Yolo Intel

Since I received so many DMs from you all last month, I decided to do a bit of a You Asked For It/Travel Diary combo. I get so many questions about Rome, especially now, in the literal heat of the moment: What to do when it’s unbearably hot and you need to shift gears? Another one I get a lot is, How do I find all the good stuff in the flea market? (I drew you a map.) Where to eat on a Sunday?

After three months on the road living out of a suitcase—and completely reliant on my packing cubes—I’m ready to upgrade to these colorful ones from Tuckernuck. My favorite Le Monde Beryl Venetians make a comeback, but in a summery suede version, to celebrate their 10th anniversary! This may be the year I actually make it to Basilicata, and when I do I’ll be checking into the Santavenere and the Palazzo Margherita. Love this modernist house in Puglia.

There are few people who inspire us like Andrea Gentl. I’ve been fortunate to work with her since I got started in the magazine world back in the late ‘90s, and lucky to call her a dear friend ever since. She and her husband, Martin Hyers—who together work under the name Gentl & Hyers—are behind some of our favorite Yolo Journal covers, as well as a few of our favorites from our Traveler days. She’s also a big inspiration for my collecting habit.

The view from Airelles Palladio I’m always writing these travel diaries at least a couple of weeks after the fact. Because I don’t always have time to write them in the moment, and because I’m traveling so much, when I do sit down to document my month of travel it can feel overwhelming.

The start of summer also means it’s the beginning of guest season. And because we’re always trying to think of that clever gift that’s a guarantee of another invite—which means not thinking about it last minute—we’ve dug deep so that you, and we, have a good list at the ready. There’s nothing better than a friend with a beach house—and they know it—so to show your gratitude, bring along this incredibly chic beach umbrella.

Colorado State Fair (undated photo) We made this list just as much for us as for you—we’re great at planning trips far afield, but often forget about the free concert that is happening down the street in Central Park. Or how we’ve always wanted to go to that rodeo in Joseph, Oregon, or to Santa Fe for the largest market of turquoise and silver, or to the world’s largest yard sale that begins in Michigan and ends in Alabama. Not to mention the state fairs, which I will always have a soft spot for.

This was a big travel month. Several of you have asked me how I stay healthy when I’m on the road, and I have to admit this month almost broke me—or my back, that is. Sitting is terrible, as is not exercising, and when I do all these back-to-back work legs, I’m completely out of my routine.

Illustrator/author Jenny Walton demystifies personal style and “fashion math,” and A Tiny Apartment’s Christine Barbereich goes forensic on her Dopp kit We’re thrilled to feature our longtime friend and Yolo contributor Jenny Walton in this week’s post, as she celebrates the recent release of her first book, Jenny Sais Quoi.

My favorite view from our apartment Matt and I share a hoarding habit love for collecting, and while in most parts of our relationship we balance each other out, when it comes to accumulating saving objects big and small, we just enable each other. Our house in France is a great example of this. Yes, we may have bought this house because I’d be in love with it for ages—but it was also a massive excuse to find more things to fill it with.

So many good books are coming out this month that I want for my bookshelf, and/or to order in multiples for host gifts this summer.