Trying to Concieve - May Update

Just got back from the doctor regarding our trying to concieve efforts.

But first let me back up and give a bit of background.....I initially went to the gynecologist because I was having extremely painful menstruation. The first month it was horrible, I thought I was having a miscarriage it was so bad. And then when it happened the second time, I was concerned and made the doctors appointment.  Of course, I did a bit of my own research before going to the doctors and apparently Endometriosis causes horribly painful menstruation...so I was prepared for news that he suspected I had Endo.

At the doctors, first I explained the situation and he did a trans-vaginal ultra sound only to find that there were no mature follicles (and I was near the time of ovulation, so there should have been at least 3). There was NOTHING.  One teeny, tiny 7mm follicle on my right side and NOTHING on my left.  He also noted at this appointment that I have an inverted uterus. Which isn't life shattering, just another obstacle for the little swimmers.  He was clearly concerned about the follicle situation, but wanted to explore further and ordered a blood test for myself and a semen analysis for my husband.

Fast forward one month later, to our appointment today.  He reviewed the semen analysis:
80 million little swimmers
45% motility
52% morphology
and no infection...good news!

For me all my hormone levels looked ok according to the doctors.  However I did a bit of my own Google research and figured that my FSH level of 10.02 was a bit high for my age.  He didn't seem concerned at all.

He did another trans-vaginal ultrasound and again there were only small follicles, which should have been twice the size at this point in my cycle. So it seems that the issue is with my ovulation.  Our prescription is for me to start Clomid next cycle to help mature my follicles, as well as a dye test to check my fallopian tubes to be sure there are no blockages. So for now...we wait another month! He mentioned it was normal for women to have troubles with their follicle size, and that it's common to treat them with Clomid.  So it seems I'm in good company!

In the meantime, its great to have a game plan and to have more understanding of what's going on with us as a couple. It's frustrating to have to keep waiting, but hopefully it will just be another month of so until we conceive. So for now...I just have to look forward to our little holiday in Venice & Croatia.  That should keep me going until then!

 Here's a little video about conception, in case your interested.  It's definitely more complicated than you think :)
 

2013 Monaco GP

Tomorrow marks the start of the 2013 Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco.

It's a weekend that I've only witnessed once before. And last year it was super crazy, sometimes annoying, and mostly just good fun. For the 2012 GP I had 2 visitors, who I'd like to think I showed a good time to...while trying to manage an event with 25 staff and over 500 visitors over 4 days.  It was exhausting, but at the end of the week it was all worth it.

This year will be a bit different...I don't have any visitors, and I don't have a 4 day huge event to manage. I am however helping a friend with a scaled down version (just 86 visitors for Sunday). But it still requires putting in a few hours, and going in blindly praying it's successful.

There are so many events happening, none of which I'm too keen to check out. Everything is too "party party" for me.  Honestly, if there was a chic, loungy beach environment for me to go and sip on a normal priced bottle of Rose I would so be there. But there doesn't seem to be anything that matches the venue, nor the prices that I am looking for.

Either way...it's shaping up to be a stressful, crazy, memorable, and hopefully fun 3-4 days. Cheers to the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix!!!

What I Wore in Milan

How do you pack for your vacations? For me, I wait until a day or two before...check the weather...check the itinerary and plan.  Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's more difficult. Summer trips, or warm weather I always find easier to pack for since I come from Miami and am more used to dressing for warm weather.

So then, for this amazing trip to Milan where everyone dresses fashionably...what did I wear?? It was tough planning, and somethings I wore from my purchases while there.

Thursday day: Itinerary...train from Monaco to Milan & shopping. It was necessary to be comfortable, yet chic. I chose a nice paisley swing dress, with flats.

Paisley swing dress from http://www.esther.com.au/, vintage LV cross body bag, Ferragamo ballerinas.

Thursday dinner: nice, romantic dinner with the husband (I wanted to look sexy).

Zara sheer jewel collared shirt, white jeans & Jimmy Choo clutch

My new Trussardi shoes that I just had to wear!

Friday day: Lots of shopping and walking, again comfort was a necessity. It was a bit cool with the rain...so it was good to have layers.

Zara tan and white stripped blazer, blue Zara high-low dress, converse sneakers and Stella MeCartney fold-over deerskin bag.

Friday dinner: Excited to rock one of my favorite purchases of the trip.

