{ postcards } Austin, Texas + a few favorite shops

A few photos from our trip to Austin. It was a blast!

Like I said in my previous post, the girls did a great job in planning an awesome weekend. We found our house through airbnb and it was in the perfect location. We were a short cab ride away from Downtown and Congress Avenue. We had amazing meals at La Condesa and Lenoir, and ate some of the best breakfast tacos at Marias. We visited the vineyards in Hill Country and tasted their wine; we took a fun dance class and, since the springs were closed for maintenance, we took a walk along the river and saw the most amazing views of downtown.

All the activities and spending time with my friends, made for an unforgettable trip. But one of the things Katty and I definitely wanted to do while in Austin was visit a few shops, meet the owners and get some inspiration for the Xiokat shop we hope plan to open one day. Since my cousin was in Austin for work, I came in a day early and stayed with her. She took me to Take Heart - a gorgeous shop full of locally crafted and Japanese goods. We met the owner's mother and talked a little bit about how she got started and her love for Japan. After, we stopped by Olive Vintage, a shop I had found online that carries a lot of the independent designers we admire. Later that weekend, Katty and I visited Spartan, another shop we'd been dreaming of visiting, and stumbled upon Busy-Being, a beautifully curated shop in East Austin. All the shops carry unique pieces that are displayed so wonderfully, something that is so important in these kind of shops. You can spend hours wandering and admiring and still come across something new after several rounds in the store. We treated ourselves to something from each store, some pieces that we had been admiring from afar, some new that we found that day. All to remind us of this trip and our shop dreams.

Visit // 

Busy-Being / website

1601 East 5th Street

Austin, TX 78702

Spartan / website

215 South Lamar

Austin, TX 78704

Take Heart / website

1111 East 11th Street

Austin, TX 78702

Olive / website

1223 Rosewood

Austin, TX 78702

Austin:

You were wonderful and we can't wait to come back!!

Maybe for SXSW or Austin City Limits?

Credit // Photos + text by Xiokat for the blog. Edited with WishWishThree actions.

The Roma Diaries #4

I can't believe my 90 days of living in Rome have come to and end. My time here flew by so fast but I cannot be more grateful and happy for how it turned out. It was definitely a tough and somewhat scary decision to leave my job but I am glad I did not let the negativity or fear stop me. One of my goals in life was to live in Europe and experience the lifestyle before I turned 30. Though I was only there for three months, I can say "I did it". I soaked it all up, took as many adventures as I could on my budget and created memories that I will cherish forever.

Today, on my last full day in Rome, I went walking around the city for one last time, listening to the street sounds and music playing, and really taking it all in. Kind of like saying "see you soon".
It has truly been one amazing experience, to have been here for so much time living "la dolce vita". Of course, I never got tired of seeing the Vatican, the Pantheon, the Colosseum (and other landmarks) but also living the Italian way of life. The majority of the experiences were fun, besides a few, like when I needed to mail something out from the post office (such a hassle!) or having to leave my house by 10am everyday to walk about 4 blocks from my house just to leave the trash of the day (plastics: Tuesdays and Fridays and paper: Wednesdays & Saturdays). But overall, it was definitely wonderful and I will have stories to tell for a lifetime. I was endlessly inspired by all my surroundings. I met all types of people that took me in, became my Italian family, and I will forever cherish them in my heart. I am thankful for all their teachings, company and can't wait to return for another adventure.
Until next time....  baci

The Roma Diaries #3

Living in Rome has given me the opportunity to travel to far away places that I never would have thought or planned to go, since I have to take advantage of proximity being here. As you read in my previous post, a couple of friends and I traveled to Israel for a weekend trip. What a dream come true. We arrived and spent the night in Tel Aviv and took off the next morning to explore a bit.

Mornings // We rented a car and from Tel Aviv drove to Jerusalem, then to the Old City and spent a whole day there. What a beautiful city it is! Definitely not what I expected but the history there is very powerful. We spotted many tourists around the city and a lot of the locals also speak English. The picture above was taken at the Mount of Olives where you see all the olive trees overlooking the city. Our mornings were pretty busy given the little time we had, but our exhaustion at night was so worth it.

Afternoons // We spent them shopping at the markets and enjoying the local foods. There are streets and streets filled with so many things that I wanted to buy everything. Beautiful colors, textiles and so many handmade items that you can really see the time and effort the artisans took to create each one. 

Evenings // We made sure to eat very well for dinner. The guys researched and found the best restaurants in the area since who knew when would we ever be back. If you are in Tel Aviv, MantaRay is a great one to check out. It's right on the water and, during the day, you get a great view. The food and dessert were amazing!!

* Not a sponsored post for the restaurant. Visit their website here.

* More Roma pics here.

* All photos taken by Katty for Xiokat and edited with Norma and Jean actions from A Beautiful Mess's Mini Collection. 

More travels....

