{dinner at Mix, Mandalay Bay}
{best view ever, Mix}
{“O” Cirque Du Soleil, Bellagio}
* * *
SUNDAY
{walking the strip, Monte Carlo}
{rode the New York New York roller coaster}
{awesome gastropub, Public House}
{relax}
{ready for dinner + drinks}
* * *
MONDAY
{brunch, The Wicked Spoon}
{The Conservatory, Bellagio}
{chocolate shots}
{world’s largest H&M, Shops at Caesar Forum}
{until next time … }
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Weekend Picturebook: New York City, Weekend Picturebook: Tulsa & Oklahoma City
five things
A few {almost} midweek perk-me-ups:
{RED released Monday. I can never get enough Taylor.}
{simply adorable}
{already dreaming of another summer vaca}
{but first, dreaming of Christmas parties}
{so.funny.}
life lately
Day 7: I’m thankful for a busy August and a quiet September.
* * *
{remembering this} a fantastic vacation
{loving this} with mom and bff
{eating this} crepes at Arsaga’s on Dickson
{enjoying this} one of my best friend’s getting married
{too excited for this} PSL + Razorbacks
{watching this} White Collar ❤
{having fun with this} at Crystal Bridges
{drinking this} great happy hour, great coasters
m.davis xoxo 