i'm back from hiatus!

i'm baaaaaaaaaaack! stay tuned for new posts in the coming days! i bet you thought i'd written off my blog, right? naaaaaaaaaah! :)

-17

let the countdown begin! wooohooooooooooooo! i'm already starting to think of what i'll be packing...

happy thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
i'll be thinking of all of you! and the mashed potatoes. and the stuffing (outside the bird). and slavenka's jello salad. and mom's pumpkin pies...

benvenuta ARIANNA!

ARIANNA is here! she's my good friend francesca's brand spanking new daughter! she was born yesterday afternoon (november 25th... one day before her due date) at 4:44pm (my favorite number btw!). she weighs 3.44kg and is 51cm long. i'm leaving work early today to go see her! i would take photos and post them but my digital camera isn't working properly (it's giving me an error reading) and i'm holding out until we're in the US to buy a new one.

november 16th

thinking of you mom and i know you read my blog so i just wanted to wish you a
BUON COMPLEANNO!!!

we love you & hope you have a great day!

early xmas gift

today was francesco's first full day off since we got back from namibia in early april. it was soooooooo nice to spend the entire day together! we slept in this morning and then did some work around the house (hanging some pictures that have been waiting to be hung for over a year... sheesh!) and then this afternoon we went "window shopping." well, that's what it was supposed to be but we ended up buying quite a few things so i guess we went shopping period. francesco bought me my xmas gift! i'm so excited! it's an espresso machine that i've been wanting for ages. this is what it looks like:





it's really easy to use (though the instruction manual was pretty darn complicated... i gave it to francesco and told him to explain to me how to use it after he figured it all out... ha!). i love it! and it looks great in our kitchen with our other red accessories (like our red SMEG fridge).

all in all it was a great day. :)

nonna turns 80!

today is francesco's grandma (nonna) luigia's 80th birthday! wowowowowowow! i woke up extra early this morning so that i could go to the outdoor market at the piazza del mercato in la spezia to buy her a plant for her birthday (she LOVES plants... remember how i took her my dead geraniums?). i ended up picking out a red peace lily. she was very happy. today franca (francesco's mom) is having her hysterectomy so i think it's a bittersweet day for nonna.