Travel Guide: Dubrovnik, Croatia

When I travel often times I ask myself the question of could I see myself living here or visiting here over and over again and Dubrovnik is a place I never want to stop coming to!  The people couldn't have been more lovely, the scenery is breath takingly stunning and there is a good mix of activities and relaxation opportunities.  Below is a synopsis of my first (but certainly not my last) trip to Dubrovnik.  

Where I Stayed:

First off Villa Dubrovnik is now one of my favorite hotels.  The staff is soooo incredibly nice and accommodating.  They really bent over backwards for us.  The beach area is so relaxing and the view is unbelievable! When I say beach area I am referring to that lounge area in the second picture.  They also have a lovely pool but we opted for the beach the whole time as I'm more of a nature girl.  Water is clear and clean and oh so refreshing.

 

 

We actually went to 2 other hotels before our flight out to compare and they didn't hold a candle to Villa Dubrovnik.  Villa Dubrovnik has a rooftop bar which of course has an amazing view and the hotels restaurant is very good.  We never ate dinner there which we regret but next time!  The sea bass carpaccio with burrata melts in your mouth.  I had it twice for lunch because it was just so good.  The hotel has a very sweet boat that takes you to and from the old town which is easy and awesome.  It's like one of those taxi boats in Venice- very cute!

Restaurants I Loved:

1. 360 Restaurant- so delicious!! Ask to be seated on the Fortress.  They have the most extensive wine list in Dubrovnik and their wine guy was very knowledgable on the local wines.

2. Panorama Restaurant- this is the place that is at the top of Mount Srd.  There is a cable car you can take.  Find out when sunset is and make your reservations for an hour before.  Ask to sit at table 31!  Definitely the best view. Below is a pic from the restaurant

3. Proto- best seafood restaurant in town. It's in old town. They have their own fishermen.  

Drinks are not served cold.  I asked for an ice bucket every meal.  I also had them chill  the wine in an ice bucket long before it was poured when drinking white or rose and beer for that matter.  I kept telling them I need it American cold ;) It was a million degrees while we were there so it might not be as noticeable in cooler months.  

What I Did:

1. Walk the wall.  It's a really great way to see the old town. We did it in about 1.5 to 2 hours.  There are juice stops along the way if you want a fresh pressed juice.

2. Lokrum Island.  We spent a really lovely day over there.  We hiked around the island and up to the fort.  We then hiked over to the back side of the island and did a rock scramble until we found our own private cove and went swimming and hung out for awhile. Below is our little private nook we found for the afternoon. 

After swimming in our nook we ate at Paradise Garden there on the island.  DO NOT eat anywhere else!  If you go to Lokrum this is the place! I had the grilled squid which was literally the best squid I've ever had!  It was also a beautiful and relaxing setting. 

 

There are peacocks EVERYWHERE!  So pretty :) 

3. Wine Tasting.  So apparently the peninsula is a great wine region but there were fires there so we went to a different valley just past the airport and we had the best time!  We went to 3 wineries.  All very small and family run.  We rented a car so we drove to them.  Only Karaman Winery had a small sign so it wasn't the easiest thing to navigate but well worth the effort!  It was also great to see the valley rather than just the coastline.  The wineries we went to were Karaman (pictured below).  They all are a family affair and it was really sweet.  The Father and Brother were in the fields and the Mom and Daughter were giving us the tasting at Karaman.  Bratos and Crvik were the other 2 we went to. Peter at Crvik is friends with the owners of Wilson Creek in Temecula ;)  Peter also told me he will be there for the rest of his life so come on back! ;) There are wine tours that you can look into if you don't have a car but this was one of our favorite days!  We spent so much time talking with the families at the wineries we really got the feel for the people.  It will be harvest time in October so wine tasting would be really cool then. 

 

Other than these activities we spent one whole day at the beach area at the hotel lounging with cocktails and watched the sunset from the water.  We also started/ended pretty much every day with an ocean swim.

1 thing I wish I had was a mask and snorkel!  Next time I am going to bring one for sure.  They don't provide them at the hotel.

