I'm back from a lovely vacation with the love of my life celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary! He was my high school sweetheart (met at age 15) and we dated for 6 years. Married young at 21 and have had an incredible journey together.

We were babies!

I can't say that it has been perfect, but we have loved each other through many ups and downs. We have grown to respect each other lovingly and strive to cheer each other on with our dreams as a couple and individually. It's hard work but I'm excited that we can celebrate 25 years with many, many more to come!

Here is a recap of our 10 days away!

We spent a day in New York. I had never been so it was a treat to start the week visiting a beautiful, bustling city.

Starting to relax and unwind as we took the boat to the Statue of Liberty!

Of course, I loved capturing the color as we walked the streets.

We landed in Milan and had an incredible day admiring architecture.

We then went by train to Venice.

Breathtaking views from the street.

Had an incredible time on a speed boat touring!

and enjoyed the night life!

Yes, we were crazy tourists with our hats but it was incredibly HOT!

We rented a car and drove to Tuscany and spent 4 days at a beautiful home amongst vineyards and rolling hills. A separate post will be coming soon about the story of how this ruin was transformed into a stunning vacation home.

(the view from our window)

It was a beautiful time to relax and enjoy some quiet time.

This is the view from the pool

So peaceful.

We took a cooking class from a local chef that brought herbs, wine, olive oil, fresh vegetables and eggs from her farm. The flavors were delicious!

The translator was incredible and we learned how to cook an amazing meal from appetizers to dessert. Of course the men joined us afterwards to enjoy the food we prepared.

We ate our way around Tuscany!

Oh my goodness....my hair was pathetic because of no blow dryer....urgg.. He looks pretty amazing though!

We finished up in Paris and had an incredibly romantic time! Paris is definitely the place for love! We had been to Paris before a several years ago over Thanksgiving with our kids.

It was beautiful then and was just as wonderful as I remembered.

My favorite part was hanging in the coffee shops people watching and drinking latte's as we ate fresh chocolate croissants.

I convinced my man that the Paris Flea Market was worth going to and I was right! We had an amazing day digging through treasures.

Our hotel was incredibly quaint and had been recently remodeled. It was right on a busy street where locals were buying their daily bread, cheese and meat. It was fun to be a part of the locals that live there and away from most of the tourists.

I especially loved the fresh flowers that could be picked up along with your other goods while shopping.

Just about every restaurant has outside seating and boy do they pack them all in! It somehow makes it magical.

It's always good to get away! This trip was especially wonderful because it was a trip with my man as well as our amazing friends who were celebrating their 20th!

Over our many dinners, we laughed a lot and talked about what it is that keeps a marriage strong. We had some interesting and thought provoking conversations! Great friends they are!

Now it's time to get to work and start a diet!

I have to thank the grandparents for having our kids for the entire 10 days. They hit the road in their RV with all 4 grandchildren and gave them a fantastic time. I am incredibly thankful to them for allowing us to get away and we didn't have to worry for one second.

Feeling inspired and thankful!