Our "Vacation Home" in Nuremberg

We have a funny little family saying that started about the time we arrived here in Sicily. After packing up all our belongings and leaving Virginia, floating through Pennsylvania, Delaware and the surrounding States for a few months our (then) 3 and almost two year olds got bit confused about exactly where "home" was... Then we arrived in Sicily and stayed in hotel for a month before finally settling down in our current home.  (where we quickly prepared to welcome our little Lucas into the world!)  As we tried to make Sicily our home we noticed that every time we left the house for an overnight trip the kids thought we were moving again. In an attempt to calm their fears and comfort them we began referring to the places we were traveling to as our "vacation homes." So now every time we travel, the kids want to hear about about our new vacation home - which always makes us chuckle a bit since we don't in fact own homes all over Europe, we've never even owned a home at all. I guess for now I'll just be glad that they feel "at home" whenever we're together!

The apartment that we recently rented just outside of Nuremberg is worthy of note - maybe because my house in Sicily NEVER feels warm in the winter...maybe because it was almost Christmas and there was magic in the air...maybe because everything around us was sparkly and snowy...or maybe because Rainier and his wife had so lovingly prepared a quaint little half-timber cottage in Bavaria just for us (or at least we felt that way!) - whatever the reason, it was one of the coziest and most inviting places we've ever stayed.

Perhaps I was also a bit sentimental since their use of greens, berries, and other treasures from nature reminded me so much of my Mom and my Grammy...

Simple. Charming. Natural.