There are plenty of other things that we didn't do that you may want to look into.  The kayak tours were very popular!  There are also 2 cliff bars on the outside of the walls of the old town that we missed.  We opted for touring on our own than doing any of the guided tours.  

If you have been to Dubrovnik I would love to hear your feedback about what you enjoyed the most! 

JEWELRY ICON: CATALINA VERONICA

 I was lucky enough to stumble upon Catalina Vornica's beautiful fashion blog Armoire Ideale. She has eclectic and daring style and I fell in love with her bold choices with jewelry.  I had the pleasure of interviewing her and here's what she had to say.

Your blog is wonderful and I adore your sophisticated personal style.  What would you say is the best part about being a blogger?

Hmm….the best part… free drinks and canapés at events? Kidding

Thing is, this is one of the best/fulfilling parts of being a blogger! It motivates me to continuously improve my work when I see it’s being appreciated. I know it sounds corny, but there is something genuinely heartwarming in receiving your feedback, when people who read my blog stop by and say: ‘Hey, I like this’ or ‘You inspire me’, I feel great, it’s so fantastic.

So, thank you Heather for expressing your appreciation and interest in my blog.  

I see you are not afraid to mix it up and be bold with your jewelry, which of course I love!  How would you say you choose pieces to be worn together?

 I usually don’t spend much time choosing the accessories I am about to wear I simply pick something and try it on to see if it matches my outfit, but I pay attention at colors,  shades, patterns and proportions.

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry or a piece that means the most to you?

Yes, I know what you mean, I have one of those precious little things. It’s a vintage zebra shaped brooch which I simply hart.  You will see her in the photos, she’s absolutely gorgeous.

Now on to the more fun questions.  Just quick of the top of your head answers will be perfect.

What is your favorite thing to do on a Sunday?

Enjoying my loneliness far away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.

So where did you have dinner last night?

I dined at a friend’s.

Dive bar or night club?

Night club.

The 20’s or the 70’s?

Jazz age, speakeasies, pearls, feathers, gloves and hats, authentic glamour, oh yes the roaring twenties!

Vintage or New?

Gosh, this is a tricky one, question that is. J

A little bit of both.  A completely vintage outfit may look old, like grandma old, on the other hand wearing only new clothes is totally…dull. I feel the urge to mix&match, but that’s just me.

Thank you Catalina and please don't forget to visit her amazing blog Armoire Ideale.  

MENS WEDDING BANDS

You've picked the perfect dress dress, locked in your dream location, and have even broken the news to your fiance that there will be NO beer bonging at the reception.  And even though he sometimes mistakes the bedroom floor for the clothes hamper you love him, and need to pick out the perfect ring for your soon to be hubby.  Well, I'm here to help make that decision even easier with a collection of mens weddings bands that I find the perfect mix of originality and masculine.  

 Starting with the Woody ring by St. Kilda.  Your crafty stud would be proud to be seen on the job site sporting this ring.

St. Kilda's Men's Loved ring is such a special way to incorporate how you feel about him in a way only he can see.  

 This Thoothed Band by Claire Kinder is just fierce enough for your guy.  It kind of reminds me of a bottle cap, don't ya think?

 This is the perfectly imperfect ring for your perfectly imperfect guy.  This Concaved Ring is by Satomi Kawakita.

Is your man a bad boy or just super slick?  Than St. Kilda's Endless Love ring is the one for him.

   

STREET STYLE: JEANS AND JEWELS

As much as I love new seasons there is always a little part of me that misses the one that is ending.  That is how I'm feeling about Summer right now.  I LOVE Fall, I really do but this week as I was walking along the beach all bundled up in a sweater and boots, I longed for the tank tops and flip flops of just last month.  So in a last stitch effort to hold on to the little bit of warm weather we have left I thought I would reminisce on this Summers uniform of what seemed to be every girl: jean cutoffs and jewels. 