Purple eyelet dress from XXX, Leather Jacket (old), Jimmy Choo clutch, Mui Mui patent leather pumps.

Saturday: Again shopping, walking and comfort was key.

Pineapple print dress from http://www.esther.com.au/, chambray shirt,  Hermes bracelet, vintage sunnies & Stella fold-over bag.

Pineapple print dress from http://www.esther.com.au/, chambray shirt,  Hermes bracelet, converse sneakers & Stella fold-over bag.

Sunday: Wanted to look chic and elegant for brunch.

Sandro sheer shirt, H&M grey leggings, Greymer pumps, Prada Sunnies, Stella bag

Here you can see my accessories: Chanel earrings, Hermes bracelet.

 I think I managed to look stylish while being comfortable.  Of course normally I wear heels during the day when I'm at work, so it was weird to rock the Converse sneakers during the day.

Shopping in Milan

I'm still coming down from my shopping high from Milan (and it's already been 4 days since I left).  To me, Milan is just the perfect shopping destination.  Everything is within a 5 square mile radius, which makes is very accessible. So I'll start from the beginning.

Thursday we arrived late afternoon, and checked into our flat....I had already drooled over the nearby shops on Via Manzoni as the taxi took us to our flat. We left our things and originally had planned for a museum visit for the afternoon, but scraped that idea since the weather was so amazing (it was criminal to be inside on this day with such perfect weather).

We walked towards the duomo, and down the pedestrian street of Vittorio Emanuele II stopped for a vini and a bite to eat, then we walked back and into the Galleria of Vittorio Emanuele II where we popped into Prada and Gucci.  Just getting the lay of the land basically.  After our vini I think we were a bit tipsy and made a few purchases at the Trussardi (where I could have spent my entire budget, everything was gorgeous).  We walked away with these amazing shoes, and a rain jacket for the hubs.

New Trussardi shoes...aren't they gorg?

Friday, things got more serious.  I wanted to get started at the outlets and then work our way back into the city center.  So we walked the 2 or so miles to Il Salvagente. We actually nearly walked past it, but there were some touristy looking folks ducking into this random looking building.  And it WAS random. You walk down and into what looks like a parking lot and then you see a building with racks and racks of clothes. We knew we were in the right place.  At the beginning are the womens designer racks which are a bit random.  They are organized by designer, and it's honestly a hot mess. Plus you add greedy women trying to claw their way through it.  Honestly I did one quick lap and decided it was all ugly and not my size, so I kept going.  Next are the other clothes that are decent manufacturers organized by size.  My size: 38 was one pathetic looking rack with gross t-shirts.  Again I just kept going.  SHOES: HEAVEN!!! Shoes are again organized by size, and it's a free-for-all with women standing in front of each other grabbing for the same shoes.  A little bit stressful...but I was able to successfully find some Greymer shoes marked down from 370€ for 150€.  Then we walked up to the mens section, again organized by size.  Hubs found a nice Hackett shirt and we were done.

you can kinda see the shoes here...they're amazing!

We came back to Via Manzoni for lunch, so we started that way after lunch. Our next designer outlet store we stumbled upon was D Magazine (on Via Manzoni). Don't be fooled by the picture on the website, it's another hot ass mess with shit everywhere and people reaching over each other to grab at clothes. Here nothing is organized...you have to go through EVERY SINGLE item of clothing. At this point my patience was running thin. I said screw the clothes and went to the shoe section.  Which for me was quite small, but just the right size to find the Charlotte Olympia shoes I had been ogling for quite some time.  They were a steep €350 (down from a ridic price of €650)....so I guess they were a steal.  I tried them on and looked like a tranny, they were just too high for me.  So I passed up these bad-boys and continued the shopping excursion.

