Our friends Mario and Milda are among the smart people we know in Croatia trying to overcome the ridiculous bureaucracy to run a successful business. They just launched a new addition to their Dalmatia Events event planning company: a Free Split City Tour. Jay and I really enjoyed free city tours we took in Berlin, Budapest, and Prague, so we think this is an excellent idea. [...]

I've been back home in Cincinnati now for just over a month and one of the most common questions I hear is whether I liked Croatia or Madrid better. At first I found this question nearly impossible to answer because both are so dear to my heart, but I think I figured it out. If I could only live abroad for a year or two and I had to pick just one, it would be Croatia. And if I had to pick one to live in forever, it would [...]

Happy New Year to all of our family and friends. We had such a blessed year in 2010 and are excited to see what 2011 has in store for us. We are most looking forward to being back in Cincinnati and spending time with those we love. Below is a 90-second New Year video I made frame by frame with post-it notes. [...]

Jay and I are moving back to our hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. We've made Split, Croatia and Madrid, Spain our homes for almost two years, but Cincinnati has always been our true home. Jay will be headed home January 2 and I will be home at the end of February. [...]

Before I came to Spain I made a goal to become fluent in four months. It was an arbitrary time period and the definition of fluent was pretty arbitrary too, but I wanted to have a goal. Fluent for me is being able to speak without fear of messing up (even though I will always make errors) and to be able to understand native speakers easily whether they are talking to me in person or on the phone [...]

After our cruise, my Mom and Dad made their way back to Madrid with us to see the city and what life was like for us living here. It was tight quarters in our small studio apartment for four of us, but we had lots of fun. It was hard for them to imagine how Jay and I could live together in one room for so long without getting in each [...]