 

 

All images via Mr. Newton

D.I.Y. NECKLACE

Get creative with Erica Domesek of P.S. I Made This and model Crystal Renn and watch as they show you how to make D.I.Y. necklaces!  Don't forget to check out Erica's other amazing D.I.Y. projects on her blog P.S. I Made This, and you can also visit another one of my posts about a personal necklace I made from old keepsakes.  Tell me do you have a piece of jewelry with meaningful charms?

JEWELRY ICON: RIHANNA

Rihanna shy away from jewelry? Never, and we love her for it!  Along with her daring clothing choices she loves to rock big, bold jewelry and earrings are definitely one of her favorite accessories.  Earrings are a great way to keep attention upwards and can help transform or enhance the shape of your face.  There is just nothing sexier than a bold earring with a naked neck, and Rihanna does it perfectly.  Check out this look on Rihanna and see how amazing she looks. There were so many looks to chooses from it was hard to make a decision but these are the earrings I narrowed it down to.

all images via Style Bistro

DIY: $260.00 Arielle De Pinto Chain Earrings for $6.00

Today's post is from Jess James from Inked & Sewn.  A lovely fashion blog with style advice, fashion finds, and amazing DIY projects.  I invited Jess to do a jewelry DIY project for us here and she did not disappoint.  I'll be making these stunners very soon.

A piece I have been DYING to recreate is these looped chain earrings by Arielle De Pinto retailed at $260.00. When the Charlton Girl from The Cultivated One asked me to do a DIY jewelry project, I knew it would be perfect.

The materials you need are:

-A Thin Chain -Flat Pins -Sterling silver studs -Construction paper

-Spray Paint (in a color of your choice) -Hot Glue -Metal Glue -A wire Cutter

First tie your chain in a knot and hot glue it to the flat side of the pin. Continue to wrap and glue it on the flat side until it covers the entire surface.

Grab a piece of construction paper and make a loop then secure it with hot glue. Leave about a ½ inch space and start to wrap the chain around the construction paper until you can no longer see the paper.

Glue the loop of chain you have just created around the portion already glued to the pin. Organically wrap the excess chain that is left to get the look you want (and remember the way you are wrapping it to duplicate it on the other earring). With the loose end, glue it to the back of the pin.

Take the Wire cutter and snip off the “pin” part so that your earring now just sits on a flat piece of metal. Use hot glue to fasten your sterling silver stud to the back and reinforce it with metal glue.  When the glue is finally dry use the spray paint to cover the upper portion of your earring to give it the two-toned look. I chose silver to go with my grey leather jacket.

Thanks again Jess, and don't forget check out her blog, Inked & Sewn.

CHANNELING WONDER WOMAN

 Ahh Wonder Woman, she is the epitome of a strong sexy female, and don't we all want to be strong and sexy.  Check out these celebrities as they channel their inner super hero.  These cuffs may not be bulletproof but they sure are hot!  Which one is your favorite? 

images via Style Bistro

HOW TO PICK OUT AN EVERYDAY NECKLACE

Meet my cousin Paige.  Paige meet my lovely readers.  As lovely as the picture of her is there is something very very wrong.  Do you see it???  Yes, she is not wearing a stitch of jewelry.  We had to correct this problem and fast.  Like many of you Paige wants a piece of jewelry that she can always keep on and not have to think about.  So, we set out on our journey to get her a simple necklace and here are our top options we found.

Our first stop and one that had great options for necklaces under $10 for the budget conscious was Brandy Melville.  The single crystal drop would be a perfect choose for just a bit of sparkle.  I recommend that you check their jewelry on their website or in one of their many locations.

  The other option that we loved were these Dogeared necklaces we found at Modern Romance Boutique.  They are a bit more expensive at an average of $66 but well worth it.  I mean you're going to be wearing this necklace everyday, so you want it to last!  The thing I loved most about these options is that many of them are two toned metal colors.  This way no matter what other jewelry you wear with these pieces they will always match.  

Now take a look at Paige above, doesn't she look so much more polished. It's amazing that the addition of such a small necklace can make such a big difference.  Tell me do you have a necklace that you wear everyday?