I have been living out of the states for a month now and it has been an amazing experience. The opportunity has now come for me to travel outside of Italy, so today we are off to Israel for a couple of days and I couldn't be more excited! It's one of those places I have always dreamt of going but never really thought I would actually go so soon. A group of friends were planning this trip and one of the them invited one of our friends and she invited my roommate and I, and of course we couldn't say no to that. We will be visiting Tel Aviv, Nazareth & Jerusalem. Having been raised Catholic, I am most excited to see the culture, history and roots of where it all started.  I don't know how the internet will be there but I will try to post some pics up on my instagram. Follow along! 

baci
Katty

instagram
more photos

The Roma Diaries #1

As I mentioned in a previous post here and also here, I have decided to go on an extended trip. That's right, 1/2 of Xiokat will be living in Rome for 3 months! So how did this come about?

Over winter break, a friend who is living in Rome came into town and invited me to go visit her. And well, I couldn't say no. I decided to leave my job, pack my bags and go for 3 months, so I can really soak up the city and have the living abroad experience. I will be leaving this Thursday! 

In keeping with "Our Happy Closet" series, I have packed very lightly, taking only the essentials - a couple of jeans, already existing tops and the only long sleeve shirts I purchased recently to wear under sweaters. Living in South Florida, I don't own too many "winter clothes", so this purchase was necessary.

I am really excited for this trip and even though my sister and I will be on two different continents, Xiokat will not be left behind. In fact, I am taking a small sewing machine, sketch books and lots of books to work while I am over there. I will post as much as I can and keep you updated here on the blog. You can also follow my journey via my personal blog here or instagram.

ciao ciao!

Kat

Credits // Image by Kat of our latest bag design, available in the shop soon!

{ out + about } florida west coast

Hello friends! Can you believe we are already in October? The month of September disappeared on us and we're heading straight into Fall - our favorite time of the year! After some quiet time on the blog, we're back and wanting to share this beautiful place we discovered on our recent trip out of town.

Last weekend we headed to the west coast to a little beach town called Venice. We had booked a stay at the Ramada and were pleasantly surprised by the decor and modern look of the hotel, even though it wasn't on the beach. We relaxed, took a dip in the pool late one night and even made it to the gym. It was so nice to get out of town, even if it was just for 2 days.

A few weeks before, I was doing some research for our business and came across Oxford Exchange. Since I knew we would be in the area, we made plans to check it even if it was an hour north from us. Saturday afternoon, we took a little roadtrip to Tampa just to visit this place. And we have to say, it was totally worth it.

The shop holds a curated selection of books and handcrafted wares, many from local designers. Every table and vignette is full of beautiful and unique products. Housed in a building that was built in 1981 as a stable, the space has gone through many transformations and programmatic uses before its current design. The new space has all the right elements, blending old with new - exposed brick painted in greys and blues, blackened steel, checkerboard floors, lots of natural light and foliage and more. Besides the shop, it also houses a restaurant (which we have to go back and try), a bookstore, a tea bar and a coffee shop. We spent hours walking around and taking in all the details and left feeling so inspired.

More Photos / Website / History{images above taken by} Xio

new york city love

 | The High Line |

| Brooklyn and fabric shopping in the city |

Finally sharing a few pictures of our July trip to New York City. It had been way too long since our last visit - almost 2 years! Katty was attending the Premiere textile show in the city and we decided to make a weekend trip of it to scout some fabrics for xiokat. Not to mention all the inspiration the city gives us!

We stayed with a friend on the Upper East Side, went to the Met for the Punk and Chaos exhibit, fabric shopped and then met up with our friends, who were also in town, at the High Line. That day was probably one of the hottest of the summer and we sure felt it as we walked all over the city, but it was worth it. We went for dinner that night then drinks around town. Sunday we headed to the Brooklyn flea market and the Artists and Fleas. We met a lot of talented artists and designers and picked up a few goods to bring home. We sat near the water and enjoyed a couple of beers with friends. I left the next day after exploring the city solo while my sister stayed for the show. All in all a short but relaxing and productive trip. We can't wait to come back!

puerto rico

This past weekend I went away to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. It wasn't a planned trip but those are the best kind! I had so much fun! I've gone to Puerto Rico many times but there is always something new to see and spots to explore.
Click here to read more about my weekend getaway and to see more pics.

|kat|

mexico lindo

My trip to Guanajuato came and went, but I had an amazing time exploring this cute little town!

How had I not heard about this city, about an hour away from the more popular San Miguel de Allende. 

I will be sharing more on my blog - simply nomad - so stop to read more about this great trip!

|xio|

 Guanajuato, MX 

Rooftop Party | Guanajuato

Destination :: Mexico

Off to Mexico this weekend for a wedding in the beautiful town of Guanajuato.

Can't wait to explore the colorful alleys, shop at the mercados for artisan goods, eat some delicious food, and possibly visit the Diego Rivera museum. We extended our trip past the weekend to celebrate my birthday there. Planning to come back with tons of inspiration for the upcoming collections!

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-xio