Next we ventured down Via Mantepolone and strolled into Dolce & Gabanna, Moschino, Mui Mui, Roberto Cavalli, Sergio Rossi and others, it was funny after shopping here for 3-4 hours everything started to look the same.  Each store with their own bizarre twist on women's fashion...none of which was wearable OR affordable. Bleh, I had lost complete interest until we went into the Prada accessories store where I found a nice handbag & sunnies.  Then we went into Fendi. I loved EVERYTHING.  Unfortunately it was all out of my price range save for the wallet that I bought.  After that we called it a day, and headed back to get ready for dinner. On the way, we passed a store XXX with the most amazing sweet little dress in the window and I had to go in!  I picked out some dresses thanks to the lovely sales woman & even found some cute options for the gala that we're going to in October.  So I went into the dressing room to try everything on.  Mid-clothing change the sales lady knocked on the door to the fitting room asking if I was going to buy the dress from the window. It had been the first thing I tried on, and I liked it and was planning to buy it...but now that someone else wanted it "OF COURSE I WAS BUYING IT" hahaha. Apparently there was a lady who tried the dress the day before, and had come back to purchase (too late, my friend). I not only bought the dress from the window but a gorgeous lace gown in dusty rose for the gala.  I was thrilled....the lady was even nice enough to arrange for alterations (to be picked up the next day).  Here in France and Monaco overnight alterations absolutely does not happen. Oh how I love Italians!!!

New Prada sunglasses

The dress from the window!!

Saturday was another big shopping day that we kicked off at La Rinascente just 10 steps from the door to our building where we were renting the flat.  This department store is amazing, and is something straight out of New York. With a juice bar, like 3 restaurants an amazing clothing selection and really helpful staff! Again, the day started off slowly, until I got to the Sandro section where I bought 2 tops and some pants.  Next I ventured into the Missoni section where I quickly picked out a handbag.  Honestly, I could have spent the whole day in this store...but I forced us to keep moving and we went to the Burberry section of the men's department.  David picked out some things that he was needing and then we decided it was time to move on for lunch and other stores...so off we went.

David in his new Burberry shirt & me rocking my new Sandro top!
I know, it will look better with a sun tan.

We ended up near the San Marco church for lunch, so our post lunch shopping started from there. We ended up back on Mantepolone and Via della Spiga and found the most amazing store I have ever been in: No 30 Milano.  It had interesting clothing, with normal prices and a sales woman (Lucretzia) who is absolutely amazing! It's set back from the main street of Via della Spiga in a small courtyard.  There was a necklace in the window that caught my eye, so in we went.  I tried on the necklace and loved it...picked out 5-6 other pieces to try and into the fitting room I went.  Everything fit perfectly, almost like the items were made just for me.  At the end, I decided on 2 gorgeous dresses and the necklace.  I know that I will never see anyone wearing these dresses, so I feel so special and beautiful in these items.  I can not wait to find an amazing event or dinner to wear them to!

Sunday we had just enough time for brunch and then caught our train back to Monaco.  I'm sure we will be back to Milano for more shopping sometime soon, and I will look forward to it until then!

Restaurant Reviews from Our Trip to Milan

Back from our amazing weekend in Milan, Italy to celebrate my 30th birthday.  It was so nice to get away from Monaco!  We did SO much, but overall we ate, drank and shopped!  I think I'll do a separate shopping post, but for this one I'll focus on the restaurants! Ok here we go:

THURSDAY
We arrived just after lunch and by the time we had gotten the keys to our flat and unpacked we were ready for a nice glass of wine in the sunshine!  We stayed literally 1/2 a block from the Duomo, so we didn't want to venture too far for some vini. We ended up at Charleston just 1 block off of the pedestrian street Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. We shared a pizza and nice bottle of Nebbiolo.  It was glorious to sit in the sun and just relax after our travels.  I would say the food isn't very fancy, but the service was decent and it wasn't too expensive (12€ for a pizza). Not sure if I would go back, since there are TONs of other restaurants around, but it was definitely better than those gross cafes on Vittorio Emanuele (ew, those are only ok for a coffee).

Charleston Restaurant

Next was dinner!  We ventured just outside the city center to a small restaurant called Ristorante Guerrini. We had to cab it there(10€ cab ride), it was worth it to get a bit out of the touristy area, bless our foodie hearts.  Everyone spoke Italian, luckily the hubs can mostly understand.  There was one waitress who spoke a bit of English, but mostly would fall back into Italian.  Which is fine with us.  When we travel we like to blend in, and really experience the culture...not try to be idiot Americans being loud and obnoxious and complaing about everything.  But back to the food.  We shared the Zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese, and then shared the Steak special for 2.  Let me tell you, the food was an 11 out of 10.  Just simply amazing! Fresh ingredients, and nice flavors.  Nothing too strong. And everything matched perfectly with the Brunello wine we ordered (YUMMMM)!  It was only surpassed by the service.  The chef came out of the kitchen several times to check that his patrons were happy. We wouldn't have changed a thing about this dining experience.  We stayed for 3 lovely hours (and spent under 200€ including wine), and were nice and full and happy when we left!

