BACK IN TEXAS

So happy to be back in Texas! 

I arrived just before Christmas, and conveniently landed at the airport just minutes after one of my best friends! My old bedroom at home has been converted into a sort of stock room for the shop so I temporarily moved into my brothers room! 

My brother and his girlfriend came over Christmas morning, we spent a lot of time with the cats, had fun photoshooting new (to us) clothes and goofing around in general. I'm happy to say that my parents are 2 of my best friends and hanging out with them these past few days has been the best :)

Me, Mom & Dad goofing around with my stuffed animals from the WWF.  

My Mom and our cat, KiKi, meditating. 

Homemade Nutella / Hazelnut puff pasty triangles. 

Our other cat, Miss Ki, sneaking in on my photo shoot for the shop!

The cats are technically my brothers. The cat is beautiful but horribly camera shy. Isn't my brother's hair the best?!

Got some good reads for myself at 1/2 price books.. they were having a 20% off sale! 

We got creative with the Pellegrino cans and made magnets / pen holders out of them!

I've become cat-crazy being at home with these two.

My Christmas present to the animals / myself! Donate $$ to the WWF and "adopt" an animal of you choice. I picked the winter rabbit, red panda, and china panda bear. :) 

SO Excited about this amazing vintage suede cape. It's just BEAUTIFUL! Will be in the shop soon ;)

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas & has a great start to the New Year!!!

Etsy Gift Guide: My Best Girlfriend(s)

5 (actually more like 4!) days and counting until I pack up my bags and head home from Italy! 

A big mix of emotions is going on: I'm super excited to see family and friends again, to surround myself with familiar faces, foods, and re-visit pastimes with loved ones. But then I think about it and looking back, these 3.5 months have really flown by; at times it felt like I'd never make it alive, but now that I'm at the end of my stay, I couldn't be more grateful for this experience.

Life is never perfect, but the way it works out is just magical - I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have lived my experiences within this last year. So many life-altering moments, and it's all thanks to the people I've had the pleasure of meeting and growing closer to, thank you :) 

It's gotten me thinking a lot about gift-giving! Yes, of course Christmas is coming up and that makes it entirely appropriate to share the love, but why limit yourself to major holidays? You don't need the guise of Christmastime to warrant a little something special, because really, these guys are deserving of our appreciation year round!

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine.

Peek inside the Pasticerria

It's become a morning ritual for me to stop by the local bakery shop or "pasticerria," to pick up a few slices of the much loved Gnocco Genovese. It's a fried flaky bread typical of the Emilia-Romagna region that I live in. It's amazing, but I'm sure not too healthy for anyone - oil filled and sprinkled with sea salt it's a carboholics dream. 

Usually I don't pick up anything else, though I'm temped by everything. I figured since I only have a week or so left here, I may as well begin a taste testing. Today I got a chocolate sprinkled berry muffin with a banana creme filling. Mmmm...  

First Snowfall

I was really hoping to experience a snowfall during my stay, and 2 weeks before my return to the States, I got just that! I woke up on Saturday with frosty snow covering the ground, so I guess I didn't exactly experience the "fall" but tromping around in that fluffy white goodness made my day.

Paris!

Ah Paris! Such a romantic city: the river, the architecture, the food, the weather & the impossibly chic people. 

I was freezing a lot of the time and the days were extremely short, but the city of lights was nothing short of spectacular. I had my fair share of crepes, macaroons, & hot wine. Spent almost 6 hours at the Louvre and passed through many metro stations. My little rented hotel/hostel situation worked out nicely, I even met a girl from Texas A&M there! Visited famed monuments, bookshops & grocery stores - was even able to find a 136ml bottle of sriracha that I snuck into my carry on (the liquid limit is 100ml)! The Christmas markets were amazingly festive and even featured a santa claus atop a hut of stuffed panda bears. Started & finished the "The Bag Girl" by Mario Vargas Llosa, with all the references to the city of light, Paris was the perfect backdrop to read such a bittersweet love story. 

After a trip through the Paris Metro, 2 Airport buses, 1 Flight, 1 Italian train & a Fiat car ride later... I'm happy to be back "home" in Italy. It was really eye opening to be in both France & Italy in one day, they feel so different! I'm looking forward to next time.