Holiday!

We are in the Outer Banks of North Carolina this week....being lazy. We will be back next week! Happy 4th of July!

Dreaming of...

It is sweltering in New York today, so I am dreaming of cooler places. The grass is always greener somewhere, isn't it? Here are some beautiful images of Sweden by Alexandra. A nice hike and a picnic lunch would be nice...

(via All The Mountains)

Whirlwind trip

I am finally back home after traveling to Miami and Beijing for work. Posts coming soon!!

(Photos by MR38)

Places To Go: Ace Hotel Swim Club

I haven't been yet, but will be going very soon! These images speak for themselves, but the Ace Hotel Swim Club in Palm Springs just seems amazing. I just need to tuck aside a long weekend (or week) to hang out in the desert, take pictures, swim and eat in old diners.

(Images via Commune Design, the company that designed the space)

Traveler's Notebook

I love these handmade leather notebooks from Chiang Mai, Thailand (where we happened to visit last month). It was designed for the traveler and can be refilled and rearranged at your liking. Its perfect for storing your passport, photos, notes, tickets....whatever you collect in your travels. And it might inspire us all to put down our phones, ipads, ipods, laptops...and to absorb/capture/reflect upon our surroundings. Read more and shop at Baum-Kuchen.

Old Faithful Shop

The Old Faithful Shop in Vancouver sells simple, honest goods....and our dreamcatchers! I hope we can make it up to BC soon to finally visit it. They also have an inspirational blog, Old Chum. Check it out.

Iceland

Another beautiful travel video, this time in Iceland (on our list of places to go). Found on a travel blog we recently discovered, Lets Get Lost. I wish I could bottle up the feeling of exploring a new place...there is nothing like it.

Travel Love: Our road trip movie

Finally! The movie from our 2010 road trip throughout the southwest and southeast of America...made with love by Jason. Watching it makes me wish we were on the road right now...

Places To Go: George Nakashima's compound

If you ever find yourself in New Hope, PA, you can stop by the home, studio and workshop of George Nakashima. Born in 1905, he was a Japanese-American woodworker, architect and furniture maker, who was a father of the American craft movement. After graduating from MIT with a masters in architecture, he bought a round the world steamship ticket and lived in France, North Africa and Japan. He eventually ended up in New Hope, where he built fourteen dwellings and raised his family here. His daughter, Mira, has continued his tradition and designs pieces of her own.

Needless to say, the furniture of the Nakashima's are wonderful specimens of functional and inspirational art. Their property (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) looks beautiful, and is only a two hour drive from NYC. Perfect place to visit this spring!

Maple Weekend

This weekend (and next) is Maple Weekend in upstate New York. Visitors can taste all the fresh sap that they want, and attend one of the 20+ pancake breakfasts being held! There are vendors all over the state so it would make for a nice (and yummy) road trip. More info in today's New York Times article on NY State syrup making.

Day trips

Quick link to a little article that Refinery 29 did on NYC day trips. I highly recommend Blue Hill (and Woodbury Commons if you are willing sit in bumper to bumper traffic for three hours)!

Rest stops

Photographer Lizzy Oppenheimer has a goal to shoot every rest stop in America...which is a LOT of rest stops. I love rest stops...they remind me of junk food, magazines, late nights, vacation, maps, wandering. So many different types of people randomly coming together. I get tingly just thinking about being at one..they really are one of my favorite places. More about her project here and here.

Holiday!

We are finally off to Thailand today. Back in two weeks!

(Image via Daniel's flickr)

Holy Snow

So I guess us New Yorkers have to stop complaining. These image are from the Japanese Alps in Honshu, Japan's largest island. That is 56 feet of snow right there! Yikes.

(via why evolution is true)

Ice Storm

New York is currently having a crazy ice storm right now! The frigid air made me think of Ernest Schakleton and his brave trips to Antarctica. I wonder how cold they must have been and I would love to test out their clothing/gear versus today's standards. These images are by photographer Frank Hurley, who visited the continent six times between 1911 and 1932. 

(Images via the State Library of New South Wales)

Where to go in 2011

A few weeks ago The New York Times put out their compilation of recommended places to travel in 2011. Its always a great list because they tend to highlight a decent amount of places that haven't yet been bombarded by tourism...meaning go now before its too late. My favorites below (pics above are listed accordingly):

1. San Juan Islands, Wash
2. Republic of Georgia
3. Loreto, Mexico
4. Fogo Island, Newfoundland
5. Port Ghalib, Egypt
6. Zanzibar
7. Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
8. Tozeur, Tunisia

(All images via The New York Times)