I've been getting back in the groove after a trip home to Massachusetts last week. The visit was half-work half-play, but even the work parts felt wonderful. I had been craving the snow, not truly believe it was winter yet despite the date on the calendar. I needed to see my family's holiday tomtes and slurp my mom's homemade maple syrup. I needed some snowfall on red barns and warm kitty snuggles. I needed my besties in matching New England-girl boots, and even slushy Boston sidewalks, which warmed my heart this time around even though I used to despise them. And I needed my soothing Atlantic ocean, which is so, so different than the Pacific.

Thank you family and friends for giving me so much warmth and love that I think it might just last me until next time :). 

    

     

My Pops

Happy Father's Day to my Papa, to whom I credit my positive outlook on life, my obsession with Cape Cod and family traditions, my appreciation for high quality margaritas, and my inability to live further than an hour from any ocean. Thank you for always making me feel so cherished and safe, I love you!!

Mid-Road Trip Update / Christmas 2012

Happy 2013 everyone! We are currently in Jackson, WY and about to head through Idaho after a stop at the Lotus Cafe for a delicious lunch (we went yesterday for dinner and it was so good that we have to go back). Almost to our final destination! This road trip has been an amazing whirlwind. With lots, and LOTS of driving.

Top 3 (so far) from the trip:

• Omaha, Nebraska, is adorable! We stopped by the Old Market for some shopping and dinner, and I fell a little bit in love.
• Driving through Wyoming yesterday. It was beyond gorgeous. Snow! Mountains! Wildlife!
• New Years Eve in Jackson, WY! We celebrated with lots of wine, board games, and cheersing with the Jackson locals at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in downtown Jackson.

I'll have pics of that coming up, but for now just a quick recap of my Christmas season......because these pics give me the warm 'n' fuzzies.

An American Thanksgiving

All of our free time lately has been spent job searching and planning a cross-country move. Needless to say, I haven't had time for updates! But Thanksgiving is one of the days that I look forward to most each year, and I thought it was fitting to celebrate our return to the states by posting pictures from one of the most American holidays. Here is what our Thanksgiving consisted of this year:

1. a colorful turkey

2. a new family

3. a first taste

4. a walk

5. a cocktail

6. a football game

7. a first thanksgiving

9. a few pies

10. a Love

11. a meal

12. a fire

13. a leftover-breakfast

I'm thankful for all of these things, but what I'm most thankful for this year is Jimmy (warning: mushiness ahead). Having a partner as supportive and hilarious as he is, who I can travel the world with, run away to Tuscany with, and who supports me in my wildest dreams is more than I thought I could ever ask for. And I'm thankful for our amazing families, who have taken us in during a crazy time of transition, allowing us to pursue our dream to move to the west coast (ok: mushiness over). 

Coming soon: pictures of the Amalfi coast!

Was I Dreaming?

Was I just dreaming? Or did all of this Italian beauty truly happen??

It's been almost a month since our return (and almost a month since my last post...oops!), and to be honest it's been wonderful spending time with friends and family, eating our beloved and missed sushi and burritos, and reacquainting ourselves with the wonders of the modern world. But strangely, as more time passes, our amazing five months in Italy seems more and more like it was just a dream. Jim and I agree that when we were there time infinitely slowed down, to the point where at times we forgot that we would have to leave. It felt like our home; like we would be there forever. But now that we're back in the fast-paced suburban world we call home, it feels like our time in Italy was just a hallucination.

Thank goodness for a) pictures b) friends and c) scars that can all attest to the fact that we WERE indeed on a farm in Tuscany for five months! I can't wait to keep posting pictures from the rest of our time in Italy, allowing me to relive it all. After all I need something to prevent me from working too diligently on my job search, right? Right.

So keep reading ragazzi - more of Italy and of course our upcoming adventures to come!