I spent half of December traveling for work between Philly & New York, and the other half with Mattia in his mountain hometown in Dolomites, Italy and in the Canary Islands in Spain. I'm glad that December was much warmer than the previous years (past two years of polar vortex, brrr...), but it was also too warm. There wasn't even snow in the mountains! Here are a couple of things that I've been enjoying in the past month!
DUOLINGO.COM I've already shared my love for the Duolingo app on my Best Travel Apps post, and I've recently discovered the website version. I was using it nonstop to prepare for my Christmas trip to Italy (it definitely helped, I understood a lot of what Mattia's family was saying!) I prefer the website to the app since it's easier to type on a keyboard for longer than on an iPhone. Since Duolingo gamifies the learning process, it's a lot more fun to learn new words and grammar.
iPHONE CASE Rifle Paper Company is one of my favorite stationery companies. I love the design and peach color scheme of this phone case. It's also thin and very protective. I dropped my phone face down into concrete the other day and this case prevented any damages!
ELECTRIC MATTRESS PAD It's a very Korean thing to use electric mattress pads. My electric mattress pad has been a lifesaver through the New York winters. It's the best feeling to get home, cold and windswept with frozen limbs, and to jump into a warm bed to thaw. It also keeps me from using the heater, which dries up the air and uses more electricity. I got mine from a Korean electronics store in Koreatown, Los Angeles, but this Serta one from Amazon with a programmable controller/timer is a great buy.
TRAVEL SIZE HUMIDIFIER To combat the dryness of winter, I like to travel with this cute humidifier. Hotel rooms can be very dry and harsh on both my skin and breathing--I hate waking up with a clogged up nose!--this definitely helps keep my skin and nose happy.
TV SHOW NARCOS Mattia's brother both got us both obsessed with this TV show over Christmas break based on the life Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord billionaire. It hits all the points of a great crime drama with the added bonus that it's all based on true events. Half the fun for me was watching the characters speak passionately in Spanish, the acting is terrific.
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