Amazing Brunello Wine!!

Gorgeous Zucchini Flowers

Sorry I look creepy here, but the point was to show the food....YUM!

Happy Birthday to me!

Me w/ the chef!

FRIDAY
We woke up and popped to the bakery just down the street from us (Luini) and had an amazing sugary breakfast. Something that resembled a doughnut with pudding filling. We wanted to come here since we noticed the queue that was nearly a block long when we arrived on Thursday. It did not disappoint and for a mere 6€ breakfast is was within budget :)

When it came time to decide what we wanted to do for lunch, we were a bit of a mess.  It was raining fairly hard and were were just out of the city center to check out the outlet Il Savengente (more about that in my shopping post).  I was hoping for Nobu, but it was nearly 1pm and we were no where near the location.  Finally after walking 3 blocks in the horrible rain, I threw a small fit and we decided to jump in a taxi and go where we originally wanted.  Never been so happy with a decision!  Nobu Armani did not disappoint. We each ordered the Nobu In/Out box and indulged in some sake.  I will make one quick comment about the deco.  I was expecting something luxurious and stunning, but it was really pretty minimalist and you can tell that the restaurant has been open for a while since it looked like it had taken a beating.  Never-the-less- everything was amazing food and drink and service-wise so in my opinion well worth the 140€ price tag (we opted for dessert as well).

Me w/ the Nobu Boxes

The hubbys dessert - crunchy bananas with a pistachio creme and ginger lolly pop!!

My dessert - lemon ice cream, coconut tart think, in a puree of melon!  It was delish.

Next was dinner at Don Carlos which was was absolutely unforgettable, and world class for certain. This is a place for a nice romantic meal, which is precisely what we were looking for.  With gorgeous silver table settings, and classic decor yet comfortable ambiance. We started with a glass of Spumante, and then took the delicious scallops as well as some Foie Gras.  Next, we tried the Home made Pizzoccheri which was very traditional, and quite delicious.  Then I opted for the rabbit wrapped in crunchy philo for my main course and David went for the Milanese style Tuna (Tuna was the best choice - absolutely fantastic).  Overall, I would rate the food an 8.5...but the service makes up for the food which I would rate at an 11 out of 10.  Everyone was so gracious, and happy and helpful.  Even speaking Italian to help us learn :) We even got a tour of the cellar with the stunning old Roman wall, which is a great memory that we will cherish. Of course this dinner was not cheap at just under 300€, but for us, it was worth every penny!

David's Foie Gras starter

My scallops starter (the better choice of the 2...but both VERY good)!

Home made Pizzoccheri, probably wouldn't order again...but it was great to try it!

My Rabbit Entree

David's Tuna Entree....AMAZING!!

Me in the cellar next to the old Roman Wall!

SATURDAY
This was our big shopping day, so we focused mainly on that...but we took our breakfast at the juice bar at La Rincesente (just across the street from our flat). We had a yummy salmon bagel with some juice elixir and Acai and of course a coffee.

For lunch I had read about La Latteria (next to the San Marco church) from the New York Times...so we jumped in a cab and headed there only to find it CLOSED :(  But happily the taxi driver recommended another restaurant just 1 block away called Stendhal with a lovely patio area, which was full of happy people enjoying their lunch.  We joined them and had another amazing meal!  I took the pasta with truffles and slow cooked beef (like Bacon, but better).  David took the lobster linguini...both were fabulous along with our Barbaresco wine, it was delightful!

A nice light wine, perfect for afternoon drinking.

David's octopus started - I did not care for this AT ALL!

My appetizer - ham, burrata and zucchini flowers

My entree

David's lobster linguini

After eating for 3 days like pigs, we decided to skip dinner on Saturday night and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine on our terrace and a gelato.

SUNDAY
On a previous trip to Milan we ventured into the Bulgari Hotel from a recommendation from a friend. Our goal this trip was to try their famous brunch.  I had emailed to make a reservation, and took at 10:30am spot.  I was unaware that the brunch didn't start until 12:30pm. O well, we ate a small breakfast and then took a bottle of champagne and sat in the sun and waited for the brunch to start.  It was a huge spread with all kinds of salad, charcuterie, meat, sushi, and dessert!  It was amazing, and a great price at just 72€ per person. We ate and ate, and probably would have eaten more but unfortunately we had to catch the train at 3pm.  We had amazing service from a gentleman named Stephano (the hostess was a bit rude with the reservation mix up), but luckily Stephano made the experience much better and I hope to see him again the next time we go back.

