Currently: February 2026

Well hello March! I can’t believe you are here.

You came in so abruptly that I haven’t even had time to truly reflect on what my intention will be this month. This month went by SO fast, I can hardly believe it. I started the month with some really long days and nights. We had a really lovely Valentine’s Day dinner with a 2010 Castiglion del Bosco Brunello that we weren’t expecting to find on a menu.

Mid-month, I started to realize that I needed to re-align a bit, and I attempted to put some separation between my well-being and my work. I blinked and suddenly it was the last week of the month. I failed to realize that when I said two weeks, I actually meant one. It’s been chaotic, and this weekend… well, you already know. So, let’s get to it.

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links for tours and products I love at no additional cost to you.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Home Decor:

We are doing a lot of work on the exterior of our house right now. We had some significant issues after the freeze in January that needed to be addressed. It’s not glamorous at all, but it’s necessary. Stay tuned for some updates on how that turns out. My cousin also came over and helped clear the way for some new landscaping activities… so we’ll see how this all turns out.

HOWEVER, a little new home decor is probably the most exciting thing from February. I have been following Alessio at Tappezzeria Petrarchi since 2020. I am OBSESSED with his design work. So, in February, as a gift to myself, I reached out to him to design some new throw pillows for our living room. We have filled our home with art from Venice and Paris, but I have yet to find the perfect Florence souvenir. After talking to my dear friend (and former student!) Sara Cagle in Florence, I decided to reach out to Alessio. With my (broken) Italian, we settled on a few designs and fabrics for throw pillows for my living room. I’m obsessed. They came out just as beautifully as I hoped they would. Alessio was BEYOND kind and SO easy to work with… He was happy to make recommendations, but he really wanted to get it right for me. 10/10. If you’re looking for the perfect, unique Florence souvenir, I highly recommend popping by Tappezzeria Petrachi to see what you can come up with! We did typical Florentine symbols – the Duomo, Santo Spirito, and the Fleur de Lis. I think I probably need a few more for our current L-shaped couch, but this a VAST improvement from our original throw pillows.

I LOVE having a little bit of Florence at home with me. (I’m still looking for the perfect piece of art from Florence, if you know any galleries or artists I should check out!)

Travel Planning:

Remember when I said I was so excited about our 2026 travel plans? I also said that I was afraid to say what we planned because I thought I would jinx it? Yeah, that happened. We were planning a trip for spring break that would have included Cairo (pyramids!), Bangkok, and Tokyo. We spent this weekend cancelling it due to what’s happening in the world. We had booked an ANA Round the World ticket last year before they eliminated the program. To be eligible, you had to touch 3 continents and keep going in a single direction. So, we planned the perfect trip last May. We booked amazing hotels at amazing prices. I researched tours and worked with the concierges to find guides. And, up until Saturday, I thought we were actually going to take this incredible trip that made me both nervous and excited.

In the middle of scholarship interviews on Saturday, my dear friend Christina texted me about what was happening in the Middle East. At lunch, I started to learn a little more from the folks that were conducting the scholarship interviews. They had seen more than I had that morning. And, by this morning, we had cancelled everything in hopes of the guides being able to book those days and the hotels being able to sell our rooms. It might be the most decisive we’ve ever been on canceling a trip. Being scheduled to fly from Cairo to Doha to Bangkok meant that we needed to think critically about the situation and what would be appropriate. Ultimately, I would rather that innocent people have the opportunity to continue to work than be strung along when we don’t know what will happen in the next few weeks.

So, we made the best decision possible at the moment. I feel far less disappointment at cancelling the trip of a lifetime than I do about the fact that my country has created chaos in yet another country without a seemingly solid plan for what happens next. I hate that for the world.

TBD on how we will spend Spring Break this year.

Eating & Drinking:

February was a good food month. I took some cooking classes, and I’m excited to try and recreate some of the recipes this spring. I had the opportunity to observe a chef at one of my favorite restaurants. And, we attended some pretty special events.

On February 21, we attended a wine dinner at Eataly Dallas hosted by Canalicchio di Sopra from Montalcino! As you may know, Tom and I love (are obsessed with?) visiting Montalcino. We especially love the wines from the Montalcino region. (I’ve been actively working to update all my tasting notes on Cellar Tracker.) We had such a lovely time at this dinner. It was 5 courses, including antipasti and dessert. The wines were fantastic with a 1996 and a 2015 Brunello di Montalcino stealing the show. I think my favorite course was the pici with sausage, porcini and truffle. Unreal.

A week later, we headed to the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek for a wine dinner hosted by our friends at Castiglion del Bosco. This is the second year we’ve attended the Millecento wine dinner in Dallas, and it was so much fun. We invited some of our friends and made some new ones. While it did NOT make Friday morning’s commute and presentations easy, it was lovely to spend the evening with friends that feel like family from both Dallas and Italy. I’ll have to wait for the professional pictures because I got ZERO photos of the event… but I did enjoy wearing my Bach Mai cocktail dress again.

(I’m wondering how I get myself invited to Benvenuto Brunello in Dallas next year… It’s happening this week in Dallas, and I’m definitely sad that I wasn’t paying attention to this earlier!)

Looking Forward:

I haven’t had any time to blog lately. I’ve been thinking about the idea of going analog and keeping notes in a journal again. I had such deep thoughts during the week that I tried to separate my feelings from work, and I had nowhere to write them. I would walk for miles, thoughts percolating in my mind, and I didn’t have anywhere to write them at the time. I looked for the perfect journal but came away empty-handed.

My friend Christina sent me a journal just for my RTW trip that arrived yesterday, so I’m definitely feeling that loss today. However, even before she sent that very thoughtful gift, it’s something that I’ve been doing with my wine tastings – writing it all down as I can. It ebbs and flows. Sometimes I’ve feel very inspired to write things down. Other times, it feels very overwhelming to put my thoughts into words. I suppose in some ways I know that writing it down will make it real.

I still have so many things I want to tell you about. I’ll get there. Thanks for your patience with me. Sending you love and peace wherever you are as we all navigate this world together.