BRIE SHELLY

This year, January 21st is celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. anddddd considered to be Blue Monday – the most depressing day of the year. Blue Monday was coined by now non-existent Sky Travel and determined by a fake equation that sought to identify the gloomiest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. While the legitimacy of Blue Monday is clearly questionable, I do believe that January is a difficult winter month for many individuals – finally a break from 2018’s holiday season, limited sunlight, and gray, possibly snowy weather. Whether it’s to warm tropical destination or even going a few towns over, getting out of your day to day scenery can improve your perspective and mental health.

Whether you’re considering the next stage of your relationship, engaged, or already married, here are the four topics that I encourage all of my clients to be discussing with their partner. Children and pets can alter the dynamic, and it’s soooo important to have a strong foundation of how you want to navigate these additions. Make sure you are entering the next phase on the same page and continue to check in (at least) monthly to ensure that you remain upfront with each other about finances Life throws us curve balls that are not always ideal or something that you can prepare for. Hint, Hint: Couples therapy J Wrapping up the list with my favorite topic to discuss with clients.

Here are my top ways to make sure you embrace the food culture while traveling: #1: Embrace the Foods that You Don’t Usually Have Access To Instead of fearing them, try them! Don’t take your experiences too seriously and embrace how other cultures make meals a celebration, describe food while eating, and take longer meal times. Diet culture tells us to pack food from home to help you stick to your eating plan. Instead, pack snacks because there are bound to be moments when travel plans go awry and cause you to not have easy access to food.

Varenna for it’s small, colorful village, the Villa Monastero estate and gardens, and easy train access to Milan. While the hotel is a quick walk from the Varenna train station and can be heard, the trains don’t run all night, and you’ll want to be up soaking up Lake Como when they start again anyway! In Bellagio, I stayed at Villa Vitali, which is an apartment-style hotel still run by the Vitali family and perfect if you’re staying for more than a few days. Despite the 15 minute walk from the center of Bellagio and the ferry, the views during the walk and from the hotel showcase vantage points you won’t see elsewhere from the lake!