Stephano brought me a birthday tart...so sweet!

champagne at 11am...why not?

Lovely outside space!

And THAT'S how we ate our way through Milan.  Would I go back to all of these restaurants?  Maybe not, because I'm an adventurer and like to try new things.  But never say never!  I would without a doubt recommend each and every restaurant we went to, there is something unique about each! 

Count down to Venice & Croatia - 26 days!

26 days until our vacation to Venice and Croatia! I just booked our Ferry from Split to Anacona....getting excited!!!

Birthday Plans for a Weekend in Milan, Italy

Woke up with a great yoga sesh this morning at Yoga Shala.  Yoga is an amazing way to start the day, and it totally kicked my ass. I went for a run yesterday morning, and I was totally feeling the back-to-back work outs.  But I wanted to get some workouts in before my BIG birthday weekend for my 30th in Milan, Italy!

We've been planning our trip for about a month now, and thankfully we started that far in advance since it was hard to find a flat to rent (we always use www.airbnb.com).  For us, planning a vacation/trip is like therapy.  You get to research, decide and plan exactly what you want to do and where you want to go.  Since this is our second trip to Milano we had a better idea of where we wanted to stay, and what we wanted to do.

Here's a run down of our plans:

Thursday we take the train from Monte Carlo, Monaco to Ventimiglia, Italy and then a second train straight into Milano Centrale.  The total train time is about 4 hours, putting us there just after lunch!  We will get the keys to our flat and then we plan to head to the Triennale Design Museum. David's a Creative Director, so he thrives off of Museum outing and gets some awesome inspiration.  I'm also into design (albeit more the fashion type)...but I can definitely appreciate the interior and architectural aspects and get some inspo for our apartment in Miami!

Our dinner reservations are at Ristorante Guerrini, which was rated highly on TripAdvisor for both good food and romanticism. It's my official birthday on Thursday, so I hope to enjoy an amazing meal and some special wine!

Friday is a shopping day!  Whohoooo, we will start at the outlets ( Il Salvagente ) just outside of the city center, and then make our way back towards the middle.  Stopping for lunch at Nobu Armani. And then hitting up the shops nearby, and a late afternoon Aperitivo.  Dinner reservations are at Don Carlos...which again was highly rated on TripAdvisor as well as the Michelin Guide. This restaurant is a bit more fancy...I can not wait! 

Saturday is another day of shopping and exploring. We plan on checking out the San Marco church and lunching at La Latteria (which was recommended by the New York Times). We don't have dinner plans for Saturday, and plan on asking the gentleman we rent the flat from...since it's always good to take a locals suggestion.

And finally, for Sunday we will check out the renowned brunch at the Bulgari Hotel before catching our train at 3pm to head back to Monaco.

I'm looking forward to an amazing trip with my hubby and explore more of Milan.  Hopefully we have made some good selections for a weekend trip to Milan and will give an update and details when we get back next week! Happy early birthday to me...cheers!

It's the Final Countdown! Last Few Days in my 20s!

It's the final countdown to my big 3-0!  This weekend sucked majorly as David was catching up on work, and no one wanted to hang out!  Made me feel pretty horrible in fact. I just don't feel like I have any good friends that I can rely on here in Monaco.

Saturday was gorgeous, and I invited some girlies to get together for a drink or lunch and basically no one even responded to my text message.  Awesome!

Sunday I went to church and chatted with our friends there and then we met up with our neighbors for a nice lunch with their kiddos. That was nice!  We are just getting to know them...they come from NYC and have a 7 and 4 year old.  So it was good to see how they managed the kids at lunch.  Honestly the kids were very well behaved, compared to some I've had to endure!

Now it's Monday, and just 3 more days until my birthday. We leave for Milan the morning of my birthday, and should arrive just after lunch.  Very much looking forward to our escape to Milan.

I'm definitely happy that I didn't do some crazy birthday party with friends, because clearly they aren't real friends anyways. 

Don't know if I'm feeling bummed out because I'm getting old, or just because I miss my Miami friends...who are TRUE friends!  Eh, either way...going to try to turn this day into a positive one and enjoy my last few days in my 20s.